Upcoming Shows

The Taxmen, Lovin' Kind

FridayDecember 13, 20247:30pm

The Taxmen, a Milwaukee-based band, featuring Will (Guitar), Anthony (Bass), Jeff (Guitar), and Will (Drums), are not only known for their Beatles covers but also for their original compositions. Their performances encompass classics from the 1950s to the present day. Blending the familiar with the new, The Taxmen are....

Milwaukee Zappafest XXVI

SaturdayDecember 14, 20248:00pm $20.00

Milwaukee Zappafest is back for it's 26th year in a row, great googly moogly! It is a time honored event that pays tribute to the great mind of Frank Zappa and his music. Milwaukee Zappafest is the longest running annual Frank Zappa tribute concert in America (2nd in the world) and features musicians from the greater....

The Sleighriders

MondayDecember 16, 20247:00pm $25.00

Forty of the best, most experienced, most professional musicians of the Milwaukee music scene join together again for the annual Sleighriders show and charity auction! These musicians join forces in one gigantic rockin' band. It's a very special holiday event that you don't want to miss and a true Milwaukee tradition. For....

Recently Added Shows

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound

FridayJanuary 3, 20258:00pm $20.00

Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound bring forth a funky, lyrically charged racket that is explosive, yet intimate. Taking cues from the dance bands of western Louisiana (and his native Midwest,), the streets (and 45's) of New Orleans, touring African and Caribbean combos and the soul, funk & blues of his youth, Paul Cebar is a....

Dylan LeBlanc, David Ramirez

WednesdayJanuary 29, 20258:00pm $25.00

Claptonation

FridayJanuary 31, 20258:00pm $20 advance / $25 door

Our set list is comprised from Eric Clapton's Solo career along with his work with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Derek & the Dominos, Cream, Blind Faith and The Beatles

The R&B Cadets

FridayFebruary 14, 20258:00pm $25.00

The R&B Cadets

SaturdayFebruary 15, 20258:00pm $25.00

Coleman Williams

ThursdayFebruary 20, 20258:00pm $15 advance / $20 door

The Sweet Lillies

ThursdayFebruary 27, 20258:00pm $18 advance / $20 door

Brant Bjork Trio

SundayMarch 9, 20258:00pm $20.00

Brant Bjork has spent over a quarter-century at the epicenter of underground rock & roll. A founding member and composer of the legendary desert band Kyuss, as well as propelling the seminal fuzz of fellow Stoner rockers Fu Manchu from 1994-2000. Over the last 30 years Brant Bjork has embarked on his solo career as a....

Panorama: A Tribute to The Cars

SaturdayMarch 29, 20258:00pm $15.00

The Cars were the prototypical American new wave band. Known for their refreshing and clever songwriting in an era of bombastic art rock and mindless disco, The Cars were a unique blend of analog synthesizers, muted power chords, catchy choruses and muscular guitar heroics. Scoring a string of hit singles between 1978 and....

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

SundayMarch 30, 20258:00pm $30.00

Moonshine Bandits

FridayApril 4, 20258:00pm $30.00

The Newest Olympian

FridayApril 11, 20258:00pm $25 advance / $30 door

The Newest Olympian Live brings all the joy of the #1 Percy Jackson podcast to a stage near you! This comedic podcast covers the journey of Mike Schubert, a grown man, making his way through the Percy Jackson series for the very first time. Each episode and each live show, Schubert chats with longtime PJO fans to cover the....

Nektar, Vinnie Moore

SundayApril 20, 2025$30.00

Alternative Concert Group Presents

Dailey & Vincent

SundayFebruary 16, 20257:00pm $42 | $52

Meyer Theatre, Green Bay, WI

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Crystal Gayle

FridayFebruary 21, 20258:00pm $55

The Grand, Oshkosh, WI

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Jesse Cook

WednesdayApril 30, 20257:30pm $35 | $50

At the Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI.

Tickets on sale at barrymorelive.com or by phone at 608-241-8633 (Mon-Fri noon-5pm).

Jesse Cook

ThursdayMay 1, 20257:30pm $49 | $76

At South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, WI.

Tickets on sale online, at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center box office or by phone at 414-766-5049.

Quick Calendar

Dylan LeBlanc is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who often finds himself flirting with the edge -- or "dancing on a razor," as he calls it -- as it is all he has ever known. A verdict vagabond since he was a little boy tossed between Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, LeBlanc thrives on the precipice, never staying in one place for too long. It is that nomadic spirit that drew him not only to a life as a touring musician, but also to the beast that titles his newest record: 'Coyote.'

LeBlanc says he has always related to the insatiable, scavenging nature of the wily coyote. Much like the animal, LeBlanc is a wanderer who knows when to trust his instincts, musically and otherwise. It is a spiritual kinship that runs deep, but he credits one particularly hair-raising face-to-face instance with solidifying his bond with the animal.

LeBlanc was in Austin, Texas, climbing the face of a 100-foot cliff, gambling with Mother Nature's good graces as he pulled himself up by tree branches. Once he reached the top, all that laid ahead of him was a lush treeline. There was a breath of stillness, then the sound of a thunderous rustling that drew closer and closer to him. In a blink, LeBlanc watched as a frenzied raccoon came speeding out of the treeline, trailed by an animal that stopped and stared at him with striking intensity: a coyote.

"We're looking at each other dead in the eyes...and I'm saying -- out loud -- 'If it's you or me, I am going to kick you off the side of this cliff. I'm not going down.' It was intense, this human-animal moment," LeBlanc recalls. "I've never forgotten that... he was just trying to survive and so was I."

'Coyote' is LeBlanc's first self-produced release, boasting a cherry-picked lineup of what he calls "killer session players," such as drummer Fred Eltringham (Ringo Starr, Sheryl Crow), pianist Jim "Moose" Brown (Bob Seger), and bass player Seth Kaufman (Lana Del Rey). Though 'Coyote' covers familiar ground for LeBlanc of living on the edge of danger and its many consequences, the record is both autobiographical and a concept album built around the character of Coyote, a man on the run.

The story of 'Coyote' progresses linearly, opening with the dizzyingly declarative, strings-heavy title track which details Coyote's arrival and quick departure as he crosses the border and gets involved with drug cartels. The trouble builds and dark waters rise until track six, "No Promises Broken," a soaring, against-all-odds love song that marks when Coyote meets a girl, and his luck begins to change for the better. The song tells of how love heals, and places emphasis on lovers remaining open while maintaining their own freedoms, as LeBlanc believes that true devotion does not equal possession. He says that though both Coyote and his love each faced adversity, the hand of destiny put them on the same path and bound them together before they ever met:

"'No Promises Broken' is an honest love song about two people who come from the same troubled past, and fate intertwines them together. It's about acknowledging that there will be hard times ahead, but vowing to stick it out without making promises to each other that they know they can't keep."

"Wicked Kind" delves into Coyote's addiction and warns of ever-present temptation looming on the horizon, and the restraint it takes for him to look away. The LP closes with "The Outside," the title of which LeBlanc says is meant to be literal, as Coyote is outside of prison walls at last. With boundless slide guitar and skittish keys, it paints a haunting, desert highway vignette of Coyote fighting off lingering ghosts that breed a hesitance so potent that Coyote has to adjust his perspective and remind himself that he is free -- the fight is over.

LeBlanc has seen shades of a life not unlike the character of Coyote. He, too, strayed from the straight and narrow and sparred with managing anger in his adolescence. Just as the brutal truth of "Hate" describes that the most gnarled parts of Coyote were molded by his harrowing experiences, it is something LeBlanc feels is universal, as hate does not discriminate.

