Category: UpstateLIVE Archives

Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival 2015

The Waterhole Upstairs Music Lounge will be the place to be during the 119th Saranac Lake Winter Carnival in February 2015. The north country tradition that leads back to the 1800s, when Saranac Lake was a healing place for tuberculosis sufferers, who sought rejuvenation. Locals relished in any opportunity to celebrate health and well-being throughout each season, the traditions continue today with a wide range of events and activities.

A definite highlight of these shows will be the Saranac Lake based, Blind Owl Band, who are returning to touring after a six month break. Fans are excited to see these hometown mountain music folks get down.

The Waterhole, located at 48 Main St. Saranac Lake, NY, has 8 nights of music planned with a style of music for everyone, during the festival Feb. 6-15. Advanced Tickets Can be Purchased at The Waterhole or by calling (518) 891-9502 or emailing waterholebooking@gmail.com

Music Line-up:

Feb 6 – The Royal Noise (Free Shows, Downstairs, 10pm)
Feb 7 – The Big Mean Sound Machine and Groovestick ($10.00, Doors 9pm, Upstairs)
Feb 10 – Swampcandy (Free Show, Downstairs 9pm)
Feb 11 – Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan and North Funktree ($7.00, Doors 8pm, Upstairs)
Feb 12 – Donna the Buffalo and Driftwood ($18 Adv/ $20 Door, Doors 9pm, Upstairs)
Feb 13 – Moon Hooch and Formula 5 ($12 Adv/$15Door, Doors 9pm, Upstairs)
Feb 14 – Rasinhead (Reunion) Post Parade Party 2pm FREE SHOW, Upstairs After The Parade
Feb 14 – The Blind Owl Band and Swampcandy ($10, Doors 9pm, Upstairs)
Feb 15 – Bloody Mary Sunday with The Tim Herron Duo (2pm, FREE SHOW, Upstairs)

*For a schedule of all events at the Winter Carnival

January 16, 2015
Festy News: 2015 DelFest Lineup Announced

The 8th annual DelFest in 2015 is once again set to take place over Memorial Day Weekend in the mountains of Cumberland, MD. After all, “all roads lead to DelFest.”

The festival hosted by, the Del McCoury Band welcomes back Old Crow Medicine Show to the lineup, who have been busy with their 2014 release, Remedy. One other headliner is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Also in attendance will be stage sets from Trampled by Turtles, Railroad Earth and Greensky Bluegrass,who were such a hit last year; Leftover Salmon will rejoin DelFest, in support of new release, High Country. Also included are The Jeff Austin Band, Hot Rize, The Travelin’ McCourys, Shovels & Rope and Steep Canyon Rangers, and the Black Lillies, who will be making their first appearance at the festival.

Delfest is once again located at the Allegany Fairgrounds in Cumberland, MD, along the Potomac River. As a festival that thrives on the family-friendly ideal, the musical collaborations are potentially limitless given this year’s line-up. Attendees can expect intimate appearances of various artists during workshops, late night shows and informal picking sessions. In keeping with tradition, the Music Academy take place as well.

DelFest also offers a variety of activities. The Kidzone has fun events scheduled throughout the weekend. Food venders and crafters will line the Grandstand music meadow providing a unique shopping experience.

Festival tickets are currently available on line at DelFest.com.

January 16, 2015
St. Vincent Announces Reissue of ‘St. Vincent’ album

Manhattan based experimental musician Annie Clark, more commonly known by her stage name, St. Vincent, announced that she plans to reissue her newest album, St. Vincent, as a deluxe edition with five new songs, set to launch on Feb. 10.

St. Vincent said that alongside the unreleased songs, the reissue will contain remixes as well as digitized versions of “Pieta” and “Sparrow” which previously were only officially released on vinyl. She also said that one new title will be “Bad Believer.”

The reissue will be available through St. Vincent, iTunes, and retailers.

January 15, 2015
Festy News: Boston Calling Reveals May Lineup

Boston Calling has established itself in the North-East as a premiere three-day festival twice a year for the last two years. On Tuesday night the festival dropped 11 clues as to who was playing this coming May 22-24 at City Hall Plaza in downtown Boston. Vinyls with the band names glued on them were hidden in spots and tracked down by fans and once found the bands were announced officially by the festival. As an added bonus, those who found the vinyl could go to one of two Tasty Burger locations in Boston to be given a pair of GA tickets to the festival. The interactive lineup announcement is becoming a trend in the industry and it is great to see people embracing it. The festivals’ facebook, twitter, and instagram accounts were seeing a lot of traffic by curious festival goers.

