After hosting for over a decade at Vasa Park in Elgin, Mr. Blotto shocked fans by moving their 2012 festival to the Illinois-Iowas border. The Iron Horse Campground in Sabula, IA was the scene for the band's most recent full album cover encore, The Allman Brothers Band's Eat A Peach, as well as other cover and...

Dedication. Hard work. Vision. Networking. All words often associated with success in business, but they equally apply to the way that Jim Boukas has built up a Chicagoland jamband empire of sorts over the last seven years. By constantly tweaking the formula, breaking new ground, trying his hand at new things and fostering relationships with...

Here's a set from PW's last show at the Abbey before shifting the residency south to the Double Door.The StreamDownload Entire Set (mp3 .zip)

Months ago, I was pumped about the announcement of two night Umphrey's McGee run in Chicago over Thanksgiving weekend. Little did I know at the time, but by the time this extended weekend would arrive, that party would start in Chicago well before UM takes the stage, and continue all the way through to Thanksgiving...

Getting ThereYour easiest and safest route is public transportation. The Blue Line (Racine Stop) is about a half a block from the venue's front door. The main buses are the 60, 7, 120 and the 8 that will get you in the general area of the UIC Pavilion.There is paid parking in a covered lot adjacent to the...

Blotto fans braved strong storms and were rewarded for their loyalty with another unique experience last weekend at Elgin's Vasa Park.For their part, Mr. Blotto did not disappoint, turning in a set capped with a couple of Zappa tunes on Friday night, programming some of Chicago's finest jambands on to warm up the crowd...

The Barn is spotlighting two great shows along Ogden on Friday night.Our friends in Paradise Waits will bring some Dead inspired jams to Brixie's.If rocking blues is more your speed, check out the suburbs' most authentic blues bar, Harlem Avenue Lounge, and spend an evening with The Steepwater Band.Previous items on the...

I recently stumbled upon a handy site, whose homepage falls right in line with The Barn's objectives of exploring the expanded world of The Grateful Dead and showcasing cool visual charts. The site is GratefulDeadTributeBands.com and their home page provides a nice US map color coded by the number of Dead bands they have...

The All Jerry Show is only hours away, and we can't think of a better way to enjoy a Friday night in the burbs.If you've got 13 (!) minutes to spare, check out how the band puts their unique spin on "Shakedown Street". Absolutely LOVE the final minutes of this version.Paradise Waits will play All...

The Barn is happy to announce it's latest spotlight show, not only because it features a band we've been following closely for quite some time, but also because the band is turning this particular gig into a very special event.Paradise Waits is earning a reputation as the most consistent Grateful Dead inspired band in...