We'll always cover the old favorites, but it's also worth keeping a lookout for artists that may be on their first few swings through Chicago. This new feature, 8-UP, showcases eight acts on the way up -- catch 'em before they're big.Check them out in this Spotify Playlist and check out when they'll...

We'll always cover the old favorites, but it's also worth keeping a lookout for artists that may be on their first few swings through Chicago. This new feature, 8-UP, showcases eight acts on the way up-- catch 'em before they're big.Check them out in this Spotify Playlist and check out when they'll be in...

A friend of mine recently issued a challenge.A longtime musician, prolific stoner, and general musical omnivore, he never really "got" the Grateful Dead.He's theright age to have caught their late eighties popularbreakthroughin his impressionable years, and has the propensity to chew on some meaty sonic dishes -- he lists punk, krautrock, psych, jazz...

My Morning Jacket is currently working on two new studio albums, according to Rolling Stone. Their follow up to 2011s Circuital will be released in April 2015, with another full-length out in 2016.I just had tons of songs this time, Jim James told the magazine. We didnt even get to all of them.The interview with...

Read closely for a chance to win tickets!Karl Denson's Tiny Universe hits Park West this Saturday (4/5), touring in Chicago for the second time behind his latest release New Ammo. The album features some hot new Denson compositions, but also finds a lot of it's life in a handful of covers, both obscure and beloved....

Guest Post by Paul Abella.  Paul is a musician, radio host, pundit and early supporter of The Barn Presents.  As a jazz guy who actively embraces and celebrates jambands like Grateful Dead and Phish, and even champions jammers on our local scene, his sensibilities are a natural fit for the site.  We...

If you need some tunes to cook by, or just want to get into the Holiday Spirit... here are our jams for the Thanksgiving Holiday.In classic mix tape format, we've got tunes about giving thanks, family, and the holiday's legend... but mostly about the food.And like your Thanksgiving plate, it's got a bit...

It wasn't jambands that introduced me to the music of J.J. Cale, I (like most people) have Eric Clapton to thank for that. But it certainly was the jambands who reinforced just how deep and impressive his catalog is, and totally ingrained just how cool the man was. We lost a great one when...

In 2010, when I first conceived of a holiday mix tape, the concept seemed like fertile ground -- there were a number of much celebrated holiday takes from my favorite jambands, and all I had to do was assemble them. The playlist just sort of fell togetherA few leftover tracks turned into the seed for the 2011...

Contributed by Gee Forjay (@312mrg)Afrobeat is a sound and a movement, music and a state of mind. It's the joyous awakening of a continent from a colonial nightmare and the crushing realization that the nightmare isn't over yet. It's anguish and happiness whipped together with traditional drums, cheap guitars, and even...