Earlier this month beloved Baltimore singer-guitarist Cris Jacobs and animator KC Corbett released their new music video for Jacobs’ cover of Blind Melon’s quintessential hit “No Rain.”

 Jacobs’ rootsy, blues-infused acoustic take on the song is transported into the world of a robot working a monotonous job in a cubicle, dreaming of frolicking in expansive nature.

 “It’s a song we both grew up with, and I just came up with this version on the spot and laid it down,” Jacobs says. “KC came up with this video concept, and it became a very moving interpretation of the song.”

Deftly capturing the juxtaposition of the whimsical, bare-bones recording and poignant lyrics, Corbett draws on universal themes of corporate job pressures, loneliness, emotional well-being, and pursuing one’s passions – themes that resonate with many of us.  This theme equally resonates with Corbett, having recently left a nine-to-five job to pursue his artistry, and with Jacobs, who has chosen a life as a touring musician.

 “Cris perfectly captures the contrast of a beloved rock song from the ’90s with these lyrics about isolation,” Corbett says. “I wanted to create a direct comparison to our world from the point of view of someone who is in the gears of the machine, but having this fantastical break from reality.”

 One might not expect such a futuristic video for an acoustic song, but Jacobs’ pulsating finger-picking serves as the perfect rhythmic backdrop to Corbett’s assembly line scenes and robot daydreams.  For those of us that have seen Jacobs perform live. we can see Jacobs sitting in a chair and tenderly picking away on his cherished cigar box guitar.

Cris has packed his guitars up and taken his namesake band back out on the road for his Fall Tour 2022 including three DMV shows. 

• October 2, 2022 - Annapolis Baygrass Music Festival - Annapolis, MD
• October 21, 2022 - The Recher - Towson, MD
• November 11, 2022 - The Jefferson Theater  - Charlottesville, VA (* New Location)

The complete list of Cris Jacobs' Fall Tour can be found below.

To learn more about Cris Jacobs, please see the following web resources:

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To learn more about KC Corbett, please see the following web resources:

• Webpage
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With a galloping guitar and a concrete backbeat on the snare drum, “You and (Everybody Else)”—the first offering from Peter Mulvey & SistaStrings’ upcoming album, Love Is The Only Thing—takes no time getting off to the races. 

"John Sieger and I sat down to bust this one out quickly,” remembers Mulvey. “The song announced itself as lean and loping: very few words, all energy, a two-beat measure.” Easing into the second verse, the cello and violin from SistaStrings’ Monique Ross and Chauntee Ross sneak in, adding another meaningful texture to the sparse but purposeful tune. Throughout, the mood is jovial, reflected in Mulvey’s delivery of the song’s lyrics.

Peter Mulvey has a number of solo date but sadly none in the DMV.

SistaStrings are on the road all summer playing as part of Allison Russell’s and Brandi Carlile’s bands, including Carlile’s upcoming show at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Thursday, August 18th at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.

  See below for links to the Merriweather Post Pavilion performance.

To learn more about SistaStrings, please see the following web resources:

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To learn more about Peter Mulvey, please see the following web resources:

• Webpage
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This year has brought with it a slew of unexpected changes that have rocked the daily lives of people across the entire world. Much of this change has cast a shadow on the lives of so many,  highlighting the importance of little things that bring joy and positivity to your day.  This is exactly what I thought of when I first listened to BT ALC Big Band's new single "Bring Forth Change." This Boston-based band began playing together in 2011, created by trombonist Bryan Thomas 'BT' and trumpeter Alex 'ALC' Lee-Clark  (their initials making up the band's name). Since 2011, this band has become known for distinctive groove pieces that bring in local jazz and funk artists.

The incorporation of other local funk musicians gives this band the special ability to curate each track in its own unique way. "Bring Forth Change" follows this pattern as it brings a distinctive sound made from collaboration. It is a song that allows you to look to the future, a time where a global pandemic is under control and where people are all treated with equality and kindness, with systemic changes allowing all individuals to have the same opportunities. This song brings together jazz and funk elements that uplift the listener, encouraging us all to stay positive in these difficult times. It also is created by a diverse group of people, bringing together all of their experiences to curate this unique piece. The song features vocals from Nigel Hall and his bandmate Eric 'Benny' Bloom on the trumpet. You will recognize Hall and Bloom from their funktastic band Lettuce, and bring their own spark to the single. 

