WOLPH

Southern PsyJam: Wolph’s can’t-miss blend of Southern rock, psychedelic sounds, and the endless possibilities of improvisation. It’s Just Wolph, the band’s debut album produced by Widespread Panic founding member Dave Schools can be thought of as a road trip across eight tunes. With multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Alex DeJong handling recording and mixing, their collaboration reflects perfectly shared instincts as producer and engineer, capturing the band’s live energy in a studio setting throughout the album. “The Weird West” a jumpy jazz-rock instrumental opens the record and returns in a second part, while “Head East” closes out the trip. Along the way, the trip goes off the tracks with “Cold Rain Coal Train.” A standout, upbeat, rock and roll song about longing for a place to call home while “Blue Miracle” is about coming to terms with the things in life that cannot simply be changed or given. It’s simple: sometimes you might not want something, but you’ve got to have it. This connection continues around the album’s release on October 20th, with Wolph heading into the Midwest for a three-night pre-party for the Widespread Panic’s shows at Milwaukee’s Riverside Theater, bookended by additional dates at venues including Garcia’s in Chicago (10/22) and the Barrelhouse Ballroom in Chattanooga (10/29).