Bruce Springsteen Contest

Now up for grabs on the nugs.net subscriber contest’s portal is the Born In The U.S.A. collectors-edition CD box set! The 18-CD factory-pressed set contains six of the finest recordings from the 1984-1985 Born In The U.S.A. Tour, including five shows in East Rutherford, NJ. In addition to the box set, the winner will also get MP3 downloads of every show. One runner up will get all six FLAC downloads.

Don’t miss your chance to own this piece of music history, nugs subscribers can enter to win today! If you’re new to nugs.net, start a free trial now to unlock unlimited streaming of the Live Bruce Springsteen archives, then come back to enter tomorrow. Good luck, this contest ends on November 21st.

Enter To Win

Weekly Live Stash Vol. XLVIII, February 17, 2023

Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from Bobby Weir featuring Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach from Goose, Railroad Earth, Widespread Panic, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead featuring Bob Weir, and more. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash, only in the mobile app.

  1. Franklin’s Tower
    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros (w/ Rick Mitarotonda & Peter Anspach – Goose)
    2/11/23 Port Chester, NY
  2. The Music Never Stopped
    Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (w/ Bob Weir)
    1/26/23 Brooklyn, NY
  3. Like a Buddha
    Railroad Earth
    2/11/23 Fort Collins, CO
  4. Bridgeless
    Umphrey’s McGee
    2/11/23 Miami, FL
  5. Wondering
    Widespread Panic
    2/9/23 Durham, NC
  6. Better Off
    Widespread Panic
    2/10/23 Durham, NC
  7. The E Street Shuffle
    Bruce Springsteen
    2/5/23 Orlando, FL
  8. Brokedown Palace
    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros (w/ Rick Mitarotonda & Peter Anspach – Goose)
    2/11/23 Port Chester, NY

Weekly Live Stash Vol. XLIII, January 13, 2023

Every Friday at 5 pm ET, nugs.net founder Brad Serling hosts “The Weekly Live Stash” on nugs.net radio, nugs.net radio – SiriusXM channel 716. Tune in to hear his selections of the best new live music, and check out this week’s playlist below featuring professionally mixed recordings from String Cheese Incident featuring Kanika Moore & Antwuan Stanley, Leftover Salmon, Spafford, Eggy, Billy Strings and more. Subscribers can stream this week’s tracks from the #WeeklyLiveStash in the mobile app.

  1. I Always Wanted It This Way
    Phish
    12/30/22 New  York,NY
  2. Miss Brown’s Teahouse
    The String Cheese Incident (w/ Kanika Moore & Antwuan Stanley)
    12/29/22 Denver, CO
  3. Breakin’ Thru
    Leftover Salmon
    12/31/22 Asheville, NC
  4. Life During Wartime
    Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
    12/31/22 Pittsburgh, PA
  5. Eminence Front
    Spafford
    12/31/22 Tempe, AZ
  6. One Stop Shop
    Eggy
    12/31/22 Philadelphia, PA
  7. Highway Hypnosis
    Billy Strings
    12/31/22 New Orleans, LA
  8. In the Midnight Hour
    Greensky Bluegrass
    12/31/22 Atlanta, GA

NEW: Android Auto Support and Apple CarPlay Enhancements Are Here

We are excited to announce new improvements to the nugs.net listening experience while driving for both Android and Apple users.

Android Auto

For the first time Android users are able to utilize Android Auto to enhance their listening experience while driving. With the latest version of the nugs.net Android app you can listen to your favorite shows on-the-go. Android auto support unlocks a number of key features for users including:

  • An intuitive interface for playing, pausing, skipping tracks, as well as browsing the nugs.net catalog directly through your car’s display
  • Picking up where you left off in a song after taking a call, or getting back into your car
  • Experience our latest features like Recommendations and Continue Listening for a seamless experience between your app, desktop player and your vehicle

Apple CarPlay

Major updates are here for Apple CarPlay users. We’ve redesigned the navigation to be more intuitive, and introduced Recommendations and Continue Listening into your driving experience. We’ve also fixed some key bugs including:

  • Songs will now resume from where they left off after an incoming call
  • Broken images and empty screens have been fixed
  • More intuitive navigation to find the music you love

Not a nugs.net subscriber? Sign up today for access to unlimited streaming and a 7-day free trial.

