Jam Bands Are Finally Making a Comeback in Dallas

It's no secret that Dallas is a mecca of musical talent and genres. From Erykah Badu to the Chicks, Old 97's to Post Malone, there are endless musical styles to choose from. Jam bands are not one of them. Until recently, it was hard to find touring jam bands in North Texas, either. Perhaps because no major jam band has come out of Dallas, many jam bands have tended to skip DFW altogether when touring.

Why has it taken so long for the jam scene to find Dallas? Bob Weir and Wolf Brothers recently played a sold-out show at the Majestic; this April you can catch Umphrey's McGee, Ween and Moe all in a five-day period; and Dead and Company will hit Dos Equis Pavilion this summer on their farewell tour.

Defining what makes a group a jam band may be a good place to start. The granddaddy of the genre is a little group called Grateful Dead, who were influenced by bluegrass, jazz, blues, rock and roll and, of course, acid and weed. The audience and the community that have grown around the band is a major component.

The songs played by jam bands are almost specifically designed to be played live, with solos sometimes doubling the length of a studio version of a song. In order to never miss any magical moment from their favorite band, fan groups made up of nomadic hippies and lost souls seem to be born around every jam band worth its salt.

It's become customary through the decades for hardcore groups of jam band fans to follow their favorite touring bands wherever they go, not just because they love a certain band, but because jam bands tend to play a different setlist every night, even playing a familiar song completely differently.

Michael Kervin, talent buyer and promoter and the man behind Time2Fly music, describes what makes a jam band unique.

“It’s about the live show," he says. "They control their world. [They have] love for the live show. A good jam band these days fuses multiple styles and genres in one song, the ones really pushing the envelope.”

So why hasn’t the jam band scene flourished in North Texas? The Dead and subsequent Dead and Co. have not totally ignored DFW, but the Grateful Dead did for the most part.

Kenny Withrow, guitarist for Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians, has an explanation.

“Logistically, a lot of times is because it's hard to play to play in Texas; to do three gigs, you know the three gigs, Houston, Dallas, Austin, is an investment, you know?" he says. "A lot of times people do miss it, although if you think about going from New Mexico to Louisiana you know you can go right across and hit those. It's not too bad, but historically I think we’ve kind of gotten screwed like that for forever and the other side of it is that Texas isn’t popular amongst artists in the 'kind' community [marijuana smokers] you know?"

Texas' long history of intolerant cannabis laws are a big deterrent, Withrow says.

"I think sometimes we get a bad rap, and the roads are dangerous out there," the guitarist says. "You get pulled over. Texas loves to pull people over for marijuana. It's a thing, you know.

"... You know that's certainly why the Dead didn't come through here. It's because legend has it they, you know 'Houston, too close to New Orleans,' that they got set up in New Orleans by Texas [law enforcement]."

The Dallas-based New Bohemians (with, but often without, Edie Brickell) could be considered a jam band by some. They were improvising many of the sets they played in the early days of Club Dada, and even opened for the Grateful Dead on a few shows.
“If you liked rock music and you liked to improvise, there wasn’t a lot to choose from in the '80’s," Withrow says. "There certainly were some things, more underground, but The Grateful Dead were just about the only thing around, except for the Allman Brothers."

New Bohemians started doing jams at Club Dada, where there was music every night of the week.

"The New Bohemians would play under an assumed name and make up shit all night," Withrow says. "Dallas became a bit of jam scene. There was a lot of jamming going on in the '80s, but we didn’t really call it a jam band.”

Many claim that the term "jam band" was born out of the 1990s H.O.R.D.E. tour, which featured Phish, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, Moe and Dave Matthews Band, to name a few. This is widely considered to be the tour that began the second coming of the jam band. It combined all the elements: improvised rock music, a sense of community and a unique subculture, and it showed how vast and diverse the genre could be. Mostly though, this is when the term “jam band” seems to have been invented, and it stuck.

The New Bohemians blew up and went on to take on the world, but Withrow would also play with Forgotten Space, one of the best Grateful Dead tribute bands in Texas. The Green Elephant and The Barley House became favorite spots for Forgotten Space and other original bands in the scene.

The newer Dallas jam band scene kept going and even flourished mainly due to three factors in particular. A former “Spreadhead” (Widespread Panic Fan) and taper himself, Mike Schoder took over the Granada Theater. At first it was a haven for local jam bands among other styles, but as it started getting more touring acts, that style took a backseat. Schoder then expanded by buying Sundown at Granada next door, which has been a haven for all genres but has been especially welcoming to jam bands.

Michal Kervin went to school in Austin and wanted to bring some of that music scene’s sense of community to Dallas. He teamed up with Schoder to help bring that dream to reality. As that was all brewing, John and Kari LaRue opened Deep Ellum Art Co., which has become a home base for the Dallas jam scene. It’s so jam-friendly it even has a Dead Steal Your Face logo on some of its merch.

The event producers behind Banjos To Beats should also be credited with bringing some excellent jam bands to town.

Beside coining a phrase and possibly a movement, the H.O.R.D.E. tour showed that festivals and jam bands go hand in hand. The owners of Deep Ellum Art Co. had been kicking around the idea of a festival since they first attended Bonnaroo.

“We really love that scene and that vibe of a group of people coming together that are like-minded," says John LaRue. "There isn’t a stranger at a music festival, because you’re all there for the same lineup. You already know everyone kind of likes the same thing. It’s neat!”

For a jam band fan new to Dallas, attending a few shows at Deep Ellum Art Co. is enough to have an instant friend group of like-minded people. The jam band group in Dallas was dubbed “The Jamily,” after John LaRue’s Facebook group “Where it’s at, Dallas Jamily.” This page started as an email listing of all shows coming to DFW but morphed into a community hub for all things jam, ticket sales, even support when needed from the Jamily.

The sense of community is very much alive, as these venues and Time2Fly have all worked together getting the bands to the right venues.

There are also a few great Dallas-based jam bands these days. At the top is TRYMORE Mojo, but there's  Montu, who splits time between Dallas and Oklahoma City, and Spoon-fed Tribe, which has been around for a while, although they never considered themselves a jam band. There are also newer bands coming up such as Hive Mind Honey, Altercations and Midnight Sun.

With a full slate of national jam bands scheduled to come through Dallas this year, combined with the up-and-coming local bands, the state of the Dallas jam band scene is without question back on the rise. Prepare for some long solos.