July 2006

The 16th Annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance will be held from July 20-23 at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds in Trumansburg, NY.  This year's headliners include hit country singer John Anderson, politically conscious reggae hip-hoppers Michael Franti & Spearhead, African music legend Thomas Mapfumo & Blacks Unlimited, Rajasthani gypsy-Indian fusion band

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

Billy Iuso was Born on January 26, 1969 in Port Chester, New York. While being born an Aquarian, during "the age of Aquarius " didn't Pre-determine his destiny in music, Billy, like so many other children of his time was weaned on the changing culture and the music that symbolized it.