Photo from Boston Calling Facebook page

Having put on fantastic festivals both last September and May, they are ready for another three day party in the heart of the city. The festival has battled some weather troubles in the past, but has always come out on top of the rain, lightening and wind gusts that have tried to hamper festival-goers good times. The organizers of Boston Calling have continuously improved the festival with each iteration and this year should be no different. The headliners for the three nights are My Morning Jacket, Beck, and The Pixies. Other notable acts include St. Vincent, Tv on the Radio, Tenacious D, and Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals. The full lineup can be seen below as well as a video recap of last September. Tickets are on sale now and are expected to go quickly.

January 15, 2015
Festy News: Mountain Jam 2015 Top Notch Lineup

Mountain Jam announced a more conclusive lineup after Gov’t Mule, moe., and The Black Keys were announced a couple of weeks ago. Mountain Jam is in its 11th year and held at Hunter Mountain June 4-7, 2015.

Top performers include Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, who have reached new heights of success with the 2014 release of Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar. Also headlining are, Alabama Shakes, Vermont native, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and, of course, Michael Franti & Spearhead. The rest of the lineup appears to be taking a page from the handbook of awesome festival lineups, and it is top notch. Joining the headliners are: Rebelution, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Railroad Earth, Lake Street Dive, Trigger Hippy, Benjamin Booker and The Wailers, Rusted Root, Nicki Bluhm & The Grambers, Shakey Graves, Jon Cleary, The Budos Band, Dopapod, Amy Helm & The Handsome Strangers, Hurray For The Ruff Raff, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Marco Benevento, The Mother Hips, Nikki Lane and Sons of Bill.

Additionally, Big Gigantic, The Budos Band and Dopapod will be the late night artists. Early bird tickets are still available at MountainJam.com.

January 15, 2015
The Moonshine River Band – A Great Syracuse Country Band

I headed out to Toby Keith’s at Destiny this past Friday night to check out a local country act I haven’t seen yet. Once I got there, I noticed these guys had a really good following. I spoke to a few groups of people and was told they make it out to as many of Moonshine River Band’s shows as possible and that the last time they played at Toby Keith’s a bus from the Altmar area was chartered to bring in their fans. Needles to say, this really sparked my interest and I couldn’t wait til the guys hit the stage.

They are a modern country band composed of three talented guys: Joe Battles (guitar/lead vocals), Mark Ramsden (bass/vocals) and Angelo Depasquale (drums/vocals). They play some of your favorites from Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Luke Bryan and Garth Brooks, just to name a few.

Once they took the stage I have to say I was quite impressed. They sounded fantastic. Not only did they have their scheduled set list, but they also took a few requests. The vocals were smooth yet powerful and they kept their fans engaged and on the dance floor. I am really excited to have another local country band to add to an evening out. You can see them open for Easton Corbin on Jan. 15 at Toby Keith’s – I Love This Bar and grill in Syracuse.

January 14, 2015
Umphrey’s McGee hits the Beacon Theater and The Paramount this weekend with Joshua Redman

Following a monstrous “All In Time” second set opener on January 18, 2014, Brendan Bayliss stepped to the mic to thank those in attendance. He noted “The first time we played (in New York City) was in the basement of the Wetlands and there were about 20 people that got to see us because we were playing outside the door of the bathroom.” As expected, the South Bend progressive jam outfit will continue a two year tradition with their return to the Beacon Theater on January 16 and 17 with special guest Joshua Redman.

In their Beacon debut the six piece took on one night, but 2014 and this year have shown that just one wouldn’t be enough. The energy that is emitted from playing a big room has only seemed to fuel the progression in where they take their music and Jefferson Waful’s elaborate production. 2013’s “Ocean Billy” and 2014’s “Puppet String” indicate that a step up in size also speaks for the music. Umphrey’s has been known for their creative mashups and covers like “Life During Exodus” and Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” so even people unfamiliar with their material will recognize a few songs played.

Saxophonist Joshua Redman will add to the mix for both Beacon shows and the Huntington stop on Sunday. Redman has played with Umphrey’s before, the most notable being the 2013 New Years Eve run where they collaborated for a powerful “1348.” Look for something similar in energy when the seven musicians clash this time around.

Tickets for Saturday are sold out, but you can still purchase tickets for Friday at Ticketmaster. Doors for both shows are listed as eight, while the showtimes are at 9.

January 14, 2015
Hearing Aide: Turnstile ‘Nonstop Feeling’

Until January 13th, hardcore band Turnstile had not ever released a full album — but since 2010 they have gained a following of 32,000 devoted Facebook fans, all enthused by their live performances and demos. Especially known in the underground Albany scene, their followers are almost cultish, rejoicing at the release of their debut: NonStop Feeling.

