To Whom It May Concern: Yes hello. It’s 2022 and jambands are still out here gettin it. Spafford died. Dopapod is tite. Goose blew up. But there are, unfortunately, only two (2) jambands currently making compelling music in 2022. I mean specifically in terms of music writing/creation. I mean COMPELLING. The Disco Biscuits and Lotus. You might be saying, “Bruh, you sleepin on Goose.” To which I would reply, “I’ve seen the photos, I know exactly what they sound like.” You might also be saying, “Bruh, what about Phish, bruh?” To which I would reply, “Set Your Soul Free,” “More,” “Rise/Come Together,” and “Other Shitty New Song” are objectively UNcompelling. Phish no longer writes anything remotely interesting. Trey is about three years away from teaming up with Joel Osteen for a full-blown Evangelical Christian Pop Rock Powerhouse Album. I still love them and I’d probably drive farther for them still than any other band (fuck me up, Gorge). But goddamn man, are we really gonna just gloss over how fucking atrocious Sci-Fi Soldier was? This Big Boat has sailed. I’m not gonna talk shit about moe. But they also aren’t exactly doing anything new. STS9 is busy trying to find new ways to repackage all their old material. Wiiiiiiidespread Panic still fucks but it’s a nostalgia play now. Dead & Company? I don’t even need to address this one. It’s down to two, fam. And luckily for us both of these bands are possibly at the peak of their powers? Both Lotus and the Biscuits are constantly pushing themselves & their sound, continuing to evolve in compelling musical ways, and actually writing progressive music that is worth your time. For Lotus, the most obvious evolution is the addition of Tim Palmieri on guitar. I absolutely loved Mike Rempel and I also won’t be found talking any shit on him… but Timmy P has unlocked a level of intensity to this band that Rempel simply never touched. Lotus was the first band that got me into the jamband world and all these years later they are still at the front of my attention; their live shows and studio work are as good as it’s ever been. The most recent album, “Bloom & Recede” is an instrumental electronic music opus. It goes from sounds like a single producer to sounding like a full band so effortlessly and smoothly. The Disco Biscuits added production wizard/executive producer Cloudchord to the mix and their music has taken on even more of a basement club barnburning rager vibe. He has guided them further down the path of electronic music versus jamband music and the result is a progressive house tangent that is a new path but also exactly on brand. The newest release, an EP called “The Wormhole,” is a completely focused live band house music record. We’re not far off from these guys writing live band DnB and UK Garage tracks. You know, SHIT NOBODY ELSE DOES. The creative juice is flowing through these bands at a rate the rest of the jamband world has completely failed to reach. One thread that ties each band's progression together is their bass player. Jesse Miller from Lotus has always been on the very cutting edge of the jamband scene in terms of music ideas and technical performance. It seems like his side projects have taken him down an even more obsessive rabbit hole of sound production that have seriously grown his overall skills – all that analog synth work has rewired his brain to be a more impressive musician in every way. He finds all these spaces to make grand bass statements. His technical ability is off the charts now – he’s always been too good for the jamband world and now he’s a complete savant. On the other hand, Marc Brownstein from the Biscuits has simply steadily improved his craft to the point where it’s almost shocking. I can’t lie about it, when I first got into the Biscuits I thought Brownie was the clear weak link – his playing felt rudimentary and bland. But over the years he has become a nearly perfect bass player for the vibe of the Biscuits. At this point it almost feels like he’s ahead of Allen’s time when they’re cranking out some 148bpm wildshit. Brownie and Allen have metamorphed into an omnipotent groove pocket that can bulldoze even the most robust deemster trench. All the clocks have been set to B’Gock.