Presenting a world class collection of musicians to set sail on a five night adventure filled with funky jams, special sets, sit-ins, super groups, and collaborations!
Unless otherwise noted with an *asterisk* all artists perform two shows.
Al Schnier (guitars, vocals) * Chuck Garvey (guitars, vocals) * Rob Derhak (bass, vocals) * Jim Loughlin (percussion, vibes) * Vinnie Amico (drums)
Hailed by American Songwriter for their “”mind-bending musicality,”” moe. is treasured for their mesmerizing musical synergy, unfettered showmanship, and smart, resonant songcraft. For three decades, the band has corralled myriad musical forms on a truly original journey rich with crafty, clever songwriting and astonishing resourcefulness. Fueled by an impassioned fan base, moe. has spent much of those thirty years on the road, encompassing countless live performances marked by eclectic wit, deep friendship, and exploratory invention. Having built an enduring legacy with hard work and a confirmed commitment to creativity and community, moe. seem as surprised as anyone to find themselves at such a significant landmark.
“The career just very subtly unfolded,”” says co-founding bassist-singer-songwriter Rob Derhak, “”without any of us noticing it actually happened.”
Al Schnier (guitars, vocals), Chuck Garvey (guitars, vocals), and Derhak first came together at the University of Buffalo in 1990, musician-friends uniting to play for the sheer fun of it. The band followed a handful of cassette-only releases with 1992’s FATBOY, recorded in an apartment studio above Buffalo’s Top Shelf Guitars with a bird’s eye view of Mighty Taco.
“We liked music, we liked to party, and we wanted to put those two things together,” says Derhak. “We wanted to do what seemed like the coolest thing we could possibly do and not have to work a regular job. It didn’t even seem like a decision had to be made. It’s was like, this is what we’re doing and it’s happening. The idea that thirty years later I would be a dad, paying a mortgage and earning a living, based on our band, with the same guys no less, that never even crossed my mind.”
Finding themselves with an increasingly avid local following, moe. ventured forth, now with master rhythmatist Jim Loughlin among their ranks. The more the band traveled, the more they grew creatively, evincing a remarkable willingness to progress as they went along. moe. quickly became part of a burgeoning scene centered around NYC’s Wetlands, a grassroots revolution that embraced freewheeling genre fusion — spanning funk and free jazz, country and classic rock, prog, new wave, calypso, pop and everything else under the sun — fan interaction, and unrestrained improvisation.
Music motivates at the most primal level.
You instinctually hum a tune in order to get pumped up in the morning, for fuel on the treadmill, to soundtrack your commute, or as the pre-game to a big night out. As much as he treasures his roles as a guitarist, composer, and producer, Cory Wong fashions himself “a hype man,” first and foremost. Living up to this classification, he slings a Stratocaster and hurls “dad jokes” from the stage with the same panache, poise, and power.
Head-spinning rhythm guitar wizardry, technical ebullience, laugh-out-loud jokes, and radiance on stage established Cory Wong as both a sought-after collaborator and celebrated solo artist alike.
Jerry Harrison is the keyboardist and guitar player for legendary band Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 2021. He has multiple critically acclaimed solo albums, including Casual Gods. Additionally, he has an illustrious career as a record producer, working with everyone from Foo Fighters, No Doubt, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Live, amongst many others. Prior to joining Talking Heads, Jerry was a member of proto-punk pioneers The Modern Lovers.
Adrian Belew was the long time lead singer and guitarist for legendary prog rock giants King Crimson. Adrian has also recorded with, performed alongside, and toured with Bowie, Zappa, Talking Heads, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, and more. Additionally, he has released over 20 solo albums and was a 2005 Grammy Nominee
Adrian and Jerry, with their all-star backing band, bring you powerhouse renditions of Talking Heads classics like “Once In A Lifetime”, “Psycho Killer”, “Take Me To The River”, and selections from their respective solo careers. This is a must see performance.
History doesn’t stand still. It impacts, influences, and inspires the ebb and flow of the future by informing the present. Galactic draw on 25 years together in order to progress with each performance and subsequent record. After 10 albums, over 2,000 gigs, and tens of millions of streams, the proud New Orleans, LA quintet—Ben Ellman [saxophone, harmonica], Robert Mercurio [bass], Stanton Moore [drums, percussion], Jeffrey Raines [guitar], and Richard Vogal [keyboards]—have kept the torch burning through five U.S. presidential regimes, the turn-of-the-century, Hurricane Katrina, a Global Pandemic, and a much-anticipated recovery. They’re the rare collective who can support Juvenile on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, contribute music to a blockbuster soundtrack such as Now You See Me, and light up the stages of Coachella, Bonnaroo, and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (a staggering 22 times).
Joined by vocal powerhouse Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph, they continue to forge ahead with touring and more new music.
In 2023, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe celebrate their 25th anniversary as a band.
KDTU has electrified audiences around the world from the fields of Naeba in Japan at the infamous Fuji Rock Festival to the hallowed stage of Madison Square Garden.
