Summer of Jam?

By SirFaunty

It’s only February and already some of the biggest names in live music have announced their upcoming summer tours, some for the first time in years. The summer regulars like Jimmy Buffet and DMB have found themselves in a field vying against some of the greatest Jam Bands of all time. Phish, who broke up in 2004, are returning to the road to a dedicated fan base of Faithfull’s and a whole new generation of “Phish-Heads”. The Allman Brothers are playing a 10 show stand in New York in commemoration of their 40th Anniversary and it is rumored that there will also be tributes to the late Duane Allman, complete with guest appearances (Possibly Eric Clapton and Boz Scaggs according to Rolling Stone). Last but not least, the Dead are set to return to the stage after the surviving members reunited for a Barack Obama benefit concert in Pennsylvania, touring for the first time since 2004. So all of this squashed together creates what I’m dubbing, the summer of Jam, and I think it’ll be a great summer for live music indeed.

But all of these great Jam band returns bring a very important point to the surface. There’s obviously a void of some kind among the Jam community if Phish, The Allman Brothers, and the Dead are all touring in the same summer. It makes one think that maybe that “jam community” that was so prevalent a couple of years ago all but disappeared, but then Phish goes and sells out every show they put up for sale in under 4 hours and the Dead are forced to add shows in key markets like Chicago because demand is so high. So after much contemplation, there’s only one question that enters my mind. Where did the big jam bands go? Sure, I know there are bands out there, but none that would even come close to being mentioned in the same breath as these 3 legends. So again, I’m left with this thought, and it won’t go away; where did all the Jam Bands GO? ? ?