The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund's second Awards Gala, set for Halloween night, Wednesday, October 31 at the Avalon nightclub in Hollywood, will include a live performance by Dio Disciples, comprising former members of the band Dio, with a number of prominent rock musicians joining them on stage for an all-star jam.

Newgrass folk-rock pioneers Acoustic Syndicate are proud to announce new tour dates for the 2012 holiday season. Having just celebrated their 20th Anniversary this spring, the band will be closing a celebratory year with shows in Asheville, Raleigh and Charlotte, NC. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased through all venue outlets. A full listing of dates and venues is below.

How many Grateful Dead tribute bands does the scene need? The answer could be endlessly debated each way forever. I suppose it’s fair to say that since Dead music is a rolling snowball of endless genres, sporting both originals and reinvented covers with thirty years of varying performances where supposedly “no show was ever the same twice,” that room for countless cover acts isn’t unfound. After all, people still want to listen to their music, obsessively, even though they haven’t been around for seventeen years.

Of all the great cities in the U.S. nothing can compare culturally to New Orleans. It seems all of the hardships endured have only strengthened and secured its identity as one of the best places to see impromptu jams or the biggest names in music and party down. Their Jazz Festival thrown every April sees the best touring musicians sitting down for uncommon collaborations, partying and playing all night.

Despite torrential winds, hard rain and mud pits, I survived Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival along with about 5,000 other bluegrass lovers. The weekend was filled with fiddles, foot-stompin’ and delicious falafels.

This December, Phish returns to Madison Square Garden in New York, New York for a four-show New Year's Run to close out 2012. The band has played twenty-three shows to date at Madison Square Garden.Tickets will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, Saturday, October 20, at Noon ET at ticketmaster.com or can be charged by phone at 866.858.0008.

The Mickey Hart Band have released free tracks from their Fall Tour including a very rare cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" featuring Hart's longtime collaborator and Grammy Winner, Giovanni Hidalgo, recorded at a recent show in St.