NYS Music 20​16

Category: News

  • Bernie Sanders to Appear on Forthcoming Phish Studio Album

    With news this week that Phish has wrapped up recording of their latest studio album in Nashville, a source close to NYS Music has revealed a new piece of information regarding the album. A little birdie has provided unconfirmed, unsubstantiated rumors that can be declared plausible given the unfolding of information thus far.

    Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was seen leaving a Nashville rehearsal studio with drummer Jon Fishman twice in the few days of down time the candidate had between his East Troy, WI rally and Brooklyn, NY rally.

    The source close to NYS Music offers that the visits Sanders made to the rehearsal studio with Fishman were collaborative beyond politics. This suggests that the friendship cultivated between Sanders, Fishman, and the Phish community has led the Senator to contribute to the album on a creative level. It could be possible that Sanders offered backing vocals on a new song, much like his early work on Phish’s first album, Junta, where he provided harmony on the “washuffizidrivemetofirenze” portion of “You Enjoy Myself.”

    Sanders, when reached for comment, would not comment on the album, but suggested his campaign would “Keep it rollin” all the way through to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.

    Earlier this year, Fishman had performed at a rally in Durham, NH and has previously spoken out o-phish-ally in support of the Vermont Senator. On the other hand, Sanders provided the claim that Phish has “made New England proud. They are one of the great bands, have been one of the great bands in this country.”

    Showing off his vocal chops, Sanders has previously recorded “This Land is Your Land” for an album released in 1987 and recently stood beside Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig to share in the verses of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.”

    Sanders would not be the first Democratic Presidential field to have had a notable hand in music. Among him are former 2016 candidate Martin O’Malley (guitar – the band O’Malley’s March), Woodrow Wilson (violin), Harry S. Truman (piano), Andrew Jackson (banjo), Barack Obama (lyrics), and Bill Clinton (tenor sax).

    Stay tuned to NYS Music for the latest info on Phish’s upcoming album and Bernie Sanders’ recording chops.

  • 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.

  • Cohoes Music Hall Reopening via Palace Theatre Management

    The Times Union reports that the Palace Theatre in Albany has taken over management of the oft-maligned and forgotten Cohoes Music Hall. This effort is projected to bring in more 40,000 visitors to the historic venue built in the 1870s.

    Effective in September, the Palace will supervise operations and programming at the city-owned music hall, while Cohoes will pay for maintenance, insurance and other costs of the building, with a portion of tickets sales going directly to the city.

    Cohoes Music Hall boasts 385 seats, a prime size given that similar local venues the Egg (980 seats), Proctors (2,700) and the Palace (2,700) are much larger. The music hall’s size will allow for smaller, more intimate shows to take place in Cohoes before moving up to the larger area venues.

    Potential performances and events at Cohoes Music Hall will include film screenings, programs by Palace partners Park Playhouse and Albany Symphony Orchestra, as well as family events. Upcoming events at the Music Hall this spring include:

    Friday, April 1 – An Evening With New Riders of the Purple Sage

    Friday, April 22 – Amy Helm with special guest Connor Kennedy and the Minstrel

    Wednesday, May 11 – Alejandro Escovedo with special guest Lucette

    More info on all shows, presented by Guthrie/Bell Productions, can be found at
    www.thecohoesmusichall.com.

  • Dope Announces Fan Funded Reunion Tour

    Add Dope to the list of bands making a reunion run in 2016. The band plans to tour to more than 45 cities across North America inside of two months. The Die Mother Fucker Die reunion tour will consist of the classic Dope lineup that includes Edsel Dope (vocals, guitar), Acey Slade (bass), Virus (lead guitar) and Racci Shay (drums).

    Dope DMFD Tour Poster

    Dope’s North American portion of the tour was successfully crowdfunded by fans who pre-ordered the band’s first-ever live album on dopereunion.com. The album will only be available through the band’s site and will not be available on online music stores like iTunes or retail stores anywhere. The band’s goal is to raise enough money to tour overseas, to places in the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Europe.

    With some dates still to be announced, Dope will come through New York state on Oct. 9 at the Montage Music Hall in Rochester, and Oct. 13 at Revolution Hall in Amityville.

    Cameras will be rolling as the band will record the entire tour for the first-ever Dope live DVD. The DVD will also include past backstage footage, unreleased music videos, and never before seen clips.

