MUSICMARAUDERS

The Orange Peel Asheville, NC Words By Taylor Hall Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography The week before Christmas is always a joyous time. A time to give thanks and enjoy the fruits of your labor. A time to drink, eat, and be merry. Saturday night was no different, as The New Mastersounds and Turkuaz, ended their fall tour at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC. The night started with Turkuaz, a 9 piece "Powerfunk" outfit hailing from Brooklyn, NY. Turkuaz sounds like the Talking Heads and Rick James had a musical child, minus the glitter and over sized suits. Their songs boast strong melodies and catchy choruses. Their live show features strong vocal performances, killer horn solos,incredible guitar work, and a hyped up bass player that would make Bootsy Collins proud. Overall Turkuaz puts on a great live performance with plenty of energy to keep the party going. The New Mastersounds took the stage shortly after Turkuaz starting with a song off of Therapy titled

Swing Station Laporte, CO Words & Photos By Nicholas Stock ( Fat Guerilla Productions ) When you hear that the Henhouse Prowlers are playing at the local watering hole around the corner from your house you don’t ask questions, you just go. This now legendary outfit from Chicago tours the globe with a traditional style steeped in modernity. Celebrating over a decade as a touring band, the Prowlers have had a rotating cast of supporting musicians, but founding members Ben Wright and Jon Goldfine are the underpinning on which this group is built. Guitarist Aaron Dorfman and newest member mandolinist and fiddler Kyle Patrick O’Brien make up the rest of the lineup currently. Even though the personnel changes from time to time, the musicianship never ceases to impress. They were fresh off a tour in Africa before returning to Colorado for a series of shows that included a date with another celebrated Chicago band, Cornmeal, at the Swing Station. The Swing Station is a renowned, bu

New Mountain AVL Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.johnkmusic.net

Rhythm & Rye Olympia, WA Photos By Willacker Photography View Eric's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.scottpemberton.com

Nectar Lounge Seattle, WA Photos By Coleman Schwartz Media View Coleman's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.scottpemberton.com www.yakattackmusic.com

The Orange Peel Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.risingappalachia.com

US Cellular Center Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.xmasjam.com

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom Denver, CO Photos By Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.thetravelinmccourys.com

Words By Daniel Connor Instrumental music can get lost in itself, trying to overcompensate for lyrics, with technicality. This band is not that, the 3 piece consisting of Jon Stickley on guitar, Lyndsay Pruett on violin, and Patrick Armitage on drums, is a grooving force of nature. While all three are complete and professional musicians, they keep their music very fun and accessible. A lot of acoustic music is very similar and you almost have to have an interest in it to stop and listen to it. The Jon Stickley Trio reminds us that Bluegrass can be fun and expansive at the same time and that we don’t have to sacrifice musicianship for dance-ability. This is a touring band and it comes through with how locked into each other’s playing they are. The guitar player and namesake of the band is one of the best flat pickers I’ve ever seen/heard; He reminds me of Tony Rice, just with more notes. He has absolutely effortless technique and is quite the showman. Armitage probably has the co

Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Coleman Schwartz Photography Boulder, Colorado’s SunSquabi brought their self-dubbed “Electronic Hydro Funk” to Portland, Oregon’s Doug Fir Lounge for their headlining debut in the Rose City. Fresh off of the recently announced departure of band co-founder and bassist, Andrew Clymer, I was anxious to see what the band’s immediate future held. Fortunately, they quickly acquired a new bassist in Analog Son’s, Josh Fairman, hair included. Little was lost with the new bassist, or at least not as much as I expected. Clymer was undeniably talented, but you can tell that Fariman is more used to playing with humans than computers which actually seems to be a positive thing, lending a looser and more live sound to the new configuration of the band. They opened with “SquabCat” which was a familiar song for most in attendance. The opening synth got everybody moving until guitarist/keyboardist Kevin Donohue broke into his fir

