Ronnie Penque of The New Riders of the Purple Sage brings us his new project Panama Dead. Panama Dead is a tribute to the music of the classic New Riders of the Purple Sage. Panama Dead plays all the classic NRPS songs like Henry, Last Lonely Eagle, Glendale Train, Panama Red and many more. The band is: Ronnie Penque on bass guitar and lead vocals, Mike Flynn on lead guitar and vocals, Wayne Wilson on pedal steel guitar, Kevin Johnson on drums and Jeff Pearlman on keyboards and vocals.

In the past few years since Fare Thee Well, as Grateful Dead music has morphed into its own genre, what bands play and how they play it has become an interesting series of choices.  Do they want to play it straight, or do they want to interpret it through a filter (heavy metal, Celtic, Bluegrass, Hawaiian slack key guitar, etc.)?  Do they want to emphasize the material the band played when they first became Dead Heads, or do they want to sample around?  Good argument-starter:  Is the best year 1972, or 1977, or 1989?  Or fill in the blank...

The strangest thing happened; Grateful Dead music became its own genre, a language spoken by musicians across the country (and danced to by Dead Heads, same).  Each band plays it its own way, but Live Dead ’69 has certain advantages.

The new Arrowhead Ranch is moving forward with a scheduled reopening for next year in 2019. The Ranch is on-target to become the newest Catskills go-to destination for fun, live music and outdoor recreation. The Ranch is located on the site of the original Arrowhead Ranch, a couple of miles off of Route 17 in Parksville, Sullivan County, New York. This thoroughfare has a ton of history.

2016 was a big year for psychedelic rock pioneer David Nelson and his longtime David Nelson Band. Nelson alongside veteran members Barry Sless (guitars, Pedal Steel Guitar), Mookie Siegel (keyboard, organ, vocals), Pete Sears (Modulus bass, vocals), and John Molo (drums) had their biggest tour in at least a decade, hitting the East Coast and Colorado for the first time in a long time.

Few acts have served as large of a spectrum of music as New Riders of the Purple Sage. These psychedelic country-rock titans have been performing for nearly forty-five years with original members David Nelson (guitar, vocals) and Buddy Cage (pedal steel guitar) keeping the flame burning strong. The group began in 1970 when Jerry Garcia was transitioning the Grateful Dead into country and folk territory. Like most instruments he put his mind to, he took to the pedal steel guitar miraculously quick.

Nothing says Summer like surf and hot rod music, and on June 30 Real Gone Music is paying tribute to one of the greatest bands ever to come down the (turn)pike, Ronny and the Daytonas, with a 2-CD, 48-track set featuring four unreleased tracks and notes from “Ronny” himself! Being from Nashville, Ronny and the Daytonas tossed a little country twang into their surfin’ sound; our next artist, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, also turned country on its head by injecting an unapologetic hippie ethos into their country-rock sound.

The world’s truly finest jam band resides in the Bay Area and generally plays exclusively there only. For years I have wanted to see a David Nelson Band show.

This Saturday, November 23, CRYPTICAL and a special stealth guest are at 19 Broadway in Fairfax, CA, rocking the night away and raising funds for Rex.

Jon McIntire, former manager of the Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage, was also a longstanding member of the Rex Board of Directors, continuing for the rest of his life as an active member of the Rex Advisory Board.  On Thursday, February 16, 2012, Jon McIntire passed away.  We want to honor Jon and the tremendous gifts he has contributed to all of us who have had the privileg