WOW, what a lineup of incredible musical talent the Mighty Mishawaka Amphitheatre presented Friday night at the Poudre Canyon venue. The amount of diversity and talent each musician brought to the stage was staggering on many levels. The uniqueness of this show was that all of the artists know one another and are friends and some of them collaborate together on musical projects. That alone presented a fun family communal vibe on site and magical moments on stage.

At the end of September, with the changing leaves and cool breeze, the solid improv experience that is Eggy brought its colorful array to warm the hearts of Colorado to close out the month with back-to-back shows.

Scott Tournet is best known as the frontman for Elektric Voodoo, a founding member of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Blues & Lasers, and a producer. On September 9, 2023, he brought his solo act to The Bitter End in New York City, also known as the oldest rock club in the Big Apple, giving his fans an intimate setting for his work. This short but sweet set was full of tasty blues and alternative rock.

Somewhere in the mists of the early 1970s, a prog-rock enthusiast I rubbed musical elbows with for a brief time used to frequent an import record shop here in Cincinnati. In this enticing, below-street-level section of a multi-level downtown bookstore, he would find and retrieve pirate’s gold in the form of albums from emerging British and Euro prog-rock artists. Quite often, they were ones that the adventurous local underground FM rock station had somehow overlooked. Of course, he was also surely reading the British music papers for his inside track.

A West Coast run for any band would not be complete without a stop in Sin City, and that is precisely what the self-described indie jam rock artist Goose did on October 1, 2023 at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas. This band grew too quickly to play the famed Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY, making this venue special for the Northeastern fans in attendance. Venue owner and jam rock enthusiast Peter Shapiro was on hand for the exciting occasion.

Returning to Sacramento, Calif., a year after his last visit, the affable and quick finger-picking Billy Strings and his band reinforced their unique brilliant mastery of a performance package that straddles the lines between traditional bluegrass material and psychedelic-tinged improvisational jamming. A truly epic concert, the show included 35 songs.

A palpable aura of nostalgic reverence enveloped The Parker Theater in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday night, as the venerable rock-blues trio Hot Tuna took to the stage, embarking on the Fort Lauderdale leg of their "Going Fishing 2023 Tour." Jorma Kaukonen (guitar/vocals), Jack Casady (bass), and Justin Guip (drums) didn’t just play a concert. They orchestrated a journey, intertwining over 50 years of music history into a night of emotional, electrifying performances.

Al Stewart, accompanied by The Empty Pockets, recently illuminated the stage of the venerable Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, elegantly flanked by esteemed special guests, Peter White and Laurence Juber.

The self-described indie jam rock quintet Goose took their show to the Golden State for an incredible, almost week-long run. Stops included Oakland, Los Angeles, Dana Point, and of course, Santa Barbara on September 29, 2023, at the Santa Barbara Bowl. This show was nothing short of inspiring, as the band and crowd were both collectively feeling the California magic.

On the beautiful early fall night of Wednesday, September 27th, under a nearly full moon, Ian Anderson brought seven decades of Jethro Tull’s classical rock to a packed house at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The Nederlander concert featured two well-produced sets of beautiful music.