The Planet Drum 2006 Tour reunites Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju, and Giovanni Hidalgo for a September series of West Coast shows in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the ground-breaking album of that name.  Planet Drum was released in 1991 on the Rykodisc label and went on to earn the first-ever Grammy in the World Music category.  The tour is the groups first in almost a decade.  It also marks the resumption of an artistic relationship – between Mickey Hart and Zakir Hussain – that goes back to the late 1960s.

Grateful Web will have a review up shortly of Ratdog & String Cheese Incident's Saturday night Red Rocks show.  In the mean time, here's a few photos from the

Thanks for waiting to read about the best part of Wakarusa! The best three shows of the festival lay here in the second half of the review. In this section, I want to tell you which bands earned my top three ribbons of the festival.  Please keep in mind that I could not possibly see all of the bands that played, although I did try to see most.

Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

In 1996 Nada Surf was on top of the world.  Their hit single, "Popular" was an anthem for depressed high school students.  The song served as a painstaking guide book to teenage popularity.  They had a major label record contract and were destined for greatness.  Fast-forward 9 years and the mainstream music scene had basically written them off.  They were a one hit wonder.  With four albums to their name, Nada Surf released "The Weight is a Gift" at the end of 2005 on Barsuk Records.  The album serves as a beacon of

"There's nothing better than a music festival in the heartland of the country," said Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band on the festival's last day.  Even though I can think of some things that are better, there is a lot of truth to this statement.  Despite its sputtering start with heightened police threats, and at times clueless security, the third

Whatever you might have heard through the music grapevine about the infamous White Iron Band from deep in the North Woods of Minnesota is probably true. Though Minnesota nice is real, these bad boys aren't called Minnesota's music outlaws for nothing. They carry a reputation for being hard drinking and always eager to settle a squabble with their fists. Yet, when it comes to their music, they are as talented and dedicated.

In a town that has produced acts such acts as Prince, Soul Asylum, Semisonic, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and a host famous musicians, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle of the Minneapolis music scene. OK, it's not L.A. or New York, but outside of that it is arguably one of the top music markets in the United States, and definitely easy for a band to get lost in the fray.

Vince died Friday, June 2nd.  He played keyboards with the Grateful Dead from September 1990 - August 1995.  Though he received a lot of criticism during his tenure, Vince was a loving, happy guy who played his heart out with the band.  Grateful Web sends our thoughts to his family and friends.  Thanks for your loving nature, Vince. We'll miss you...

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