On their new album Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, New York-bred band TAUK offer an unsettling but ultimately exhilarating look at artificial intelligence and its potential to upend our world. With its dynamic sense of tension and cinematic mastery of mood, TAUK’s all-instrumental blend of progressive rock, hip-hop, and jazz proves to be the perfect backdrop for such explorations, giving way to an album that’s both powerfully hypnotic and intensely thought-provoking.

“We’re all very much interested in A.I., and this idea of machines getting out of the hands of the people trying to control them,” notes TAUK guitarist Matt Jalbert, whose bandmates include bassist Charlie Dolan, keyboardist Alric “A.C.” Carter, and drummer Isaac Teel. “This album felt like a good setting to tell that kind of story, but in a way where we could have fun with it and let the listener escape into a whole other world.”

Equally inspired by classic sci-fi like Blade Runner and more recent films like Ex Machina, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak embeds that narrative into TAUK’s most sonically adventurous, emotionally expansive work to date. A continuation of their early-2018 EP Shapeshifter I: Construct, the new album picks up its predecessor’s narrative thread with “Prelude”: a fantastically unsettling intro track whose frenetic keyboard work and chilling vocal samples set the tone for what’s to come. “The idea is that in the EP you’re seeing the construction of this being, and in the album you’re seeing it break out and become something that you can’t ignore anymore,” Carter explains.

From there, TAUK charge forward with the driving rhythms of “Recreational Outrage” (a track laced with the ominous throb of a robotic heartbeat), the futuristic soundscape and heady grooves of “CMF 9000,” the gauzy reverie and glorious chaos of “Checkmate,” and the bright melodies and soulful guitar sprawl of “Convoy.” One of the album’s most mesmerizing moments, “Let It Ride” builds a brilliant tapestry from its luminous keyboard tones, kinetic guitar work, and kaleidoscopic rhythms. And on “Upside Down,” TAUK close out Shapeshifter II: Outbreak with a thrillingly epic burst of unfettered experimentalism.

Free-flowing yet elaborately composed, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak came to life in collaboration with TAUK’s longtime cohort Robert Carranza—a Grammy Award-winning producer/mixer/engineer also known for his work The Mars Volta, Ozomatli, Marilyn Manson, and Taj Mahal. In a departure from their previous releases (including 2016’s Sir Nebula), the band shunned the typical studio environment and holed up for weeks in a long-abandoned, century-old home that Teel describes as “the Jumanji house meets Addams Family meets Amityville Horror.” Located in their homeland of Long Island, the house turned out to be the ideal spot for their makeshift studio, allowing for a creativity-enhancing seclusion. “Overall the whole process was incredibly organic—there were no constrictions as far as time or space, nothing ever felt forced,” says Dolan. “There was a greater feeling of possibility, and it ended up being a really liberating experience for all of us.” Jalbert adds: “The location definitely added to the vibe of everything we were going for. It was like we set up a laboratory in the middle of nowhere and shut off the rest of the world, which really helped get us into a specific headspace.”

True to its thematic terrain, Shapeshifter II: Outbreak endlessly blurs the boundaries between organic and electronic, with TAUK broadening their sonic palette to include a vast spectrum of synth sounds and programmed effects (such as those exquisitely eerie vocal samples heard in “Prelude”). And in sculpting the album’s intricate arrangements, TAUK called on such esteemed musicians as The Naughty Horns, Ghost-Note’s Nate Werth (a percussionist who’s also played with David Crosby, Q-Tip, and Snarky Puppy), and Juan Alderete (longtime bassist for Racer X and The Mars Volta).

Throughout Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, TAUK reveal the potent chemistry they discovered in childhood, when longtime friends Dolan, Jalbert, and Carter formed their first band in seventh grade. After playing together in various projects, the trio brought Teel into the fold in 2012, cementing the final lineup. Since then, TAUK have shared stages with acts like Umphrey’s McGee, Widespread Panic, and Lettuce, appeared at festivals like Electric Forest and Bonnaroo, and earned acclaim from major outlets like the Washington Post (who praised TAUK for “creating a hard-charging, often melodic fusion that—thanks to a penchant for improv—offers limitless possibilities”). As Teel points out, the band’s incessant touring over the years has significantly strengthened their musical connection. “The four of us as individuals are all very animated souls in our own right,” he says. “We each have our ideas and our perspectives, and when it all comes together, it creates this collective statement that takes on a life of its own.”

