BILLY STRINGS @ RED ROCKS, MAY 2022

Well, I guess he's already too big to play New Mexico, so heed this warning: "'Future You' will regret NOT seeing this guy live at Red Rocks this May."  Tickets on sale Thursday, Feb 3rd @ 10am.

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TnJ 876 (1/27/22)

-HOUR ONE-

TWIDDLE - Frankenfoote  (2019 Live at House of Blues Boston 12/31/18)

DISCO BISCUITS - Mr. Don > Bernstein & Chasnoff  (2017 Steele's Reels vol. 9, 8/9/02 Marrz Theatre, Wilmington, NC)

STRANGEFOLK - Alaska > Angel from Montgomery > Alaska  (2018 Live at the Palladium, 11/27/99 Worcester, MA)

-HOUR TWO-

GHOSTS of the FOREST - Ghosts of the Forest > Drift While You're Sleeping  (2019 Beneath a Sea of Stars, 4/20/19 Berkeley, CA)

LED ZEPPELIN - Dazed and Confused  (1997 the BBC Sessions, 4/1/71 Paris Theatre, London, England)

JERRY GARCIA BAND - Friend of the Devil  (2021 Garcia Live Volume 17, 11/13/76 East Gym, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA)

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2022 HORNING'S STRING SUMMIT LINEUP ANNOUNCED

All the festivals seem pretty confident about 2022.  The latest to announce their lineup and ticket sales is the Northwest String Summit at Horning's Hideout in North Plains, OR.  I'm here to tell you this setup is legit, if you like camping festivals.  I reviewed the 2019 version here.  Tickets on sale tomorrow morning.

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2022 JAZZ FEST LINEUP ANNOUNCED

Another festival has announced it's "game on" for 2022 - this time it's the sprawling (two weekends worth), legendary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or simply Jazz Fest for short.

Weekend passes and VIP packages are on sale now here.  Single-day passes are not on sale yet.

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TnJ 875 (1/20/22)

photo by Jay Blakesberg

Truly an honor to have Dave Schools (pictured above, right) check in with the backstory about the "Highway Butterfly - the Songs of Neal Casal" box set he curated.  The box set is a fundraiser for the Neal Casal Music Foundation.

-HOUR ONE-

Interview > Dave Schools  (recorded 1/12/22 at KBAC-FM Santa Fe, NM)

SHOOTER JENNINGS - Maybe California  (2021 Highway Butterfly - the Songs of Neal Casal [box set])

WIDESPREAD PANIC - Surprise Valley > Greta > drums > Surprise Valley  (12/31/17 Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA)

-HOUR TWO-

RAILROAD EARTH - For Love > Captain Nowhere > the Berkeley Flash > Mighty River > Like a Buddha  (2020 Live Tracks - Horn o' Plenty 11/30/19 Sherman Theater, Stroudsburg, PA)

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ROCKYGRASS 50th - TIX ON SALE TODAY

The 50th anniversary edition of Rockygrass (formerly the Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival) at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons, CO is putting tickets on sale this morning.  Go here for tickets.

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UMPHREY'S McGEE - "PEAK SUMMER" in COLORADO

Wanna rock?  Umphrey's McGee throws down 4 face-melting dates in Colorado this June.  Tickets for all shows on sale now, here.

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BONNAROO ANNOUNCES 2022 LINEUP

The festival to end all festivals has had a rough last couple of years (as have we all).  Hopefully this year things will get back to some kind of normal.  J. Cole, Tool, and Stevie Nicks are the headliners.  Tickets are on sale here.

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TnJ 874 (1/13/22)

It's JAMuary, y'all!

