On a cold and windy night in New York City this past Wednesday, a boisterous crowd gathered between the warm walls of Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom for a show that would bring boundless energy and positivity.

Singer Paul Anka brought a fantastic musical extravaganza to the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, on February 11th. Almost no living musical artist in pop music has had a longer-lasting career than this Canadian singer and songwriter. Anka recorded his first single, "I Confess," when he was just 14 years old, way back in 1956. A year later, he recorded a hit song, “Diana," at the tender age of 15, becoming an instant teen idol.

Fifty years of popularity in the music industry is a stunning feat in this day and age of instant gratification that favors the latest and greatest. Few bands see their albums remain extraordinarily relevant and still consistently churning new fans a half century past the initial release. This is certainly the case for Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, which celebrates fifty years as an album this year, and continues to be a shepherd for new fans into the classic rock genre.

Arriving early for round two on Sunday, February 5th, the air was electric with anticipation outside the Mission Ballroom on Phil Lesh’s final night in Denver with his friends. Fueled with the outcome of a great first night, multiple conversations in the already forming lines speculated over the musical possibilities of the evening, including the rest of “Dark Star” in lieu of the full moon or an appropriate “Mission In The Rain”. Certainly, the possibility of Billy Strings sitting in was on everyone’s mind, Strings having wrapped his own three night run the day before and sitting in with Ross James and Andy Thorn in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Of course, the “Never Miss a Sunday Show” theory factored into everyone’s predictive model and with all these dynamics, so much potential was still on the table. With everyone’s continued reeling from the outpouring of love and quality playing on Saturday, the energy of night two, from outside the building, was already climbing.

Fest Forums wrapped up their annual two-day conference in Santa Barbara on February 2nd with a marathon concert at the Lobero Theatre. The event was part of the 150th anniversary of the historic venue, California’s oldest, continuously operating theater. Fest Forums is the premiere conference for the festival industry in North America, established in 2015.

Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros brought their 2023 winter tour to Port Chester, NY on Tuesday night for the first of four nights of great music and dancing at the Capitol Theatre. Bob Weir is front and center stage with the Wolf Bros. This is Bobby’s band and this is his Wolf Bros show.

For the first weekend of February, Denver’s Mission Ballroom once again became a mecca for travelers seeking the psychedelic and for those who made the leap of faith, the reward was great. Grateful Dead bassist and living legend Phil Lesh gave the Rino district two nights of splendor, sound, and the opportunity once again to rejoice in community under a blanket of aural pleasantries that would defy expectation.

Why does Railroad Earth feel like a Colorado band? Is it the style of music they play that suits a large majority of the musical culture in the Rocky Mountain state? Or is it the fact that they sell out shows here all the time and the fans go nuts for them, or are they that damn talented and inviting that they feel like home? Well, it must be a combination of all of this with significant emphasis on the that-damn-talented part.

On February 3rd, Billy Strings completed the second of three nights at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. Capping out at 6,500, this venue with great sight lines, private suites, and a whole lotta comfort was packed wall to wall without feeling crowded, filled to the brim with the smiling faces and hearts that travel near and far to catch Billy and Company.

The Big Apple's premier Grateful Dead cover band High Time delivered an inspired performance for a full house at the iconic Brooklyn Bowl in Brooklyn, NY last Friday, February 3, 2023. They barely stopped playing during their two sets of Dead favorites. The creative folks at Macrodose NYC provided liquid like visuals on the rustic walls of the Williamsburg venue.