If part of your plan for Warren Haynes’ 25th Christmas Jam was to get in town early to have a leisurely night Thursday at the Asheville Music Hall, Roosevelt Collier and Friends threw a pleasant kink in the plans.  Kinks usually get a bad rap but in this case, this evening’s kink was very kind.  The Asheville Music Hall is right in the same area as all your favorite Asheville entertainment establishments at 31 Patton Avenue.  If you have yet to visit Asheville, you will find the ‘Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hand.” f

With Lettuce and The Kyle Hollingsworth Band preparing to settle inside of my ears for the evening, things blasted off in an over-caffeinated wild turkey blitz en route to the Fillmore Auditorium. While the hall filled in, those on the rails waited patiently for the on-stage gospel to pour freely.

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.