Six Reasons Not to Miss Mountain Jam

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are in the middle of a lengthy tour celebrating their 40th anniversary. Petty is one of the most consistently awesome performers around, and he's been breaking out some deeper cuts this time out, including "Rockin' Around (With You)" and "Walls." While he's admitted that he'll continue to tour after this trek, this might be the last one of this size. "We’re all on the backside of our sixties," he said. "I have a granddaughter now I’d like to see as much as I can. I don’t want to spend my life on the road.”

Peter Frampton's live prowess is legendary, if the eight million-plus sales from Frampton Comes Alive! are any indication. Mountain Jam is one of the first stops on a summer tour with the Steve Miller Band, who'll be taking the stage after Frampton.

The Steve Miller Band will close Mountain Jam 2017. With a deep catalog of hits including "The Joker," "Rock'n Me," "Jet Airliner" and "Take the Money and Run," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has a set tailor-made for kickin' back on a beautiful summer night as the sun goes down over the mountains.

The daughter of the late Levon Helm released her debut album, Didn't It Rain, in 2015 and had been a member of her father's band for years before that. As a frontwoman, she's earned critical acclaim for her smart songwriting and powerful vocals. No fan of bluesy roots music should miss her set.

If the name Lukas Nelson rings a bell, it could be for two reasons: He's the son of Willie Nelson, and he and his band, Promise of the Real, backed up Neil Young on The Monsanto Years and its tour, which resulted in the live album Earth. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real have three albums of, what they call, "cowboy hippie surf rock."

Anybody who thinks guitar-based blues-rock is dead needs to hear Gary Clark Jr. Since bursting on to the scene in 2010, the Austin-based guitarist, who's been called the next guitar hero, has shared stages with Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Dave Grohl and Joe Walsh.