The High Sierra Music Festival announced their initial lineup this week. Topping the bill is Ben Harper, Galactic, STS9, Railroad Earth, Toots and the Maytals, ALO, Lotus, and Soulive. Take a look at the announcement vid below:
3. Allman Brothers Band Beacon Run Underway
The Allman Brothers Band annual Beacon Run has kicked into high gear and runs until March 25th. This year, the band has decided to open the second set of each show with a special mini acoustic set during which they will dust off old gems and offer new acoustic takes on classic ABB songs. Check out this comprehensive review and setlist from Saturday night’s show.
4. All Good Adds Bands
The All Good Music Festival, which is re-locating this year to Thornville, OH, just added some new artists to the growing lineup today: Yonder Mountain String Band, Conspirator, and ALO are the biggest new names to join the fest. You can check the full lineup here.
5. Phil Lesh Opens Terrapin Crossroads
Phil Lesh opened his Terrapin Crossroads this past weekend with a series of ‘casual’ shows featuring a number of phriends such as Bob Weir, Jackie Greene, members of Railroad Earth, the Bluhms, Mark Karan, Phil’s son Grahame Lesh, and many others. Phil and Friends will have a massive run coming up from March 17th to April 1st with tons of guests.
As we turn the corner into February, let’s take a look at an exciting upcoming run of shows going down next month. Phil Lesh will reunite Phil Lesh and Friends for the first real P&F shows since 2008. All the info that’s fit to print on these shows can be found below.
Phil and Friends Broomfield Flyer
Who: Phil Lesh and Friends, featuring Warren Haynes, John Scofield, and Jackie Greene on guitars, Jeff Chimenti on keys (just added today!), Joe Russo on drums, and Phil Lesh on bass guitar.
What to Expect: Phil-heads everywhere (yours truly included) have very high expectations for these shows. This is an all-star band and the combination of Warren and Scofield is not something to miss. Expect high-energy, fast-paced, psychedelic versions of Dead classics, lots of covers, maybe some new Furthur cuts, a few Jackie Greene originals, and some surprises as well I’m sure.
To wet your appetite for these shows, and give you a taste of what this lineup is capable of, check out this Phil and Friends show form Mountain Jam 2007 that featured Warren and Sco on red-hot dueling guitars. Or just sample the few vids below from that epic night…
A couple musical highlights from this past weekend in NYC Jams:
The annual NYC Freak’s Ball moved over to the Brooklyn Bowl and expanded to two days of big names and big jams last weekend. Warren Haynes, Eric Krasno, Joe Russo, Scott Metzger, and Marco Benevento came out to play to just to name a few of the freaks. This event is a testament to the thriving and growing New York City jamband community. Check out Jambands.com review and Relix’s video from the big gig.
Umphrey’s McGee played Friday and Saturday night shows at NYC’s Best Buy Theater to celebrate their 14th anniversary. The shows have received rave reviews from Umphreaks everywhere, as UM continues to blow up their shows with tight and energetic live performances. The prog-rockers covered Daft Punk and brought out Jennifer “J-Ha” Hartswick for a debut cover of the late Etta James ‘At Last’. Check out official LiveDownloads SBDs or head over to Jambands.com for their review of the smokin’ shows.
UM
Elsewhere in the big apple, the music never stopped this past weekend with shows from Avicii, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Ozomatli, and Zeds Dead. There truly is nowhere in the world like NYC for live music – the city that never sleeps, and never stopps jamming!
Believe it or not, it’s 2012. The Grateful Dead has been an American institution for almost 50 years, longer than many people live. And it’s not just Furthur out there touring, the Dead’s music continues to live on in more bands than one could ever imagine after so many years. Here’s a sampling of what 2011 meant in Grateful Dead land, and what’s in store for 2012:
1. FURTHUR
Photo: Mary Ouellette / SoundSpike
Bob Weir and Phil Lesh’s Furthur continue to tour from coast to coast, the incarnation closest to the original Grateful Dead experience. While there are haters and lovers of Furthur, all true deadheads can rejoice in seeing Bobby and Phil share the stage and make magic. To get a feel for where the band is at today, check out this show from Madison Square Garden from November 10th.
2012 Forecast: Furthur already has a spring tour booked, and will likely continue to tour at least through the end of 2012. With more Phil and Friends shows in the works and a possible Ratdog reunion tour, 2012 may be a lighter touring year than 2011.
