Newgrass folk-rock pioneers Acoustic Syndicate are proud to announce new tour dates for the 2012 holiday season. Having just celebrated their 20th Anniversary this spring, the band will be closing a celebratory year with shows in Asheville, Raleigh and Charlotte, NC. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased through all venue outlets. A full listing of dates and venues is below.

How many Grateful Dead tribute bands does the scene need? The answer could be endlessly debated each way forever. I suppose it’s fair to say that since Dead music is a rolling snowball of endless genres, sporting both originals and reinvented covers with thirty years of varying performances where supposedly “no show was ever the same twice,” that room for countless cover acts isn’t unfound. After all, people still want to listen to their music, obsessively, even though they haven’t been around for seventeen years.

Of all the great cities in the U.S. nothing can compare culturally to New Orleans. It seems all of the hardships endured have only strengthened and secured its identity as one of the best places to see impromptu jams or the biggest names in music and party down. Their Jazz Festival thrown every April sees the best touring musicians sitting down for uncommon collaborations, partying and playing all night.

Despite torrential winds, hard rain and mud pits, I survived Yonder Mountain String Band’s Harvest Music Festival along with about 5,000 other bluegrass lovers. The weekend was filled with fiddles, foot-stompin’ and delicious falafels.

This December, Phish returns to Madison Square Garden in New York, New York for a four-show New Year's Run to close out 2012. The band has played twenty-three shows to date at Madison Square Garden.Tickets will go on sale to the general public tomorrow, Saturday, October 20, at Noon ET at ticketmaster.com or can be charged by phone at 866.858.0008.

The Mickey Hart Band have released free tracks from their Fall Tour including a very rare cover of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" featuring Hart's longtime collaborator and Grammy Winner, Giovanni Hidalgo, recorded at a recent show in St.

– It has been nearly two years since world-renowned guitarist John McLaughlin released To the One, his highly acclaimed, first studio recording, with The 4^th Dimension.  The veteran guitar aficionado celebrates his 70^th birthday year with his newest studio recording, Now Here This (Abstract Logix) set for release tomorrow, October 16^th as he ups-the-ante even further with greater fire, finesse and freewheeling interplay.

Simply put, pretty, is the location.  Smiles, sounds and relaxation are the destination. To be more specific Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance is located approximately fifteen to twenty miles from the intersection of U.S. 15-501 and U.S.

Connoisseur Kulture “C.K. Expo” welcomes the artwork of world-renown painter Alex Grey to participate in this year’s expo at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, LA October 25 – October 27.  C.K. Expo also just announced their pre-party celebration presented by ERB Magazine at the famous Howlin’ Wolf in the French Quarter on Thursday, October 25 at 10PM; with performances by electronic/reggae artist DJ Gaudi (from London, UK) and psychedelic rock group MOTH XP (from Maui, Hawaii). Howlin’ Wolf is located at 907 South Peters Street, New Orleans, LA 70130.