Category: The Midwest

  • Dark Star Orchestra perform at The Palace this weekend, announce lineup for Dark Star Jubilee

    Dark Star Jubilee will feature host and headliner Dark Star Orchestra for six sets over May 22-24, 2020. Held in Thornville, OH, Dark Star Jubilee has evolved into a celebration of the music of the Grateful Dead, as well as a reunion of performers in the broader Grateful Dead scene.

    Announced acts for the festival include Oteil & Friends, Galactic (featuring Anjelika Jelly Joseph), Zero (featuring Steve Kimock, Gregg Anton, Pete Sears and Melvin Seals), The Infamous Stringdusters, Jorma Kaukonen, Keller Williams, Marco Benevento, Jeff Mattson & Friends and Holly Bowling. Also performing are Rumpke Mountain Boys, Mystic Bowie’s Talking Dreads, Dino English & The Progfusionals and Katie Henry Band.

    dark star jubilee

    Dark Star Orchestra will close out 2019 with two nights at The Palace Theatre in Albany over December 28-29 and head to The Wellmont in Montclair, NJ for two final nights. More info and tickets can be found here.

  • Summer Camp 2020 Lineup Announced

    Crowd favorites Umphrey’s McGee and moe. will return to headline the 2020 edition of Summer Camp, each band playing all three days of the weekend-long festival. Ween, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Billy Strings, Rezz, STS9 and Tipper are among the bands announced to play. Joining them will be The Wood Brothers, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Lettuce, Twiddle, The New Deal, Spafford, Andy Frasco & The U.N, SunSquabi, Keller Williams, Kyle Hollingsworth Band and Dirty Heads.

    Three-day Passes, VIP Upgrades, Thursday Pre-Party Passes, and RV campsites sales are on now. Summer Camp will be May 22-24, 2020 (Memorial Day Weekend) at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL.

    Summer Camp Music Festival Lineup 2020
  • Greensky Bluegrass Announces Winter Tour

    American bluegrass/rock band Greensky Bluegrass has announced a new winter tour that will span the first two months of 2020. The band – known for bringing a rock-and-roll feel to bluegrass music – will be touring in support of their 2019 album All For Money.

    Comprised of dobro player Anders Beck, Michael Arlen Bont on the banjo, guitarist, Dave Bruzza, Mike Devol on the upright bass, and Paul Hoffman on the mandolin, Greensky Bluegrass has been touring for the last 18 years, taking pride in their unique sound.

    “We’re a rock-and-roll band that plays bluegrass instruments. Bluegrass is such a finite thing. Because you have a banjo and a mandolin, you’re supposed to do it a certain way. But we’ve always been ourselves,” said Beck.

    This latest expedition will begin on January 15 and will see them tour throughout the Midwest and the East and West Coasts before finishing off in the South, with a performance in Atlanta, GA, on February 7 and 8. The East Coast swing contains several stops in New York in January at venues like the State Theater in Ithaca, NYC’s Beacon Theatre, and Albany’s own The Egg.

    Greensky Bluegrass’ remaining tour dates can be found below. While tickets can be found here.

    Jan. 15 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO

    Jan. 16 – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall – Louisville, KY

    Jan. 17 – Agora Theatre – Cleveland, OH

    Jan. 18 – The Met – Philadelphia, PA

    Jan. 19 – Roxian Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA

    Jan. 22 – State Theater of Ithaca – Ithaca, NY

    Jan. 23 – The State Theatre – Portland, ME

    Jan. 24 – Beacon Theatre – New York, NY

    Jan. 25 – House of Blues – Boston, MA

    Jan. 28. – Flynn Center – Burlington, VT

    Jan. 29 – The Egg – Albany, NY

    Jan. 30 – Penn’s Peak – Jim Thorpe, PA

    Jan. 31 & Feb. 1 – The Anthem – Washington, D.C.