If you do enjoy "Bring Forth Change" and want to support the artist, we strongly encourage you to support the artists and show the band your appreciation and support by purchasing the track from Bandcamp. You can support the band by purchasing the track for more than the $1 minimum.

​

To learn more about BT ALC Big Band, please see the following web resources:

To learn more about Vintage League Music, please see the following web resources:

Burbridge was a classically-trained two-time Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist who provided keyboards, organ, flute and backing vocals for various bands throughout his career; but is perhaps best known for his 22+ years of musical association with guitar master Derek Trucks. The film includes rare in-studio performance footage, along with numerous warm and candid interviews from fellow musicians Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Victor Wooten, Jimmy Herring, Oteil Burbridge, Tim Lefebvre, Adam Nitti, Nigel Hall, Aadam "Shmeeans" Smirnoff, Roy Vogt and Regi Wooten.

"We're thrilled to introduce this new documentary series to music fans around the world," says Ace Entertainment President Tom Emmi. "Having Kofi be our first honoree means a lot to me personally. He touched and inspired so many throughout his career, including me."

"You don’t meet many geniuses in your life, and you really don’t get a chance to share a huge chunk of your life with them…It was a hell of a gift,” notes Trucks, Kofi’s longtime bandmate in The Derek Trucks Band and Tedeschi Trucks Band.  “He just made everything better and everything cool.” 

“Kofi had such an open mind,” says his brother, Oteil Burbridge, “such an incredible imagination. He was always my teacher - and he was always so
far ahead of me. They figured out he had perfect pitch when he was seven years old.”

A portion of all proceeds from the streaming of this and future documentaries will go to support efforts from various charities dear to those being honored. "This is an important part our effort," adds Emmi. "It's a meaningful way to add to the legacy for each of these musicians." Proceeds from “Lest We Forget: Kofi Burbridge” will be donated to the Kofi Burbridge Music Matters Fund in partnership with Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation. This 501(c)3 foundation helps to keep music alive in schools by providing brand-new musical instruments to under-funded music programs nationwide.

“Lest We Forget: Kofi Burbridge” is an extension of Ace Entertainment’s “Lest We Forget” effort – a series of short video specials, now in its 4th year, that honor important musicians and music industry icons  - from all genres - who dedicated so much of their lives to push music forward. Lest We Forget is a not-for-profit program. All the producers, musicians, cameramen, editors and studios have donated their time and skills in the production of these programs. Emmi concludes, "It’s a total labor of love for everyone involved.”

You can watch the trailer below. 

To learn more about Elizabeth II, please see the following web resources:

Circles Around the Sun will tour the Northeast this Winter in support of their new, self-titled studio album that will be released on March 13th. Scott Metzger of Joe Russo's Almost Dead will be performing on guitar on this tour to fill the sad and tragic void left by Neal Casal's passing back in August 2019.

 DC Music Review and the entire music community cannot verbally articulate the sadness we all felt at the time and the months since Casal's passing. However, we are truly overjoyed that the last remaining recordings and artistic vision of Neal's will be released. The forthcoming album, set to be released on March 13th, marks the final recordings of Neal Casal and were recorded one week before his passing.  In a note he left behind, Casal requested that the album be completed and that the band continues in his absence. 

The existing band members consisting of Adam MacDougall (keyboard), Dan Horne (bass), and Mark Levy (drums), have honored Casal's wishes and are moving forward without adding a permanent member to fill Casal's seat. To the great joy of fans, the band has decided to rotate different guitarists in Casal's place and allowing for guitarists to learn, explore, breath new life into, and embrace the music that Casal has left behind.  We certainly look forward to seeing the results of this decision which should further propel the band's music around the sun for many rotations to come.

