Author: Courtney Rae Kasper

  • Squirrel Nut Zippers Return to the Road

    The ’90s-nostalgia boomlet has revived yet another decade-defining sound — juke-y, jive-y, neo-swing. This summer the Squirrel Nut Zippers will resurface for a seven-date tour.

    Announced yesterday via the band’s Facebook page, the tour kicks off on June 29 in Tucson, Arizona, and currently caps with an appearance at the LEAF Festival in Black Mountain, North Carolina. The closest the Zippers will come to New York state is Virginia; but hang tight, swing kids, as fall shows are in the works.

    The Chapel Hill, North Carolina, band made noise with the release of their second album, Hot, in 1996, (featuring the chart-topping hit “Hell”), and in honor of the 20th anniversary of this commercial success, the Zippers decided to return to the road. For this limited run, founding members James “Jimbo” Mathus and Chris Phillips recruited the talent of singer Ingrid Lucia (Flying Neutrino) and noted New Orleans musicians to join the new stage show. Phillips commented on the band’s reunion in the statement:

    The band has been quiet for long enough. Honestly, the songs from such a unique and rambunctious catalog never get old on stage. When it was brought to my attention that 2016 was the 20th anniversary of Hot I knew the timing was right. We take great pleasure in the sense of togetherness we maintain with audiences that have such a wide age range — from young to old and those in between. Even the old are young at heart when they are at a Squirrel Nut Zippers show…

    In other words, press your zoot suits, and get ready for a blast from the past. Most tickets are on sale now through the venue box offices or online; see the full set of tour dates below.

    Squirrel Nut Zippers tour dates:

    6/29 – Rialto – Tucson, AZ
    6/30 – Marquee – Tempe, AZ
    7/1 – Orpheum – Flagstaff, AZ
    7/3 – Deer Valley Resort – Park City, UT
    9/3 – Sausalito Arts Festival – Sausalito, CA
    10/18 – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA
    10/23 – LEAF Festival – Black Mountain, NC

  • Albany Tulip Festival Announces 68th Annual Lineup With Langhorne Slim and Tokyo Police Club

    Returning this May for its 68th year is Albany’s signature spring event, the Tulip Festival. And with the 2016 schedule of events is an impressive lineup of artists featuring Langhorne Slim and the Law and Tokyo Police Club and local acts like Victory Soul Orchestra, Bear Grass and Of the Atlas.

    The two-day weekend festival held in historic Washington Park is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 7 and 8.

    Throughout the Mother’s Day weekend celebration, the 81-acre park will transform into parade grounds featuring two stages and vendor setups, with tulip beds bursting with more than 140,000 tulips in 150 varieties.

    The festival prides itself on being a celebratory showcase of local culture and business. This year’s event partnered with nearly 100 artisans who will be on hand selling handmade crafts, fine arts and diverse foods, and others giving green-living demonstrations and constructing a live performance painting.

    A family friendly KidZone will also be onsite to entertain children with interactive music, magic and arts activities and a School of Rock tent, showcasing the community’s talented youth.

    In traditional Dutch fashion, the Tulip Festival kicks off with the annual “street scrubbing” procession from City Hall; a carillon bell concert will sound off the ceremonial beginning. At noon Friday, May 6, the Capital City’s corridors will be swept clean by the Dutch Settlers Society — in traditional dress — before Mayor Kathy Sheehan delivers the opening proclamation.

    Taking the main stage at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday is 518 indie jazz-pop favorites the Parlor followed by Canadian quartet Tokyo Police Club at 3 p.m and folk-rock group Langhorne Slim and the Law at 4:30 p.m.; Slim and his band recently released The Spirit Moves. Sunday’s main stage eases listeners into the day’s musical lineup with acoustic tunes from Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys at 1:30 p.m., Rochester’s young guitar hero McKinley James at 3 p.m. and Jonathan Edwards at 4:30 p.m.

    The celebrated Tulip Queen Coronation, with a performance by the acclaimed male chorus group, the Mendelssohn Club, will happen on the local 518 stage on the festival’s first day. Solo artist Olivia Quillio will hit the stage after the noon kickoff, followed by indie rockers Carl Daniels and the Black Box at 2:15 p.m., instrumental collective Victory Soul Orchestra at 3:30 p.m. and fusion group the Stockade Kids at 4:45 p.m. The Tulip Festival’s final set of native acts features bluegrass veterans Red Haired Strangers at 1 p.m., the homespun folk-rock of Bear Grass at 2:15 p.m., and Catskills’ Of the Atlas at 3:30 p.m. Power-rock group the Last Conspirators cap off Sunday with a 4:45 p.m. show.