This December, join the band for a special Beastie Boys tribute featuring members of Slightly Stoopid!
Here it is, right on time. Unify. The eighth studio album from Lettuce, it’s also a third consecutive record made at Denver’s Colorado Sound Studios, completing a loose trilogy starting with 2019’s Grammy-nominated Elevate, and continuing with 2020’s Resonate. “Dealing with the pandemic, being in separate places, trying to survive without our best friends, without touring, not to mention the political divide in this country,” says Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch. “We really needed to unify.”
Reunited with Colorado Sound’s esteemed engineer, Jesse O’Brien, Unify is a totally collaborative effort full of the highest of highlights, including its centerpiece track “Keep That Funk Alive,” inspired by the venerable Parliament-Funkadelic bassist, Bootsy Collins, and featuring Collins on bass and vocals. It’s, as well, a benchmark moment for the sextet- Adam Deitch (drums), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Adam Smirnoff (guitar), Erick Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom (trumpet)- approaching thirty years since its humble Boston beginnings.
“We’re just getting tighter and tighter,” says Coomes. “Really, these are the first records made with the six of us as a team, and it’s the best the band has ever been: live and in the studio; the funkiest and the most fun.”
16 songs. Pure Lettuce. Unify will teleport you to a funky galaxy far, far away, where all life coexists as one in peace, love, harmony, and music!
Bearing witness to the accelerating negativity of global affairs, Steel Pulse emerges with musical vengeance to halt the disarray of humanity. The band’s twelfth studio production, titled Mass Manipulation, reflects four decades committed to bettering mankind through music. Steel Pulse continues to be revolutionary in engaging controversial topics of racial injustice and human rights on a global scale. Their musical stance and conceptualizations are as potent and relevant today as they were at the beginning of their career. The album’s uniquely thematic approach provokes thought as it presses forward, toward humanities unification. A manipulation of our minds has been influenced by a New World Order currently dominating humankind. Steel Pulse reappears at a fated moment, armed with compassion, encouraging all people to reject false ideals, set higher goals, and demand more from themselves to further this unification.
Lead singer and guitarist, David Hinds’ creativity, human persona, and visionary views are revealed through inspiring compositions that capture the effects of the African Diaspora. These songs weave and interlock with each other, enticing all to stand together and unite.
It took the London band Franc Moody some time to perfect the ideal clap sound. They tried clapping their hands, then they tried numerous people clapping their hands. But after much experimentation, they discovered that the most pristine clap sound comes, yes, when you record three pairs of hands clapping in which one pair is wearing marigolds. This isn’t abnormal behaviour for Franc Moody. Listen to their songs and you’ll hear salt shakers and mugs, dripping radiators, the sound of someone zipping their flies, and their own family playing strings. It’s this kind of DIY sound design and attention to detail that has made the new London duo such a curious and captivating proposition.
Franc Moody’s sound is contemporary funk, awash with electronic inspiration, human touches, and throbbing grooves. Like Daft Punk and Jamiroquai before them, they draw from the sounds, styles and techniques of funk, disco and soul while simultaneously threading in electronic influences of the here and now.
Dumpstaphunk stands out amongst New Orleans’ best, cementing themselves as one of the funkiest bands to ever arise from the Crescent City. Born on the Jazz & Heritage Festival stage, and descended from Neville and Meters family bloodlines, these soldiers of funk ignite a deep, gritty groove that dares listeners not to move. Their performances combine ingenious musicianship through complex funk, rock, and jazz arrangements accompanied by soulful melodies and Big Easy traditions.
For over two decades, The New Mastersounds have maintained more than just a reputation of longevity. Instead, they’ve cultivated a rare balance of consistency, yet commitment to constantly evolving their sound. Forged out of the golden age of the modern funk and soul revival in 1999, the band has amassed a catalog of sixteen albums, embarked on countless world tours, and drawn in a broad audience through both their original material and collaborations with esteemed vocalists and remixers.
After a two-year hiatus of in-person engagements, the band retreated to the brand new Floki Studios in Iceland to hunker down and create their 17th studio album. ‘The Deplar Effect’ was released on Color Red in September 2022, and features Atlanta based vocalist Lamar Williams Jr, son of Lamar Williams of the Allman Brothers.
Definition: “Loose interpretations of Grateful Dead songs done in a bluegrass style. Take my fascination with Grateful Dead songs and mix it together with my love of psychedelic improvisational bluegrass music and out burps this project.
WARNING: If you like your Grateful Dead songs performed in their original way, or if you prefer traditional bluegrass, this is not the project for you. If you like singing along to Dead songs in that song’s normal tempo but dancing double time to the music, this is definitely your jam. A lot of people seem to dig it and I dig them for that.”
Keller’s Grateful Grass delivers anything-but-traditional bluegrass versions of Grateful Dead favorites. Grateful Grass often times has a rotating lineup and so far, has included collaborations with The Keels, Keith Moseley (SCI), Jeff Austin (Yonder Mountain String Band), Michael Kang (SCI), Reed Mathis (Tea Leaf Green, Mark Benevento Trio) Bill Nershi (SCI), Allie Kral, Vince Herman (Leftover Salmon), Sam Grisman, Love Canon, The Infamous Stringdusters and the Hillbenders.
