A year ago, Planet Bluegrass was in shambles. The North St. Vrain Creek, which carves a path along the venue’s northern and eastern borders, overflowed during a torrential downpour that lasted nearly a full week in mid-September. The 2013 Colorado Flood created a state of emergency in 14 counties and hit especially hard in Lyons. The town’s crown gem, which hosts the annual RockyGrass and Folks Festivals, was submerged under four feet of water.

I’m searching for phrases to describe Phases of the Moon Music & Art Festival.  It began as a dark side of the moon, but that was just a phase.  As an audience, our hackles were already up, howling at the moon before the weekend ever arrived.  Through no fault of the Phases organizers, RatDog had to cancel their appearance.  Bobby Weir’s lightening is lazy.

For the promoters of Lockn’ Music Festival, combining an impressive array of headliners spanning decades of American Music alongside thriving local and regional artists seemed to be a necessity. After all, the southern U.S. is where much our music history was born and evolved.

So many years after the disbandment of Grateful Dead that in turn relocated tens of thousands of devoted tour followers to various other acts and bigger life purposes, folks still crave that familiar feeling that kept them on tour. It didn’t only come from the music that Garcia and the gang connected with so many people through, but the sense of community and thriving weirdness that expanded continuously over decades of different intersections.

If achieving a balance in diversity is a music festival’s key to success, then Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro have truly created the most dynamically integrated festival experience of all time. The Lockn’ Music Festival isn’t another colossal gathering from bandwagon fans there to see a couple of big name headliners mixed in with who-else-knows.

Tickets go on sale July 18th for Widespread Panic’s highly anticipated 2014 Fall Tour.  Along with the Fall tour, Widespread Panic is providing a myriad of unique opportunities to experience their music, including performances at Gathering of The Vibes Music Festival, Lockn’ Music Festival & Phases Of The Moon Music + Art Festival.

Last year during Widespread Panic’s annual June pilgrimage to Red Rocks, I bore witness to a natural phenomenon so sublime, it will be emblazoned in my memory until my dying breath. An awe-inspiring lightning shower accompanied nearly the entirety of Saturday’s second set.

To most of us who really pay attention to the current state of music and journalism, it comes as no surprise when I say that the quality and quantity of genuinely good music news and coverage coming out of the major media outlets has diminished substantially over the last decade or more.  They tend to focus more on pop artists, movie stars, and political discourse rather than covering and featuring truly great music (as they once did). 

For the first time in the 19-year history of Gathering of the Vibes, the initial festival lineup was announced live and on stage, Saturday March 15, at New York’s legendary Capitol Theatre, in Port Chester, NY. John Fogerty, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Maceo Parker, moe., and Ziggy Marley are among the acts confirmed to appear.“John Fogerty is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, a living legend, and he’s been on our dream list for years,” remarks Ken Hays, festival founder. “Widespread Panic is another band that we’ve long sought to play at the Vibes.

Widespread Panic has just announced dates for their upcoming 2014 Summer Tour, which includes performances at some of the band’s fan favorite venues.  This year, Widespread Panic is excited to be joined on tour by some very special guests and friends.