For those unfamiliar with Circles Around The Sun's origin, it began when Casal was asked to record a handful of Grateful Dead-influenced instrumentals to be played during the set breaks at Dead & Company's "Fare Thee Well" concerts in 2015. This "one-off" setbreak soundtrack was so well received that the band decided to solidify their formation and those recordings as their debut album, Interludes for the Dead and perform on occasion. The response continued to be positive and the band continued to tour and record music.  Success built upon success for the band, and the rest has become part of musical history and folklore.

While previous albums have explored the influences of the Grateful Dead on the band, the newest album marks a stylistic shift for the band. The new music embraces a groover, classic disco era vibe with a modern overlay provided by the brilliant artistry and musicianship by Circles Around The Sun. We are sure that MacDougall's sizzling analog keyboards will entrance you as his Minimoog Model D and phaser-soaked Clavinet that pierce our musical souls.

The February 27th performance marks the tour kick-off for the band. We hope you can come The 8x10 and help the band launch what should be a fantastic tour. Only a week later, the band performs again in the DMV at Union Stage in Washington DC.

While Casal's passing still saddens us, he left behind a musical gift for us - his beautiful music, especially these last works. Like any present, we should happily accept it and unwrap what we receive.  

We are grateful that the band continues to take the stage and perform truly brilliant music with the audience. We hope that everyone can make it out to the local DMV performances and watches as the band takes the next historic circle around our sun.

To learn more about Circles Around The Sun, please see the following web resources:

"Get Up" has been a staple of AZTEC SUN's shows since well before the release of In the Name of Everyone, providing a lively dance tune that ignites a throw down in any of their sets. The track kicks off with the band's frontman Stephane Detchou calling, "AZTEC clap it out now, before a syncopated guitar riff that eventually is joined by the band's horn section and a thumping bass accompaniment.

The off-beat rhythm of the vocals and guitar throughout the song make for a playful number that can energize a crowd and provide opportunities for interplay between the band and its audience. This proclivity for the band to engage with its audience throughout a performance comes through following an instrumental break featuring the horn section of saxophonist Graham Robertson and trumpeter Adam Kent. There's a brief rest before Detchou recites a familiar "Everybody clap your hands," and vocalist Sara Ghebermichael, who shares lead vocals with Detchou throughout the track, repeatedly tell their audience, "I don't know what you came here to do, but it's time to jump around." 

Those final words are echoed by the rest of the band before another fantastic instrumental breakdown where the mix allows every member of the band to shine with a perfect balance of the horns, guitarist Ray Lamb, bassist Shane Weckesser, keyboardist Ryan "Catch" Banning, and drummer John Heinze. When the song returns for a final chorus, singer Lee Anderson can be heard clearly, adding another layer of harmony that offers a richness to the tone of the song's conclusion. 

Having recorded and worked with Soulive's Alan Evans on the album, the track is masterfully produced in a way that demonstrates the vibrancy of the band's live show without compromising clarity in their sound.

The second track released by the band, "Confuse Me," demonstrates the band's range with a smooth, sexy dose of R&B where Detchou's lead vocals shine. The opening lyrics, "Excuse me, you know you've got that something special," certainly apply to this band as well. "Hey, hey, hey. You must have hit me with that voodoo. I'm sitting in the palm of your hand," he croons in the first verse.

Well, Steph, the feeling is mutual.

AZTEC SUN performs this Saturday, November 23rd at Union Stage in Southwest Washington, DC. All performance details, including showtime, ticket purchase link, and full venue review can be found below.

​Loneliness Awareness Week (June 17-21), spearheaded by the Marmalade Trust charity, an organization created to tackle feelings of social isolation.  

Why is it needed? Because we live in a world where we are constantly connected. Through the simple click of a button, the picturesque aspects of our friends’ lives on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, you name it, we are bombarded.

Yet, despite the ease a technologically advanced world provides us, it has also facilitated a platform for people to compare themselves to others which often leads to feeling lonely or inadequate. The unique facet of loneliness is the way it can wash over us even when others surround us.  But, even though common, it’s taboo to bring loneliness up – even to those we trust. 

