The show must go on, with or without fans and, from the stage of an empty Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, Billy Strings proved that even without fans he’s got one of the most energetic shows around.
Connor Kennedy can often be seen kicking around Woodstock, NY in his brown leather boots, digging through vinyl at radio station 100.1 WDST, playing a local bar with members of Gregg Allman’s band or The Levon Helm Band or playing organ alongside Donald Fagen of Steely Dan at The Barn. Wherever Kennedy is, or what he is doing, he is either absorbing the music of others, or creating his own.
We had the pleasure of talking with Furthur drummer Joe Russo about this weekend’s Colorado shows with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead as well as some of his other recent and upcoming projects and collaborations. In part one of this two part piece we touch on how JRAD started as a fresh take on the classic Grateful Dead song catalog, the transformative experience Russo has gone through since immersing himself into the world of The Grateful Dead, and his place in the lone line of potential torchbearers of that music.
Just outside of Fort Collins, four sisters fill a family home with sounds only siblings could make. Combining Classical structure with Folk lyrics, Country catchiness, Bluegrass beauty and an intense passion, SHEL (Sarah, Hannah, Eva, Liza) is band full of depth and delight. Only one album deep into what is sure to be a lengthy career, SHEL has already found success without necessarily looking for it. Their music is as natural as the setting they create it in, and forming the band seemed more their fate than a decision.
