Acclaimed singer/songwriter/guitarist/musician Jackie Greene kicks off his 2^nd year of touring behind his latest album, Back To Birth, with the announcement of his first headlining show at The Warfield theater in San Francisco.

Native Northern California musical gem Jackie Greene returned to another north state jewel, the classy stage of the Sierra Nevada Brewery Big Room in Chico for two sold-out shows on November 17 and 18 (this piece - photos and words - are about the 18th).

“You’re damn right I got the blues,” Buddy Guy sang out as he opened his headlining set at the annual Russian River Jazz and Blues Festival in fiery northern California on Sept. 13. While the so-called 73,000-acre Valley Fire, which burned more than 500 homes, raged as close as 30 miles away, the two-day festival site at Johnson’s Beach on the Russian River in the small, Bohemian town of Guerneville, California, was smoke-free.

Seventeen years ago in September, the iconic American rock band the Grateful Dead announced a well-thought but difficult decision. Without their fallen band mate Jerry Garcia, who had passed that August, they would not be able to continue touring as the band Grateful Dead. It was a tough choice to make as certain band members were divided about what should become of their future tours or even the possibility of continuing without Jerry.

I have a problem. It’s not a joke. I am addicted to music. I have been a victim to this addiction since 1987, maybe earlier.  That was my first live music experience.   My addiction to music has affected me adversely in the following ways: uncontrollable smiles, a feeling of connection to everyone around me, and a sense of synchronicity with harmony and syncopation within my everyday surroundings. 

Following upon the heels of last year’s highly regarded jam at the Lyons Folk Festival, Bob Weir, Chris Robinson and Jackie Greene cleared their schedules for a mini-tour that saw them headline the legendary Ryman Theater in Nashville and also get

Last night’s rain has cooled down the temperature to the mid 70s, so it’s a beautiful morning for your drive out to the mountain for Wakarusa 2012. The music is scheduled to begin in the early afternoon today and go through Sunday night, and there are so many awesome and unique bands it’s hard to choose which shows to see.

Bob Weir, Chris Robinson, and Jackie Greene have decided to embark on a very special journey together, and will no doubt be a treat for anyone lucky enough to catch this once in a lifetime performance.

With a touring history that has made him one of the most traveled road musicians of all time and a restless music personality that has kept him occupied for over 50 years, Weir knows a thing or two about staying fresh and living in the moment.

By the fall of 1994, the Grateful Dead scene was growing unmanageably large. Even large mainstay venues that the boys have been performing at for decades were too small anymore. The performance that used to be a not-so-well-kept secret had grown to sell out the largest football and soccer stadiums.

Specific aromas have the power to transport me back to an earlier, more youthful time: the earthy redolence of decaying leaves, mesquite smoke wafting from a neighbor’s barbeque, and even the gamy stench of a hockey locker room. I also have triggers for my ocular, haptic, gustatory, and aural senses. All of us do. And I thought sensory recall was the closest thing I would ever have to a time machine. But on Friday night, Phil and Friends changed that – not once, but twice.