On an icy, cold night in Fayetteville, AR I traveled (safely and slowly) to George’s Majestic Lounge for an epic evening with The Infamous Stringdusters. They’ve played a couple times on Mulberry Mountain but never in Fayetteville so it was a treat for us. Unfortunately, the show was scheduled on a day that fell just after our area had been covered by ice and snow.

It’s no secret that the Infamous Stringdusters love Colorado, and let’s be serious, who can blame them? While Virginia is their home base, bassist Travis Book grew up here, and Andy Hall and Chris Pandolfi now spend their days along the Colorado Front Range. It seems to be a home away from home for the band, with highly responsive crowds always eager for some high altitude, innovative bluegrass.

The Parish is completely empty when I arrive.  Austinites haven’t adjusted to the near-freezing temperatures yet, so it’s not surprising that rosy-cheeked audience members only start trickling in during the opening act.  After I buy a whiskey on the rocks, the only respectable drink order for this winter weather, I take a look around.  I’ve never seen this venue, really, because the last time I was here was for Thom Yorke and people were sta

On a severely glistening snowy night in Boulder, George Winston’s statement on the Boulder Theater’s website stated, “The show must go on!” I was pleased to read that because on what better night could one hear George Winston alone on stage playing music from his albums December or Linus & Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, just to name a couple?

Colorado favorites and jam band veterans Michael Travis and Jason Hann spearheaded their second headlining performance at Denver’s nationally renowned Fillmore Auditorium on Saturday night, bringing their Cirque De Bass along with them. To me, the ability to play the Fillmore and Red Rocks adds up to 2/3rds of the Colorado Triple Crown when it comes to live music.

Genuine charisma is what sets Chris and Oliver Wood Brothers Band apart from other contemporary rock bands. Their own brand of Americana, fused by two different musical paths bound together, has evolved from a genre-bending project into a highly popular full time band. Before the groups’ inception in 2004, many were less familiar with guitarist Oliver Wood but knew his brother Chris as the virtuoso bass ace of avant-garde jazz trio MMW.

One of the greatest qualities of Colorado’s Cajun Slamgrass legends Leftover Salmon is their ability to evolve with sincere versatility. Founding members Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt have taken the band to higher creative peaks, with new material (the fantastic Aquatic Hitchhiker release) and welcoming great musicians in that really understand how to play their demanding style while also kicking back and parting with their crowd.

On Monday night in New Orleans, the House of Blues was graced with the presence of one of the next generation’s blues guitar heroes, Gary Clark Jr.  Clark, who spent his years learning guitar in Austin, Texas, was preceded onstage by fellow Texans the Moeller Brothers, both bands lending a similar southern blues rock sound to a sold-out room of ears.

Musicians that decide to go the solo route, all by their looooooooooooooonesome, are deserving of respect just for the sake of displaying the confidence it takes to share their creativity and talents to make good things happen. Solo acts have to deal with huge expectations ranging from thousands of folks in a big venue looking to catch the best version ever of their favorite songs or simply being the focus of fifteen people in a small club with strings of Christmas lights as the stage lighting.

Certain casual fans of the Creole Rock Granddaddy Jamband Little Feat may be under the false impression that the band’s true color died along with founding guitarist, singer, de-facto bandleader Lowell George in 1979.