That’s right folks, for one night only those mad capped musical magicians Primus will be making a stop here in Syracuse at the historic Landmark Theater. The evening’s offerings will include two magnificent sets: set 1 features all of your favorite classics performed by the trio; set 2 includes the band’s brilliant and unusual interpretation of the “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” soundtrack brought to life with the help of the Fungi Ensemble. So hurry up and grab your Golden Ticket because you’re not going to want to miss this limited engagement.
“Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, the Chocolate Room”
On Thursday, April 16, Finland’s Nightwish will be performing in Buffalo, NY for the very first time at Town Ballroom, located at 681 Main St in downtown Buffalo. The Finnish symphonic metal band has toured the globe several times over and released eight full length albums, the most recent of which is entitled Endless Forms Most Beautiful. It’s a long epic release named after a quote by Charles Darwin and is based on the wonders of life, as well as making choices based on science and reason. It’s also the driving force behind their current world tour, which just kicked off in New York City on April 10.
Nightwish will be making their first trip to Buffalo during a very interesting time in their career. They’ve just recently brought Floor Jansen into the group for lead vocals. Some might remember her from her long career with Dutch symphonic metal group, After Forever. This makes Floor, Nightwish’s third female vocalist since the forming of the band, and the general consensus so far is that she’s proven herself to be a very worthy successor of Tarja Turenen and Anette Olzon. Nightwish is also being joined by Wintersun drummer, Kai Hahto for the foreseeable future, after their longtime drummer and friend Jukka Nevalainen decided to step down recently due to chronic insomnia. Furthermore, Troy Donockley is permanently adding his Celtic instrumentation to the band’s already enchanting orchestral sound, which is bound to treat every audience they play to on this tour to an even more unique experience.
One of the highlights on Endless Forms Most Beautiful is the 24 minute closing track, ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, and rumors are flying that those in attendance at Town Ballroom this Thursday will be hearing that very long, very impressive epic in the latter portion of the setlist. Longtime fans are hopeful that they’ll be hearing some of Nightwish’s older material at the show, and according to online sources, select tracks from Oceanborn, Wishmaster, Century Child and Once will be resurrected for this tour.
So, whether you’ve only recently been introduced to Nightwish, or you’re a longtime listener, given the group’s sterling reputation for live performances, it seems fair to say that no one will be leaving this show disappointed. Even if you’ve never heard music like this before and you want to try something different, most fans of music in general can find something they appreciate in the music of Nightwish. Their songs are captivating, theatrical, symphonic, passionate and honest. We sincerely hope to see you there for what is bound to be a breathtaking event, the likes of which Buffalo has never experienced!
“I do believe only innocence can save the world.” – Tuomas Holopainen (Nightwish founder, composer and lyricist)
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – located at the historic site of the 1969 Woodstock festival – has announced it’s summer 2015 music lineup. Boasting some of today’s hottest acts as well as some old school classics, there is plenty of music for all ages, all summer long. The site is also hosting Mysteryland Music Festival Memorial day weekend, May 22-25. The current schedule and lineup is listed below.
Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
BETHEL WOODS 2015 CONCERT LINEUP
May 22-25 – Mysteryland Music Festival
June 19th – An Evening With Bryan Adams
June 26th – Train featuring special guests The Fray & Matt Nathanson
June 27th – Mormon Tabernacle Choir
July 3rd – Kid Rock w/ special guests Foreigner
July 11th – Def Leppard w/ Styx and Tesla
July 18th – Kidz Bop Kids
July 24th – Brad Paisley with Justin Moore and Mickey Guyton
July 25th – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Aug 2nd – Peter Cetera with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic
Aug 7th – Florida Georgia Line with Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard
Aug 14th – Lynyrd Skynyrd with The Marshall Tucker Band
Aug 23rd – Zac Brown Band
Aug 30th – Rascal Flatts with Scotty McCreery and Raelynn
Sept 1st – Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Sept 6th – Van Halen
Sept 19th – An Evening with Jackson Browne
To visit the venue website and for ticketing information, click here.
An impressive group of musicians will play a group of pre- and post-party shows in Chicago billed as The Music Never Stopped to complement the Grateful Dead Fare the Well GD50 reunion run.