    Dope’s “Die Mother Fucker Die” tour dates:

    09-13 – DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA
    09-14 – Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
    09-15 – The Rickshaw – Vancouver, BC
    09-16 – La Tropicana – Pasco, WA
    09-17 – Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
    09-18 – The Palomino – Spokane, WA
    09-19 – The Falls Venue – Idaho Falls, ID
    09-20 – Herman’s Hideaway – Denver, CO
    09-21 – Sunshine Studios – Colorado Springs, CO
    09-22 – Sokol Underground – Omaha, NE
    09-23 – The Ready Room – St Louis, MO
    09-24 – The Cabooze – Minneapolis, MN
    09-25 – Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
    09-26 – TBA
    09-27 – The Reverb – Waterloo, IA
    09-28 – Live On Main – Stevens Point, WI
    09-29 – Every Buddy’s – Chippewa Falls, WI
    09-30 – Music Factory – Battle Creek, MI
    10-01 – Machine Shop – Flint, MI
    10-02 – TBA
    10-03 – Realm – Toledo, OH
    10-04 – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL
    10-05 – The Agora – Cleveland, OH
    10-06 – Park Street Tavern – Columbus, OH
    10-07 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA
    10-08 – Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA
    10-09 – Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
    10-10 – Sneaky Dees – Toronto, ON
    10-11 – Mavericks – Ottawa, ON
    10-12 – TBA
    10-13 – Revolution Hall – Amityville, NY
    10-14 – TBA
    10-15 – Fish Head Cantina – Baltimore, MD
    10-16 – TBA
    10-17 – Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
    10-18 – TBA
    10-19 – Dirty Dog Bar – Austin, TX
    10-20 – Scout Bar – Houston, TX
    10-21 – Trees – Dallas, TX
    10-22 – Aftershock – Merriam, KS
    10-23 – 89th St. Collective – Oklahoma City, OK
    10-24 – TBA
    10-25 – The Juggernaut – Gallup, NM
    10-26 – Club Red – Phoenix, AZ
    10-27 – Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA
    10-28 – Counts Vamp’d Las Vegas, NV
    10-29 – The Grove – Anaheim, CA
    10-30 – The Whiskey – W. Hollywood, CA

  • 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…

    Posted by Andre Cholmondeley on Tuesday, March 29, 2016

    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

  • Vote in MarchSCampness from SummerCamp & Win Tickets and More!

    We are deep into March Madness and the counselors at Summer Camp have launched their own March SCampness.

    Fans of the Midwest festival on Memorial Day weekend are encouraged to vote for their favorite aspects of Summer Camp. Voting also enters fans in contests for VIPupgrades, Red Barn late night tickets, Thursday pre-party tickets, and more! Round 2 voting is now open through Wednesday, March 23!

    Counselor Carmel shed some light on the MarchSCampness:

    We really wanted to highlight the uniqueness of Summer Camp. There are a lot of festivals out there, but not many of them have survived as long as Summer Camp has. There are these deep seeded elements that add to our community and traditions that keep us all coming back every year. This will be my 12th. The idea came about from Brad and was an evolution of a Umphrey’s McGee bracket we did last year in our Summer Camp group. That was an idea of Alex, one of our Camp Counselors. We had such a good response that festival management wanted to take it one step further this year.

    Of the remaining rounds, the Sweet Sixteen ends tonight, Wednesday, March 23. The Elite Eight runs Thursday, March 24 until Saturday, March 26. Voting for the Final Four will be held Sunday, March 27 through Tuesday, March 29. And the Championship round will last two days: Wednesday, March 30 and Thursday, March 31.

    Prizes include SCamp Merch Packages (five winners), Thursday pre-party tickets (three winners), pair of Red Barn late night tickets of your choice (two winners), and VIP Upgrade with your choice of Red Barn late night tickets (two winners). Read more about the rules here.

  • 2016 Vans Warped Tour Lineup and Stage Breakdown Revealed

    The wait is over for Warped Tour crazies who have been waiting for months for a lineup. The Vans Warped Tour announced the bands taking part in this year’s festival during a live webcast on VansWarpedTour.com.

    Some of the bands playing one of the many stages will include Falling In Reverse, Bullet For My Valentine, 3OH!3, New Found Glory, Motionless In White, Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Sleeping With Sirens, Crown The Empire, Young Guns, Atreyu, Coldrain, From Ashes To New and many more.

    Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman announced the bands and the stages they will perform on during the webcast lineup, and various artist performances were interspersed throughout. Webcasting live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, Lyman said in the video that Waka Flocka Flame, who made a one-show appearance at last year’s festival, will return for seven shows on the West Coast. Lyman said he has booked other surprise bands that he will announce later down the line.