In 2008, the original Grateful Grass members (Keller, Jeff Austin and Keith Moseley) recorded a live performance at The Fillmore in Denver, CO. 100% of the proceeds from REX (Live at the Fillmore) went to benefit The Rex Foundation, the charitable non-profit started by the Grateful Dead.
In 2010 Grateful Grass took the stage at Delfest for the first live appearance since 2008. In 2013, Grateful Grass ft. Keller, Jeff Austin, Keith Moseley and Michael Kang reunited to benefit the Rex Foundation once again at The Fillmore in San Francisco for the event, Nightfall of Diamonds. Once again this performance was recorded and DOS was released in 2014. All proceeds continue to benefit the Rex Foundation.
“Different collaborations of Grateful Grass will pop up from time to time as playing this music this way is such a blast that it probably should be illegal.” — Kw
Virginian, Keller Williams, released his first album in 1994, FREEK, and has since given each of his albums a single syllable title: BUZZ, SPUN, BREATHE, LOOP, LAUGH, HOME, DANCE, STAGE, GRASS, DREAM, TWELVE, LIVE, ODD, THIEF, KIDS, BASS, PICK, FUNK, VAPE, SYNC, RAW, SANS, ADD, SPEED, CELL and GRIT. Each title serves as a concise summation of the concept guiding each project. Keller’s albums reflect his pursuit to create music that sounds like nothing else. Un-beholden to conventionalism, he seamlessly crosses genre boundaries. The end product is music that encompasses rock, jazz, funk and bluegrass, and always keeps the audience on their feet. Keller built his reputation initially on his engaging live performances, no two of which are ever alike. For most of his career he has performed solo. His stage shows are rooted around Keller singing his compositions and choice cover songs, while accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, bass, guitar synthesizer and drum samples; a technique called live phrase sampling or “looping”. The end result often leans toward a hybrid of alternative folk and groovy electronica, a genre Keller jokingly calls “acoustic dance music” or ADM.” Keller’s constant evolution has led to numerous band projects as well; Keller & The Keels, Grateful Grass, KWahtro, Keller and the Travelin’ McCourys, Grateful Gospel and More Than A Little to name a few. Keller can be found playing clubs and festivals around the U.S. with these projects throughout the year.
Grammy Award-winning guitarist Eric Krasno and Grammy Award-winning drummer Stanton Moore celebrate women musicians worldwide through their debut joint album Krasno/Moore Project: Book of Queens. The Concord Jazz release is the first official studio collaboration between the longtime friends, who have known each other since the mid-90s. After sharing a stage during last year’s Jazz Fest, Krasno and Moore set off to create a new body of work that would make their wives proud. They teamed up with organist Eric Finland to recreate some of their favorite songs by musical queens. The result is a stunning collection of covers that sound vaguely familiar, yet quite unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.
Chali 2na and Cut Chemist have been inseparable for 35 years. It all started in 1987 when they formed their first group UNITY Committee just a couple years after Chali move from Chicago to Los Angeles.
In 1994 they combined forces with local rap group Rebels Of Rhythm to form Jurassic 5. Although J5 was in full swing making music and doing shows, Chali and Cut also were founding members of the fusion Latin group Ozomatli in 1995. Since then the two have been busy with both groups and still managed to find time to separate and embark in solo careers on the side. Cut Chemist went on to do remixes and features for such acts as DJ Shadow, Less Than Jake and Blackalicious. Chali also explored his rap prowess with such acts as Roots Manuva, Lyrics Born, Slightly Stoopid and Galactic just to name a few. Separately they also landed solo deals with Interscope and Warner Brothers.
The two have kept busy with their own separate careers while always finding time to collaborate. It’s a 35 year old friendship that manifests into music and art.
For the last three years they’ve been doing a special collaborative performance that tells the story of their lives in music together. The catalogue is as endless as the time they spent together creating over the years.
New York based rock-fusion band TAUK is teaming up with vocalist Kanika Moore of Doom Flamingo for a string of dates. After a number of highly energetic and powerful live collaborations including Electric Forest in 2018, Peach Festival and Resonance Festival in 2021, they decided to jump in the studio and write a song, which turned into Kanika spending two weeks with the band resulting in Moore songs. The tunes conjured up during this session are the basis of the TAUK Moore tour coming to a town near you.
TAUK has been painting with sound for nearly a decade now, pushing boundaries and reinventing themselves every chance they get. Founded by Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter, who began playing together as middle schoolers on Long Island, the band landed on its present incarnation in 2012, when college pal Teel joined full time.
Since then, the quartet has gone on to tour with the likes of Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, landed festival slots everywhere from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, racked up millions of streams across platforms, and garnered extensive critical praise with a series of widely lauded studio and live albums. The Washington Post hailed the band’s music as “a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities,” while Keyboard Magazine declared that their sound “doesn’t adhere to a single genre but, instead, creates its own,” and Relix dubbed them “an incredibly impressive ensemble of talent.”
