The end of the millennium is quickly approaching, and everyone and their mother is sick and tired about the best of the millenniums. But it got me thinking, instead of looking at the past 1,000 years of music, let's look ahead. What is jamband music going to sound like in the next five years? Will it be radio feasible?

Jamband music has always been guitar oriented. It has been shunned by commercial standards and dismissed by critics and popular culture. Rock and pop fans notoriously enjoy cute three minute tunes, and we all know that most modern jamband music doesn't fit into this category. But outside of the world of rock and pop, people are listening to songs which are considerably more intricate, and most importantly, longer. Rave kids, who listen to techno music, dance all night long to drawn out DJ mixes, while jazz fans love nothing more than a long improv set. The key to the future of jamband music is the up and coming bands who incorporate these types of music into their music, and draw these "other" fans into their own scene.

Bands like Sector 9, The New Deal, and Fat Moma have not only incorporated DJ's into their sets, but have found a sound that relates directly to what is going on in the rave scene. Specifically, Sector 9 has started experimenting with drum n' bass along with introducing jungle beats in their music. Their sound is now very similar to what is being played at the scores of rave clubs all over the country. So much so, that their new album which they are coming out with is going to be pressed into vinyl to be spun by DJ's. Rave fans come out to see them, and love them as if there was only a DJ on stage.

This new sound of jamband music is a very positive one. Instead of getting radio play on the triple A charts (which Leftover Salmon and Strangefolk have been on), bands like Sector 9 will find themselves on the techno charts. From what I have heard, their album, along with The New Deal's are being pitched to techno DJ's, who will be far more likely to play it than any other format would. The best part of this is that not only are they playing techno music, but they are playing good techno music. They are on the forefront to introducing a new genre of jamband music, one that is more radio-playable.

In the coming year, both these bands should receive some serious airplay on both the jamband and the techno radio stations and for good reason. They are playing exciting, different, and good music. This is where the jamband world is headed, and I'm excited, because its headed straight to radio. Until then, keep listening.