Tag: lotus

Best of NYS Music 2015: Staff Picks for New York State Festivals

Nothing compares to experiencing live music. But when it comes to packing up and leaving the world behind to immerse in a weekend of musical debauchery with a community of like-minded souls, well, that’s the stuff that dreams are made of for music festival fans.

From one-band to multi-artist events and crowd sizes from 2,000 to 50,000, New York State hosts a bevy of festivals annually in some of the most beautiful settings imaginable, and let’s face it, our state knows how to throw a proper fest, as it is ingrained in New York’s rich musical history having put on one of the biggest rock festivals of all time, Woodstock. Here we’ve rounded up our favorites from NYS Music 2015, so sit back, relax and relive some of the festival magic that happened throughout the Empire State this year, because we all know what it’s like to experience those post-fest blues.

Best Small Festival: Buffalove and Disc Jam

The third installment of Buffalove Music Festival saw a venue change from Cole Farm, Panama, NY, to North Fork Music Park, Warsaw, NY, with the new location offering four stages, a private beach, disc golf and wooded-area camping, and a record attendance that doubled previous years. With an impressive lineup including Kung Fu, Pink Talking Fish, Funktional Flow, Particle, Formula 5, Mister F, Space Junk, Dopapod, Aqueous and Aquapod, the three-day June 2015 festival created to celebrate Western New York’s emerging music scene was one for the books, according to Jen Foster and Thomas Sgroi:

Buffalove came through. Co-founder of Buffalive Productions and Founder of Buffalove Cody Conway clearly had one goal in mind: keep the energy as high as possible. Every single band had heads turning and jaws on the ground. There was never a lull, never a band that just played to fill space. Every minute was dance-worthy. If you missed out this year, we can highly recommend you don’t make that mistake next year. Without any problems or unruly attendees, this festival made its mark at North Fork Music Park in Warsaw, NY. The amount of talent coming out of Upstate New York is only paving the road for more incredible shows. Buffalove, you certainly were lovely.”

Another summer fest that saw a venue change was the fifth annual Disc Jam Music Festival, which moved from Massachusetts to New York State—and promoters recently announced that the event will return to Gardner’s Farm in Stephentown for its sixth year in June. Throughout four days of music, camping, disc golf and Flow Tribe, festivalgoers experienced live performances from more than 50 acts, including Lettuce, Electron, Dopapod, Aqueous, Brightside, Kung Fu, Consider the Source, Cabinet, Soule Monde, Roots of Creation, Formula 5, The Hornitz, Soul Rebel Project, Broccoli Samurai, Krewe de Groove and Relative Souls. According to Dave DeCrescente, the festival’s last day culminated with a “healthy dose of guest sit-ins” with jamband Twiddle, noting that:

One of the highlights of the set was the massive guest sit in with DJ Honeycomb, James Woods, and Joe Davis from Formula 5, Scott Hannay of Mister F and Todd Stoops for the ultimate mega jam on “Apples.” The Disc Jam Flow Tribe was out in full force with fire spinners and hooping entertainers that were almost as mesmerizing as the music. The weekend ended just as it started, with mind blowing music and a close knit community who continue to make the Disc Jam Festival special. Tony Scavone and crew did a suburb job of organizing the 5th annual Disc Jam with a new location but still the same friendly, loving festival experience that keeps fans coming back each year.”

Best Mid-Size Festival: Catskill Chill

While Catskill Chill is speculated to make a move to Lake George in 2016, the festival’s last waltz at bucolic Camp Minglewood in Hancock, NY, this September was a success, selling 5,000 tickets, according to Chill promoter Dave Marzollo. Headlined by moe. who kicked off their fall tour at the festival and including other bands like Lotus, Zappa Plays Zappa, Lettuce, Twiddle, Turkuaz, Dopakuaz plays Studio 54 and The Motet, the sixth annual installment of Catskill Chill featured on-site cabin rentals, daily yoga, live art, a farmer’s market, craft and food vendors, a communal bonfire nightly and an open mic. The three-day event was packed with guest sit-ins and collaborations like Dopapod and Turkuaz joining forces to play as Dopakuaz, which Chill organizer Josh Cohen noted is the type of community mindset that sets this festival apart from others its size or larger by creating an environment where rising bands can experiment and grow in a unique setting:

