In his fifth solo effort since leaving Dispatch, Pete Francis drives an eclectic ride thru 10 tracks on his newly released album Iron Sea & The Cavalry.

Johnny Ocho’s Lullaby opens the album w/ a nice hook & country feel reminiscent of Drive-by Truckers. It then picks up the electric (both guitar & organ) in Armies of Angels & creates a groove of urban bluegrass that carries through to Shooting Star & The Ambulance. Pete Francis beefs up his vocals which mesh w/ the great building rifts by Boo Reiners on steel guitar & electric organ the band creates. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals have just finished a 9 month world tour and spent just 7 days recording their latest album “Lifeline” (torrent) which will be available on August 28th, 2007.

They have also announced a fall tour full tour details can be found at the official Ben Harper website.

Check out this video of “In The Color” off the new album below.

moe. has released it’s 5th installment of their live shows titled “Wart & All.” These live performances capture the raw energy of the band without any of the refinements and polishing of a studio album. This recording of the three time Jammy winner feautures a 2nd time played “She” as well as band favorites “Spine of a Dog,” “Plane Crash,” and “Captain America.”

You can grab this album at Amazon.com.

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New Monsoon announced that they will be releasing their fith album in late August titled “New Monsoon V.” This San Francisco based Jam Band is currently out on the west coast in the middle of their summer tour. To find out when these guys playing near you check out the bands website.

New Monsoon has played a lot of big festivals including Bonnaroo, the Austin City Limits Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Wakarusa, Summerfest, and Mountain Jam Festival.

Check out the video below from GrooveTV in 2003 to see how this band jams.

Back in January O.A.R. performed for a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden. The band had so much fun they’ve released a DVD and Album titled “OAR Live at Madison Square Garden.” You can pick it up at Amazon.com