Posts by Bryan Rodgers

[rating=7.00] Trey Anastasio released lots of solo albums from 2002 through 2012, with success that varied as widely as the styles on each record. Paper Wheels is quite a departure from most of those albums, as it features no overly slick production, lofty orchestral undertakings, or sprawling rock-band ensembles. It has the most in common […]

The International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual festival happened in Raleigh on October 2nd for the third time this year, and the event is entrenched in the Raleigh music schedule for at least a couple more years. For the most part, the non-affiliated venues around downtown try to capitalize on the convergence of pickin’ patrons by […]

In its six years of existence, the Hopscotch Music Festival has cemented itself as Raleigh’s most unique music event. The lineup is always relentlessly strange, forcing attendees to step out of their comfort zones and discover new sounds. With a strong gang of headliners playing in the City Plaza venue balanced by an often befuddling […]

Umphrey’s McGee’s spirited fans scurried about the sprawling North Carolina Music Factory district, trying (and failing to a great degree) to dodge scattered thunderstorms near showtime at The Fillmore in Charlotte. A deluge of rain soaked a few hundred late-arriving fans as openers J. Roddy Walston and The Business finished their set, and none of […]

Sunday is the mellowest day of the weekend at Bonnaroo, but a good portion of the campers were having none of that tradition. The line to get a close as possible to Twenty One Pilots swelled into the thousands as gate opening time drew near. Still, being on the farm is easier on Sunday. Most […]

With the ground still shaking from a frenetic Friday at Bonnaroo 2015, Saturday’s music dawned in a much calmer mood. The previous day had been a smorgasbord of hard-hitting rock, funk, and electronic music. Saturday’s slate, if one so chose, could be a similarly bountiful buffet of roots and indie rock, with acts like Catfish […]

Friday morning is when Bonnaroo really springs to life. The headliners and featured late night shows loom ahead, and the enormous What Stage field is opened for the first time. The scope of the event comes into focus not only via the sheer mass of humanity on the farm, but the endless array of possibilities […]

Bonnaroo’s normal Thursday appetizer was a bit light this year. Set times clocked in at 45 minutes, and the music started at dinnertime, leaving only about 8 hours for the festival’s various tents to get their collective roofs blown off. Some of the attendees spent longer than that waiting in line to enter the venue. […]

[rating=8.00] Black Sheep is the first album in the new era of Yonder Mountain String Band’s existence, and their first proper release in 6 years. Since the departure of exuberant mandolinist and founding member Jeff Austin last year, guitarist Adam Aijala has assumed the most prominent role in the band. Now front and center on […]

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, now entering its 14th summer, always inspires enthusiasm among music lovers who flock to Manchester, TN from all over the world. The festival’s performers also get caught up in the excitement, and two of the biggest bands on the 2015 bill are no exception to the anticipation. In a […]

[rating=8.00] It’s not always imperative to hunt for meaning when considering the virtues of an album. Sometimes, the situation in which a band finds itself is enough justification for a release. That’s certainly the case with Umphrey’s McGee’s The London Session. Recorded in 12 hours at the famed Abbey Road Studios, the album finds the […]

Durham, NC boasts a rich jazz and blues heritage, and on a dreary winter evening in March 2015, the Durham Performing Arts Center was the site of another entry into the city’s considerable musical ledger. Gov’t Mule came to town with John Scofield in tow, and that alone is a show worth seeing. But story […]

[rating=6.00] Martin Sexton never does anything that doesn’t come naturally. Mixtape of the Open Road is as intuitive and organic as anything he’s done in his career of over two decades, yet the album is unique among his works. Sexton’s sound has remained essentially unchanged since the Clinton years, so it’s nice to hear him […]

Unseasonably warm weather and the promise of a really big rock show made Umphrey’s McGee’s first ever arena headlining date one to remember. The band is no stranger to large crowds, having sold out Red Rocks and stormed the main stage at Bonnaroo last year, but their first big indoor spectacle hadn’t fully manifested until […]

Over 26 years of existence, Warren Haynes Presents The Christmas Jam has come to mean many things to many people. The event is most importantly a charitable home run for Habitat For Humanity. But it’s also an annual musical rite, a celebration of a longstanding southern musical community, and a tribute to Haynes’ hometown of […]

Raleigh has fully embraced the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) World of Bluegrass festival, award show, and industry gathering. Or maybe the IBMA has totally embraced Raleigh. In any event, the two entities are hugging powerfully, and bluegrass music fans aren’t the only benefactors. The event, which stretches for 5 days and concludes with a […]

[rating=7.00] Mike Doughty’s latest project is billed as an exploration of modern hip-hop. The concept is certainly apparent, but Stellar Motel is not a complete departure for Doughty. There are several songs that sound much like the rhythmic, hyper-linguistic pop we’ve come to expect from him, and those who have followed his considerable career won’t […]

After 10 hours of music and food, it was tough to decide who won Farm Aid 2014. Was it Jack White or the chocolate sea salt pie? Perhaps Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds, or the bratwurst with BBQ sauce glaze? More likely, it was the farmers and organizations that benefitted from the concert’s charitable cause. […]

Farm Aid 2014 featured Board of Directors Neil Young, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp & Dave Matthews and took place Saturday April 13, 2014 at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre in Raleigh, North Carolina. Photos by Bryan Rodgers  

For the fifth year of the Hopscotch Music Festival, the event expanded to include three big shows at Raleigh’s downtown City Plaza – up from two – along with the usual slew of club, theater, and street events. Each year the festival seems to tighten its grip on downtown Raleigh a little more, and this […]