"I went to school with people from all walks of life. We were different, but we thought, 'We're all poor,' so we're all in the same boat. We all grew up in chaos. It was the '90s in Louisiana on the border of Texas... that air was thick, man. Sink or swim type of mentality."

LeBlanc is the first to warmly acknowledge his rough edges and tendency to chest-up to conflict, both the result of the volatility and instability of his youth. Now, no longer a boy who always had to be on alert and ready to defend himself, LeBlanc recognizes that his roots do not define or limit the man he is today. The cover art of a coyote wounded by arrows reflects just that, symbolizing LeBlanc's resilience through what he has experienced:

"The coyote is still upright, even though he's full of arrows, even though he has been shot at and wounded many times. He still keeps going in defiance of everything that has been thrown at him. You can't get an arrow out completely. You can break one side of it off, but the arrow is still there... there's still a scar. It becomes a part of you... of your identity."

Considering the distinct wisdom and lifetimes in his voice, it is no surprise that LeBlanc has known hardships, but he is a shining example of what beauty comes from perseverance. LeBlanc's tenacity has paid off in spades, leading him to a record deal with ATO Records, releasing the critically acclaimed 'Renegade' in 2019, and now 'Coyote,' which LeBlanc says is "the record he has always wanted to make."

Now in his thirties with a fiancé and a daughter he adores, LeBlanc is the closest he has ever been to the man he has always strived to be. With endearing candor, he confesses he is still learning to be less hot-headed and more gentle; but he doesn't think about dying every day, like he used to. LeBlanc credits fatherhood for the perspective he has now on what matters, and his key concern is remaining devoted to those he loves most. Though far removed from a perilous life like Coyote's, LeBlanc admits he still feels as if he is dancing on a razor's edge all the same. The goodness he is surrounded by only gives him more to lose, with each glimmer carrying an asterisk of fear. One misstep and he worries that it all could vanish, but the lionhearted LeBlanc seems to forget he once unnerved even a wild coyote with his eyes alone.

David Ramirez took a little time to get back to himself, and now he's dead set on making music for himself--for the sake of the music... and nothing else.

"I love all the records I've made in the past. But in making them, there was always the thought in the back of my mind of where and what it could get me. I made both creative and business decisions with a goal in mind... a goal that often never came. This time it was all about just the joy of making it, about having fun with it."

The Austin, TX-based singer-songwriter--whose decades-long career has seen six fulllength studio albums, three EPs, countless collaborations, and an illustrious supergroup project in Glorietta--spent a season of rest away from his focus on writing songs. In the wake of the end of a long relationship, he wanted to prioritize processing his grief as a human, not as an artist bleeding on the page.

"The last thing I wanted was to write a heartbreak record. So I stopped writing altogether, and I just waited until I saw my heart start coming back to life. I wanted the next thing to be hopeful and sweet and beautiful--a testament to music and my love for it."

David's new record All the Not So Gentle Reminders, which comes out March 21, 2025 via Blue Corn Music is exactly what he was waiting for. The 12-song album is an expansive succession of dreamlike songs that tell his stories, yes--but more than anything lean into the possibilities of the trip that music can take us on.

Michael McDermott burst onto the scene in his early 20s with his exceptional debut, 620 W. Surf and subsequently found himself touted as Rock's 'Next Big Thing'. MTV, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and even author, Stephen King added their appreciative nods and having the backing of Giant Records and prestigious producers like, Brian Koppelman and Don Gehman, seemed to go a long way towards assuring his success - overnight success.

The missteps and failures that followed, the collapse of an industry that once embraced him as its next sensation, are troubles and travails that either ruin a person completely, or they force a change of attitude and staunch determination to gather one's resolve to not only survive, but overcome. McDermott vowed to do both. Ten albums in, it's resulted in Willow Springs (Pauper Sky, June 17, 2016), one of the most honest, daring and defiant recordings of McDermott's career. Named for the small town where he now resides with his wife and young daughter, it reflects a certain circumspect about his life, the situations he's encountered, while realizing that ultimately, his fate resided in his own hands.

"This is an album of reckoning I suppose," McDermott reflects. "There was a real cacophony of change going on in my life at the time... being a new father, losing my own father, leaving the city for the country, dealing with sobriety, grief, death, mortality, shame and forgiveness. It was a veritable emotional tsunami and yet somehow I had to navigate through it all. That journey is reflected in these songs. Willow Springs is the name of the place where I took refuge and had to confront a lot of things".

Recorded at his home in the country and fan-funded, Willow Springs finds McDermott behind the boards as producer for the first time with longtime producer and collaborator, Lex Price doing the mix. Having enlisted a stellar support group of musicians -- including multi-instrumentalist, Price; guitarist, Will Kimbrough; keyboard player, John Deaderick ; sax player Rich Parenteau; and McDermott's wife, Heather Horton on backing vocals - McDermott found himself able to craft the unassuming yet cutting sound he envisioned.

Indeed, the results bear out the fact that Willow Springs is the most honest and expressive album of McDermott's extraordinary 25 year career. Songs such as, 'These Last Few Days', 'Getaway Car', 'Half Empty Kinda Guy', 'One Minus One' and the title track, convey all at once, a sound that's both reflective and confessional - borne by stark emotion and a tattered, battered delivery that's both sobering and sublime. McDermott remains more determined than ever, and Willow Springs is the result. "My enthusiasm is only matched by my desire to continue to evolve as an artist" he insists.

Accolades and kudos can be accumulated one minute and quickly dissipate the next. After all, the music biz is a fickle beast and it doesn't matter how much you pleased the masses last year, last month or even last week, but rather, about what you offer today.

Today, McDermott has offered his best.

Kudos to Michael McDermott - overnight success.

The R&B Cadets played their first gig shortly after New Year's in 1980 and their last in the summer of 1986. In that time they got a lot of folks out on the dance floor, playing a distinctive mix of of deep soul cuts from Paul Cebar's massive record collection and some sparkling originals, written by John Sieger, often in tandem with Michael Feldman, a friend and now longtime host of Public Radio's Whad'ya Know?

Splitting lead duties with Sieger and Cebar was the lovely chanteuse, Robin Pluer. Owner of one the lovelier voice heard in the midwest, Ms. Pluer was a dollop of sweetness at the top of the band's deep range. Rounding out the lineup was Mike Sieger, John's brother and vocal doppelganger, who played bass. Original drummer Cy Costabile, was later replaced by Bobby Schneider and the saxophonist Juli Wood was replaced by keyboard/sax man Bob Jennings.

In it's prime, the band had a large following in Milwaukee, where they were pretty much the house band at the late, lamented Century Hall. They travelled well too, with fans in the Twin Cities, Chicago, Madison and even New York where they played legendary clubs like CBGB's, The Knitting Factory and The Lone Star. Their only record, Top Happy, came out in 198-. It featured a song produced by Nick Lowe, a fan who had stumbled across them after playing a show in Milwaukee. The record got great reviews and could have been the start of even bigger things, but like many bands, people were pulling, and being pulled, in different directions.

The positive result of their breakup was two, then three very vital and entertaining acts. There was Semi-Twang, which concentrated on John's songs and did a record, Salty Tears for Warner Brothers that gathered more love than sales. John later moved to nashville and had many of his songs recorded by artist like Dwight Yoakam, Flaco Jimenez and The Bodeans.