Cimafunk is a Grammy-nominated, Afro-Cuban Rockstar. His name refers to his heritage as a “cimarrón,” Cubans of African descent who resisted and escaped slavery, as well as to the essence of his music that aims to subvert classical Cuban rhythms with innovative mixes of funk, afrobeat and hip hop. Cimafunk has received overwhelming praise touring the U.S. and Europe, making a name for himself as one of today’s great showman, performing an electric live show with La Tribu, his 9-person band from Havana. His live show is a celebration of groove and an unforgettable sonic and bodily experience. Cimafunk is redefining contemporary Cuban music as well as Afro-Latin identity and the fusion of black cultures. His latest album, El Alimento, was nominated at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.
There are a lot of musical influences and sources that Daniel Donato has drawn on during his career and that inform Reflector (Retrace Music), the Nashville guitarist-singer-songwriter-
He calls it Cosmic Country, a moniker that’s both self-descriptive and a statement of purpose. It’s an organic rock band aesthetic with plenty of roadhouse twang, a showcase for Donato’s instrumental virtuosity and facility for melodically infectious songcraft. Bridging Nashville and the Great West, Kentucky and mid-60s northern California, tie-dye and plaid, it’s a world of his own, and wide world of musical adventure at that.
“I think Cosmic Country is a tale as old as time, really,” Donato explains. “It’s yin and yang in a musical form. It’s three chords and the truth, and then on the other side it’s exploration and bravery. I really went through a lot of years of grinding, and still am, to achieve this sound which is a vehicle for my personality, and the personality is a vehicle for my soul. So (Reflector) is more that than any other record I ever put out.”
Reflector’s 15 songs offer 66 minutes of ecstatic musical immersion. It’s an album in the classic sense of the word, tracks that are individually memorable but sound even better coming one after the other and make the sum greater than the total of its parts. “We’re touching on a lot with this record, which is also why there’s so many songs on it,” acknowledges Donato, whose stinging Fender Telecaster tone is the strongest glue of continuity throughout — and is positively screaming on tracks such as “Gotta Get Southbound” and “Dance in the Desert Pt. 2.” “If you’re the kind of person who wants to listen to a record and have a record be a companion with you, then Reflector is going to vibrate in your frequency.”
Donato’s own musical frequency was tuned at a young age, while growing up in Nashville. His father “picked around a guitar a small bit;” more importantly, he instilled in his son a discerning taste for quality music, filling his son’s ears with legendary music of all genres. The rock meanwhile, came from Guitar Hero; the game was crucial to broadening Donato’s vistas of listening to JImi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, et al, as well as a particular attraction to Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City. “Those players stuck with me and gave me my first foundation of guitar,” says Donato, whose father taught him his first chords on one of his old guitars. “I was a strange kid — still am a strange person. I really didn’t have any friends that got me, but the guitar understood me, and I had a vision for what my life could be.”
It was Papa Donato who suggested the fledgling and industriously minded (even at just 14) artist start busking in Nashville’s lower Broadway area and outside concerts, for eight hours at a time on the weekends. After one of those sessions the two happened by Robert’s Western World, a legendary honky-tonk where local mainstay the Don Kelly Band was onstage – which was also Donato’s first time playing a Telecaster, through a Fender amplifier no less. “I played country songs and fell in love with it,” says Donato, who became a member of the band, playing four hours a night at Robert’s (464 shows in total). “Their songbook was that of my main influences still to this day — Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Bob Wills, Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, traditional bluegrass music, Hank Williams Sr. — old-timey music with real stories and emotions that everybody has. It just hooked me right away.”
Another piece of the puzzle came through later in Donato’s teenage years — the Grateful Dead, thanks to a high school American History teacher who gave him a pile of bootleg recordings when he was 18. “When I discovered Jerry Garcia, there’s really never been anyone who writes like that,” says Donato. “From there I went on to discover Bob Dylan and all the great writers and made me want to make that part of what I did as well.”
The whole package of player, singer, writer and band leader was in place when Donato began working on his own during 2018. It was on display via his first album, A Young Man’s Countryin 2020 but refined on Reflector, which features all original songs and finds Donato and his band – Nathan Aronowitz (keyboards/vocals), Will McGee (bass/vocals) and Noah Miller (drums and percussion) –honed from playing more than 200 shows during 2022, after the Covid lockdowns had lifted. That allowed Donato to not just play again but also to road test the songs that would comprise the album and expand the audience.
“We were home for less than two weeks between January and September of 2022,” says Donato. “There was the existential necessity of going through a staggering amount of growth. All those shows and all those hours of experience really curated my values as an artist. That informed my composition, informed my band-leading…everything that goes into making music that has real value and impact.”
