Dennis McNally’s The Last Great Dream (Da Capo, 2025) won’t help you recreate the 1960s – that ship has sailed. But McNally’s new book provides a clear-eyed, rear-view mirror exploration of the mid-20th century counterculture in the United States. From poetry to politics to psychedelic music, McNally covers a wide waterfront; The Last Great Dream is a wild ride full of factoids and true folk tales from far and wide. It’s a fun and informative read for anyone intrigued by the era. In certain circles, Dennis McNally is best known as the Grateful Dead publicist from the mid-1980s until several years after Jerry Garcia died. He’s also a published historian, with books under his belt about Jack Kerouac, the Grateful Dead, and the evolution of American culture.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters began their musical journey in the state of Colorado, and now, forty years later, the band and their fans are celebrating this magical musical milestone with an expansive 40th Anniversary Tour, including two shows at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, this past weekend. The band first played at Red Rocks as part of The Blues on the Rocks Festival in 1991 and have played the iconic venue countless times since.

It was an unusually cold, windy day on June 4 at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles, California—but that did not deter Leon Bridges fans from packing the beautiful venue the moment the gates opened. Concertgoers were treated to a surprisingly enjoyable opening set by LA LOM.

Well, that was a heck of a crazy, crazy night at the majestic Mishawaka Amphitheatre. Sages and Spirits brought fire down from the mountaintops with an incredible evening of music to soothe every magical soul nestled beneath the star-filled sky. What a fantastic setting for these talented musicians to recreate and innovate the music of the good ol’ Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. The bond between the band members was powerful and purposeful.

On a spectacular late-spring evening—May 29—Jason Bonham and his band flooded the Vina Robles Amphitheatre with the timeless sounds of Led Zeppelin. Fans arrived early for just the second concert of what is shaping up to be the venue’s busiest season yet, as Nederlander expands its 2025 schedule.

It wasn’t your typical night at Boston's Symphony Hall. Last evening, beneath the elegantly vaulted ceilings and behind those plush velvet curtains, the Boston Pops Orchestra joined forces with a hand-picked crew of musical veterans, weaving a kaleidoscopic journey through the songbook of Jerry Garcia. Imagine the refined atmosphere, suddenly inhabited by the wandering ghosts of the Haight, conjured masterfully by the dexterous fingers of Tom Hamilton, gripping Jerry's own Travis Bean TB500 guitar (#11, no less).

Two-time Grammy-nominated and multiple International Bluegrass Music Association award-winning sextet Sister Sadie returns with All Will Be Well, their boldest and most personal album to date, due out June 27, 2025, via Mountain Home Music Company. The all-female group continues to push the boundaries of bluegrass while remaining firmly rooted in its soul, navigating themes that range from heartbreak to healing.

The skies were tangled in gloom all day in New Haven, CT, on May 24, 2025, but Joe Russo’s Almost Dead dispelled the inclement weather with two sets of improvisational heat. The performance marked the band’s thirteenth appearance at the Westville Music Bowl, a former tennis stadium turned premier concert venue near Yale University.

On a breezy spring night in Santa Ynez, the Chumash Casino Resort hosted an evening of classic-rock magic as Three Dog Night took the stage for a performance that honored their storied past and showcased their enduring spirit. Although the lineup has changed significantly over the years, the band’s performance proved that its music remains as vibrant and compelling as ever.

The new Saturday-night reality has become interacting with people via the internet. Today’s world consists of online gaming, live-streamed video, and AI-generated content. Yet concerts are better in person, and—since you’re reading this article—you already know the value of live, face-to-face interaction. To paraphrase an old saying: There is nothing like a live concert.