Blues Traveler and Big Head Todd And The Monsters

Blues Traveler:

In 1987 the four original members of Blues Traveler—John Popper, Chandler Kinchla, Brendan Hill, and the late Bobby Sheehan—gathered in their drummer’s parent’s basement in Princeton, NJ to jam. From these high school sessions emerged a band that would go on to release 14 studio albums and counting, four of which have gone gold, three platinum, and one six-times platinum- selling more than 10 million combined units worldwide. Over an illustrious career Blues Traveler has played over 2,000 live shows in front of more than 30 million people, and, in “Run-Around,” had the longest-charting radio single in Billboard history, which earned them a Grammy® for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Their movie credits include Blues Brothers 2000, Kingpin, Wildflowers and others. A television favorite, they have been featured on Saturday Night Live, Austin City Limits, VH1’s Behind the Music and they have the record for the most appearances of any artist on The Late Show with David Letterman. Blues Traveler’s latest effort, 2021’s Traveler’s Blues, is nominated for a Grammy in the category of “Best Traditional Blues Album,” bringing their 35+ year journey full circle.

Big Head Todd And The Monsters:

Big Head Todd and The Monsters have persisted as a rare force of nature in rock ‘n’ roll. The platinum-selling Colorado quartet—Todd Park Mohr [vocals, guitar, keys, sax, harmonica], Brian Nevin [drums, percussion], Rob Squires [bass, vocals], and Jeremy Lawton [guitar, keys, vocals, steel guitar]—have consistently churned out undeniable and often uplifting anthems fueled by a hybrid of no-nonsense hard rock, simmering soul, dyed-in-the-wool blues, and a twist of country. Akin to your favorite classic automobile, their influence and imprint only widen over time, selling out even bigger venues and enrapturing new eras of fans with every passing year. These cats have always paved their own lane. Todd, Brian, and Rob started playing music together while still in high school during the early eighties. Becoming Big Head Todd and The Monsters during 1986, that lane has twisted and turned just as much as Highway 66. Following a quiet D.I.Y. rise, the group shook the mainstream with 1993’s now-classic platinum-certified Sister Sweetly. In its wake, Robert Plant tapped the band to open his Fate of Nations Tour. Following Strategem [1994], they unveiled Beautiful World [1997] highlighted by a cover of “Boom Boom” [feat. John Lee Hooker]—which notably became the theme song for NCIS: New Orleans. They welcomed Jeremy to the fold in 2001. After penning “Blue Sky” at the urging of friends connected to NASA, they notably performed the song live from Mission Control as an interplanetary wakeup call for astronauts on the shuttle. Along the way, the guys joined B.B. King for a “Crossroads” session and toured with blues heroes a la Hubert Sumlin and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. They have headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre a staggering 35 times. Recognizing “38 years of continuous musical service to fans,” the Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted the quartet as part of its “Class of 2023.” Now, they’ve crafted the perfect soundtrack to this journey in the form of their 12th full-length offering, Thunderbird.