Donato had good help in achieving that on Reflector; he enlisted producer Vance Powell, a six-time Grammy Award winner whose eclectic resume ranges from Chris Stapleton and Martina McBride to Phish and Clutch to Buddy Guy and the Jack White universe of the White Stripes, the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. They’d actually met when Donato was a teen playing at Robert’s, and he remembers Powell telling him that “one day you’re gonna make a record, and I want to work with you,” which made him the perfect candidate to help Donato achieve his far-reaching vision this time out.
“Vance was on damn near every record I enjoyed,” he notes. “He seemed like the only logical choice to take a band that has country songs and old-timey folky songs that also jams and organize it into a digestible piece.”
It’s hard to find a more concise summation of Reflector than that. It kicks off with the joyous Southern rock roll of “Lose Your Mind,” a sound echoed in other tracks — especially the harmony-laden “High Country” — and gets high ‘n’ lonesome on “Halfway in Between.” “Double Exposure’s” slinky funk is accented by dueling guitar lines, while “Half Moon Night” and the instrumental “Sugar Leg Rag” feel like a contemporary incarnation of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys. “Gotta Get Southbound,” weighing in at nearly eight minutes, dances through its ebb and flow dynamics, and “Faded Lovin’” echoes the organic majesty of The Band. Donato and company get their cosmic on with both hip-swaying parts of “Dance in the Desert” — one more acoustic, the other a trippy electric opus — and the richly melodic odyssey “Weathervane.”
Reflector — which features Nashville pedal steel legend Paul Franklin on four tracks — also reflects “the work I did on myself and the work I did on my art” during the past three years, according to Donato. “I really started discovering new psychological and ritual domains I wasn’t really aware of,” he explains. “The whole concept of Reflector is of a duality. The entire world that you see externally is a reflection of your internal world, so you have this internal world you exist in and this external world you exist in, and that’s what this work is about. I like dualities; it allows me to see where each side of the fence post is, and I can paint in the middle.”
The middle of anything has never sounded as engrossing and beguiling as Donato makes it on Reflector. These are songs that prompt a listener to hit “repeat” and that stick with you long after they’ve finished playing. They hit the heart, the soul, the mind — and the cosmos, making it the kind of trip you won’t want to end any time soon.
Song by timeless song Eggy reaches out a hand, inviting you along as a great story unfolds. Eggy’s music traces the full spectrum of emotions evoked by a life well-lived alongside friends well-loved.
For as long as he can remember, Ryan Montbleau’s been a seeker. From the jungles of Peru to the volcanoes of Hawaii, from the beaches of Costa Rica to the streets of Brooklyn, from the backseat of a 16-passenger van to backstage at Carnegie Hall, the acclaimed singer/songwriter has spent much of his life crisscrossing the globe on a perpetual search for meaning, purpose, and understanding. It’s a quest that’s guided him both personally and professionally over the years, one that’s come to define not only his music, but his very sense of self.
Cool Cool Cool blends the best of Funk, House, and R&B to create a sound that is truly unique. With dynamic female-led vocals, a tight horn section, swirling synths, and a rhythm section that lays down a wicked groove, this band knows how to deliver an electrifying performance. When you see Cool Cool Cool in person, you’ll be swept up by the energy of their music and unforgettable live show.
After spending more than a decade traveling the world together with the touring act Turkuaz, the members of Cool Cool Cool decided to team up and form their own band in 2022. Their shared experiences, from playing dive bars to international festival stages, helped them develop a close bond that goes far beyond music. In Cool Cool Cool, this bond translates into a powerful synergy that allows each band member to showcase their individual talents, creativity, and passion.
Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz is psyched to return to Jam Cruise 20 with a pair of sets, one featuring his own music, and the other being the return of the fan fav, Lebo’s All Star Yacht Rock at Sea!! Lebo is a six-string slinger and singer known for his one of a kind versatility, deft songcraft, and irresistible charm. Possessing a signature tone, the vehicle for his fluid, buttery sound is a flat top acoustic guitar that he has personally sliced and diced into an electric flat top, with a vintage style humbucker pickup. Inherently committed to an improvisational approach, Lebo embodies the realm of melodic and soulful sounds.
Próxima Parada means ‘next stop’ in Spanish and Portuguese. As college students in San Luis Obispo, California taking the bus to school, at every stop they’d hear, “Now approaching, próxima parada…” 100 times a day. After ten years of next stops, their songs have become more and more focused on personal growth and groove, where each player adds just what’s needed and makes up a piece of a whole. Some songs are sunny and light-hearted indie soul, others have a late-Mac-Miller mellow vibe, all the while speaking to who they are working to be. 2023 will bring Próxima Parada’s strongest album to date and much touring.
What began as an all-female festival collab quickly morphed into a serious passion project driven by sisterhood, harmony and humor…along with the shared desire to rage fiddle tunes and smash the patriarchy.
Big Richard is a neo-acoustic super group made up of four well established Colorado musicians: Bonnie Sims on mandolin (Bonnie & Taylor Sims/Everybody Loves An Outlaw/Bonnie & the Clydes), Joy Adams on cello (Nathaniel Rateliff/Darol Anger/Half Pelican), Emma Rose on bass + guitar (Sound of Honey/Daniel Rodriguez/Whippoorwill) and Eve Panning on fiddle (Lonesome Days).
