Several MSG employees have been terminated following an investigation that revealed scalping – taking tickets to events and reselling them for profit.
According to the New York Post, about a half dozen sales executives were caught reselling tickets to Knicks games on the after-market ticket site StubHub. The internal investigation uncovered a scheme where the employees would buy the lowest priced tickets, often those the teams would reserve for group sales, and sell them at a higher price online. The purchase of tickets by MSG employees is restricted by company policy. Employees must have written permission to purchase tickets. However, because the sales team has direct access to the tickets, their process is different.
This is not the first time MSG employees have been caught in a ticket scalping scam. In 1996, then-CEO Checketts terminated five ticket office employees for reselling tickets following a six-month investigation.
PIX11 also reported that the New York Attorney General’s office has accused MSG sales executives and a senior executive of illegally assisting ticket brokers with acquiring tickets for popular events to sell at huge profits. The Attorney General has said that oftentimes the tickets are given to the online ticket brokers before they’re even made available for public purchase.
This comes around the time the Attorney General released a report from a three-year investigation into the concert ticketing industry, as we previously reported.
Thankfully, websites like cashortrade.org are building a community of people who are only willing to buy and sell tickets at face value, bucking the trend of screwing fans out of money to see their favorite musicians perform.
Lock’n festival alum The Southern Belles are starting out the year with a new drummer, and a slew of touring dates that span the Northeast. Their new pick for drummer is Aaron Zarrow of Philadelphia’s The Royal Noise.
“I think this is going to be the beginning of an exciting musical journey,” Zarrow said in a press release. “I’m really stoked to be given an opportunity like this, to play in a band whose music I already enjoy listening to. Now I get to contribute to a band’s sound that I feel is unique and powerful enough to go very far. I’m also walking into what seems to be such a tight knit, family-like fan base and support system, and that’s huge.”
The Richmond, Virginia-based quartet will head up north to Rockwood Music Hall in New York City Feb. 19, and you can catch them at the Putnam Den in Saratoga on Feb. 25. They will wrap up their tour with dates in Montana and Colorado.
Full tour dates:
2/9- Blue Water, Jacksonville, FL
2/10- Guanabana’s, Jupiter, FL
2/11- Little Econ Love Fest, Jupiter, FL
2/12- Dunedin Brewery, Dunedin, FL
2/13- The Jam, Gainesville, FL #
2/19- Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY
2/21- Stella Blues, New Haven, CT
2/24- Nectar’s, Burlington, VT
2/25- Putnam Den, Saratoga Springs, NY
2/26- Thunder Road, Somerville, MA %
2/27- Stone Church, Newmarket, NH %
3/4- The Camel, Richmond, VA **
3/5- Preservation Pun, Knoxville, TN
3/8- Gabe’s, Iowa City, IA
3/9- The Bridge, Columbia, MO
3/11- Bohemian Biergarten, Boulder, CO
3/12- The Whisk(e)y, Fort Collins, CO
3/13- Lola, Denver, CO
3/14- Sancho’s, Denver, CO
3/15- Little Nell, Aspen, CO
3/16- Little Nell, Aspen, CO
3/17- Black Nugget, Carbondale, CO
3/18- Bonfire Brewing, Eagle, CO
3/19- Zio Romolo’s, Denver, CO
*w/ Lord Nelson and Kendall Street Company
^w/ Soul Mechanic
#w/ Loccochino
%w/ The Jauntee
**w/ Groove Fetish
For the first time in 58 years, the Recording Industry Association of America has altered its award system. As of Feb. 1, 2016, RIAA will count the number of streams received toward gold and platinum album certifications.
The industry’s premier award program for artistic achievement in the music recording market, RIAA’s benchmarks for success include 500,000 albums sold (gold), 1,000,000 (platinum) and 2,000,000 plus (multi-platinum) and will now recognize both sales and audio, video streams for single and album certifications. RIAA Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman stated in a press release that this change was the next logical step “to fully reward the success of artists’ albums today.” The association first modernized its method in 2013 by counting on-demand streams for digital single certifications; this will now be updated as well to reflect the growing trend of streaming.
