Tonight, Bell’s Brewery is hosting Earth Radio and Dopapod in its backroom. Much more than a simple backroom, this 500-plus capacity venue rivals similar spaces found in larger cities. The stage has ample room, and fans have everything they need to kick back and enjoy a night of amazing music—which is exactly what’s in store for us tonight.

Greensky Bluegrass rang out 2024 with a jubilant, genre-blurring party at Denver’s Mission Ballroom, packing the venue with devoted fans ready to greet the new year in style.

Night two of Dopapod’s Michigan run starts with local favorite Desmond Jones. This five-piece ensemble hails from Grand Rapids and has played nearly 1,000 shows in 12 years. Fast-paced, high-energy original music is the band’s trademark. Part of their story is the themed uniforms, and tonight’s maroon jumpsuits are pure cool.

Jam-rock heavyweight Phish kicked off its beloved New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden on December 28, 2024. The band showed little sign of rust, despite not having played since the October 2024 benefit run in Albany, NY. The setlist included not one, but five rarities, along with a robust helping of tasty jams.

Dogs In A Pile's annual holiday show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, on December 21, 2024, was a lively celebration for the band's loyal “Dog Pound” following. The performance showcased the group’s distinctive blend of jam-band improvisation, jazz fusion, funk, psychedelia, and classic rock. The night featured a mix of originals, live debuts, covers, and a few surprises for the dedicated fanbase.

As it has so many times over the past 100 years, the legendary Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom became the epicenter of jazz and funk fusion on Friday night, as a stellar lineup of musicians gathered to pay tribute to one of the genre’s greatest visionaries: Herbie Hancock. Long before Cervantes’ earned its reputation as one of Denver’s premier venues for jam bands, hip-hop, and electronic music, the space had a profound legacy rooted in Jazz excellence.

Watching them, it doesn’t hurt that the junior Allman and Betts share their dads’ genetic exteriors. Betts, in particular, has features that emulate his famous father. Better still, Devon and Duane’s voices have tone and timbre similar to Gregg and Dickey, and their guitar shredding and (for Devon) organ skills would make their papas and Uncle Duane proud. I’m still going to vote for Derek Trucks as the top of a very impressive heap in this generation of Allman Bros. spinoffs—but he actually played in the Allman Brothers, so maybe he doesn’t count. I suppose that bumps D & D up to the pinnacle.

Progressive bluegrass is inherently demanding music, requiring technical mastery and creative vision. The best in the genre—whether it’s the original pioneers like David Grisman, Sam Bush, and Béla Fleck; modern innovators like Nickel Creek and Sierra Hull; or rising stars such as Mile Twelve and Shadowgrass—share a rare ability to make the complex feel clean, fluid, and effortless.

Goose returned for the second night of Goosemas XI at the North Charleston Coliseum and delivered even more twists and turns. They kept fans on their toes with an unpredictable set, despite revisiting a theme they had executed multiple times before.

It would be a mistake to oversimplify the blues by defining the genre as nothing more than “songs about sad stuff.” Surely, like certain religions that tell us all life is suffering (and yes, that is also an oversimplification), the blues are rooted in humankind’s universal, lizard-brain responses triggered by heartache, loss, and lowered expectations. Oh, and then we get a guitar solo, or maybe some bitchin’ organ crescendos to take us to church. The blues, oversimplified.