They have played the venue a few times since it has been opened, but it is always a treat to see an original performer of the festival play on the hollowed grounds. A few days later on July 8th and 9th, they will be making a stop at The Beacon Theatre for the only two night stand of the tour. They will be playing songs from all of their entire discography as well as brand new music. They will be joined by a backing band consisting of Shane Fontayne (guitar), Steve DiStanislao (drums), Kevin McCormick (bass), James Raymond (keyboards), and Todd Caldwell (organ). Tickets will be going on sale soon.
Paul Simon is headed to Cooperstown, NY for a special concert taking place on August 2nd. The Baseball Hall of Fame is putting on a one day concert to celebrate its 75th anniversary at The Clark Sports Center, where this years hall of fame induction ceremony will take place earlier that week.
Other artists confirmed are The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, who will be the evenings house band, and ex-Yankee Bernie Williams. Many more performers and other celebrities will be announced in the coming weeks.
Paul Simon is slated to play three songs which will celebrate baseball through music, film, and video. Tickets are currently on sale now, but if you cannot afford one of the tickets, there will also be complimentary lawn seats right behind the ticketed area.
To the jubilation of 35-year-old tweenage girls across NY, Live Nation announced today that the reformed Backstreet Boys will be coming back to Darien Lake June 18th. After a slew of sold out shows and incredible fan demand in 2013 the Boys decided to extend their tour into 2014. All original members are featured, which, love them or hate them, is a rare deed for any group whose career spans 20+ years. 35-year-old tweenage boys will also be happy to know their former late night fantasy girl Avril Lavigne will be opening. Tickets go on sale Friday March 21st at 10AM. Don’t delay, this tour’s bound to be filled with sell outs.
Beck, who just released the critically acclaimed Morning Phase, will be coming to the Northeast and tri-state area in June, after his appearance at Firefly, Beck will make his way to the beautiful site MASS MoCA on June 24th.
Morning Phase has been linked to another great Beck album Sea Change. Many of the same players from that album worked with Beck again on this one. Beck always brings something special to his shows and since he hasn’t been touring on a regular basis for a while now, these shows should definitely be packing a punch.
Presale for both shows began March 12th at 10 a.m. (the general password is “MORNING,” and the Central Park password is “PHASE”), and general sales start on March 14 at noon.
The Osheaga Music Festival has announced its 2014 lineup that is going to take over Parc Jean Drapeau in Montreal on August 1st-3rd this summer. The headliners include Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, and Outkast. Other major acts set to perform are Skrillex, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Foster the People, Modest Mouse, The Replacements, HAIM, and Lorde, who will be making Osheaga one of her few festivals appearances this summer.
Other acts set to perform include Childish Gambino, Local Natives, Portugal. The Man, London Grammar, White Denim, AWOLNATION, Four Tet, and CHVRCHES. Ingrid Michaelson, Gogol Bordello, Bleachers, Hospitality, and The Men will be representing New York at the festival. With the festival taking place so close to New York, there is no reason to not make the trek over the border for this great festival. Tickets are on sale now at Osheaga’s website for the entire weekend.
In an unlucky turn of events, the 13th annual Camp Bisco festival has been canceled. Since its inception in 1999, this EDM centered festival has taken place annually in Mariaville, NY and featured hosts The Disco Biscuits every night along with a bevy of established and up and coming dance music acts. Bisco fans will no doubt be disappointed as The Biscuits tour very intermittently and this will be another chance lost. Fortunately the promoters say the fun should be back next year and better than ever. Here is the complete announcement from the band and promotional team:
“Camp Bisco is always one of the highlights of the year for us and all of our fans. After much deliberation and tireless efforts to make Camp happen this year, we had to make the tough decision to take a year off. We will be coming back in 2015 with an amazing event that will cater to the needs, wants and wishes of Camp Bisco’s most faithful and valued attendees! Camp Bisco, which has featured such superstar musical acts as LCD Soundsystem, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Macklemore, Skrillex and many more, has sold out its last three years in a row.”
The Biscuits, MCP and our amazing community of fans and friends have built this festival from the ground up and we take extreme pride in what we have all created together. We have shared such amazing experiences throughout the last decade and a half of Camp and we look forward to doubling down on that after this year off. We are so thankful for all your rabid support, so please stay tuned, there will be some amazing announcements right around the corner.
It is rare to find a music fan who devotes their time to only one type of music. When speaking with the musicians that you read about on our websites, you will find a huge diversity of bands that had influenced their love for music.
And, that is the basis behind our most recent change.
Upstate Live is excited to announce its merger with Upstate Metal. Each has focused on the same mission – to promote live music and the local talent here in the Empire State.
