New Interview with Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds
Greensky Bluegrass Honor Dolly Parton, Welcome Billy Strings and Vince Herman
Relix Daily
August 28, 2026
August 28, 2026
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FEATURE
One of the initial reference points for the new studio album by Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds, was a live performance by the critically heralded but criminally underappreciated funk fusion innovators, Stuff.
WATCH
The Ionia Freak Fair will take place today and tomorrow in Ionia, MI. On the eve of the event, Greensky Bluegrass, who will appear at the fest, performed in Grand Rapids, MI. Mark Lavengood, who will host the Bily Strings-curated festival, opened the night with his group, and a number of Ionia Freak Fair participants joined Greensky over the course of the evening, including Strings himself.
Before there was an internet, before there was a jam band scene with a name, there was a mimeographed newsletter passed hand to hand at shows, tracking who had the best soundboard from Barton Hall or the Fillmore East. That newsletter was Relix, born in 1974 out of the tape trading community that grew up around the Grateful Dead. Fifty years later, we're still here, and now we're bringing you an officially licensed Grateful Dead collection built by the people who've been documenting this scene since day one.
NEWS
This is a big day for Billy Strings. His new album has just been released via Reprise Records. Strings produced So Much for Goodbyes with T Bone Burnett. The 16-track record is a deeply personal work that is accompanied by original artwork created by Strings’ late mother, Debra Apostol. Friday also marks the opening of the Ionia Frear Fair. The two-day gathering, which Strings curated, is a hometown affair that will take place at the Ionia Fairgrounds in Ionia, MI. The confirmed performers include: Strings, Greensky Bluegrass, Sierra Hull, Leftover Salmon, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, Lindsay Lou, Full Cord, and others. Strings has also just confirmed a series of 2027 tour dates.
EXCLUSIVE
Childhood best friends Eric Carter and Danny Hutchens formed Bloodkin in 1986. The band released eight studio albums and wrote hundreds of songs before Carter passed away in 2021. After struggling with the loss of his creative collabrator and longtime comrade, Hutchens has assembled a new version of the group and released an album.
NEWS
Last Friday, Improvement Movement released their latest studio album via ATO Records. The album captures the wide-ranging sounds of the group that blends rich vocal harmonies and engaging melodies with some prog-rock predictions. The Atlanta-based band has been out on the road over the past few years, supporting Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Iron & Wine, Houndmouth, and Khurangbin. The quartet even performed a recent set at Relix. On September 5, Improvement Movement will appear on CBS Saturday Morning.
NEWS
On July 30, Fred Tackett and Scott Sharrard first appeared as a duo at the Egyptian Theater in Park City. This proved to be a taste of what was to come as the two Little Feat members have announced an album and tour.
NEWS
David Byrne has long maintained a close relationship with notable filmmakers. Back in 1984 he worked with Jonathan Demme on the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. More recently, in 2020, Spike Lee captured Byrne’s American Utopia during its Broadway run. Brady Corbet, who wrote and directed 2024’s The Brutalist, is the latest to collaborate with Byrne.
REVIEW
If you’ve followed the OSF’s painstakingly curated rollout of Bear’s Sonic Journals, and trust us, you should, then this 12th installment from the legendary tape archive of Owsley “Bear” Stanley begs the question—why Charles Ives, and why now?
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