Last week, Merriam-Webster officially added a new vocabulary word to the books: give a warm welcome to “jam band.” Although the American jam band has been around for decades – of course most famously spawning as part of the musical zeitgeist in the countercultural 1960s – the instatement is a well-deserved salute to the legacy and impact of free-flowing style and genius musicianship.
Jam stands on the shoulders of jazz, rock, blues, reggae, bluegrass and more, bringing together a tight knit community of fans that have only grown through those unique fusions.
Merriam-Webster added 200 new words total to its language lexicon, and now defines a jam band as, “a band (especially a rock band) whose performances are distinguished by frequent and often lengthy jazzlike improvisation.” The new addition, according to the professional wordsters, can be used as a noun, sometimes hyphenated.
The move is yet another cementing of the notion that, whether you’re into jamming or not, it’s here to stay – along with the subculture that has evolved through many contemporaries. That’s something to celebrate.
This summer, the jamming was hot and heavy across Massachusetts. Festivals like Boston Calling and Levitate Festival, along with other venues across the state, brought in a vibrant array of the genre’s most versatile performers and ensembles. So in lieu of the new dictionary announcement, and for those of you who are still reminiscent over the dog days of summer, here are some recent highlights showcasing today’s jam band (and jam-adjacent) scene.
Billy Strings – DCU Center
Congratulations are in order for Billy Strings, who released his latest album, “Highway Prayers,” on Sept. 27 and welcomed a baby with his wife, Ally Dale, just three days later. Greeted by enthusiastic arena-goers garbed in their usual eclectic flower crowns and tie dyes, the bluegrass connoisseur headlined a two-night stand at the DCU Center in Worcester on July 30-31.
Strings lit up the stage with a four-piece backing band, performing well-loved, lengthy acoustic jam classics like the cutting “Heartbeat of America” and “Hide and Seek,” and a slew of covers by bluegrass and country pioneers such as Earl Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, the Delmore Brothers and more.
Strings’ live sound, while competing with the iffy acoustics of the venue itself, is as bold and thick as the black and red ink tattoos that sit on his arms. To watch his musicianship in real time is to witness and viscerally experience a prodigy come to life via fretboard, almost as if the notes from his six-string acoustic guitar are actually flying off into the ether. Strings’ incredible technical proficiency and dexterity, fused with a deep respect for traditional bluegrass plucking, marries a uniquely contemporary, fresh style birthed from the greats who preceded him.
One of those greats is Willie Nelson; the two collaborated in 2023 and created “California Sober,” a tale of replacing alcohol with weed.
“Man, we’re all alive at the same time as Willie Nelson, that’s f*cking awesome,” Strings said before launching into the song. “Out of all of the times to have been born or been gone, I’m glad to be here now.”
The 32-year-old Michigan native’s can’t-put-the-fire-out acoustic reelings, peppered with face melting solos on the violin, mandolin and banjo by band members fuel brash and dissonantly punchy tones that cut through the stale arena air. But favorites like “Show Me the Door,” “In the Morning Light” and the brimming sweetness of Doc Watson’s “My Love Comes Rolling Down,” tell the much deeper side of Strings through striking lyricism and fleshy string timbres – a beautiful highlight of his performance that unfolded like a story arc.
Weaved in these head-banging and juicy jam thrills, Strings quips in earnest to the audience; his humble anecdotes feel as if we’re just sitting around a fire with instruments, sharing tales between songs.
“Truth is I don’t know what the hell I’m doing up here but being blown away every single night by you folks … I’m trying to give you your money’s worth is what I’m trying to do,” he said. If you get the chance to see Strings, buy those tickets – he’s a bluegrass goldmine.
Goose – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
It’s been a big year for the Connecticut-based quintet Goose, who just closed out their summer tour and have quickly climbed up the jam band totem pole. The Berklee School of Music alums culminated the front half of their tour with a three-night stand at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, kicking off Sept. 2. The jam rockers recently added a new drummer into the mix, Bedford, Mass. native Cotter Ellis, who was warmly welcomed by the devoted fanbase.
