A month off the grid, and all hell (the good kind) breaks loose
Buena Vista, Colo. —
I had to step away from everything — especially this page — for the past month to get some long-overdue mental health- and addiction-based care following Twin Ports Music Festival (which I helped produce last month in Superior, Wis.).
For a month, I was essentially off grid, with little access to the Internet.
I’m feeling much better, and I’m thankful I was able to take the time away.
Some big news dropped while I was away.
By big news, I mean the kind of announcements that fuel my fire for improvisational music.
I’m currently in Colorado, at my brother’s place which happens to be in the same mountain town where Billy Strings is holding his third-consecutive Renewal festival this weekend.
I’m excited about seeing Billy Strings, who I haven’t seen much of lately. I’ve been too busy following around King Gizz (and to a lesser extent, Phish).
Which leads me back to the nuggets that dropped in the past month.
There was Phish’s save-the-date for its 11th (or 12th festival, depending on how you look at it) festival in Delaware next August.
On the same day, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard announced early details for a handful of marathon shows next summer and into fall.
There’s a conflict (the Forest Hills Stadium shows are the same weekend as the Phish fest), which is only of concern to fans such as myself who love both of these bands (there are many Gizz fans who don’t love Phish, I realize).
I don’t like the idea of missing a Gizz marathon show.
But I couldn’t miss what could turn out to be Phish’s last festival (just a guess here). A Phish festival is a pretty special thing, a celebration of art, and the band’s creativity and improvisational powers. I don’t know of another band that puts as much effort into putting on such a special event for their fans. I can’t wait for the forthcoming details, and, of course, whatever the band chooses to do for its secret set.
I wish there wasn’t conflicts between these two bands’ schedules, and there is more than one (including Gizz’s Chicago show falling on the same weekend as Phish’s annual Labor Day run near Denver).
Things are moving fast for both bands. Phish this last week announced its expected NYE plans for Madison Square Garden. There is also a solidly-sourced rumor that the band will make its MSG Sphere debut in Las Vegas in April. Based on whom I first heard that rumor, a while ago now, I do believe that is at least on the table.
King Gizzard added a second Forest Hills marathon show, and there have also been rumors of an additional Northerly Island date.
We’ll see. I’m planning on splitting my time between Phish and Gizz over Labor Day weekend next year.
The Aussies have been teasing their next studio effort, with lyrics dropped and the promise of “new music is coming soon” following the band’s latest tour through Europe that recently concluded, a tour that had Billy Strings and King Gizzard crossing paths in Sweden.
The pictures from that encounter got me pretty excited, but that gets me to maybe the biggest moment that happened while I was away: Billy Strings’ wedding, which saw the likes of Strings, Trey Anastasio, Les Claypool and Bob Weir forming one of the most epic wedding band lineups of all time.
But back to me.
I’m trying to balance my desire to get this page to place where it can support a living as an independent music writer. Since this page’s launch in February, I’ve written more about King Gizzard than anyone. I don’t expect that to change. They simply are the most exciting band in improvisational, psychedelic music right now, and I think they will remain so for the foreseeable future. But there are a lot of other bands I hope to highlight here in the next year, most of which are on the psychedelic rock scene, including the likes of Los Bitchos and Mcbaise.
We’ll see if I can make that happen over the next year or so. In the meantime, I am going to be working other angles for income, from driving Uber to freelance writing.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep this page regularly updated with content regarding music and tour information on the international, national and regional music scene, with some emphasis on bands based in my home state of Minnesota (mostly from the Twin Cities and Duluth).
Stay tuned for updates from Renewal this weekend, where Billy Strings is sure to bring fire.