This Wednesday, March 8, Melvin Seals & JGB will return to The Westcott Theater in Syracuse. The “Keepers of the Flame” are no strangers to Central New York, having played the same venue less than six months prior and every year since 2012.
The folky Dishonest Fiddlers as well as Upstate’s own Los New Yorkers are opening for Seals and his band, so fans can expect a little bit of everything on this upcoming hump day. The Syracuse show is the third stop in the Empire State this tour, following their Friday night performance with special guests Ron Holloway and John Kadlecik at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and the Tuesday night gig at the Buffalo Iron Works with Pink Talking Fish.
Melvin Seals and JGB continue to show their love for New York as they return to the Putnam Den in Saratoga Springs on Saturday, March 11 and the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock on Sunday, March 12. The different bills feature eclectic opening acts from all over the Northeast, so prepare for something unique and special to happen at every show.
Tickets for Wednesday night’s show at the Westcott Theater are still available and the remainder of the tour dates can be found here.
Putting an end to the winter season, the Minus Zero Winter Sports and Music Festival, is ready for another go-around. Festival organizers have announced the lineup for their second annual event, taking place at the Stratton Mountain Resort, in South Londonderry, VT, on April 7 and 8. Minus Zero, not only features music across three different stages, festival goers can also hit the slopes with their skis or snowboards.
Zeds Dead, will headline the opening night of the festival, with Bassnectar and GRiZ, headlining the closing night. Fans will see support from Illenium, Pierce Fulton – who returns for his second stint on the festival – and a back-to-back set by Nekro and Exssv.
Fans with lift passes can head up the mountain where they will find the Summit Stage, and take in not only beautiful scenery, but some live music before heading back down one of the 97 trails the mountain has to offer over it’s 670 plus acres. The summit stage will run both days (weather permitting) from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm.
Last years inaugural event saw the likes of Deadmau5, and Kaskade in the headlining spot with support from Surge Devant, Thomas Jack and Tony Arazdon to name a few.
Two day passes will cost $139.00 before fees. Fans in Manhattan can purchase a 2-day shuttle option to and from the festival for $209.00 before fees. Single day tickets cost $69.00 before fees. One, Two, and Three day lift tickets are available for $62, $122, and $180, before fees. Onsite lodging, V.I.P passes, and free parking are also available.
Get ready for the Chase Brothers to take your ears by storm. JAZZ IS PHSH, founded in 2015 by Adam and Matthew Chase, are releasing their debut album, He Never Spoke A Word, on March 3. The group is well known for having an ever-revolving cast of musicians joining in during shows. The concept behind JAZZ IS PHSH is that an instrumental jazz feel is brought to Phish songs, leaving plenty of room for exploration and improvisation on stage. Stacked with special guests throughout, including Kofi Burbridge, Jonathan Scales, Chris DeAngelis, Holly Bowling, and Carl Gerhard to name a few, twists and turns of musical delight await. Hold on to your seat, or not, as the album is broken down track by track.
“Ghost” quietly tip toes into the melody with gentle steel pan and keys leading the way. Rich and airy flute meander their way through the tune, as warm keys float along with deep bass tones. This breezy song is a classy start to an album full of joyful music. Trumpet, trombone and sax meet up to fill out the melody as if it’s a cocktail party, with each musical instrument socializing with others before all meeting up in the same room to toast in celebration. The champagne has been popped and the album is off to a glorious start.
Now that the listener is in a relaxed state, “Cars Trucks and Buses,” steps things up as horns kick into gear, and bass slaps remain a constant. Trombone bending notes fill out midway, only to hand things off to the tenor sax before the other instruments join in on the fun. “Weigh” holds a beat that insists on movement. That slide trombone reaches out and begs to take the listener by the hand to the dance floor. Close your eyes and it’s easy to forget this a jazz interpretation of a Phish song. Rockin’ guitar chords step in for a brief moment, without losing the calm mood that lingers along.
