A Look at Levon Helm

I had the privilege of checking out Levon and his band this summer in Central Park, NYC. A great performance for sure. Brought back some great memories with songs played straight from the soundtrack of my youth. "The Band" classics had everyone singing along, as well as impressive tunes from his latest recording.

Here's a link to my review of Levon Helm's show in Central Park for JamBase:
http://www.jambase.com/Articles/Story.aspx?StoryID=10916

Levon will be on his home turf performing at Mountain Jam IV. One of these days I will make it up to "The Barn" at his home in Woodstock.
~ from levonhelm.com ~
Inside “The Barn,” which is really a large recording studio attached to Levon’s home, you’ll see a stage, a cozy fireplace and plenty of seating. The ambiance of the place will give you a feeling that is personal and intimate, casual and friendly, and you know you are about to be part of something very special.

Levon has been in the business of making music for over forty years and if the walls of “The Barn” could talk, what stories they would tell! Music legends galore have played, jammed and recorded there and he is happily continuing that tradition. He based his Ramble Sessions on the southern medicine shows of his youth and has invited some of the most notable blues entertainers and musicians of our time to perform at The Rambles.

Once the show starts, get ready! Levon Helm and his fellow musicians play with such joy, energy and enthusiasm, you will find it difficult not to fly out of your seat! The show is not the usual hour-and-a-half that most entertainers provide at a concert. It runs about four hours and often, Levon will greet his guests personally. His genuine warmth and the sincere desire to share his talents and love of music make for an evening that is not just unique, but an experience you will find unforgettable. You will leave smiling and, like most of us, will want to come back for more. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Are you a fan of Dark Meat?

Every Thanksgiving feast I reach for it first. Guess you could say I'm more of a leg man than a breast guy... but I digress. I'm always thankful when I get turned on to new music. I love that each year Mountain Jam offers up new bands on the way up with fresh sounds. Last year I was turned on to Earl Greyhound and now I'm hooked.

Well there's a cool buzz floating around about Dark Meat. A 17-piece psychedelic concoction that hail from Athens, Georgia with a real interesting sound.

~ Dark Meat ~

They embark on a 66 show, 50 date spring tour that starts off at SXSW and rolls through Mountain Jam. If you see a bright green, 35-foot 1972 GMC coach tour bus rolling up Hunter Mountain... That's Dark Meat.

I'm hoping to become a big fan.

Audio: Dark Meat ~ Freedom Ritual (MP3)

Click here: for a recent write-up
w/ Dark Meat tour dates

Mountain Jam Artists Kick it @ Langerado

Some great bands that will grace the stage at Mountain Jam helped to kick off the festival season last week.

Our own Dino Perrucci was there to capture it all.

~ Warren Haynes ~

~ Grace Potter ~

~ John Scofield & Billy Martin ~

~ Scofield, Medeski, Martin, Wood ~

~ Dr. Dog ~

~ Gov't Mule ~

~ Grace Potter & The Nocturnals ~




































~ Dark Star Orchestra ~

New Artist Additions Announced Today

~ Hot of the Press ~
We are happy to announce
two additions to

Mountain Jam IV today!

Ray LaMontagne

Ingrid Michaelson

"The Vibe" ~ Experience it. ~ Embrace it

This summer Mountain Jam turns 4!

Pristine and stunning, the mountains of upstate New York stand tall creating the natural sloping hillside amphitheater. The picturesque back drop and the stellar musical line-up create an amazing festival, but it's the beautiful like minded people, the fans, the bands, vendors, crew everyone who over the past years helped to create a certain vibe that is very special. Those of you that came out for the first time last year, now know what those of us that will be here for the fourth year in a row already know. The secret is getting out about this Mountain Jam vibe I speak of. So this year as in each of the three previous years the festival will be bigger and better than ever. Each year WDST & Radio Woodstock along with Warren Haynes strive to build on what worked previous years and break out new and exciting improvements, like the late night performances outside on the mountain side. How bout dancing' under the stars to Galactic and Dark Star Orchestra on both Friday and Saturday nights. This is in addition to the hot hot late night dance parties with Lotus and the Pnuma Trio in the enclosed Hunter Mountain Lodge.

It's on y'all!

Tonight marks the eve of the very first festival of the season as our friends in Southern Florida kick it off with Langerado. Like Mountain Jam they're celebrating their 4th annual festival to start the festival train rollin. This year making a return appearance , Gov't Mule will rip off a great set. Luckily we have our very own Dino Perrucci & Allison Murphy on hand to get the very best photos which I will share here. So look back over the weekend as I hope to post some set-lists and photos from down south to wet your whistle and get ya pumped for Mountain Jam. I wish all that are at Big Cypress right now a great time. I sure enjoyed it last year but my heart is with the my Mountain Jam family and that sweet vibe I get only at Mountain Jam .

A Look Back ~ Mt. Jam III ~ 2007

Lightening Strikes ~ Umphrey's McGee Set

If you were a faithful follower here at The MJ Blog last year you will remember one of the cooler things we do here is to get you all the latest real-time updates from each and every set! Not just a list of the songs played but I make every attempt to grab the actual set list written up by each band after their set, scan it and post it to the blog. This year will be no different as I'll get to you photos, quotes and inside scoop from behind the scenes.

The Umphrey's McGee set was a total rocker. As the rain fell the crowd at the main stage just grew larger. The black clouds started to roll in and the forecast was for massive thunderstorms.

During the encore as the band segued into Led Zep's Immigrant Song... the threat was too great and people were asked to take cover. It took a good few minutes for security to get the band to stop playing, so the power had to be pulled for everyones safety. With a wet & crazy ending to a great Mountain Jam set the band was ushered off stage. But not after one hell of a show. I'm glad to see that they will be back again this year. I think they should open their festival set this summer with the ending of Immigrant Song and finish where they left off last year!

So... since the area was cleared I couldn't get a stage set list, but I did track down Brendan Bayliss right after the set and over a beer he kindly wrote the set list pictured above himself on a paper plate. Notice he wrote... "pulled the plug" at the end of the list

Classic!

Jake Cinninger later that night jaming with Gov't Mule