Jessica Malone has been honing her singing and songwriting craft for the past decade, hewing close to her Northern California home in both body and musical spirit. On Gold Flowers of the West, her second full-length studio album, Malone farms her California foothill roots (notwithstanding occasional lyrical calls to sisterly locales like Montana and Carolina) and serves up a variety of tasty fruits that have sprung from her labor.

About 200 or so smiling faces gathered in the Berkeley Hills (officially the community of Kensington, Calif.) on a beautiful June 15 afternoon for a musical benefit featuring the acoustic David Nelson Band, Steve Poltz, and Ragged Charms (a one-time ensemble featuring Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, three fellows from Hot Buttered Rum, Stephanie Salva, and Wally Ingram).

Hot Buttered Rum (HBR) kicked off 2024 with a celebration of its silver anniversary at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Yes, the NorCal bluegrass band and left-coast jam festival staple has been around for 25 years – congrats, boys!

Nat Keefe’s Concert Carnival came to town and performed “without a net” at The Independent on Sunday night, December 17, 2023. The venerable San Francisco club was full of talent, musical and otherwise, for the 18th annual fundraiser produced by Keefe (Hot Buttered Rum, BeatMower).

NorCal bluegrass jammers Hot Buttered Rum (HBR) and members of San Francisco’s ALO headlined their annual family-oriented fest in the Mendocino County redwoods last weekend.

Hot Buttered Rum has announced dates for their 2023 Spring Meltdown Tour. The newly announced dates include a 4-show Colorado run, and a 4-show Northwest run before the band will make their way down the Pacific Coast to Southern California rounding out their spring tour. HBR pick things up this weekend with their previously announced shows in Point Arena and Arcata, California. Up to date news and tour information can be found at hotbutteredrum.net.

Like a long, dark piece of music, the pandemic started small, then got big, and loud, and painfully dissonant. Hot Buttered Rum did their best to cope with its indignities, as most did, and much of that coping was done through the business of making lots and lots of noise. The songs that emerged from all this noise-making are a little louder than any the band has released to date in what became the latest album, Shine All Night.

Like a long, dark piece of music, the pandemic started small, then got big, and loud, and painfully dissonant. Hot Buttered Rum did their best to cope with its indignities, as most did, and much of that coping was done through the business of making lots and lots of noise. The songs that emerged from all this noise-making are a little louder than any the band has released to date in what became the latest album, Shine All Night.

Three years in the making – thanks Covid for putting it on hold – The Hog Farm Hideaway, featuring two improvisational sets from The String Cheese Incident each night, passed its inaugural undertaking with flying colors, so to speak.

Animated attendees gathered for The 14th Annual Gem & Jam Festival (February 4-6, 2022) in the scenic desert landscape of Tucson, Arizona, to be taken away by the audio, escape in the visual, and indulge in a full-spectrum sensory experience—an experience encapsulating even the non-physical depths of community. This art and music festival— with over 250 programmed acts—once again, delivered  unforgettable entertainment, education, and natural beauty.