And with the announcement came a roster of artists being noticed by the association for the newly expanded certification, including Alt-J’s “An Awesome Wave” (Atlantic Records) Gold, Halsey’s “Badlands” (Astralwerks) Gold, Hozier’s “Hozier” (Columbia) Platinum, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (Epic/Legacy) 32X Multi-Platinum, Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum” (RCA Nashville) Platinum, The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness” (XO/Republic Records) 2X Multi-Platinum and Vance Joy’s “Dream Your life Away” (Atlantic Records) Gold.
RIAA debuted the list with a social media video post seen below:
RIAA Debuts Album Awards with StreamsThe new #RIAAAlbumAward counts sales and streams, and that’s pretty exciting. Congratulations to all 17 artists now recognized.
RIAA created its gold and platinum program in 1958, and nearly 30,000 certifications have been awarded to date. Fans can access a complete database of recognized artists and albums here.
In early March, the new venue in the East End of Rochester, Anthology, will host a two-day celebration of roots and Americana music called Rochester Revival 2016.
Pennsylvania’s emergent jam-grass heroes Cabinet will return to Rochester to headline the first evening of music on Friday, March 4. Also on the bill that night are fellow ‘grass and dust-kickers The Blind Owl Band from Saranac Lake and The Prickers from Naples.
The party continues early Saturday afternoon for a full day and night of ear-pleasing, foot-stomping fun. Oyster Bay’s electro-prog instrumental powerhouse TAUK will provide a massive sonic cleanse when they close out the mini-festival late Saturday night.
Leading up to the grand finale will include the introduction of two new Rochester groups and one of the oldest and most beloved bands of Rochester. Aaron Lipp, who has played keys for Robert Randolph, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and the Campbell Brothers, has assembled a new band which will play their premiere performance at this event. Another Dub Squad player, guitarist Dylan Savage, will also introduce a new band with Wil McKenna of RootsCollider called the Medicinals. Rochester’s very own gospel legends The Campbell Brothers are slated to bring their classic sacred steel style that is tried, true and always a great time. Other announced bands include Josh Rollins, Personal Blend and the Honey Smugglers, with more to be announced soon.
Mark March 4 and 5 down in your calendars. It’s a weekend that will showcase music from all across New York state including a dip into our neighbor Pennsylvania, so make plans now to come and show your support. Tickets are on sale now at the Anthology website. Admission is $12 for Friday and $24 for Saturday, or $32 gets you in for the whole weekend. A great deal for a great deal of music!
Blackstar has come to be regarded as a parting gift from David Bowie gift after it became widely known that he wrote the album in full knowledge of his own mortality.
As a perpetuation of Bowie’s gift, the artwork for Blackstar has been released for non-commercial use. Artist Jonathan Barnbrook has worked closely with Bowie on designing the artwork on several of his albums.
as a tribute to david bowie, download our ★ graphics for free (for non-commercial use only)https://t.co/QZyeSXALZI
David Bowie’s Facebook page share the news with this post:
Barnbrook loved working with David Bowie, he was simply one of the most inspirational, kind people we have met. So in the spirit of openness and in remembrance of David we are releasing the artwork elements of his last album ★ (Blackstar) to download here free under a Creative Commons NonCommercial-ShareAlike licence. That means you can make t-shirts for yourself, use them for tattoos, put them up in your house to remember David by and adapt them too, but we would ask that you do not in any way create or sell commercial products with them or based on them. Any questions or commercial licence usage please contact us.
Eleven different elements from the album’s artwork are can be downloaded from bowieblackstar.net. Remember that the content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike (a copy of the details of that license are included with each download from the site). Inquiries for commercial use can be directed to the Barnbrook design agency.
Check out an interview with Jonathan Barnbrook regarding the meaning behind the art of Blackstarhere.
