Veteran midwestern rockers, Umphrey’s McGee returned to Eugene (Ore.) for the first time in five years and unleashed a torrent of heavy, metallic, guitar-driven jams on a packed, Friday night crowd at the McDonald Theater. Combining a taste for crunching, head-banging riffs with mind-melting prog-rock fusion, Umphrey’s are an intriguing musical complexity.

The Brothers and Sisters Reunion, a collaboration of “A-List” musicians that includes former members of the Allman Brothers Band and related offshoots including the Gregg Allman Band, Dickey Betts Band, etc. These individuals were deeply intertwined in creating the sound of this Southern Rock “feel-good” music we all know and love.

Friends of the Devil’s Lettuce brought a full house to Ardmore Hall in Ardmore, Pa last Saturday night to celebrate the cannabis-themed holiday on April 20th. Delicious CBD treats were purveyed inside the venue, which was exciting to see, and was well received by the attendees.

Classically trained DJ and Producer Douglas Appling, better known as Emancipator played a cleansing set to a sold-out house at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall that was nothing short of hypnotizing. His music, if not genuinely describable as trance, was certainly trance-esque, and highlighted electronic music’s evolution and maturity in recent years.

On Wednesday night, Trey Anastasio brought his newest side project, Ghosts of the Forest, to the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. Promoting the band's self-titled album that would be released two days later, Anastasio performed 21 songs, most of them written after the passing of his dear friend Chris "CCott" Cottrell, who had passed away from cancer prior to the songs being written.

When time and tour schedules allow, members of the Green Leaf Rustlers, an amalgamation of members of several current successful bands, present a stimulating array of classic adaptations of American Country Roots & Blues, including the Bakersfield Sound. Such was the case on March 28 at Sacramento’s enduring rock club, Harlow’s, where the band finished up a tidy 10-date California tour before heading to Alaska for a triad of early April shows.

Last week, the musical world witnessed the extraordinary live debut of The Allman Betts Band, the legendary-in-the-making collaborative project between Devon Allman (son of the late great Gregg) and Duane Betts (son of the still rocking Dickey). The duo’s new rock outfit also includes Barry Oakley Jr., son of the late Allman Brothers’ bassist, along with keyboardist John Ginty, drummers John Lum and R. Scott Bryan, and slide guitarist John Statchela.

There is something about getting ready to go to a show in Vegas. The whole day is magical. Getting ready in your hotel room with your sweetheart with March Madness surrounding the weekend and getting in the cab with the permanent Vegas hangover is just about as alive as it gets. Daryl Hall and John Oates performed a three-night residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. It was their first time there in five years.

March 29th, on a drizzly spring evening in Chicago, Trevor Hall and Dirtwire performed at Concord Music Hall to an all-ages show. The show collided two tribal influenced acts into one wholesome performance that nourished the crowd. After treating audiences of this tour to their new single “Strength in One”, the track is now out available for all to hear.  

Dylan Jakobsen is a bit different from your stereotypical country singer and songwriter. He’s not from the south, didn’t grow up on a farm, doesn’t drink… Yet he’s certainly worthy of a spot-on country music’s mainstage. With his album, I Am, he paints a picture of his journey as an artist - incredibly well, I might add. Not only did Jakobsen write every song and play all the instruments on this album, he also produced it in his own home studio. His talent, across the board, is undeniable. So, buckle up: Jakobsen's album does not disappoint.