Point is that when comparing us to larger festivals, we’re at this cool stage attendance-wise where in many band’s cases we have the best ‘music’ out there in our prime slots. I love tons of bands who’ve been around since the ’90s or earlier but there’s nothing like seeing musicians in their youthful stages, when creativity is just exploding and you can feel it dripping off the stage as opposed to later-in-their career bands who are playing mostly songs they first wrote and fell in love with decades earlier.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6Uk03HW9k&feature=youtu.be

Best Large Festival: Magnaball

It’s no surprise that Magnaball takes the cake for this category. During late August more than 30,000 phans invaded Watkins Glen International race track for Phish Festival 10. And while the three-day event took place at the site of their 2011 Superball IX festival, this time around the setup featured many upgrades, including local and regional food vendors, the five-course restaurant Festival Ate, MagnaWater Program, speciality Phish-themed cocktails and coveted craft beer from Lawson’s Finest Liquids and Hill Farmstead. (And let’s not forget to mention the interactive Glurt Institute, Drive-In movie theater, JEMP Record Store and cornhole tournament.) The Vermont quartet majorly delivered throughout the weekend’s eight sets busting out rare tunes like “Mock Song” and jamming out typical breather ballads such as “Prince Caspian” to uncharted territory, but perhaps one of the highlights was the Saturday festival tradition of performing a late-night set, which according to Pete Mason raised expectations for future secret sets:

Magnaball’s foray into the history of Phish’s special festival sets was the Drive-In Jam and it raised the bar while putting forth a performance on par with the ‘Storage Jam,’ if not exceeded this established upper echelon of improvisation. On a 183-foot movie screen, a wide array of visual treats combined with a progressively growing ambient jam that eclipsed the Lemonwheel by a longshot and morphed into a full on jam for 50 minutes. The Drive-In Set raised the bar for surprise performances and gave fans a treat after the music on the main stage ended an hour prior.”

December 23, 2015
Catskill Chill: Where Young Bands Come to Grow Up

The 2015 incarnation of the Catskill Chill Music Festival may serve as a farewell to host site Camp Minglewood, but since its inception, the festival has really been a big introduction to new music and groups, while also bringing in established bands that many people know.

For instance, this year’s lineup features moe., Lotus and Zappa Plays Zappa as the headliners, while groups such as the Motet, Lettuce and Electron also support the bill. Just like all festival flyers, the headliners get the most ink, while the font size shrinks with each passing line.

Twiddle

Enter Twiddle, on the fourth line of the Chill’s flyer. Just three years ago, it seemed Twiddle was a name at the bottom of so many festival advertisements. Yet, now, the group from Vermont has risen steadily up to headlining smaller festivals such as Disc Jam, while throwing down what band members describe as one of the best sets the group has ever played at this year’s Bonnaroo.

At the Chill last year, Twiddle played a normal set, and a Grateful Dead set, the latter being one of the most well-received sets in the history of the festival. Since then, Twiddle has exploded, headlining tours and playing venues such as Red Rocks in Colorado.

“One tidbit I often appreciate about our fest is what is great about a lot of small-to-medium size fests, which is how great it is to hear bands who are still in the early stages of their career on the main stages and in prime, night time slots,” Catskill Chill organizer Josh Cohen said in an email.

He went on to specify about Twiddle: “For instance … Twiddle. Twiddle always plays daytime sets at larger festivals, even have at the Chill the last couple years actually, but their Dead set was at night. Anyway, (they’re playing a late-night Dead set this year) and I’m pretty sure that’s going to make a lot of Twiddle fans very happy (including me!).”

This kind of exposure can do wonders for a band, especially in the jam band scene, where people listen with the most open of ears.

Just ask Ryan Dempsey, keyboardist from Twiddle.

“Last year at Catskill was one of my favorite Twiddle sets. Ever,” Dempsey said. “I thought we were all very connected and we had the privilege to have some of our mentors and favorite musicians from the scene sit in on our songs with us.

“It was also the debut of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hats idea that took on as a fad even after Catskill.”

That statement says a lot about just what the Chill has done for Twiddle. In the last year, every Twiddle show is littered with fans wearing Ninja Turtles hats, shirts and even full-on Turtle costumes. It also helps that Twiddle has one of the most dedicated young fan bases in the entire scene.

