MUSICMARAUDERS

Aiken, SC Words & Photos By Bain Stewart Media The 2016 Aiken Bluegrass Festival took place on May 13th and 14th at the Fairgrounds in Aiken, SC. The festival brought many performers, venders, and attendees from across the country. All proceeds from the Aiken Bluegrass Festival benefit Great Oak Aiken Therapeutic Riding Center, a nonprofit organization that helps individuals with disabilities improve their quality of life through safe interaction with horses. This is one of the most unique festivals in operation today. Not only are the festivalgoers given back-to-back powerful performances, they also get access to rare collaborations exclusive to Aiken Bluegrass Festival. One word I would use to describe this festival would be “euphoric.” Music festivals always tend to give attendees a surreal experience to escape the realities of the “real world.” This festival throws all these feelings at you and more. Everyone at this close-knit festival is a part of what some would c...

Stage Stop Rollinsville, CO Photos By J. Mimna Photography View Jim's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.facebook.com/RooseveltCollier www.geneticsmusic.com

Music Farm Columbia, South Carolina Photos By Bain Stewart Media View Bain's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.bucketheadland.com

Words By Derek Miles ( Miles Photography ) As of May 6th, Colorado’s very own Drunken Hearts have released a new batch of songs on an EP the band has aptly titled, Love and Thirst . The album was produced, recorded, and mixed by Rob Eaton at Immersive Studios in Boulder, CO and Silo Sound Studios in Denver, CO and mastered by David Glasser of Airshow Inc. in Boulder, CO. Having only seen this band live a handful of times, I was eager to hear their studio sound. Andrew McConathy’s vocals and songwriting are what give this band such a distinct identity. The themes and imagery of the songs on Love and Thirst are pure, focused, and just what you would want out of a contemporary country rock band. Labels aside however, the band truly exhibits a proud command over their music while paying homage to the influences that have guided them. The album kicks off with an upbeat track titled “Happy,” which muses upon the journey of a happy and fulfilled life. The song bustles along to the ste...

Join us for two nights of Roosevelt Collier's Colorado Get Down featuring Bill Nershi (The String Cheese Incident) with special guests Genetics! Night one takes place on Friday May 27 at Stage Stop in Rollinsville, CO ( purchase tickets here )! Night two will take place Saturday May 28 at The Bluebird Theater in Denver, CO and is presented by GroundSwell Cannabis Boutique ( purchase tickets here )! www.facebook.com/RooseveltTheDr www.facebook.com/billnershi www.geneticsmusic.com

Nectar Lounge Seattle, WA Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.euforquestra.com

Hodi's Half Note Fort Collins, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( Fat Guerilla Productions ) In an unusual twist of fate, Virginia transplants The Congress moved back home after a number of years in Colorado. In chatting with guitarist Scott Lane, he said not to worry, as this was their third show in the Centennial State in as many months. Most bands relocate here, but as the years grind on and more bands saturate the market it may start trending the other way. There is enough homegrown talent here to satiate the masses, but Colorado, and Denver especially, have always been a musical hub. A transient place of hot nights in packed clubs, The Front range is one more stop before heading to the next burg. For The Congress it just made more sense to move back home. Hodi’s Half Note had a packed lineup with Eldren and the Cycles creating a Congress sandwich. We arrived just as Eldren was taking the stage. Looking at them, they looked like a conglomerate of Dutch Pimps prep...

The Fox Theatre Boulder, CO Words & Photos By Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot ) "The boys are back in town, the boys are back in town…" a phrase usually associated with the summer classic of baseball, the returning of old friends, and the band “Thin Lizzy” can be applied directly to the Infamous Stringduster’s playing the Fox Theater in Boulder this past Saturday night. Being part of a 2-day, first time headlining, Red Rocks extravaganza was just not enough for the Duster boys as they decided to grace us with their ever-evolving jamgrass sound in the intimate, but truly awesome setting which is the Fox Theatre. Coming off a massive performance the night before with JJ Grey & Mofro, the Infamous Stringduster’s were ready to “let loose” and give their adopted hometown crowd a show to truly remember them by. With no opening band this time around for the Dusters, the music started promptly around 9pm and would last until mere moments before the 1am bell st...

Red Rocks Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Words By J. Picard Photos By J. Mimna Photography There is something special about one's first Red Rocks show of the season. For many, the occasion marks the beginning of summer. We arrived at the Colorado landmark and pulled down into the second entrance box office where we secured our credentials. We met up with photographer and all around great guy, Jim Mimna, who would be shooting the show for MusicMarauders. Collectively we drove up, making a handful of turns down the small two lane roads leading towards the venue and it's upper lots. We arrived at Upper North, where we secured a spot, opened our hatchback, pulled out our chairs and began drinking an assortment of Colorado brews including Elevation's First Cast IPA and Crazy Mountain's Mountain Livin' Pale Ale. Jim headed down to the lower lots to prepare to head into the famed venue and as rain fell sporadically, we hopped into the car to avoid the incoming moisture...

