Few would argue that listening to decades-old recordings of the Grateful Dead's Tuesday, May 9, 1978 show at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York, is a viable substitute for having attended the actual concert. That being said, Dead Heads and music fans of all ages got a rare ...view article

With a brisk start to November in Chicago, a crowds outside the House of Blues barred the chilly winds for a late night party. Conspirator, featuring Aron Magner and Marc Bownstien of the Disco Biscuits as well as BoomBox, a breakthrough duo featuring Russ Randolph and Zion Rock Godchaux. These bands ...view article

Winding down their fall tour, Widespread Panic played a show at the old Lyric Opera House, now known as the Model Performing Arts Center.  The venue isn’t a place you’d expect to see a band like Panic, but the acoustics are great and really enhanced the show.  There was limited room for dancing ...view article

When I first heard of The Contribution and who was in the band, I nearly wet myself with excitement. How could such a band made up of members of The String Cheese Incident, Railroad Earth and New Monsoon be anything except absolutely stellar? Featuring Tim Carbone, one of the best fiddle players ...view article

In 1969, Jerry Garcia wanted an outlet to play pedal steel and John “Marmaduke” Dawson was looking to get his songs out to the San Francisco music scene and general American public. This was the evolution of the New Riders of the Purple Sage and they have trotted onward like cowboys on horseback ...view article

I awoke from my slumber half expecting to find the Biltmore Hotel had been buried under a ton of snow. This seemed highly probable seeing as how when the show ended the night before it was full on blizzard conditions outside. As I was walking back to my hotel room last night I assumed with this much ...view article

Traveling down the winding one way streets in the town of Elgin, IL; to the hip, venue- bar in the downtown area called Mad Maggie's. Family Groove Company played there Friday evening thundering music through the streets. The Chicago based band drew attention to this city's suburbia, a reverse transit ...view article

This year marked the tenth anniversary of the North West String Summit at Horning’s Hideout in North Plains, Oregon.  And, for the first time, the event included music playing on the main stage on Thursday night.  Thursday music, matched with a stellar line-up, made this Strummit one of the ...view article

A studio album from a band that thrives on live performances can cut both ways.  On the one hand, they’re chock-full of tight, compact songs that benefit (for good or bad) from multi-layered studio production values.  (What would the Grateful Dead’s “Terrapin Station” be without its eerie, ...view article