Paul and Robin continued with the beefed up and ever-popular Milwaukeeans, releasing a record in the 1990s on Shenachie that got radio play around the country. That lineup stayed around until Robin bid adieu. Tired of touring and now married, she headed to New York for a while, before returning. She has carved out a special niche between soul, swing, standards and the French chanson that she loves, and is still performing today.

In 2009 Semi-Twang reunited and have released two CDs, both of which garnered raves. Paul has continued non-stop, his latest was out last year with his most recent moniker, Tomorrow Sound. The three headed beast has been in rehearsal, tightening up songs old and new. The crowd at their first reunion gig in many years was up and dancing at the first down beat, you probably will be too.

There are family traditions, and then there is the Williams Family Tradition. Beginning with the legendary Hank Williams, then his son, Hank Jr. and grandson, Hank 3, now the fourth generation of Williams (Coleman Williams or IV) is ready to take his place in the music world with his band, IV and the Strange Band.

IV was raised in Nashville in the early 90s before the explosion of what the city is now. The only son of Hank Williams III, IV was raised by his mother until his formative high school years which were spent with his father at Hank3's "haunted ranch" going to punk and house shows and being driven by the heavy tones and sounds of progressive vocal driven music but still retaining a love for the southern country and blues legends. After high school, IV travelled the country which led to meeting more bands and expanding his musical tastes from country bands in Louisiana to doom metal bands in New Jersey.

Although being the first born son of the fourth generation of Williams is his legacy, but fulfilling a musical legacy is never what drove him as a person. After traveling the country, IV returned to Nashville to attend college and study English and literature with dreams of being a writer. After college, IV began teaching but over time he realized he didn't enjoy the education route and got into working in the liquor business instead to make ends meet.

About this time, he became friends with Jason Dietz, a local producer, who became a personal friend and musical ally. Even though IV had been writing songs his entire life and grew up singing, he had never really had a project to express his true voice. Additionally, he had reservations about ever being like the rest of his family wanting to forge his own path. He had even kept his family history as a need to know among friends. He just wanted to be in the backdrop of the music scene to take it all in the right way.

Jason would help to change that as would musician Joe Buck with whom IV has developed his style of guitar playing. This all led to IV meeting the group of musicians he needed for what is now dubbed the "Strange Band". His now lead guitar player David Talley with Jason Dietz on bass would become the core of IV and the Strange Band. Next came Laura Beth Jewell on Fiddle and Tylor Powell on drums to complete the band. Starting from IV's acoustic songs, the band and IV collaborated to create the sound now that has come to define the project: 100 watt amps blended with fiddle, drums, and powerful vocal driven country hooks combining many diverse influences and different musical histories.

Being 29 and starting his music career seems an interesting time, but that exact age is when his great grandfather Hank Sr.'s life ended. IV had a vision and dream that couldn't be obtained in the right way without this journey. Being handed a legacy is one thing to try, but IV is determined to earn it.

The Sweet Lillies' music is, first and foremost, heartfelt and collaborative. Those defining traits are given life by the quartet of musicians who make up the Lillies, Julie Gussaroff, Becca Bisque, Dustin Rohleder and Jones Maynard. Together they have combined their individual strengths to deliver powerful narratives of life in song. With their lineup of guitar, viola, upright bass, drums and ethereal vocal harmonies that float like a dream, the Sweet Lillies' music has a hard hitting original flavor with a forward-looking eye. The Sweet Lillies have incorporated all of their cumulative life-experiences into their music, song-writing, and artistry, crafting an uncommonly-beautiful style they have christened "Progressive-Americana" - a nod to the band's all encompassing musical tastes and willingness to experiment with genres ranging from folk and rock all the way to hip-hop. As Gussaroff explains, "some musicians learn from teachers, some learn from family members, and some are self taught. Some musicians are classically trained, some come up through folk, some draw from multiple springs, from hip hop through pop to bebop. In the Lillies' all of these skill sets are valuable, relevant, and appreciated."

The Sweet Lillies are built upon their collaborative ideals and are always ready to share a stage or develop a project with any musicians who share the same "no-holds" barred creative approach. This has made each one of their inventive, energetic live-shows a wholly unique event as setlists are changed on the fly, songs are given new life and shape, and guests are always welcome to join in the creative explosion. Those on-stage partnerships create a space for incorporating instruments, arrangements, and styles that are not necessarily typical of the genre, but that help create a rich, compelling sound that defies easy categorization. Over the years they have been joined onstage by a number of legendary performers including Sam Bush, George Porter Jr., Peter Rowan, Sally Van Meter, Andy Hall from the Infamous Stringdusters, Kyle Hollingsworth and Jason Hahn from The String Cheese Incident, Jennifer Hartswick, and Natalie Cressman from the Trey Anastasio band, among many others. Andy Thorn from Leftover Salmon, who has sat in on many of those live adventures, says, "It's always a joy to play with the Sweet Lillies. Over the years, I've seen them evolve from a folk-and-bluegrass group into a genre-bending powerhouse. Today, at a Lillies show, you'll hear everything from their beautiful, soulful originals, to creative reinventions of your favorite 90s hip-hop tracks. They're always ready to have fun - on stage and off - without losing an ounce of their professionalism."

The Sweet Lillies were born from Gussaroff's desire to form a band in which each member would be an equal participant in terms of songwriting, singing, and creative input. After years of accompanying other artists, serving as a side player, and writing songs for others, multi-instrumentalist and classical trained vocalist Gussaroff wanted to establish a true musical-collective that would highlight the best qualities of all involved. In 2014 Gussaroff met Bisque, who was a classically trained violist. The two found an immediate and deep musical connection and The Sweet Lillies were born. In 2017, at a campground jam at the Hangtown Ball, they heard guitarist Rohleder. That night the three played for what they remembered as, "Ten magical hours." The following year in 2018, Rohleder joined The Sweet Lillies full-time. Most recently, Jones Maynard has come on board on drums, completing Gussaroff's vision.

Since forming in 2013 The Sweet Lillies have released four albums, 2016's self-titled release, 2018's A Lighter Hue produced by Leftover Salmon's Vince Herman. Common Ground, produced by Railroad Earth's Tim Carbone, was released in 2021. The band's 2023 release, Equality, was produced by Grammy-award winner Chris Pandolfi of The Infamous Stringdusters and released on Americana Vibes.

Equality is an intrepid collection of songs that fully represents the current and evolving sound of the band. The instrumentation is primarily what you will hear at a live show. Powerful rapping next to layered vocals and instrumental solos are only one of the aspects that give this album an original sound. Through the recording process, Pandolfi challenged the band to find their more 'savage lillies' side which is present throughout the music. Each song is a unique composition that blends into the concept of the album which is Equality. Social Justice, self exploration, and evolution of the spirit are the guiding feelings of this new record.

Cover to cover will be the first cover album and the fifth album released by the Sweet Lillies. The album was produced by the band's own Julie Gussaroff and recorded in Denver at Mighty Fine Studios. The album is a compilation of cover songs that were carefully selected based on the band's feelings for the songs and capacity to represent the individual pieces based on their specific sound, instrumentation and musicianship.

Gussaroff says "the vision was for the album to have a sparse and clean feel to it and to truly pay homage to the original writer's artistry. For this reason, we chose to work only with our core band and to perform the pieces with minimal instrumentation. The songs as well as the vocals and instrumental ideas and arrangement achieve a starkly exposed beauty that provides space and simplicity to the music that is enjoyed by so many."

"The last ten years have been a rollercoaster of deep despair and amazing opportunities that somehow present themselves at the last possible second," says Eef Barzelay. "That this record even exists, as far as I'm concerned, is a genuine miracle."

