Hot Buttered Rum (HBR) kicked off 2024 with a celebration of its silver anniversary at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Yes, the NorCal bluegrass band and left-coast jam festival staple has been around for 25 years – congrats, boys!

It might be a musical stretch to even think of the British rock-pop band Queen and U.S. folk-rock singer John Sebastian in the same thought bubble. But it’s really an ironic numbers thing about them both that just came to mind. As Sebastian once sang in a Lovin’ Spoonful song, “there’s thirteen-hundred and fifty-two guitar pickers in Nashville.” And, of course, there aren’t that many Queen tribute bands in the world.

Dogs In A Pile (DIAP) just announced their first batch of 2024 dates a few weeks ago and are fresh off a major tour in support of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. As the band took a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, Dogs guitarist/vocalist Brian Murray penciled in a date (11/25) to play a solo acoustic show at the famous NYC club The Bitter End. The stage has been graced by the likes of music titans Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Chick Corea, David Crosby, Neil Young, and many more.

Parchman Prison is in the Mississippi Delta and is notorious for brutal conditions and a very high black population. In 1996, the historian David Oshinsky said, "Throughout the American South, Parchman Farm is synonymous with punishment and brutality. It's the closest thing to slavery that survived the Civil War." Ta-Nehisi Coates quoted Oshinsky's writing in his 2014 Atlantic article, "The Case for Reparations." The prison was founded in 1901, on a former plantation site.

Dogs In A Pile (DIAP) is about to embark on a 16-date tour, supporting Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. This opportunity to open for them will be highlighted by a start in New Orleans at the famed Tipitina’s, a performance at the beautiful Mission Ballroom in Denver, and a show at the Troubadour in Hollywood—amongst a slew of first-time played venues in what many would consider key cities for any young band on the rise.

Carl “Buffalo” Nichols is a living anomaly in this ever-commercial world. With a stage name that reflects the rarity and value of his art, he lives to embody in his personal life the values he advocates for in his music. Not even two weeks removed from the release of his Sophomore album “The Fatalist,” his demeanor hardly reflects acknowledgment of its notoriety, focused not on the accolades it has received, but rather on those who have received its message.

Upon arriving at the Cascade Equinox grounds in Redmond, Oregon, just outside of Bend, attendees were welcomed by an atmosphere pulsating with anticipation. Festival-goers filled the air with tunes from the featured artists on the lineup, soaking in the majestic mountainous surroundings, and forming caravans as they made their way into the fairgrounds for a weekend brimming with live music, autumnal festivities, and communal camping.

The jam community has long been a haven for those artists looking to explore the boundaries of traditional music genres. When you think of jam bands, there's often the image of prolonged solos, spontaneous improvisations, and a merging of diverse influences. But today, there's a broader range of artists being embraced by this community, artists who while not strictly adhering to the traditional 'jam’ format, are still contributing to its expansive evolution. Enter Gideon King & City Blog (GKCB).

The jamband community is no stranger to rising stars, and among them, New England's very own Matt Glickman is catching the spotlight. A recent Berklee College of Music graduate, Glickman's influences are as varied as they come, from spell books and folklore to adventures in synth-infused Americana. But what sets him apart is his intimate connection with mental health, not only as a subject he resonates with personally but also as an advocate within the music industry.

The classic late-‘60s blues-rock band Humble Pie held their first rehearsal – back in mid-January 1969 – at the family home of their then-newly-recruited, 17-year-old drummer Jerry Shirley. The four shaggy-headed musicians – three of whom had to sneak into the neighborhood and house in disguise, due to their local celebrity – squeezed their amps and Shirley’s small drum kit into his parents’ living room. Very domestic, very humble! But more important, a turning point in rock music history.