Despite two evenings devastated by severe thunderstorms and even hail, the 2008 Wakarusa Festival held at Clinton Lake, Kansas powered through it all and still provided its attendees a great weekend of music, camping, and all around good times.

For classical composer Lee Johnson, tackling the work of the Grateful Dead was like discovering the musical foundations of a new foreign country. Johnson is known for his concert pieces, choral works, short operas and musicals, planetarium soundtracks, and solo/ensemble pieces that cross into jazz and big band music.

Today's review is a show readily available for download at the Live Music Archive, 7/29/88, at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California. This was the first of a three show run at Laguna Seca, and in my opinion the best of the three. I chose this show mainly because of the extremely high quality of the recording currently available at the LMA. It sounds to me to be a mislabelled soundboard or soundboard/audience matrix recording, but I suppose it's possible that its just a phenomenal audience recording.

After proving a highlight at Coachella this year, internationally acclaimed Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello performs today at Bonnaroo on Saturday, June 14 at 4:00 PM on the Which Stage. Come see why Q Magazine calls Eugene Hutz, "a great performer of our times," with what the New York Press is calling "a band that everyone should see live."

Staggering gas prices curtailing your travel plans? Avoid the pinch and let Road Trips transport you far and wide while safely parked with your favorite listening device. Our latest 2-disc installment takes us to the magical Summer of '71 with stops in New Haven, Chicago and, for a limited time, sunny Southern California. All in brilliant HDCD and all for the same low $19.98.

Catch Colorado's Yonder Mountain String Band on the Main Stage (the 'What Stage') this year at Bonnaroo just prior to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss¹s set this Sunday, June 15 at 3:45. Yonder returns to Bonnaroo after a short hiatus having played on the festival in 2003, 2004, and 2005. They return to Bonnaroo with a brand new live record, Mountain Tracks: Volume 5, on their own label.

Due to a scheduling mishap by the Disco Biscuits, they had to play during Day 1, which made the festival's lineup suffer tremendously on Day 2 (pictures here). The festival's organizers compensated by making Day 2 free if one held any ticket stub from either Day 1 or any of the late night shows. That saved Day 2's attendance. We can't blame the festival's organizers for this one.

Philadelphia's favorite jam friendly festival kicked off its 23rd annual party by the Delaware River on Penn's Landing. This perfect city location set the scene for two days and three nights of live music and camaraderie.