The emerging electro-funk quartet Dizgo packed Dharma Bums in New Hope, PA, on Friday, January 24, 2025, and truly rocked out. The rustic venue—tucked in the attic of a local restaurant—had very little data service but provided a great platform for this Bloomington, IN-based band to bring the heat, and bring the heat they did.… Continue reading Dizgo Raised the Roof at Dharma Bums
On January 18, while presenting a collective “rainbow full of sound,” Greensky Bluegrass and Railroad Earth left no doubt that they still possess the character, proficiency, relevance, and charisma that have kept them among the most notable of the so-called “jam bands” in the land for the past 20-plus years. The two veteran alt-bluegrass bands,… Continue reading Greensky Bluegrass and Railroad Earth Cross Paths for a Kaleidoscopic Show in Oakland, Calif.
How do we define a music festival? AI tells me it is simply a gathering of people to enjoy live music. When just over a week had six live music events, I’d call that a festival, as the bands gathered to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Chicago Street Pub, an Irish-style pub. They were… Continue reading Weeklong Music Festival: Chicago Farmer, Righteous Hillbillies, John Condron, Miles Nielsen & Kelly Steward
It’s been said that all the years combine and melt into a dream. This can be true for any entity as it passes into history, and no doubt it applies in particular to the Grateful Dead. The story of this beloved band has been chronicled in numerous books by band members, insiders and close friends,… Continue reading A Deadhead Diary: “When Push Comes to Shove” by Hollie A. Rose
On a frigid Tuesday night, the Hideout in Chicago was alive with warmth, laughter, and hot chocolate as The Faux Paws delivered a performance that felt equal parts intimate gathering and unrestrained celebration. Folk, Contra Dance, and Celtic influences collided with modern flair, making it a night to remember for every swaying body and clapping… Continue reading The Faux Paws at the Hideout, Chicago – Tuesday, January 14, 2025
When it comes to jazz guitar, few names carry the same prestige as Joe Pass and Herb Ellis. Both emerged from slightly different backgrounds—Pass was widely celebrated for his masterful chord-melody approach and unerring sense of time, while Ellis came up through the ranks playing with the likes of Oscar Peterson, honing a blues-inflected style… Continue reading Ellis and Pass in Conversation: “Seven, Come Eleven” Reviewed
Switchman Sleepin’ is celebrating twelve years as a band, and like most things associated with the music of the Grateful Dead, there is no stopping this magical train. The band formed in typical hippie fashion: a few guys jamming at a backyard party in 2012 set the wheels in motion and laid down the first… Continue reading Full Steam Ahead: Switchman Sleepin’ Celebrates a Dozen Years of Magic
Goose returned to the Moody Center on December 31, 2024, to close out the year with a bang at a show billed as a formal event. The band donned button-up shirts, ties, slacks, capes, and masquerade masks reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera. These masks, along with roses, were handed out to the crowd… Continue reading Goose Rings In the New Year With An Inspired Texas-Sized Performance
Dopapod—the word has no defined meaning, but if it did, it might read something like: improvisational jazz, energetic funk, progressive rock with intellectual lyrics. The first time I heard Dopapod was in a muddy field in Illinois, and suddenly time stopped. The band has that effect on people; their music transcends the physical and takes… Continue reading Improv, Illumination, and Indefinite Hiatus: A Dopapod Retrospective
After taking a year off from performing on New Year’s, Goose returned to Austin, Texas, for the third time in their career and for their sixth New Year’s run, which included a performance on December 31. They chose the 15,000-seat Moody Center ATX—located in the heart of the University of Texas and home to the… Continue reading Goose Slam Dunks Night One At The Moody Center
