A band, like every living thing, needs to evolve. Donna Jean Godchaux and Jeff Mattson are pleased to announce that "Donna Jean and the Tricksters" has morphed into the – Donna Jean Godchaux Band

Rock and roll and lots more, delivered with Muscle Shoals-trained soul and inspiration. Fine original material plus a nod to Donna Jean's deep roots with lots of Grateful Dead songs, too.

All things pass, but the seeds that were silent burst into bloom. Look out – this flower will thrive.

The band will be stepping out in April with a full tour, and will be widely seen on the summer festival circuit.

Donna Jean Godchaux

Born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Donna Jean was a vocalist at both Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and Fame Studios, home of the legendary "Muscle Shoals Sound," on records like Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds," Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman," and Boz Scagg's eponymous first solo album. She moved to San Francisco, married Keith Godchaux, and spent the 1970s as a vocalist in the Grateful Dead as well as the Jerry Garcia Band. After life with the Dead, she and Keith created the Heart of Gold Band with drummer Greg Anton and guitarist Steve Kimock.

Following various side trips, she resumed serious focus on her singing in the '90s, recording a new Heart of Gold Band album, At the Table, and singing with Phil & Friends and her own Donna Jean Band.

Jeff Mattson

Jeff came to prominence as the lead guitarist, primary vocalist, and leader of Long Island's legendary Grateful Dead-influenced jam band, the Zen Tricksters. Over the course of thirty years, his supple, elegant playing reflected a fusion of rock, blues, bluegrass, country, jazz and folk stylings, along with a healthy dose of psychedelia. His songwriting credits include the exquisitely mournful "Shelter" (co-written with Donna Jean), as well as "Travelin' Light," (co-written with Melissa Marston), "He Said/She Said," (with Donna Jean), and "A Prisoner Says His Piece," all for Donna Jean and the Tricksters. He also contributed "Leave Me Out of This" to Phil Lesh and Friends' There and Back Again. He played with Phil Lesh and Friends in 1999.

David MacKay

David hails from Marin County, California. As part of the emerging Bay Area music scene of the 70's, he was a founding member of the popular band the "Tasmanian Devils" and recorded and toured with Michael Nesmith, playing bass on the first Grammy-winning video, "Elephant Parts." He was a member of both the original and reformed "Heart of Gold Band." Most recently, he has played bass with the Muscle Shoals-based group "The Fiddleworms."

Clint Bailey

Is a native of Huntsville, Alabama, and a well-respected member of the Muscle Shoals music scene and the band the Fiddleworms.  He has played on occasion with "Donna Jean the Tricksters" and with Jason Isbell (Drive By Truckers).  He began on piano at the age of 15, and then found the Hammond B-3 and became permanently hooked.  He is a strong songwriter, touching the Southern wellsprings of rock, soul, gospel, blues, and New Orleans styles, and contributed the title track to the Fiddleworms' Volkswagen Catfish.