    Feb. 4 – Madison Theater – Covington, KY

    Feb. 5 – The Mill and Mine – Knoxville, TN

    Feb. 6 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC

    Feb. 7 & 8 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA

  • Joe Russo’s Almost Dead announce 2020 tour dates, including Artpark performance in June

    including a three-night run at The Capitol Theatre in February and Artpark in June, Almost Dead fans around the country will be treated to the supergroup performing the music of the Grateful Dead with their own signature style.

    almost dead artpark

    Tickets are available via Facebook presale for these newly announced shows starting Wednesday, November 20 in three groups, beginning at 11 AM and continues at 12PM and 1PM. Passwords for these on sales will be announced via the JRAD Facebook page. General onsale will start Friday, Nov. 22 in three groups at 11am, 12pm and 1pm.

    More dates will be announced in coming weeks.

    Joe Russo’s Almost Dead 2020 Tour

    Nov. 25 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Bowl (Headcount benefit)
    Feb. 21 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
    Feb. 22 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
    Feb. 23 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre

    Mar. 12 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
    Mar. 13 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
    Mar. 14 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
    Mar. 15 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
    Apr. 25 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station
    Apr. 26 – Atlanta, GA – SweetWater 420 Fest
    May 1 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World Ballroom
    May 2 – New Orleans, LA – Mardi Gras World Ballroom
    June 5 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
    June 18 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion
    June 19 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark almost dead
    June 20 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
    July 9 – Eugene, OR – Cuthbert Amphitheater
    July 10 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre
    July 11 – Bonner, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater
    Sept. 25 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater
    Sept. 26 – Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater

  • Anthony D’Amato Releases “Wrong Shade of Blue” Single

    NYC based singer songwriter Anthony D’Amato released the first single, “Wrong Shade of Blue,” from his upcoming EP, Five Songs From New Orleans, out on Velvet Elk Records.

    Captured almost entirely in the living room of an historic 1860’s Garden District home, Five Songs From New Orleans feeds off the Crescent City’s irrepressible creative energy and draws inspiration both from its stately beauty and its haunted decay.

    D’Amato engineered, produced, and mixed the whole EP himself, treating the songs as raw, unfiltered snapshots of his time in town, and the performances documented here are loose and improvisatory to match. The end result is a spare and organic collection, one that’s comprised exclusively of acoustic instruments and draws on an eclectic array of New Orleans sounds, from Cajun fiddle to blues guitar, from Dixieland clarinet to washboard shuffle, from classic country to fingerpicked folk.

    “This whole experience really caught me by surprise,” said D’Amato, a New Jersey native who now calls New York City home. “I came to New Orleans for a housesitting gig in between tours, and I ended up writing and recording a whole new collection with a whole new band and a whole new sound.”

    While each of the songs on the EP grew out of D’Amato’s experiences in New Orleans, some tracks are more explicit in their lyrical portraits than others. D’Amato spins an Ash Wednesday hangover into a metaphor for post-honeymoon love on the playful “Party’s Over,” imagines life after death in one of the city’s largest cemeteries on the bluesy “Metairie,” and uses New Orleans as a lens through which to examine the widening economic, racial, and political divides that have come to define modern America on the twangy “Some Folks.”

    I came to New Orleans for a housesitting gig in between tours, and I ended up writing and recording a whole new collection with a whole new band and a whole new sound.

    Anthony D’Amato

    Those who pre-order the EP ahead of its November 15th release on D’Amato’s web site, will get access to bonus materials (signed CDs, vintage New Orleans postcards, handwritten lyrics, t-shirts, fine art prints).

    Anthony will be celebrating the EP’s release at Rockwood Music Hall in New York City on November 13th. He will be joined that night by very special guest John Gallagher Jr. (TONY Award winner ‘Spring Awakening’, HBO’s ‘The Newsroom’),  Tickets can be purchased in advance of the show.

    UPCOMING TOUR DATES
    Nov 8 – Chesterfield, MO
    Nov 9 – Chesterfield, MO
    Nov 10 – Des Moines, IA
    Nov 13 – New York, NY (Full Band)

    Pre-Order bonus materials
  • Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt announce Acoustic Duo Tour

    Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt of Leftover Salmon will hit the road as an acoustic duo tour this winter, with dates stretching across the Midwest and East Coast.