    The Monster Energy Party Zone will feel like a separate concert with it’s own separate entrance through a dark tunnel, Lyman said.

    Warped Tour will will kick off on June 24 in Dallas Texas at the Gexa Energy Pavilion and wrap up in Portland, Oregon at the Portland Expo Center on Aug. 13. Warped Tour will pass through New York and make three different stops: July 7 at the Lakeview Amphitheatre in Syracuse, July 9 at Nikon at Jones Beach in Wantagh, and July 14 at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center in Darien Center.

    Additional ticket, date and venue info is available at vanswarpedtour.com.

    Vans Warped Tour Poster

  • Q-Tip Named First-Ever Hip Hop Curator at Kennedy Center

    Breakout hip hop artist Kendrick Lamar may have created a culture shift at Kennedy Center. When it was announced last year that Lamar would perform at the storied national landmark, tickets sold swiftly. And while Lamar wasn’t the first hip hop artist to perform at Kennedy, he was the one who kickstarted a movement to push for more hip hop on the center’s Washington, D.C. marquee.

    To celebrate the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s birth, Kennedy Center has named Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming and St. Albans, Queens native Q-Tip (née, Kamaal Ibn John Fareed) as artistic advisors for the 2016-2017 season.

    Q-Tip Kennedy Center

    The naming of its first-ever hip hop curator marks a milestone in Kennedy Center’s storied history. Q-Tip will curate the inaugural Hip Hop Culture series this season, recognizing the genre’s contributions to society. In a press release, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts quotes Q-Tip:

    With Hip Hop constantly changing and evolving, it is easy to forget the history and legacy that precede it. I want to begin at the beginning of the Culture to help people see its roots, better understand its present, and responsibly create its future.

    Q-Tip rose to prominence as one of the founding members of Queens hip hop collective, A Tribe Called Quest, a main force in what was to become the Native Tongues Posse, which also included Long Island trio De La Soul. Tribe was revolutionary in its sampling techniques and incorporating jazz elements into its music.

    A Tribe Called Quest recently re-released a 25th anniversary edition of its highly influential debut album, People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, in November.

    Kennedy Center’s Hip Hop Culture Season Calendar:

    Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Schedule 2016

  • Strange Machines Announce Extensive Spring Tour

    Strange Machines are embarking on their biggest tour to date this spring, traveling to lots of new places and sharing the stage with great bands such as Dopapod, Consider the Source, Broccoli Samurai, Formula 5 and more!

    The guys are fresh off a successful winter tour which included headlining at some of the Northeast’s premiere venues and a show opening for Twiddle in New Haven, Connecticut. This band has been upping the ante with each and every performance and show no signs of slowing down. Check the dates below and come see what all the hype is about.

    March 20 Brooklyn, NY | Brooklyn Bowl *~
    March 24 Syracuse, NY | Funk ‘n Waffles *
    March 25 Buffalo, NY | Buffalo Iron Works *
    April 15 Northampton, MA | Bishop’s Lounge
    April 16 Bridgeport, CT | The Acoustic #
    April 23 Plymouth, NH | PSU Earth Jam
    April 28 Albany, NY | Parish Public House +
    April 29 Ithaca, NY | The Haunt *^
    April 30 Boston, MA | The Sinclair %
    May 6 Newmarket, NH | The Stone Church $
    May 7 Burlington, VT | Nectar’s +
    May 18 Washington, D.C. | Gypsy Sally’s ^
    May 19 Virginia Beach, VA | Doc Taylor’s
    May 20 TBA
    May 21 Bedford, PA | Domefest
    May 28 Great Barrington, MA | MASSGathering (2 sets)
    June 9 Stephentown, NY | Disc Jam Music Festival
    July 30 Croydon, NH | Wild Woods Music Festival

    % w/ Dopapod
    # w/ Consider the Source
    * w/ Broccoli Samurai
    ^ w/ Mister F
    ~ w/ Flux Capacitor
    + w/ Hayley Jane & The Primates
    $ w/ Formula 5

  • Palace Theatre Looking to Expand?

    Albany’s Palace Theatre recently spent $600,000 to buy properties that reside on North Pearl Street and along Wilson Street near the downtown venue, as reported in Biz Journals.

    Palace Theatre ExpandAccording to a statement, “The Palace Theatre” acquired property behind the building up to Wilson Street in anticipation of future projects. Palace management felt the timing was right to buy as there is development beginning to happen around the theatre. No specific plans for the lots has been announced at this time.

    Will we see an expansion, outdoor events, or more parking downtown? There are many options for the Palace with this purchase. Stay tuned…