One of Denver's newest and hottest bands ATOMGA headlined their first big show at the Gothic Theater a couple of weeks ago with Supercollider, The Abstract Collective, and Contraband. “The backstage area was as full as it has ever gotten due to the number of musicians in each band,” said percussionist Jared Fischer. This was a party! The night before Thanksgiving has traditionally been a night where many reunite and celebrate and give thanks. This night was no different.

After a long five weeks on the road through the mid and northwest, Drew McManus (guitar and vocals) and David Cleaves (mandolin) finished their tour in their second home and the place where they recorded their last album, In Between the Blinks. This dedicated duo are some of the nicest people you will find. They are teachers, poets, and storytellers. Their music is deeply rooted in acoustic roots/reggae music or what they call Rocky Mountain Reggae. Their lyrics and messages are spiritual and world conscious.

In an exciting development as part of momentum leading up to the fiftieth anniversary of the Grateful Dead in 2015, founding drummer Bill Kreutzmann has been getting out there and playing electrifying gigs. Showing up as a surprise guest with friends like Les Claypool or the Jerry Garcia Tribute hosted by Steve Kimock. These California bay area appearances highlight a triumphant comeback for Kreutzmann. Additionally he premiers a brand new Billy & The Kids band next week at Warren Haynes Christmas Jam in Asheville, North Carolina.

The wild world of bluegrass spiraled into frenzy this past Friday morning when tickets to the forty-second annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival went on sale. Per usual, tickets flew off of the virtual shelves like canned goods in a doomsday scenario, leaving locked out festivalgoers in a state of disarray. “How could this happen to me again?” shouted bluegrass fans across the nation, their fists clenched and shaking at computer screens with a sense of Déjà vu.

Oh, how time flies.  It doesn’t seem all that long ago that we were seeing the birth of a jamband movement emerge to throw a wrench into the music industry.  They helped define how artists can be successful without mainstream radio play or multi-platinum records by relying on grassroots ventures and dynamic live concerts.  One of those burgeoning groups from that era are amazingly celebrating their 25^th birthday this year, that being Colorado’s own progressive jamgrass outfit Leftover Salmon. 

The late and indisputably great Bradley Nowell of 90’s rock phenomenon Sublime was only less-than-a-year shy of being inducted into the infinite 27 Club. His fatal heroin overdose in 1996, however, did not seal the fate for his reggae/ska stylee that ascended the alternative scene into what could have been arguably—the new sound of the 90’s.

Mill Valley’s Sweetwater Music Hall is one of Marin County, California’s select venues that is keeping the classic bay area jam-rock community connected. Many recall that Marin County was where every member of Grateful Dead had migrated to by the early 1970s for much needed solitude and separation from their iconized significance as the rock titans of Haight/Ashbury.

Chris Porterfield is the guy you bring home to Mom. Earnest, heartfelt, and yes, a little tortured – but not irreparably so.  He’s also the front man and lead singer of the band Field Report, who played the Hi-Dive to a mellow but appreciative crowd on November 11th. It was the coldest day in my memory of Denver, so credit is due to the intrepid fans who ventured out.

The marquee reads “Poor Man’s Whiskey: A Tribute to the Allman Brothers Band,” and the assumption that they’re no more than a cover band is understandable. Helping fuel the fire is their history of playing The Fox Theater with their renditions of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and the music of Old and In The Way. What the casual passerby doesn’t understand, however, is that there’s much more to this band than rehashing their favorite artists and albums on stage.

As we feel the weather changing around us, and we realize that Thanksgiving is in the air, we also must celebrate a few other traditions, like revisiting the Last Waltz, or listening to Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” on Thanksgiving Day. In Colorado, we now have another tradition around this time of year, invented by the minds of J2G Productions. In the spirit of the Last Waltz, we have our own all-star jam called the Dance Party Time Machine. This machine, escorts the audience through a timeless tale of dance music through a sixty year period.