Elvis Costello announces “Elvis Sings Hunter-Garcia,” a benefit for Prader-Willi Homes Of California. The rare, intimate concert, a tribute to the iconic songwriting of Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and the band’s visionary singer/guitarist Jerry Garcia, will take place the night of Friday, September 30 at The Great American Music Hall. There will be two shows: 7 and 10 pm.

Zero, one of the creators of improvisational jam band music and a band that became a San Francisco musical institution, is pleased to release a new live double album, Naught Again. It is a super-high-fidelity recording of previously unreleased tracks from an epic three-night-run at the Great American Music Hall in 1992. 

This Saturday (4/23) the legendary Great American Music Hall in San Francisco is hosting a benefit show for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

Last weekend, the legendary jam band Zero concluded a prolific 35th anniversary run aptly named “Back to Zero.” Core members Steve Kimock, Greg Anton, Pete Sears, Melvin Seals, and Hadi Al-Saddoon were joined by friends and family for an invigorating reunion that pleased newer fans and decade-spanning devotees alike.

Thirty-five years ago, having met when Steve Kimock auditioned for former Grateful Dead members Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux’s Heart of Gold Band (which already had Greg Anton as its drummer), Greg and Steve recorded an album, Greg on drums and piano, Steve on guitars and bass.  Then they started a band to play the music.

Classically trained DJ and Producer Douglas Appling, better known as Emancipator played a cleansing set to a sold-out house at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall that was nothing short of hypnotizing. His music, if not genuinely describable as trance, was certainly trance-esque, and highlighted electronic music’s evolution and maturity in recent years.

Cellarmaker Brewing Company out of San Francisco has built a stellar reputation for their consistent artisanal brews. As evidenced from their fifth-anniversary celebration hosted at Great American Music Hall last Saturday night, they sure know how to treat their community. Foremost the evening’s entertainment was a fine progressive bluegrass lineup of Billy Strings with Cold and in the Bay supporting.

There are three key fundamental elements to a superior live music experience. The band, the crowd, and the space. Sure, there are factors from the outside like weather, parking, a potential Shakedown Street, and maybe even lame small-town cops. But it’s the first three that bring it all together. Two veteran acts co-billed a doubleheader at San Francisco’s legendary Great American Music Hall last Thursday and Friday.

Though the winter ahead may be icy, at least we can celebrate the days becoming longer! The big news around here is the first onsale announcement for the Golden Gate Wingmen Spring Tour 2018! More announcements are on the way through the first week of January. 

Golden Gate Wingmen: April 13, 2018 at the Great American Music Hall. Tickets go on sale December 22.

While art will always be a progressive process and reflect the changes of the people in our evolving world, some things are best kept preserved. Music is the perfect example of this. Progressive Rock, Jazz Fusion, Post Punk, New Wave, an echo of the culture and climate that influenced these musicians.