Formed in late 2021, the band gained immediate notoriety for their charismatic stage presence and their vocal/instrumental prowess. After selling out all of their club shows Big Richard quickly started confirming festival appearances across America.
Magic Beans have a passion for music that is as infectious as their songs, both of which have gained them national notoriety in a short time. The band honors the wide diaspora of American music by incorporating the flavors of funk, R’n’B, rock, soul, and even some country influence into a complete package that is noticeably their own. Their latest release, Unzipped, is an all instrumental tribute to lo-fi recording techniques, hip hop beat tapes, and 90’s neo-soul. Previous studio releases like, Slice of Life, showcase the bands’ depth of songwriting and composition as well as their knack for catchy lyrics. The Beans have extensively toured their analog dance music and neo-jam across the whole country, earning them an expansive fanbase.
Seamlessly combining the familiar tones and accessible sounds of the past with a modern spin makes the band a hit with music fans of any generation. Their soulful songs and entrancing dance grooves will fill your cup and leave you wanting more. Intended to move your body and your heart, the band draws you in with their music and their wonderful fanbase, Team Bean, makes sure you stick around. With an impressive repertoire of 100+ songs and resume of 1000+ shows in their wake as a young group, Magic Beans are sure to be one of those bands you’ll keep your ear on for a long time.
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 newly formed 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.
This seven-piece band emerging from behind the redwood curtain in Humboldt County, California is skyrocketing through the west coast music scene. Shoveling out their own path, and consistently wowing audiences and filling concert venues, Diggin Dirt is no ordinary funk and soul band. Their sounds explode off the stage with a pure authentic energy, and once they have you in their clutches, the relentless dance party does not let up. Their intoxicating and infectious sound is fueled by a blazing horn section, pulsating rhythms, and searing guitars, that when combined into one, have been known to entice even the shyest of wallflowers to start movin and groovin. Tying it all together, is the band’s frontman, who is in possession of the pipes, charisma, moves, and natural-born-soul, and launches this ensemble into rarefied air. Behold, as they layer humble influences of psychedelic rock, Motown soul, Afrobeat, and even reggae, atop a sturdy foundation of late 60’s inspired funk music. You might have flashes of James Brown or Sly and the Family Stone, Otis Redding or Tower of Power, but make no mistake that you are in the presence of spine-tingling originality.
At the core of soul music is a vibrant, embracing spirit, one aimed at connecting the dots of humanity that reside on both sides of the microphone.
“It doesn’t matter if there are 10 people in the audience or a 1,000,” says Jordan Anderson, lead singer/keyboardist for J & The Causeways. “It’s that sacrifice we make of our art, so that people can feel it that much harder the first time they hear you.”
In a serendipitous sequence of events, J & The Causeways was formed at the legendary Maple Leaf Bar in New Orleans. A juggernaut soul/R&B ensemble, the group is filled with heavy backbeats and a soaring horn section, all swirling around the magnetic vocal stylings of Anderson.
“Bluegrass meets Rock n Roll” in this acoustic sextet shaped in Springfield, MO, the heart of The Ozarks. Much like your favorite t-shirt, The HillBenders just feel good. Romping through the musical thicket with over 15 years of touring underfoot, the original 5 members remain steadfast while recently adding revered drummer John Anderson to their live and studio efforts. With a feather filled cap of accolades The HillBenders continue to spread joy musically with their high-energy performances, diverse song catalog, and a slice of humor making way for what appears to be more of a brotherhood than a business – and each audience they play for becomes a part of that family. Original music and mash-up projects like their “WhoGrass” show, along with collaborations with Keller Williams’ on Grateful Grass, PettyGrass, and KellerGrass, keep The HillBenders busy at festivals, theaters, and performing arts centers across the USA and the world!
Mike Dillon is a Texas Bred and Spread percussionist who spends most of his time in New Orleans hitting on percussion instruments with savory characters like Johnny Vidacovich, James Singleton, Stanton Moore, Brad Walker and Brian Haas. He spends way too much time on tour in his Chevy van and the Kansas City based artist Peregrine Honig calls him Suitcase Man. Coincidentally, they are married and make lots of art together. Lately, Mike has been playing with Rickie Lee Jones, Les Claypool’s Bastard jazz, Punkadelick, and Nolatet.
Everyone Orchestra is a masterfully conducted, fully spontaneous explosion of live music created by a rotating cast of world renowned musicians and led by conductor Matt Butler. Each show is 100% unique, as a carefully curated lineup of performers is guided through high energy, danceable grooves and beautiful songs that you won’t believe are created on the fly under the creative leadership of Matt’s cues and improvised whiteboard directives.