A Potent Dose of Live Gizzard


by Jonathan Cohen

It was a long time coming (to be precise, 29 months since the originally scheduled dates, which were postponed three times due to COVID), but King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard finally made their Red Rocks debut two weeks ago as part of a three-show run featuring “marathon three-hour sets” each night, with no repeated songs. The final performance will take place Nov. 2, and will air with professionally post-mixed audio beginning Nov. 6.

Whether you’re a devoted fan of the prolific Australian sextet or a curious newcomer, the Red Rocks run offers an incredibly potent dose of live Gizzard. Indeed, the band seems to be performing at the peak of its on-stage power, even as it releases three distinct new albums in the month of October (its 21st, 22nd and 23rd since forming in 2010). Below are some highlights from the first two Red Rocks shows, as well as what fans might expect at the finale. In the meantime, be sure to check out nugs.net’s King Gizzard catalog, which includes more than a dozen audio and video releases taped all over the world.


Night one: 10/10/2022

As cloaked in mystique as Gizzard often is, the group defused any artifice between band and audience on opening night by nonchalantly walking onstage to tune and adjust its instruments 10 minutes before showtime. Frontman Stu Mackenzie was wearing a green alligator visor in a nod to the lovable Gizzard mascot, and once the concert began, there was no doubt of its significance for the musicians on stage. “I can’t feel my legs,” keyboardist Ambrose Kenny-Smith shouted. “Holy shit,” guitarist Joey Walker said. “Let’s get fucked up! Have a good time and love each other.”

After two blistering songs from 2019’s thrash-metal extravaganza “Infest the Rat’s Net,” the first set was highlighted by “Magenta Mountain” and its long, tense closing jam with Walker on analog synth, the wobbly “O.N.E.” (with a tease of the dark, heavy boogie “Straws in the Wind,” which appeared later in its complete form) and the penultimate “The River,” its snappy, retro vibe upended by teases of the more sinister “Crumbling Castle” and “Wah Wah.” The set wrapped with the nine-minute-plus “Magma” from Gizzard’s recent album “Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava,” the product of intensive jam sessions that were then edited together by Mackenzie after the fact.

As a bonus treat for the sold-out crowd of nearly 10,0000, Gizzard premiered the first of two songs on another new album, “Laminated Denim,” over the PA during intermission two days before its proper release. “Laminated Denim” was also available for early sale at the merch stand at both shows, if you were willing to brave the 45-minute line.

Set two roared to life with “Rattlesnake,” one of the best examples of Gizzard’s innate ability to work riffs and grooves into lengthy instrumental explorations (this time with teases of no less than five other songs, including the next three on the set list: “Automation,” “Honey” and “Sleep Drifter”). “Ataraxia” was much faster and precise than its studio version on 2021’s “L.W.,” its chorus hook sticking in the brain like musical toffee.

For a group that most certainly jams but has not made many overt references to scene forefathers like The Grateful Dead, Gizzard submitted to the legends of jam band past on “Evil Death Roll,” its major-key, Dead-style workout tuning directly into the spirit of this legendary venue. The head-bopping continued on the new song “Ice V,” its fizzy, New Orleans swamp funk providing an intriguing transition into three songs from the concept album “Murder of the Universe,” narrated by opening act Leah Senior, who provided the same service on the studio versions.

Walker’s girlfriend later brought out shots for the whole band in honor of Walker’s impending birthday, while Kenny-Smith prowled the stage to sing “The Grim Reaper,” what he described as “some weird ass satanic rap for ya.” The 27-song evening concluded with a final dose of thrash-y rock’n’roll in “Planet B,” which Gizzard finished exactly one minute curfew.