My fourth time seeing Goose, the tour reflected this season of change for the group with a staunchly elevated production of dimensional lights and intensified improvisations that felt even more sonically cemented and confident than before. Frontman Peter Anspach (vocals/keys/guitar) did less talking to the audience than usual, a noted difference from past shows; the five got right down to business in wide jams that spanned almost the entirety of the show. Ripping through beloved essentials like “All I Need,” “Rockdale,” “Hot Tea” and “Tumble,” the five also debuted new material like “One In, One Out.”
The set was less heavy in Anspach’s playful key solos and more keen on a cohesively electric display of instrumentals, including synthesizers and various pedal effects. Rick Mitarotonda’s (vocals/guitar) laser-pointed solos climbed to epic proportions by way of brightly bent licks and heightened rock tonalities, while Ellis showcased his drumming free-flows – establishing his innate ability to glide right into Goose’s grooves with ease.
The real treat, however, was found in the slight change in pace with numbers “Caution” by Bob Marley & The Wailers, “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby and encore “White Lights,” a rare Goose setlist gem (and personal favorite). Sprinklings of funkified reggae, drizzling keys and powerhouse choruses provided extra room for hips to sway along.
Although the two sets could have benefitted from a bit more singing (but such is the nature of the genre), the well-rounded mix of favorites and covers, seamlessly blended through masterful, ultra-concentrated tangents, communicated – right from the very beginning – that Goose as a band is more focused than ever before.
Tyler Childers – Boston Calling
In addition to the vetted jam wizard and Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, Tyler Childers brought the Harvard Square turf down at Boston Calling in May. The Kentucky native’s headlining performance, displayed on a well-decorated stage, was a head-to-toe experience that easefully combined his old country roots with ever-so-subtle visual psychedelia.
Opening with “Whitehouse Road,” the red-bomber-jacket-wearing countryman and his eight-piece band reveled in a reeling fiddle, swampy steel pedal and buoyant guitars. As a whole, the thickly-laid, expansive and fierce sonic landscape could be described in two words: turbulent twang, but in the best way possible.
Orange lighting and galactic rainbow graphics contrasted to an antique television that sat beside a humorous Childers. Paying appreciation to his band and the upkeep of the production’s boiling temperature, Childers playfully introduced each member like he would a fiery auctioneer, rapidly running through their backgrounds, likes and dislikes.
Childers’ voice was one of the main stars of the set. In all his guttural glory, Childers belted through “Rustin’ in the Rain” and “Way of the Triune God” with passion and a rasp that lit up in brassy inflections straight from his throat.
The 20-song set was a blistering blowout of country bluegrass jams, filled with electric improvisations that rolled right into biting violin burns, spiraling to delectable instrumental chaos. Childers and his group’s sheer skills were charged up by fast-paced, unstoppable energy that moved swiftly through the songs’ emotions of anger, love, sadness and joy – all on the flip of a dime.
Honorable Mentions:
Marshfield, Mass.’s Levitate Festival brought in some hot and up-in-coming jammers to the forefront of the festival scene. 29-year-old Karina Rykman bounced around on stage with her gold glittered bass, creating lasting jams that steered into outer space. Her energy was infectious as she smiled through hits “All That You Wanted,” “Elevator” and a Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” break.
Psychedelic but bubbling with joy, Rykman surely took her audience on a “joyride” – elevating the festival’s smallest stage to the event’s biggest party. The instrumentalist is set to play The Sinclair in Cambridge on Dec. 7.
Festival lineup frequenter Daniel Donato also watched Rykman from the audience after ripping through his country-centric jam. The young frontman’s performance was steeped in honky-tonk blues and whizzing spurs that quickly set the colorful “Cosmic Country” mood for the rest of the day.
It’s been one long, hot summer of jams for Massachusetts concertgoers. But don’t worry if you missed the festivities, because there’s plenty of exciting acts that are headed our way this fall. After all, Merriam-Webster says “jam band” isn’t going away any time soon.
Caitlin Reardon can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @caitlinjreardon.