“Foam” is a combination of melodies dancing around each other, but never losing sight of the core undertones. Lighthearted steel pans, coupled with sax, jazz the hell out of this track, imploring listeners to get those feet tapping forward and back to the beat. Up and down, around and around, the kaleidoscopic rhythm flows without hesitation, as guitar intertwines for the duration. A sunshine lit song, this is one to play repeatedly on rainy days to lift the spirit and soothe the soul.
Switching gears, “46 Days” takes off with heavy bass bombs, crunchy guitar, and funky keys. Easy trumpet paces its way early on before handing off the beat to the guitar for layered, soulful chords. Don’t be surprised if this jam creates visions of riding in a Cadillac with the top down, rolling down the strip in Vegas, without a care in the world. Don’t break that vision yet, as “Dog Log” busts onto the scene with a muted trumpet, creating a smooth blend of piano, sax, and trumpet as they join in full force. The silky drums on the backend hold the tune together while explorations on horns take charge. This track brings the listener back into Phish, but only for a moment, before the band takes off into jazzy directions full of zest.
The stereotypical feel of a jazz club, complete with half empty whiskey glasses and ever present cigar smoke, takes hold as “Lawn Boy” makes it’s entrance. Seductive guitar tones fill the air, as teasing trumpet and sexy sax traipse along. “Meat” pulls the listener out of that smokey club and back onto the dance floor to sway along with a partner. Snapping out of the leisurely melodies, “Camel Walk” takes the listener on an energetic ride. Jazzy guitar, followed by warm trombone, carry the majority of the track. Towards the end, a switch up occurs with the beat, the key, and the variety of instruments that bring the track to a solid close.
Throwing it back to the jazz era, “Magilla” throws splashes of images reminiscent of backroom speakeasies. Feet that can’t stop dancing to the quick tempo come alive. The trumpet flits about the melody, as the saxophone darts in and out of the notes, producing a colorful creation of tones that chase each other as the jazzed up number swirls along. Closing out the album, a jazzy jam sandwich featuring “Alumni Blues>Letter To Jimmy Page>Alumni Blues” wraps up the musical journey in style. Free flowing flute slide around, bouncing in and out of the horns, keys, and guitar tones, cooling down the listener and taking the music full circle.
Overall, He Never Spoke A Word is brimming with colorful imagery drawn out by the improvisational melodies and experimental tones, having fun with each song. It’s easy to forget that this album is stacked with jazz interpretations of Phish songs, with hints here and there reminding the listener of the true beginnings of each tune.
For Phish fans who’ve never been truly introduced to jazz, and for jazz fans that are unfamiliar with Phish, this is the perfect cross over album for fans of both, as well as lovers of music in general. He Never Spoke A Word truly reaches admirers of music across the board, both young and old alike. This is perfect accompaniment music for any occasion and would fit well in everyone’s musical catalog.
For more information regarding JAZZ IS PHSH, along with tour dates and their debut album, please visit their official website.
Montage Mountain, in Scranton, PA is ready for another four-day festival weekend this summer, as the Peach Music Festival, has announced its 2017 lineup for the festival’s sixth annual event which takes place Aug. 10-13.
This year’s lineup will include several New York State, including New Hartford native Joe Bonamassa, NYC natives Lettuce, who will feature Chaka Kahn during their set, and Buffalo’s Aqueous, performing two sets during the festival.
Other artist appearing over the four-day festival will include Gov’t Mule and Friends, My Morning Jacket, Dark Star Orchestra, Rusted Root, Mike Gordon, Papadosio, the Record Company, Whiskey Myers, Pink Talking Fish, Holly Bowling, the Jauntee, Elise Testone and Widespread Panic, who will be performing on two separate nights.
Also, Umphrey’s McGee, and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, will each perform 2 sets in one night during the festival.
Jam band fans love the Peach Music Festival. The festival has a wide variety of music genres that include folk, country, jazz, and several styles of rock.
The festival was created by the Allman Brothers Band, along with Live Nation Entertainment, in 2012. Festival lovers were worried in 2015, that the annual event would end, after the Allman Brothers Band decided to quit touring after 45 years in 2014, but side projects of band members appearing at the festival, helped ease the minds of attendees that the Peach Music Festival is sticking around for awhile.