Mihali Savoulidis, guitarist for Twiddle, summed up his thoughts on Catskill Chill in a few short words.

“Bottom line is Catskill creates a super creative environment that I believe all the artists can feel and feed off of,” he said.

This year, Dopapod and Turkuaz are collaborating on a late-night set that Cohen referred to as Dopakuaz, saying this type of community mindset is what sets the Chill apart from other festivals its size or bigger.

“Point is that when comparing us to larger festivals, we’re at this cool stage attendance-wise where in many band’s cases we have the best ‘music’ out there in our prime slots,” Cohen added. “I love tons of bands who’ve been around since the ’90s or earlier but there’s nothing like seeing musicians in their youthful stages, when creativity is just exploding and you can feel it dripping off the stage as opposed to later-in-their career bands who are playing mostly songs they first wrote and fell in love with decades earlier.”

Dempsey echoed that sentiment: “They are a great ally of ours and have helped us play in front of new and old fans. They have a strong and professional staff and crew along with a lot of great music and people.”

Camp Minglewood has a unique setup which allows attendees to rent cabins if the traditional tent-style camping is not wanted. Savoulidis closed his interview by summing up not only Twiddle’s experience at the Chill, but also spoke for fans, calling it one of the best festivals he has had the opportunity to play.

“Catskill is one of our fans’ favorite festivals,” he said. “It gives them the opportunity to see us play and interact with our fellow artists in an incredibly unique setting. The way that Minglewood is set up provides a very cool experience for both the festival goers and the artists. I believe this is our fifth Chill and each year is better than the last. Our career has grown as the festival has and it’s usually the last one we do of the season so I think whenever we play at Minglewood all our creative juices are primed from a long summer of shows enabling us to come up with some really strong performances. This year should be no different.”

If hearing these words from the Lion’s mouth got you as pumped as I did writing this, clear your weekend plans and get yourself to the Lion’s den. It’s an experience that cannot be recreated anywhere else.

September 17, 2015
The Catskill Chill 2015 Music Festival: A Farewell to Minglewood

The sixth annual Catskill Chill Music Festival – A Farewell to Minglewood – is set to take place this weekend on Sept 18-20 with this year being the last time at Camp Minglewood in Hancock, NY. The Chill gathers fans from all over the North East to the beautiful, secluded Catskills for a three-day camping summer music festival finale. The Chill has called Camp Minglewood home since the beginning and it’s sleep away camp setting of multiple concert halls, cabins full of friends and tents scattered over the hills, all within short walking distance made for the ideal festival grounds. The Catskill Chill motto holds true to “All Love, All the Time” as you can see and feel it all around you with nonstop smiles, hugs, high fives and the radiating positive vibes that keep Minglewood clean and fun.

This coming weekend will be a time of reflection of all the wonderful moments of Chills past. We’ve endured all types of weather: perfect sunny days, light rain, the Tornado of 2012 and those cold, cold, cold early fall nights of NY. The little to no cell phone reception is a painful delight as we are given a chance to truly enjoy all that the Chill has to offer with both hands and a focused mind. The Catskill Chill lines up talented regional and national musical acts of all genres that connects us to each other and the dance floor. The bands love the Chill as much as the fans do with major returning acts such as Lotus, Dopapod, Particle, Lettuce, The Motet and Kung Fu.

One of the best features about The Chill is the abundance of guest sit ins and collaborations from over the years such as Shwizz and Fikus will join forces to become Shwikus, the late late night Sunday set of Dopadosio, Bobby Paltauf with The Meter Men, Todd Stoops with Twiddle plus so many more. The number of artists has dramatically increased over the years with a jam-packed schedule that doesn’t stop til you do. With more bands comes more stages and those cabin porches serve more than neighborly meetups, Solaris is no stranger to the late night porch shows. Acoustic Junction was a great addition to The Chill with memorable acts from The Brummy Brothers, Consider the Source and Primate Fiasco, guaranteed to rock your socks off electronically or acoustically.

Be mindful to savor every beautiful minute of music and scenery because we’re so lucky to have them together. Don’t miss out on one hell of a going away party and buy tickets now (available here). NYSMusic is grateful to share the bittersweet goodbye of Camp Minglewood and looks forward to more memories of The Catskill Chill.

