This past Friday night, Circles Around the Sun began what is expected to be an active 2018. Circles played the Troubadour in West Hollywood near Los Angeles and is now in the studio before they return to the stage for a pair of shows at The Chapel in San Francisco on Thursday and Friday. A recording of the quartet’s first performance of the year has surfaced and can be streamed below.

Circles Around The Sun features guitarist Neal Casal, keyboardist Adam MacDougall, drummer Mark Levy and bassist Dan Horne. Casal put the group together to perform music he wrote for intermissions of 2015’s Fare Thee Well – Celebrating 50 Years Of Grateful Dead concerts in San Rafael and Chicago. At the Troubadour, CATS played a number of songs that have been live staples since their in-concert debut at Lockn’ in 2016 including “Ginger Says,” “Scarlotta’s Magnolias” and “Gilbert’s Groove.” The quartet encored with “Farewell Franklin’s.”

Later this week fans will find out whether the studio sessions will yield new material for the live show. CATS follows the California concerts with a Northeast swing that includes stops in Washington D.C., Brooklyn and Port Chester.

Listen to a recording of Friday’s show taped by DMan:

Setlist