-HOUR ONE-

GOOSE - the Empress of Organos ("Goosemas" livestream, 12/11/20 Rockefeller Center, New York, NY)

BLACK CROWES - Soul Singing  (2006 Freak 'n' Roll...Into the Fog - the Black Crowes All Join Hands, 8/6/05 the Fillmore, San Francisco, CA)

SPAFFORD - the Postman  (2020 Live at the Drive-In, 5/24/20 Digital Drive-In, Mesa, AZ)

-HOUR TWO-

GRATEFUL DEAD - Truckin' > Drums > the Other One jam > Eyes of the World > Sugar Magnolia  (2021 Dave's Picks vol. 38 [bonus disc], 9/7/73 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY)

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TnJ BEST of 2021

-TOAST'S FAVORITE ALBUMS 2021-

 01) ROBERT PLANT / ALISON KRAUSS - Raise the Roof

Some 14 years after their first collaboration (the Grammy-winning "Raising Sand"), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have returned with producer T Bone Burnett and another batch of well-chosen covers.  Only "High and Lonesome" appears to be an original song, and it sizzles, but as with the 2007 release, the covers are mostly all morphed into arrangements which fit the vocals and instrumentation so incredibly well they almost wrest ownership from the original composers / performers.  Ethereal and timeless.

HIGH POINTS: High and Lonesome, Go Your Way, Trouble with My Lover, It Don't Bother Me, Quattro (World Drifts In), Searching for My Love

02) ARLO PARKS - Collapsed in Sunbeams

After placing highly (#2) on last year's favorite singles list with "Hurt," Arlo Parks delivers a wallop of a debut album; scintillating, heartfelt, and just plain groovy.  If "Indie RnB" isn't already a thing, it needs to be invented to corral the vibe contained here.  Her voice is a soothing (though never saccharine) tonic for troubled times and I can't wait to hear what she brings us next.

HIGH POINTS: Hurt, Eugene, Black Dog, Green Eyes, Hope

03) DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO - I Told You So

Like Arlo Parks' album (above), this was another early entry in this year's derby, coming in January 2021.  Like others in DLO3's catalog, all instrumental, even the remake of George Michael's "Careless Whisper," which comes off as simultaneously sentimental and tongue-in-cheek.  I've already ensconced this trio in the company of MMW and Soulive.

HIGH POINTS: I Don't Know, Call Your Mom, Hole in One, Jimmy's Groove (outtake), Careless Whisper

04) BÉLA FLECK (and FRIENDS) - My Bluegrass Heart

Long-noted master of improvisation, Fleck gathers a talented bunch to jam with and collects the results on this humdinger two-disc set.  Some collaborators (Sam Bush) date back to New Grass Revival, but there's an embarrassment of riches in the "new talent" department too, perhaps implying Fleck's readiness to pass the torch?

HIGH POINTS: Charm School, Vertigo, Boulderdash, Strider, Tentacle Dragon (Revenge of the)

05) BLACKBERRY SMOKE - You Hear Georgia

Current champeens of the southern-rock scene, Blackberry Smoke come with a blistering set which may go down in history as their best.  Most of these songs come off as rip-snortin' biker anthems, but they're rounded out by softer touches as well as an excellent Little Feat impersonation ("Hey Delilah").

HIGH POINTS: You Hear Georgia, Hey Delilah, Old Enough to Know, All Rise Again, Ain't the Same

06) JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ - Local Valley

This friggin' guy.  In a world with a zillion "guy and a guitar" acts, he somehow manages to consistently rise above the crowd and show us what a guy and a guitar can really do.  He's not exactly showy either, in the technical theatricality department, but I enjoy floating on the clouds he manufactures.

HIGH POINTS: El Invento, Head On, Swing, Visions

07) DJANGO DJANGO - Glowing in the Dark

I'm sure many will dismiss this band as frivolously psychedelic, but that's kinda what I like about them to be honest.  In my experience, this is an A+ road-tripping-through-the-middle-of-nowhere album, the likes of which we rarely hear these days.  Trippy, literally and figuratively.

HIGH POINTS: Spirals, Glowing in the Dark, Free from Gravity, Headrush

08) JON BATISTE - We Are

Last year wasn't much for many, but it could be called a renaissance year for Jon Batiste with a truckload of award wins and nominations.  This album comes on the heels of his score for the Pixar film, "Soul," and in large part, hits all the right notes.  I like the flagrantly funky flourishes.