Vendors for the festival have not been named as yet, and the festival itself is still taking vendor applications.
There are several different ticket levels to purchase. Pass levels include General Admission (GA), Reserved, VIP, and Super VIP. All passes include all four days of the festival. No single day passes are available. Prices for passes increase $20-$30 over time as the show draws closer. Children passes (ages 6-10) will be available at the door for $60 before fees while supplies last. Children five and under do not require a ticket.
Sunday night, The Barkley Ballroom in Frisco, CO was home to a reunion of two former New Yorker bandmates turned Colorado transplants. Thom LaFond, former guitarist for Albany-based and Camp Bisco alum, Dirty Paris, joined his former bassist, Chris Duffy, with Duffy’s current band The Magic Beans for an ambient take on The Magic Bean’s space funk rager “Jabu Jabu’s Belly.”
LaFond lent his hand in setting the tone with an opening improv jam, heavy with ambient delay which built the suspense and anticipation for the first drop into the meat of the song where Casey Russell took over with a soulful organ lick to get the bodies moving. Chris Duffy held things down for the bulk of the song with his thick bass grooves while the rest of the band moved through keeping things danceable yet continuing to utilize the spacey vibe that has become more familiar to a Beans dance party as they develop as a band.
Around the 8:20 mark, drummer Cody Wales started laying out the heavy snare hits, signaling the jam to open up, transforming into a high flying shred fest. Lafond adeptly built the speed and intensity of his lead work while Beans guitarist Scott Hachey complimented, both matching LaFond’s picking runs and building things up behind LaFond to take the final few minutes of this jam into something that had the whole room soaring before being dropped straight back into the dance party for a few more measures.
If you haven’t had a chance to experience The Magic Beans in person, be sure to catch them on tour in April.
The Magic Bean’s 5th annual music festival Beanstalk, will be held June 22nd-25th at the legendary festival venue Rancho del Rio along the Colorado River in Bond, CO. The lineup includes tons of faces familiar to the Northeast jam scene including Holly Bowling, lespecial, Corey Henry, Tom Hamilton as well as a smattering of established and up-and-coming awesome Colorado based bands. Don’t miss out on a chance to learn why Colorado is so in love with The Beans.
You can catch LaFond’s band, Banshee Tree, at License No. 1 in Boulder, CO every Saturday night for a swing dance-dance party.
WEQX, The Real Alternative, has three big shows in Albany this weekend! Thursday March 2: Slothrust at The Hollow
This Brooklyn-based trio of graduates from Sarah Lawrence College bring their Indie-grunge rock with influences of jazz and blues to The Hollow on March 2nd. They recently performed at Upstate Concert Hall this past November. Check out their latest album Everyone Else.
This pop duo from California hits The Hollow the following night, and will be performing at SXSW Festival later this month. Fun fact: singer Asa Taccone (brother of Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone) helped Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer produce “Dick in a Box,” among other Lonely Island numbers.
Self proclaimed ‘Dairy Rock‘, this San Francisco garage pop rock comes to The Low Beat on Sunday night. Their latest EP, We’re Set, has found them joining the stage with the likes of Hinds, Night Beats, Adult Books, SWMRS, The Aquadolls and many more.
Everyone needs some feel good dance music in their life and mainstream pop doesn’t always tickle the fancy of listeners. Crystal Fighters found a way to create a cultured, unique and all around fun album to enjoy, with past albums like Cave Rave and Star of Love inspiring some good feelings. A majority of their songs were uplifting but some had a darker, more intense feeling to them. Their new album, Everything is My Family, is a bit contrary to their prior work. It has a more straightforward structure to it and many characteristics of today’s pop songs. But the groups Bosque roots and use of organic instruments from that area of Spain sets this apart from mainstream pop songs and it makes for an interesting and different take on the genre.
