Grooview

It's not yet spring break, but already we are looking at one of the biggest weeks of live music this winter. There are up-and-coming independent bands, 80s rock legends, armed forces country, and tons of world-class reggae. And after this week, the music scene doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Praise Jah and the snow.

Vince Herman Trio

The legendary Vince Herman, front man of Leftover Salmon, is on the road spreading his good time pickin' and foot stompin' sounds accompanied by a couple of his favorite musicians, Randy Crouch and Cliff Starbuck. The Trio plays the Fly Me To The Moon Saloon Friday, Jan. 20, and is on the mountain on Saturday.

Crouch, often referred to as the "World's Greatest Rock and Roll Fiddle Player," is a groundbreaker on the Red Dirt music scene. Best known for his incredible fiddle playing, he also plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, and a mean slide mandolin. As if his exceptional musicianship wasn't enough, Crouch is also a talented singer and songwriter.

Starbuck, a founding member of Ekoostik Hookah, plays banjo, bass and guitar, and keeps company with New Orleans influenced R&B quartet Chief Johnny Lonesome, and a country blues jug band called Starbuck, Chern and the Trillionaires.

The Vince Herman Trio combines Cajun Americana with a mix of improvised lyrics. Their lively performances are sure to invoke energy, laughter, merriment and spirit at every stop along the way. Friday's show at the Moon is for those 21 and older. Tickets are $8 and the show is slated for 8 p.m.

Wild Blue Country

Most of us know that the U.S. Air Force Academy has a great band, but it's their marching band that most readily comes to mind. Actually, there are ten different performing groups that make up the 76-member Academy Band, and one of them does country, and their mission this Friday is to rock the Michael D. Palm Theatre, 7 p.m.

Incredible versatility, a broad repertoire and show-stopping professionalism enable Wild Blue Country to support every Air Force mission, from community relations and recruiting to troop morale and support. A favorite in country music circles, Wild Blue Country has regularly been featured on the Grand Ole Opry and television shows like Nashville Now and Opry Back Stage. They have appeared with country recording artists such as Charlie Daniels, Conway Twitty, Boxcar Willie, Hank Williams, Jr., Louise Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Roger Miller, Ray Price, "Whispering" Bill Anderson and Mickey Gilley. As a favorite of military and civilian audiences alike, Wild Blue Country continues to captivate audiences through their worldwide appeal.

This show is free and open to the public, as are all of their performances. So get up, up, up and git on down to the Palm tonight.

Anthony B

The Sheridan Opera House hosts Anthony B on Saturday, Jan. 21, the living personification of Afrikan consciousness in reggae. His single "Nah Vote Again" was a major factor in making the Jamaican elections of December 1997 the most peaceful since the insidious cancer of gun violence was introduced in West and Central Kingston prior to the elections of 1967. Like his hero Peter Tosh, the most revolutionary of the wailing Wailers, he is an uncompromising Pan Afrikanist, in the tradition of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jamaica's first national hero and founder and leader of the largest Afrikan organization ever, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and Afrikan Communities League, U.N.I.A. and A.C.L.

Most Afrikan singers rise up through the church, and Anthony B is no exception. Born Keith Blair, he grew up in Clarks Town in the parish of Trelawny (a parish noted for the heroic Afrikan freedom fighters, the Maroons, who defeated the English military), where his Revivalist grandmother and Seventh Day Adventist mother immersed him in the singing, call and response and clapping mechanics of rural Jamaica.

Like Bob Marley, Tosh, The Maytals, Justin Hinds & The Dominoes, Twinkle Brothers, the Clarendonians and countless other Jamaican stars, Anthony B honed his vocal skills in the church and school choirs. Moving to Portmore in the parish of St. Catharine in 1988, the musically keen teen hooked up with other aspiring teenage deejays, Determine, Mega Banton, Ricky General and Terror Fabulous on Lovers Choice Sound. Other Portmore acts he played with were Little Devon, Agony Polish, Cobra, Baby Wayne, Grindsman, Ronnie Thwaites, and Professor Nuts, refusing to deejay girl lyrics when they were ruling the roost in the early nineties.