In creating Shapeshifter II: Outbreak, TAUK made that statement more deliberate and impactful than ever before. But while several upcoming videos and the vibrant artwork of illustrator Raul Urias add a new dimension to the album’s concept, the band purposely maintained a certain open-endedness in its execution. “People tell us all kinds of stories about what our songs mean to them, and it’s always cool to see how wide the gamut of those stories is,” says Carter. “What the song means to me might not be the same as what it means to you, but that’s one of the great things about this whole experience. There’s room for everyone to develop whatever narrative they want.”

PONCÉ is a dynamic indie rock duo based in Nashville, TN consisting of twin brothers Carson and Michael Poncé. The twins efficiently cross genres; from classic, harmony-driven melodies reminiscent of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers, to modern, synth-led pop productions with melodic guitar leads evocative of The Killers and HAIM.

The twin’s debut EP ‘Afterglow’ was released in April 2017 and has enjoyed spins on over 50 college radio stations throughout the country and has generated licensing deals with MTV, Netflix, NASCAR and E! among others. The album was largely written during the course of touring while opening up for the alternative folk/indie pop band PHOX in 2015. Other selected tour history includes opening for acts such as Bomba Estéreo, Andy Frasco, Matt Thiessen, CBDB and The Ataris. 

“PONCÉ has zeroed in on what makes a good marriage of earnest 

pop and glossy rock, and they’ve channeled it into a batch of eight 

danceable, hook-laden songs.”

- Nashville Scene  

Every track is absolutely glowing with their genre-bending talent. 

The majority of the recording belongs alongside the best of the best 

of yesteryear, and we’ve been spinning it on repeat.” 

- IMPOSE Magazine

Martin’s Annual Crawfish Boil Featuring Southern Komfort Brass Band & Epic Funk Brass Band (Battle of the Brass Bands) 2 pm & Eric Deaton Trio Inside 9 pm.

Southern Komfort Brass Band

Founded in 2010, the Jackson (MS)-based Southern Komfort Brass Band brought together 7 musicians who quickly discovered their niche - New Orleans-style street jazz with a unique Mississippi twist.  Countless thousands have traveled to New Orleans to hear the likes of Dirty Dozen, Rebirth, Soul Rebels, Hot 8 and Lil' Rascals Brass Bands.  

Southern Komfort Brass Band presents a live show that focuses on traditional Brass Band standards, originals by the aforementioned groups, and Southern Komfort originals as well as special arrangements of popular blues, jazz and R&B tunes.  This party band has expanded their line-up to include up to 9 musicians. Their act is fast, fun and never fails to get their audiences singing, dancing and occasionally forming second-lines.  The Southern Komfort Brass Band appeared in the James Brown biopic movie "Get on Up" that was filmed in Mississippi in 2013-2014.

Epic Funk Brass Band

Jackson’s New Orleans Style Brass Band that blends Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop. You might catch yourself shaking what you got. They come to party.

Eric Deaton Trio

Eric Deaton moved from North Carolina to Mississippi straight out of high school and entered a higher education program of moonshine-fueled hill country blues at the world-renowned Junior Kimbrough's juke joint in the mid to late '90's. Apprenticing under the late trance-blues masters Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside (and various other members of their extended families), Eric was thoroughly immersed in the North Mississippi blues tradition. He played, lived and toured with other Mississippi blues artists such as T-Model Ford, Paul 'Wine' Jones, and Big Bad Smitty. Eric's sound is firmly rooted in the electric juke joint style, with dashes of influence from early Funkadelic, East Indian sitar drones, and a nod to the blues' West African root.  The trio also includes Kenny Kimbrough son of Junior Kimbrough.

American Aquarium

In the lush tobacco fields of North Carolina where BJ Barham was raised, people work hard. Families stay nearby, toiling and growing together. BJ loves those farms and his tiny Reidsville hometown, but he had to run off and start American Aquarium, a band now beloved by thousands.

BJ couldn’t stay. But he couldn’t really leave, either: he’s still singing about the lessons, stories, and lives that define rural America––and him.

“I moved to the big city to go to college and fell in love with music,” BJ says. “But half the songs on our record are about small towns––little pieces of my childhood. I’ve had moments where it turns out a piece of broken English my father repeated twice a week is the most accurate way to say something. So I put it in a song.”

