Spafford are among the most dynamic and sophisticated young jammers. They stretch the boundaries of improvisation. Spafford will bring a massive crowd of “Spaffnerds” along for the ride in Boulder, and likely make some new ones before the night is over.

The final day of Lockn’ 2018 dawned hot and sweaty and ended in spectacular fashion with two sets by Dead and Co., joined by master saxophone player Branford Marsalis. A cloudy sky kept the atmosphere steamy until the afternoon when the hot summer sun broke through. Keller Williams got the MainStage started just after noon with a different entourage in tow than from the day before. This time he appeared with a group he calls the Grateful Gospel. The idea was to play music in the spirit of Jerry Garcia in the tune of Black Gospel music. The concept was born at Lockn’.

THE BIG WEEKEND will take place over three nights across five music venues in Chicago from Oct 4 – 6. Following the model of a city takeover, the inaugural festival will feature performances from Umphrey's McGee, Lettuce, Emancipator Ensemble, Leftover Salmon, Papadosio and more. Read more about The Big Weekend in Pollstar, who spoke to Paradigm's Lee Anderson about the festival.

Spafford. Still waters run deep with this Phoenix band.  Often described as patient jams, they are putting out another dimension for creative types.  The immersive community and collaborative culture they are honing is described nicely by Andrew “Red” Johnson when we sat down to chat about how the Summer tour is going and what we can look forward to in Spafford’s future, including their debut performance at Lockn' Festival on Sunday afternoon (2:15 PM).

Once again, paths to music, wonder, and joyful celebration converged in early July at the four-day High Sierra Music Festival in the small mountain town of Quincy, California, where the elevation is twice the number of the population. Headlined by Sturgill Simpson, The String Cheese Incident, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Grace Potter, George Porter Jr., Melvin Seals and more, this was the 28th High Sierra Fest. and the 20th at the county fairgrounds in Quincy.

It was great to learn that The Trey Anastasio Trio, as listed on the schedule, was actually playing as a quartet, given that Ray Paczkowski had just returned to his keyboard the night before, after recovering from a health issue. That may have been Trey’s first real interaction with the crowd, there before the encore, where he played two solo songs with his acoustic, including a lovely “Waste,” before bringing his bandmates back for a third together. I did love how he phrased it, the news about Ray being better, genuinely thrilled to share “some good news in what seems like a world of bad news.”

The 17th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off amidst gorgeous late spring weather conditions, in the rural Manchester Tennessee countryside, on June 7th. The unique festival has struggled to maintain its distinctive identity in a world smothered with ever increasing cookie cutter festivals. This year's festival felt like it had turned the corner in providing a unique experience to its participants while maintaining its relevance in an ever-changing pop music demographic and landscape.

The summer is off to one hot start for Arizona's resident band, Spafford, who have already played debut performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Bonnaroo and Firefly to date. While there is still quite a bit left on the band's schedule through August, today the four-piece shares their extensive fall tour plans.

These are the tall tales told by campfire light, under the moon just slight, and peppered with lasers dancing overhead.  The scissor-like sidestep from reality, Summer Camp sizzled brighter than ever this year. There was Pigeons Playing Ping Pong with a rainbow net, a revival of the old 1992 hip-hop days, and a field full of living flowers being watered by the sun.  2018’s installment of Summer Camp had musical notes formed by clouds for miles.

Silver Wrapper, Live Nation and JAM Productions are proud to present THE BIG WEEKEND, three nights of music across five venues in Chicago from Oct 4 – 6. Following the model of a city takeover, the inaugural festival will feature performances from Umphrey's McGee, Lettuce, Emancipator Ensemble, Leftover Salmon, Papadosio and more. Early and late performances allow for multiple venue visits an evening and afternoon surprises with artists are also in the works.