    The event is free and open to the public and includes shuttle transportation to several parking locations. Glass containers, animals or other pets, tobacco, alcohol  and video recording will not be permitted. For more information, call 518-434-2032, visit the Albany Events website or follow albanyNYevents on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

  • Update: Project/Object Cancels Spring Tour

    Announced this afternoon via Facebook, the Frank Zappa Tribute band Project/Object is postponing their April 2016 tour dates until further notice. The cancellation comes due to the ongoing health issues surrounding the group’s production assistant-social media manager-merch seller Robin Gelberg, who survived a tragic car accident about a month ago near Shelby, NC; she is the partner of the band’s guitarist Andre Cholmondeley. According to Cholmondeley’s post, this is the first time Project/Object has cancelled concerts during his time with the band since the 1990s. A support page has been set up for Gelberg through GoFundMe.

    Project Object2:58 pm For Immediate ReleasePROJECT/OBJECT TOUR POSTPONEDIt is with a heavy heart that I have to…

    Original story:

    On April 14, Project/Object will bring the sounds of Frank Zappa back to life on stage at The Hollow in Albany.

    The alumni-based Zappa tribute band, featuring Ike Willis and Don Preston, is touring the Northeast this spring in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Zappa’s debut album, Freak Out! Willis’ booming baritone vocals and rhythm guitar appeared on Zappa band tours and albums from 1978 to the final FZ tour in 1988. Preston, a well-known synthesizer and jazz pioneer, played on the Mothers Of Invention records until 1974’s Roxy and Elsewhere; he has also scored soundtracks for feature films like Apocalypse Now.

    The tour kicks off in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 7 and makes stops in Marlboro the following night before shows in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Rochester and closing out in Teaneck, New Jersey, on May 1.

    Each show this tour will feature two sets of Zappa music with Willis and Preston; the Boston show is double billed with Consider the Source. And this April run continues the voter registration partnership with HeadCount, as shared on Twitter last month:

    Project/Object: The Music of Frank Zappa has toured the United States, Canada and Europe during its 20-year existence. The group was founded in the 1990s by guitarist Andre Cholmondeley as a tribute to Zappa, who died of cancer in 1993 at 52. In 2015, Willis and Denny Walley came out of retirement for a special tour in celebration of Zappa’s late ’70s catalog, playing several shows in New York state. Alongside Willis (guitar, vocals), Preston (keys, vocals), Cholmondeley (guitar, vocals) and Walley (bass), the group will include musicians Ryan Berg (drums), Kendall Scott (keys, synths) and special guest Rich Rakowski (sax) at select shows.

    Tickets for the 9 p.m. show at The Hollow are on sale through the venue’s website, along with passes for Brooklyn’s The Hall, Tralf Music Hall in Buffalo and Rochester’s Lovin Cup. Project/Object’s show at The Falcon in Marlboro does not require a cover charge for live music, but donations are appreciated. See the full tour dates below and visit the band’s website for more venue and ticket sales information.

    Project/Object Spring 2016 tour dates:

    4/7 – The Acoustic – Bridgeport, CT
    4/8 – The Falcon – Marlboro, NY
    4/9 – House of Independents – Ashbury Park, NJ
    4/10 – Iron Horse – Northampton, MA
    4/12 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
    4/13 – The Middle East – Boston, MA
    4/14 – The Hollow – Albany, NY
    4/15 – The Hall – Brooklyn, NY
    4/16 – Arch St. Tavern – Hartford, CT
    4/17 – American Brewing Company – Harrisburg, PA
    4/19 – The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD
    4/20 – Club Café – Pittsburgh, PA
    4/21 – Radio Radio – Indianapolis, IN
    4/22 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI
    4/23 – Martyrs – Chicago, IL
    4/26 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
    4/27 – The Tralf – Buffalo, NY
    4/28 – Lovin Cup – Rochester, NY
    4/29 – Havana’s – New Hope, PA
    4/30 – River St. Jazz Café – Wilkes Barre, PA
    5/1 – Mexicali – Teaneck, NJ