Bristol-based indie pop pair Mauwe is working to alleviate this stigma as well with their new single, Ain’t it Magical. The voices of Portia Conn and Jay Rodger overlay on this track, coming together to convey an eerily beautiful expression of the way going out and surrounding yourself with others can often feel so meaningless.

Mauwe said, “We wrote it based on that feeling that can often creep up at a party...when you aren’t connecting with the people around you, or even that you’re not remotely on the same wavelength.”  The duo first earned attention from their first single in 2017 That’s All, which racked in more than 5.5 million Spotify streams. "Loneliness manifests in different ways for different times, and in this one it's almost exasperation we are talking about, exasperation with the need to escape and change something," said Mauwe. 

Since then, Mauwe has come out with more singles including "Balcony Dreams" and "Sexy Glass," which both have a tinge of a darker sound while still encapsulating the complimenting layering of Conn and Rodgers’ voices.

Cris Jacobs released his latest record, Color Where You Are, last week, becoming the most recent installment in the Baltimore native's already extensive discography between a decade as the lead singer and guitarist of the Bridge and two previous albums with his solo project, Cris Jacobs Band. The Charm City singer-songwriter's new release comes after a three-year gap since his last studio output, Dust to Gold, but is well worth the wait. In a recent interview with DC Music Review, Cris described a heightened degree of chemistry and cohesion with his band that dictated their approach, and that musical connection makes Color Where You Are an absolute pleasure to listen to all the way through. The band, comprised of Jacobs on guitar and lead vocals, bassist Todd Herrington (bass), Dusty Ray Simmons (drums), and Jonathan Sloane (guitar), along with guest keyboardist Daniel Clarke, blends a range of musical genres, from country to blues to rock and roll, to produce an excellent album of Americana that packs a punch in only 44 minutes.

The album's opening track, "Painted Roads," provides a funky, syncopated backdrop for the album's remarkable ability to turn on a dime between genres, opening with overdriven rhythm guitar and bass leads before Jacobs begins his lead vocals, blending the New Orleans funk stylings of the Meters with the Southern soul of Little Feat.  Although the album doesn't give much space for Jacobs or Sloane to perform shredding solos on their guitars, it finds moments to use their skill to provide excellent textures that can accentuate Jacobs's vocals or add a layer of power with a tactful slide lead.

The second track on the album, "Under the Big Top," serves as a country-rock power anthem that is sure to get any listener's feet stomping and hips shaking. The tune features intense drumming behind a powerful lead guitar lick performed on Jacobs's home-made cigar box lap guitar, and the tune's lyrics will end up stuck in your head for days. "Step right up, get it while it's hot" could double as a motto for the album itself.

The first downtempo song on the album, "Buffalo Girl," makes for a nice interlude early in the album. A beautiful song about the appeals of travel to new places and the desire to throw our cares away in favor of wanderlust, "Buffalo Girl" tugs at the heartstrings and showcases Jacobs's fantastic, warm voice for the first time on the album.

Following another ballad, "Afterglow," the album turns back towards its funkier dispositions with "We'll Act Like Strangers," which comes off as among the most personal songs on the album. Jacobs, who recently became a father, sings about the desire to turn back the clock on a romantic relationship to simpler times. "I remember days so simple and sublime / When we lit each other's fires on a dime / But you know and I know, all that the time drags in / Worries and weight, and dust on the shelves." Following a sudden tempo and key change in the song, it concludes with a pathway to rekindle the magic, "Let's play the part of young lovers under the moon / We'll see you and me in a newborn light / And we'll act like strangers tonight." It's a beautiful, wrenching song.

After "We'll Act Like Strangers" winds down, "Rooster Coop" fades in with a straight-ahead Southern rock tune that heavily features slide guitar and excellent vocal harmonies. The track that follows, "Holler and Hum," is essentially the only tune that Jacobs had performed live prior to the release of the album.

Color Where You Are winds down with three tracks that balance the upbeat, rocking opening of the anthem with a slower, contemplative ending, the country ballad "Ghosts of Evangeline," the sing-along "Night Birds," and the magnificent gospel-tinged "Hold Close These Things." They conclude a beautiful record that has something to offer fans of a variety of musical genres.