    The two long-time collaborators are hitting the road for a rare run of acoustic duo shows performed in intimate settings that will celebrate over thirty years of musical friendship.  Each night will be a journey through the pair’s long history and touch on all realms of their vast musical catalog including everything from well known favorites to long-forgotten gems, and everything in between.

    Vince Herman Drew Emmitt

    They first came together on a late October evening when Vince Herman wandered into the Walrus Saloon in Boulder, Colorado, after being enticed by a sign reading “Bluegrass Music Here Tonight,. He met Drew Emmitt, whose band was playing that night, and the pair have been reshaping the musical landscape ever since.  First at house parties and in the campgrounds at festivals, then in Emmitt’s bluegrass outfit the Left Hand String Band, before forming the legendary roots band Leftover Salmon on New Year’s Eve thirty years ago.

    Since then, these two have been blazing new musical paths with Leftover Salmon, taking the music at their core: rock ‘n’ roll, folk, bluegrass, Cajun, soul, zydeco, jazz and blues, and crafting it into something new that has spawned a legion of bands in their wake.  With their unpredictable approach in a live setting, their willingness to take chances by fusing disparate musical styles together and their incorporation of non-traditional bluegrass covers into their repertoire, Leftover Salmon has pushed that progressive bluegrass sound they were originally influenced by to the next level.  Instead they are firmly settled in the long lineage of bands that defy simple categorization, always setting their own musical agenda.

    Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt Acoustic Duo Tour
    Dec. 19 – Barley’s – Knoxville, TN
    Dec. 20 – Asheville Music Hall – Asheville, NC
    Feb. 6 – City Winery – Atlanta, GA
    Feb. 7 – City Winery – Nashville, TN
    Feb. 8 – 185 King Street – Brevard, NC
    Feb. 9 – Richmond Music Hall – Richmond, VA
    Feb. 11 – City Winery – Washington, DC
    Feb. 12 – City Winery – Philadelphia, PA
    Feb. 13 – City Winery (2 shows) – New York, NY
    Feb. 14 – The Egg – Albany, NY
    Feb. 15 – Stage One – Fairfield, CT
    Feb. 16 – City Winery – Boston, MA
    Feb. 27 – Kenny’s Westside Pub – Peoria, IL
    Feb. 28 – Redstone Room – Davenport, IA
    Feb. 29 – City Winery (2 shows) – Chicago, IL

  • Dopapod adds Cycles, Organ Freeman and more to Emit Time Tour

    Following their return to the music festival circuit this summer, Dopapod has announced additional dates on the Emit Time Tour, which kicked off in Denver at the Ogden Theatre, October 4-5.

    The tour picks up in Philadelphia just before Thanksgiving, then makes stops in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast before heading to the West Coast. Dopapod is making the rounds late this fall, bringing with them impressive support acts, with Organ Freeman and Cycles joining already announced bands Ghost-Note, Jojo Mayer / NERVE, paris_monster, and DOMi & JD Beck.

    Dopapod Emit Time Tour dates

    Nov. 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts*
    Dec. 6 – Chicago, IL -Bottom Lounge^
    Dec. 7 – Covington, KY – Madison Theatre^
    Dec. 13 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club#
    Dec. 14 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club#
    Dec. 27 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station&
    Dec. 28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse&
    Jan. 17 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent@
    Jan. 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom@
    Jan. 24 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom%
    Jan. 25 – Seattle, WA – Nectar Lounge%

    * with Domi & JD Beck
    ^ with Paris_Monster
    % with JoJo Mayer/Nerve
    & with Ghost-Note
    @ with Organ Freeman
    % with Cycles

    dopapod emit time tour
  • Metallica Masters’ Festival Scene, Headlining Two Nights at Sonic Temple

    Danny Wimmer Presents announced that Metallica will be performing two headlining sets, with different set lists at next years’ Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus, Ohio. Sonic Temple will kick off May 15-17, 2020, with a full lineup to be released on December 2 at noon EST.

    metallica sonic temple

    Sonic Temple, previously known as Rock on the Range, will be entering its second year under this name. The festival which takes place at MAPFRE Stadium is considered one of the best and largest rock/metal festivals in the United States.

