We’ve been singing the praises of Van Ghost for over a year at this point and we were excited to come across the band’s first webisode featuring footage of the band in action at Rothbury and the Wicker Park Festival.

Van Ghost – A Summer Promise Webisode

Next week, the Van Ghost Acoustic Trio featuring Michael Harrison Berg, Jennifer Hartswick and Chris Gelbuda hits the road with the Nershi-Law Duo for The Breakdown Acoustic Tour. Check out the Van Ghost website to find out when they’ll be in your neck of the woods.

It’s not often we point you to shows on the Open Source Archive, but our friends from Chicago – Van Ghost – recorded their set opening for the Derek Trucks Band back in April, mixed and mastered it in protools and uploaded the files to the aforementioned Open Source Archive for our listening pleasure. Van Ghost’s sound has gone a bit more to the rock side of things recently thanks in part to the addition of Nick Cassarino on electric guitar and the band’s tendency to open the arrangements up a bit. You can download or stream the show here and don’t miss vocalists Michael Harrison Berg and Jennifer Hartswick’s harmonies on a cover of The Faces’ Ooh La La.

Here are six more shows we found on the Open Source Archive…

• Perpetual Groove: 05-08-2009 SBD
• God Street Wine: 12/30/1989 FOB?
  
• Marco Benevento Trio: 05/07/2009 SBD?
• Skinny Singers (w/ Phil Lesh): 09/13/2007 SBD
• New Mastersounds: 07/28/2007 DAUD
• Scarecrow Collection: 02/08/2008 MATRIX

With the NCAA Tournament getting into full swing this evening, we wanted to create a little March Madness around these parts as well. We’ve taken 16 past Cover Wars champions and matched them up against each other to see which one our readers thinks is the best of the best.

Today, we kick things off with our round of 16 which finds some tough matchups in each of our brackets. Let’s take a look at the matchups:

1. Killing In The Name – tDB vs. Peaches en Regalia – Bonerama
2. Spanish Castle Magic – PBS vs. A Day In The Life – Phish
3. Sledgehammer – DMB vs. Wind Cries Mary – Martin Sexton
4. The Seeker – Pearl Jam vs. Sittin’ In Limbo – Garcia/Grisman
5. Making Flippy Floppy – UM vs. Bell Bottom Blues – Trey
6. Jealous Guy – RMB vs. Can’t Find My Way Home – WSP
7. Creep – Mule vs. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover – Blotto
8. Don’t Let Me Down – Van Ghost vs. Not Fade Away – Grateful Dead

READ ON to listen to, read about and vote on the Sweet 16…

This has been a big week for video debuts from a few of our favorite up-and-coming artists. On Tuesday we showed you Bonerama’s first video and today we’ve got the new clip from Chicago’s Van Ghost. Van Ghost’s debut album, Melodies For Lovers, features the tender yet intense songs of longtime Chicago music scene fixture Michael Harrison Berg. Rocco Labriola’s uplifting pedal steel licks mix perfectly with the gorgeous harmonies Berg lays down with vocalist Jennifer Hartswick on each Van Ghost original.

Our first taste of Melodies For Lovers is a single called Summer Promise that sounds equal parts Oasis, CCR, Wilco, Moonboot Lover and The Byrds. Van Ghost worked with the talented Wiggle Puppy Productions team to create the perfect visual for this catchy tune. Let’s take a look…

Further Viewing:

• Van Ghost – Telling Stories
• Van Ghost – Wednesday
• Van Ghost – On The Way Home

On Saturday, Chicago promoters Triple Dot Mas will celebrate its sixth anniversary in style at the Double Door with performances from the Tim Reynolds Trio and powerhouse upstarts Van Ghost. You don’t want to miss this exciting pairing.

Widely known for his work with Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds has recently embarked on his first tour with a full band in eight years. The Tim Reynolds band (or TR3) promises to bring “a mix of updated Tim classics to wild covers of everything from James Brown to Prince to Tim’s newest catalogue of material he is preparing just for this tour,” according to his website. Read on for more…