  • A Tribe Called Quest Founding Member Phife Dawg Dies At 45

    It was a sad day in the hip-hop community this week. Founding member of A Tribe Called Quest and rapper Malik “Phife Dawg” Taylor died Tuesday at the age of 45.

    tribe-called-quest

    While the cause of death has yet to be officially released, Rolling Stone reported that Taylor had dealt with many health issues due to a longtime battle with diabetes — he underwent a kidney transplant in 2008 — and noted that he said he was addicted to sugar like drugs. (Taylor also famously called himself “the Funky Diabetic” in several ATCQ songs.) In his final interview with the magazine last fall, Taylor was optimistic about the future and was working on a new album, Muttymorphosis, that was “basically my life story.”

    The Queens native joined the New York City-based band at 19 and is credited with influencing the group’s rise to critical success. Taylor, with bandmates Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and honorary member Jarobi White, were game-changers to the early 1990s hip-hop sound. Together the foursome pioneered a more progressive style to their aggressive West Coast contemporaries that layered smooth jazz and Afro-centric beats with socially conscious lyrics. The iconic group was signed to Jive Records and recorded five studio albums. Last November, Tribe made its last performance together on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the 25th anniversary reissue of their debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. 

    Since the news of Taylor’s death, artists like Questlove, Kendrick Lamar, Sean Lennon, Chris Rock, Chance the Rapper and Mac Miller, among others, have noted ATCQ’s importance to their own careers and took to social media to say goodbye to the late hip-hop legend known as Phife Dawg.

    Phife forever 1970-2016. 1991 in Sept I went to visit Tariq at Millersville U in the middle of PA (Lancaster). Miles Davis had just passed & I went on a binge to study his post jazz works. Went to Sound Of Market to purchase Nefertiti, In A Silent Way & Live Evil—the only non jazz purchase I made that day ironically was the most jazziest album in that collection: #TheLowEndTheory by @ATCQ. —it was raining that day so somehow the 1…2 punch of “Nefertiti”/”Fall” just had me in a trance that train trip—even though I suspected there was a possibility that Tribe could possibly have made a better album then their debut (the perfect @@@@@ mic Source rating would be on stands in a week so I was right)—but I knew I wanted to save that listening for when I got up to the campus w Riq.—so some 90mins later when I get to his dorm–we ripped that bad boy open (I can’t describe the frustration that was CD packaging in 1991, just imagine the anger that environmentalists feel when all that paper packaging in Beats headphone gets wasted—it’s like that)—the sign of a true classic is when a life memory is burnt in your head because of the first time you hear a song. —Riq & I had this moment a few times, but the look on our faces when we 1st heard “Buggin Out” was prolly Me & Tariq’s greatest “rewind selector!” moment in our friendship. (Back then every MC’s goal was to have that “rewind!!!” moment. As in to say something so incredible. Or to catch you by surprise that it makes you go “DAAAAAYUM!!!”& you listen over & over—Malik “Phife” Taylor’s verse was such a gauntlet/flag planting moment in hip hop. Every hip hop head was just…stunned HE. CAME. FOR. BLOOD & was taking NO prisoners on this album (or ever again) we just kept looking at the speaker on some disbelief old timey radio Suspense episode. & also at each other “Phife is KILLIN!”–by the time we got to “Scenario” I swear to god THAT was the moment I knew I wanted to make THIS type of music when I grew up–(yeah yeah dad I know: “go to Juilliard or Curtis to make a nice living at “real music”) but he didn’t know that Phife & his crew already wrote my destiny. I ain’t look back since. THANK YOU PHIFE!

    A photo posted by Questlove Gomez (@questlove) on

  • Hearing Aide: Danny Barnes “Got Myself Together (10 Years Later)”

    12313885_1215434088473142_3156501392241999980_n

    He’s collaborated with the likes of Dave Matthews, Mike Gordon and the Butthole Surfers, been branded the world’s best banjoist by Texas roots-rocker Robert Earl Keen and honored by comedian-musician Steve Martin himself with a prize of excellence in the stringed instrument. And in true Danny Barnes fashion, the Pacific Northwest banjo virtuoso broke his six-year recording absence not with an offering of polished originals, but with a reworking of his 2005 album Get Myself Together. The new solo project, Got Myself Together (10 Years Later), released November 2015 on Eight 30 Records, is a collection of 12 tracks, plus a nostalgic bonus cover of “I’m Convicted” from his former punkgrass band the Bad Livers (see the official music video below).

