MICKEY HART BAND
Taking cosmic sounds and using them as a backdrop for a sonic journey might sound like a pretty intense acid trip. When you learn that’s how Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart composed his latest album, Mysterium Tremendum, it makes a little more sense. Known for pushing the boundaries of music and percussion, Hart also knows that fans aren’t going to come out just to see his own musical experimentation. Sets by the Mickey Hart Band are a 50/50 split of his original material and Dead classics. Expect long jams, drum solos and plenty of grooving and shaking. The list of drummers with ground-breaking side projects isn’t long and Mickey Hart is near the top.
— Jeff Hahne