The sound isn’t the only thing that’s interesting; The story behind the group’s beginnings is almost too good to be true. Group vocalist, Laure Stockley, found her deceased grandfather’s unfinished opera that he started in his last days when he was deemed insane, according to The Guardian.Earlier albums were created in an attempt to finish and recreate some parts of the unfinished play, but that vibe and character they have created has taken on a life of it’s own which now isn’t so dark and insane. It’s more uplifting and motivational and heavily based around partying and having a good time.
Some people might think the lyrics a little corny, but deep lyrical content was never the focal point of pop/dance music. Looking past that, listeners will find the group has a great story and inspiration behind it, along with a tasteful twist on a tired out genre.
“Yellow Sun” is up first and it could be seen as background music for a Corona commercial, where “twentysomething’s” dance around a makeshift bonfire under a moonlit sky. There’s a fair amount of acoustic instrumentation with hints of synthetic sounds and it makes for a good segue into the moral/ direction of the album. The following track “Good Girls” has the same feel but includes more of a synthetic sound. They’re both key tracks that prepare listeners for Crystal Fighters’ change of pace.
“Live For You” is the only ballad on the album. It’s a spacey and euphoric tune that’s synthetically driven but includes a plethora of unique but pleasant tones that make it intriguing and immersive. Vocalists whisper lyrics through a slightly auto-tuned tone but it’s sung over acoustic drums and acoustic guitar which gives a cool contrast.
“Ways I Can’t Tell” is one of their less impressive songs. It was definitely created for the rave scene. It’s very predictable and has no other purpose but as a build of for a drop. The drop isn’t really that special either, but it’ll make a nice addition to a dance/ pop playlist for die hard fans of the genre.
“All Night” is going to be hit or miss with listeners too. It’s very tribal with light touches of synthetic instrumentation but it’s very busy and polyrhythmic, meaning there’s a number of conflicting rhythms and percussion instruments. It’s what gives music that primitive or tribal sound. Fighters uses it a lot in this album but it’s very prominent in this track.
“Fly East” is one of the most interesting songs on the album. It builds in the strangest way and at first listen is completely unpredictable. It’s the longest track on the album and it needs to be because it’s always changing direction and tone. It’s light and dark, excitable then settled and is over all just epic. The end of the song is unfortunately a let down. There’s so much time spent building up this feeling with different directions, and it lazily concludes with a fade out. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine what would be the perfect ending for the song would be.
“Lay Low” caps off the album with a natural and uplifting tone. It consists of almost all acoustic instruments and holds a powerful message about living life to the fullest while it’s still good. The music isn’t very complex so listeners can focus on the meaningful lyrical content a little bit more. The music is still catchy and fun and it makes a perfect ending to an inspiring album.
The album is available on multiple platforms and are coming to Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg April 5 and 6.
Twiddle has announced the 2017 lineup for their second annual Tumble Down music festival, held on the Burlington, Vermont waterfront, will include Fruition, Madaila, Aqueous and more.
Tumble Down, Twiddle’s music festival returning to Waterfront Park in their hometown of Burlington, Vermont July 28 and 29, features four sets from Twiddle along with sets from Americana/bluegrass act Fruition, Burlington psych pop band Madaila, Buffalo jammers Aqueous, and San Francisco-based Midnight North. The festival also features daytime sets from New York based acts Lucid and Teddy Midnight, along with Strange Machines, Holly Bowling and Vermonters Navytrain and The Mangroves.
In addition to the waterfront festival, Tumble Down features late night performances each night. July 28 will see the Everyone Orchestra, conducted by Matt Butler and featuring Holly Bowling along with members of Twiddle, Fruition and Midnight North, at Higher Ground, while lespecial and the Pitchblak Brass Band play Club Metronome. On July 29, Mihali and Friends play Higher Ground, and Gang of Thieves with Backup Planet are at Club Metronome. All the late night shows start at 11 p.m. The Higher Ground shows are all ages and are $18 in advance or $23 at the door, while you must be 21 or over to attend the Club Metronome shows, which are $10.
Tickets for Tumble Down 2017 and all the late night shows are on sale now. A two day pass for Tumble Down costs $63.