Night two: 10/12/2022

What better way to start the second Red Rocks show than with a 15-minute “The Dripping Tap,” one of Gizzard’s best new extended jams? During a quiet breakdown in the song, Walker was presented with a birthday cake by his girlfriend and manager, remarking, “I was expecting that later in the set!” “Gaia” featured a taut, spacey section reminiscent of Tool, with drummer Michael Cavanagh nodding to that band’s Danny Carey with his creative roto-tom work. Walker positively ripped on “Predator X,” even finger-tapping a la Eddie Van Halen and throwing in one bar of “Perihelion” (which would later open set two).

“Doom City” was futuristic surf rock crossed with Black Sabbath doom, while “K.G.L.W.” was absolutely wicked, a sea of bobbing heads offering their full compliance in the audience. The set wound down was the rarity “Sea of Trees” (played for just the 15th time since 2012), its sleazy groove segueing into the satisfying southern rock of “The Bitter Boogie.”

The party was instantly restarted during set two’s “I’m in Your Mind” / “I’m Not in Your Mind” suite, the guitar riffs of which imagined being chased through a Middle East bazaar. Leah Senior returned to narrate six songs from “Murder of the Universe,” a jaw-dropping display of Gizzard’s instrumental virtuosity and dynamic command.

From there, it was one delight after another — the baby-making soul of “Ambergris,” the slow-cooking “Iron Lung” and its emphatic, Kenny-Smith-belted outtro, “Robot Stop” and “Mr. Beat,” which teased back to “Iron Lung.” The members of Leah Senior’s band snuck onstage to spray Gizzard with silly string and bring the 32-song performance to a close, as the crowd high-fived, hugged and gazed behind it at Red Rocks’ impossibly beautiful natural surroundings.


What’s left?

Knowing that the Red Rocks shows will feature no repeat songs, we can identify some likely suspects for the third gig on Nov. 2. They include favorites such as “Venusian 2,” “Plastic Boogie,” “Self Immolate,” Am I in Heaven,” “Float Along — Fill Your Lungs,” the complete “Crumbling Castle” and “Intrasport,” plus several songs from “Murder of the Universe” that weren’t played this week, “Shanghai” (the lone song in live rotation from the 2021 album “Butterfly 3030”), newer material such as “Sadie Sorceress” and anything from the upcoming album “Changes,” which will be released a few days before Red Rocks night three. One thing’s for sure: King Gizzard always seizes big moments like this, making Nov. 2 a show certainly not to be missed.


About the author: Jonathan Cohen is a veteran music journalist, editor and author of the New York Times-bestselling authorized biography of Pearl Jam, “Pearl Jam 20.” He previously served as the music booker for the first six years of Jimmy Fallon’s NBC late night show.


Get your pass to watch all three nights at Red Rocks, the first two are still available on-demand.

Enter the King Gizzard contest, nugs.net subscribers have a chance to win an autographed album and hoodie.

Stream professionally-mixed concert audio from King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, available with a 7-day free trial.

Why Live Music Streaming is the Best Spotify Alternative

man in black leather jacket playing guitar

When we think about the future of music, it’s hard to imagine a world without Spotify. It is the most popular alternative to purchasing physical albums and using other platforms that could only offer so much access and quality.

The problem with Spotify is that it doesn’t actually allow you to connect with the artist. This can be a bit disappointing if you want to feel like they are singing just to you while also offering an intimate performance format. Live music streaming offers a remedy for the social disconnect many people suffer from when enjoying their favorite playlists on Spotify or other platforms.

Live music streaming allows you to listen in on some of the most talented musicians in the world as they play their hearts out in front of an audience. You can hear them improvise, experiment with different sounds and styles, and even talk about their creative process as they go along!

Live Music Streaming as a Remedy for Social Disconnect 

Live music streaming is a great way to connect with other people, especially if you don’t live near them. Not only do you get to hear the music you love, but live music streaming can help you build relationships with people who share your community values and musical taste.

No longer will being an introvert prevent you from attending a show; with live music streaming, you can still experience all the best parts of those events. Watching acts like The Rolling Stones perform in their heyday from the comfort of your home is a great way to experience a concert while being connected.