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Nancy Isaac & Doug Fondriest Landing directly between the weekend prior’s hometown throw-down in Kalamazoo, Michigan and the next weekend’s trip to Bluegrass paradise for Strings & Sol, was a three-night run at Denver’s Ogden Theatre that could’ve easily fallen into the shadows, but instead thrived off of the energy and excitement surrounding it. New covers, rare originals, and exploratory jams ruled the weekend as Greensky Bluegrass continues to top themselves and seem to thoroughly enjoy the process of doing so. Thursday, December 1: The weekend featured a different opening act each night, Thursday’s opener being Nederland, Colorado’s Gipsy Moon. Led by Silas Herman’s virtuosity on the mandolin and Mackenzie Page’s beautiful voice, Gipsy Moon plays a unique style of music that may be best described as “Gipsy-grass” and sounds a bit like Elephant Revival, but more uptempo and chalk-full of world-beat

The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.jjgrey.com www.kylehollingsworth.com www.facebook.com/billnershi

Highland Brewing Company Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.jerryjoseph.com

Boulder Theater Boulder, CO Ring in the new year December 30 & 31 at Boulder Theater in Boulder, CO for two nights of Yonder Mountain String Band! Join one of Colorado's own as they return to the Front Range for these two very special evenings! Head over to MusicMarauders' Facebook page to enter our contest for a pair of guestlist spots for each night as well as a meet and greet with the band! Purchase Tickets: www.ticketfly.com/event For nearly 18 years, Yonder Mountain String Band has redefined bluegrass music, expanding the traditional acoustic genre beyond its previously established boundaries by steadily pushing the envelope into the realms of rock n’ roll and improvisation. YMSB has always played music of their own design, in the process attracting a devout coterie of fans that often resembles a tight knit family on an epic musical journey as Yonder traverses the country with an ever-rigorous tour schedule. Yonder is a quintessential ensemble honing its craf

Nectar Lounge Seattle, WA Photos By Coleman Schwartz Photography View Coleman's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.particlepeople.com www.kungfumusic.com

Pisgah Brewing Black Mountain, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.bluegroundundergrass.com

Dante's Portland, OR Photos By Jason Charme Photography View Jason't Full Photo Gallery Here! www.particlepeople.com www.kungfumusic.com

Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side Denver, CO Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.ridethemoontaxi.com

New Mountain AVL Asheville, NC Words By Taylor Hall Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography There was a lot of excitement around the Southeast when news broke that Widespread Panic's guitarist Jimmy Herring would be joining Karl on a four night run. Alongside Karl and Jimmy, the band consists of Alan Evans(Soulive), Chris Stillwell(Greyboy Allstars), DJ Williams(DJ Williams Project), David Veith(Crush Effects), Chris Littlefield, and Seth Freeman. The evening opened with a local Jazz Funk band called The Digs, an instrumental band with catchy melodies and intelligent solos. Their progressive approach to Jazz and Funk grooves is reminiscent to that of Steely Dan and Ernest Ranglin. They were a welcomed treat to open up the dance floor for the night. Karl Densons' Tiny Universe took the stage shortly after the digs finished, and showed off their unique brand of 60's Soul and Funk. The energy that exerts off of Karl is contagious, and at sixty years old, he doesn'

The Grey Eagle Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo gallery Here! www.billystrings.com

The Orange Peel Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.mike-gordon.com

Words & Photos By Brad Yeakel ( Opti Mystic Outlooks ) Friday, November 18: The Fox Theatre Boulder, CO As a transplant to Colorado, I enjoy many things mountain, but I also have a soft spot for the finer points of my home state, Pennsylvania. One of those fine PA products is Cabinet, a Bluegrass septet who's songs are every bit as relatable as they are precise. I have seen them at backyard parties and on stage at some of the country's most celebrated festivals. No matter the venue, they're always professional, energetic, and unique. For their current tour, the band was paired with Wisconsin pickers, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades. I had no expectations going in, but immediately found myself marveling as they gathered around a single mic (donning a grenade), each stepping up in time to wow the foothill venue. The singer rotated as often as the soloist, and they appeared to be having more fun than Mike Pence has ever had in his life. Particularly guitarist, A