    Re-recorded to give that unplugged in-your-living room aesthetic, the album is now a more stripped down compilation of the narratives that Barnes has performed onstage for the past decade. The result is a set of acoustic songs that no longer need supporting instruments, because Barnes has developed each tune’s character and lets his picking, plucking, thrumming and bashing steal the show; and his aged vocals add honeyed warmth like the smooth, spicy finish of mature bourbon.

    Barnes takes listeners on a 42-minute sepia-toned adventure of offbeat tales featuring jail cells, plowing fields and mashing moonshine told in his genre-bending style of noise rock with Grand Ole Opry roots and computerized elements he’s coined as “barnyard electronics.” A vagrant when it comes to tradition, the gypsy banjo player roams as he pleases from light-hearted jalopies like “Get Myself Together” to strumming the breezy, satirical “Get Me Out of Jail” and preaching the Delta blues in “Let Your Light Shine On Me” to high-lonesome hillbilly proclamations in “Corn Kingdom Come.” The lauded singer-songwriter arranges parched visions of old-time Appalachia in the instrumental “Cumberland Gap,” where the original evoked more of an Old World Irish flair, and songsmiths the constant sorrow of modern man in “Wasted Mind” and “Get It On Down the Line.”

    While at the core the sounds on this record are an acquired taste, this anniversary release is worth the listen—or multiple revisits—to solely marvel at the documented growth of this master artist as he continues to reinterpret himself after 40 years of making music.

    Key Tracks: Cumberland Gap, Wasted Mind, Get It On Down the Line, Big Shoe

  • Venue Change: Cage the Elephant to Play Albany’s Palace Theatre, May 11

    On Tues. May 11, rock band Cage the Elephant will now play a 7 p.m. show at the Palace Theatre in Albany. The group was originally scheduled to perform at the Times Union Center. Tickets purchased prior to the venue change will be honored. Floor seat holders are granted general admission access to the orchestra section of the Palace, and all reserved tickets will have general admission seating in the balcony section. Tickets for both price levels ($45 floor; $37.50 balcony) are still available for purchase at the Palace Theatre box office at 19 Clinton Ave. or through Ticketmaster. NYS Music was on hand to cover Cage the Elephant’s stop at Rochester’s Main Street Armory in March for the Spring Fling Tour; read more here.

    Original Post:

    The Grammy-nominated rock band Cage the Elephant will head out in May on a string of tour dates that will route the Kentucky alt-rockers to several venues in New York and neighboring states, plus stops in nearby Toronto and Montreal.

    cage the elephant palace theatre
    Jack White will release new album “Boarding House Reach” on Friday, March 23.

    The headlining North American tour kicks off May 1 in Little Rock, Arkansas, before CTE stops in Canada and takes the stage at Times Union Center in Albany on May 11, the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, on May 15, and at SummerStage in New York City’s Central Park May 16. Supporting acts for this run are Portugal. The Man, Broncho and Twin Peaks.

    Prior to launching the 34-date cross-country trek, which comes to a close June 26 in Phoenix, Arizona, the band is continuing Spring Fling Tour with Silversun Pickups, Foals and Bear Hands with shows billed in Pittsburgh on March 25, at the Main Street Armory in Rochester on March 26, First Niagara Center in Buffalo on March 28, XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, March 30, followed by Portland, Maine, and Providence, Rhode Island.

    The high-energy quartet consists of singer Matt Shultz, guitarist Brad Shultz, bassist Daniel Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion. CTE is hitting the road following the release of their fourth studio album, Tell Me I’m Pretty. A follow-up to 2013’s Melophobia with hits “Come a Little Closer” and “Cigarette Daydreams,” the 10-track record produced by Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys, The Arcs) debuted in December and features the alternative chart-topping single “Mess Around.” CTE has shared the stage with Foo Fighters, Muse and Queens of the Stone Age, among other big-name artists, and most recently, the group performed on the Late Late Show with James Corden, the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Conan.

    Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Passes for the upcoming New York dates are currently available through the band’s website, the respective venues and ticketing sites like Ticketmaster.