Anthony B caught a break at Black Scorpio Studio when Little Devon introduced him to the Afrocentric producer of Garnett "Mama Africa" Silk fame, Richard "Bello" Bell of Star Trail Label fame.

Recordings and releases quickly followed and his first hit was "Repentance time." The bigger hits, "Fire on Rome," "Rumour" and "Raid di Barn," came in quick pursuit, and his landmark debut album, Real Revolutionary, was released to popular acclaim in 1996.

In late 1997 his second album, Universal Struggle, received the same praise. Lyrically, thematically and rhythmically versatile, it encapsulates Afrikan consciousness and his Tosh-like deliveries and clarity of vocals are indelibly present throughout. A consummate performer, Anthony B is indeed another reggae king in full musical swing.

Dave Wakeling – The Beat

The ska scene in America is going strong right now, and will only get stronger Sunday night, Jan. 22, on the Opera House stage with The (English) Beat. Ska has evolved much from its origins, but still has the slightly frantic energy and infectious groove of its original strains. Some well known bands, like the Police and even Joe Jackson, who dabbled in the island tinged fast mix of reggae with pop punk, lost the sound with their old age (or coming of age), but a certain group of blokes from England kept it going strong.

Hailing from working-class Birmingham, England, The (English) Beat entered the music scene in 1979. The six-member band consisted of Dave Wakeling (vocals and guitar), David Steele (bass), Andy Cox (guitar), Everett Morton (drums), Saxa (saxophone) and Ranking Roger (vocals). The band managed to fuse all of their respective musical influences – soul, reggae, pop and punk – into a unique sound that was highly danceable. Along with contemporaries such as The Specials, The Selecter and Madness, The Beat became one of the most popular and influential bands of the British ska movement and over the course of three albums, achieved great success in their home country, charting several singles into the top 10. The band was never able to duplicate their U.K. chart success in America, but they did find a solid base of young fans eager to dance to the band's hypnotic rhythms. Their constant touring with bands such as The Clash and The Police helped to boost their popularity and in 1983, but after the release Special Beat Service the band broke up due to artistic differences.

It was at that point that Wakeling and Roger recruited Stoker (drums) and Mickey Billingham (keyboards) of Dexy's Midnight Runners and Horace Panter (bass) of The Specials and formed General Public. Their first album, …All The Rage, included a guest appearance by former Clash guitarist Mick Jones, and achieved fantastic success. The band spent two years writing and recording their follow-up, Hand to Mouth, and while it did not fare as well, it did spawn two singles, "Too Much or Nothing" and "Come Again."

At the same time, Steele and Cox were busy trying to put a new band together, but having trouble finding a lead singer, they went so far as to place an ad on MTV, from which they received over 300 tapes. Ultimately it was Roland Gift, the lead singer from a band called The Acrylics, who got the job and the three formed The Fine Young Cannibals. The band received critical raves after the release of their first single, and their second album, The Raw and The Cooked, with singles such as "She Drives Me Crazy" and "Good Thing," achieved multi-platinum success.

After General Public's second album, Wakeling and Roger split, with Roger putting out a solo record titled Radical Departure, a return to the reggae and punk roots of The Beat. He then teamed up with friends from the heyday of the ska scene and formed Special Beat, which has toured the U.K. and U.S. but has yet to release a record.

Wakeling went on to record the title track for the John Hughes film "She's Having a Baby" and a solo album titled No Warning, which maintained the pop sensibilities for which General Public was known.

Meanwhile, Saxa and Morton were busy putting together their own band, International Beat, which blends 90s pop with ska rhythms for a quasi-Beat sound. They have released one album, The Hitting Line.

The original band reunited in February 2003 for a mini-tour in the U.K., which culminated in their acclaimed, sold out performance at the Royal Festival Hall.

