Let me start off this month with a brief sentiment that I don't believe I've articulated recently (although feel free to check the search feature to give me grief in case I'm wrong): This might be my favorite issue yet. I'm quite happy with the content blend we offer you this month. No small part of this of course is the moe. insert (In particular, all hail Zzyzx who put in extra hours to see it realized). I like the idea of taking a portion of a given issue and highlighting a particular band as it reaches a milestone (in this case moe. is entering its second decade and releasing a new studio album, Dither). Hopefully some time soon we'll make a second foray (not next month though- I love the results but it really took some work to coordinate and execute- frankly I'm sure that as soon as Zzyzx read the beginning of the sentence, he expressed that refrain I've grown to love, "Budnick, I kill you.') [Webmaster note: Dean thinks I'm kidding here.]

What else? Plenty. Later this month we're going to step it up and add a live daily reviews section to the site. This will enable people to share their recent show experiences, both positive and negative. We'll have guidelines up on the site when the section starts to run in a few weeks (our daily reviews editor promises me that each will be a unbiased account and not an encomium ghost-written by a band publicist).

Is that all? Why no, we just announced the date and venue for this years Jammys. The show will take place at New York's Roseland Ballroom on June 28. I'm psyched to be able to bring the Jammys to a larger, more-prestigious room (all the better in my eyes for its prominent placement in Ken Burns's Jazz miniseries). In addition, the second stage will allow the Jammys Orchestra to perform throughout the evening, yielding near-perpetual music. Stay tuned to the site for information on nominations and ballots.

We have a few more announcements on the way which I will leave for the coming weeks. I pledge that we have plenty of new projects on the horizon. Until then, have a good month of shows.