    Cage the Elephant tour dates:

    3/16 – Don Haskins Center – El Paso, TX ~
    3/18 – Cox Business Center Arena – Tulsa, OK ~
    3/19 – Landers Center – Southaven, MS ~
    3/20 – Freedom Hall Civic Center – Johnson City, TN ~
    3/22 – Richmond Coliseum – Richmond, VA ~
    3/23 – Constant Convocation Center – Norfolk, VA ~
    3/25 – Petersen Events Center, University of Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh, PA ~
    3/26 – Main Street Armory – Rochester, NY ~
    3/28 – First Niagara Center – Buffalo, NY
    3/30 – XL Center – Hartford, CT ~
    3/31 – Cross Insurance Arena – Portland, ME ~
    4/1 – Dunkin Donuts Arena – Providence, RI ~
    5/1 – Verizon Arena – Little Rock, AR *
    5/3 – Chesapeake Energy Arena – Oklahoma City, OK *
    5/4 – INTRUST Bank Arena – Wichita, KS *
    5/6 – DeltaPlex – Grand Rapids, MI *
    5/7 – Masonic Temple Theatre – Detroit, MI *
    5/8 – International Centre, Arrow Hall – Toronto, ON *
    5/10 – Bell Centre – Montreal, QC *
    5/11 – Palace Theatre – Albany, NY *
    5/15 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD *
    5/16 – SummmerStage, Central Park – New York City, NY *
    5/19 – Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN *
    5/20 – Infinite Energy Arena – Duluth, GA *
    5/21 – Hangout Festival – Gulf Shores, AL
    6/3 – KFC Yum! Center – Louisville, KY ^
    6/4 – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica – Cleveland, OH ^
    6/5 – EXPRESS LIVE! – Columbus, OH ^
    6/7 – UIC Pavilion – Chicago, IL %
    6/9 – BMO Harris Pavilion – Milwaukee, WI %
    6/10 – U.S. Bank Theater at Target Center – Minneapolis, MN ^
    6/11 – Coliseum at Alliant Energy Center – Madison, WI ^
    6/14 – Calgary Stampede Corral – Calgary, AB ^
    6/15 – Shaw Convention Centre – Edmonton, AB ^
    6/17 – PNE Forum – Vancouver, BC ^
    6/18 – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater – Portland, OR ^
    6/19 – WaMu Theater – Seattle, WA ^
    6/21 – Shrine Auditorium – Los Angeles, CA %
    6/22 – Valley View Casino Center – San Diego, CA %
    6/23 – Bill Graham Civic – San Francisco, CA %
    6/25 – The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV ^
    6/26 – Gila River Arena – Phoenix, AZ ^

    ~ Spring Fling tour dates with Silversun Pickups, Foals and Bear Hands
    * with Portugal, The Man + Broncho
    ^ with Portugal, The Man + Twin Peaks
    % with Portugal, The Man

  • Syracuse City Ballet Stages Classic Fairytale This Weekend

    This weekend, Syracuse City Ballet will present Tchaikovsky’s fairytale classic Sleeping Beauty, starring local Central New York dancers with New York City Ballet’s Ana Sophia Scheller as Aurora at the Crouse Hinds Theater. And in addition to professional choreography, glittering costumes and magical sets featuring original puppetry, audience members might catch the real chemistry between the prince and princess, as the two leads are actually a couple.

    syracuse balletScheller and Nicolai Gorodiskii, who will dance the role of Prince Desire, met back in 1996 in Argentina where the two began their dance training, as reported on Syracuse.com. Scheller, a native of Buenos Aires, became a principal ballerina with NYCB in 2012, and she first performed the role of Princess Aurora for the prestigious company in 2013. Ukraine-born Gorodiskii is a former soloist with the Pennsylvania Ballet, and this will be his premier performance as Prince Desire. As told to Syracuse.com, Syracuse City Ballet  Artistic Director Kathleen Rathbun said, “Engaging a dancer who is at the level of Ana Sofia Scheller is a big step for our company. And we know that she and Nicolai will enchant our audiences with their skill and artistry in this sumptuous new production.”

    syracuse ballet
    Ana Sophia Scheller as Princess Aurora in New York City Ballet’s 2013 production.