HIGH POINTS: Freedom, Cry, We Are, I Need You

09) VARIOUS ARTISTS - Highway Butterfly: the Songs of Neal Casal (box set)

David Schools of Widespread Panic curated this collection, and it has a lot to recommend it, not the least of which being an opportunity to relive some of the finest melancholic songwriting of a generation.  Casal is gone too soon, but in a way, he lives on here, through his friends.

HIGH POINTS: All the Luck in the World, Day in the Sun, Bird with No Name, Free to Go

10) LUCY DACUS - Home Video

Emotional, witty, and layered.  Those words could describe Dacus' output as well as herself, although we haven't met.  I'm only inferring based on her recordings.  Whether her intent is to methodically eviscerate her feelings in the prettiest way possible, or to do that to the listener, I cannot say.

HIGH POINTS: Brando, Hot & Heavy, VBS, First Time

 

-TOAST'S FAVORITE SINGLES 2021-

01) WAR on DRUGS featuring LUCIUS - I Don't Live Here Anymore

Captivating and grandiose, like all the best War on Drugs numbers.  Lucius proves again that less is more.

02) LORD HURON - Mine Forever

Proving you can take the same twelve notes and arrange them in new and memorable ways.  Future nostalgia.

03) LORDE - Solar Power

A sparse and sprightly summer anthem for the ages, released during what, for Australians, would have been winter.

04) COIN - Chapstick

Inexplicably hooky "alternative rock," at a time when that means almost nothing anymore.

05) NATHANIEL RATELIFF & the NIGHT SWEATS - Survivor

Like an auditory brick-to-the-head you didn't even know you wanted, nay, needed.

06) NEAL FRANCIS featuring DEREK TRUCKS - Can't Stop the Rain

The best kind of retro-styled positivity born of pessimism.

07) MY MORNING JACKET - Love Love Love

Back to the well for MMJ - this is the sound of carmel corn on mushrooms.

08) WET LEG - Chaise Lounge

Unapologetically throbs steadily.  Not remotely fancy, like a "black sheep" relative at dinner.

09) DAISY the GREAT x AJR - Record Player

Bubblegum for the new millennium.  As an earworm, nearly impossible to eradicate.

10) KHRUANGBIN / LEON BRIDGES - B-Side

Hypnotic, deep-down-in-the-groove smoothness from experts on the subject.

-TOAST'S FAVORITE COVERS of 2021-

!!! – Man on the Moon (R.E.M. cover) 

DELVON LAMARR ORGAN TRIO – Careless Whisper (Wham! cover) 

DR. LONNIE SMITH / IGGY POP – Sunshine Superman (Donovan cover) 

LEFTOVER SALMON – Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover) 

MOLLY TUTTLE / IRON & WINE – You Don’t Get Me High Anymore (Phantogram cover) 

-TOUR DIARY-

WIDESPREAD PANIC – 6/25/21 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 

INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS – 7/23/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO 

SIERRA HULL & JUSTIN MOSES- 7/24/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO 

DEL McCOURY BAND – 7/25/21 Planet Bluegrass, Lyons, CO 

YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND – 7/28/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM 

TRAMPLED BY TURTLES – 8/22/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM 

KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE – 8/27/21 Railyard Plaza, Santa Fe, NM 

SAMANTHA FISH – 9/19/21 Santa Fe Brewing, Santa Fe, NM

CHRISTONE “KINGFISH” INGRAM – 9/24/21 Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN 

THUNDERCAT - 11/22/21 Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM

-LOCAL FAVORITES 2021-

FELECIA FORD – Ocean of Love 

HOTH – Tell Me How You Feel 

ROBBY ROTHSCHILD – self-titled EP

 

 

 

-MORE, PLEASE!-

CHA WA 

CHARLIE CROCKETT 

FREEWAY JUBILEE 

HAUNTED SHED 

INDIGO de SOUZA 

MDOU MOCTAR 

RIVER KITTENS 

SAULT 

SIERRA FERRELL 

STRUNG LIKE A HORSE 

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