Jam Cruise 21 | Feb. 14-19, 2025 | MSC Divina

With an ethos rooted in exploration, STS9 has been a sonic pioneer for two decades. Using electronic and acoustic means, the instrumental five-piece—comprised of Hunter Brown (guitar/keys), Jeffree Lerner (percussion), David Phipps (keyboards), Zach Velmer (drums), and Alana Rocklin (bass)—channels the primordial and celestial, producing a cutting edge sound that has forged a path for multiple generations of electronic dance music.

STS9’s innate sense of innovation is grounded by the group’s desire to forge universal connections. Seamlessly integrating their exploratory and improvisation-based music with a fully immersive light show, each performance is a transcendent celebration of humanity. The group continues to find ways to build community, consistently spearheading charitable efforts and founding its own independent record label, 1320 Records.

Having released twelve albums in the last twenty years, STS9’s legacy unfolds into the future. The group has been honored with induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and earns headlining slots at countless music festivals across the country. With the help of the group’s dedicated fanbase, STS9 has performed countless shows nationwide and consistently sells out legendary venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

After over a decade of relentless touring and recording in all but complete obscurity, the Texas-bred quasi-collective suddenly found itself held up by the press and public as one of the major figures in the jazz world. But as the category names for all five of the band’s Grammy awards would indicate (Best R&B Performance in 2014, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016, 2017, 2021, and 2023), Snarky Puppy isn’t exactly a jazz band. It’s not a fusion band, and it’s definitely not a jam band. It’s probably best to take Nate Chinen of the New York Times’ advice, as stated in an online discussion about the group, to “take them for what they are, rather than judge them for what they’re not.”

Snarky Puppy is a collective of sorts with as many as 20 members in regular rotation. At its core, the band represents the convergence of both black and white American music culture with various accents from around the world. Japan, Argentina, Canada and the United Kingdom all have representation in the group’s membership. But more than the cultural diversity of the individual players, the defining characteristic of Snarky Puppy’s music is the joy of performing together in the perpetual push to grow creatively.

Their latest Grammy winning album – Empire Central – was released in September 2022. Its sound is big and bold, chill and laid back, rooted in its native culture while reaching outward, forward bound. With 16 new compositions, the group looks fondly at where it’s come from, confident in the polished power from which its members continue to build the unique Snarky Puppy sound.

Their sound now rises like a skyscraper from a 21st century orchestra comprising three guitarists, four keyboardists, two brass, two reeds, a violinist, multiple percussionists and drummers and the accomplished, yet modest, Michael League keeping it all together with his bass.

“Our soundscape has expanded dramatically over the years” says League. “When the band started, we were jazzier, brainy and music oriented. Moving into the Dallas scene we became groovier, more emotional, deeper in a sense. We focused more on communicating a clear message, understandable to a listener without dumbing things down”.

Always evolving in its musical output, each new record brings a new vision and progressive direction, “Snarky Puppy has always been a band that prioritizes the sound of music, our rule is that it can’t sound like it sounded before” comments League, he continues, “the music has to feel like it’s moving somewhere”.

And moving somewhere it most definitely has. The Empire Central World Tour, which started in the USA in April 2022, has taken the band to 30 US States and 33 countries around the world. It’s incredible, although not at all surprising, how far Snarky Puppy have come since ten friends got together at the University of North Texas in 2004. It also raises the question – where will Snarky Puppy go next? For Snarky Puppy fans, the answer to this question is a very exciting prospect.

Twenty-five years into their genre-defying electronic music career, Thievery Corporation’s founding principles of D.I.Y. and inclusion have become key themes in mainstream social conversation. After a dozen highly acclaimed full-length albums, remix LPs, concert recordings, and over two decades of incendiary live performances that have thrilled audiences worldwide, Thievery Corporation’s music and message is more relevant and important now than ever.