20 Years in, with over 1,000 different musicians joining in, EO continues to create in completely unique ways. Unlike other one-off “super jams”, Everyone Orchestra does not borrow from other artists’ song lists, but rather draws on the funky, jazzy, soulful, electronic, and Americana roots of the musicians who come together in a consistently stunning display of raw talent and imaginative improvisation. Having conducted members of bands ranging from the Grateful Dead to The Meters, Ween, King Crimson, Phish, Jane’s Addiction, String Cheese Incident and hundreds more, Matt Butler has mastered the art of drawing the best and most multi-dimensional talents of performers from all genres and backgrounds, pulling the sounds together in an extraordinary cohesive music experience. EO is thrilled to join in the epic celebration of Jam Cruise 20!
The theorem of turntablist as musician has been long proven in the capable hands of DJ Logic, whom with jazz as his foundation has become a wax innovator by crossing genres and mixing his sound across the map. As one of the world’s most accomplished turntablists, DJ Logic is widely credited for introducing jazz into the hip–hop realms and is considered by most as a highly-respected session musician and an innovative bandleader.
DJ Soul Sister is an internationally-known, veteran DJ artist, whose broadcast programs and live performances feature her personal collection of thousands of vinyl records, which earned her a spot in the book Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting.
A native of New Orleans, Soul Sister has hosted her Soul Power show on WWOZ FM New Orleans for 25 years (as of 2020), and has hosted internationally-aired radio programs on Sonos Radio and Worldwide FM, among others. She has been a crate digger and vinyl collector ever since she was six years old.
And as a DJ artist who self-produced her first event in 1997, her infamous sets and parties (such as the HUSTLE! party) led to her tenure as one of the longest-running DJ artists in her hometown. Notably, her sets only feature the music she loves, as she improvisationally and skillfully mixes, blends, and beat-matches vinyl-only selections of 1970s – mid-1980s R&B, funk, soul, rare groove, underground disco, jazz fusion, true school hip hop, and more.
Duane Betts is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. The Sarasota, Florida native cut his teeth as a teen sitting-in regularly with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Allman Brothers Band, before relocating to Southern California and leading rock outfits Backbone69 and Whitestarr. Betts next spent nearly a decade playing guitar alongside his father, Dickey Betts, in his group, Great Southern. As well, he was a touring guitarist for folk-rockers Dawes, and a member of the brief supergroup, Jamtown, featuring G. Love, Donovan Frankenreiter, and Cisco Adler.
In 2018, Betts released his debut, Sketches of American Music, and toured as a guest of the Devon Allman Project. At year’s end Betts announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band, officially uniting with Allman, and with Berry D. Oakley, son of the late Allman Brothers Band founding bassist Berry Oakley.
With all of the different genres and influences that have shaped Moore, there has always been one thing about music that has stood out to her. “Most of all, I love the different ways music makes people feel.”
As the frontwoman for synth-rock powerhouse Doom Flamingo, she has captured the moving rhythms of music and intertwined them with her unique voice and fashion style. Her original tone and seamless effort are impossible to ignore. Kanika Moore is the type of entertainer who walks onto a stage with abundant talent, glowing front and center, and her path to the spotlight has been honest and well-deserved.
From Baltimore comes Cris Jacobs — an unexpectedly gritty soul-blues singer and guitarist with outlaw country ethos. Blending a variety of musical traditions, Jacobs creates a distinctive voice and sound of his own punctuated by emotive songwriting and explosive guitar playing. Equally at home playing heartfelt Americana ballads or funky blues rockers, Jacobs is known for his mesmerizing live shows, where his improvisational guitar playing, powerhouse band, and deep reservoir of songs make each night a unique experience. Named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know” in 2017, Jacobs has collaborated with the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville, and earned opening slots on tours with Sturgill Simpson and Steve Winwood. In his early days coming up in Baltimore, Jacobs spent 10 years as a member of eclectic rock band The Bridge before making his debut as bandleader and sole songwriter with 2012’s Songs for Cats and Dogs, emerging with renewed focus and a refined sound. With three solo albums to his name, a collaborative record with Ivan Neville aptly titled “Neville Jacobs”, songwriting credits that include bluegrass artists Audie Blaylock and Frank Solivan, New Orleans funksters Dumpstaphunk, and gospel legends Blind Boys of Alabama, Jacobs continues to evolve and display his wide range of writing and performing prowess. “No matter the song”, he says, “I just like to keep it soulful and let the music speak for itself.”
Adryon de León (Orgōne, Matador! Soul Sounds) is currently a featured principal vocalist/performer for the Disneyland Resort as well as a founding member of Pulp Friction, an extension of LA-based The Main Squeeze.
Adryon has contributed original vocals to Neal Francis, The New Mastersounds, The Humidors, feature films, and commercial sessions. Her featured vocals can also be found on the song “If Only You Could Save Me” on the Mank Motion Picture Soundtrack, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, submitted for Oscar consideration in December 2020.
Released January 2021 on Color Red, Adryon’s first solo single “Ally” is a call to arms for everyone fighting for racial equality and social justice. Available everywhere.
