Instrumental music can be cold and clinical. Fortunately, the Sputter — which thankfully doesn’t live up to its foreboding tag — fans its sound to more combustible ends. On its latest disc, Great Unseen, the outfit ignites a mother lode of grooves with the pleasing sparks of the organ-driven opener,…

RAQ hasn’t amassed the type of popularity that might result in a frozen treat being named after it. Even so, its renown is spreading like hot fudge on a cold scoop of Vermont’s finest. The band’s ties to the land of Ben and Jerry and that state’s jam-friendly scene are…

Stoned Emotion’s freshman release drips with echoes of My Morning Jacket, John Mayer, Warren Haynes and even ’80s alt-rockers the Feelies. Lushly produced, the disc moves from one pleasing track to the next. Vocalist, lead guitarist and principal songwriter Phil Dudden’s everyman voice proves flexible, whether biting into the Southern-rock…

While the Strat-brandishing virtuoso is something of a cliche in rock music, those who can wield a Fender with precision do possess the ability to grab our attention. Having paid his dues touring with ’90s hip-hop act First Born in addition to logging fret time alongside Memphis soul crooner William…

Standing somewhere between the root pop of Poi Dog Pondering and a Louisiana zydeco outing, Donna the Buffalo serves up a simmering blend of Cajun, folk, rock and even country-tinged fare. The road-tested group weaves these influences together for an eminently enjoyable oeuvre that it’s been forging for nearly two…

As disciples of the same Georgia music scene that spawned Col. Bruce Hampton and Widespread Panic, Outformation embraces the philosophy that rock can be both inventive and down to earth. Known for lead guitarist and vocalist Sam Holt’s ties to Panic (he doubles as a guitar tech for the act),…

At times, Steve Kimock’s latest release, Eudemonic, edges warily toward well-executed, jam-flavored elevator music. Despite this limp studio offering, though, Kimock is no slouch. Having once gained a reputation as the late Jerry Garcia’s favorite unknown guitar player, he has systematically cleared his own path since his days with the…

Whether offering a Van Morrison chestnut, channeling the heavier sounds of Widespread Panic or garnishing its classic rock-inspired sound with roots-flavored original fare, Electric Side Dish (due at Sancho’s Broken Arrow on Sunday, December 4) cooks up a savory blend of grooves that leaves you wanting more. Axmen John Tipton…

Since its early days as a duet comprising Bob Weir and self-styled acoustic bassist Rob Wasserman, Ratdog has experienced its share of musical evolution and personnel shuffling. Counting late Chuck Berry pianist Johnnie Johnson and members of San Francisco’s jazz-based Charlie Hunter Trio among its alumni, the group morphed from…

These days, most people know Jerry Joseph as the leader of Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons, or through his affiliation with Widespread Panic and the Stockholm Syndrome. Back in the ’80s, though, during what he calls his “white reggae hippie” phase, Joseph lived in Boulder and played in the band…

While Phish purists might pooh-pooh any project that falls outside the bubbling company of his erstwhile aquatic bandmates, Trey Anastasio proves himself to be a resilient and innovative musician who can stand on his own two gills. Having formed a new group, 70 Volt Parade, and recently teamed with more…

In the twenty-plus years he’s been playing, Scott Law has logged regular stage time with some of the best acts in the jam scene, including the Tony Furtado Band, Phil Lesh and Friends, the Everyone Orchestra and the String Cheese Incident. A seasoned guitar and mandolin player on his own,…

Like a disc-changer stuck on random shuffle, Blue Turtle Seduction moves unblinkingly between jazz, funk, bluegrass, reggae, electronica and hip-hop. Undersierraground, the act’s first full-length studio release, merges silly Phish-like slivers and no-frills Sublime-like drumming with funk, bilingual lyrics and speedy mandolin runs into what the group calls “High-Altitude Bohemian…

The latest in a bumper crop of rootsy, genre-straddling bands (such as Moonshine Still, Soul Live, New Monsoon, Town Hall and Animal Liberation Orchestra) to garner a national buzz, New Jersey’s Steel Train is steadily expanding its fan base by notching lauded performances at a wide array of fests, including…

The Motet, an eclectic, Boulder-based, genre-twisting act, is known for bringing down the house this time of year with its drum-driven brand of blender groove. While past Halloweens have seen the band delving into authentic Afro-beat, flights of fusion-esque fancy and even last year’s Prince tribute, the group’s devoted fans…

Embodying the spirit of Louisiana on many levels, Tab Benoit has been calling Colorado home this month. In an effort to help rebuild his beloved hurricane-ravaged bayou region (and spread the gospel of the blues), Benoit and his band have played their way through the high country, including at benefits…

Teetering between corny and classic, Junior Brown bangs out a set of Americana-tinged fare that features his acclaimed double-necked plucking and baritone crooning. Bottling the essence of Tex-Mex, Western swing and even surf music (an instrumental jog through the Johnny Rivers classic “Secret Agent Man”), Junior swerves through a varied…

Devotees of bass guitar and roots music will no doubt rejoice when Oteil Burbridge lands on Colorado soil for a string of performances beginning in Boulder and wrapping up in Aspen. Burbridge made his name with the Aquarium Rescue Unit in the early ’90s before moving on to the Allman…

With his musical hatchery now washed out, Trey Anastasio is back to swimming solo. Not that that’s a bad thing, by any means. Anastasio’s past extra-Phishular projects have included stints with Phil Lesh and Friends, as well as an acclaimed outing with power trio Oysterhead, which featured Anastasio alongside Les…

Originally alternating between the somewhat prosaic handle Five Guys Named Moe and the more esoteric Haggis, in 1991 this quartet eventually settled on the monosyllabic moniker moe. (That’s right, race fans, lowercase and with a period.) The Buffalo-based act boasts an assortment of cap feathers, including a stint on the…

With an emphasis on lyrics and vocal harmony combined with restrained, well-crafted instrumental passages, Moonshine Still doesn’t initially seem to be cut from the typical jam-band cloth. But the group’s swirling keywork and Byzantine guitar figures layered over repetitive reggae-tinged beats verify that at least one of its feet is…

With the success of jamfests such as Bonnaroo, roots-music gatherings continue to dot the countryside like mushrooms after a summer rain. Now the Denver area boasts its own Woodstock-inspired revel, in nearby Strasburg. Stir Fried (featuring pedal-steel master Buddy Cage) and the venerable David Nelson Band will headline May Daze…