In many ways, the word, ‘feeling,’ does not pair well with ‘hardcore band.’ However, one listen to a song like “Love Lasso,” the penultimate song — an instrumental — and you’ll soon understand. The title Non Stop Feeling could quite easily could refer to the idea that Turnstile’s efforts, energy, and hardness are nonstop insane and the second track, “Drop,” proves this. Thus, the “nonstop” and “feeling” work very well together.

It seems that there are few complaints one could have about this album. It should have been longer on one hand, but at the same time, its short, sweetness gives it a tasteful edge; like amazing sex: it lasts a certain amount of time, but it won’t leave your head for awhile.

Turnstile is composed of five gentlemen from Ohio, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. who share the uncanny ability to write a fully energetic album with deliberation, but carry immense emotional capacity at the same time. Their use of two guitars is especially impressive because it allows the band to carry an extra dimension of melody and a rounded out sound, while still being diligent with that nasty hardcore anger. Fans of Rage Against the Machine and Black Flag will enjoy songs such as “Addicted” and “Stress.” Even some of The Dillinger Escape Plan – like chaos echoes through the production of the album.

So far, it might sound to the reader like just another melodic hardcore album, but Nonstop Feeling goes a lot further than that. The great thing about it is the dynamics therein. Few times will bands — especially in hardcore — experiment enough to find ways to make melodies, slow songs, and ambiance work the way Turnstile does. For this reason, Non Stop Feeling is already gearing up to be one of the most memorable, brave, fierce releases of this year and Turnstile just earned themselves a new fan.

By the way, we definitely recommend going to see Turnstile at a show. Their New York dates are always famous. And whether you’re a hardcore junkie or you have never cared for the genre, these guys put on a show to be remembered.

NonStop Feeling from Turnstile can be purchased on iTunes, through the band, and at retailers.

Key tracks: “Love Lasso,” “Drop,” “Stress”

January 14, 2015
Bonnaroo Announces 2015 Lineup

In a crowd-sourced fashion Bonnaroo gave fans the opportunity to announce the festival’s 2015 lineup yesterday, quickly rallying up a trending rank on social media.

On June 11-14, Manchester, TN will host a smorgasbord of sounds – ranging from new indie digs to veterans of the music scene while spanning a range of genres. Billy Joel will be enjoying the outdoor stage amidst a record-setting run of shows for the piano man at Madison Square Garden, Mumford and Sons will have some new songs from their third studio album, following the band’s hiatus and false rumors of a break-up. Also joining the roster are Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters, Deadmau5, STS9, Ben Folds, Tears for Fears, Catfish and the Bottlemen, among many others including an oddman out: Slayer. Check out the lineup poster at the end of this article for the full roster of performers announced thus far.

Tickets for Bonnaroo 2015 go on sale this Friday January 17 at noon EST on the festival’s website.

January 14, 2015
Poughkeepsie’s Playhouse: Bardavon 1869 Opera House

Located on Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House has drawn world-renowned stars to its stage for nearly a century and a half. The theater was originally dubbed the Collingwood Opera House when its doors opened on February 1, 1869, named after original owner James Collingwood. Multiple renovations later, the Bardavon boasts the title of being New York State’s longest continuously running theater.

The theater officially opened as the Bardavon Theatre on January 1, 1923, looking much like it does today. The original unique high dome ceiling remained, but the theater was transformed to house films in addition to live performances. From the roaring 20’s to 1975, the Bardavon was one of New York’s premier movie houses which also featured vaudeville shows and plays. It was scheduled to be demolished in 1975 before the Dutchess County Arts Council and a group of locals created the Concerned Citizens to Save the Bardavon group. They leased the historic building and created the Bardavon 1869 Opera House not-for-profit corporation to protect the beloved theater’s future. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Today, the Bardavon Opera House hosts live concerts, school performances, and other events. The theater’s original Wurlitzer Organ, originally installed in 1928, was sold off in the 1960’s but has since been re-installed and is now a cherished reminder of the Bardavon’s celebrated history. Tours of the 1,150 seat historic theater, which the Hudson Valley Philharmonic calls home, are offered to groups and the public.

Since its doors opened, the Bardavon has hosted performances by Mark Twain, John Phillips Sousa, Frank Sinatra, Greg Allman, Art Garfunkel, Levon Helm, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, and Al Pacino. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Theodore Roosevelt both frequented the historic theater while the Talking Heads, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Blue Man Group, The Felice Brothers, and Dark Star Orchestra have all taken stage at the Bardavon.

Arlo Guthrie at the Bardavon (2014).

With strong public support and recognition in the National Registry secured, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House’s impressive resume should continue to grow as the 21^st century rolls on.

January 13, 2015