What more can one ask for than a night of great musicians and a good mix of country, rock and bluegrass? Probably not much except to have those musicians be the members of Grant Farm… and maybe include a special guest.

It's amazing that Built To Spill has been around for over 20 years. In that time, Doug Martsch's little outfit has released seven full albums, three compilation and live albums, several EP’s and singles and gone through numerous lineup changes. Remarkably, however, the band’s sound has stayed relatively consistent, as have the excellent live performances. This is all a credit to Martsch, whose passion for songwriting and performing haven’t waned one bit over the years.

Recently I had the special opportunity to see the legendary Toots and the Maytals, just a couple of blocks from my house at the Fox Theater in Boulder CO. My work thus far with Grateful Web has been mostly reviewing jam-bands, taking notes on their instrumentation, and reporting commendable jams. So, as you could imagine, this was a much different experience than I was used to.

The Magic Beans step on to the stage and come out swinging with Jabu Jabu’s Belly, the bouncy feel-good tune that the crowd warms up to immediately. Scott Hachey is sporting his notorious smirk and a brand spanking-new guitar, a sexy ‘Singing Mountain” acoustic built of bone and abalone down in Pinecliffe, Colorado.

One of the great joys of attending concerts is the never-ending exposure to new artists and the swift kick in the ass feeling of why you haven’t been listening to them. This isn’t usually the case with most headliners, as you know what you’re getting into, but when it comes to the opening band, all bets are off. It’s a crapshoot. You might as well bet it all on red.

At the second stop on their Ski Tour through Colorado, the Infamous Stringdusters used their first night at the Fox to make an extremely compelling case for the audience to return for the second show on Saturday. Seamlessly combining soaring solos with impressive stage dynamics and powerful songwriting, The Stringdusters left the capacity crowd in a sweaty, euphoric state.

When you hear Tyler Grant’s name, you are most likely to conjure memories of the Emmitt-Nershi Band, or even more likely the acoustic guitar he flatpicked on his way to numerous awards and distinctions.

Shannon McNally is stomping her boots on the stage of the Fox Theatre as good as any other night crawler out there as she growls into the microphone like an early rocakbilly queen.

One year ago, today, I saw Kung Fu for the first time at Cervantes. They opened for The Motet during their Funk is Dead Halloween reprise. Apropos to their name, Kung Fu took the stage in full black gis and, given that first visual, I really didn’t know what to expect.

The name Perpetual Groove indicates a stylistic form for the veteran jam band. You hear the name and imagine long songs segueing through jams from one to the other. In a sense, Perpetual Groove could define many jam bands, but with PGroove, you get the name, and an assortment of various musical tastes and styles that careen from the stage like a robotic factory on overdrive.