Long time buds and New York State natives in EVHO, also referred to as Event Horizon, are no strangers to piling in the van and hitting the touring circuit across the states, building unique relationships with each venue and band they come in contact with. This time, touring will point them towards fresh horizons as they swap the tour bus for a cross-country flight. The prog rockers will embark on their very first, out-of-the-country tour in China where language barriers and a diverse lifestyle await them.
With a stacked, 14-date tour, the quartet will explore territories unknown and show off their talents to a completely unique audience who already seem to have a leg up on recent Event Horizon tunes. Drawing from musical influences like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd, The Mars Volta, Circa Survive and more, John Clark (vocals/guitar), Craig Podell (bass), Mars Vendz (lead guitar) and Parke O’Leary (drums), nailed the ability to fuse together groovy, progressive sounds and exploration with the fundamentals of hard-hitting rock, guitar solos, modern electronica and a booming voice to the forefront of their performances.
After forming life-long friendships, playing together for 16+years and becoming the musical celebrities of their hometown, EVHO has been riding the growing wave to morning show appearances and talk show drop-ins across the country. Having recently released From the Sun and its single “Ricochet,” the four look to making unique memories for their first visit to China.
Their first gig will kick off tonight in Hangzhou, run for a two-week time span and conclude on September 8 in Suzhou. Be sure to catch these guys upon their return to the U.S. and be on the lookout for their fall tour updates on social media!
Two years succeeding their debut, self-titled EP as a funky musical quartet, SkyDaddy makes a comeback with their latest EP Wide Eyes, due out on all digital platforms come August 1.
Dave Heinz (bass/vox), Joe North (saxophone/EWI), Tom Claney (guitar/vox) and Pat Agresta (drums) fit together as a jazzy-funk ensemble with nods of soul and rock fusion from downstate New York. However, its their solo skills that come together to create all that SkyDaddy stands for. Riding the wave of the ever-growing music scene in the Northeast, the foursome have lent their jam talents to venues across NYC and the tri-state area in support of The Nth Power, Pink Talking Fish, Amy Helm, Spiritual Rez, Sophistafunk and Zach Deputy, all within the last year.
Their self-titled effort brought fourth a five-track EP, including “Tell Me I’m Crazy” and “Just Enough Wine.” Dipping their toes into varying genres, Heinz, North, Clancey and Agresta use their talents to deliver spacey, progressive-like jams while capturing soul through their meaningful lyrics and memorable hooks.
Wide Eyes comes in the form of three tracks, all of which have the ability to get you on your feet and dancing or at least swaying side to side in your work chair. “Effortlessly Elegant” introduces the EP with a fitting title as the opening notes of the track and buttery-smooth saxophone make the listener’s need to move around and dance grow stronger by the second. “By the Fire Tonight” follows next, letting Agresta and the drum kit lead into the second track which appeals largely to the funkier soundscapes of their music. “Perspective” emphasizes on Heinz’ hearty vocals as he sings of relationships, wide eyed girls and the burning question of how they found their soul. Over the course of one year, the EP was recorded in REM Studios in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, collectively and accurately encompassing their sound as a unit thus far.
You can catch SkyDaddy on their Wide Eyes Tour during their slew of upcoming NY show dates, including a live WRRV Session at Newburgh Brewing Company, a September 19 Garcia’s gig with The Magic Beans in Port Chester and quick stops through VT and CT.
There’s only one way to cool yourself down on these thermal, mid-summer nights and that’s to let loose and do some swimmin’. Vermont outfit, Swimmer, resides just a stone’s throw away from New York in the jam-centered, musical hub that is Burlington, VT. As a well-known Burlington band having held an impressive residency slot at Nectar’s and previously opening up for the likes of Dopapod, the quintet made it a point to splash into unexplored territories, cities and states in order to further their rising presence in the jam community.
Welcoming the conception of their first-ever U.S. tour, the guys already completed stint one with stops across the Northeast. They hit NY specifically, with a July 2 show at Silvana in Harlem and a July 7 gig at Arlene’s Grocery in NYC before they dipped their toes into WV, NC, VA and DC. Their second voyage will see more NY dates, beginning with back-to-back stops at Plattsburgh’s Retro Live on Aug. 3 and Buffalo’s Neitzsche’s on Aug. 4 while gearing up to make their first appearance out West in Muncie, IN, Boulder and Denver, CO. They’ll return to MA and ultimately their Burlington swim hole for an appropriate tour closer at Nectar’s and a festival stop at Beaver Fest from Aug. 25-26.
Heavily influenced by artists such as Phish, Frank Zappa and The Disco Biscuits, Joe Agnello (guitar/vocals), Matt Dolliver (keys/saxophone), Cotter Ellis (drums/vocals), Paul Klein (guitar) and Jack Vignone (bass), encompass an encyclopedia of jam, progressive and experimental rock styles, blending them together to create a waterfall of elements all their own. Troy Rosenberg was recently introduced to the Swim team to manage stellar light shows to supplement Swimmer’s engaging and improvisational live performances.
Summer tour has given Swimmer the platform to promote their latest album, No Shape. The release compiles tunes they’ve been delighting fans with for quite some time, such as “Undercover Junkie,” while introducing fresh tunes for fans to float in, like fan-favorite “Godmeat” and “Schwack,” featuring Nate Reit on trumpet. No Shape gives any new swim-fan an in-depth look as to what the group is all about. As any jam band fan would explain, the full experience resides within the magical atmosphere of their live shows. The band’s ability to roll out extensive jams within any given song makes for a unique gig each night, always keeping the crowd fully engaged with a toss up of treats. For more of Swimmer’s live shows and to listen to their studio work, be sure to visit their Bandcamp.
If you don’t know these guys, catch them on the second leg of their summer tour. Get acquainted, get aquatic and check out their tour dates below!
Fresh off the heels of moe.’s triumphant return of moe.down at Snow Ridge in Turin, the jam veterans have announced they’ll be going on an indefinite hiatus following the unfortunate oropharyngeal cancer diagnosis of singer and bassist Rob Derhak.
With the shocking and obviously unplanned break looming, the Buffalo quartet issued a statement to moe.rons with plans to leave all future shows off of their calendar come Aug. 1. Derhak, Chuck Garvey, Al Schnier, Jim Loughlin and Vinnie Amico plan to finish out their remaining three shows in New York City, at Huckleberry Jam and their wildly anticipated Lockn’ Festival gig alongside Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh, who has a battle with cancer all his own.
In Derhak’s personal statement, he reveals that despite the diagnosis and rough healing period, things are looking up with a positive survival rate. NYS Music sends Rob Derhak, his family and the entire moe. organization well wishes during this trying time and look forward to seeing the guys back in action when time and health allow.
A Pennsylvanian both by nature and at heart, rapper Benn Rymon and his beats are now based out of Plattsburgh, where he continues to record and perform just as he’s been doing since the 90s. This time, his ideas were carefully crafted into his solo debut album, A Long Time.
Normally, he’d be found lending an instrumental helping hand to an array of friends and artists to help complete their passion projects. Never releasing one of his own, A Long Time, dropped on July 7 as his very first release. It chronicles a lifetime of friendships found and foraged through the gift of music, which led to Rymon joining forces with fellow rappers in the Plattsburgh community, eventually becoming the founding member of the Plattsburgh Home Team. Each song tells its own story, whether that includes hard-knock times, unexpected adventures and at times, dangerous happenings. Prominently using an “in-your-face” style of rap, paired with his blunt character and unwavering confidence on stage, Rymon brings an eclectic gathering of genres, featured artists and a branded style of hip-hop all his own.
The odyssey of an album explores Rymon’s long-time background in the scene, how he’s been brought up by others and how he’s in turn, doing the same and inspiring those to find their own musical passage. Making a musical cocktail combining obvious elements of rap and hip hop with some dance tunes stirred in, Rymon introduces a number of artists and their respective flavors.
Unraveling the story, Rymon kicks things off on “Out of Control” with Ms Adventure before jumping into the fun, high tempo track “Sensational,” making a number of references to dancer/actor/singer Gregory Hines. Word play follows with “Pass or Pull,” and “Hot Box Gondola” featuring Phen Yaqeen, which takes on a more rap-centered approach with traded verses and a simple beat layered behind it. “On the One” stands out as the hardest hitting rap track on the release with a spooky, perfectly fitting tune paralleling its equally eerie lyrics. “Town Center” shines with its tropical touch making it perfect for a summertime drive.
The second half of the album introduces record scratching on “W.I.S.” and sees help from a number of collaborators like Epick, Craig Holmes, Lucid Lowell, Trixx, Phonix Dark and Symfonyi. A Long Time gets put to bed with the hypnotizing “Sleepers” before closing out with “Dedications,” with blaring horns and appropriate fade out lyrics “thats all, people.”
A Long Time was produced, recorded, arranged, & mixed by Benn Rymon and Mastered by Adrian Carr for AC Mastering. Order the album here.
The popular trend of outdoor concert series for the summer has taken off and Clifton Park Commons decided to join in on the fun. With a free-to-the-public, package deal of 2017 Performing Arts at the Common Series, the initiative will bring family fun to Clifton Park on both Wednesday and Sunday nights.
With the exception of multi-day shows, Wednesday nights will cater to fun for the entire family, including the kids. Bring your little ones to the Clifton Common Stage for the Performing Arts Family Series where featured musicians, magicians, puppeteers and performers appeal to children of all ages for a night of free fun and entertainment.
A mix of children’s theatre, artists new to the area as well as well-loved local and cover bands made it onto the summer lineup, including “Alladin Jr.” Theatre Camp, The Accents, Fiddler on the Roof, Sirsy, Moriah Formica and Yellow Brick Road- A Tribute to Elton John. Closing out Performing Arts at the Common Series, energetic Celtic favorites Hair of the Dog have made their rounds playing their 70’s classic rock inspired music for widespread audiences and Albany natives for quite some time.
Sunday evenings will boast adult fun and entertainment in the form of an array of talented musicians and live performers ready to take the stage for your enjoyment. All Clifton Common performances will take place on Vischer Ferry Road, next to the basketball courts in Clifton Park, ready to kick off at 7:00 p.m., rain or shine, unless stated otherwise.
Check out the full line-up below:
July 2 – The Accents
July 9 – Sirsy
July 21-22 – “Alladin Jr.” Theatre Camp 5pm start.
July 14-16 & 20-23 – “Fiddler on the Roof” presented by Not So Common Players
July 30 – Moriah Formica
Aug. 6 – Yellow Brick Road, A Tribute to Elton John
Aug. 13 – Hair of the Dog
Summertime fills the air with one-of-a-kind, free music–chirping birds, bikes whizzing by and children laughing as they play in the neighborhood. That’s not all the free music left to explore–all around the Capital Region, summer concert series have been crafted to offer a blend of different genres to the city’s inhabitants week after week. Rockin’ on the River in Troy has been a well-loved staple to its surrounding community, offering a free, 10-week concert series every Wednesday between June 7 and August 9.
Wednesdays just got better, as “hump days” can now be marked on the calendar with *outdoor music at Riverfront Park* in downtown Troy. Attracting between 5,000 to 8,000 guests per night, the series already boasted four mid-week performances from Almost Queen, Deerhoof, Skeeter Creek and Alex Torres y su Orquesta.
Rain or shine from 5:00PM to 8:30PM, the Downtown Troy Business Improvement District brings the summer concert series to residents free of charge and in turn, draws in crowds to Troy’s local shops and businesses, keeping the town thriving!
Check out the full Rockin’ on the River schedule below:
July 5 – The British Invasion Experience
July 12 – Saintseneca with The Sea The Sea
July 19 – Who’s Bad – The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience with Kristen Capolino
July 26 – Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde with Girl Blue
Aug. 2 – SIRSY with Sly Fox and The Hustlers
Aug. 9 – Rumours – Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band
Still a bit damp from the sweat and morning dew of Spring Tour, Space Carnival is back at it again this summer with a number of Northeast show dates. Trailing their debut album, Drawn In By The Sun, the wild quartet has put all their time and effort into the touring circuit, hitting up cities throughout both the North East and Midwest. Ready to debut new music this summer, the Ithaca outfit has been focusing on dialing back their tone and working on a slew of new material to bring to fans.
Woodhenge Music, Art and Sustainability Festival kicked off their string of summer dates on Sunday, June 25 in Adams, NY. New York State up-and-coming artists rolled deep to the solar and wind powered fest, including Formula 5, Lord Electro, Intrepid Travelers, Annie in the Water and Jiggawaltz. After a handful of NY shows, Space Carnival will make a performance debut at American Beauty in NYC for a Phish pre-show on July 29 as part of a Phanart event, showcasing the works of Phish inspired artists and vendors. The free event will go from 3pm-7pm and feature two powerful sets from Space Carnival.
Space Carnival recently joined NYSmusic’s 87/90, which is a collaborative group of New York bands on the rise with an initiative to grow in the scene among one another. The current roster includes Formula 5, Folkfaces, Cousin Earth, Let’s Be Leonard, Boogie Low, Gowanus, and Intrepid Travelers. NYSmusic’s 87/90 is an Artist Publicity and Media Group, bringing you a united front of up-and-coming bands across New York State!
View all of Space Carnival’s summer tour dates below:
June 25 – Adams, NY – Woodhenge Festival
July 14 – Sterling, NY – Ameribeat Festival of the Arts
The British Invasion swiftly swept over the United States in the 1960s, bringing the world pioneer rock musicians that still have the world buzzing in nostalgia over their music decades later. With the Beatles and the Rolling Stones leading the pack, two tribute acts will storm into Peekskill’s Paramount Hudson Valley Theater for a musical play-off of the ages. On Thursday, June 29, tribute acts Abbey Road and Satisfaction– The International Rolling Stones Show, will go head to head during “Beatles vs. Stones – A Musical Showdown” as each group swaps time on stage performing a total of three power sets each, with interwoven outfit changes.
For many, a show down was only a Sunday afternoon daydream while spinning Rubber Soul and Out of Our Heads with a friend in their bedroom.
Some argue the Beatles reign over the rest with Revolver notching the title of Greatest Pop Record of All Time while others credit the Stones with their ongoing ability to create. Nevertheless, both unarguably left an indelible footprint on the music world we currently live in.
Following reminiscent tunes like “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” Twist and Shout,” “Paint it Black” and “Honky Tonk Woman” as well as an experimental mash-up finale, the end of the night will bring a real-time, rock-and-roll the vote session as the audience determines who rocked the hardest.
Tickets are range from $30 to $60 and may be purchased online at the Parmount Theatre’s website, by phone at (914) 739-0039 or at the Theatre Box Office.
A weekend spent in Stephentown, NY meant a finely curated lineup over four days at Gardner’s Farm. Having headlined every single year since the festival’s conception in 2011, this year was no different as progressive jam outfit Dopapod prepped for their Friday night set ahead. With a recent spring tour in the rear view mirror, the quartet offered fans a live compilation album, II Saw Live Dopapod, Evil Was II, to curb the anticipation ahead of their impending studio album, which they’ve been placing the finishing touches on. The strings of the group, bassist Chuck Jones and guitarist Rob Compa were kind enough to chat with NYS Music just ahead of their 9:30pm headlining set. Jones, adorned in a mock, heavy metal Celine Dion tee started off by noting their progression as a group over the years as we dove into fun tidbits about the upcoming album and the band as a whole.
Alyssa Ladzinski: Your most recent release was a live album of fan-favorites, what can you tell us about your upcoming release?
Chuck Jones: We just finished our new studio album, we’ve been working on it a lot this last month when we haven’t had any shows. I think we’re trying to release that in the fall before touring.
Rob Compa: We just finished all the recording and tracking for the studio album. There’s gonna be some songs nobodies heard yet, there’s gonna be a lot of instrumentation that a lot of people probably aren’t expecting. I.E. people can expect lots of strings, violins and cellos in certain songs. It’s the first time I recorded guitar parts at home with my amp in my closet, trying not to piss off my neighbors too much. It was a lot of fun to make. It was the most fun I’ve had in a while actually.
AL: Your auxiliary chord breaks while touring in the van. What’s one album the four of you can agree on listening to, front to back?
CJ: I don’t know if we could, our tastes are so diverse there’s no one album we can all agree on. We would get to a point where we could settle. Probably Pink Floyd we can all agree on. That’s what makes this group so enjoyable to play in, everyone has such eclectic tastes from all over.
RC:Uberjam by John Scofield or Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.
AL: Now you’re all alone on a road trip, what’s one album you’re singing along and playing air instruments to?
RC: Lately I’m not listening to that much music. I could always go for Ben Folds Rock in the Suburbs all the way through or Dire Straits first album.
CJ: Silence. I enjoy the time to think. There’s a lot of saturation in listening, at this point I’ll have to think about putting on music.
AL: Create your own super group you’d want to play in.
CJ: Mike from Aqueous, Beau from Kung Fu, I’m not sure. I like to let other people handle these things and I go to my safe spot.
RC: Well I love James Searl from Giant Panda, Tim Palmieri on guitar, Scotty Zwang on drums, Caden from the Jauntee. I’ll leave it at that, no keys.
AL: Favorite show you’ve seen lately?
CJ: I just moved to Colorado a month ago and quickly I went to see two nights of Primus. Once in a smaller room and then at Red Rocks.
RC: Main Squeeze at Brooklyn Bowl for their CD release. Lyle Brewer of Ryan Montbleau Band played a solo guitar set at Rockwood Music Hall in NY.
AL: If the guys were going to surprise Rob and Becky with an impromptu performance at the wedding, what would it be and who would fill in for Rob on guitar?
CJ: Probably a Phish song, I think he would love that. I can only play “Cars, Trucks and Busses.” He would love if we played a Phish song and had Luke play guitar. Or Pink Floyd.
RC: “Kick N’ Bach” by Frogwings but they’d have to get the real guitarists on the track, Herring and Trucks. Becky would scream with glee.
AL: Being with NYS Music, I have to ask, who’ your favorite NY native artist?
RC: The Niche in Rochester, my heroes when i was 18. They’d sneak me backstage and they were the first band in the scene to let me sit in with them.
CJ: Giant panda, Aqueous, NY Jazz Trio. NY is saturated with good music.
AL: If you could switch bodies with anyone in Dopapod, who would it be and why?
CJ: I’d stay with myself. Maybe Neal cause it would be really fun to be that good at drums.
AL: Weirdest thing a fan has done for you?
CJ: A fan once made a T-shirt with my face on it. My mom has it. It’s weird and flattering and my mom loves it. She was wearing it the other day.
RC: One time at a show in Syracuse my 96 year old grandma was there in a wheelchair and people kept offering to buy her shots. She didn’t have them, but I thought that was pretty funny.
AL: What’s your biggest challenge as a band as of late?
CJ: Having more responsibilities. I’m about to be 30 in August and you look around at festivals and realize the age group ranges from 18-24. This is a young person’s sport!
RC: Half of us are on the East Coast while the other half is in Colorado. Trying to make that work is a thing. Today is the first time we’ve played together in a month and a half. Financially, it’s a challenge too. There’s always the ebb and flow of your band being a hot ticket or not. If you haven’t put out a new album in a couple years, you don’t have any fuel or anything to hand people. So dealing with that.
AL: Rob, you offer guitar lessons to prospective students. How has that worked out for you?
RC: I get a lot of bite and about half of the work. With teaching, I like that I’m directly helping somebody. I don’t really feel that so much when I’m playing on stage. Maybe it happens accidentally, but it doesn’t happen intentionally for that reason.
AL: You seem active on Facebook enough to notice the day in and day out analysis of your music in Dopafam. Is it weird to see your music that deeply dissected on a regular basis?
CJ: They notice the small details. The fact that there’s one person, let alone a handful of people spending that much time listening to our music is all you can ask for.
AL: Can you pinpoint one Dopapod show that stands out as a favorite?
RC: I really liked the last Richmond show we played. It was just a lot of fun and my favorite part was Neal, our drummer has a mic, so he talks to us while we’re playing and during a song I was soloing, he told me how to solo the whole time. You can only solo on this string, now you can only solo on this string and the first five frets of the guitar, now only on A flat. It was just goofy. If I had a favorite one five years ago it would probably be bad because you just keep getting better.
Setlist: 8 Years Ended, Present Ghosts, Mucho, Indian Grits > Freight Train Filled With Dynamite, Priorities, Trickery, Cloud World
Long time buds and New York State natives in EVHO, also referred to as Event Horizon, are no strangers to piling in the van and hitting the touring circuit across the states, building unique relationships with each venue and band they come in contact with. This time, touring will point them towards fresh horizons as they swap the tour bus for a cross-country flight. The prog rockers will embark on their very first, out-of-the-country tour in China where language barriers and a diverse lifestyle await them.
August 1.
free music left to explore–all around the Capital Region, summer concert series have been crafted to offer a blend of different genres to the city’s inhabitants week after week. Rockin’ on the River in Troy has been a well-loved staple to its surrounding community, offering a free, 10-week concert series every Wednesday between June 7 and August 9.
AL: Create your own super group you’d want to play in.
AL: Being with NYS Music, I have to ask, who’ your favorite NY native artist?