2. 7 WALKERS
7 Walkers
If you haven’t heard the debut album or caught a show from Billy K. and Papa Mali’s ‘7 Walkers’, do yourself a favor and check them out. This stripped down ensemble invented a whole new genre of Grateful Dead known to fans as ‘Swampadelica’. Their album is soulful, bluesy, fun, and a must have for deadheads. You can buy it from the official 7 Walker’s site here.
2012 Forecast: Next up for 7 Walkers is a series of shows with Steve Kimock aboard next week’s Jam Cruise. After that, look for continued dedicated attention and touring from Billy K. as well as a possible follow-up studio album.
3. MICKEY HART BAND
Mickey has put together a brand spanking new band for 2012 with a whole slew of new original songs taboot. Check out the YouTube above to see the cast of characters that Mickey has assembled. The band just recently finished up a winter tour that was pretty smoking from what I’ve heard. Let’s hope Mickey keeps this band around for a while and releases some of the great new originals they’ve composed.
2012 Forecast: Mickey and his new band already are still in the midst of a few January shows and then will likely be releasing an album of original material with a supporting tour to follow later in the year.
4. PHIL LESH AND FRIENDS
Phil Lesh reunited ‘Phil and Friends’ this year at Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam. Check out the vid above of a playful China Cat Sunflower from the reunion. The Xmas Jam group featured Jackie Greene, Warren Haynes, Jeff Chimenti, Joe Russo, and of course uncle Phil himself.
This was just a preview though, Phil and Friends will be playing 3 shows in Colorado in February of 2012 with an amazing lineup of John Scofield and Warren Haynes on Guitar, Jackie Greene on Keyboard/Guitar, John ‘The Lion King’ Molo on Drums, and Phil. These shows promise to be nothing short of epic. To get a feel for what the shows might be like, check out the vid below of a very similar band featuring Warren and Sco from Mountain Jam 2007. I was at this show and it is probably my favorite P&F show ever out of many, many shows I’ve seen.
2012 Forecast: Aside from the February shows, rumors have been swirling that Phil and Friends will crank out some more shows in 2012. Expect to see some one-off or mini-runs at Phil’s new Terrapin Crossroads venue.
5. DARK STAR ORCHESTRA
DSO
DSO continues to tour relentlessly, from New York to San Francisco to Jam in The Dam and beyond, bringing unmatched energy, passion, and love for the Grateful Dead canon to ‘Starheads’ everywhere. With Jeff Mattson firmly settled into the lead role in Dark Star, fans everywhere (including myself) can’t stop singing the praises of the new frontman and the raw 60s and 70s style psychedelic guitar work he brings to the band. If you’re still a skeptic on Dark Star and think they’re just a ‘cover band’, stop fooling yourself and catch them on their upcoming tours, you will not be sorry!
2012 Forecast: DSO is sure to keep up the relentless touring in 2012. So far the band is playing the NE and SE in the winter, Jam in the Dam in March, and the West Coast in April. Expect a NE and festival tour in the summer, West Coast in late fall, and a return to the NE for NYE 2012.
Bonus Dead: As if this wasn’t enough, RATDOG is reuniting on January 25th for a special webcast show from Bob Weir’s TRI Studios venue that he launched in 2011. The golden road really does go on forever, and there’s nothing to do but smile about it.
Hey y’all, uh… testing 1 2 3… Is this thing on? Okay, good. Has the time come for Welcome To Now 3.0? We think so, and hope you’ll agree.
To get things back and started again, here’s a sampling of what’s making news this week around the web. Stay tuned for furthur updates, more phishiness, a healthy dose of untz, and lots more music for you folks!
Warren Haynes drops title track from forthcoming ‘Man In Motion’ solo disc:
This year’s Mountain Jam may just have been the best one yet. Enjoy these setlists, pics, vids, and downloads below! Also, ALL downloads/streams will be added to this post and to the Download Library (see link on left) as soon as they are available.
