Wednesday nights at Fayetteville’s Georges Majestic Lounge have a new level of expectations thanks to Yonder Mountain String Band. Warming up the stage, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades will be on tour with Yonder for the majority of spring. Yonder, opening their set with Red Bird, it seemed like conga lines swarmed to the garden stage from the patios and the front bar.

It’s been forty years since mandolinist and bandleader David Grisman began playing with his Quintet, a band that bended more genres into the bluegrass/acoustic idiom that ever before. His groundbreaking compositions sat nicely with the school of acoustic gypsy-swing first popularized in the United States by guitarist Django Reinhardt and fiddle player Stephane Grappelli. Entirely different than the “newgrass” music from his contemporaries John Hartford and Sam Bush, “Dawg” music was and still is truly a form of its own.

The storied bluegrass quintet Yonder Mountain String Band showered The Catalyst of downtown Santa Cruz, CA in full form on Wednesday night, March 23^rd.

One week into their spring tour, Yonder and opening act Polecat are hitting on all cylinders. When asked about up and coming artists Dave Johnston, founding member and banjo player for Yonder, said they haven’t jammed with Polecat – yet.

On April 7th, 8th and 9th Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) will perform for the first time ever in Berkeley, CA.  The performances will be held at the newly renovated UC Theatre.

Umphrey’s McGee concluded their 2016 Winter West Coast Tour at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night.  The tour has been highlighted by a variety of bust-outs, debuts and collaborations and this night would prove to be no different.  The crowd began filtering in more than 2 hours before Umphrey’s McGee was ready to start, and those that did were greeted with a fiery opening set from Prog-rock all-stars TAUK

Umphrey’s McGee, the sextet from South Bend, IN returned to the East Bay of Oakland, CA for their fifth consecutive appearance in as many years at the famed Fox Theater Friday night, March 25^th.

One night from the official wrap of the Winter 2016 Tour, Umphrey’s McGee proved they have not lost their bag of tricks, nor is it even close to being empty.

Umphrey’s McGee returned to the road last night, March 24th at Harrah’s South Lake Tahoe South Shore Room inside the Stateline, NV hotel.

The String Cheese Incident is in the midst of their expansive March Madness tour of the West. The run has thus far seen enthusiastic crowds, intimate venues, and resilient playing from the band. Their two set shows have highlighted a career retrospective of tunes and expansively inspired grooves. The two Fox Theater gigs last weekend are being heralded as the fiercest of the tour yet.

Colorado’s born and bred The String Cheese Incident has significantly elevated their concert experience since they began jamming together in 1993. Their first audiences were at the base of ski lifts in Telluride, Colorado; picking in exchange for a lift ticket for whoever was around to take notice.

The pure, almost orchestral musicianship of Railroad Earth has always separated it from its jam, Americana, and bluegrass peers.  When you place a band with that dedication to craft in a venue with a deep commitment to acoustics, sightlines, and spacing, you have the foundation for a flawless night of music.  And as usual, Railroad Earth didn't disappoint last night at Philadelphia's exquisite Union Transfer.  Kicking off the show with favorites from their belove