Editing Chris Robinson (singer) (section)

===Solo career; with New Earth Mud===
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=March 2024}}
His first solo recording, "The Red Road", appeared on the soundtrack to the 2002 film ''[[The Banger Sisters]]'', confirming the singer's turn into softer material. A full-length debut, ''[[New Earth Mud]]'', appeared in October and garnered positive critical reviews. Written and produced with [[Paul Stacey]] and featuring collaborations with ex-Crowes [[Marc Ford]] and [[Eddie Harsch]], the album allowed Robinson to hit the road as a headlining act. The band itself became known as New Earth Mud and earned a reputation for playing lengthy, jam-oriented sets across the United States.

New Earth Mud toured well into 2003, both headlining and sharing the bill with such acts as [[Elvis Costello]], [[Gov't Mule]] and [[The String Cheese Incident]]. Robinson headed into the studio after the tour concluded, again with Paul Stacey as co-songwriter and producer. The result was ''[[This Magnificent Distance]]'', released in June 2004. The album was a bigger commercial success than its predecessor and showcased more of a "full band" sound.

Robinson parted ways with Paul Stacey and the rest of his band in early 2004, the reason for which remains unknown. In a very cryptic post on his official message board, Robinson said farewell to his original line-up and welcomed a new one, which featured ex-Crowes member Audley Freed on guitar and George Reiff on bass. The band toured in support of ''This Magnificent Distance'' through the Summer of 2004. Another tour was planned for the fall of 2004 but was abruptly and inexplicably scrapped. Robinson instead remained out of the public eye aside from three appearances with [[Phil Lesh and Friends]] at the [[Warfield Theatre]] in San Francisco (December 2004).
[[File:Chris Robinson-Newport-blurred.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Chris Robinson on stage with [[Luther Dickinson]] (left), Rich Robinson, and [[Adam MacDougall (keyboardist)|Adam MacDougall]]]]
Robinson did not perform publicly again until his February 2005 performance with his brother Rich at the [[Consumer Electronics Show]] in [[Las Vegas Valley|Las Vegas]] (a private event for people who work in the field of consumer electronics). He then joined Phil Lesh again for the ''Mardi Gras Spectacular'' concerts in San Francisco at the end of February, which also featured members of [[Railroad Earth]], [[Particle (band)|Particle]] and [[Galactic]] as well as former members of the [[Jerry Garcia Band]].

;New Earth Mud band members
* Chris Robinson – vocals, guitar, harmonica (2002–04)
* [[Paul Stacey]] – lead guitar, piano, vocals (2002–04)
* [[Jeremy Stacey]] – drums, percussion (2002–04)
* George Reiff – bass, vocals (2002–04)
* George Laks – keyboards, (2002–04)
* [[Audley Freed]] – lead guitar (2004)
* [[Steve DiStanislao]] – drums, percussion, vocals (2004)
* [[Rob Barraco]] – keyboards, vocals (2004)