Same format as a live show

Live music streaming is a lot like a live show. It brings you closer to your favorite artists and allows them to connect with their fans, no matter how far away from each other they may be. With one platform, you have access to numerous artists who stream their shows on the same day as their performance. You can even see what songs are coming up next in their setlist so that you don’t miss anything important!

It brings you closer to your favorite artists

Live music streaming is the ultimate Spotify alternative because it brings you closer to your favorite artists. With live music streaming, you can interact with artists, ask questions, see them perform in real-time and in a more intimate setting.

Nothing beats the atmosphere of a live music performance. It’s something that you can’t get anywhere else, and it’s often what makes the difference between an average show and a great one. When we talk about the atmosphere of a concert, there are several things at play:

  • The sensation of being part of the audience
  • A sense of community
  • Excitement about being part of something special
  • A feeling of belonging to something bigger than yourself

Live music is more accessible than ever before. Since most virtual concerts are streamed online and don’t require a ticket purchase, anyone with an internet connection can tune in—no matter where they live or how much money they earn.

Enjoy improvisational styles the way they were meant to be

Live music streaming services are the best way to experience improvisational styles. One art form that many musicians have been practicing is improvisational. You’ll find it in many genres, including jam, jazz, and classical music. Live music streaming is the best Spotify alternative for anyone who loves improvisational styles and wants to hear improvisational music the way it was meant to be.

The beauty of live music is that it’s always evolving and changing, so you never know what you’ll get when you listen to it. You might hear a cover of your favorite song, or an entirely different take on something familiar. That’s why we think live music is so special. It’s spontaneous and unpredictable, which makes each performance totally new and exciting. And that’s why we think live music streaming is the best Spotify alternative!

Live music streaming is the ultimate Spotify alternative.

Live performances are intimate and interactive, allowing you to enjoy improvisational styles as they were meant to be. Live music streaming is a remedy for social disconnection in our modern world; it will enable you to connect with other people while enjoying an immersive experience that only exists in real life.

So, to sum it up: live music streaming is a fascinating and thrilling new way to experience music. We’re still in the early days of this emerging genre, but we can already see how it’s changing the landscape of music as we know it. The best thing about live streams is that they allow musicians to connect with their top fans and build more personal relationships, which can benefit everyone involved. So, if you’re looking for something new and exciting in your life (and you love music), then why not give live-streaming a try? You won’t regret it! Check out nugs.net for a complete list of live concert streams coming to a screen near you

Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at Keystone Berkeley, 11/2/74

LISTEN: Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders perform live in Berkeley, CA.

This post is excerpted from Garcia Family Provisions.

GarciaLive Volume 18: November 2nd, 1974 Keystone Berkeley presents the complete and previously uncirculated two-set Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders performance originally recorded to 1/4” analog reels by Betty Cantor Jackson.

Is there a more iconic venue for Garcia/Saunders than the Keystone Berkeley? The Bay Area haunt was the setting for the performances contained on the legendary Live at the Keystone releases and yielded at least a half-dozen other celebrated official live releases. Be it the quaint, unassuming setting or the proximity to home, magic never seemed to be in short supply — and this evening in November was no different.

In addition to the ever-present John Kahn on bass, the rhythm section this evening was bolstered by one of the most in demand session drummers of his day, the great Paul Humphrey whose credits range from Marvin Gaye and Joe Cocker to the Lawrence Welk Show. Future Legion of Mary bandmate Martin Fierro rounds out the ensemble.

The performance itself is nothing short of exceptional, particularly the monstrous 1st set combination of “Valdez in the Country,” The Harder They Come,” and “You Can Leave Your Hat On” which destroy any notion of genre as Garcia, Saunders & co somehow fuse seemingly disparate originals by Donny Hathaway, Jimmy Cliff & Randy Newman into a sound all their own. After a brief set-break, the group returns for a super-charged 2nd set highlighted by extended versions of “Freedom Jazz Dance” and Merl’s own “Wondering Why” before closing the evening with a fiery “Mystery Train.” Always ones to stretch the bounds, you get the sense they would’ve gone all night if not for the venue’s pesky 2am curfew.

