Mix Tapes Stories

The Many Bands of Benevento: A Marco Playlist

Contributed by Gee Forjay (@312mrg)If you enjoy live music, you live for those moments when youve felt a certain unity. It's when that thing happens that everyone at the show has shown up for, crystallizing in time and space and in the middle of song, jam, note... whatever. This is what you pay for,...

Beyond Legend: A "Intermediate Level" Bob Marley Playlist

Contributed by GeeForjay (@312mrg)I was jolted into a harsh reality during my work commute this week, suddenly realizing that the calendar has unofficially flipped from summer to autumn. Fall brews are on tap, the suns rising later in the morning and going down earlier in the evening. While fall is unequivocally my favorite season...

Show Preview: Greensky Bluegrass & Strange Arrangement 1/27/12 @ Park West

Every once in a while, a confluence of forces lead to a live music experience with so much potential, its legend begins to form even before a single note is played.Do you feel that? Its the sensation of the stars aligning for one such event. This Friday (1/27), Strange Arrangement and Greensky Bluegrass convene at...

The Barn's 2011 Holiday Mix - Jambands and Beyond

The Barn's 2010 Holiday Mixtape was subtitled A Very Jamband Christmas and justifiably so -- it's intent was to collect a CD length holiday playlist that showcased the style of improv-leaning bands on Christmas classics. Though at the time I thought I had cultivated the cream of jamband holiday fare, it became obvious that more material...

Jamming With Pink: The Barn's Floyd Covers Mix Tape

[fblike style="standard" showfaces="false" width="450" verb="recommend" font="arial"]There are certain musical truths in this world. One of them (as this Venn Diagram explains) is that everybody loves Pink Floyd. Their fans are rabid and diverse and they've inspired musicians across a large swath of genres and backgrounds. And so, when I set...

The Gospel According To Melvin: A Barn Presents Mix Tape

While The Barn's recent interview with Melvin Seals intended to shed some light on the Jerry Garcia Band catalog, Melvin made it clear that the Jerry tunes weren't the only thing he's been up to lately.I took this as an open door to explore some of the other projects Melvin has been involved with,...

Jamming The Beasties: A Barn Presents Stream and Download

During the Phish Jukebox Summer Tour of 1998, the "Terrapin Station" debut got all the press, demonstrably connecting Phish to the looming presence and influence of the Grateful Dead. But I argue that it was the bust-out of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" that got the more intense and personal reaction from fans. For many Phish fans...

Widespread Panic and Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Another Joyous Night Of Joy, The Missing Album

Widespread Panic and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band are each a force to be reckoned with individually.  But, when these thirteen musicians step on stage and let it loose, it is the type of pulse-quickening, orchestrated chaos that can floor audiences and crumble the foundations of the venues that they play.There are two...

Talking Heads Tuesday: Jambands Celebrate Talking Heads

More than just about any band (and I'll throw the Beatles, Dead, and Zappa in there too), Talking Heads have provided direct inspiration to the jamband community. Attribute it to their rhythmic ideals, engaging melodies or passion for innovation, but with only 8 studio albums to draw from, the variety of tunes covered and interpretations that...

The Barn’s Holiday Mix: A Very Jamband Christmas

This is the 2010 holiday mix and the first in a trilogy. For more Christmas tunage, check out the 2011 and 2012 mixes.There's holiday music everywhere you turn this time of year. While sometimes it might be nice to drown it all out with the occasional 20 minute "Dark Star" or "Tweezer"; we've recently discovered that it's also...