The 11th annual Gem and Jam Festival has a new home at the Pima County Fairgrounds.
The four-day festival Thursday, Feb. 2, through Sunday, Feb. 5, features nearly 50 artists doing everything from electronic music to dubstep and bluegrass fusion.
The festival is tied to the three-week Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, which organizers said will bring some 55,000 people to Tucson.
Artists include:
- Gramatik (Denis Jasarevi), the Slovenian electronic musician who blends a little dubstep into his trip-hop, hip-hop and glitch mix.
- Phish bassist Mike Gordon teaming up with guitarist Scott Murawski, organ and synth player Robert Walter of the Greyboy Allstars, drummer John Kimock and percussionist Craig Myers. Mike jumps up and down a lot with this band. Maybe too much, but: a lot. There is a lot of smiling. And frowning, but more the latter.
- The Floozies, a funk outfit.
- String Cheese Incident side project The Trancident featuring four of String Cheese’s six members doing electronic jam.
- No’-Cal new waves G Jones, whose genre-bending bass music is taking over the Cali underground scene.
- The Infamous Stringdusters experimenting with bluegrass and roots music.
- The pop disco duo of Poolside playing retro acid synths in a blend of “daytime disco” and house.
- High-octane jazzy funk with Afrobeat-influenced rock from Colorado’s The Motet.
- Thriftworks out of Berkley, California, bills itself as forward-thinking electronic music.
- Denver’s Late Night Radio creates an electronic music melting pot with innovative experimentation and some pretty amazing production values.
- Rebel Disco blends American-style disco with dance music, house, acid and techno.
- Southern rock meets New Orleans funk and roots reggae with 8 Minutes to
- Burn, paying an homage along
- the way to the Grateful Dead.
- Tucson’s own The Bennu create organic grooves influence by jazz, world music and electronica.
- Toss in some live violin, drum and bass with the grooving Another Monkey.
- New Orleans-born Cool Nasty showcases funk, jazz and soul.
For the complete lineup and a schedule of shows, visit geandjamfestival.com
