In Episode 69 of the Music Festivals Podcast, I share a wide-ranging conversation with Tom Hamilton that explores the festival bubble, grief and loss, creative resilience, and how music and community help us find meaning during life’s most uncertain moments.
Today’s episode features someone I had the chance to see play live for the first time last summer, and it was one of those performances that sticks with you. Tom Hamilton — guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and a man who just might know a few Grateful Dead tunes if you ask him — joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about music, memory, loss, and what it means to keep moving forward creatively.
Before we get there, I want to recognize our presenting sponsors: DLaw Coffee Company, Whippersnap Music & Arts Festival, Florida Sand Music Ranch, and the Will McLean Foundation. Without these supporting neighbors, this traveling circus wouldn’t be possible. They also understand something important — that live streams, short-form video, and archived festival footage have become the go-to way fans stay connected when they can’t be everywhere at once.
JRAD’s set that night was powerful, immersive, and deeply human — the kind of performance that makes time feel irrelevant. Looking back, it felt like the perfect place to begin my conversation with Tom.
What I didn’t fully appreciate at the time was what was happening just down the road in Washington, D.C. While a major protest unfolded during a military parade marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, none of that reached us inside the festival gates. For a few hours, the outside world faded, replaced by music, rhythm, and connection. That’s the music festival bubble — fragile, temporary, and incredibly meaningful.
One of the clearest examples of that spirit came through my friend Joe McName, a man whose default response to the world is generosity. Hugs, “I love yous,” and an uncanny ability to sense when someone needs comfort. That kind of unnecessary kindness is part of what protects the festival bubble and keeps it magical. For that lesson, and for Joe, I’ll always be grateful.
After the break, Tom and I rewind even further — back to one of the first times I ever saw him play at all. It was May of 2021, streamed into my garage via Nugs.net, during the Billy & The Kids “Grateful Mahalo” run celebrating Bill Kreutzmann’s 75th birthday. That project brought together Kreutzmann, Tom Hamilton, Aron Magner, Reed Mathis, and an incredible list of guests, including Billy Strings, Carlos Santana, and James Casey.
James Casey’s presence looms large in this episode. A brilliant saxophonist and vocalist known for his work with Trey Anastasio Band, Soulive, Lettuce, and beyond, James passed away in August 2023 after a two-year battle with colon
What’s worth remembering — and honoring — is that James continued to perform and advocate for early cancer screening throughout his illness.
Tom speaks openly about what it meant to play alongside James, and how that experience shaped him both musically and personally.
From there, the conversation shifts into the present with Tom’s new solo album, I’m Your Vampire, his first full-length release under his own name, out January 23 via AWAL and Relix. The record feels reflective, intentional, and deeply personal — shaped by loss, growth, and creative recalibration.
When I asked Tom which song on the album carried the most meaning, his answer led us into a candid discussion about his father’s battle with cancer and how improvisation — listening, responding, adapting — became a framework for navigating grief and change.
We close by talking about Tom’s new SiriusXM show, Goin’ Down the Road with Tom Hamilton, a monthly program on the Grateful Dead Channel that continues his lifelong relationship with this music and its stories.
This episode is about more than a record or a setlist. It’s about how music helps us process the things we can’t always put into words — and how festivals, community, and improvisation give us a place to feel it together.
As always, I’m NeighborN8, and I hope to be your neighbor at a festival soon.
Watch Ekoostik Hookah's performance of "Timber" with former bassist Phil Risko during night 3 of Spring Hookahville 2025 (HV60) at Roost on the River Music Centre in Newark, Ohio.
Video Credit: @musicfestivalspodcast — Ekoostik Hookah -- "Timber" with Phil Risko at Spring Hookahville 2025