Through the years, we have come to recognize the best way to follow through with this mission statement of ours would be to combine our efforts. Music fanatics appreciate a wide spectrum of sound that carries them through different genres. As these tastes mature and musicians continue to push the envelope on the characteristics that define their given category, it has become difficult to discern where one genre ends and another one begins.
In the coming weeks, regular readers of may notice a few new names. With the merger, we welcome within the talented writers and photographers that helped earn success for Upstate Metal. This talented group of writers, photographers and editors will only enhance our ability to spread great music across the state to bring you the coverage you have already come to expect from us.
In addition, you should expect to see a new look to our website very soon. It is not all about aesthetics. We promise this will help all of our readers to navigate clearly by region, genre, and news category.
Skrillex’s shows are always a party with blaring lights, lots of dancing, and concert goers leaving with nothing but smiles on their faces. Tickets go on sale for Albany and Canandaigua on Friday March 14th at 10AM. Governor’s Ball Tickets are available now.
Here is a behind the scenes look at what to expect from the tour.
Gathering of the Vibes will announce their 2014 lineup this Saturday March 15th, LIVE at the Legendary Capitol Theatre with vibe veterans, Deep Banana Blackout and Kung Fu. Doors are at 7 pm with the show set to start at 8pm but the official announcement will be made at 11pm and fans can join in on the action via Facebook.
The annual musical and arts festival is set to take place July 31st-August 3rd, once again at the beautiful Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT. With past headliners, Phil Lesh & Friends, Primus, STS9, Elvis Costello and much more, all bets are on to see who will join the Vibe Tribe in a weekend of love and light.
The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY is the ideal location for the Vibes announcement because it holds special ties with The Grateful Dead and their fan base. It makes sense to bring together the vibe tribe and Dead Head community to remember their roots as well as look forward to the excitement of this year’s festival season. Deep Banana Blackout is a funky New Orleans jazz group with a full horn section and a high energy attitude. Kung Fu packs a punch with psychedelic funky melodies and electro-jazz fused fun. The two Connecticut bands are a powerful combo for the night and are sure to get the party vibes flowing.
You can purchase tickets here, they range from $25 to $45 or you can enter this contest to win two free tickets to Saturday’s show.
“We just wanted to play metal in the boys’ club,” said Leather Leone, of Chastain, in the new book by Jill Hughes Kirtland, Not Just Tits in a Corset: Celebrating Women in Metal. “We were metal. And the music represented us. I remember early on at shows when I saw females in the audience I’d try to bring them in so they’d get it. I don’t want to f*ck him. I want to be him.”
Kirtland, a music journalist and band manager, reports the stories of several women rockers, in their own voices, through a series of intimate interviews and photographs. The names who collaborated with Kirtland involve some of the most prominent and influential women in the metal industry – Lita Ford, Ann Boleyn, Doro Pesch, Betsy Bitch, Leather Leone, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Elize Ryd, Sharon Den Adel, Alissa White-Gluz, Angela Gossow, Maria Brink, Floor Jansen, Tarja Turunen, Cristina Scabbia, Charlotte Wessels, Roxy Petrucci, Linda Mcdonald, Lzzy Hale, and Simone Simons.
The book promises to provide insight from the women who helped blaze a trail, and continue to destroy stereotypes. (Photo Credit: Freeman Promotions)
The book, which Kirtland self-published, details the unique history, challenges and triumphs women have encountered throughout their careers in metal music, while also celebrating the compelling global community these women have created amongst each other and the fans. It’s not just musicians featured, but the women behind the scenes also tell their stories, all of them offering inspiration and support to the up-and-comers.
“Ten years ago I heard [from women], “Since I saw you in a metal band, I thought ‘okay, I can do this as well,’” recounted solo artist, and former member of The Gathering, Anneke van Giersbergen. “Sometimes we need a little bit of an example.”
Doro Pesch wrote the foreword to the book. Pesch, who is often referred to as “Metal Queen”, earned respect after a career that ha spanned nearly 25 years uninterupted. She is credited with being the first woman to front a band at the Monsters of Rock festival in Castle Donington, in England. German born, she earned her stripes and Europe and briefly tasted success in the United States before grunge pushed her back to the European front. Today, she continues to tour with her band.
The book, with a pretty cool book cover design by the way, is now available as a hardcover or softcover printed book or e-book on the author’s website and will be available through other online retailers soon.
A book launch party open to the public (all ages) will take place on Thursday, April 3rd (6:30pm) at Roxy & Duke’s Roadhouse in Dunellen, New Jersey. Female-fronted metal bands MINDMAZE, A SOUND OF THUNDER, and FLAMES OF FURY will be performing that night with other special guests.