The Music Never Stopped run kicks off Thursday, July 2, with shows at different venues by Thievery Corporation with special guests yet to be announced, Gene Ween with special guests Mariachi El Bronx, and a Rex Foundation benefit called High Steppin’ Into Town featuring Greensky Bluegrass, Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass and the Infamous Stringdusters.
On Friday, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe will start at 10 p.m., and Edwarde Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will perform at another venue from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Saturday, the Fourth of July, Railroad Earth will start a show at 11 p.m., and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros will again play another venue with an 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. show.
Sunday is the big culmination with the Fiyawrapper All Star Jam starting at 11 p.m. This group features Jennifer Hartswick of the Trey Anastasio Band as musical director and will include two other TAB musicians plus members of the Allman Brothers Band, Soulive/Lettuce, the Revivalists, Big Gigantic, Snarky Puppy and Break Science/Pretty Lights.
Silver Wrapper, a group of Chicago-based independent promoters, assembled the shows. Tickets are available via their website.
After much speculation we finally have an official announcement about additional shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead, with members of the original band. Today’s announcement was for the anticipated shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The shows will take place June 27 & 28 and an online ticket request period is underway until Tuesday April 14. For all ticketing information please visit Santa Clara Fare Thee Well.
The line-up for these shows has also been debated among heads for weeks and today we learned that the line-up will include – Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzman and featuring Trey Anastasio, Jeff Chimenti, and Bruce Hornsby.
The core-4 made the announcement on the GD50.net site and personalized it to Deadheads and gave a heartfelt explanation of why they chose to add more shows after announcing originally that the Chicago shows would be the only ones.
Dear Heads,
Although none of us knew it when we walked off the stage at Soldier Field on July 9, 1995, the Grateful Dead’s long strange trip ended in Chicago that night. As you are aware, twenty years later, we’re returning to Chicago to properly say Fare Thee Well.
But every good ending must start with a beginning. For us, it all began fifty years ago when we grabbed a bunch of instruments off the walls of a music store in Palo Alto California and began banging away on them in the back room, at night after the store had closed for the day.
Since we made the decision to go back to Chicago to say our final goodbye, it has become clear to us that we first need to return to our beginnings, where we first said hello — to each other and to all of you.
And so it is that we have decided to plug in for two additional shows on June 27 and 28 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California — just a dozen miles south of where Dana Morgan’s Music Store once stood. At Levi’s — as at Soldier Field — we will have the pleasure of being joined by Trey Anastasio, Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.
Ours wasn’t just a long, strange trip — it was a VERY long, VERY strange trip. We weren’t sure what it was going to be like to put a punctuation mark on the end of it. None of us anticipated the overwhelming outpouring of love and interest following our initial announcement of the shows at Soldier Field, and we were blown away by the response.
We have tried to do the right thing wherever we could for the Chicago shows by honoring the roots of where we came from, while dealing with the realities of the current times. But that’s hardly comforting when you’re shit outta luck for tickets and your only option is inflated prices on secondary ticketing websites. That would piss us off too.
From the moment these shows were first talked about, we have been thinking about what we could do to honor the roots of our Deadhead experience, even in the face of changing technologies. (Remember: Ticketmaster didn’t even go online until we got out of the game.) These shows were always intended as an expression of our gratitude, to both the music and the fans, so it’s important that we get things as right as we can.
We have always been proud of our in-house mail order ticketing process, and the phenomenal way our fans have built a tradition out of turning a standard envelope into a frame-worthy piece of art. Some 60,000 mail order tickets were issued for the Soldier Field shows by the good folks at Grateful Dead Ticket Sales — yet we were still crushed to see how many of your beautifully designed envelopes did not get tickets.
For shows of this magnitude, it’s impossible to eliminate every scalper. However, we offer you this: Working with our partners, we are using an online ticketing platform for the Levi’s shows that will help ensure that the tickets for these shows will get into the right hands, the hands of our true fans. We believe that this process is the best way to give each of you an equal opportunity to obtain tickets at the most affordable possible prices. We are are proud to announce that 65,000 tickets per night will be available via the “online mail order” for the Levi’s shows. For the nuts and bolts, go to Dead50.net.
We will not be adding any more Fare Thee Well shows. The three Chicago shows will still be our final stand. We decided to add these two Santa Clara shows to enable more of our fans to celebrate with us one more time. But this is it.
