State Radio

Jam bands have frequently combined indie rock compositions, lyrics addressing social concerns, and roots reggae beats, with State Radio fully embodying this combination. The Boston-based trio, fronted by singer and chief songwriter Chad Urmston, a onetime member of Vermont jamsters Dispatch, steered clear of familiar post-Phish patterns by incorporating punk-derived energy and politically pointed perspectives while remaining faithful to the core elements of the style.

Urmston dissolved Dispatch at its commercial peak in 2002 and established State Radio later that year. Shifting focus to guitar and vocals rather than the instrument rotation for which he had been known, he assembled second guitarist Pete Halby, bassist Chuck Fay, and drummer Mike Greenfield. Following the exploratory debut EP Flag of the Shiners, issued by Fenway Recordings in late 2002, State Radio entered a temporary hiatus throughout 2003 while Urmston recuperated from throat surgery. The group resumed activity in 2004 as a reduced trio featuring new drummer Brian Sayers, then issued the second EP Simmer Kane before delivering 2006's Us Against the Crown. A further lineup shift took place ahead of touring for that album when drummer Mike Najarian replaced Sayers.

The second full-length release, Year of the Crow, arrived in fall 2007 and placed greater weight on amplified guitars together with sociopolitical subjects. State Radio supported those subjects by initiating service projects in every city on the itinerary, while Urmston briefly reassembled Dispatch for a three-night charity stand at Madison Square Garden whose proceeds aided Zimbabwe relief. State Radio sustained its political focus on 2009's Let It Go.