Portland’s Fruition stopped into Shine for a memorable night of strings and songs Friday night, boasting a Naropa vibe and an audience clutching craft brews and camaraderie.

Get on the Bus! Pickin’ on the Poudre is the quintessential Mishawaka BOOMshakalaka! Awkward as that may seem to describe the Fort Collins bluegrass quartet Head for the Hills composed of Adam Kinghorn (Guitar), Michael Chappell (Mandolin), Joe Lessard (Fiddle), and Matt Loewen (Bass), it’s appropriate. For nine years, H4TH has blown away Cache la Poudre patrons with their acrobatic backwoods antics.

Few musical journeys spanned as long and varied as Jorma and Jack's. As pioneers of the premier San Francisco electric sound with Jefferson Airplane, something else much bigger was meant to spawn and thrive for decades to come. Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady have held the foundations of their lifelong band and partnership Hot Tuna together for over forty-three years.

When you bring a together a cast of musicians steeped in different backgrounds for the sole purpose of creating on-stage spontaneity, you have an improvisational outfit. The Everyone Orchestra, conducted by ringleader Matt Butler, is exactly that. The difference between your typical jam band and an improvisational outfit is that the latter shows up to the show with no songbook.

What more can one ask for than a night of great musicians and a good mix of country, rock and bluegrass? Probably not much except to have those musicians be the members of Grant Farm… and maybe include a special guest.

The music scene in Asheville, NC has been thriving as of late; however, the "word is out" so to say, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in the musical hotbed of the Carolinas.  The Get Right Band has the entire puzzle pieces needed to do just that, and their new EP Shake demonstrates a tasty mix of funk, reggae, rock, solid songwriting, and hip-swinging selections that leaves the listener thirsty for more from this three-piece group.  The EP opens with a very se

Studio album purists might have a sound argument when it comes to certain rock acts, but few Deadheads would ever argue that the quality of the Grateful Dead's studio work superseded their live recordings. Most of their studio albums we’re muddled down by the likes of Warner Brothers, big time L.A. record executives that wanted a four minute track, or just poor planning and execution. Only the Terrapin Station studio suite superseded its live performance.

Long heralded and firmly entrenched as the psychedelic stalwarts of Austin, Texas, The Black Angels run on a reputation of mysticism that has them surrounded by dark, fuzzy guitar riffs and distorted vocals. Not adhering to conventions of modern rock, though grappling with elements of surf and late sixties acid rock, they’ve carved out their own slice of the Indie music scene.

On the last Saturday of Jazz Fest, the late night grids displayed a smorgasbord of concert choices all over town.

I had the pleasure of catching this homespun Nederland crew at Quixotes a couple weeks ago. It’s a venue I feel gracious to walk in alone to and find friends of all forms waiting inside. Gipsy Moon adds a whole new arena of affability to the experience. Though they are young, they take on the somber musical sentiment of an ensemble years ahead of their time. They represent an old time classic grass that’s both invigorating and enriching, but in the most laid back of manners.