Indeed, the road to 'Forever Just Beyond,' Barzelay's stunning new album under the Clem Snide moniker, was an unlikely one, to say the least. Produced by Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers, the record is a work of exquisite beauty and profound questioning, a reckoning with faith and reality that rushes headlong into the unknown and the unknowable. The songs here grapple with hope and depression, identity and perception, God and the afterlife, all captured through Barzelay's uniquely off-kilter lens and rendered with an intimate, understated air that suggests the tender comfort of a late-night conversation between old friends. Avett's production is similarly warm and inviting, and the careful, spacious arrangement of gentle guitars and spare percussion carves a wide path for Barzelay's insightful lyrics and idiosyncratic delivery. Listening to the album now, Avett and Barzelay sound like an obvious pairing, but the truth is that there was nothing obvious about the survival of Clem Snide, and the series of cosmic coincidences that led to 'Forever Just Beyond' remains inexplicable even to Barzelay himself.

"About ten years ago, everything just seemed to fall apart," he explains. "The band bottomed out, I lost my house, and I had to declare bankruptcy. That started this process of ego death for me, where I realized the only way to survive would be to transcend myself and to try to find some kind of deeper, spiritual relationship with life and with being. Once I committed myself to that, miraculous things started to happen."

Some miracles were financial (a superfan in Spain, for instance, sent Barzelay an unsolicited thank-you-for-the-music donation that covered the exact amount he desperately owed his bankruptcy lawyer); other miracles were more intangible. Roughly four or five years ago, as Barzelay struggled with how and if to carry on, a fan sent him a video of Scott Avett singing a Clem Snide song in front of a massive audience. Shortly after that, another fan sent an interview in which Avett raved about Clem Snide's music. It seemed like a sign from the universe.

"I had just hit this low point where I realized I couldn't do it alone anymore," says Barzelay. "I passed along a little message and a new song I wrote to The Avett Brothers' manager, and Scott wrote me right back to say what a fan he was."

Avett was far from alone in his love for Clem Snide. Named for a William S. Borroughs character, the project first emerged from Boston as a three-piece in the early 1990's and would go on to become a cult and critical favorite, picking up high profile fans from Bon Iver to Ben Folds over the course of three decades and more than a dozen albums. NPR highlighted the Israeli-born Barzelay as "the most underrated songwriter in the business today, with a sneakily firm grasp on poignancy and humor," while Rolling Stone hailed his songwriting as "soulful and incisive," and The New Yorker praised the music's "soothing melodies and candid wit." Avett came to the music late, only discovering it in 2016, but he fell hard, saying in an interview, "With Clem Snide's songs, I feel like there is a voice that I understand very well... It just ignited my own writing. Which is the best flattery for me, that I listen to something and next thing I know I'm at the piano."

If Barzelay's music pushed Avett to write more, the feeling was certainly mutual. Avett's interest in producing the next Clem Snide record was like a shot of adrenaline, and Barzelay quickly found himself deep in the writing process, with a slew of new songs he'd written both on his own and remotely with Avett.

"Scott offered so much encouragement to keep the faith with my career and write these songs," says Barzelay, who trades off lead vocal duties with Avett throughout the album. "He and I come from very different backgrounds, but we both wrestle with the same things in our music, so there was this unspoken connection between us from the very beginning."

"I look up to Eef with total respect and admiration," adds Avett, "and I hope to survive like he survives: with total love for the new and the unknown. Eef's a crooner and an indie darling by sound and a mystic sage by depth. That's not common, but it's beautiful."

Rather than head into a traditional studio, the two decided to record the guts of the album on Avett's farm in North Carolina, where they converted Scott's painting space into a makeshift recording setup. They sourced a core band that included bassist Bill Reynolds (Band of Horses, Lissie) and drummer Mike Marsh (The Avett Brothers, Dashboard Confessional), and worked raw and loose to cut basic tracks live. Next, Barzelay headed to his adopted hometown of Nashville, TN, where he finished vocals and guitars and layered up additional parts from guests like Old Crow Medicine Show fiddler Ketch Secor and Avett Brothers cellist Joe Kwon. In the end, it was four long years between Avett and Barzelay's initial introduction and the completion of the album, but those lean times provided the fodder for some of Barzelay's strongest, most thought provoking writing to date.

"The line between desperation and inspiration has always been quite thin for me," says Barzelay. "You don't have to suffer to be an artist, but I think there's got to be some heat on you, because the ultimate goal is always to turn sorrow into grace."

That emotional alchemy is a defining characteristic of the record, which opens with the haunting "Roger Ebert." Joined by Avett on harmonies, Barzelay spins the famed film critic's final words into a gorgeous meditation on the mysteries of life and death on the track, which, like much of the album, seeks comfort in the acceptance of the inevitable. The breezy "Don't Bring No Ladder" aims to shed the material trappings of the corporeal world, while the dreamy title track learns to find gratitude even in suffering, and "The Stuff Of Us" contemplates the infinite power of the unseen.

"All this flesh and blood, that's not the realest part of us," says Barzelay. "The real stuff is eternal and free. They say that 95% of the universe is held together by dark matter that we can't see and we can't measure, but we know it's got to be there, and if that's not a metaphor, than I don't know what is."

While much of the album tackles these big picture ideas, Barzelay's strength as a writer has always been in his specificity, and he manages to humanize thorny existential issues on the record with a novelist's deft touch. The bare bones "Emily" comes to terms with the fact that the only mind you can ever truly change is your own, while "The Ballad Of Eef Barzelay" offers a philosophical take on suicide and redemption, and the cinematic "Easy" considers the necessity of delusion to our survival.

"Everybody has their own reality," says Barzelay. "We're all just seeing the world through these little keyholes, but maybe that's all our eyes can take."

With 'Forever Just Beyond,' Barzelay opens his eyes just a little bit wider, and in the process, manages to show us a world beyond the world we know. And that? That's a genuine miracle.

Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee, returns with Married Alone, the celebrated singer-songwriter's fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017's critically acclaimed Trophy. Co-produced by beloved Texas musician and larger-than-life personality Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen's multi-hyphenate Beau Bedford, Married Alone is Sweeney's finest work yet, bringing together confessional songwriting, image-rich narratives and no shortage of sonic surprises for a loosely conceptual album about loss and healing.

Married Alone began as most of Sweeney's projects do: with a visit to her deep vault of unreleased songs. Since debuting with Heartbreaker's Hall of Fame in 2006, Sweeney has been a prolific writer, writing whatever is on her heart rather than with a particular project in mind. That habit afforded her a rich well of material for Married Alone, some of which is over a decade old.

"I have a lot of older songs that still make the cut of like, 'Am I gonna put this on a record?' And I always start with those songs, songs that have been important to me for whatever reason. And then I try to build around that. It doesn't necessarily have to be around a theme, but sometimes it turns out to be that there is one."

Opener "Tie Me Up" declares that, despite its loose theme, Married Alone is not a somber record, with Sweeney in full spitfire mode and cheekily declaring to a would-be suitor, "You can tie me up, but baby you can't tie me down." Cauthen's and Bedford's production especially shines on the track, which would sound at home at a roadside juke joint or in front of thousands of fans at a festival.

Cauthen joins Sweeney on "A Song Can't Fix Everything," one of the album's rawer moments. "That song can't bring my mother back to life," Sweeney sings at the song's start, before recounting the many ways that music may be able to transport us to the past but can never fix it. "Want You to Miss Me" is an honest take on the complexities of a difficult breakup, with Sweeney's nimble vocal wavering between defiance and doubt. "Easy as Hello" is Sweeney's writing at its finest, channeling the heartache that comes with the end of a treasured relationship, for a track that recalls -- vocally and lyrically -- the work of Stevie Nicks.

