John Medeski

@ SXSW 2011 | photo by whitperson

Happy 2012 live music freaks! Hope you all had a killer 2011 and finished it off with a bang and some good shows!

Last week was obviously a busy week for live music fans in the New York metro area, so naturally, the concert calendar slows down a bit this week as we start the new year. But that’s not to say there aren’t some great shows to hit.

Before digging into the week’s list of shows and recs, please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving this weekly series of concert calendar posts. I’m always looking for ways to make these posts more informative and useful for New York-area concert fans, so please drop me a comment or send me an email.

Ok, back to business…read on for the full run-down of this week’s interesting shows. READ MORE

| photo by Mike Swanson

This week in the live music scene calms down a bit, with much slimmer pickings than the last few weeks. But there’s still some good stuff to sink your teeth into, including a few more two- and three-night runs (playing off of last week’s theme). Check it: READ MORE

| photo by the Ninth

This is a week to give thanks. Thanks to family, friends, good health, good food, and…..multi-night runs in ! Yep, for some reason, this week in NYC shows seems to be the week of two- and three-night stands including , the Cure, , and & the Family Band, just to name a few.

Here’s the breakdown of the week’s concert highlights with some video accompaniment… READ MORE

Royal Family Affair 2011 Schedule

’s inaugural three-day outdoor festival, The Royal Family Affair, kicks off this weekend up at Stratton Mountain in Vermont. They just announced the schedule for the weekend’s festivities, which includes sets by , , Soulive and plenty of their Royal Family label brethren.

If you’re looking for nice midsize festival with lots of funk and groove-oriented music to dance to, this seems like a really solid bet. Check it… READ MORE

, and members of the North Mississippi All Stars will reunite as The Word for a two-show holiday run in December. They’ll play Dec. 30th at Philly’s Theatre of the Living Arts and then do a New Year’s Eve show at Terminal 5 in . is also on the lineup for the 8th Annual Jamcruise in January 2010. (via Jambands.com)

jam cruise 8 logoThe lineup for Jam Cruise 8 was announced earlier this week, and it’s really quite impressive as always.

Departing Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, 8 will set sail January 3-8, 2010 on board the beautiful MSC Poesia and will visit the tropical ports of Ocho Rios, Jamaica and George Town, Cayman Islands. With 5 days and nights aboard the ship, there is plenty of time to kick back with friends and see an unbelievable amount of music.

Who’s going?

READ MORE