The stars seem to be aligning for John Craigie, a Portland-based songwriter whose stripped down and relatable songs are a refreshing dose of Americana in our saturated musical landscape. Craigie was recently picked by Jack Johnson to open for the West Coast leg of his Summer 2017 tour. This announcement comes after Johnson sat in… Continue reading John Craigie | "No Rain, No Rose" | Review
Sunday February 26, Julian Lage & Chris “Critter” Eldridge from The Punch Brothers performed a 90 minute duet guitar repertoire for a sold out house at Old Town School of Music, Chicago. One could here a pin drop as the audience was so intensely focused on every nuance, passage, and improvisational direction. It is hard… Continue reading Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge live at Old Town School of Folk Music
In the fall of 1991, the Jerry Garcia Band embarked on its first extensive Fall Tour since 1984. The previous year, Jerry Garcia had kept his band close to their West Coast home base, with San Francisco’s Warfield Theatre serving as their sanctuary. While 1990 and 1991 are widely celebrated as exceptional years for… Continue reading Garcialive Volume 8: 11/23/91 | Review
Billy Bragg stopped through Chicago as a one off concert en route home from his performance at Kansas City Folk Festival 2017. A perfect setting, Old Town School of Folk provided an intimate stage for this sold out show. Solo with only his guitars and a mic, Bragg delivers so much punch. Again proving lyrics… Continue reading Billy Bragg | Old Town School of Folk Music
The Brothers Comatose are one of the most exciting bluegrass outfits to emerge in the past decade, and I await each of their stellar releases with bated breath. I first encountered the band at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2015, where I stumbled across the latter portion of their set, the sound of the dueling fiddle and… Continue reading Brothers Comatose | The Covers EP: Vol. 2
Formed from weekly shows at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA, the Terrapin Family Band has become the venue’s official house band. Terrapin Crossroads’ constant free bar shows, often featuring bandleader Phil, have created an opportunity for the young musicians of Terrapin Crossroads to perform together and with a diverse cast of visiting… Continue reading nugs.tv Tonight: Phil Lesh & The Terrapin Family Band
If James Brown is the Godfather of Soul, The Meters are without a doubt the Forefathers of Funk. The legendary rhythm assault led by bassist George Porter Jr. and drummer Zigaboo Modeliste teamed with guitarist Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds and John Medeski on keys Thursday night at the Boulder Theater for what’s been… Continue reading Foundation of Funk | Boulder, CO | Review
A sold-out crowd of avid music fans packed The Roxy Theater on Sunset Strip in Hollywood, on the last day of January, for a very special concert. Starset, who may have created their own musical genre of Heavy Metal Space Rock gave a “demonstration” of their latest live show to adoring fans in the packed… Continue reading Starset | The Roxy Theater | Hollywood, CA
There is a great deal of discussion of the rift between the progressive and traditional bluegrass scenes, yet a number of groups have taken great strides to tear down the barrier between the disciplines. Ned Luberecki is a perfect example of this dismantling, as he blurs the lines between traditional Americana bluegrass tunes and avante-garde… Continue reading Ned Luberecki | "Take Five" | Review
One of the most talented singer-songwriters to come out of the Northeast in a decade, Eric Hutchinson, brought his Indy power pop music and savvy wit to a sold-out performance at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The intimate Clive Davis Theater located inside the museum hosts an ongoing music series of Q&A sessions combined… Continue reading Eric Hutchinson | Clive Davis Theater | L.A.