The Mule - 6/5/10
GOV’T MULE – FRIDAY NIGHT SHOW
Set 1
Stay With Me
New World Blues
World Gone Wild
Time To Confess
The Shape I’m In
Monkey Hill > with She’s So Heavy Ending
Monday Mourning Meltdown
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
Thorazine Shuffle
Set 2
One Of These Days ->
Fearless
The Wind Cries Mary
Greasy Granny’s Gopher Gravy (Part 1 & 2) ->
Drums
Wishing Well First time Played
Raven Black Night* ->
Gold Dust Woman**
Encore
Inside Outside Woman Blues
Any Open Window >
Steppin’ Lightly
Set 1
Railroad Boy ->
Temporary Saint ->
Gameface (w/ 3rd Stone From the Sun, Mountain Jam & Norwegian Wood Teases)
Woodstock
Broke Down On the Brazos
Gordon James
Sad & Deep As You with Kofi Burbridge
Kind Of Bird with Derek Trucks
Blind Man In The Dark
Set 2
The Joker
Frozen Fear ->
D’yer Mak’er ->
Frozen Fear
Rockin’ In The Free World ->
Machine Gun (Instrumental) ->
Rockin’ In The Free World ->
Drums
Forevermore
The Spider & The Fly**
Ventilator Blues***
Monkey Man#
* – w/ Matisyahu
** – w/ Eric Kasno, Ryan Zoidis & Sam Kininger
*** – w/ with Eric Kasno, Ryan Zoidis & Sam Kininger
# – w/ Jackie Greene
Mule w/ Derek Trucks - 6/05/10
LEVON HELM AND FRIENDS B-DAY BASH – SUNDAY NIGHT SHOW
Levon's B-Day Cake
Setlist (1 Long Set)
The Shape I’m In
Love Played A Game
Fannie Mae
Bourgeois Blues
Long Black Veil
I Wanna Know
Shakedown Street*
Up On Cripple Creek**
Deep Elem Blues#**
White Dove@
It’s Goodbye and So Long to You@
Ophelia
Sweet Virginia***
Happy Birthday Levon
The Same Thing$
Blind Willie McTell$
Across The Great Divide%
Tears Of Rage
Tennessee Jed
Mardi Gras Day
Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes^
The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show^
Unfaithful Servant+
I’ll Take You There+
King Harvest*
Chest Fever$
Encore:
Band and Guest Intros
The Weight (All Guests)
Summer festival season keeps rollin’ this weekend after last weekend’s big kick-off and the main event in the Northeast is Warren Haynes’ annual Mountain Jam festival at Hunter Mountain in upstate, NY. If you’re not making it out, you can still catch ALL the action LIVE for FREE (!) over on iClips. Be sure to drop by and spend a little time on the mountain (albeit virtually).
MOUNTAIN JAM 2010 WEBCAST SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY JUNE 4TH
4:00 – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
5:30 – Dr. Dog
6:45 – The Avett Brothers
8:15 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
9:00 – Gov’t Mule
1:00 – Les Claypool
SATURDAY JUNE 5TH
4:15 – Yonder Mountain String Band
5:30 – Toots & The Maytals
6:45 – Dave Mason
7:45 – Drive-By Truckers
9:00 – Gov’t Mule
1:00 – Dark Star Orchestra
SUNDAY JUNE 6TH
2:30 – Michael Franti & Spearhead
4:00 – Matisyahu
5:15 – ALO
6:15 – The Whigs
7:00 – The Bridge
7:30 – Levon Helm & Friends featuring Warren Haynes, Donald Fagen, Ray LaMontagne, Sam Bush, Steve Earle, Patterson & David Hood, Jackie Greene, Allison Moorer and more!
Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of Welcome To Now! Founded on March 25th, 2009, WTN has been there over the past year along with all you freaks out there, sharing in the groove and digging the wonderful music taking place all across this great land. In honor of this special day, let’s look back at the 10 biggest musical moments of the past year in Jam:
1. PHISH RETURNS
Phish @ Hamtpon - 3/07/09
Phish returned to the stage in 2009, with a more than triumphant year of playing. The reunion began with a historic 3 show run at Hampton Coliseum in March. Things just got better as the year went on for The Phish – the band released a new album, ‘Joy’, and hit the road for a big 2-leg summer tour, Halloween at Festival 8 in Indio, CA, an East Coast fall tour, and New Years in Miami. All in all, 2009 was a great year to be a Phish-head!
Hampton Fluffhead
2. PHIL AND BOBBY GO FURTHUR (JOHN K. LEAVES DSO)
Lesh, Weir, and Kadlecik - Dec. 09'
Phil Lesh and Bob Weir shocked deadheads everywhere in August of 09′ when they announced their newest post-Jerry Dead project: Furthur. Unexpected to all, Phil and Bobby called on John Kadlecik, aka ‘Faux Jerry’, aka ‘The Ghost of Jerry’, DSOs long-time axe-man, to join the band. The new project laid to rest indefinitely both Phil Lesh and Friends and Ratdog, and dealt a major blow to DSO, leaving them without a front man. In the 6 months the band has been together, they’ve played a big coming out 3-show run in Oakland, a brief Northeast December tour, New Year’s run in San Fran, and a smoking Winter tour of the East Coast and Midwest. Coming up in 2010, the band will hit the stage for a Memorial Day Festival and a mini-tour of the Northeast in late June and early July.