That lack of filter enabled Garza and Hilton to mine their musical inspirations and create one of the most unique bodies of work in electronic music, respectfully incorporating tastes of international cultural styles, without ever falling into the trap of cultural appropriation. “We always wondered: with so much incredible music in the world, why would anyone limit themselves to one genre? Well, we found out — it’s far easier to stay in one lane than to genre hop!” laughs Hilton. Garza elaborates: “When we started, we were influenced by music from all over the world, flipping through bins in second hand record stores for LP’s from Brazil, India, Iran, Jamaica, jazz records… we wanted to make music where you didn’t know whether it was recorded today or a decade ago.” Thievery Corporation’s music has always looked toward the future while paying homage to the past, starting with their groundbreaking debut LP, 1996’s “Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi,” which both introduced the world to Garza and Hilton as producers and set their course as pioneers of song-based electronic music with wildly diverse vocalists.

The band’s legendary D.C. headquarters, the Eighteenth Street Lounge, became an epicenter for a diverse group of people and staff from all over the world, which in turn had a profound influence on their musical output. “D.C. was very cosmopolitan, lots of places to see international live music and jazz,” says Garza. “We’d run into people from all over the world and invite them to play with us — so Thievery became an extension of that, both on our records and in our live performances.” Indeed, Hilton and Garza’s “Outernational” approach created a world reflected by the artist’s ideals of diversity and acceptance. “25 years after we started, it seems like the world is catching up,” Garza opines. “Social consciousness is more mainstream, awareness of the importance of inclusivity…it’s so encouraging to see so many people working towards these goals in America.” Hilton agrees. “Thievery is a reflection of who we are, it evolved from our musical tastes. Artists who were for the people, like The Clash, Fela Kuti, Manu Chao were so important to us, and engaging in social ideas has always been a part of what we’ve tried to do.” People don’t refer to Thievery Corporation as “World Music,” but it’s safe to say that their music and ethos is global in its scope and ahead of its time at every turn.

In a live setting, Thievery Corporation avoids any electronic dance music tropes. Yes, you’ll dance, sweat and put your hands in the air… but their concerts are true performances, with a killer band of players and an array of vocalists from diverse global cultures. No two shows feel the same. “Our shows are VERY live, lots of energy, the combination of multiple instruments and singers that take you on a musical journey,” says Garza. “We have a sitar player, songs are in different languages — it’s a multicultural experience, people connect to the band and to each other, it’s beautiful.” With a world cautiously beginning to emerge from isolation and towards communal events, Garza is eager to return Thievery Corporation to live performance. “I feel like people have been waiting to celebrate together after being forced apart for too long. We’re all craving that.”

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.

“Jelly came to Fuji Rock in Japan with us to sing background with Macy Gray,” recalls Stanton. “We needed someone to sing one of our Galactic originals, and she stepped up. Since there was no time for rehearsal or soundcheck, she showed up prepared, knew the tune completely, and rocked it. When it came time to find someone new to sing with us, she was our first choice. She has such effortless stage presence and a very comfortable rapport with audiences. She also brings an element of unbridled fun!” That fun came across loud and clear on the 2020 single “Float.” Uplifted by Jelly’s powerhouse pipes, it hinted at the potential of their collective chemistry.

They laid the groundwork for this future upon coming together in 1994. Two years later, the guys dropped their full-length debut, Coolin’ Off, and hopped in a Ford Econoline van (with trailer in tow) for their very first official tour. Along the way, they released seminal albums such as 2007’s From the Corner to the Block, boasting collabs with the likes of Chali 2na, Juvenile, Trombone Shorty, DJ Z-Trip, and Boots Riley. During 2015, Into The Deep marked their first debut in the Top 25 of the Billboard Top 200 and second straight #1 bow on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart. Not to mention, it boasted the title track “Into The Deep” [feat. Macy Gray], racking up nearly 20 million streams and counting. Along the way, they performed alongside the likes of Dave Matthews Band, The Roots, Jack Johnson, Talib Kweli, the Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, B.B. King, Counting Crows, James Brown, and many more. They’ve also recorded and performed with the likes of Allen Toussaint [“Bacchus”] and Big Freedia “Double It”]. Most recently, 2019’s Already Ready Already garnered acclaim from New York Times, NPR Weekend Edition, Exclaim!, and many more, while they’ve appeared on the covers of Downbeat and Relix Magazine.