    After months of preparation, Scheller and Gorodiskii arrived in Syracuse this Monday and began rehearsing in the theater with the Syracuse City Ballet Corps de Ballet and other cast members. The Corps consists of 12 dancers from across New York state who auditioned for the spot and have been training with Ballet Mistresses Stephanie Dattellas and Rachael Cierniakoski since January. Professional dancer Anton Kandaurov will perform the role of Bluebird and Gvansta Gavashelishvili of the Connecticut Ballet dances the role of Princess Florine, while Leonid Goikhman and Rie Aioki will play Puss-n-Boots and the White Cat. Other soloists are former SCB dancers and now Rock School for Dance Education students, Kameron Triche (yes, of the same Syracuse Basketball royalty) as the sorceress fairy, and Mary Coon as the young fairy who alters Sleeping Beauty’s curse from death to deep sleep.

    Immediately following Friday night’s show, Syracuse City Ballet hosts its second annual champagne soiree to present local arts champions with Grande Jete Awards. This year’s honorees are Syracuse University Associate Professor of Dance Anthony “Tony” Salatino and Jean Fahey, owner of the Turning Pointe. The soiree is a benefit of membership at the $100 donor level or higher. Dignitaries for the weekend performances are WSYR Newschannel9 anchors Carrie Lazarus and Jennifer Sanders. Lazarus will also emcee the awards reception, which will take place behind the stage after final curtain.

    Syracuse City Ballet is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1997, and it remains one of the only professional ballet companies serving the Central New York community. Through its dance education programs, SCB is deeply committed to serving the full diversity of youth in the community, and its special student performances of The Nutcracker each December are a well-attended and much cherished tradition. Syracuse City Ballet presents Sleeping Beauty on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, March 13 at 2 p.m. at the Crouse Hinds Theater, John H. Mulroy Civic Center. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the Oncenter Box Office. Check out the official production trailer below for a sneak preview of the family friendly ballet.

  • Madison House, AEG Live Nears Approval for Big Music Festival

    This summer a brand-new music event could be hitting the festival circuit — although New Yorkers will have to travel west to Colorado. Madison House Presents and AEG Live announced plans for a four-day event with the possibility to host 20,000 people on a ranch near Buena Vista, Colorado. The expected run for the weekend event is Aug. 4 through 7.

    1888813_10153094030156477_8512654805369552930_o

    According to the Denver Post, commissioners in Chaffee County, Colorado, seem likely to approve the proposal for the annual festival at a meeting in early March. “I don’t see having challenges we could not overcome. I have faith in Madison House that is well earned that they can do what needs to be done,” said Chaffee County Commissioner Dave Potts, as reported Tuesday in the Denver Post.

    10509775_10152598883586477_1025744333178333219_n
    Photo from Facebook

    Last August, the Boulder-based Madison House Presents organized a two-day Mumford and Sons Gentlemen of the Road festival in neighboring Salida, Colorado; other artists included the Flaming Lips, Dawes, Jenny Lewis and Blake Mills. Madison House is known for putting on such music festivals as Electric Forest Festival and Rothbury Festival and managing bands like the String Cheese Incident and JJ Grey and MOFRO, while AEG Live produces the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, among others, and Goldenvoice, a Southern California-based regional division of the company, organizes Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach Country Music Festival.

    For this new event, the organizers hope to schedule performances until 1 a.m. on Thursday and Sunday, and 2:30 a.m. on the other two days. The festival’s headliners and lineup will not be released until early spring, but Madison House Presents and AEG Live promise a diverse group of acts to attract a wide range of ages. Stay tuned for updates as this story further develops.

    H/T Jambase

  • Funk Yes: Lettuce Set to Groove University of Rochester

    Although you won’t find it listed on their current roster of dates, Lettuce will make a third appearance in New York state during this spring/summer tour. According to the University of Rochester’s event ticketing website, the funk-fueled jazz band is booked for a Feb. 26 show on the River Campus. The New York City group will also return to their home state for performances at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on April 8 and Hunter Mountain Jam Festival this June.

    12715243_10154028095119925_4536376056070324775_n

    Known for soulful super jams, Lettuce debuted their fourth studio album, Crush, last year. Jeremiah Shea said in his NYS Music review that this album “is the convergence of road tested and polished material, musical exploration, deep pockets of groove, and a band that is simply on top of their game.” Brian Ferguson was on hand to catch the two-night Crush release party at the Playstation Theater last November, where Marco Benevento opened the show and Lettuce encored with a new tune titled “Phyllis” (hear the song below).