Furthur NYE 2009 Poster
3. THE DEAD REUNITE FOR TOUR
The Dead - Spring 09'
Months before Furthur, the Core Four reunited for the first time in over 5 years for a one-off Spring Tour across the US. The boys were joined by Warren Haynes on lead guitar and vocals, and Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog on the keys. Check out a few tour highlights below for download!
The Disco Biscuits closed out a fantastic year of playing with their second Annual 5 show run at the Nokia Theater in New York City. By all accounts and from personal experience, this string of shows was top-notch and a real exclamation point on the year for the band. Check out choice downloads, videos, and news from 2009 in the Bisco Archive.
Bisco NYE Run 09 Flyer
5. PHISH FESTIVAL 8 & ROLLING STONES MUSICAL COSTUME
Phish - 10/31/09 Set 1
Phish re-launched two traditions on Halloween weekend 2009 with their first festival of Phish 3.0 along with a highly anticipated Halloween musical costume set – The Rolling Stones’ ‘Exile on Main Street’. Breaking new ground, the band also performed an intimate and picturesque acoustic set at Noon on Sunday, with complimentary donuts and coffee for phans. Truly a magical weekend, and it’s now going to be seen like never before in a full length 3D film being released April 30th. Check out this crisp video/audio stream of the Sunday acoustic set here!
6. ABB BACK WITH A VENGEANCE: BEACON, MOUNTAIN JAM, AND MORE
ABB Beacon Marquis 2009
After canceling their annual Beacon run in 2008 due to Greg Allman’s battle with Hepatitis C, the band returned in 2009 with a guest-filled 40th anniversary run at the Beacon Theater. The run included guest stops from a star-studded cast including Clapton, Lesh, Weir, Helm, Scaggs, Anastasio, and McConnell. The band kept trucking in 09′ with spring and summer festival appearances including Wanee and Mountain Jam as well as big summer and fall tours. The band just wrapped up a fantastic 9 show run at the United Palace in New York city, is sounding better than ever, and has more shows plotted for 2010 already. Check out setlist, vids, and a review of the final night at the United Palace here.
Haynes, Trucks, and Clapton - Beacon 2009
7. PHIL LESH CELEBRATES 70TH BIRTHDAY WITH SPECIAL PHRIENDS
Lesh, Robinson, Weir, Greene, and Kadlecik - 3/12/10
On March 12th 2010, Phil Lesh celebrated his 70th birthday (technically 3/14/10) with a big bash at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA. The evening featured a fun 3 set format complete with an opening acoustic set and 2 raucous electric sets featuring special guests from throughout Phil’s solo career including John Molo, Chris Robinson, Jackie Greene, and Steve Molitz. Give it a listen here:
Breaking with long-standing tradition, Phish played their first mainstream festival with 2 separate appearances (an extended late night set and a 2 set show) at 2009’s Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, TN. The band realized a long time dream and provided the festival’s highlight with a big collaboration with Bruce Springstreen, who also headlined the festival in 09′. The boss and the boys treated fans to a fun cover/bust-out of ‘Mustang Sally’, as well as performances of Bruce’s own songs ‘Glory Days’, and ‘Bobby Jean’. To re-live this special moment, check out this smoking video of Glory Days:
9. STRING CHEESE REUNITE FOR BIG ROTHBURY GIG
SCI @ Rothbury 2009
The String Cheese Incident reunited for a special one-off show at 2009’s Rothbury music festival. The band put on a massive spectacle of a show enhanced with massive light and art installations. The show went off with flying colors, so much so that the band has decided to tour further in 2010, with gigs at Red Rocks and beyond already announced and more in the works. To get a taste of the Cheese to come, buy the Soundboard of the Rothbury show here.
SCI at Red Rocks
10. TREY BRINGS BACK CLASSIC TAB
Markelis, Lawton, Anastasio, and Paczkowski
Having brought back the core four of his Classic Tab Band – Russ Lawton, Tony Markelis, Ray Paczkowski, and, of course, Big Red himself – in the Fall of 2008, Anastasio hit the road with a bigger-and-better Classic TAB band a few months ago in the Winter of 2010. For the tour, Trey added to the core four with a 3-piece horn section featuring TAB vets Jeffier Hartswick and Russell Reminton along with new-comer cutie Natalie Cressman. The tour was a massive success and featured some of the most enthused and passionate guitar work from Trey since Phish’s 2009 return. Check out lots of downloads, setslits, vids, and more in the TAB Winter Tour archive, enjoy!