This past Saturday, February 25, Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band brought their original sound to Retro Live, a new concert venue in Plattsburgh, NY. Between original guitar solos from Alex Mansman and the leadership of front man Joe Mansman, each member perfectly complemented each other.
The band brought a fully stacked set list with them and most being originals. I found myself head banging to new riffs that felt right. To sum up Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band, the only words that I can use to describe them is rock and roll. Joe Mansman brought a stage act that to me has been missing with a lot of newer bands. With songs like “Below or Above” and “Dead as it Gets,” I really felt that I was at a rock show in the late 1970’s but with fresh with new rock music. About half way through the set, the front man and keyboardist Chris Becker played a couple duets to give the show a smooth transition to a heavy ending.
Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band is a group that gives people an option to let loose and bang your head. They ended the show with “Live Free or Die,” and were not afraid to bring the show off the stage. With front man Joe Mansman jumping onto a pool table and guitarist Alex Mansman hopping down to the venue floor to play heavy riffs, the group brought a show that had something for everyone.
Setlist: Dead as it Gets, Below or Above, Born to be Wild (Steppenwolf cover), Reap and Sow, Cold Virginia Nights, Blaze of Glory (Bon Jovi cover), Hell or High Water, All Along, Den of Thieves, Mother (Danzig cover), She’s Mine, Long Rope, You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive (Darrell Scott cover), Rock and Roll ain’t Noise Pollution(AC/DC cover), Nobody’s Sun, Boundless Grace, Too far gone, Cut out my tongue, Crowbar hotel, House of Wolves, Live Free or Die
Silly Girl is The Big Takeover’s fourth full-length release since their last album three years ago. Neenee Rushie, a Jamaican-born songwriter and powerhouse singer leads this six-membered band in their musical endeavours. A tight-knit ensemble, made up of two horns including the trombone and saxophone, backs her up. A bass, guitar and drums accompany this unique horn section to create a sonically distinctive sound for the group.
From New Paltz, NY The Big Takeover’s infectious twelve-track Jamaican R&B sound has got everyone grooving along starting with the first song, “Rubber Biscuit.” This opening track doesn’t waste a beat as they begin with a quick drum section by band member Hector Becerra and go immediately into the horns played by Andy Vogt and Chas Montrose. The singing takes a backseat in this song unlike in the track “Things You Do” in which the vocals are definitely noteworthy.
The string instruments, with Kerry Shaw on the guitar and Rob Kissner on bass, play a major role in establishing the head-bobbing rhythm of songs like “Love Understands” and the namesake song, “Silly Girl.” A personal favorite is “Come Before Five” and was released off the record prior to the album release date itself. Its catchy tune just can’t seem to leave my head – but that’s a good thing in music!
With hints of soul and Motown also peaking through in their songs, The Big Takeover successfully join the popular music movement while still paying homage to their influences in reggae and ska music.
Key Tracks: Silly Girl, Love Understands, Come Before Five, Rubber Biscuit
Get ready for the Chase Brothers to take your ears by storm. 
“Ghost” quietly tip toes into the melody with gentle steel pan and keys leading the way. Rich and airy flute meander their way through the tune, as warm keys float along with deep bass tones. This breezy song is a classy start to an album full of joyful music. Trumpet, trombone and sax meet up to fill out the melody as if it’s a cocktail party, with each musical instrument socializing with others before all meeting up in the same room to toast in celebration. The champagne has been popped and the album is off to a glorious start.
The Magic Bean’s 5th annual music festival Beanstalk, will be held June 22nd-25th at the legendary festival venue Rancho del Rio along the Colorado River in Bond, CO. The lineup includes tons of faces familiar to the Northeast jam scene including Holly Bowling, lespecial, Corey Henry, Tom Hamilton as well as a smattering of established and up-and-coming awesome Colorado based bands. Don’t miss out on a chance to learn why Colorado is so in love with The Beans.
The band brought a fully stacked set list with them and most being originals. I found myself head banging to new riffs that felt right. To sum up 
Joe Mansman and t
