MUSICMARAUDERS

Goodfoot Lounge Portland, OR Words & Photos By Mitch Melheim It was a soggy night in Portland, the first after an unusual week of snow and below-freezing temperatures. San Diego’s Brothers Gow made their return to the city’s beloved Goodfoot Lounge along with Florida jam veterans The Heavy Pets who were making their Portland debut. Brothers Gow fought off some vehicle troubles to make the show in time, unfortunately leaving their lighting designer Matt Collier behind with their stranded van in Olympia as the rest of the band drove a rented mini-van to the show. It’s rare that a band this size travels with a full-time lighting designer, but they take their presentation very seriously, something immediately apparent even without Collier’s lights as the band broke into choreographed dance moves at multiple times throughout their set. The Gow sound comes with a lot of Umphrey’s McGee “improg” influence, but also contains rich elements of Reggae and Funk among other genres. Gu

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography View Doug's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.railroadearth.com

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

The Ogden Theatre Denver, CO Photos By Nancy Isaac Photography View Nancy's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.railroadearth.com

The Tabernacle Atlanta, Georgia Words By Julie Hutchins ( Tipping Point Designs ) Photos By Coleman Schwartz Media It is no surprise, post show Umphrey’s McGee discussion groups are debating whether Atlanta’s 3-Night Tabernacle homestay trumps the recent NYE run. The unique setlists, song bust-outs, and high energy certainly made this weekend a contender for my all time favorite shows. The Tabernacle has been a humble abode to Midwesterners, Umphrey’s McGee 18 times. UM is no stranger in taking souls straight to church through passage of the fiery depths of hell. Friday, January 13: The Tabernacle always provides a stellar viewing experience. The floor can get hot and wild, but the upper balconies offer an open vantage point to see the band playing from all angles. When I arrived, I walked up to a two-block long line. The minor delay sent our crew to the top of the balcony, as a funky “Bad Friday” reigned in the droves of Umphreaks. Never miss a full moon Friday the 1

The Georgia Theatre Athens, GA Words By Julie Hutchins ( Tipping Point Designs ) Photos By Coleman Schwartz Media Railroad Earth rained down on Athens and ended the Georgia Theatre’s jamgrass drought. GATH provides the best artist hospitality and sound system in the entire southeast, and Athens is a rowdy college town - high energy is always present. The nearly sold out room was buzzing with a thirst for Railroad Earth’s soul-cleansing fusion of folk and rocking improv. Rail riders raged the front and grooving jitterbugs jived with plenty of room to turn and stomp. RRE opened the night with a Skehan instrumental “420.” A massive “Head” full of banjo noodling and high note string harmonies and kicked the evening off to a groovy start. Overall, the first set was very mellow and vocal oriented. Todd Sheaffer’s song writing draws upon the natural beauty of the earth mixed with a deep contemplation of the future. The country celtic chorus of “When the Sun gets in Your Blood” se

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

The Orange Peel Asheville, NC Words By Taylor Hall Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography The night started off with people slowly trickling in at 8 pm for an opening artist most Bluegrass listeners are just becoming familiar with. The aforementioned artist is none other than Billy Strings, the pride of the midwest. Billy is not short on talent exhibiting virtuoso level guitar picking complimented by a golden bluegrass voice. The band is currently on a tour that takes them across the country and back sharing the stage with the likes of The Infamous Stringdusters, Railroad Earth, and David Grisman. The Stringdusters opened up the show with "You Can't Stop The Changes," the opening track off of their 2010 release Things That Fly . Things That Fly was the first Dusters album that I purchased and I have always enjoyed the upbeat message "Changes" displays. Next in line were "Where The River Runs Cold,""A Hard Life Makes A Good Song" and

Georgia Theatre Atlanta, GA Photos By Coleman Schwartz Media View Coleman's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.greenskybluegrass.com

The Fillmore Charlotte, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.greenskybluegrass.com

The Altamont Theatre Asheville, NC Photos By J. Scott Shrader Photography View Scott's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.mikedillonvibes.com

1stBank Center Broomfield, CO Words By J. Picard Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography "The sun came up, the sun went down, again, again, and again..." The sun was setting on 2016 as Carly and I found ourselves at the top of Coal Creek Canyon at our friends' Matt and Teri Maylen's place. They had been in Colorado for about a year, so it seemed no better time for them to join us for our annual celebration with The String Cheese Incident on New Years Eve! We made our way down the winding dirt road with the city lights in the distance. We stopped at Wondervu Cafe which lies between Golden and Nederland for some top notch Mexican food and margaritas! With our bellies full we rolled down to the Front Range and made a turn towards Boulder, then towards Broomfield. With little to no traffic we pulled onto the lot, parked in VIP next to the West entrance and headed into the venue! The fans were turned up, dressed in all sorts of sparkling shit, greeting one anothe

1stBank Center Broomfield, CO Words By J. Picard Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography VIP Set Photo By J. Picard "Didn't care about tomorrow, worry when tomorrow comes, I went outside that night set the ole imagination a flight..." It was the "Best Feeling" to know that though we had one show under our belts and we were in for two more before the year would end. It was Friday afternoon in Denver as Carly and I prepared for an early departure from our house to catch The String Cheese Incident's VIP set! I've seen SCI in an array of settings throughout my fifteen plus years of being a fan of the band, but none would come close to the level of intimacy in which we would experience that night. We arrived at 1stBank around 6:00 PM with our weekend passes in hand and made our way through the same entrance as the previous night, past the same friendly folks. Inside the excitement hit me! I glanced around the small gymnasium and didn't see one

The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO Photos By Coleman Schwartz Media View Coleman's Full Photo Gallery Here! www.sts9.com

1stBank Center Broomfield, CO Words By J. Picard Photos By Doug Fondriest Photography "When you're there you're never here and here is where it seems so clear, the winner of the rat race are the rats..." No matter where you were, you were quickly running out of time on the rat race that was 2016. With only a few days remaining before the ball would drop on the year, it was decided that my wife and I would tackle The String Cheese Incident's three night run at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, CO. The decision was an easy one as the shows were basically in our home town and we met at an SCI show, so the band held a very special place in our hearts. Headed west on 36 towards Boulder with Denver in the rear view mirror, we stopped at a Park & Ride to pick up my attorney then continued on to the venue where we were greeted by sizable lines at the box office. We secured our passes at a line-less window that had a sign that read "SCI Guests." "

Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR Words By Mitch Melheim Photos By Jason Charme Photography Hometown heroes Fruition rang in 2017 with a three-night stand at Portland, Oregon’s Wonder Ballroom to a room full of long-time friends and fans, the line between which has been blurred by the city’s love for the band and the relationship Fruition has formed with the “Fruity Freaks” as their fans are affectionately labeled. Faced with the daunting task of competing directly against Railroad Earth’s three-night run just two miles away at the Revolution Hall, Fruition still managed to sell out the 800-person venue days in advance, a testament to Portland’s devotion to the band. Fellow Portlanders Hillstomp opened the night with their unique brand of back porch blues that sounds like Jimi Hendrix playing with a jug band on amphetamines. Guitarist Henry Christian showed impressive ability on several different instruments throughout the short set from electric guitar and banjo to tambourine and