American Aquarium’s seventh studio album Things Change offers the band’s finest collection of folk-infused Southern rock-and-roll to date. Stacked with BJ’s signature storytelling––always deeply personal but also instantly relatable––the record questions and curses current events, shares one man’s intimate evolution, and leaves listeners with a priceless gift: hope.

“In my early 20s, I was not as hopeful,” BJ says. “Now, as I’m getting ready to become a father, I think I have to be hopeful––especially with the situation our country is in now. For her sake, I have to be positive.” He pauses. “Her” is his daughter, due in the spring of 2018. BJ adds, “Being self-aware has always been a blessing and a curse. But that’s what’s always made my songwriting relatable to people. I don’t hold back. I’m almost too honest.”

BJ’s candor has fueled American Aquarium’s runaway appeal, visible most clearly in consistently sold-out shows across the country and throughout Europe – between 200 and 250 dates a year.  Much has changed for the band and BJ since their acclaimed last effort, Wolves. In 2017, every American Aquarium member save BJ quit the group. American Aquarium has featured about 30 players since BJ founded the outfit in 2006, and while each member has left indelible marks, the band has always been anchored by the literary songs and sometimes roaring, sometimes whispering, drawl of BJ Barham. BJ’s personal life also underwent seismic shifts: He got sober. He got married. Soon, he’ll be a dad.

Featuring a new band lineup that includes Shane Boeker on lead guitar, drummer Joey Bybee, bassist Ben Hussey, and Adam Kurtz on pedal steel and electric guitar, as well as a reinvigorated frontman in BJ, Things Change is American Aquarium’s first release on a label after selling thousands of records on their own. “As an artist, your goal is for the newest thing you do to be better than the last. You’re slowly whittling away the bullshit to try and get to the truth,” BJ says. “With this album, I learned how to cut some of that fat so that it’s just truth. It’s our best record.”

Recorded at 3CG Records in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Things Change was produced by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter John Fulbright and features cameos from Americana standouts including John Moreland and Jamie Lin Wilson. Brazen album opener “The World is on Fire” is a richly layered rock-and-roll anthem that documents BJ and his wife’s stunned reaction to the last presidential election. Emotional and conversational, the song taps into widespread feelings of confusion and fear: “She said, ‘What are we going to do? What’s this world coming to?’ / For the first time in my whole life, I stood there speechless.” But what begins as despair builds into defiant faith, as BJ growls a call to action to cap off one of his favorite songs he’s ever written. “I’m complaining about the state of things, and then the third verse almost serves as a challenge to myself: hey, you’re in charge of another human being. You can create change,” he says.

Driving rock-and-roller “Crooked + Straight” explores the small-town consequences of questioning religion, and the tightness of family in the face of one member’s rejection. His father’s advice anchors the song. “I come from a blue-collar family. I’m the only one who didn’t go into farming. I learned if you want something, you have to go out and take it. You can’t expect anything from anybody,” BJ says. “You can only go out there and work harder. My dad always said you can outwork anybody else.” Love for hard work and the people who carry it out appears repeatedly throughout Things Change. Guitar-heavy “Tough Folks” is a snarling ode to those with dirt under their fingernails, while bass- and pedal-steel-infused “Work Conquers All” spins a tale in praise and pursuit of Oklahoma’s state motto.

The album’s love songs are the kind of achingly beautiful that only comes with maturity and a willingness to expose one’s own flaws. Haunting “Shadows of You” recalls a lover’s flight as the protagonist longs for what he let get away. Gorgeous “Till the Final Curtain Falls” celebrates loyalty and pledges endless devotion. The moving title track takes an often doleful topic––people’s tendency to change––and turns it on its head, tracing BJ’s personal growth and recognizing his now-wife’s steadfast love.

BJ’s other two favorite tracks are album standouts. Moving “When We Were Younger Men” addresses the break-up of American Aquarium head on. As BJ professes love for his former bandmates over stripped down acoustic guitar, his voice is honeyed and deep. “It’s an open letter to five guys who I spent eight years of my life with seeing the entire world,” BJ says. “I think anyone who has ever had to walk away from a friendship or has had somebody walk away from them will relate to the song.” Stunner “One Day at a Time” is self-perceptive and vulnerable, detailing BJ’s battles with himself. Even within his career full of well-written gems, the song is a towering accomplishment.

“At the end of the day, if you’re not writing songs to affect other people’s lives, you’re in it for the wrong reasons,” BJ says, reflecting on the new album, where he’s been, and where American Aquarium is headed. “Money may come and go. You may never get fame. But if you sit down and write songs to affect people, you can do it your whole life and be happy.”