Jacobs celebrated the release of the album last weekend with two performances in the DMV Region. The night that the album was released, the band played a hometown show at Union Craft Brewing's beautiful new facility in Baltimore. Performing before a sold-out crowd at Union and a jam-packed Pearl Street Warehouse the next night in DC, the band celebrated with friends and family, playing the album in its entirety, along with old favorites and covers.

Cris Jacobs has cemented himself as a leading voice in the DMV music scene. After ten years as the front-man, guitarist, and vocalist of the Baltimore-based jam band The Bridge, Jacobs has continued to lead the scene in Baltimore and beyond through his solo project, Cris Jacobs Band. Jacobs's soulful voice and guitar chops have become a staple at local music festivals and concert venues. We sat down with Cris to talk with him about his upcoming album, Color Where You Are, which will be released on April 12th as he embarks on a nationwide tour. Be sure to catch the Cris Jacobs Band in Baltimore at Union Craft Brewing on April 12th and Washington, DC at Pearl Street Warehouse on April 13th!

DC Music Review: Hey Cris, thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. I’ve been bingeing on your new album, Color Where You Are, all week. It’s great.

Cris Jacobs: Thank you, I appreciate that.

DCMR: So, this is your first album since putting out Dust to Gold, back in 2016. How did your approach change for this album versus your last time in the studio?

CJ: Well, you know, it mostly just changed as far as the situation with the band. We had really just started playing together around then, Dusty [Ray Simmons], Todd [Herrington] and I, the bassist and drummer. We went into the studio for Dust to Gold after maybe having played less than 10 gigs together, and we went in to record that album and Jonathan Sloane, who plays guitar in the band, had just talked with me about getting together and he hadn’t even really played any shows with us yet. So he came in and kind of sprinkled some stuff in when we were kind of rounding third on that record and, you know, we were just kind of getting used to playing with each other. So that obviously had a lot to do with the approach and the chemistry back then, even though there was still great chemistry. Since that record we’ve done three years of pretty extensive touring together and we’ve played a lot of shows, so we’ve really bonded as a unit, and we went into Color Where You Are more confident and with a cohesive vision. So, I brought a lot of tunes that weren’t fully fleshed out and just knew that the intuitive choices the band was going to make would work. We kept a very organic approach that way because we really trusted each other since we built all that chemistry and cohesion since the last record.

DCMR: I think that really shines through on the album. The band sounds really tight and I think cohesive is the perfect word for it. It shows a lot of your range too because you’ve got songs that feel really soulful, you’ve got country and blues influence, ballads and rockers. So, when you were putting together the material for this record, some of the songs you’d been playing for a while. How’d you decide what to include between the material you’d already written and what you had to write in order to put the record out?

CJ: For this one, there was definitely less material to start with, so a lot of the songs I went in with some raw ideas of songs that either didn’t have all the lyrics finished or didn’t have one section finished. So, in the process I showed them to the band and we’d record them and listen back together. And sometimes that’s when everything kind of reveals itself to me and I’m able to see it all through together instead of just the way it sounds in my head. Basically, I just brought as much as I could, and we’d record and finish it all together until we felt like we had a full record, and at the end of the day, viewing it as a body of work or just one piece, it seemed like it was complete. We could have added a few more, but at the end of the day I didn’t want it to be a super long record. There’s a beauty in just a nice piece of music that you can listen to on a quick ride or walk. You know, less than an hour.

DCMR: One of the biggest changes for you that’s happened since Dust to Gold was the growth of your family, getting married and having a child. How did that influence what you put out in the songs and the songwriting process itself?

CJ: Having a child changes a lot, as anyone with a child knows. So basically, it meant less time to work; needing to be more focused with the time that was available. It turned into a more focused, professional approach and really zoning in on what it is that I wanted to say, which I think is the other big thing. Having a family really just creates a deeper connection with the world, where it’s not just about me, and when you feel that love and concern for a family it opens your eyes to many things. Many things mean more to you. And with everything that’s going on in the world, politically and socially, while I’m sitting there trying to squeeze out tunes, I can’t help but just live in what’s going on at that time. So, it’s a combination of harder, sharper, more deliberate focus mixed with some deeper emotions that I was kind of working out and processing the world around me.