"Someday You'll Call My Name" reads as a break-up kiss-off -- and it's a great one, at that -- but the song, pulled from Sweeney's vault, was originally inspired by her early days as a musician, longing to be recognized by major country institutions like the Grand Ole Opry. She and co-writer Brennen Leigh reworked their 10-year-old version of the track to better fit Married Alone, and that session helped set the tone for what would become the full album.

The full potential of the album really revealed itself, though, when a friend sent Sweeney a demo of what would become its title track, "Married Alone." Though she wasn't a co-writer on the track, Sweeney felt her own story reflected in its lyrics. The song, which features a particularly emotional guest vocal from living country legend Vince Gill, charts the painful moments sometimes experienced in marriages that have run their course.

"There may be rings on our fingers, but we're married alone," she and Gill sing, over weeping pedal steel and reverbed guitar.

"My jaw hit the floor when I heard that song, because I had just gone through my second divorce, which is also cliche of a country singer," Sweeney says, with a laugh. "I was still pretty raw about my divorce, but also very candid and trying to find levity in the situation. You have to be able to laugh at yourself at some point and not let it just totally get you down."

A few months after securing the song and mining her own vault for a track list, Sweeney traveled to Dallas, TX, to record -- alongside Cauthen and Bedford -- what would become Married Alone.

Sweeney and team planned for Jeff Saenz to mix the album, but in the summer of 2021 -- a few days before mixing would start -- the widely loved, Dallas-based producer was electrocuted in a freak accident that left him without use of his arms. The group put the album on hold until they had word Saenz would pull through. While Sweeney was anxious to get her new music out, Saenz's accident shifted her priorities.

"Jeff lost his arms," she says. "His arms. Jeff's never going to hold his fianc�e's hand again, never going to hold his baby again. I had a major, major turning point with his accident, personally, as did most of our friends that know him."

About eight months later, Bedford had a surprise for Sweeney. When she arrived at the studio for one of their final mixing sessions, Bedford had brought Saenz along. Saenz was able to help the group finish up the album, a full-circle moment that was especially emotional for Sweeney.

"It was exactly how it should have been," she says. "And it was really, really emotional. Jeff definitely is a part of this album; I really wanted him to be a part of the album. And Beau knew that. So, Beau went and he made that happen."

In addition to releasing Married Alone, Sweeney is marking a new chapter in her professional life with a brand-new team by her side, most of whom are women. While it wasn't a conscious choice, Sweeney says, she feels like she's surrounded by the right group of people, who just happen to be "badass women."

Like the narrator of "Someday You'll Call My Name," Sweeney is not the kind of artist you come across then forget. With Married Alone, she further cements her status as one of country music's finest storytellers.

"They say things have to get worse before they can get better," Eilen Jewell reflects. "And for a while there, everything got worse."

Indeed, in the span of just a few months, Jewell watched as her marriage, her band, and what felt like her entire career fell apart in a series of spectacular, heartbreaking implosions. By the time the dust had finally settled, the critically acclaimed singer and songwriter was grieving and shocked, living in a remote cabin in the mountains and unsure if she'd ever get to make music again.

"Up to that point, I'd just been going with the flow and letting outside forces dictate the path of my life," Jewell explains. "Losing so much so fast forced me to figure out what really mattered. It made me realize that I've only got this one life, and I'd better get behind the wheel if I want to make the most of it."

With Get Behind The Wheel, her ninth studio album, Jewell does precisely that, planting herself firmly in the driver's seat as she picks up the pieces and finds new purpose and meaning in the process. Co-produced by multi-instrumental wizard Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Hayes Carll), the collection pushes Jewell's trademark blend of vintage roots-noir into more psychedelic territory, with spacious, cinematic arrangements complementing her revelatory explorations of grief, loss, resilience, and redemption. The band's performances are truly electrifying here, blending elements of early rock and rockabilly with old school country and soul, and Jewell's delivery is timeless to match, her voice effortlessly moving from unguarded intimacy to icy cool and back, sometimes within the very same song. The result is Jewell's boldest album yet, a powerful work of artistic alchemy that transforms heartache into genuine creative rebirth.

"I never wanted to make something that just wallowed in its misery because that's not what I got from this whole experience," Jewell says. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tough, but I survived and I've come out so much stronger and more in tune with myself, and that's the journey I wanted to capture in these songs."

Hailed as "one of America's most intriguing, creative, and idiosyncratic voices" by American Songwriter, Jewell built her career the old fashioned way, touring relentlessly with the kind of undeniable live show that converts the uninitiated into instant acolytes. Over the course of nearly two decades on the road, the Idaho native has crisscrossed the US, Europe, and Australia countless times, playing an endless series of headline and festival dates in addition to sharing bills with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Loretta Lynn, Mavis Staples, Wanda Jackson, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. Rolling Stone lauded Jewell's "clever writing," while NPR declared that she has a "sweet and clear voice with a killer instinct lurking beneath the shiny surface," and The Washington Post mused that "if Neko Case, Madeleine Peyroux and Billie Holiday had a baby girl who grew up to front a rockabilly band, she'd probably sound a lot like Eilen Jewell."

"From the outside, I'm sure everything looked very fun and exciting," Jewell reflects, "but somewhere along the way I started to feel like I was stuck in a life that wasn't my own, and I started drinking too much to escape all the stress."

By the time the COVID-19 pandemic brought touring and recording to a grinding halt, things were nearing a breaking point at home, and Jewell and her husband of roughly a decade decided to call it quits.

"My husband was also my drummer and my manager," Jewell explains, "so in one fell swoop, it felt like I'd lost everything."

The untimely deaths of several close friends and family members followed shortly after, and Jewell soon found herself in the midst of a painful period of transition and self-examination. She left her home in Boise for a small cabin in the Idaho mountains, where she dove deep into meditation. She went for long hikes in the wilderness to stave off the constant threat of panic attacks, and she began experimenting with psychedelics in a search for clarity amidst the chaos.

"When I'm going through something big, I just instinctively start writing," says Jewell, who began documenting her journey through lyrics and melodies. "I didn't think I'd get to make another record, but I needed to write anyway just for the catharsis of it."

The songs proved to be some of the finest, most arresting and emotionally nuanced writing of Jewell's careers so far. Her ex-husband agreed

"He really loved the songs, too," Jewell explains, "and he ultimately decided to stay with the band and come back on as my manager. We've always worked well together, and we co-parent really well, too, so when it was time to record, I think we were all just excited to get back to something that felt like normal."

That excitement is palpable on Get Behind The Wheel, which opens with the slow-burning "Alive." Raw and brooding, the track builds from a whisper to a gritty roar as it revels in the crucible-like quality of complete reinvention. "You gotta get behind the wheel / You gotta drive," Jewell sings over blistering guitars. "Baby how you feel? / I feel so alive." Like much of the album, the song grapples with a complicated swirl: longing, sadness, freedom, and fierce determination all churn just beneath the surface. The searing "Lethal Love" reckons with the dark side of romance, while the bittersweet "You Were A Friend Of Mine" contemplates loss and regret, and the soulful "Come Home Soon" finds new faith in the power of human connection.

"I used to think I was a natural hermit," Jewell reflects, "but I had some really profound experiences with complete strangers over the past few years that made me realize how important the bonds we share with other people are. We're all social creatures just trying to find home, and we need each other for that."