Gov’t Mule always rocks the House of Blues – be it in New Jersey, Florida, Illinois or even Dallas, Texas where the band found themselves last Thursday evening. The House of Blues bears a certain weight, a certain tradition of bluesmen past that modern blues greats like Warren Haynes can channels and revel in.
What better place for Gov’t Mule to flex their blues muscle and show off their new and improved rhythm section featuring Jorgen Carlsson on bass. The new Mule lineup has really gelled over the course of 2009 into 2010 and the band is back to playing with that utmost confidence and precision, the way only Mule can. Last Thursday’s show was no exception, the band is on, the setlist is hot, and the blues runs deep. Setlist, downloads, and vids below…
Mule's new power trio - Haynes, Abts, and Carlsson
Gov’t Mule
02/18/10
House of Blues
Dallas, TX
Set 1
Blind Man In The Dark
Brokedown On The Brazos
Gameface
Thelonious Beck
Child Of The Earth
Pearly Queen
Soulshine
Thorazine Shuffle
Set 2
John The Revelator
Don’t Step On The Grass Sam
Monday Mourning Meltdown
Hunger Strike ->
Dear Mr. Fantasy ->
Hunger Strike ->
Drums ->
Streamline
Inside Outside Woman Blues
Lola Leave Your Light On
Encore
Forevermore
Going Out West ->
Peter Gunn Jam ->
Going Out West
Today, Mountain Jam added Levon Helm and friends for a Sunday night performance celebrating his 70th birthday, as well as Drive By Truckers, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Dr. Dog, The New Mastersounds, and more. The current Mountain Jam lineup includes the following artists:
MOUNTAIN JAM 2010 LINEUP (MORE BANDS TBA)
Gov’t Mule (two nights)
Levon Helm & Friends
Michael Franti & Spearhead
Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band
The Avett Brothers
Les Claypool
Yonder Mountain String Band
Drive-By Truckers
Matisyahu
Toots and the Maytals
Dark Star Orchestra
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Dr Dog
Dave Mason
Lettuce
ALO
The Whigs
The New Mastersounds
Jay Farrar (of Son Volt)
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
The Duke & The King
Justin Townes Earle
Jerry Joseph & Wally Ingram
The Bridge
Zach Deputy
The Brew
Simone Felice
Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus of Dreams
Van Ghost
The London Souls
These United States
Elmwood
Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights
Mojo Miles Mancuso
Dean Batstone
IS
Kari Spieler
Mountain Jam VI will be held June 4th-6th, 2010 at Hunter Mountain, NY. Tickets are available here and currently going for $166.50 for a weekend camping pass.
In other summer festival news today, All Good 2010 announced an impressive initial artist lineup that includes Furthur, WSP, Dark Star Orchestra, P-FUNK, The New Deal, and many more. The full initial artist list is as follows:
ALL GOOD FESTIVAL 2010 INITIAL LINEUP
Furthur
Widespread Panic
Umphrey’s McGee
Yonder Mountain String Band
Dark Star Orchestra (Thursday Night)
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
Lotus
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force
Railroad Earth
The New Deal (Thursday Night)
Rebelution
Perpetual Groove
Cornmeal
Fort Knox Five (Thursday Night)
The Macpodz
All Good 2010 will be held July 8th -11th, 2010 at Marvin’s Mountaintop in Masontown, WV. Tickets go on sale this Friday, Feb. 19th at Noon for early an bird price of $144 for a 4 day camping pass.
Finally, while the Nateva Festival continues to delay their initial artist announcement (they have announced only The Flaming Lips and Derek Trucks/Susan Tedeschi Band thus far), they have confirmed that they will make the announcement this Friday, Feb. 19th. Additionally, the festival sent out a facebook message to its fans saying that they would be handing out flyers announcing their headliners AT the Furthur show this Thursday in Manchester, NH. It seems clear that Furthur will be among the announcements, as has been rumored here and elsewhere on the web. Other rumored acts include The Allman Brothers Band, Trey Anastasio Band, and Umphrey’s Mcgee.
The inaugural Nateva Festival will take place July 2nd-4th, 2010 in Oxford, ME. Tickets are on-sale now for an early-bird price of $199 (3 day camping pass).
Welcome To Now 