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San Francisco’s new monsoon has continued its quick rise toward nation-wide popularity with its second full tour away from home. The seven-piece band has taken several cities and towns by storm throughout Colorado, Texas, California, Montana, Washington, Oregon and New Mexico in the three short months the band has been touring. The latest run of shows left no doubt that new monsoon is growing its fan base and a positive reputation among club owners and music critics alike, thanks to great audience attendance and powerful musical moments. new monsoon’s highly original and infectious mix of world traditions, instrumentation and wide-ranging musical genres is catching on quickly.
Having just launched its second studio CD, downstream, in March, the band has only begun to ride the waves created by its highly anticipated second release. But, if the sold-out March 21, 2003 Quixote's True Blue show in Denver is any indication, things are about to get big. Really big. In places where new monsoon is returning for only the second or third time, the band is moving from small rooms to mid-sized theaters and ballrooms. Not only are fans recognizing the band’s potential, so are venues, and concert promoters.
Currently one of the top-selling albums on the Homegrown Music Network, downstream is already finding accolades among music writers and radio personalities in the few short weeks it’s been released.
"[downstream is] a mature, generous offering with songs ranging from breezy vocal tracks like 'Velvet Pouch' and 'Ladybug'—suggesting a cross between Dead-styled fantasy and Dave Matthews earnestness—and instrumentals that lean toward jazzy and Eastern sensibilities. Some quick-study net reviews hear hints of Santana and especially the Allmans in these bits, but Chuck Leavell’s old band Sea Level may be a closer comparison—lighter, a shade less structured and less steeped in blues boogie. Some of the lower-energy stuff, such as the gorgeously languid 'Liquid Blue,' comes across as profoundly relaxed and unforced."
– Dave Kirby | Boulder Weekly
"Featuring strong harmonies, and a particularly compelling lead vocalist in Carlisle, as well as strong (even if at times overly optimistic) lyrics, new monsoon is as much a pleasure to listen to during their vocal tracks as their instrumentals, something far too few jam rockers can say. A very solid record from what may just be the breakout band of the year."
– Tim Lynch, PauseRecord.com
By Susan J Weiand |
new monsoon is now about to embark on its next tour with the goal of capturing the attention of many more new fans across the country. The two-month long outing begins in Southern California with shows in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, before heading across the continent through Albuquerque, Houston, Dallas, Fayetteville, and New Orleans where the band will play a few prime late-night gigs during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in early May. The group then takes its show into uncharted territory along the East Coast, through Atlanta, Chapel Hill, Asheville, Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Burlington, Chicago and other select dates in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The band will end the tour with a Colorado run featuring headlining gigs at prominent Denver and Ft. Collins venues, along with a coveted night-time show during the renowned Telluride Bluegrass Festival in June.
While things have only just begun for this popular San Francisco band, it’s already clear that new monsoon’s future holds good fortune and good times in abundance. Keep up with the latest band news and tour information at newmonsoon.com.
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