When Dweezil Zappa’s Choice Cuts! World Tour commanded the stage of Chicago’s Vic Theatre Friday night, Scheila Gonzalez (horns, keys), Adam Minkoff (rhythm guitar, vocals), Cian Coey (vocalist), Ryan Brown (drums), Kurt Morgan (bass) and Chris Norton (keys) and Dweezil Zappa, the late Frank Zappa’s most dedicated interpreter entertained receptive fans for approximately three exuberant hours.

Dweezil, the guitar-slinging son of legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frank Zappa, dubbed this tour "Choice Cuts" because he and his band would perform “a collection of the meatiest tracks” and some of the the “boldest compositions” from his father’s voluminous repertoire.

Progressive jamgrass outfit Yonder Mountain String Band have been making their way through the east coast this week, and last Sunday the quintet had a tremendous stop at Fairfield, CT’s The Warehouse. With good showing from all members and multiple highlights, The Warehouse definitely saw an all-around very strong show, in what seems to be a strong season for Yonder.

David Crosby may call the nearby mountain town of Santa Ynez home these days, but it is Santa Barbara where he began his musical career and spent much of his youth. “The first time I sang in this theater I was 17,” quipped the 77-year-old two times Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recipient and founding member of The Byrds and Crosby Stills and Nash. He was referring to the Lobero Theater in downtown Santa Barbara, the oldest continuously running performance hall in California.

A diverse group of musicians brought their skills to the Alcazar Theater in Carpinteria, CA, Saturday night November 4th. The intimate acoustic evening was organized by Ones To Watch Productions, the musical promoters who have brought a wealth of Americana music to local venues in Southern California. The historic 200 seat non-profit Alcazar Theater, which was recently remodeled boasts accidentally perfect acoustics, due to its architecture.

It seems like the Violent Femmes have been around forever.  That's because the Milwaukee, Wisconsin band have been playing with several different lineups since 1980, and their eponymous debut album, released in 1983, contains most of their best-known songs.  That album was one of the few albums ever to go gold and platinum without appearing in the Billboard top 200 album chart, although Violent Femmes did eventually appear in the top 200 after the album was certified platinum.

Cellarmaker Brewing Company out of San Francisco has built a stellar reputation for their consistent artisanal brews. As evidenced from their fifth-anniversary celebration hosted at Great American Music Hall last Saturday night, they sure know how to treat their community. Foremost the evening’s entertainment was a fine progressive bluegrass lineup of Billy Strings with Cold and in the Bay supporting.

Twenty-four years, twenty-seven albums—to call Keller Williams a prolific artist is an understatement. Last week, the multi-instrumentalist talked with Grateful Web about record number twenty-seven, this year’s all-instrumental Sans.

Bob Weir and Wolf Bros featuring Bob Weir, Don Was and Jay Lane, who have been on tour performing songs of Grateful Dead and more made a stop in Portland, Oregon on October 22. The tour, which kicked off October 16 in Reno, Nevada, will run through November 18, hitting major markets across the US including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Denver, and Washington D.C.

Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL) is a fixture in every Austinite’s schedule. Whether it be to leave town and avoid the influx of people and traffic, or to attend the festival either weekend, you can tell when the weekends are coming. Having gone to college in Austin, and attended the festival several times throughout college and after, I’ve found it to be a popular activity with friends, year after year.