We love you guys more than words can tell, and hope to see you in the Bay Area or Chicago. If you can’t make it to the shows, we are working on ways for you to still experience our Fare Thee Well, from wherever you might be. Stay tuned for those details.
It’s not everyday that an Upstate New York band has a chance to play Bonnaroo, but Wild Adriatic are getting just that opportunity.
Over the past few weeks the band has been apart of a “March Madness” style tournament through Sonic Bids to get the most votes for the opportunity to play the festival. Winning in the first four rounds against bands throughout the country by 74%, 65%, 66%, and 64% respectively they were onto the final round of voting to decide which bands would be playing Bonnaroo. Winning with 55% of the vote in the semi-finals, Mateo, Travis, and Rich pulled out the victory and were officially awarded a slot at the prestigious festival. Happening from June 11 to 14, Bonnaroo will include Billy Joel, Mumford and Sons, Kendrick Lamar, Robert Plant, and many others. Wild Adriatic is psyched to be able to play the festival and represent Upstate New York. Their next area show will be taking place at Vapor in Saratoga Springs on April 18 celebrating their new EP Never Enough.
In the final round of voting to see who would be crowned number 1 overall, Wild Adriatic took it with 69% of the votes to win the entire tournament. Congratulations are sent out to Mateo, Rich, and Travis on a job well done!
As the weather begins to heat up, so does the line up at the upcoming 2015 Summer Concert Series at Darien Lake. With still more announcements to come, some of todays hottest rock, pop, and country bands will join legends as they make their way through Central New York. Stay tune as NYS Music brings to you the latest on announcements as they are made.
All Darien shows include free parking. Concert goers can also opt for an upgraded ticket that includes all day admission to the amusement park.
Darien Lake Performing Arts Center 2015 concert series
July 11 – Toby Keith
July 12 – Def Leppard
July 15 – Warped Tour
July 21 – Kelly Clarkson
July 29 – Slipknot
July 30 – Tim McGraw
Aug. 4 – Kid Rock
Aug. 6 – Zac Brown Band
Aug. 7 – Nickelback
Aug. 8 – Florida Georgia Line
Aug. 13 – Jason Aldean
Aug. 21 – Darius Rucker
Aug. 25 – Van Halen – Just Added
Aug. 29 – Rascall Flatts
Sep. 3-4 – Luke Bryan
The twelve night ‘Dirty Dozen’ co-headlining run with Twiddle and Kung Fu kicked off last night in Buffalo at Iron Works, and continues tonight in Syracuse at the Westcott Theater. Along with the Buffalo and Syracuse dates, there is a stop at Albany’s Upstate Concert Hall, teaming up with local favorites Mister F. The tour is full of surprises, with no set times being announced, which is exactly the kind of antics fans anticipate with two powerhouse bands such as these two artists. The two bands teamed up for a sold out show in December to benefit Toys for Tots and have both been touring extensively since then.
NYSmusic sent some interview questions to the Twiddle guys, and they all chimed in with their answers below. Be sure to catch them while you can!
Jen Foster: First off, how excited are you for a no-holds-barred tour with Kung Fu?
Twiddle: We’re always extra amped for any gig with Kung Fu. They are role models for us in the scene, and have been amazing mentors/frends for Twiddle as we continue to grow.
Jen Foster: When you imagine this kind of tour, what do you hope for more than anything?
Twiddle: We don’t have any expectations. We are leaving the set times and schedule very open ended so anything can happen. We hope to do some really fun collaborative stuff with Kung Fu that everyone digs. The idea is to have as much fun as possible.
Jen Foster: What will happen when Ryan Dempsey and Todd Stoops create the ultimate keyboard spaceship?
Twiddle: It’s gonna get weird, in a really good way. Expect that dirty alien funk.
Jen Foster: The term Kungwiddle has been flying around like wildfire. Do you foresee this one of many co-billed shows and band crossovers?
Twiddle: Yes. We especially love our annual Toys for Tots show with them in CT. It always feels good to play with incredible musicians, and help kids at the same time.
Jen Foster: Twiddle just finished the “Donde Esta Norb?” tour, and now you’re headed to Costa Rica for Jungle Jam. It has already been a very successful start to the year. Are you at all surprised with the amount of success in the past year?
