UMPHREY’S McGEE’S DRUNKEN JAM SESSION LEADS TO PROG-IMPROV STARDOM
By Michael Lester Umphrey’s McGee formed on the campus of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., nearly 17 years ago. But it was during a drunken, post-wedding, early-morning, tux-wearing jam session in ...
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NORTH MISSISSIPPI ALLSTARS THRILL BUCKNELL UNIVERSITY CROWD
By Michael Lester Photos by Sarah Holler courtesy of Bucknell University Midway through a two-hour show Friday night that mixed hard-charging country blues and stripped-down a cappella harmonies...
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KANGAROOS ON THE WING? A CONVERSATION WITH AUSTRALIAN PINK FLOYD
By Michael Lester Australian Pink Floyd bassist/vocalist Colin Wilson was awestruck two years ago when he got a look at those gigantic illuminated blast furnaces from a bygone industrial era...
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LUTHER DICKINSON DISCUSSES ‘ALL STAR’ CAREER
By Michael Lester Guitarist Luther Dickinson’s late father Jim Dickinson, a legendary record producer who played keyboards on Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan albums, tried to talk Luther out of playing ...
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FROM GOOD HOMES REUNION CONTINUES AT PEACH FESTIVAL
By Michael Lester New Jersey-based folk-jazz rock quintet From Good Homes, perhaps best known as the band that gave Railroad Earth songwriter-vocalist Todd Sheaffer his start, was gathering steam in ...
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JACKIE GREENE ADDS TRIGGER HIPPY TO ROCKING RESUME
By Michael Lester With career-catapulting stints performing as a member of Phil Lesh & Friends and the Black Crowes, it would seem logical to label Sacramento singer-songwriter Jackie Greene a yo...
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SOUTHERN ACCENTS HIGHLIGHT PANIC’S MANN DEBUT
By Michael Lester PHILADELHIA -- Regulars at Widespread Panic concerts, some who have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of shows, arrive at a show with high hopes for rarely played songs, preferably an o...
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GUITAR GODS DISPLAY SIX-STRING MASTERY AT KIRBY CENTER
HW81.GuitarGods (9 of 13) By Michael Lester and Chris Krepich WILKES-BARRE -- Flashily clad in tight black leather pants and a black leathe...
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SPRINGSTEEN, MORELLO PUT ON SWEET SHOW IN HERSHEY
By Michael Lester HERSHEY, Pa. -- It was worth the $100-plus price of admission, not to mention a bit comical, scanning the quizzical expressions on faces in the crowd, as Tom Morello traded guitar s...
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SAXMAN HOLLOWAY ON SITTING IN WITH THE STARS
By Michael Lester Photo by Jason Riedmiller Initiative, confidence and humility — along with the fuel of frustration fed by band members who jeered his unnecessarily loud sax playing back in junior ...
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