Such revelations help keep the album from ever drifting too far into despair. The playful "Winnemucca," for instance, embraces an openhearted joy. The instant classic "Crooked River" finds fervent hope in the possibility of a fresh start. The dreamy "Silver Wheels and Wings" sheds the trappings of the self to find buried spiritual treasure.

"I recently got engaged to someone I've known since I was a kid," Jewell says, "and I think that's a big part of the joyful element in this record. Sure, there's a lot of heaviness and loss here, but there's also a lot of hope and love and redemption, too. There's a phoenix rising from the ashes."

Things had to get worse before they could get better, and for Eilen Jewell, the best, it seems, is still to come.

"Here's to life!" Fans around the world can be found singing the chorus of the Roger Clyne-penned fan favorite "Mekong" and toasting their glasses in unison to celebrate life through rock-n-roll. But the inspiration for the song dates back to the time Roger went to Taipei, Taiwan, as a college student to teach English during the day and busk with his guitar at night for money.

Today, as Clyne prepares to record his 11th studio album, he continues to transform his life experiences, inspirations, observations and his own muses into timeless music. And whether he's wearing his Converse high tops, boots or sandals, Clyne's blend of punk rock, country-western and mariachi influences have made him, drummer PH Naffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos -- collectively known as Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers -- one of America's best live rock-n-roll bands.

Starting with the seminal Tempe quartet, The Refreshments, Clyne and Naffah put the fun in rock during the 90s grunge era with a sense of humor. They also started what would become a trademark sound on all future albums by adding mariachi horns, something Clyne was influenced by while in college studying Cultural Anthropology with an ethnography study of mariachis during a three month immersion stay with a local family in Ensenada, Mexico.

The Refreshments' debut album, "Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy," became a cult classic. It produced the alternative radio hit "Banditos" which also had significant airplay on MTV and earned The Freshies an appearance on The Conan O'Brien Show. Clyne then penned and performed the theme song for the Mike Judge animated TV series, King of Hill. In 2017, Here's to Life: The story of The Refreshments, was released. The feature-length documentary was a hit with fans and critics alike.

Changes within their record label and internal band issues resulted in Clyne and Naffah going on a vision quest of sorts in the Whetstone Mountains near the Clyne Ranch in Southeastern Arizona. It was there that Clyne found inspiration in the rolling hills and the jukeboxes of small town taverns that still played Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash -- music he had shed from his youth in favor of bands like Camper Van Beethoven & They Might Be Giants. But after reconnecting with those old country records, Clyne and Naffah wrote and recorded under a new moniker what would become Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers' debut album, "Honky Tonk Union."

The album was the perfect combination of classic rock and twang, and fans immediately connected with it. Their independent release, "Honky Tonk Union," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's internet sales chart in 1999 prompting a call from a Billboard exec to their Manager demanding, " Who the hell is Roger Clyne and why is he #1 on my chart?!" beating out much better known artists

RCPM released eight more albums that landed in the top ten of Billboard's Internet Sales Chart, including a No. 1 debut for their third album, "Americano!" -- all without the backing of a major record label and while flying under the radar of commercial radio.

In 2019, Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers were inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame, joining the likes of fellow Arizona legends Alice Cooper, Buck Owens, Glen Campbell, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt and Waylon Jennings.

Later that fall, RCPM was invited by a man who, like Roger, also knows a little something about tequila and throwing big parties in Mexico. The band headlined Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo Cantina on the eve of Hagar's weekend birthday celebration.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have curated their own annual music festival, Circus Mexicus, in the sleepy beach town of Puerto Pe�asco, Mexico, which draws thousands of fans from around the world. The festival not only has a major impact on the local economy, but charity events hosted by the band and fans alike help raise money for a local orphanage, support local youth sports and help feed shelter animals.

Clyne not only sings about life in the border-lands, he also produces his own ultra-premium spirit, Mexican Moonshine Tequila (soon to be re-named Canci�n Tequila). Owned by the entire band, it was the official tequila at the Arizona Diamondbacks Chase stadium in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Started in 2011, the award-winning spirit is distributed in multiple states as well as Sonora, Mexico.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have toured all over the US and achieved a faithful following through hard work and great music. They have done this all while being independent, without the safety net of a label or a label's radio promotion department. Dubbed "The Springsteen of the Southwest," by the Asbury Park Press. The band delivers exciting live performances that garner declarations like the one from emcee Jay Peterman of the Seinfeld TV show at Alice Cooper's annual Christmas Pudding event, "Young man, you light that stage a-flame!"

Moonshine Bandits, the California duo of Dusty 'Tex' Dahlgren and Brett 'Bird' Brooks, are back with their new album Pour Decisions. The duo continues to champion their signature sound of backwoods bravado, country soul, keg-thumping beats, and hip-hop fusion. Pour Decisions is the grittiest, most spirited, and distinctly grassroots release of their sixteen-year campaign of musical badassery.

"Let's face it, our fans love to party and so do we. With the amount of partying we all do, poor decisions can be made," said Big Tex with a chuckle, referring to the inspiration behind the album title. "We flipped it to 'Pour Decisions' to coincide with our new Bucked Up Whiskey brand. Now you can make the right 'Pour Decision' when you choose to pour a shot of our whiskey. Cheers!"

Pour Decisions takes its inspiration from the struggles and successes of America's extraordinary era when dreams were being made while hunting for that elusive precious gem.

"This album is nothing like our past albums because we wanted to level up from the songwriting to the recording. We really stepped up our game in singing and songwriting on this project and it shows," said Bird about the new sonic direction. "The overall sound of the album is big and has a lot of energy. We used more live instrumentation than ever before, we even had a choir come in and sing on a track, everything was meant to sound bigger when we created these songs. I think the fans will see we all stepped up our game."

Big Tex adds, "We didn't cut any corners. In the past, we would have to worry about touring or timelines, but we're finally in a spot in our career that if we can 'dream it', then we can make it happen. We weren't rushed, and we had the finances to do whatever we wanted on this album. We took our time with this and made sure to put the cherry on top of each song."

Pour Decisions features tracks like "I'm A Rebel," "I'm A Problem," "Silhouettes In The Sun," "Chasing Ghost," and "Can't Take My Hometown." The album showcases the Moonshine Bandits' signature style, with the tracks taking listeners on a journey filled with good, bad, and even some ugly experiences. Thematically, Pour Decisions pays homage not only to the band's career journey but also, and profoundly, "a journey about the people we have come in contact with. The people that inspire our songs."

The album is an ode to the brick-and-mortar, mom-and-pop's, local friends, and corner watering holes that provided the foundation of everyday life, culture, and economics in America. Pour Decisions features 15-tracks that continue to show Moonshine Bandits paving their own lane. There aren't stops or boundaries, and with Pour Decisions, they prove that they still live by their code.

This is a genre-bending album from the featured guests to the sound and displays the band's versatility with some special guests. Weed kingpin Afroman joins the group on "Roof Back" to fire it up for the West Coast, Josh Todd of Buckcherry unleashes some crossover rock fury on "Wild," and then American pride crashes head-on with hip-hop swagger on "I'm A Problem" featuring Canadian Juno Award-winning rapper Madchild. Somehow, it all comes together in one musical Molotov cocktail that Moonshine Bandits provide the spark for.

