Saturday saw some true veteran acts of NedFest returning for the 14^th year. San Francisco jam-band New Monsoon returned to Colorado after an extended hiatus from national touring (people get married, have kids, you know?) I used to see New Monsoon a few times a year in Colorado back in the mid 2000s.

Z2 Entertainment is proud to present Hot Buttered Rum at the Fox Theatre on Thursday, October 11th.  Tickets are now on sale for $13.00 in advance and $16.00 day of show.  Initially formed as an acoustic string band, seven years of constant touring has transformed Hot Buttered Rum into a plugged-in, percussive powerhouse that wows critics and fans alike. Their left-coast rock reveals an access to jazz, country, and world music that few groups can match.

In 1996 Michael Goldwasser founded the reggae label Easy Star Records in New York City. Over the years ESR has produced records for artists including Toots & the Maytals, Steel Pulse, Matisyahu, Israel Vibrations and Sister Carol, and proved to be a force in the world of reggae music production. A year after starting ESR, Goldwasser helped found the reggae collective Easy Star All-Stars.

It was some lucky night. I got to see M. Ward perform at the Boulder Theatre. He has a new album out, A Wasteland Companion. It’s safe to say that Ward is devoted to his craft. Wasteland is Ward’s seventh studio LP since 1999. Some of Ward’s other work includes a successful side project, She & Him, with Zooey Deschanel on vocals.

After fourteen full length albums, eight EPs and five record labels Thee Oh Sees are starting to relax.  Well, sort of. In a press release for Putrifiers II out September 11, John Dwyer spells it out, “I will still strike an audience in the brain,” although he admits, “maybe every now and then it would be okay if we relaxed a little.”It is safe to say that Thee Oh Sees are willing to chase any spark of inspiration down the rabbit hole.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros struck gold with their hit “Home” from their debut album Up From Below. You couldn’t turn the TV on or walk down the street without hearing the familiar melody being whistled.

Us Coloradoans are blessed with the summer opportunity to attend so many wonderful destination music festivals. From Telluride to Lyons, from Aspen to Nederland, the amount of music and fun available is really endless. Anybody considering moving from their ordinary neck-of-the-woods to Colorado could assure himself or herself that the music scene out here is at a peak in the summer months.  I have two summer favorites that I never miss.

With the Kinfolk Celebration and NedFest right around the corner, I decided to trek down to the Boulder Theater on Thursday night to give my ears a little warm-up session with WhiteWater Ramble and local Boulder band The Magic Beans.

Jimmy Herring Band kicked off the 2012 Subject to Change Without Notice Tour at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins, CO, this August 22. Herring took the stage with an instrumental ensemble featuring members Jeff Sipe AKA “The Apartment Q-258″ (Drums), Matt Slocum (Piano/Keyboards), and Neal Fountain (Bass).

Z2 Entertainment is proud to present The Werks & Good Gravy at the Fox Theatre on Wednesday, October 3rd. Tickets go on sale today- Friday, August 24th for $8.00.