Check out past NYSMusic Catskill Chill Reviews and Photo Galleries: 2012, 2013 2014

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOMlLBDgUHE]

September 15, 2015
Catskill Chill Preview: One Last Dance at Minglewood

As the summer festival season draws to an end, next week’s Catskill Chill Music Festival which takes place September 18-20, a week later than it is usually held, also marks an end of an era. The 6th annual festival, which has grown in popularity each year, will be the last one held at its original home of Camp Minglewood in Hancock, NY before the party moves elsewhere next year.

Fittingly, upstate NY jam legends moe. will serve as musical headliner and Particle, the only band to play every Chill, will close out the weekend in grand fashion along with help from a number of other guests and friends.

This year’s festival also offers a number of other intriguing musical collaborations as this seems to be a theme for the weekend. In addition to their own sets on Sunday, Dopapod and Turkuaz will be combining forces on Friday night and recreating a night at Studio 54. Shwizz and Fikus will follow their Saturday sets with a joint one featuring musical selections from the ‘80s before the Chillfam All-Stars perform what is sure to be an entertaining tribute to Herbie Hancock. This isn’t even the only All Star band of the weekend as the Stratosphere All-Stars, featuring members of Lotus, Particle and Digital Tape Machine, will help usher in the Saturday night dance party.

If a band on this bill isn’t collaborating with another one, there’s a good chance they’re pulling double duty and performing multiple sets. Consider the Source will be doing both an acoustic and an electric set on Friday and Twiddle will be performing a set of Grateful Dead covers in addition to a set of their own Saturday night.

Other notable performers this weekend include upstate NY’s own Aqueous and Solaris as well as Lettuce, Zappa Plays Zappa, The Motet and Electron.

Catskill Chill is known for its home of Camp Minglewood and the purely intimate setting it provides with summer camp style cabins for lodging close to all the stages and designated camping areas strewn between them all. RV parking is also available for $150 and the festival offers both VIP ticket purchases and upgrades. In addition to an incredibly packed musical docket, there’s also Open Mic sessions being offered on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as well as yoga classes.

Tickets for $195 and one last chance to experience one of the true hidden gems of the festival circuit can be purchased here.

September 11, 2015
10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Miss All Good Music Festival

The 18th annual All Good Music Festival and Camp Out has returned to West Virginia this year, and boasts a jamband heavy lineup that is surely not to be missed and my favorite of the summer. With no overlapping sets, all of the weekend’s amazing music can be seen without sacrificing one band for another. The music takes place for 3 days, Thursday July 9 – Saturday July 11, with gates opening at 11 a.m. on Thursday. Here are 10 reasons this year’s All Good Music Festival is not to be missed!

10. CAKE

This American alternative-rock band from Sacramento, California draws from a heavy influence of country, rock, funk, hip-hop and more. Not your typical act on the jamband circuit, but these guys know how to have fun and put on a great show. You can catch Cake on the Dragon Stage on Saturday from 10:15 p.m. – 11:30 p.m.

9. Pigeons Playing Ping Pong

The quartet based out of Balitmore, MD has been growing tremendously over the past few years. Blending rock, funk, and electric grooves is their specialty. These guys bring the heat every night and you are guaranteed to find yourself dancing to their infectious grooves. Pigeons are performing on Saturday afternoon from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. on the Dragon Stage.

8. Dark Star Orchestra

Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra has been recreating the Grateful Dead concert experience since 1997. They are widely considered one of the best tribute acts on the scene, and play a host of festivals every year on top of extensive nationwide touring. With the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead this year and the Fare Thee Well shows happening in Chicago the week before, expect Dark Star’s set to be a celebration. They perform on Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. -1:00 a.m. on the Crane Stage.

7. Late Nights: STS9, Thievery Corporation, Lotus

All Good boasts a stacked late night lineup to keep the party going into the morning hours. Thursday night features STS9, playing from 1:15 a.m. -3:00 a.m. on the Dragon Stage. Friday night features Thievery Corporation performing on the Dragon Stage from 1:15 a.m. -3:00 a.m. Lotus will be closing out the festival on the Dragon Stage from 1:00 a.m. -3:00 a.m. on Saturday.