    Lettuce.PlaystationTheater.12
    Eric Krasno

    The band, featuring Adam Deitch (drummer), Adam Smirnoff and Eric Krasno (guitarists), Erick “Jesus” Coomes (bassist), Neal Evans (keyboardist), Ryan Zoidis (saxophonist) and Eric Bloom (trumpet player), last played in Rochester June 2015 for the city’s Party in the Park (after Taj Mahal cancelled) and made a stop at Water Street Music Hall October 2014.

    Doors will open at 8:30 p.m. with show time of 9 p.m. Tickets are available online through the University, or at the Common Market in Wilson Commons. The concert is open to the public; special ticket pricing applies for students and faculty. If you’re nearby the Finger Lakes area next Friday, pencil in this performance as it’s guaranteed to be one energetic soul shakedown party.

  • Cannibal Corpse Thrashes Through North America, Vinyl Reissue

    This week death metal legends Cannibal Corpse kicked off a quick run through the United States, including stops in New York City and their hometown of Buffalo, before they’ll head off to Europe in April.

    Joining the group as supporting acts this tour will be fellow Floridians Obituary, as well as Cryptopsy and Abysmal Dawn.

    Cannibal Corpse is still touring in support of 2014’s A Skeletal Domain; however, in conjunction with the tour, the classic releases Butchered At Birth, Eaten Back To Life, The Bleeding, Vile and Tomb Of The Mutilated are to be commemorated on vinyl. Limited quantities are available as part of the Metal Blade Classics series. Each LP includes an exclusive poster.

    Tampa death metal vets Obituary will join the headliners throughout the full United States tour. The band’s last release was 2014’s Inked in Blood, which in his review for NYS Music, Jay Saint G noted that, “overall, fantastic album that really takes the listener back into the nasty swamps of Tampa and showcases what true death metal is all about.” Most recently, 3 Floyds Brewing co-created a session pilsner with the band called Hopped in Half. (3 Floyds crafted Amber Smashed Face with Cannibal Corpse last year.) Crytopsy, an extreme metal band from Montreal, released a series of EPs entitled The Book of Suffering October 2015, and Los Angeles-based black metal group Abysmal Dawn debuted their fourth studio album Obsolescence in 2014.

    Presented by the Noise, the 33-date tour got started last night in Atlanta and will cap off at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on March 20. The five-piece band originally from Buffalo makes two stops in New York State, including a hometown gig at the Town Ballroom on Feb. 19 after performing at New York City’s Irving Plaza on Feb. 16. Tickets for the Cannibal Corpse 2016 U.S. spring tour can be purchased through the band’s website.

    2016 Tour Cannibal Corpse w/Obituary, Cryptopsy, Abysmal Dawn:
    2/13 The Sea – Wilmington, NC
    2/14 Baltimore Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
    2/15 Theatre Of Living Arts – Philadelphia, PA
    2/16 Irving Plaza – New York, NY
    2/18 Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
    2/19 Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY
    2/20 Opera House – Toronto, ON
    2/21 St. Andrews Hall – Detroit, MI
    2/23 Turner Hall Ballroom – Milwaukee, WI
    2/24 The Ready Room – St. Louis, MO
    2/25 The Granada Theater – Lawrence, KS
    2/26 Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
    2/27 Metro – Chicago, IL
    2/29 The Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO
    3/1 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
    3/2 Revolution Center – Boise, ID
    3/3 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
    3/4 Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
    3/5 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
    3/7 The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
    3/8 Avalon Hollywood – Los Angeles, CA
    3/9 The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
    3/10 House Of Blues – San Diego, CA
    3/11 Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
    3/12 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM
    3/14 The Aztec Theatre – San Antonio, TX
    3/15 Gas Monkey Live! – Dallas, TX
    3/16 House Of Blues – Houston, TX
    3/17 Varsity Theatre – Baton Rouge, LA
    3/18 The Side Bar Theatre – Tallahassee, FL
    3/19 The Ritz Ybor – Tampa, FL *no Obituary
    3/20 Revolution Live – Ft. Lauderdale, FL