Rhythm Devils featuring Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman from the Grateful Dead

also featuring Tim Bluhm of Mother Hips, Sikiru Adepoju, Davy Knowles and Andy Hess

The Rhythm Devils began as the duo of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann and his percussionist partner Mickey Hart. Over the years, they transcended rock and roll drum stereotypes with polyrhythmic explorations of the world of percussion, using an extraordinary variety of instruments and approaches. The aftermath of this collaboration was the larger Rhythm Devils, which have made periodic reappearances over the years. The 2010 version includes Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart, Keller Williams (guitar, vocals) in July and Tim Bluhm of the Mother Hips (guitar, vocals) on later dates, Davy Knowles (guitar, vocals), Sikiru Adepoju (talking drum), and Andy Hess (bass). Together, they will take music beyond the horizon to a universe where rhythm is in constant flux and sound has infinite potential.

On March 11, 2010, Great Big Sea celebrated their seventeenth birthday as a band. And like almost every one of their many anniversaries spent together, they celebrated it by playing a concert, this one in Omaha, Nebraska. For the players it was an important landmark, but for the fans, some of whom had travelled hundreds of miles, it was a chance to spend a night with a band that has come to define the energetic spirit of Newfoundland. Somewhere along the way, Great Big Sea ceased to be just a band – for the three core members and their assorted collaborators, it’s a way of life.

Fidelity!, the gutsy, raw debut album from JP, Chrissie, & The Fairground Boys, is an epic love story, albeit not a conventional one. Everything you need to know about the heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting and fruitful relationship between The Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde and Welsh singer-songwriter JP Jones is contained within Fidelity!’s 11 songs — from passion and desire, to sadness and acceptance. As Hynde sings in the wrenchingly candid opening track “Perfect Lover”: “I found my perfect lover but he's only half my age / He was learning how to stand when I was wearing my first wedding band / I found my perfect lover but I have to turn the page / But I want him in my kitchen and standing on my stage.”

The essence of Big Head Todd and The Monsters – a rootsy, emotionally direct variety of rock ’n’ roll that lends itself particularly well to a live setting – has been winning fans since Mohr, Rob Squires and Brian Nevin started playing together in high school (Jeremy Lawton joined in 2004). Needless to say, the three never expected to be in the same band at this late date, but, as Mohr points out, “It was a really fortunate combination of musical personalities, and we’re still partners in every sense of the word.”

The band spent seven years developing their chemistry and amassing a following, boosted significantly by the independent releases Another Mayberry (1989) and Midnight Radio (1990), before being “discovered” by the listening public at large with 1993’s Sister Sweetly. After a major-label stint (Sister Sweetly, 1994’s Stratagem, 1997’s Beautiful World), during which the trio increasingly found itself frustrated artistically, they reclaimed their independent status (2001’s Riviera, 2004’s Crimes of Passion). “If it were not for our ability to do things for ourselves, we would have disappeared a long time ago,” Mohr allows.

Bert Jansch, legendary songwriter and guitarist, is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential musicians of all time. Since the mid 1960s generation after generation have been held spellbound by his extraordinary ground-breaking guitar playing and classic emotive songs. Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Nick Drake, Johnny Marr, Bernard Butler and Beth Orton have all been devotees, and now yet another new generation of musicians and fans, led by Devendra Banhart, are discovering Jansch for themselves.

A native of Syracuse, New York, Martin Sexton grew up in the 80's, uninterested in the sounds of the day, and fueled his dreams on the timeless sounds of classic rock and roll. Sexton eventually migrated to Boston, where he began to build his following singing on the streets of Harvard Square and gradually working his way through the scene. His 1992 collection of self-produced demo recordings, In The Journey, was recorded on an old 8-track in a friend's attic. He managed to sell 20,000 copies out of his guitar case busking.

