The excitement can be seen on every one of the other 49 faces in the Crystal Ballroom's waiting area as the anticipation for the Umphrey's McGee's second StewArt event reaches it's peak. After a few moments, the door opens and pianist Joel Cummins enters the room first, followed closely by the rest ...view article

In the previous volume of the Umphrey's McGee Colorado Chronicles, I mentioned that Umphrey's made it possible for me to spend almost my entire day in Denver with them.  I didn't get to hang out backstage and shoot the breeze while drinking Colorado micro brews and smoking Denver nuggets, or take ...view article

Cas Haley, the runner up from the 2007 season of America's Got Talent, just released his second album, and his first from Easy Star Records.  The album, Connection, is a cool mix of reggae, rock and pop, and puts Cas squarely in the spotlight and out of the shadow of Terry Fator, the ventriloquist.  ...view article

Anticipation builds as we wind through the mountains along highway 70 from Denver to Aspen on the way to see arguably the best live band on the circuit today: Umphrey's McGee.  It is somewhat trademark of Umphrey's to not just play these remote venues, but to make everyone who came all the way out ...view article

Autumn came late this year to San Diego, "America's Finest City." But the damp, chilly sea air belied the rising temperature inside the Gaslamp District's House of Blues, where Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (GPN) heated things up with their scorching stew of roots-inspired rock that included liberal ...view article

Any moderately warm, sunny day spent in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is bound to be a good day.  This past weekend proved to be no exception to this general rule as people young and old packed the park for the 18th annual four day long Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.17356

Six stages ...view article

After three days of being showered with rain, covered by clouds and fog, Oregon bid us a sweet, sunny farewell as we crossed back into the promised land of California to take part in day four in a row of the Umphrey's McGee 2009 West Coast Tour. The entire journey was a dramatic, mountainous blanket ...view article

Fourteen months ago, on Halloween, Umphrey's McGee played one of the most impressive shows I'd ever seen.  The buzz surrounding the event was undeniable and the actual show was religious.  At the time the band was on the precipice of some major changes.  Light design artist Jefferson Waful was ...view article

This year, Merlefest celebrated its 22nd year of music and art in the unbelievable heat of Wilkesboro, NC.  The festival boasted accommodations for young and old alike, mixing a variety of bluegrass knowns and unknowns with local art, food, and family activities. Smoking was not permitted during ...view article