In what will surely cause a ripple effect across the Upstate New York and Northeast music scene, longtime North Country act Lucid will take a touring hiatus in the coming months.
“We’re certainly not breaking up — that’s something we want to make clear,” said Lowell Wurster, vocalist/percussionist for Lucid. “Everyone is doing great and we’re as close as ever. We’re brothers and our musical flow is undeniable.”
For the first time since their inception in 2004, the Plattsburgh-based sextet will be parking their trademark bus, Lucy. It is in an effort to focus more on their personal lives, and also take a new approach to climbing to the top of that unforgiving mountain this is the music industry.
“Our songs are filled with powerful stories of love and life, important messages for the human soul,” Wurster said. “But somehow, as we go into our 13th year together, there just hasn’t been enough of a buzz to really be able to make it touring nationally, and make a living in doing so.”
Wurster emphasized the sincere need to pump the brakes a little bit, especially for a band that has played hundreds of shows a year, every weekend, for almost a decade and a half.
“At this time, the hiatus is going to breathe new life into us,” he said. “It’s a drastic change in policy, but we’re going to try something new, something we’ve never tried before. This time away will allow us to slow down, spend more time with family and loved ones, and to relax. Musically, it will allow us to take all the time we need to craft each song just the way we want it before we release it into the world.”
Though, in a somewhat hushed tone, Wurster does admit part of this recent decision stems from a losing battle down a slippery slope between being a full-time musician and also finding footing in the industry.
“I talk to older musicians who say they are getting paid the same now as they were 25 years ago. Unless you have a big name and the right industry types pushing you from behind, it’s very hard making a living doing this. I know that it may all sound sad and disheartened, and it is a bit, but it’s just hard out there,” he said. “Now we’re going to put our energies into pushing our music into uncharted territories and see what happens. If we have success in doing so, and it’s time to get Lucid back on the road, then that’s what we’ll do. If it doesn’t work, then we can safely say we tried everything and move on with our lives.”
And yet, beyond Wurster’s explanation of the hiatus, one still has trouble wrapping their head around the idea of Lucid not being on the road, roaring up and down highways and back roads like some band of melodic pirates. Lucid was (is) the foundation of the North Country music scene. They are the torchbearers of artistic hopes and dreams. They are the guys who have given creative faith and genuine friendship to countless groups and social circles that came after them (and as a result of them). Lucid is the glue that holds much of the scene together, and having them take a step back from touring will leave a large hole in North Country music.
“We’re family that will never be broken,” Wurster said. “We fight like brothers and we love like brothers, and I don’t see that ever changing. None of us are going to stop playing music, it’s just not possible and something that’s not in us.”
And as an offering to their fans, the band will go on a short “Off The Bus” tour, which will go around the northeast in March, culminating with a show on April 16 at The Strand in Plattsburgh. Until then, Lucid is putting the final touches on their fifth studio album, Bonsai Zen, which is expected to drop sometime this spring.
There are also plans currently in the works for a follow-up record to be released by the end of 2016.
“We’re going to keep doing what we do, and we’ll see where that carries us,” Wurster said. “Lucid isn’t going away, we’re just changing course. The future is wide open and we’re excited to see what it brings — whatever it brings, anything it brings.”
We appreciate so many fans reaching out to tell us how much they miss moe.down music festival, and we know there have been many questions on whether or not we have plans to bring it back this year. At present, we do not have any plans for moe.down 2016. The moe.down discussion on bringing it back in the future is very much alive between all those involved. In the meantime, we will be announcing a few other special summer shows in addition to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre – we hope to see you there!
Here’s hoping that 2017 will see the return of the festival that many moe.rons refer to as, “My home, my heart, my best friend.”
It is not often that artists can say that their albums debut at number one, but it’s no surprise to learn that Celtic Women’s Destiny did just this; it was the ninth album to do so.