Joshua Ray Walker

A good night out drinking can find us making best friends out of people we’ve just met, but the best nights out are the ones that catch us unexpectedly sharing our innermost feelings and secrets with a complete stranger. Those uninhibited moments of truth and vulnerability are the same ones mined by Dallas singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker on his debut full-length Wish You Were Here. Through his incisive songwriting, Walker faithfully captures both the highs and lows of working class living.

In 2018, Walker opened for several of Texas’ favorite acts, such as Old 97’s, Eleven Hundred Springs, Two Tons of Steel, Vandoliers and James Hand at legendary venues like The Blue Light in Lubbock, Stubbs in Austin and The Dance Hall at Luckenbach. For an average of 250 nights a year, Dallas’ classic country torchbearer shares pieces of himself with an effortless sincerity that has brought his audience to both tears and laughter – often at the same time. Told through a melodic, character-driven writing style that’s honest to a fault, Walker depicts a cast of subjects on his debut that are down but never out.

There’s the portrait of a 13-year-old lady of the streets painted in his lead single “Working Girl,” which melds an up-tempo melody with clever wordplay projecting the strengths and struggles of a young woman just “doing what she’s gotta do to get by.”

“I often unintentionally write from the perspective of characters that I dream up,” says Walker. “I can usually attribute a character to a person I’ve met, or people that I’ve known, combined with similar traits I find in myself. If it’s by poor decisions or circumstances beyond their control, I find inspiration from the downtrodden and destitute. I see myself in these characters. I use these characters to explore things about myself in songs I’d otherwise be too self-conscious to write about.”

But Wish You Were Here’s best moments come when Walker sets aside the pretense of his characters, letting down his guard on tracks like the second single, “Canyon,” to reveal his own fears, biggest insecurities and insatiable longing felt throughout his father’s ongoing battle against Stage 4 lung cancer.

“I’m a big, big man,” he sings in its gut-wrenching chorus. “Not just in size or in stature, but in terms of space that can’t be filled. I’m a bottomless canyon without a drop to spill.”

Raised on the sounds of the Smoky Mountains, Walker has been playing music since he was a small child, walking next door to his grandfather’s house — an avid bluegrass fan and novice musician himself — every day after school to listen to records together. He also learned his first 

Based in Florence, AL, Winston Ramble describes their music as homegrown folk n’ roll.  With members originally hailing from the free state of Winston County, AL, the band aims to interject the raw expression of rock n’ roll into the feel good vibes of acoustic music.

“At the end of the day, we want people to have a good time when they hear our music.  We want it to make you smile, sing along, nod your head, stomp your feet, or get down and groove - and that’s because we feel that way about the music we play, and we love playing it.  That attitude and energy is contagious, and hard to resist.”

                            -Justin Oliver, mandolin/vocals

Shake It Like a Caveman

“Rock Et Sauvage” Elle Magazine Paris, France

“A Sexy Trance Inducing Experience” The North Coast Journal Humbolt County, California

“Electric neo-blues & amped-up disco porn grooves” The Philadelphia Examiner

“Shake it like a Caveman makes music that rocks like only a 10-piece outfit can. The thing is, Shake It Like A Caveman is a one-man-band”. KUT- Radio Austin, Texas

“Exuberant and gritty garage-stomp. Instantly, this music spoke to me”…. Nashville Scene

“Shake it like a caveman’s electric convulsive twist provide a hearty tonic for lingering spiritual deficits.” Indy Week, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

“Authentic broken down no messing proper sounding old school blues that is good for your soul.” Organ- London, England
Shake it like a caveman is no stranger to the highway. He’s a one man band dance party, thrusting somewhere between poolside film scores and early American work songs. Sonic and Visual dynamite that makes you move that thang.

Shake it like a caveman is a one man band. Formed in Tennessee in 2005. Shake it like a caveman simultaneously plays slide guitar, harmonica, kick drum, kick snare, hi hat, and vocals. This is dance party music with heavy influence drawn from Memphis, TN and the Mississippi hill country sound. The artist has released multiple independent recordings in the USA and has released 2 recordings in Europe on the French Rock n’ Roll Label-Beast Records. Shake it like a caveman currently performs worldwide at festivals, club dates, radio and TV.

Shake it like a caveman is no stranger to the highway. He’s a one man band dance party, thrusting somewhere between poolside film scores and early American worksongs. Sonic and Visual dynamite that makes you move that thang.