LP Giobbi is a multi-talented DJ, producer, jazz-trained pianist and activist who is quickly rising to superstar status. Since emerging in the dance scene in 2018, she has performed her “one-woman jam band” DJ sets blending her decks with her live piano plus sampler at high-profile festivals including Coachella, Playing in the Sand, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Tomorrowland and more. She played a string of sold out afterparties for Dead & Company’s final tour across New Orleans, Chicago, Philly, New York City, Boston, Boulder and San Francisco. She’s also supported iconic artists like Diplo, DJ Tennis, Sofi Tukker and Pete Tong (opening up for him two nights at London’s O2 Arena and then sitting in with the Ibiza Classics orchestra on a grand piano to play a song she wrote with them). LP Giobbi’s music has amassed over 150M streams across platforms and is hotly tipped as DJ Mag’s Best Producer of the Year, Spotify’s EQUAL Ambassador, Spotify RADAR’s Artist to Watch, Amazon’s Artists to Watch and TIDAL’s Artist to Watch 2023.

As Giobbi’s profile continues to rise, she continues to grow and explore, improvising her way towards her own musical ideal. She began remixing Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead music in her sets and after seeing how much of her young fanbase gravitated towards it, she knew there was something there that she could do to bring in a younger generation to this music and culture. “I love the jam band ethos,” says Giobbi, the daughter of two devoted Deadheads, who often appears onstage in one of an arsenal of Dead t-shirts. The Garcia Family caught wind of what she was doing, and was asked to do an official remix album for Jerry Garcia’s first solo album, Garcia, for its 50th anniversary, “I wanted to show this beautiful world to my community”. Garcia (Remixed) has received incredible love from the existing community, electronic community and this younger generation.

Wanting to change the statistic that only 2% of producers are women, she has provided thousands of female and gender-expansive individuals access to production workshops, online courses, and scholarship programs for LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC creators through her nonprofit FEMME HOUSE. They have also done stage takeovers at EDC and Hulaween Music Festival, as well as a Femme House Tour in partnership with Ableton that included in-person workshops during the day and booking all female/gender expansive lineups at night all across the US in 2022.

LP Giobbi’s debut album, Light Places, released on May 12, 2023 on Ninja Tune’s imprint Counter Records stands as a comprehensive declaration to who she is as an artist. Here, she brings an organic freedom found in improvised music (from long-standing inspirations Bill Evans and The Grateful Dead) and spontaneous collaboration to incorporate core principles of simplicity to often intricate structures of dance music, making for a set of songs that simply feel good. The process of creating complementary tracks coincidentally widened LP Giobbi’s artistic lens to expand her production abilities beyond the confines of crafting standalone singles. This broadened space gave LP Giobbi room to peel back multiple meanings contained in a simple phrase (“If Love is A Skill (feat. Sofi Tukker)”), wield dynamic tom fills and distorted bass with intent (“Georgia”) and harness the never-ending power of love from friends and family (“All I Need”). By the end, the album feels like something greater than itself and will leave anyone who comes across it feeling like anything is possible.

If you ever wondered what “seizing the moment” sounds like personified, look no further than Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, the four-piece musical powerhouse known for their head-turning high-energy psychedelic funk shows. Infectious energy is an understatement.

The Maryland quartet — “Scrambled Greg” Ormont [vocals, guitar], Jeremy Schon [guitar, vocals], Ben [bass, vocals], and Alex “Gator” Petropulos [drums, vocals]—not only squeezes the juice out of every second, but they harness life’s energy within their hypnotic hybrid of funk, rock and psychedelic groove.

“This album is a snapshot of our band as a group and as individuals,” notes Greg. “The title serves as a reminder that life moves fast, so we better make the most of each day, make each second count. 15 years as a band have flown by. We started in college and now we’re all growing up, most of us have even become dads recently, so we’re evolving both personally and musically, and we’re happily embracing those changes. That said, we still feel like kids when we’re getting wild on stage and know we always will.”

This forward motion has only accelerated over the years for Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Renowned as a live tour de force, PPPP has tallied tens of millions of streams and performed to impassioned crowds everywhere from Red Rocks Amphitheatre and The Capitol Theatre to festivals such as Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Jam Cruise, and more. Most recently, they earned widespread acclaim for 2022’s Perspective, a 12-track “funk-filled odyssey” as described by Relix. However, Day In Time saw them realize another level of cohesion in the studio.