As the Destiny tour begins this March in Nashville, Máiréad Nesbitt, Mairéad Carlin, Susan McFadden and Éabha McMahon, also known as the women of Celtic Women, will grace the stage at more than 79 cities as they make their way across the United States.
The multi-platinum, all female ensemble made its debut on PBS in 2005 and has achieved massive success encompassing 10 chart-topping albums, nine PBS specials, more than 8 million albums sold, and platinum sales in nine countries.
They sing like angels and float like the wind across stage, as they bring to you a bit of Celtic history in their musical stories. Destiny will feature a fresh fusion of traditional Irish music and modern songcraft, including the Waterboys’ classic “The Whole of the Moon,” Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” from The Hobbit film, and Mutt Lange’s “Walk Beside Me.” Traditional Irish highlights include “Bean Pháidín,” “Siúil A Run” and “Óró sé do bheatha ‘bhaile,” an anthem closely connected with the 1916 uprising that led to Ireland’s independence.
THE DESTINY TOUR – 2016 ITINERARY
3/4-5 Nashville, TN Tennessee Performing Arts Center
3/6 Memphis, TN Orpheum
3/8 Owensboro, KY RiverPark Center
3/9 Louisville, KY The Palace
3/11 Paducah, KY Carson Center
3/12 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center Theater
3/13 Rockford, IL Cornado PAC
3/15 Rosemont, IL Rosemont Theatre
3/17 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
3/18 Fort Wayne, IN Embassy Theatre
3/19 Wabash, IN Honeywell Center (2 shows)
3/20 South Bend, IN Morris Performing Arts Center
3/22 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
3/23 Bowling Green, KY Sky PAC
3/24 Cincinnati, OH Aronoff Center
3/25 Dayton, OH Schuster Performing Arts Center
3/26 Columbus, OH Palace Theatre
3/29 Cleveland, OH PlayhouseSquare
3/31 Williamsport, PA Community Arts Center
4/1, 2, 3, Lancaster, PA American Music Theater
4/5 Richmond, VA Altria Theater
4/6 Norfolk, VA Chrysler Hall at SevenVenues
4/8 Wheeling, WV Capitol Theatre
4/9 Baltimore, MD Hippodrome Theatre
4/10 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center
4/12 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
4/14 Spartanburg, SC Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium
4/15 Winston-Salem, NC LJVM Coliseum Complex
4/16 Durham, NC Durham Performing Arts Center
4/17 Charlotte, NC Ovens Auditorium
4/19 Columbia, SC Koger Center for the Arts
4/21 Athens, GA The Classic Center
4/23 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
4/24 Gainesville, FL Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
4/27 Daytona Beach, FL Peabody Auditorium
4/28 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Broward Center for the Performing Arts
4/29 St. Petersburg, FL The Mahaffey Theater
4/30 Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
5/1 Niceville, FL Mattie Kelly Arts Center
photo credit: Jason Clark (L-R) Susan McFadden, Lynn Hilary, Mairead Carlin (back right), Mairead Nesbitt
5/3 Mobile, AL CC Theatre
5/5 Birmingham, AL BJCC
5/6 Jackson, MS Thalia Mara Hall
5/7 New Orleans, LA Saenger Theatre
5/8 Houston, TX Revention Music Center
5/10 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
5/11 Grand Prairie, TX Verizon Theatre
5/13 El Paso, TX The Plaza Theatre
5/14 Tucson, AZ Tucson Music Hall
5/15 Tempe, AZ ASU Gammage Auditorium
5/17 Bakersfield, CA Rabobank Arena
5/20 Eugene, OR Hult Center for the Performing Arts
5/21 Yakima, WA Yakima Valley SunDome
5/22 Portland, OR Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
5/24 Boise, ID Morrison Center
5/25 Salt Lake City, UT Maverik Center
5/26 Casper, WY Casper Events Center
5/27 Greeley, CO Monfort Concert Hall
5/28 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
5/31-6/1Denver, CO Buell Theatre at Denver Performing Arts Complex
6/3 Rapid City, SD Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
6/4 Bismarck, ND Bismarck Event Center
6/5 Grand Forks, ND Chester Fritz Auditorium
6/7 Bemidji, MN Sanford Center
6/9 La Crosse, WI La Crosse Center
6/10 Prior Lake MN Mystic Lake Casino
6/12 Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Performance Hall
6/14 Kalamazoo, MI Miller Auditorium
6/16 Warren, OH W.D. Packard Music Hall
6/17 University Park, PA Eisenhower Auditorium 6/19 Schenectady, NY Proctors 6/21 Rochester, NY Auditorium Theatre 6/22 Brooklyn, NY Kings Theatre
6/24-6/25Orillia, Ontario Casino Rama
6/26 Erie, PA Warner Theatre
6/28 Lowell, MA Lowell Memorial Auditorium
6/29 Providence, RI Providence Performing Arts Center
6/30 Newark, NJ NJPAC
7/1 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre
7/2 Red Bank, NJ Count Basie Theatre
Jefferson Airplane‘s first female vocalist, Signe Anderson Ettlin, passed away a week ago at her home in Beaverton, Oregon.
