As the web of Americana continues to be woven, artists connect the past and present through musicianship and songwriting that reflects a fluid agreement between contemporary and roots qualities. Too often is nostalgia misrepresented as authenticity, and bands afraid to develop their own sound generally don’t last the test of time. Of one Northern California’s most promising ensembles that reflects true individualism through songwriting and playing is Achilles Wheel.

Slightly Stoopid kick-started their Summer Sessions tour July 9 at Eugene's Cuthbert Amphitheater with a skanking, Rastafied set of dub-infected fusion.  The open-air venue, tucked along the banks of Oregon's Willamette River, provided a sparkling setting for a sun-splashed evening of righteous rhythms and knowing grins.

Let’s Talk Phish... "The Phish from Burlington Vermont are morphing and evolving and thrusting forward with the momentum of an unstoppable freight train into uncharted realms”. John Baker – WARP Radio

As a general rule, I tend to avoid double albums like—well, not quite the Plague—maybe just a pretty girl with a slightly-suspect cold sore, or anything by the Dave Matthews Band. And honestly, the one double-record set I’ve ever really dug as a whole was Floyd’s Ummagumma, and only then because that oeuvre de strange-junk quietly embraced its own clusterf—ktitude and didn’t ever insist that anyone should be listening to the thing—just that they could, if they felt like a trip down the rabbit hole.

All brought a powerful message of love, togetherness, and caring for humanity and our planet: a concert that made your soul shine! The good vibrations were carried on the gorgeous Red Rocks sunset on a clear warm summer evening.

The disco themed LoHi Music Festival held in the lower highlands Denver neighborhood started with a bang with Genetics and Blake Mobley’s collaborative musical project Tiger Party, that this time featured guitarist Tom Hamilton from Brother’s Past and American Babies. After a brief down pour of rain during the Heavy Pets set, the skies opened up to a beautiful day for a city festival. The set-up of the festival worked well except for the absence of a poster and the LoHi money exchange, which is never a good idea.

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong might sound like a funny name, but their music is serious, ranging from funk to dance to electronic. On July 3, they released their second LP called “Psychology,” and right from the get go it brings the heat.

Steely Dan ‘Jamalot—[a Lot!]—Ever After’: The Show Biz Kids Are Still Pioneering Music on the New Frontier

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.  ~ Percy Shelley

For the first time since they started headlining Red Rocks, Umphrey’s McGee achieved a sellout on Saturday night at the famed amphitheater. They proceeded to demonstrate over the course of two fiery sets exactly why it was such a hot ticket.

There is one thing I know, a little rain will not stop an Umphrey’s McGee Fan. Last weekend, June 28th, in Kettering, Ohio, there was an epic rock show at the Fraze Pavilion. This was UM’s first show at this venue and it was bound to rock rain or shine.