"We are very grateful to all of these super stars to take time out of their schedule to be part of an album that we truly believe in. We got wide variety of guest from Adam Calhoun to Krizz Kaliko, to Demun Jones, Brandon Hartt to help us bring out all the different influences. It feels like and old-school rap record where guys like E-40 or Tech N9ne would just have their friends jump on the album with them. This album is a stacked lineup of all-stars."

Since their formation in Los Banos, California, in 2003, the Moonshine Bandits have continued a campaign of crossover genre-bending musical mayhem that appeals to the eclectic, color-outside-the-lines tastes of listeners. Their musical style has always been full-throttle and in your face. Just like the rumrunners, bootleggers, smugglers, and outlaws of old -- the Moonshine Bandits provide a supply of goods for the demand, defying the mandates and trends of mainstream pop-culture.

Pour Decisions is rebellious, anti-establishment, and a little bit symbolic of an elusive time when there actually was Honor among thieves. For the Moonshine Bandits, Pour Decisions is a lesson learned from experience, and it's their way of doing things.

For more than 50 years, Nektar won the hearts of a devoted following by taking legions of fans on audio-visual journeys to far reaches of the universe and the depths of the ocean with their immersive and innovative "Sound and Light Theatre" presentations.

Lady Luck has not always been as kind to Nektar as the music seemingly deserves, however in its many incarnations over the years that concept has always persevered despite it all.

2024 finds the band at crossroads that would have been hard to imagine with the sad recent loss of founding member and musical brother Ron Howden, and obstacles like the covid shut down and general malaise of the concert scene in recent memory, but incredibly, a new chapter is unfolding in a very positive way.

When the band reformed in 2019, founding member Derek "Mo" Moore talked about that Nektar situation as "Unfinished Business," and it felt like that in many ways.

Back in 1978 when Nektar was being reformed after Roye Albrighton's departure, Mo and Ryche Chlanda together wrote the new music that many years later would be recorded as "The Other Side" album. Ryche left the band to tour with his other projects before it could be recorded and performed live on tour. Jumping forward to 2020 during "The Other Side" sessions it felt like the band was picking up right where they left off back then, right down to the setlist, which would have fit in perfectly that way.

Nektar played well over 100 live shows over the course of the reunion, starting off with the debut at ProgStock 2019 and encompassing strongholds like the Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville in Illinois and The Dunellen Theatre in New Jersey, so close to where Nektar had relocated to in 1975, and where Ron Howden's next to last ever gig was recorded and filmed, just weeks before his untimely passing.

At no time in the reunion was there a desire for Nektar to fall into "nostalgia act" status. Mo and Ryche had recognized all along that new music would be the key to making this chapter worthy of the legacy and both had been storing up ideas in the hopes that the proper situation would present itself, and to that point it hadn't, but it seemed that once the "Mission to Mars" concept was decided on, the project took on a life of its own.

Mo and Ryche attacked the skeletons of songs they had that would be chosen for the album with a vengeance, with both remote and in-person writing sessions.

Determined not to let the music die, they arranged for a GoFundMe to make studio time committing it to both Vinyl and Digital a reality and as usual our "Nektarines" were there for the band to make it possible with their support.

Nektar returned to Shorefire Studios in Long Branch New Jersey for these sessions, the same studio they had used for "The Other Side," but this proved to be a different animal.

Whereas the majority of "The Other Side" material had been written in 1978 and was more being polished than completed, this would be quite a different experience as the songs were new and more of a reflection of where the band is today, with five years under their belt since reforming and a sense of urgency that was palpable.

Mo and Ryche proved to be an amazing team. Together they seemed to craft every note with a purpose, bounce ideas off each other, execute the idea and choose the best route. Every section was composed and refined with the utmost care and foresight.

Kendall Scott had been talking about ideas that he had for Nektar music both new and old for some time and it seemed he would now have the space to spread his wings a bit more given the opportunity, so we had a good idea of what to expect.

Maryann Castello had made her singing debut on the album, "The Other Side." After several tours with the band, continuing to be our head cook and bottle washer helping to move the band forward, Maryann was written a much larger singing role bringing her out of the shadows on the latest album "Mission To Mars."

Of course, how Jay Dittamo would fit in was an unknown. Jay knew Ron and had been given his blessing years prior but losing what was one of few remaining original rhythm sections in the rock world was new territory. Could he and Mo be the driving force needed to propel the music that was coming together nicely to the next level?

As it turned out, the chemistry would instantly be apparent and the week spent in the studio would be some of the most enjoyable and rewarding of the bands entire career, and the album would come to fruition just as envisioned -- a record deeply rooted in rock just as it had been in the beginning, but with the complexity of the concept album one might expect to evolve from the bands past epic forays.

Truly magic, and an album each band member grew proud of very quickly and looked forward to taking on the road to perform live.

There were, however, questions to be answered on the live presentation from the visual perspective as well. Mick Brockett had stepped away from touring due to some health concerns and the lightshow needed to be brought up to a more modern standard.

The visual aspect of a Nektar concert had always been what separated Nektar from its peers, and the intention was to return to the shows being events, a true sound and light theatre experience as it once was.

Jay Petsko had been working with Mick since that first show at ProgStock and like the band had done with the new songs had been squirreling away his visual ideas on possibilities and visual concepts. He would now have the opportunity to try and bring those forward.

The concerts proved to an incredible return to form from both a sound and light perspective -- the entire new album was played live and was so well received that the nightly ovations for the new songs met or exceeded those received for the classic material played, very gratifying for the band that had worked so hard to see it through.

The visuals just amazed everyone who saw them, and I think had the same effect as they did in the classic era and became as much a part of the show as the music.

Jay had taken the show all-digital, and the presentation looked just amazing, as bright and vivid as any other and taken to an even further level through the use of 3-D for the title cut of the album.

2024 finds Nektar in a very exciting place, with the new album about to be released officially, and more new music to still be recorded. The lightshow continues to evolve, a living breathing part of the proceedings that will incorporate more 3-D effects as well as new projections, respecting the past while Remembering the Future...

To our brothers on the Other Side we love and miss you Ron Howden, Roye Albrighton, Taff Freeman and Vinnie Schmid.

Once Vinnie Moore picked up his first guitar (a Kay) at the age of 12, he became, as he describes it, a "guitar freak." His earliest influences included - among others - Jeff Beck, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Queen.

Vinnie took lessons with a private instructor and at 14, he joined his first band, jamming on cover tunes with drums, bass, 2 guitars and vocals. After a few years of playing with different bands, Vinnie decided it was time to make the jump from covering songs to creating his own music. He quit the band, got a 4-track tape recorder, and began experimenting by recording his ideas and building them into songs. It was evident that he had found his calling; this was the start of his journey as a songwriter.

After many hours of creating tunes with his 4 track, Vinnie sent a demo to Guitar Player magazine, and came to national attention via its "Spotlight" column, written by Shrapnel Records exec Mike Varney. This led to Vinnie's first professional work in the music business which was writing and playing the music for a national Pepsi TV commercial. In 1987, Shrapnel released Vinnie's breakout album, Mind's Eye. Vinnie was quickly heralded "best new talent" in Guitar Player, Guitar, and Guitar World magazines, and Mind's Eye sold more than 100,000 copies.

In 1988, Squawk/Polygram released Vinnie's second effort (and major label debut) Time Odyssey, which solidified his reputation as a musical innovator. His third release was Meltdown, in 1991 (on Relativity/Epic Records); the song Meltdown received national radio airplay on both album-oriented rock (AOR) and hard rock formats. In 1996, Mayhem Records released Out of Nowhere, with Brian Tichy (Billy Idol) on drums and Dorian Heartsong (Powerman 5000) on bass.

