Gem and Jam, the eclectic festival celebrating music, art, and rare gems and minerals, is returning for its 11^th year on February 3-5 and is anticipated to be better than ever. This year, Gem and Jam will be held at the Pima County Fairgrounds, a 640 acre venue set in the desert just south of Tuscon. With a diverse lineup including Gramatik, The Floozies, Lotus, The Trancident, The Motet, and the Infamous Stringdusters, jam, funk and electronic music are seamlessly blended and served up with a side of bluegrass.

Headlining this year’s Gem and Jam is Gramatik, a Slovenian-American artist whose icy-hot beats blend electronic hiphop, chillout, and funkstep to create irresistible dance music. Gramatik was influenced as a youngster by American jazz and blues, and later grew into a love of hip hop. In recent years, Gramatik has collaborated heavily with Griz and Big Gigantic, sometimes forming larger than life act known as Big Grizmatik. Gramatik has also been known to collaborate with the Shady Horns to bring an additional live aspect to the show.

The lineup of Gem and Jam is sure to wet the appetite of fans of The String Cheese Incident. With three separate collaborations from members of SCI, things are likely to get cheesy. The Trancident, a live jamtronica collaboration between Michael Travis, Kyle Hollingsworth, Michael Kang, and Jason Hann of SCI, is an ultra-rare occurrence and cannot be missed. In addition to The Trancident, Gem and Jam will be hosting the 100% improvised electronic act, EOTO, comprised of Michael Travis and Jason Hann as well as the funky fresh Kyle Hollingsworth Band.

“Couple this with our new venue, which now allows us to be a true camping festival and you have the recipe for the best Gem & Jam yet.” – festival co-producer Josh Pollack

To round out the musical talent of the festival, The Infamous Stringdusters will be providing slap-your-knee bluegrass jams that will surely put the devil in your feet. The Infamous Stringdusters, like so many musicians at Gem and Jam, bring energy to the table through improvisation. In one instance, they even held a blueberry pie eating contest during a performance.

If you find gorgeous weather, gems and minerals, art, and dancing under the clear desert sky appealing, then Gem and Jam is the festival for you. Tickets are currently on sale for $169 plus fees and camping passes begin at $30.