“This album is the most cohesive group of songs we’ve ever had in the studio,” says Jeremy. “On our previous albums, there were usually older songs mixed in with our newer material. However, all the tracks on ‘Day In Time’ really represent our current writing style and where we are as a band today.”

A bevy of friends also joined the party. On the boisterous “Let The Boogie Out,” Here Come The Mummies’ horn section added healthy doses of funk and “truly decided to let the boogie out,” according to Jeremy. Ben “Smiley” Silverstein (The Main Squeeze; Smile High) shines on the titular “Day In Time” with a raucous keyboard solo, while keyboardists Joey Porter (The Motet) and Alric “A.C.” Carter (Tauk) join forces on the soulful “Overtime.” Carter also adds rich depth with keys on “Beneath The Surface,” while Jon O’Hallaron (Chalk Dinosaur) infuses rhythmic keys and electronic flavor on the instrumental standout, “Skinner.” Another first, all four members of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong take inspired solos on the same record.

“With this being our seventh full-length album, we’re more comfortable in the studio than ever, which has given us the freedom to take some bigger swings reminiscent of our live shows.” notes Greg.

In the end, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong are certainly making the most of the moment, and they might just inspire you to do the same.

ALO stands for Animal Liberation Orchestra—because music liberates the inner animal, of course. As liberated as they come, Zach Gill, Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, and Steve Adams have certainly been at this a long time. The trio met while still pre-teens in Saratoga, California, where they quickly connected through their love of music and sound.

In junior high, they got the idea to put together a band for the eighth-grade talent show. Zach recounts the struggle of the emerging artist thusly:“It’s hard to get all the pieces right, you know, you’re chasing a dream and an abstract vision, and you’re going through puberty. It’s kind of a lot.” Lebo elaborates,“We met at a time in our lives where we were coming of age and craving identity. Music, and more specifically, our band, gave us a vessel with which we could “set sail” on the ocean of life”.

And the rest is history, but history is always a crooked path. You end up where you belong, but the journey is never quite what you expected when you took the first step. 25 years in, Gill (keyboards, vocals), Lebo (guitar, vocals), Adams (bass, vocals) and “new-guy”- Bay Area drum legend-in-training Ezra Lipp (drums, vocals) have recorded their greatest work to date. Quite simply, this is what happens when the band doesn’t break up–the culmination of a lifetime of shared effort and camaraderie. Four master collaborators at the peak of their craft individually and collectively with nothing left to prove–near-telepathic cohesion.

These guys have played with everybody. From royalty like Phil Lesh and members of the Grateful Dead to SoCal surf-troubadour Jack Johnson, if the show happened in California, you’ll almost always find one of them in the corner of the shot and, sometimes, even in the center.

But you don’t really hear it all until you hear them together. And it urges repeat listening, because it’s a rich stew that only fully reveals itself with time, attention, a few tears, and a lot of love.

ALO call their music “jam-pop,”and the description is apt.Meticulously crafted, hooky and accessible compositions laced with improvisational departures in which they function as a single organism at once voice and consciousness. They’re always exploring, but never wandering. There is always intention, momentum, and a patience and confidence that can only be wrought from a quarter century of collaboration and water under the bridge.

The band’s new full-length album “Silver Saturdays” is a celebration of that crooked path, of having lived through a turbulent phase of human history, and of the winding road still to come.

Originally from Bristol, RI, Eric Bloom has become one of the most diverse trumpet players in the country.

He has attended William Paterson University(1999), New England Conservatory of Music(2001), and City College of New York(2004). Throughout his professional career, Eric has toured in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia with various artists. He has also appeared on many T.V. shows, including the Craig Ferguson Show, the Carson Daly Show, Jimmy Kimmel Show, the Today Show, the David Letterman Show, and the Conan O’Brien Show.

In 2011 Eric joined “Lettuce”, one of the most critically-acclaimed funk bands in the world today. Their last album “Crush”, released in 2015 was widely received amongst musicians and fans alike. In 2014, EBB moved to New Orleans and quickly made a name for himself in the Crescent City. In 2016, he played trumpet on Aaron Neville’s newest album, “Apache” and also won a Grammy for playing trumpet on Jon Cleary’s latest album, “Go-Go Juice”. When Eric is not on the road with “Lettuce”, he can be seen performing around New Orleans with a number of artists ranging from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Preservation Hall, Stanton Moore Trio, or his own groups Sonic Bloom and Eric Benny Bloom & The Melodies.