    “Metallica isn’t just another headliner. When Metallica takes the stage, it’s an event. It’s an experience. That’s the same standard we’ve set for every DWP festival – from the first band to the last band, and everything that happens in between. I can’t wait to bring the biggest band in the world to the biggest rock festivals in America.”

    Danny Wimmer
    Founder – Danny Wimmer Presents

    Danny Wimmer Presents is the largest independent festival producer in the U.S. “Metallica paved this road that we travel. How many artists on the bill at these five festivals first picked up an instrument, or first started a band, because of Metallica?”

    Tickets for all events went on sale October 10 at 12 PM PT/3 PM ET for Fan Club members and for past purchasers of Danny Wimmer Presents events. The general public sale begins Monday, October 14 at 9:00 AM PT / Noon ET. Find more info and buy tickets HERE.

  • Jann Wenner Steps Down from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    It’s the end of an era as Jann Wenner, co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, will be stepping down from his role as chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The change will take effect on January 1, 2020, where he will be replaced by John Sykes, the current president of Entertainment Enterprises for radio giant, iHeartMedia.

    As Chairman, Wenner carried the responsibility of not only being the face of the Rock Hall, but the person who was blamed for perceived shortcomings, such as the lack of colored and women inductees. That burden will now fall upon Sykes, whom Jann Wenner himself nominated. “I just felt I had done what I set out to do… That it had been built, stabilized and become well financed and managed — and, after 30-plus years of running it, time for new energy, new ideas, a new generation,” Wenner said, according to the New York Times.

    In 1983, Wenner aided in the founding of the Rock Hall, along with Ahmet Ertegun, Bruce Springsteen manager Jon Landau, attorney Suzan Evans, and record executives Seymour Stein and Bob Krasnow, and has served as its chairman since 2006 following Ertegun’s passing.

    The institution began inducting honorees in 1986 and a few months later, Cleveland was selected as the permanent home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Throughout its history, there have been 330 inductees, comprised of esteemed artists, producers, and music executives.

    Wenner is leaving behind a strong legacy, according to the Rock Hall’s website: “the Rock Hall had a total impact of $199 million in business sales in Cuyahoga County. Visitors to the Rock Hall spent an estimated $127.4 million in 2017, averaging a daily spend of $349,000, both on-site and at other businesses in the County.”

  • Hot Tuna Plan Late 2019 Shows, Kicking off in NYC

    This November and December, guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady will take to the road to close 2019 as Hot Tuna and wrap up their 50th year with acoustic shows with electric holiday performances as well.

    Town Hall in New York City will host the tour kick off with two nights of electric Hot Tuna on Nov. 29 and 30, with special guest Steve Kimock. The Jefferson Airplane alums will then team up with Larry Campbell and Teresa Williams for 11 shows around the Northeast and Midwest, including stops in Troy, Poughkeepsie and Buffalo. Hot Tuna will then close out 2019 in Florida with shows on Dec. 28 in Clearwater and Dec. 31 in Ft. Lauderdale with an electric performance. Full tour dates can be found below.

    Hot Tuna Fall Tour Dates

    Nov. 29-30 – The Town Hall – New York, NY*
    Dec. 2 – Musikfest Cafe at ArtsQuest Center – Bethlehem, PA^
    Dec. 3 – Troy Savings Bank Music Hall –  Troy, NY^
    Dec.
    5 – Bardavon 1869 Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NY^
    Dec. 6 – The Colonial Theatre – Keene, NH^
    Dec. 7 – Garde Arts Center – New London, CT^
    Dec. 9 – Asbury Hall – Buffalo, NY^
    Dec. 10 –  The Palace Theatre – Greensburg, PA^
    Dec. 11 –  Kent Stage – Kent, OH^
    Dec. 13 – Park West – Chicago, IL^
    Dec. 14 –  Fitzgerald – St. Paul, MN^
    Dec. 15 – Turner Hall Balroom – Milwaukee, WI^
    Dec. 28 – Bilheimer Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL
    Dec. 31 – Parker Playhouse – Fort Lauderdale, FL+

    * w/ Steve Kimock
    ^ w/ Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams