After a two year hiatus, moe.down is a go for 2017. Last year the band announced that, for the second consecutive year, moe.down would not take place but have never outright dismissed the fact that it would return. Today’s announcement puts the conjecture to rest. moe.down is returning to its original location, Snow Ridge in Turin, NY June 30 – July 2.
The July date marks a departure from previous moe.downs, which traditionally took place over Labor Day weekend, a weekend, as any upstater knows, that can bring weather ranging from excessive heat to cold rain, sometimes over the course of one day. The July date should make for a more pleasant weekend experience for fans.
Past moe.downs have seen the band perform six sets throughout the weekend as well as sets with side projects such as Al and the Transamericans, Ha Ha the Moose and Floodwood. The festival is known for attracting artists typically not seen at jamband festivals. Past performers have included Violent Femmes, They Might Be Giants, Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven and Meat Puppets.
Early bird tickets, VIP and RV passes for moe.down 16 go on sale Friday, Dec. 16 at noon ET. Three-day general admission tickets are $130 in the early bird allotment. For more information, visit moe.’s website.
Night Lights Music Festival will hold a Battle of the Bands to give two bands an opportunity to perform at the sixth annual event on August, 25, 26 and 27, 2016. NYSMusic is proud to sponsor this year’s contest.
Interested bands are asked to submit a current Electronic Press Kit including a Hi-Res live video performance, a current band photo and social media details to nightlightsfestbands@gmail.com. All submissions must be received no later than 11:59 P.M. on Aug., 3, 2016. Finalists will be announced on Aug., 4th. Voting will run Aug., 5th through 12th. NYSMusic.com voters will have the final word, with the band with the highest number of votes will open up the festival’s Friday Main Stage. A second artist or band will receive the Judge’s Choice Award and a slot in the festival’s line-up.
The Night Lights Music Festival is a magical three-day event in Sherman, NY that combines the power of sound and light to give festival-goers a unique sensory experience. At the top of the bill are the renowned fusion/electronica powerhouse Beats Antique, two-time Grammy Award winning guitarist Eric Krasno, Moon Hooch, the London Souls, Ithaca’s Jimkata, Holly Bowling, and Buffalo’s groove-rock quartet, Aqueous.
This year’s festival will feature expanded and enhanced lighting trails and installations, and new daytime activities, such as a Kan Jam tournament, poetry readings from Just Buffalo Literary Center, yoga, Hoop-a-Thon from UltraHoops, swimming, biking/ hiking and much more.
For full lineup and more information on Night Lights Music Festival, visit their website.
Catskill Chill Festival has announced the third wave lineup. Joining the festival are Lettuce; some members of the band including Eric Bloom, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Nigel Hall, Adam Smirnoff and Erick Coomes will also perform with Borahm Lee in “Bitches Bloom: A Tribute to Miles Davis.”
Catskill Chill will feature a special performance by Reed Mathis & Electric Beethoven, which includes heavy hitting musicians Reed Mathis (Billy & the Kids, Tea Leaf Green), Jay Lane (Primus, Ratdog), Todd Stoops (RAQ), Cochrane McMillan (Tea Leaf Green) and Clay Welch. A 10-piece soul/funk band Funky Dawgz Brass Band completes this line-up.
Updated 6/9/16:
Catskill Chill Music Festival released the second phase of 2016’s lineup, featuring a packed bill of diverse artists like George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Electron, Turkuaz, Cabinet, Formula 5 and Space Jesus. The seventh annual September event is throwing in a few new surprises, too, including a Thursday night pre-party.
To kick off the first time at New Minglewood, Chill is hosting an onsite pre-party the night before the festival begins that will feature two sets of Twidde, along with music from Jimkata, Aqueous and Trakstar. And teaming up for collaborative tributes are Dopapod and Turkuaz as Dopakuaz Does Yacht Rock, and Pink Talking Phish and Kung Fu will cover the music of Prince and David Bowie, while Particle and the Werks will play as PartiWerks, plus a Chillfam Allstars Thriller Tribute.
Catskill Chill Music Festival tickets and cabins are still available, and discounted early bird ticketing has been extended to Friday, June 10. See the full 2016 lineup below.