Some of the artists Bloom has played & recorded with are: Redman, Method Man, Chad Hugo, Schoolboy Q, RZA, Dave Matthews Band, Dr. John, Pharohe Monch, Meshell Ndegeocello, Talib Kweli, Questlove, Mark Whitfield, Ledisi, Solange Knowles, Ghostface Killa, David Hidalgo, Thievery Corporation, Booker T, Maceo Parker, Jimmy Herring, Warren Haynes, James Poyser, Derek Trucks, Diane Birch, Christian McBride, Lonnie Smith, Karl Denson, Butch Trucks, Taj Mahal, Galactic, Avishai Cohen, Bill Evans, Bernie Worrell, Fred Wesley, Alan Bernstein, John Medeski, Charles Bradley, Billy Martin, Slightly Stoopid, Doyle Bramhall II, Chaka Kahn, James Gadson, Willie Weeks, Jon Cleary, Gary Clark Jr., Jeff Bradshaw, Bob Weir, Skrillex, Griz, John Scofield, Govt Mule, Bill Kreutzman, G. Love, Ben Folds, Aaron Neville, Beats Antique, The Meters, Matisyahu, Chris Robinson, Umphrey’s McGee, Craig Robinson, MC Hammer, Kool & the Gang, Preservation Hall, Bonobo, Rikki Lee Jones, & Tedeschi Trucks Band.

GRAMMY Award-winning saxophonist Ryan Zoidis grew up in Portland, Maine as a prodigy of sorts, improvising in his second year of playing saxophone. As a teen, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music five-week summer program after junior year in High School, and returned the following summer where he connected with the guys who would go on to form the band Lettuce. After a year at Berklee, he joined rising Portland band, Rustic Overtones with whom he toured extensively. Soon after, they signed with the iconic Clive Davis at Arista Records, and made a record with longtime David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti, with two songs contributed by Bowie and another by British singer Imogen Heap.

In 2002, Lettuce released their debut full length LP Outta Here, followed by the live record Live in Tokyo in 2004. The realities of the music industry’s digital revolution then motivated Zoidis to seek different challenges, so he moved to NYC and began touring with organ trio Soulive (featuring Lettuce co-founder Eric Krasno). In addition to recording on Krasno’s record Blood from a Stone, Zoidis gigged with Soulive in various combos for several years, having the opportunity to perform with Stevie Wonder, Chaka Kahn, and dozens of other legendary artists. Meanwhile, Zoidis appeared on New Orleans’ pianist Jon Cleary’s Grammy Award-winning LP Go Go Juice, as well as critically acclaimed releases from the likes of J-Live, Aaron Neville, Talib Kweli, and The New Mastersounds. Zoidis continued to sporadically record and tour with Rustic Overtones and did session work out of New York City – including recording and mixing Royal Hammer’s My Bubble.

Zoidis’ focus then returned to Lettuce as they prepared their sophomore LP RAGE, released in 2008, on which Zoidis plays a Korg synth in addition to the saxophone. On the heels of that album’s success, Lettuce hit the road in support of RAGE, and haven’t looked back. The GRAMMY Award-nominated six-piece is comprised of Adam Deitch [drums, percussion], Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff [guitar], Erick “Jesus” Coomes [bass], Ryan Zoidis [alto, baritone, tenor sax, Korg X-911], Eric “Benny” Bloom [trumpet, horns], and Nigel Hall [vocals, Hammond B-3, Rhodes, clavinet, keyboards]. To date, their discography includes Outta Here [2002], Rage! [2008], Fly [2012], Crush [2015], the EP Mt. Crushmore [2016], the live album Witches Stew [2017], Elevate [2019], Resonate [2020], Unify [2022], and VIBE [2023]– a single 48 minute continuous session of pure, free-flowing improvisation. As an engineer and producer, Zoidis also has credits for mixing Resonate, Unify, and Live in Amsterdam by Lettuce. As the saxophonist of Lettuce bandmate Adam Deitch’s Quartet side project, 2019’s Egyptian Secrets and 2023’s Roll The Tape round out his recorded catalog.

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