Tedeschi Trucks Band: Souls Searching

After testing the waters with the Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival back in the late 2000s, the group’s namesakes decided that the time was right to fashion a new project. The pair pieced together a mighty 11-person, brass-infused soul revue, eschewing familiar tunes in favor of material written expressly for the new Tedeschi Trucks Band. Relix Editor-in-Chief Dean Budnick visits the couple at home in Jacksonville, Fla., to spend time at their Swamp Raga Studios, talk baseball, learn about their new bassist, discuss the challenges the musicial couple face leading a touring band and experience some ear-opening Jimi Hendrix on vinyl.

Golden Ears: Chris Robinson Brotherhood Meet Their Match

Chris Robinson’s cosmic, California Brotherhood always felt closer to the Grateful Dead’s sprawling Europe ‘72 peak than the singer’s longtime rock and roll band The Black Crowes. So it is no surprise that Chris Robinson Brotherhood caught the ear of Betty Cantor-Jackson, the engineer responsible for some of the Dead’s best-sounding albums and seminal live recordings. After a chance meeting with the group at a Seva benefit, Cantor-Jackson decided to record Chris Robinson Brotherhood in their natural habitat, San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall, for a special, limited edition, quadruple-live LP. Now, Contributing Editor Richard B. Simon explains why Chris Robinson Brotherhood may have finally met their musical match.

Anders Osborne: Improvising on Tradition

After struggling with substance abuse and addiction, New Orleans guitar god Anders Osborne has entered a period of sobriety, complete with a new, swamp-infused sound. Though still residing in Louisiana, Osborne’s new approach is more rooted in heavy, Southern rock than traditional New Orleans jazz-funk, and has helped the seasoned musician stake his claim as one of the jamband scene’s most unlikely success stories. His renaissance period caught the ear of Phil Lesh, who recently brought the Swedish-born Osborne on the road as part of his ever-changing Phil & Friends. As Tim Donnelly discovers, despite his limited knowledge of the Grateful Dead and classic rock in general, Osborne has figured out how to approach his new gig with the same “without a net mentality” that has always defined his best work.

White Denim: The Music Is the Message

White Denim have built their career on a sound that bridges that gap between improvisational-leaning progressive rock and indie-approved garage jams. Their live show, which often extends over two hours during headlining gigs, hinges on several 30-minute segments of music, with each song gliding into the next like the festival circuit’s best jambands. At the same time, the quartet’s studio recordings have often existed in a separate-but-equal, DIY world inhabited by record collectors and hipsters. Now, with the help of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, on Corsicana Lemonade, the Austin, Texas-based group are shifting their attention to something more direct and catered to a live music audience.

Jonathan Wilson: The Gentle Spirit Returns

Jonathan Wilson was on the verge of national success when Sire Records cut his band Muscadine loose in the late-‘90s. After drifting around the country for a few years, Wilson resurfaced a decade later as one of the neo- Americana scene’s most in-demand producers and Laurel Canyon’s premier jam host. In 2011, he emerged from the shadows of his more
famous friends with Gentle Spirit and has spent the past few years sharing the stage with everyone from Furthur and Jackson Browne to Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Richard Gehr spent time with Wilson and his family shortly before the release of his latest studio effort, the David Crosby and Graham Nash-assisted Fanfare, and explains why everyone from Chris Robinson to Lana Del Rey exists in his orbit.

Plus: moe., Les Claypool, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, T Bone Burnett, Tired Pony, Shonna Tucker, Hard Working Americans, La La Brooks, Vieux Farka Touré, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Tunde Adebimpe, Patrick Jordan and much more!

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