Twiddle: We’re always blown away by our fans. They are building an amazing community that is turning into a family. As far as success is concerned, Madison House is doing a great job of getting us on some amazing show/festival bills. Especially Red Rocks with S.C.I.
Jen Foster: Fans of both Twiddle and Kung Fu are over the moon about this upcoming tour. What kind of hijinks can we look forward to?
Twiddle: The idea of not announcing set times is to send a message for fans to get there early and stay late. Anything is possible. We have a few filthy tricks up our sleeves but where would the fun be in telling anyone?
Jen Foster: NYSMusic’s readers are very excited for the upcoming Upstate shows in Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany. Once the Spring tour is behind you, what summer music festivals are you most looking forward to playing?
Twiddle: The upstate NY markets are slowly becoming marquis/anchor cities for us. Castleton, where we met, is literally on the NY border with Vermont. We love New York. As for the summer, we are making repeat appearances at big fests like Summer Camp, Wakarusa, The Peach and Gathering of the Vibes. It is always humbling to see our name next to big time artists. However, the smaller fests like Disc Jam and the Frendly Gathering allow us to see all of our New England frends and family. The Frendly Gathering is in Vermont and we spend the whole weekend there. It is home.
Dirty Dozen Tour Dates: 4/1 – Buffalo, NY | Iron Works
4/2 – Syracuse, NY | Westcott Theater
4/3 – New York, NY | Irving Plaza
4/4 – Clifton Park, NY | Upstate Concert Hall
4/8 – State College, PA | Levels
4/9 – Pittsburgh, PA | The Rex Theatre
4/10 – Philadelphia, PA | TLA
4/11 – Baltimore, MD | Rams Head Live
4/12 – Richmond, VA | The Broadberry
4/14 – Greensboro, NC | Blind Tiger
4/15 – Charlotte, NC | The Chop House
4/16 – Atlanta, GA | Terminal West
Every year thousands upon thousands of people flood Highland Park in Rochester to enjoy the annual Lilac Festival 2015. Featuring a full hillside of blooming lilacs and other spring flowers, two weekends of craft vending, and a whole week of the city’s finest high brow and low brow food (Thanks Tahous!) – the biggest draw is ultimately the stellar musical lineup the city offers to music loving denizens for free. And wow – kudos to the organizers as this years lineup is jam-packed with talent.
Festival producer Jeff Springut of the Springut group on this years festivities:
“It’s always a delight to plan the musical lineup for the Rochester Lilac Festival, it’s a wide-open canvas, a free stage that goes from 10:30 in the morning until 8:30 in the evening. It’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to bring in some of the best touring musicians in the country.”
Running the gambit from the 70’s cowboy rock of The Outlaws, the funk-tastic Mingo Fishtrap and Dr Dog to jam favorites Blues Traveler and Rusted Root – this year will leave no music fan unfulfilled.
As always local bands get the focus most afternoons with Rochester’s own Thunderbody, Buddhahood, and Extended Family in the mix. The festival runs May 8-17 and admission is free. Check out the full lineup and day by day schedule below.