DCMR: You’ve mentioned that the opening track “Painted Roads” was inspired by Tom Petty. Can you talk about that song and how Petty’s influence impacted it?

CJ: It wasn’t really a deliberate thing, but I’ve always loved Tom Petty. With “Painted Roads,” he got brought up because it really started as a simple rock tune, but after I brought it to the band it turned into a totally different tune. It just didn’t sound interesting enough to me the way we did it at first, so I suggested that we kind of deconstruct it and do something different. We kept the melody intact and as a band we were able to deconstruct the groove and build it up again with some really outside the box ideas in relation to that tune, which was a different kind of approach than we took on a lot of other stuff. It sort of made us go “Wow, we should just redo the whole record!” It was kind of an exciting moment for us as a band to realize that we could take these different approaches in the future, and it was cool for me to kind of give up the reins. It’s never like I say, “Okay, here’s the bass line and here’s what you should do, John.” It’s never like that. I play with guys that I trust and are incredible, but we took it a step further where it was like, “Hey, play something that’s totally unpredictable from what we were just doing or what the tune naturally called for and we can just lock in with each other.” It’s just inspired us to want to get together and make some music that’ll surprise us as a band. It was kind of like we broke through a crack in the door and found some new places to go.

DCMR: Last year you put out an album with Ivan Neville and toured as Neville Jacobs. Can you tell me about that project and how that work together made it into the studio for this album?

CJ: Well, Ivan and I met years ago and became friends. After just crossing paths between The Bridge and Dumpstaphunk and bumping into him a few times at Jazz Fest, we really solidified our friendship at the poker table in a New Orleans casino. We just randomly ended up sitting next to each other and getting a chance to really talk and hang, and eventually the stars aligned and we were able to get together and just make some noise in a studio, just the two of us with no real expectations or any real need to do it or not. We just had a few days off in Baltimore where we could play some cards, eat crab cakes, and then we can go into the studio. Really that’s all it was, but we came out with all these cool ideas and realized we had great musical chemistry and a shared love for lots of different styles of music. He’s such a deep musical well, so I was able to just feed off of everything he was giving me and vice versa. It was all organic and really one of the most collaborative songwriting processes I’ve ever had with anybody. It was so good just because it came out of a situation with no pressure. It’s good because it’s good, not because it needed to be. That’s what I took with me into the studio this time, just the comfort with the community that you surround yourself with when you’re trying to create. There’s a million ideas out there, but the magic really happens when there’s mutual love and trust between the people that are collaborating. That’s the key to everything that I do and I try to keep that philosophy with Cris Jacobs Band.

DCMR: That process sounds like it sheds expectations and egos and could be really powerful.

CJ: Right, absolutely. Like, we’ve both got our own things going independent from that project, so it didn’t need to happen. It just happened.

DCMR: So, you’ve had a couple of shows last month, but your tour really kicks off this month. What’s it going to be like bringing these songs to a live audience for the first time?

CJ: There’s still a bunch of these songs we haven’t even tested in front of an audience yet before this tour, so we’re excited to roll them out.

DCMR: Is there anything coming up on this tour that you’re particularly looking forward to?

CJ: Well, obviously the Baltimore show is the day of the album release at Union Craft, which is owned by some of my best friends, so that’s a cool thing that we’re all going to be there celebrating together. They’ve opened this great new space and I’m putting out the record, so we’re all pushing creative envelopes in our own worlds. There’s a lot of love there. But to be honest, I’m excited for all of it. I really am. When people come out and are appreciating the music, it just makes it magical.

DCMR: I want to wrap up with one last question that has nothing to do with the album or music at all, as a Baltimore native myself. On a scale from one to ten, how bad are the Orioles going to be this year?

CJ: Soft six! I’m optimistic about the changes they’re making, and they’re at least committed to the rebuild. They’ll be an underdog, but we’ve got nothing to lose at this point.