April Musical Endurance Test

The Psalmist commands us to Make a Joyful Sound unto the Lord, and there's certainly no shortage of opportunities to do that in the upcoming weeks down here in the Southeast. Hopefully we all made it through our Easter, Passover, and April Fool's celebrations without any serious injuries or shakeups so it's time to start tightening our bootstraps for an absolutely stacked month of live music. Work, band practice, and upcoming plans all have my brain occupied, so it's a good time to gather my thoughts for all you fine people. Here's my 2 cents/0.00000002 BTC on some of what I plan to tickle my ears with this month. Feel free to join me.

 Music will fill the air this Sunday as Dark Star Orchestra brings its jaw-dropping rendition of the Grateful Dead catalogue to Avondale Brewery for a fun-filled afternoon with friends & family (both old and new).  April 13 the North Mississippi Allstars play there as well.  I'll be interested to check that out because the Allstars were Most Impressive while backing up Anders Osborne at my first Wanee Festival in 2016.  Speaking of Wanee, the 4/20 weekend again presents jam fans with a conflict: should one head down to the beautiful Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park to camp under the trees while listening to Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh, and more, or head to the city for the other King of Festivals-for-the-jam-and-budget-minded, SweetWater 420 Fest?  Held in Centennial Park near the central eye of Atlanta, 420 Fest sports a murderer's row of a lineup containing rock, jam, reggae, country, & more.  For about 125 bucks, attendees will be treated to incredible acts such as the String Cheese Incident, Sturgill Simpson,  Tedeschi Trucks Band, and the incomparable Umphrey's McGee. There will be some incredible sets & sit-ins aplenty as well as all the food, beer, and good vibes you'll need. Trust me on that one.

Birmingham sure ain't letting up for the rest of the month either... there's simply no possible way to see it all unless you are lucky enough to be a trust fund kid. April 18 sees Modest Mouse rocking out inside Sloss Furnaces. Guitar god Trey Anastasio returns to Iron City with his band on the 24th- that's a sold out show, of course. For the Pixies fans among you: Kim Deal is bringing The Breeders there the following evening. Across town, Zydeco is having instrumental rockers Tauk back on Wednesday the 25th. Thursday brings funk-jammers Pigeons Playing Ping Pong to Saturn with the also excellent Funk You as support. On the 27th there's a a Railroad Earth vs. Houndmouth conflict in the Avondale district to kick off the weekend. (Tough to go wrong there). Don't miss the album release party from beloved Alabama joyfunk band CBDB at Avondale on May 5th. There's also a Beck concert over at the BJCC downtown.  Needless to say, it's a great time to be a music lover in the Magic City.

In addition to all this rampant professionalism, I've also got several dates coming down the line with my band Ice Station Zebra that I'm really excited about. This Friday (4/6) we return to Tuscaloosa's The Booth to play a show with our new friends Tastebud.  Rumour has it that some good friends of mine from back home in Dublin, GA are traveling all the way over for the show so we shall be sure to make it one for the ages.  Besides, Tuscaloosa's been mighty good to us thus far and I'm sure this weekend will be no different.   Next on the agenda is Saturday (4/14) for a date in downtown Carrolton, GA at 302 Day. Finally we return to Tuscaloosa on May 5 for our third show at Green Bar...  this time joined by our fellow Birmingham natives Cahaba.

I don't claim to be an expert on all these bands or venues but I've sure as hell had a lot of practice. Feel free to contact me via this blog or Facebook if you've got any questions about any of these shows, want to book my band, or just wanna talk some crap. Until next time, mis amigos.