I have walked so far, so far...I’ll concede, I suppose it’s easy to get a little jaded to old-hand refinement these days, what with the driving influx of fresh bubblegum content fit for chewing in three-minute stretches. For those artists—including our own Susanna and her most recent partner Ensemble neoN—who dive into deep cuts as a rule and not an exception, the present state of the union can be suffocating.

Embark on an exciting journey with Eric Lambert’s new CD, “Maiden Voyage,” officially being released on October 26, 2013. The feel-good record is pure Americana, featuring eight new, original songs inspired by Eric’s life and unique views on musical expression. It aims to capture the energy and raw expression of a live performance, backed up by high-quality studio recording.

The Charleston, SC duo Shovels & Rope entered the Americana Awards & Honors last week leading all nominations with four. The multi-talented husband & wife team of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent left the historic Ryman Auditorium that evening with two of the top honors, Song of the Year (“Birmingham”) and Emerging Artist of the Year.

Starting tonight in Brooklyn, NY, Dumpstaphunk will join legendary soul singer Lionel Richie for several dates on his "All Hits All Night Long" 2013 fall tour, pairing the Grammy-winner's classic pop songs with the dirtiest funk New Orleans has to offer.

After a beach-bumming, sun-soaking, toe-tapping, sold-out great time was had earlier this year, Dark Star Orchestra and Island Gigs are excited to be teaming up once again to host the Jamaican JAM IN THE SAND II at the adults only (all-inclusive) Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa in Negril, Jamaica, February 28 - March 4, 2014.

Kung Fu have announced their Fall tour dates and Winter festival schedule taking them up and down the East Coast. The five-piece will also be playing a Phish after party on October 26 in Worchester, a Halloween show at Gramercy Theater in NYC with Twiddle, Bear Creek Music Festival on November 14 & 15, Jungle Jam IV in Jaco, Costa Rica January 16-19 and AURA Music & Arts Festival February 14-16.

Grateful Dead songwriter Robert Hunter talks about creating songs and performing, remembers Garcia, Dylan, Joplin, and reflects on being a test subject for CIA experiments with psychedelic drugs. This is a full transcript of the interview for Reuters, held Aug. 22, 2013. A link to Reuters story is here: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE98F07720130916

The Werk Out Music and Arts Festival was a great way to close my festival season. Held September 12-14^th at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio, this festival was full of some the midwest’s favorite musicians and artists. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend to spend outside, although it was a bit chilly at night, the sun was out all weekend.

This December, Phish returns to Madison Square Garden in New York for a four-night New Year's Run to close out 2013. The band has played twenty-seven shows to date at Madison Square Garden since December 1994. As with last year's run, the floor at these four Madison Square Garden shows will be general admission.

DanceGrass masters Whitewater Ramble have revisited some of their more “traditional” roots with the release of their new video “Dear Mr. Bankman” from their 2013 release Roots & Groove. The video release coincides with an ambitious Fall 2013 tour.