Mike Gordon
George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic*
Greensky Bluegrass
Electron*
Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass
Break Science Live Band and Duo Sets
Dopapod
Goldfish
Perpetual Groove
Deep Banana Blackout
Rob Garza DJ Set*
Turkuaz*
Kung Fu
The Werks
Cabinet*
Particle
Zach Deputy
Ryan Montbleau
Orgone
The Nth Power
The Main Squeeze
Pink Talking Fish
Tauk
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Space Jesus*
Roosevelt Collier’s NY Get Down
Tom Hamilton’s American Babies
The Heavy Pets Tribute to the ‘80s
Gibbz*
Jen Durkin & The Business*
G-Nome Project
Big Something
Scott Pemberton
Elise Testone’s Zeppelin Tribute
The Magic Beans
Danny Mayer Trio
Beau Sasser’s Escape Plan
The Indobox
Lespecial Primus Tribute
The Primate Fiasco
Hayley Jane and The Primates
The Jauntee*
West End Blend
Shwizz
Fikus
ShwiKus
Out of the Beardspace
Turbine plays Radio Dead*
Mister F
Strange Machines*
Broccoli Samurai
Relative Souls*
The Breakneck Boys
Formula 5*
Youth Posse
Animal Reporters
Collaborations: Dopakuaz Does Yacht Rock*
Pink Talking Fu: Prince Bowie*
PartiWerks = Particle + The Werks*
Chillfam Allstars Thriller Tribute*
This afternoon, the Catskill Chill Music Festival released the initial lineup for its seventh-annual event happening Sept. 23 through 25. Artists scheduled to headline are Mike Gordon, Greensky Bluegrass and Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass.
Other acts sharing this year’s festival bill include Break Science, Dopapod, Goldfish, Perpetual Groove, the Werks, Kung Fu, Deep Banana Blackout, Particle, Zach Deputy, Ryan Montbleau, Pink Talking Fish, Tauk, Hayley Jane and the Primates, Mister F and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Tributes for Chill 2016 are an ’80s-themed show by the Heavy Pets, Elise Testone’s Zeppelin Tribute and Lespecial Primus Tribute.
Past lineups have featured notable groups including Particle, moe., Yonder Mountain String Band, Lotus, the New Deal, Keller Williams, Lettuce, Umphrey’s McGee and Galactic.
In February, festival organizers announced a venue change from the summer camp in Hancock to New Minglewood in Lakewood, Pennsylvania, but noted that the Chillfam can expect similar amenities including rental cabins, lakefront setting, free parking and camping, plus indoor movie theaters, yoga, art and wellness workshops and an outdoor main stage.
The campground opens at 9 a.m. on Friday and will close at 1 p.m. on Monday. More festival guidelines can be found here. Tickets are on sale now through the event website; details on VIP and RV packages are coming soon. And as Neil Benjamin Jr. noted in his coverage of the Catskill Chills of summer’s past, “It’s an experience that cannot be recreated anywhere else.”
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.
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.
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.
Michael Lang, best known as co-creator of the most famous music festival in history, is at it again with plans for a 50th anniversary Woodstock music festival.
The original Woodstock took place in 1969 in Bethel and became one of the most famous music festivals of all time. There have been two other Woodstock anniversary festivals in the past, Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties and Woodstock ’99, held in Rome, N.Y., which came to a rather disastrous end with rioting, fires and police lines.
Since then, promoters have taken a break from using a festival to commemorate the most epic of all festivals, though the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts regularly hosts concerts at its amphitheater on the original festival grounds.
Lang told the Poughkeepsie Journal that with all the attention music festivals are seeing these days, it seems time for a Woodstock anniversary. He said there is a possibility of not only a U.S. event but one overseas as well, and he would like to see something done on an annual basis that uses the Woodstock name after the 50th anniversary. This is not the first time Lang has alluded to a 50th anniversary concert.
There are no details yet on locations or bands but stay tuned to see updates as they become available. Stay tuned for more info on the 50th Anniversary Woodstock Festival.
The original Woodstock took place in 1969 in Bethel and became one of the most famous music festivals of all time. There have been two other Woodstock anniversary festivals in the past, Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties and Woodstock ’99, held in Rome, N.Y., which came to a rather disastrous end with rioting, fires and police lines.