Of the living legendary Jazz musicians of the 20^th century, few perform with such purpose and poise as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin. As the groundbreaking Jazz-fusion originating guitarist has put it in two separate interviews with Grateful Web, it’s all out of love. Love for life, love for the players in his earth-shattering 4^th Dimension band, love for exploration, love for all people.

As the sun crested the sky on one of the more perfect afternoons you could ask for in the middle of New York City at the end of August, Phil LeshLesh and his Terrapin Family Band huddled at the side of the stage as the audience hooted and hollered, unable to contain their excitement for the music that was about to come.

As a music journalist for a decade and a half, I see a lot of live music. But every once in a while, I catch a concert that gives me a special feeling of knowing that I have seen music history and something sonically special. This was one of those moments. A few years ago here, it was Lana Del Rey who captivated her sold out show. This summer, it was her male musical soul mate Father John Misty.

Dressed in black, like his collaborator Carlene Carter’s famous dad, Johnny Cash, John Mellencamp wasted no time getting in tune for his second Ravinia performance, surrounded by a smoke machine and a background of scrawled graffiti.

“Music is like color,” Lukas Nelson has said. “When I listen to the musicians who affected me when I was growing up, I take from the primary colors to find my foundation. Then I apply secondary colors and the music becomes more and more complex.”

In the last decade, one the North Bay Area and wine country’s premier venues has become Weill Hall at Sonoma State University. Housed in the Green Music Center, this indoor/outdoor hybrid venue space is one of a kind. The theater has stunning wooden seats and a double-tiered balcony, while the outdoor lawn seating is ideal for year long daytime and nighttime shows. Despite its sizeable capacity, it feels homey and intimate with projector screens displaying multi-shot coverage of the stage up-close.

This past Saturday at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, Nederland’s own Yonder Mountain String Band and longtime jam legends Gov’t Mule co-headlined an action-packed show filled with sit-ins, surprises and an incredible all-star tribute to the late great Gregg Allman. It was the first time in over ten years that Yonder and Gov’t Mule have teamed up for a show. The Marcus King Band also joined in on the festivities, as members of all three bands sat in with one another throughout their respective sets.

Classic rock music fans descended on the Greek Theatre located in the hills above Hollywood, Thursday, August 10th, for a show by veteran rockers Steve Miller and Peter Frampton.

Heavy Metal madness descended on Paso Robles Tuesday night, August 8th, with a triple header of hard core music at the Vina Robles Amphitheater.

There’s always been something mythical about Fleet Foxes’ music; those intricate harmonies and swelling arrangements intertwined with frontman Robin Pecknold’s often-lofty poetry convey intimacy while conjuring up Homeric images of cloudy mountain forests, stormy seas, and some connection to the spirit of the earth long-since forgotten. As such, there’s a risk when bringing their music to the stage that something will get lost in translation.