Day Three at Hulaween ushered forward with an exciting Halloween costume theme, as well as a full moon on October 28, 2023. This night proved to be a perfect night, at least as far as the weather was concerned, to do nothing other than howl at the moon. And that is exactly what concertgoers did on this vibrant evening. The theme was, of course, Full Moon.

I just returned from a Musical Sojourn in Porto, Portugal, a weeklong musical experience featuring ALO’s Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band and multiple other projects), Nikki Bluhm, members of Greensky Bluegrass, Fruition and Railroad Earth, and many other artists from the extended jam and bluegrass world. This was a unique and intimate event with six days and nights of musical tourism in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities. (The entire musician list is at the end of this article.)

Hulaween, the Halloween-themed festival put on by Jam rockers The String Cheese Incident, is closely approaching. This spooky event takes place from October 26 - 29, 2023 at the Spirit of Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, FL. The lineup is pretty incredible this year, providing a well-balanced mix of jam rock, EDM, and funk, along with a side of hip hop.

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).

Led by Phil Lesh & Friends and Melvin Seals & JGB, the second generation, literally, of Terrapin Crossroads staff presented a one-day, two-stage, seven-band Sunday Daydream on August 27, in Novato, Calif.

The 2023 Levitate Music & Arts Festival made a huge splash this past weekend receiving a 10 for style, a 10 for creativity, and a 10 for overall great vibes as this wicked sweet New England festival celebrated its 10th anniversary! Born out of the basement of a surf shop bearing the same name back in 2003, Levitate is still embodying all that is creative, connected to nature, and community-oriented in New England.

The second day of the Northlands Music and Arts Festival, June 17, 2023, was considerably soggier than the day prior in Swanzey, NH. Several earlier acts escaped the rain, but everyone in attendance took a bath on this day. Music festivals are rain or shine, and most fans were prepared for the slosh-fest.

Swanzey, NH is truly a gorgeous place to host a vibrant music and arts festival that is chock full of tasty jams and talented artists.

Arriving early for round two on Sunday, February 5th, the air was electric with anticipation outside the Mission Ballroom on Phil Lesh’s final night in Denver with his friends. Fueled with the outcome of a great first night, multiple conversations in the already forming lines speculated over the musical possibilities of the evening, including the rest of “Dark Star” in lieu of the full moon or an appropriate “Mission In The Rain”. Certainly, the possibility of Billy Strings sitting in was on everyone’s mind, Strings having wrapped his own three night run the day before and sitting in with Ross James and Andy Thorn in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Of course, the “Never Miss a Sunday Show” theory factored into everyone’s predictive model and with all these dynamics, so much potential was still on the table. With everyone’s continued reeling from the outpouring of love and quality playing on Saturday, the energy of night two, from outside the building, was already climbing.

For the first weekend of February, Denver’s Mission Ballroom once again became a mecca for travelers seeking the psychedelic and for those who made the leap of faith, the reward was great. Grateful Dead bassist and living legend Phil Lesh gave the Rino district two nights of splendor, sound, and the opportunity once again to rejoice in community under a blanket of aural pleasantries that would defy expectation.