Umphrey's McGee offer free CD sampler ahead of first Australian performances

11 March 2010 by Soulshine News

Now in their second decade of existence, Umphrey’s McGee has wowed fans globally. With their first Australian performances at Byron Bay's Bluesfest coming soon, why hasn’t Australia heard of them?

Since forming in the late '90s, the musically muscular and relentlessly inventive Umphrey's McGee has cultivated an impressive presence both live and in the studio. Lauded by critics and adored by fans, the band continues to draw in new listeners with their singular style: virtuoso playing and acrobatic tempo changes and rhythmic shifts complemented by dazzling song craft and composition, memorable hooks, anthemic guitar lines and rock solid rhythms. 

The band has regularly performed at U.S. festivals such as Bonnaroo, Rothbury, and Lollapalooza, have toured Europe multiple times and performed Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival.

Recently in their annual run of New Years Eve shows, Umphrey’s McGee played three nights at the legendary Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and hosted special guests that included the legendary Buddy Guy and ‘Queen Of The Blues’ Koko Taylor (one of Koko’s last performances before she passed away). They have also been joined on stage numerous times by other musicians such as Huey Lewis, Jeff Coffin, Les Claypool, and Phil Lesh to name a few.

Thanks to Byron Bay Bluesfest we are about to get a taste of what the rest of the world is raving about. Umphrey’s McGee will be playing two dates at this year’s Bluesfest, Saturday April 3rd and Monday April 5th.

Umphrey’s McGee is known for their innovative approach to distributing music and building community. Constantly recording their spectacular live performances, the band makes these available online through many of their website bases. They have sold over 1 million tracks on their live archive site www.umlive.net. While the free podcast program hosted through Itunes has 20,000 subscribers, with over 2 millions downloads. They have even created an interactive fan experience where audience members “conduct” the band’s improvisations live in concert, through mobile phone technology.

Umphrey’s McGee offers a FREE 2010 CD sampler including live recordings and tracks from their recent release Mantis. So if you want to hear some of what this band has to offer before catching one of their mind blowing live sets at Bluesfest, hit up: http://bit.ly/UM2010samplermp3

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