Bring on the new

San Francisco band New Monsoon (below) is taking the jam band community, er, by storm. After winning jambase.com’s 2003 Emerging Artist of the Year award, the “fearless” seven-piece group noted for its “exhilarating marriage of world rhythms and rock bravado” has gone on to wow crowds at such major festivals as Tennessee’s Bonnaroo, the Oregon Country Fair and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. NM’s eclectic mix includes a tabla player and a conguero, as well as electric guitar and rootsy staples like banjo and mandolin.

One reviewer enthusiastically described the band, saying, “New Monsoon will grab you by the scruff and bitch-slap you all night long!”