Ettlin had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was recently entered into hospice care. In a strange coincidence, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane Paul Kantner also passed away the same day. Both Ettlin and Kantner were 74.
Former Airplane band member Marty Balin remarked on the coincidence on his Facebook page:
“I imagine that she and Paul woke up in heaven and said, ‘Hey what are you doing here? Lets start a band.’”
Born Sept. 15, 1941 in Seattle, Ettlin was raised in Portland but eventually moved to San Francisco. She joined Jefferson Airplane in 1965. The band’s debut album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, would be the only album Ettlin was a part of. She is remembered most for her vocals on “Chauffeur Blues” from the debut album.
Ettlin had her first child in 1966 and decided against a life on the road for her new family. Her final show was Oct. 15, 1966. She was replaced by Grace Slick, who helped bring Jefferson Airplane to mainstream success with the band’s next album, Surrealistic Pillow. Although her time was short with Jefferson Airplane, Ettlin is remembered fondly by former bandmates, being described as the den mother and the voice of reason by Jorma Kaukonen.
Ettlin moved back to Portland after leaving Jefferson Airplane. She continued to sing with a local band, Carl Smith and the Natural Gas Company. In a radio interview in 2011, she remembered her decision to leave Jefferson Airplane:
“You have to look at the priorities in your life, the reality in your life. I don’t regret having left.”
Signe Anderson Ettlin went on to raise two daughters, Lilith and Onateska. In 1977 she married her second husband Micheal Ettlin, who passed away in 2011.
Widespread Panic drummer Todd Nance is back from his time away. He was seen behind the drum kit during yesterday’s soundcheck at their Panic en la Playa destination music festival in Mexico.
Widespread Panic had announced that Nance would be taking a leave from the band prior to their fall 2014 tour to deal with personal matters. He has since performed with various projects, but hasn’t played with Widespread Panic since their performance at the Phases of the Moon festival in September 2014. Duane Trucks has been filling in during his absence. Nance, a childhood friend of deceased guitarist Mikey Houser, has been with the band since their incarnation in 1986.
Nance’s return was announced on the Panic en la Playa Facebook page, where pictures of the soundcheck were posted. Panic en la Playa 5, the band’s festival in the Riviera Maya in Mexico, is scheduled to run Feb. 2 through 6. Upon returning stateside, Widespread Panic will embark on a short winter tour in February followed by a more extensive spring tour in April and early May. Tickets for their winter tour are currently on sale. Tickets for the spring tour go on sale Feb. 19 and 26.
As a perpetuation of Bowie’s gift, the artwork for Blackstar has been released for non-commercial use. Artist 
THE DESTINY TOUR – 2016 ITINERARY
Ettlin had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was recently entered into hospice care. In a strange coincidence, co-founder of Jefferson Airplane 