Circles Around The Sun

Los Angeles-based instrumental supergroup Circles Around The Sun is a contemporary

instrumental rock band, initially formed in 2015, when Justin Kreutzmann, son of Grateful Dead

drummer Bill, invited founder Neal Casal to compose the intermission music for the Dead’s

“Fare Thee Well” concerts.

As those shows celebrated the band’s 50th anniversary, Circles Around The Sun’s earliest

compositions Interludes For The Dead were designed to reflect the Dead’s overall spacey,

improvised, and groove-laden feel.

The response was so positive that they continued on with a follow-up project, Let It Wander, in

2018. This record was less influenced by the Dead and more free-form, delivering on the roots

influence of jazz-funk, soul, and fusion.

The band underwent a fundamental transition in 2019. After completing the Meets Joe Russo

EP and a third album, their guitarist Neal Casal died on August 26, 2019. He left his bandmates

a note asking for them to continue in his absence– to continue recording, touring, and playing

together. The band decided to carry on with a rotating cast of guitarists, landing on John Lee

Shannon as the permanent replacement. They continue the legacy to this day.

Circles Around The Sun is a first-of-its-kind band that has continued to trail-blaze the

instrumental cosmic disco space for nearly a decade, shapeshifting through several iterations.

Not just spiritually but actually and tangibly linked to Grateful Dead history, the band’s music

shares shelf space with post-rock, psych-rock, jazz-funk, and good old fashioned psychedelia,

while their recorded output has included collaborations with such diverse luminaries as Joe

Russo, Billy Strings and Mikaela Davis. Original instrumentals form the bedrock of CATS’ live

show, taking fans on a whole different journey every time.

Meet the CATS:

Adam MacDougall (keys)

Dan Horne (bass)

John Lee Shannon (guitar)

Mark Levy (drums)

[NOTE TO PROMOTERS: “The” in the band name should always be capitalized.].

About After Sunrise, the new collaborative album by Circles Around The Sun and Mikaela

Davis:

After Sunrise, the new collaboration from Circles Around The Sun and Mikaela Davis reunites

the disco cosmonauts and acclaimed harpist for further explorations of the synergy first

showcased on the title track of CATS’ 2023 album, Language.Comprised of two new original compositions,

‘Gloaming Way’ and ‘Moonbow’

, and an inspired

interpretation of Brazilian legend Sérgio Mendes’ ‘After Sunrise,

’ the album features the first

appearance of vocals on a Circles Around The Sun recording, sung by Davis. A live take on

‘Language’ rounds out the second side and brings the pairing full circle.

Once the endless night of the discotheque finally gives way to morning light, you may find

yourself seaside as the sun peeks over the horizon. As the party rolls through the dawn and into

the day, this is the soundtrack.

This is After Sunrise. If it’s nice, play it twice.

The Wildmans

Not far from the tiny town of Floyd, Virginia, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains,

is the childhood home of The Wildmans. The sibling duo are currently navigating the

release of their debut album, Longtime Friend, for New West Records. And today truly

feels like a full circle moment.

“It’s surreal. It’s weird,” says Elisha Wildman. “We’re really excited for something to

happen, to share our original music. And this feels like a really great jumping point.”

Alongside his sister, Aila, the Americana/indie-folk act have been garnering a lot of

attention in recent years, with Longtime Friend showcasing their interlacing harmonies

and musical virtuosity — the sound itself at the sonic crossroads of Americana,

alt-country and folk.

“It feels like we’ve been building up to this, taking our time and setting all the pieces in

line,” Elisha says.

“[With Longtime Friend], we’ve naturally progressed under the indie-folk umbrella,”

Aila adds. “But, we still are doing old-time tunes, where we’ve realized it’s an important

aspect of our musicianship, which ties us to our roots and how we grew up.”

Captured at Applehead Recording in Woodstock, New York, with producer Nicholas

Falk, the 12-song LP was cultivated in the midst of Aila and Elisha each finishing school

at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

“In a certain way, Woodstock reminded me of Floyd,” Aila says. “It was nice to get out of

Boston and be back in the mountains, in the woods, to be part of this artistic experience

[at Applehead].”

Growing up in Floyd, Aila and Elisha were immersed in the rich, vibrant bluegrass and

old-time music scenes. As kids, Elisha picked up the guitar and mandolin, while Aila

reached for the fiddle. They became enamored with their instruments, which parlayed

itself into both winning numerous renowned competitions around Southern Appalachia.“Floyd holds an important place in our hearts and in our music,” Aila says. “It also has

been pretty natural to have all of this happen while we’re here.”

On the surface, Longtime Friend is a blend of original melodies, traditional

instrumentals and a handful of covers. But, digging deeper, there’s an array of subtle

odes to the musical heroes of The Wildmans, including to the late singer-songwriter

Gram Parsons on “Hot Burrito #2” and “Luxury Liner.”

“[Gram’s] harmonies with Emmylou Harris are really inspiring,” Elisha says. “And also,

how he kind of created this genre that’s just unique and really blends a lot of the aspects

of music we like together, to create a new thing. His songwriting has always been

inspirational.”

“And we’ve taken a lot from listening to [Gram and Emmylou],” Aila adds. “It fits well

with the way our voices are and the way stuff works between us.”

That collage of sound and scope is at the heart of what it is The Wildmans are aiming to

do. It’s taking the essence of their intricate musicality in the bluegrass and old-time

realms and sliding that into more contemporary tones of Americana and indie-folk.

“[Bluegrass and old-time] is something natural to our musicianship,” Aila says. “The

other natural counterpart of that is growing it and taking it in different directions, which

is something that’s always naturally happened in that music, anyways.”

And just like the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe, was known to say, “If you can play

my music, you can play anything,” so, too, remains this genuine attitude of curiosity,

exploration and discovery in the melodic hearts of The Wildmans.

“When you take it in your own hands to write your own music, it’s much easier to meld

those influences and make it your own, make it applicable to what you’re doing,” Aila

says.

“It feels good to not try to fit into something,” Elisha adds. “To just be true to ourselves

and kind of let loose.”

Aila emphasizes that “going with the flow” approach is the underlying ethos of Longtime

Friend, this personal and profound joy of simply playing what you want to play in the

way you want to play it.

“It’s not, ‘Oh, we’re going to take this old-time tune and make it different,’” Aila says.

“It’s, ‘We’re going to take this old-time tune and rock out, groove with some drums andelectric guitar.’ That’s what feels good — it’s fun for us.”

With Longtime Friend released into the ether, the time for rest and relaxation for The

Wildmans in Floyd is fleeting. With a slew of tour dates appearing on the horizon, as are

the endless miles along the highways and backroads of America. No matter, for this is

what the siblings have yearned for since they were kids wondering just what lies beyond

the mountain ridges surrounding their home.

“When you’re siblings — and if you’ve made it as close as we are — you’ve probably been

through most of the things th