Cervantes Other Side Denver, CO Photos By Miles Photography View Derek's Full Album Here! www.facebook.com/Jans-Ingber

Fox Theatre Boulder, CO Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) As we traipsed into the Fox, the Nth Power's Nikki Glaspie was already thumping her drum kit with such explosive power she had her own fallout. Part John Bonham, part Clyde Stubblefield, all woman, her work kept me engaged in their set throughout. Beyond the rhythmic queen, the band swayed between groovy, soul-drenched, vintage funk and overly ambitious, borderline self indulgent playing. To be fair, every time I started thinking that they were trying too hard, they'd snap into some laid-back hook and I'd forget why I was being critical in the first place. While, I thought times were a bit overboard, it takes chops to be able to go overboard, and they had them. Nick Cassarino's guitar playing was mostly clean, and when they laid in the pocket he was really at his best. Turkuaz took the stage in a rainbow of outfits, each assigned a color, and rocking it from head to toe. The ...

Seattle, WA Nectar Lounge Words By Coleman Schwartz Photos By Scott Shrader ( J. Scott Shrader Photography ) Bernie Worrell, also known as the Wizard of Woo, is an amazing keyboardist who has been a part of not just one, but two acts that have fundamentally altered the course of music history. He was a founding member of George Clinton’s legendary Parliament-Funkadelic collective, and he also toured with the Talking Heads, notably performing on their renowned concert film, Stop Making Sense . He has been fearless with his implementation of new and different instruments, and this has aided his contributions to some of the best dance music ever recorded. At the start of 2016, he went public about his struggles with Stage IV lung cancer. This was met with a vast outpouring of sympathy from his many fans, and people began to organize benefits nationwide. In Seattle, Staxx Brothers’ frontman David Michael Stedman’s idea was to gather some of the best local funk musicians to ass...

Words By Kevin Hahn ( Split Open & Shoot ) Fort Collin’s based, National Flat-Picking Guitar Champion, and Trey-Anastasio look a-like Tyler Grant has done it again. Kiss The Ground is Grant’s latest release under his own independent record label “Grant Central Records” and it has all sorts of goodness attached to it. Conceptualized, funded, and in the end recorded through the help of an ambitious “Kickstarter” campaign The Grant Farm’s 3rd album is, “An ambitious concept album focusing on struggle and achievement in modern society” according to the Kickstarter webpage. I would have to agree. The Grant Farm consists of Adrian Engfer (bass/vocals), Sean Macaulay (drums), Kevin McHugh (keyboards/vocals), and of course Tyler Grant shredding away on a variety of guitars (electric/acoustic) and lending a hand on vocals as well. I remember first seeing Tyler back in 2008-2009 as a part of the well-missed and hugely-loved Emmitt Nershi Band, and he was playing bass! (I was also at hi...

Prosperity Grange Olympia, WA Photos By Willacker Photography View Eric's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.steamboatstringjam.com

The Crocodile Seattle, WA Photos By Elliot Siff Photography View Elliot's Full Album Here! www.bombinomusic.com

Words By Coleman Schwartz Photos By Scott Shrader ( J. Scott Shrader Photography ) Listening to moe. was one my very first forays into the jam scene back in 2010. I have always admired their songwriting and ability to improvise, in addition to the uniqueness of their sound. In recent years, I haven’t found myself listening to them as much as I ought to. There is so much else going on that I honestly had stopped thinking about them. The announcement of this run in the Northwest piqued my interest, and it seemed like a good chance to assess how the band was doing in 2016. With a couple of awesome venues and old-school psychedelic rockers, the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, co-headlining, it made perfect sense to road trip down to Portland from Seattle with some friends, then return the next day to catch the Seattle show. -Friday April 15, 2016- Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR We arrived early to the Wonder Ballroom, found a close parking spot, and then headed to my go-to dinner ...

Quixote’s True Blue Denver, CO Words By Coleman Schwartz Photos By J Mimna Photography Friday April 8, 2016: Ultraviolet Hippopotamus (UV Hippo for short) is a band that has had a formative influence on my music tastes. I can still remember the first time I saw them, in Raleigh, NC in 2013. Watching Dave Sanders play the synthesizer, I understood for the first time just how much this instrument can add to a band. At the time, I had definitely been exposed to the synthesizer in other capacities, but this was the first time that I was ever completely riveted by a synthesizer performance. Life since that day has always been a little different in the best way possible, as the synthesizer has become one of my favorite instruments to hear played. I was lucky enough to see the band a few more times in the summer of 2013, before I moved to the west coast. The next year, the band announced they would be taking a hiatus. After playing nearly 200 shows per year out of a small van, ...