On The Maze (in 1999), Vinnie was joined by former MSG drummer Shane Gaalaas, bassist Dave LaRue (The Dregs and The Steve Morse Band) and renowned master musician Tony MacAlpine on keyboards. The Maze was stunning, rooted in the progressive neo-classical style that had already generated legions of loyal fans. Vinnie also displayed a new-found maturity in his songwriting; now, many of his diverse and exotic musical influences, including Latin, Jazz, and the Blues, began finding their way into his signature sound.

Other albums followed: Live (in 2000), with Shane Gaalaas (drums), Barry Sparks on bass, and Wayne Findlay on keyboards, and Defying Gravity in 2001 with Dave LaRue (bass), Steve Smithon drums, and David Rosenthal on Keyboards.

As a performer, Vinnie Moore's resume is impressive. A member of Alice Cooper's band, he toured the U.S. on the Operation Rock'N'Roll tour, and also performed on Alice's album Hey Stoopid. Vinnie's own band has toured extensively as a headliner and also was chosen as opening act for legendary rockers Rush on the Northeast leg of their Roll The Bones Tour. Vinnie also toured Japan as a member of the T.M. Stevens' band, which included Bernie Worrell (Parliament Funkadelic) on keyboards, Wil Calhoun (Living Color) on drums, and Al Pitrelli (Megadeth) on guitar.

Vinnie has done hundreds of guitar clinics all over the world including such places as, Japan, Scandanavia, Italy, Poland, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, England, Germany and Australia.

In 2003, Vinnie joined the legendary group UFO (Phil Mogg, vocals; Pete Way, bass; Jason Bonham, drums; Paul Raymond, keyboards). Their first effort together as a band was the SPV Records release You Are Here (in 2004); Vinnie was a major songwriting contributor on this record. The band followed You Are Here with a worldwide tour which spanned from March 2004 to August 2005. A LIVE DVD from this tour was released in Nov 2005. Titled UFO Showtime, this two-DVD set also includes bonus footage of the band. The band's second studio effort called The Monkey Puzzle came out in 2006 and marked the return of original UFO drummer Andy Parker. The boys toured Europe and Russia and the USA in April and May 2008. The third UFO studio record with Vinnie in the band is called The Visitor and was released in June 2009 on SPV Records. The band has toured the UK, Europe, and USA, and will continue in Europe in the spring of 2010!

Vinnie's latest CD To The Core (2009 Mascot Records) was released in May 2009 and has received critical acclaim worldwide.

Over many years, Vinnie's 4-track recorder has grown into a home studio, where he's recorded his last two solo CDs, and parts of the UFO CD. Vinnie's home studio is the place where he writes new music.

As well as songwriting and playing, Vinnie is dedicated to teaching. He's conducted guitar clinics around the world, and has released two instructional videos on the HotLicks® label (see the Music page for more information). Vinnie joins his fans at clinics worldwide for, Engl Amplification, and Dean Guitars.

On doing clinics: "I like talking to the fans firsthand and learning from them. It's insightful to hear what they like about what I'm doing, and what they think about the guitar genre...and the whole music scene in general. I definitely feed off of their energy. It's cool to be part of a global guitar community, and it's an honor to know that I can sometimes inspire others to get excited by music and guitar. It always amazes me to me to hear that I have touched someone else by doing something that I love doing so much. I consider it a gift to be playing guitar and writing songs, and feel like one of the luckiest cats in the world to have fans."

On songwriting and musical influences: "I hope to keep growing and learning as a songwriter and as a player, and to explore different musical directions, kind of following the inspiration wherever it leads. I don't plan ahead musically, which keeps things interesting for me. I want to continue following my muse into areas that inspire and excite me. I am basically a rock guy...but love many different styles of music, and am often inspired by - and learn from - all of them. Music is so vast, and there are so many things to pick up from all the different styles. I've kind of always been like this, drawing on different musical influences, partly because I like lots of different things and partly... because I get bored easily! Exploring different directions is fun, and it keeps me excited as both a writer and a player."

On having his own studio: "I love having a studio environment in the house so I can turn my ideas into songs. It's really like my own little space in the universe and I love being there and being creative."

On songwriting: "In other parts of the house, I mostly sit around and play, and I always keep a Walkman cassette player close by, because you never know when an idea for a song is going to pop out. Musical ideas usually happen when you least expect them. I don't consciously try to write; my ideas just come from playing. I record stuff; I never write it down."

On playing: "I have pretty much always considered myself a melody and feel guy. Regardless of which style of music I am playing, the essence of what it is all about for me is definitely the melody and expressing myself emotionally. I love creating melodies that are memorable and can be sung, and if I can make a listener feel emotion when they hear my stuff, it is the highest reward I could ever get."

Following 80 successful dates across North America between 2022 and 2024, legendary drummer Terry Chambers and his band EXTC are returning to the United States and Canada for two extended North American tours: a 10-week run in April/May/June on the East Coast and an 8-week run in September/October 2024 on the West Coast

For almost four decades XTC fans could only dream of witnessing the sensational XTC classic songbook played live. That dream has now become a reality. XTC's legendary drummer Terry Chambers is back on the road with his band EXTC (named and approved by XTC frontman, Andy Partridge).

Emerging out of the post-punk and new-wave explosion of the late 70s XTC experienced global success touring with the likes of The Police and Talking Heads. The band put their hometown of Swindon UK on the map. They achieved huge success in North America and Japan. Sadly their legions of loyal fans would be left in limbo when in 1982 XTC stopped touring becoming a studio-based entity.Fast forward to 2017 Terry returned to the UK from Australia and reconnected with XTC bandmate Colin Moulding. The two would go on to collaborate on new venture TC&I releasing an EP and live album.

Sadly the project was short-lived with TC&I disbanding in early 2019. By now the flame inside Terry had been reignited. His time with TC&I made him realise he wanted to continue doing what he does best. His love and passion for playing music and performing live gave him the idea for his new project EXTC.

Born in early 2019 EXTC would set out to achieve its goals of performing to audiences who had waited so long to hear the EXTC back catalogue performed live only to be bought to a standstill in 2020 due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.Terry was keen to get on the road with EXTC with a tour of the United States scheduled for autumn 2020. Unfortunately this would be postponed due to covid restrictions still in place the tour being rescheduled for the following year.

The band eventually began gigging again in 2021 with sold-out dates around the UK. This would include the Isle of Wight Festival and gigs in Terry Chambers and XTC's hometown of Swindon. The band would go on to do further successful tours of the United States and Canada with EXTC also heading to Japan in early 2023.EXTC has kept much of the original fan base from XTC's glory days of the late 70s and early 80s as well as gaining a new following of fans in their own right. Enthusiastic fans have lapped up the chance to see Terry and EXTC perform all those classics live once more.Alongside Terry the EXTC line-up features frontman Steve Hampton (lead vocals & guitar - Joe Jackson, The Vapors and Dead Crow Road) and Terry Lines (bass & vocals - The Rams and Dead Crow Road).

Originally a four-piece EXTC band members have changed frequently over recent years. EXTC announced in November 2022 that they are now moving forward as a three-piece. Terry Steve and Terry will bring you the full EXTC experience with their mesmerising and engaging live performances as you relive the heyday of XTC. With new material already in the works EXTC is a band on an upward trajectory. With their popularity gaining momentum and international tour schedules increasing it is clear the sky is the limit for Terry Chambers and EXTC!

A brand new live album will be released by a US-based record label on Friday, April 4, 2025. Full release information will be announced in the first week of December this year.

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