The Clarks are an American rock band that have somehow managed to stay together for 20+ years, support themselves through their music, and remain relative unknowns. Much in the way that Bob Seger was a Detroit-area favorite for over a decade before exploding on the national scene with his ‘Night Moves’ album, The Clarks, though musically worlds apart, have been superstars in and around their hometown of Pittsburgh, succeeding in PA as the national stage awaits them. Now, with the straight-ahead, guitar-driven rock of ‘Restless Days’ (out June 9th on High Wire/Fontana,)

Hailing from Santa Barbara, California, Rebelution has developed into the front runner for grassroots, independent and touring driven music groups representing the Cali-Reggae scene. Originally formed in 2004, members Eric Rachmany (vocals / guitar,) Rory Carey (keyboards,) Wesley Finley (drums,) and Marley D. Williams (bass) met in college, while residing in Isla Vista, a popular beachside community in Santa Barbara. It was there that the seeds to Rebelution’s future would be planted-- and would instill their kick back, “worry free” vibes, catchy refrain, and optimistic, inspiring, and engaging music that would leave their listeners with the sense that they have the power to make this world a better place.

Yonder Mountain String Band has always played music by its own set of rules. Bending bluegrass, rock and countless other influences that the band cites, Yonder has pioneered a sound of their own. With their traditional lineup of instruments, the band may look like a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they’ve created their own music that transcends any genre. Dave Johnston points out “What could be more pure than making your own music.” Yonder’s sound cannot be classified purely as “bluegrass” or “string music” but rather it’s an original sound created from “looking at music from [their] own experiences and doing the best job possible.” The band continues to play by their own rules on their new record The Show.

Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett are guitar players.

In fact they are the guitar players with the legendary band Little Feat...

Now they have joined forces to form an acoustic duet that will quite frankly blow you away. Performing songs from their Little Feat catalogue and more with a decidedly different twist.

They first played together on the album ”Dixie Chicken“ some thirty-five years ago and since then have played together or individually on numerous recording sessions for Little Feat and countless others including Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Dionne Farris, and the Wallflowers to name a few.

Somewhere, someplace, someone is debating the future of live and recorded music, speaking in somber tones of changes that have made it difficult to reach consumers, of technologies that have changed society, and of the lack of creativity found in the arts. But in a small but impressive microcosm of the universe known as Medeski Martin & Wood, creativity is alive, flourishing, and filled with outlets for growth and expansion. And somewhere, whatever gods of music there might be are smiling.

Shawn Colvin is one of the leading lights of the so-called "new folk movement" that began in the late '80s. Although she grew out of the somewhat limited "woman with a guitar" school, she kept the form fresh with a diverse approach, avoiding the genre's clichéd sentiments and all-too-often formulaic arrangements in favor of a more personal, pop-influenced style. Colvin's debut record won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1991, but it was her 1997 single, "Sunny Came Home," that firmly catapulted her into the mainstream. Although she never revisited that commercial peak again, Colvin still commanded a broad, loyal following into the subsequent decades.

Nick Hilscher sings and his big band swings in a concert that will bring holiday cheer. The program will include selections from Frank Sinatra’s Christmas recordings as well as many of those incredibly popular hits throughout Ol’ Blue Eyes’ career: I’ll Never Smile Again, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Come Fly With Me, The Way You Look Tonight, I Get A Kick Out Of You, Strangers In The Night, Summer Wind, New York, New York.

Nick will put you in the holiday mood with wonderful Sinatra Christmas classics like: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, White Christmas, The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire), Mistletoe And Holly, The Christmas Waltz

The Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. In the years that followed, many of the Steps ignored the conventional wisdom ("Don't quit your day job!"), and although not all of the current members of the Steps are former Capitol Hill staffers, taken together the performers have worked in a total of eighteen Congressional offices and represent 62 years of collective House and Senate staff experience.

Since they began, the Capitol Steps have recorded 29 albums, including their latest, Obama Mia . They've been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS, and can be heard 4 times a year on National Public Radio stations nationwide during their Politics Takes a Holiday radio specials.