Jam. Band. Apart, these two words are innocuous. Put them together, and they somehow become polarizing. Whatever your perceptions may be, there are a few characteristics that help give meaning to this loosely defined genre. First and foremost, the artists are expert musicians, masters of their instruments and playing styles. These bands are also marked by their relentless touring schedules, which naturally lend itself to the improv that is a hallmark of the live setting.

The New Mastersounds have announced the release of The Nashville Session via Royal Potato Family on April 22. The 10-track collection was multi-tracked live to one-inch tape in a single evening session at Welcome To 1979 studio in Nashville, TN in front of a small studio audience,. Following the performance, the recordings were mixed down to quarter-inch stereo tape and then cut direct to vinyl lacquers. There are no guests and no overdubs—essentially The New Mastersounds—pure and unadulterated.

The New Mastersounds’ Eddie Roberts is a musician with little interest in lyrics, which is ironic because he’s a blast to chat with. The English guitarist and leader of the band now resides in Denver, Colorado, which comprises three shows of the eight stop tour through Colorado they start on Sunday.

The New Mastersounds have announced an 18-show Spring tour in April and May. The run will begin with four shows at Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY.  The band then heads to New England for five dates, including The Sinclair in Boston, before turning south for shows in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. The tour concludes with four nights in the Midwest—the last stop at Exit/In in Nashville.

The New Mastersounds rank among the preeminent modern soul and funk bands of their time. Having started out in Leeds, UK, the quartet tour the globe regularly, bringing their hard-charging, delectably greasy jams to all corners of the globe with a rabid fanbase that stretches from New York City to Tokyo, San Francisco to Amsterdam and all points in between. On October 2, 2015, they return with Made For Pleasure—their most stylistically sprawling studio record to date.

It was a bill that was full of bands that I have been anticipating seeing. I have seen members in each band play individually in all-star jams and as guests with other bands, but this was what I was waiting for. The New Mastersounds together with Analog Son and Adam Robinson & the Funky Monks opening. This was a hat trick with three great musical acts for the price of one. The crowd bulked up late, but none the less, they were there, and it was packed.

Conductor Matt Butler is a genius! However he got inspired to come up with this idea of improvisational conducting talented musicians was brilliant. The reason that I say this is because it is very pleasant and beneficial to all parties when musicians are happier than the crowd. Everyone wins! There are only a few inspirational times when that happens. I see it when I am at major festivals and musicians are collaborating, or I see it in super jams such as the Everyone Orchestra.

I moved to Colorado in 2010 to pursue my Masters degree in education. I chose CU because it had a strong program for my discipline, but I’d be lying if I said the town of Boulder, itself, held no sway in my decision. Having wandered in a proverbial desert of live music for five years, I was a deeply dehydrated Deadhead who needed an oasis to slake my thirst. Occasionally, a noteworthy band played at The Santa Fe Brewing Company or an hour south at one of Albuquerque’s few ramshackle venues, but these were rare occasions.

Five years in, The Festy Experience, has proven itself to be as enjoyable, accessible and certain to give attendees more than their money’s worth both musically and scenically as any festival on the East Coast.  You do not have to load up a week’s worth of supplies and go all the way to Florida.  You do not have to pray and dodge 18 wheelers buzzing by at 85 miles per hour nor endure hour’s long traffic jams on your way up and down hundreds of miles of interstate l- 95.  The Festy is conveniently located about an hour so