Noncannah

Emerging from the ruins of acclaimed North Carolina ambient/drone duo Lost Trail, Nonconnah is the newest experiment in spaced-out instrumental sonics from Zachary and Denny Corsa. Named for a mysterious creek running along the borders of their new home of Memphis, the Corsas are now joined by multiple skilled collaborators in expanding Lost Trail’s heady blend of swirling shoegaze guitar layers, otherworldly field recordings, and eerie tape collages. The result is a series of fresh explorations into the dark attics and deepest fathoms of the world looming beyond this world, or at least fleeting glimpses through the thinning veil that hangs between them. 

“Jamband of the Year” & “Studio Album of the Year” Reddit 2018

CBDB is a progressive rock, jam-band from Alabama and their music is spreading from the southeast across the nation like wildfire. Defining a newfound, southern blend of joyous and progressive rock n roll, they channel a sonic mix of soulful vocals and virtuosic musicianship with smart, tasteful songwriting. On stage, each member of CBDB fluidly plays between complex composition and loose exploratory improvisation creating an incredible and unique live experience.

CBDB has played major festivals including Hulaween, Okeechobee, Sweetwater 420, Summer Camp, Electric Forest, Sloss, Aura, Backwoods, Euphoria, and The Werk Out. They’ve also shared the stage with the likes of Umphrey's McGee, Papadosio, Galactic, Kyle Hollingsworth Band, Perpetual Groove, The Wailers, Blues Traveler, and many more.

Fresh off the release of their impressive third full-length album ‘Out of Line’ - recorded at Zac Brown’s legendary Southern Ground Nashville studio - CBDB is set to take the country by storm. Soaring monthly listeners and followers have further propelled their growth & continue to bring the band widespread attention, interest, and new fans daily. Dive into CBDB's eclectic catalog of tunes today and catch them live on tour near you soon!

Little Raine Band, based in Birmingham, AL, has an ever-evolving sound and fan base reaching all over the Southeast. These four musicians strive to master the art of improv and creating a singular live show. LRB crafts their sound from their unique musical backgrounds and influences. Elements of prog rock, fusion, electronica, soul, and energetic improv can be heard at a Little Raine Band show.

Opposite Box is an experimental rock band from Chattanooga, Tennessee known for seamlessly blending 70s-inspired progressive rock and contemporary jazz-fusion with a variety of shifting genres and psychedelic soundscapes, all while maintaining a fun, enthusiastic dedication to live performance.

Comparable artists:  Frank Zappa, Parliament-Funkadelic, Aquarium Rescue Unit, the Mars Volta, Primus, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mr. Bungle.

PRESS
“… the band effortlessly melds [styles]. Experimental rock, psychedelic funk and more. I really need to emphasize how natural the transitions seem in the songs. There are vocals; some good ones at that but the music itself felt like it came first most of the time.” – Dan Weston/Divide and Conquer
Full Divide and Conquer Review

“Opposite Box, [who] has always been a controlled explosion on stage, still keeps that improvisational feel while adding funk and jazz to the mix.” – Dave Weinthal/Enigma
Full Enigma Review

Blackwater Brass has a strong following along the Gulf Coast and has received accolades including the Covey award for best Mississippi funk/jazz/blues group (2017 & 2018), Sun Herald People's Choice for favorite local band (2016, 2017, & 2018), and have even had two beers named after them at the Crooked Letter Brewing Co. The band has been heavily influenced by New Orleans style funk mainstays like The Meters, Galactic, and Dirty Dozen Brass Band, but regularly drops in hints from many genres across the spectrum from hip hop to jazz as well as a mix of fun pop covers throughout a performance, in addition to their original music. The band also draws on the versatility of its 10-piece lineup, and can switch from a full funk band setup (with horn section, keys, guitar, bass, and drums) to acoustic secondline band as the situation requires, and always keeps the party going! 

Cary Hudson

Cary Hudson is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from the great state of Mississippi who resides somewhere between Memphis and New Orleans. He is a former drugstore clerk, landscaper, farm hand, waiter, house painter, pizza deliverer, and fry cook who currently spends his time canoeing the creeks of south MS, riding his bike to the snowcone stand, and going for leisurely walks with his dogs.

