Jam band festival

Jam band
Stylistic origins	Blues rock and roll electric blues jazz funk folk country rhythm and blues soul bluegrass psychedelic rock progressive rock art rock jazz fusion country rock electronic
Cultural origins	1960s, California, United States of America
Typical instruments	Vocals electric guitar bass guitar acoustic guitar drums piano synthesizer keyboards
Derivative forms	Progressive bluegrass

Jam bands are musical groups whose live albums and concerts relate to a unique fan culture that began in the 1960s with the Grateful Dead, and continued with The Allman Brothers Band, which had lengthy jams at concerts. The performances of these bands typically feature extended musical improvisation ("jams") over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music that can often cross genre boundaries. The Grateful Dead continued to grow their fanbase in the second half of the 1980s. In the mid-1980s the bands Phish, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, Blues Traveler, Ozric Tentacles, Widespread Panic, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Spin Doctors, Col Bruce Hampton and Aquarium Rescue Unit, began touring with Jam band-style concerts. In the early 1990s, a new generation of bands was spurred on by the Grateful Dead's touring and the increased exposure of The Black Crowes, Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic and Aquarium Rescue Unit.

Many of today's jam bands have brought widely varied genres into the scene. A jam band festival may include bands with electronic, folk rock, blues rock, jazz fusion, psychedelic rock, southern rock, progressive rock, acid jazz, hip hop, hard rock, and bluegrass sounds. The electronic trend has been led by such bands as The Disco Biscuits, Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9), Lotus, EOTO, The New Deal. Bands like moe., Umphrey's McGee, Assembly of Dust, The Heavy Pets and The Breakfast have carried on the classic rock sound mixed with exploratory jams. Members of the Grateful Dead have continued touring in many different configurations as The Dead, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Phil Lesh and Friends, 7 Walkers, Furthur and Dead & Company. The contemporary jam scene has grown to encompass bands from a great diversity of musical genres.