The Wood Brothers warmed the George’s Majestic Lounge stage last night with the first stop on their winter tour. The band has been doing some recording in Nashville for their upcoming album, working with many great musicians and technicians, including Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi. The Wood Brothers’ set in Fayetteville, Arkansas last night seemed a welcome change of pace for the band.

The Wood Brothers brought their traveling, musical tent show to Eugene’s McDonald Theatre (Jan. 21) and held a genuine revival meeting, awakening the yearning spirits of the devout, as well as the newly converted.

The Wood Brothers are back on the road come September and October. The recently announced three week run will focus heavily on shows in the Southeast and Midwest in a number of cities yet to be visited since the release of their critically acclaimed, Buddy Miller-produced album, The Muse.

No single thing makes a festival the “best festival ever.” Sure, one great band can make it really good. Or maybe the campground scene was where it was at. But it’s really when you group those moments with the ones of unbearable laughter, silly dancing, and inspirational people that a festival becomes the “best ever.” And you know what? The Northwest String Summit consistently brings the best.

After I witness a transformative set of music, this is what inevitably occurs when the dust settles. After a band plays high energy, pedal-to-the-metal music for a cool 100-minutes, it’s difficult to ascertain which pieces stood out as the highlights among many other highlights – the crème de la crème. That’s why I try to balance dancing and having fun with taking notes in the middle of a song or right after it ends. It’s the only way I can filter the musical narrative and determine the truly supernal from the “merely” superb.

Today Shoe Fest is releasing the second phase of the lineup for the 2014 edition of the festival. Featuring two nights of host band Old Shoe, the star studded line up will also feature The Wood Brothers, Split Lip Rayfield, Henhouse Prowlers and plenty more.Shoe Fest is a 3 day music and camping festival held at Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See in Manteno, IL over Labor Day weekend. Shoe Fest began in 2011 and continues to grow each year.

Today, The Ride Festival releases its initial artist lineup for the festival’s 3rd year at Colorado’s breathtaking Telluride Town Park on July 12-13, 2014.  The Ride Fest has quickly garnered a reputation among music fans for its thoughtful performance curation - hand-picking rootsy, rocking talent whose music flawlessly compliments the festival’s stunning Telluride setting.Folk-rock Grammy winners Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros and Austin-based alt-rockers Spoon