Cary’s music career began with a bang when his band placed third at the Sumrall High School Talent Show in 1980. In the late 80’s he moved to Oxford and started The Hilltops with John Stirratt (currently bassist with Wilco), and shortly thereafter John’s twin sister Laurie joined the band. After five years of touring, recording, and liver damage, The Hilltops called it a day and Cary and Laurie moved to Los Angeles in 1990. 

While living in Venice, Cary worked in a deli and hung out with the guys in Weezer (fun), walked on Zuma Beach hoping to meet Neil Young, started a band called Blue Mountain with Laurie, and experienced the Rodney King riots (not fun). After moving back to Oxford in 1992, Blue Mountain began touring nationally, signed a deal with Roadrunner Records, and recorded their classic Dog Days album with producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel. They went on to record more albums, played shows with Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Wilco, The Jayhawks and Wille Nelson, were the cover story of the second No Depression magazine, and in 2011 were voted “Most Legendary Oxford Band” by the readers of The Local Voice. After parting ways with Roadrunner, Cary and Laurie started Black Dog Records with Chris Hudson and released albums by Blue Mountain and Marah, among others.

Blue Mountain went on hiatus in 2002 and Cary began working as a solo artist, touring and releasing five albums. Blue Mountain reformed in 2007, recorded Midnight in Mississippi and toured extensively in the US and Europe. In February of 2013 Cary and Laurie announced that Blue Mountain would play it’s final show at the North Mississippi Hill Country picnic that year.

Cary has played guitar for Bobby Rush, RL Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Shannon MacNally, Dayna Kurtz and many others in his close to thirty years on the road. He was chosen as one of the Top Ten Alternative Country Guitar Players by Gibson magazine, and his songs have appeared in TV shows and movies including the George Clooney film “Up in the Air”. He recently released his sixth solo album,Town and Country (mixed by Multi-Grammy winner Trina Shoemaker). Blue Mountain’s tune “Mountain Girl” to be on SundanceTV series Rectify, episode #304. Cary’s sincerely trying to be a better person, and hopes to someday whistle like Professor Longhair.

South Jones

South Jones is a rock trio based out of New Orleans, LA.

“The Grass Is Dead allows me to play both traditional and Dead-like vibes on their show. It’s great energy and intent. Billy Gilmore and Steve Pruett are lifelong friends, and we know a million tunes between us. They really play bluegrass, yet they also are Deadheads. Their music is not just rock spiced up with bluegrass instruments. They have well-thought-out arrangements that draw on bluegrass but are accepted by even the most hardcore Dead fan. I never feel like I’m playing in a Grateful Dead cover band when I’m with them. Because of their intention and the way they put the songs together, it’s a real tribute to both bluegrass music and the Grateful Dead at the same time.” — Rev. Jeff Mosier

 
The Grass Is Dead are a force of nature in bluegrass and Grateful Dead music. More than merely paying tribute to the Dead, these hot pickers have been seamlessly weaving bluegrass, blues, rock and funk into a unique sonic experience. Pulling from such diverse influences as Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, John Hartford, Allman Brothers Band, Pink Floyd and so many others, The Grass Is Dead have created a sound that not only pays homage to roots music and the songs of the Dead and Jerry Garcia, but expertly travels through time and space to explore the galactic and psychedelic nature of music itself. After many years of regionalized gigging, the past three years has seen The Grass Is Dead aggressively touring nationally and sharing the stage with such great acts as David Grisman, Del McCoury, Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, Billy Strings, Peter Rowan, Donna The Buffalo, Jon Stickley Trio, Town Mountain and many more. This past year alone they played a number of highly regarded festivals such as Suwannee Spring Reunion, DelFest, The Aiken Bluegrass Festival, Rooster Walk, Suwannee Roots Revival, Hickory Fest, Wormtown Music Festival and Leftover Salmon’s Blue Ridge Jam. Look for more big announcements in 2019!

"At the core of The Grateful Dead is the heart of American music, which is bluegrass and folk. You cannot hide behind these two genres. What you get in the studio is what you get onstage. And it's that vulnerability and honesty that sets the tone and attitude apart from the haphazard and polished nature of pop radio. Putting their music through the prism of string music, The Grass Is Dead showcases how Jerry & Co. buried innumerable gems of wisdom — sonically and spiritually — in the rich tapestry of their melodies and lyrics, all of which radiates in intimacy and inclusiveness of The Grass Is Dead when they stand in front of the microphone, and also the unknown night of curiosity and exploration that they seek out and grasp with such ease." — Garret K. Woodward, Music Editor - The Smoky Mountain News