2015 Lilac Festival Lineup
5/8 Outlaws, Tommy Brunett, The Blind Owls
5/9 Zac Brown Tribute Band, Pokey LaFarge, Guthrie Brown and the Family Tree, The Blind Owls
5/10 The Psychedelic Furs, The Blind Owls, Deborah Magone, Kat Wright and the Indomitable Soul Band
5/11 Dr. Dog, Adam Ezra Group, Extended Family
5/12 Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Cracker, Buddhahood
5/13 Blues Traveler, Davina and the Vagabonds
5/14 Rusted Root, Nobel Vibes
5/15 Mingo Fishtrap, Thunder Body
5/16 Charlie Musselwhite, Joe Beard
5/17 Ana Popovic, Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People, The Prickers, The Blind Spots, The Blind Owl Band
Detailed Day by Day Schedule – Sahlen’s Stage
Friday, May 8
10:30 am Cosgrove 7th Grade Chorus
11:30 am Passion For Purple Event
12:30 pm TBA
1:00 pm TBA
4:00 pm The Blind Owls
5:30 pm Tommy Brunett
7:00 pm The Outlaws
Saturday, May 9
12:30 pm Cool Club with the Lipker Sisters
1:30 pm Natalie B
2:30 pm The Blind Owls
4:00 pm Guthrie Brown and the Family Tree
5:30 pm Pokey LaFarge
7:00 pm ZBTB: Zac Brown Tribute Band
Sunday, May 10
10:30 am Fred Vine
11:30 am Fat City
12:30 pm Anonymous Willpower
2:30 pm Kat Wright & The Indomitable Soul Band
4:00 pm Deborah Magone
5:30 pm The Blind Owls
7:00 pm The Psychedelic Furs
Monday, May 11
10:30 am Webster Montessori School Chorus
11:00 am Gates Chili Middle School Jazz Band
12:00 pm Bishop Kearney High School: Murder of Crows
1:00 pm Twelve Corners Middle School Jazz Band
4:00 pm Extended Family
5:30 pm Adam Ezra Group
7:00pm Dr. Dog
Tuesday, May 12
10:30 am St. Joseph’s Elementary School Band
11:00 am Holley Elementary Chorus & Band
12:00 pm School 22
1:00 pm Leroy Central School District Bands
4:00 pm The Buddhahood
5:30 pm Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds
7:00 pm Cracker
Wednesday, May 13
10:30 am Paul Road Elementary School Band
11:00 am Richard Mann Elementary 5th Grade Band
12:00 pm NRCS Select Choir and Wind Ensemble
1:00 pm Twelve Corners Middle School Jazz Band & Select Choir
4:00 pm TBA
5:30 pm Davina and the Vagabonds
7:00 pm Blues Traveler
Thursday, May 14
10:30 am Pal-Mac Select Ensembles
11:30 am Indian Landing Singers
12:15 pm School #19
1:00 pm Northstar Christian Academy
4:00 pm Noble Vibes
5:30 pm TBA
7:00 pm Rusted Root
Friday, May 15
10:30am – 3:00pm Rochester City School District “Bloomin Arts”
4:00pm Sirsy
5:30pm Thunder Body
7:00pm Mingo Fishtrap
Saturday, May 16
10:30 am Clayton Band & Choir
11:30 am Big Mike & The Motivators
12:30 pm TBA
2:00 pm Shine
3:30 pm Prime Time Funk
5:00 pm Joe Beard
7:00 pm Charlie Musselwhite
Sunday, May 17
11:30 am TBA
12:30 pm The Blind Owl Band
2:30 pm The Blind Spots
4:00 pm The Prickers
5:30 pm Danielle Ponder & The Tomorrow People
7:00 pm Ana Popovic
It’s that time again, Buffalo! For the fifth year in a row, longtime Buffalo show promoter and scene supporter Jeff Wacker is teaming up with Terror Technologies, a horror themed entertainment company based in Kenmore, NY, to raise money for a great cause. This year’s recipient of the Evil Easter Eve earnings will be the Disabled American Veterans – DAV -Chapter Roll Of Honor 120 of Kenmore, NY.
In addition to cash donations, the DAV is also in desperate need of gently used clothing, and brand new, in the packaging undergarments (socks, underwear, etc.) in all sizes. These items can be donated at the door. This show is happening on Saturday April 4 at Broadway Joe’s Bar & Grille in Buffalo. Admission is $10 and doors are at 5 pm.
Budokan (a Cheap Trick cover band) was recently added to this event as well. They’re made up of local scene veterans, featuring members of Herod and Seplophile.
There will be raffles going on to help raises funds as well. As usual, expect a mountain of rare underground death metal merchandise and a boatload of amazing pieces of art.
Primus is:
Nightwish will be making their first trip to Buffalo during a very interesting time in their career. They’ve just recently brought Floor Jansen into the group for lead vocals. Some might remember her from her long career with Dutch symphonic metal group, After Forever. This makes Floor, Nightwish’s third female vocalist since the forming of the band, and the general consensus so far is that she’s proven herself to be a very worthy successor of Tarja Turenen and Anette Olzon. Nightwish is also being joined by Wintersun drummer, Kai Hahto for the foreseeable future, after their longtime drummer and friend Jukka Nevalainen decided to step down recently due to chronic insomnia. Furthermore, Troy Donockley is permanently adding his Celtic instrumentation to the band’s already enchanting orchestral sound, which is bound to treat every audience they play to on this tour to an even more unique experience.
