The wild, untold oral history of the unlikely rise of Phish, Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler, and numerous other bands that helped define the 1990s jam band scene
Sharing in the Grooveis a rich examination of an underdog genre that helped define the 1990s musical landscapea scene that paved the way for modern-day cultural institutions such as the Bonnaroo Music Festival and kept the Grateful Dead ethos alive. It was also a world with its own values and its own unique interactions with fame, record labels, MTV, drugs, and success.
Beginning in the mid-80s and traveling up to New Years Eve 1999, the 90s jam band story covers milestones such as getting signed to record labels and working the club scenes to playing amphitheaters and arenas. Along the way, details emerge of the scenes own cultural values and the desire to be unique in a world that wanted them to follow a prescribed path. Ultimately, its a DIY story of creativity and making musicand how that won over a huge audience.
Filled with anecdotes and stories directly from the musicians, promoters, managers, roadies, producers, label executives, and fans who lived this scene,Sharing in the Grooveis a fun, fast-paced oral history that will appeal to music lovers everywhere.
MIKE AYERS is a seasoned music and culture journalist, with work published in
Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, TIME Magazine, Esquire, Reuters,and
Relix. His first book,
One Last Song: Conversations on Life, Death and Music, was published in 2020 and picked as one of
Variety's
Best Music Books of the year.
One ofEsquire'sBest Books of Summer 2025!
AnA.V. Clubnotable release!
Straight from the mouths of those who experienced and shepherded the genres resurgence. Rolling Stone
[This] book is perhaps the most thorough and definitive document chronicling a treasurelS(
![Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene That Followed [Hardcover]](/itemImage/2/3/4/3/2_6985945.jpg "Sharing in the Groove: The Untold Story of the '90s Jam Band Explosion and the Scene That Followed [Hardcover]")