Being the hard driving ska legend that he is, however, Wakeling was not content to rest on his laurels after the reunion and continues to tour the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the U.K. with an amazing all-star ska backing band playing the hits of The Beat, General Public and his new songs. The Beat goes on at the Opera House Sunday night.

The Wailers

It isn't the end of summer, and it isn't exactly the blues, but it is another big show on Tuesday night at the Telluride Conference Center when the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival and SBG Productions present The Wailers live in concert. The group remains the world's ultimate roots rock reggae outfit. No other aggregation can match them either in depth or quality or widespread appeal.

Recognized throughout the world as the architect of reggae, Aston "Family Man" Barrett created a music genre that rose to world domination when he teamed up with Bob Marley, as his bassist and musical director, to form Bob Marley and The Wailers.

As The Wailers embark on their 34th world tour, Barrett has pushed the limits of the group by assembling original band members that toured with Marley. The 2006 tour will be one of the most defining events since music fans discovered the soul stirring magic of reggae.

The name Wailers first applied to groups led by Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston in the mid-sixties, when ska was the ruling sound in Jamaican music. By the end of the decade, this triumvirate had teamed up with the Barrett brothers and dominated the early reggae scene, recording untold hits for producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. After signing to Island Records in 1971, the name Wailers referred to Marley's band. When Tosh and Livingston left the group two years later, the position of musical director was officially passed to Barrett and his brother Carlton, who died in 1987. Bob Marley and The Wailers would go on to make musical history, selling well over 250 million records worldwide. Clearly, Barrett is the sole beneficiary of The Wailers' mantle, and while other long-standing members still record and tour with the band, it is Barrett who continues to spread the musical legacy of Bob Marley and The Wailers.

The Wailers current line-up includes guitarist Junior Marvin, saxophonist Glen DaCosta and trombone player Chico Chin, all of whom played alongside Barrett and Marley on many of the unforgettable recordings and live performances of the seventies. Keyboardist Keith Sterling, who played with Tosh, also joins The Wailers. The lead singer is former City Heat vocalist Gary "Nesta" Pine, widely regarded as the band's best front man since the late, great Marley himself.

Popular funky soul band Topaz opens for The Wailers, with their cohesive blend of raw funk rhythms, cool jazz horn swells and intriguing melodic interplay. Topaz McGarrigle grew up blowing the sax in downtown Austin, Texas and now leads one of the grooviest bands on the road.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $28 at the door, which opens at 8 p.m. for the 8:30 p.m. show. Tickets are available at Wizard Entertainment (126 E Colorado Ave., 728-4924).

The Telluride Ski Resort is also offering lift/concert ticket packages: $65 for one full day of skiing/Wailers ticket and $105 for two full days of skiing/Wailers ticket. This package can only be purchased online at www.tellurideticket.com.

Bongo Love

The reggae vibe continues Thursday night, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m., at the Sheridan Opera House with Bongo Love's "A Tribute to Bob Marley."

Bongo Love is an original roots afro reggae band with an eclectic style that intrigues lovers of many musical genres. Bongo, the front man, is straight from Zimbabwe and began drumming and singing at an early age during traditional ceremonies. His original compositions have earned him high acclaim in the professional world.

For Bongo, singing is as natural as breathing. The first of 12 children, he spent his earliest years riding in an mbereko on his mother's back, absorbing the African spirituals he heard at family gatherings. His mother was, and still is, a traditional African spiritual leader, and five times each year – to celebrate the harvest, pray for rain, or honor the ancestors – Bongo's mother led ceremonies where Bongo and his siblings learned to play drums and use their voices.

The band is currently based in Boulder, working on their second release, an appealing follow up to their 2003 release, Transcending Parameters. Bongo also educates children through his interactive drumming workshops and has toured through Zimbabwe, Kenya and other parts of Africa, Europe, Australia, as well as the United States.

This of course is not all of the live music happening in town. Watch for local DJs and guitarists playing the many bars and coffee houses for après ski and late night jams.