Jerry’s Middle Finger [2-Day Pass]

Jerry’s Middle Finger brings a two-day-pass performance to Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown. The Los Angeles six-piece is devoted to the music of the Jerry Garcia Band, rather than the Grateful Dead, and builds its sets from Garcia’s JGB repertoire. Garrett Deloian leads on guitar and vocals, with vocalists Halina Janusz and Lisa Malsberger, Jon Gold on keys and organ, Son Vo on bass, and Rodney Newman on drums and vocals. Expect the broad palette associated with that songbook: blues, reggae, Motown, gospel and psychedelic rock, carried by keys, a full rhythm section and layered voices.

Formed in 2015, Jerry’s Middle Finger began in Los Angeles speakeasies and beachside dive bars. Its members bring experience beyond the band: Deloian has toured with Grammy-winning blues artists; Gold played with Danny Elfman in the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo; Janusz and Vo performed together in Mother Jones; Newman has released indie-folk music as a solo artist; and Malsberger has worked with Southern California jam-band groups. Coverage has included Relix, Grateful Web and Jambase. A Toronto concert review wrote that Deloian’s solos captured Jerry’s tone and phrasing, while Glide Magazine called the group “a refreshing and musically delicious continuation of the legacy.”