6. Lettuce

These guys bring some serious funk to every show. Lettuce is on my list of must see bands anytime they play a festival. With a late night spot on the Crane Stage from 12:00 a.m. -1:15 a.m. directly following Primus, things are sure to go from weird to funky as soon as they take the stage. Be warned, you will find yourself dancing way too much at this set.

5. Yonder Mountain String Band

Who doesn’t love some late afternoon bluegrass to go with their whiskey? Veterans of the bluegrass world, Yonder is sure to deliver a high octane string infused dance party. They play the Crane Stage on Sunday from 6:15 p.m. -7:40 p.m. The addition of fiddle virtuoso Allie Kral and mandolin player Jacob Jolliff has Yonder sounding as good as they ever have.

4. Primus

Headlining Friday night at All Good on the Dragon Stage from 10:15 p.m. – 12:00 a.m., Primus is sure to bring the weird together for an unforgettable concert experience. Hot off the recent Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory tour, expect good things from bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde, and drummer Jay Lane. Primus is no stranger to All Good, having performed at the festival in the past.

3. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead

JRAD is a fairly new band that has exploded onto the scene. These guys bring high energy, intense, authentic Grateful Dead tunes every time they step on stage. Joe Russo’s Almost Dead is super group composed of Scott Metzger, Tommy Hamilton, Dave Dreiwitz, Marco Benevento & Joe Russo. They perform on the Crane Stage on Friday night from 9:00 p.m. -10:15 p.m. If you haven’t seen them yet, be sure to check them out!

2. Twiddle

If you don’t know who Twiddle is by now, you should. Hailing from the green state of Vermont, they are taking the jamband world by storm and right now the sky is the limit for the quartet. Twiddle blends reggae, funk, and rock n roll into heavy improv laden sets. Twiddle has a huge following of fans and they are growing each and every time they take the stage. Twiddle kicks off the festival with an hour long performance on Thursday from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on the Crane Stage.

Twiddle

1. moe.

New York State’s own moe. are veteran’s of the jamband festival circuit. Mixing heavy rock n roll with psychedelic improvisations moe. is going to rock the Dragon Stage on Thursday night for two hours from 10:00 p.m. -12:00 a.m. Expect soaring, crunchy, guitar solos and funk laden bass lines all night. Moe. has a heavy following all over the county, so expect many moe.rons to flock to All Good to see their beloved band and the rest of All Good’s amazing lineup.

moe. Saranac Brewery

There rest of All Good’s amazing lineup can be found here. Tickets will be available online until Wed July 8th, and prices will go up at the gate. Tickets can be purchased here. See you all in West Virgina!

July 3, 2015
Photo Gallery: Stratosphere All-Stars at Brooklyn Bowl

Stratosphere All-Stars is a jam-band supergroup featuring members of Digital Tape Machine, Particle, Pnuma Trio, and formerly of STS9. They host various special guests including Todd Stoops (Kung Fu), Andrew Block (Gramatik), and vocalists Ben Combe (Particle) and Allison Singer at their March 26 debut. The Stratosphere All-Stars are: Mike Greenfield (Lotus), Steve Molitz (Particle), David Murphy (Seven Arrows/formerly STS9), and Marcus Rezak (Digital Tape Machine). Covers of the Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, and more, fuse with free-form improvisational jams creating an energy 51km high.

Listen to Stratosphere All-Stars full set below.

March 29, 2015
2015 Peach Music Festival Lineup Announced

Peach Music Festival lineup has been announced and festival goers will be pumped for what this festival has to offer in 2015. The headliners include: Gregg Allman, Santana, and Bob Weir with Billy and The Kids. The festival will take place August 13 – 16 in Scranton, Pennsylvania at Montage Mountain.

The spectacular lineup continues with – Willie Nelson & Family, Warren Haynes featuring Railroad Earth, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, Lotus, Old Crow Medicine Show, G. Love & Special Sauce, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenues, Beats Antique, Dark Star Orchestra, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and so many more.

In addition to a lineup that outweighs the other recent festival announcements for 2015, Peach offers, a onsite water park (included in the cost of camping pass), General camping, VIP camping, and several all-inclusive travel packages offered by CID Entertainment.

Check out NYS Music’s coverage of The Peach Festival 2014 HERE

Tickets can be purchased HERE

February 6, 2015