Lyle Divinsky made his living in the New York City subways for over 5 years. While singing underground by day and above ground by night, he slowly crafted his self-released album, Uneven Floors, which launched him into ears around the globe – reaching #2 on the UK Soul Charts and radio in every continent.
He wasn’t able to tour around it though, because within weeks of the release, he was picked up by the Colorado funk powerhouse, The Motet, which took him to some of the biggest stages in the country – from Red Rocks and Madison Square Garden to legendary venues like Tipitina’s in New Orleans and The Fillmore in San Francisco, as well as festivals like BottleRock, Summercamp, Electric Forest, Bumbershoot, Jam Cruise, and so many more.
He has truly taken his music from Subways to Stadiums.
When the world shut down, it gave us all time to pause and reflect upon who we are, what drives us… to recognize the complexities of this world and what it is to live in it. This drove Lyle into one of the most prolific creative periods of his life. The only thing… none of it was in the funk idiom, so the decision had to be made. After 5 years, 2 studio albums, 2 live albums, over 600 shows and over 10 million+ streams with The Motet, it was time to get back to his journey.
That journey has led us here. Lyle is rolling out 1 song every month in 2023, coalescing into a 4-Chapter Album Experience: Seasons.
Buckle up & get your ears ready.
A powerhouse vocalist whose incredible stage presence and vocal maturity rank with the best, Elise Testone is the perfect combination of soul, rock, attitude and restraint. Equally as impressive and at ease belting James Brown style vocals over a relentless funk groove as she is resting her voice gently over a ballad, Testone’s range of influences and vocal capacity Know few limits. From members of Queen and Fleetwood Mac to notable artists in the jam band scene such as Leo Nocentelli, Bernie Worrell, Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer, Robert Randolph, and so many more, Elise has been honored to have shared the stage and make studio recordings with so many great performers. In a world full of vocalists who seem to be acting, Elise Testone’s performance is anything but that. With her heart more exposed with every note, it’s not uncommon to find her on her knees and out of breath at the end of a hard driving soul tune – all in service of the music.
Sorceress. Alchemist. Beat Conductor. Funk Philosopher. Seneschal of Style. Purveyor of Pocket. Child of God. Agent of Love.
Nikki Glaspie is among the premier drummers in music today. As a founding member of The Nth Power, she’s blazing a path of light, and rolling waves of love in her wake. A student of J Dilla, James Brown, Led Zepplin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Gospel traditions, and all points between, Nikki Glaspie has toured the world as the drummer of Beyonce’s backing band SUGA MAMA, trotting the globe behind the likes of Maceo Parker, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Martin Luther, and more. Glaspie studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and credits Professor Angelamia Bachemin as her single greatest teacher/influence. For the better part of two decades, Nikki has been in-demand, with a who’s who of the jazz/funk scene. Nikki Glaspie is already a living legend, well before her fortieth birthday. Remarkably, it feels as though she has merely just begun!
Vaylor grew up knowing his picture is on the cover of one of the best selling southern rock albums of all time. Rather than let that fact set his musical course, Vaylor has spent decades establishing his own voice, studying and performing jazz, progressive, experimental, and avant-garde music with greats such as Pat Martino, Dweezil Zappa, Mike Keneally, Bernard Purdie, Johnny Vidacovich, and Col. Bruce Hampton, as well as establishing The Yeti Trio, an experimental fusion powerhouse for more than 20 years. But the music his family made with The Allman Brothers Band stayed with him. Now, with Brother & Sister, Vaylor is embracing his roots.
Ross James has spent the better part of the last decade on the bandstand at Terrapin Crossroads and travelling the world with Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. Along the way he’s shared the stage with John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Bob Weir, Jim James, John Mayer and many more. He’s a multi-instrumentalist whose main focus is guitar, but has also played bass & pedal steel in a variety of projects. Most recently, Ross & Eric Krasno started Jimi’s Dead, a mash-up of Jimi Hendrix & The Grateful Dead that Ross plays bass in.
Everyone Orchestra is a masterfully conducted, fully spontaneous explosion of live music created by a rotating cast of world renowned musicians and led by conductor Matt Butler. Each show is 100% unique, as a carefully curated lineup of performers is guided through high energy, danceable grooves and beautiful songs that you won’t believe are created on the fly under the creative leadership of Matt’s cues and improvised whiteboard directives.
20 Years in, with over 1,000 different musicians joining in, EO continues to create in completely unique ways. Unlike other one-off “super jams”, Everyone Orchestra does not borrow from other artists’ song lists, but rather draws on the funky, jazzy, soulful, electronic, and Americana roots of the musicians who come together in a consistently stunning display of raw talent and imaginative improvisation. Having conducted members of bands ranging from the Grateful Dead to The Meters, Ween, King Crimson, Phish, Jane’s Addiction, String Cheese Incident and hundreds more, Matt Butler has mastered the art of drawing the best and most multi-dimensional talents of performers from all genres and backgrounds, pulling the sounds together in an extraordinary cohesive music experience. EO is thrilled to join in the epic celebration of Jam Cruise 20!
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