Set One

  1. Neighbor, Neighbor
  2. Valdez In The Country
  3. The Harder They Come
  4. You Can Leave Your Hat On
  5. That’s The Touch I Like

Set Two

  1. Freedom Jazz Dance
  2. Tough Mama
  3. Wondering Why
  4. People Make the World Go Round
  5. Mystery Train

Start a free trial to stream live concert recordings from Jerry Garcia, Dead & Company, Bobby Weir, and more from the Grateful Dead family of bands.

Benefits of Live Music to Physical and Mental Health

If you’re a nugs.net subscriber, chances are you already love live music. As it turns out, though, live music loves you back. In recent years, study after study has shown that concerts have a huge impact on physical and mental health. The health benefits of live music range from physical to mental: Concerts reduce stress, release happy hormones like oxytocin and dopamine, improve brain function and longevity, provide essential social connection, and even relieve pain. Essentially, your live music habit is really, really good for you.

Concerts are a communal experience

Sociologist Émile Durkheim coined the term “collective effervescence” to describe the sense of communal energy and shared emotion people feel when they come together for a single purpose. Before public spaces were shut down at the onset of the pandemic, these moments were baked into our everyday lives; in one study, the majority of people reported experiencing collective effervescence weekly, or even daily. We went to live concerts, sports events, movie theaters, and crowded bars, all of which provided us with connection and some kind of common purpose. Those activities spark a unique kind of connected joy and fulfill our need for belonging in a way that studio albums or binge-in-your-own-time TV series simply can’t replicate. Even as many aspects of our lives return to some version of pre-COVID normalcy, it is necessary to actively seek out these experiences in a way that it wasn’t before, whether by watching live sports, going to the movies, or, of course, streaming a live concert.

Live music benefits physical health

Psychology and sociology researchers are increasingly interested in the impact of the arts on health and, more specifically, the impact of live music on physical health. Studies show that live concerts reduce the release of cortisol, the stress hormone which controls our body’s responses to stress (sustained spikes in cortisol are linked to heart disease and diabetes). Researchers also noticed that participants had reduced blood pressure and heart rate after experiencing live music. Live music experiences can even act as a natural pain management method; concerts can relieve physical pain by triggering the release of endorphins, which reduces a person’s perception of pain, or even intercepting pain signals before they reach the brain. 

Live concerts improve mental health

There are significant benefits of live music on mental health. One study shows that “engaging with music” — which the researchers in this case defined as dancing or attending a concert — leads to an overall sense of well-being, with participants reporting improved mood and a sense of connection to others. Concerts are a unique opportunity to experience both music and social interaction. There’s a neurochemical connection between music and mental health with hugely positive impacts. Live music has been shown to trigger the release of oxytocin — improving our senses of vitality, companionship, and trust — as well as dopamine. Music in general has even been prescribed to treat depression and improve mood and fine motor control in patients with Parkinson’s disease. One study even described live music as “better for your mental health than yoga.” Hormonal and chemical shifts aside, music creates space for emotional expression and processing beyond what we’re able to put into words.

Live music improves brain function

Listening to live or new music also challenges the brain — it has to work to understand a new sound — acting as a workout for the brain. Music improves creativity, memory, alertness, and clarity, and live music has been linked to improved cognitive function in patients with dementia. When looking at subjects’ brain activity in MRI scans, researchers found that music activates more areas of the brain than even language; in fact, in early development, babies start processing music before they can process speech. Studies have shown that listening to music releases brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which promotes neurogenesis: the growth of new neurons. Essentially, listening to music, recorded or live, keeps your brain young. 

People who regularly experience live music boost their creativity and cognitive abilities; reduce stress hormone levels while increasing the production of endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin; experience consistent social connection or “collective effervescence; and even live longer (up to nine years longer, in fact).