NYS Music 20​17

Tag: upcoming show

  • Clifton Park Free Summer Performing Arts Series Makes its Debut July 2

    July 2 marks the beginning of the Performing Arts at the Common & Performing Arts Family Series at the outdoor Clifton Common Stage. The series will offer free shows geared towards adults on Sunday nights with kids shows being featured on Wednesday nights.

    Some of the performers on Wednesday nights include: Let’s Get Cookin’, “a fun-filled performance that utilizes drama, music, complex rhythms, and acrobatics,” The Puppet People featuring their performance, The Last Dragon, comedian Sylvia Fletcher as The Magic Trunk and many others. The Town of Clifton welcomes the entire family to these shows but invites an older audience to their free Sunday shows. Some acts include: The Accents, soulful indie pop group Sirsy, Fiddler on The Roof performed by The Not So Common Players and a plethora of other works.

    Clifton Park, located just north of Albany is a fitting location for a series like this. The stage they will be using for both of the series is a smaller one but has an ample amount of lawn seating to fit hundreds of people. It’s an ideal place to enjoy a late summer’s night show by honest and hardworking performers set at the best price – absolutely free.

    More information about all these events are found on the Town of Clifton’s website. Most shows start after 7 and, as previously mentioned, there is no charge for any of these events.

  • Fundraiser for Albany Icon Greg Nash set for Thursday

    Greg Nash, a beloved Albany based drummer, recently suffered a massive stroke, and to help with medical expenses, a benefit will be held on Thursday, March 23 at the Hollow Bar and Grill on Pearl Street beginning at 5 p.m. The event is being advertised as “Love For Greg.”

    Greg Nash

    A group of local and regional bands are coming together to help their brother and you can check them all out for just $10, of which all the proceeds will go to benefit Nash. Saratoga rockers Wild Adriatic, as well as Super 400 and Sean Rowe will headline the event, which runs until midnight. Sly Fox and the Hustlers, Let Go Daylight, Soul Sky, The Erotics, Blackcat Elliot, Toys in the Attic, Dashboard Anthem, Last Daze, Under the Den, Vatrano Road, Two Guys, Herb Carter, Erin Hawkes and Luke McNamme round out the bill.

    Event organizers said they are making special t-shirts to be sold that will also help Greg Nash, drummer of local legends Ten Year Vamp.

  • Boogie Low Celebrating New Release in Syracuse Saturday

    Syracuse-based groove rockers Boogie Low have a hometown party planned for the release of their new eponymous album at the Westcott Theater Saturday March 18.

    Photo Credit: Nicole Carey Photography

    Opening for Boogie Low Saturday night are fellow Syracuse-area natives, Barroom Philosophers, who are also promoting a new release.  Tickets for the show are $10 and can be purchased at Sound Garden in Armory Square or online through the Westcott Theater’s website.

    The quartet first formed as the Boogie Low Trio in 2011. Founding members Tommy Dennis (bass), Loudon Smith (guitar/vocals) and Brandon Caza (drums) used a reggae-tinged sound reminiscent of Sublime and other Long Beach, CA bands of the early ’90s as a base. The band ditched the “Trio” from its name when it brought on guitarist Matthew West in 2012. The band parted ways with Caza in 2013 and was replaced by Brandon Au, completing the band’s current lineup. Other contributors to the new album include Ray Wiggins on drums, Ty Hancock on keys and Josh Alaniz, also on keys.

    The new album, simply titled Boogie Low, has influences ranging from the aforementioned Sublime to Santana, moe., Umphrey’s McGee, 311 and Calexico. This range of influences allows Boogie Low to create its own distinct sound that encapsulates all of them.

    Smith’s vocals are rhythmic, soulful and smoky, while West’s western-style guitar solos wouldn’t be out of place on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. This is especially prominent on the tracks “Mexico,” “Eldin” and the band’s signature jam vehicle “Shadows,” which closes the album.  Wiggins’ drumming and Au’s percussion work is what keeps this train moving. Their beats are at the forefront of Boogie Low’s sound. The accents Wiggins and Au provide help to propel the rest of the band to the next level. One can easily feel the jamming possibilities in a live setting being propelled by the percussion.

    The CD was produced at SubCat Music Studios in Syracuse by Jeremy Johnston and mastered by Patrick MacDougal. The band credits Johnston as being the captain of the ship from start to finish. Physical copies of the album will be available at the Westcott Saturday night or directly through the band’s website. Following the show, the album will be available through iTunes, Spotify and on Pandora.

    Track list:
    1. Mexico
    2. Eldin
    3. Back to Nothing
    4. Better Way
    5. Colas in the Sky
    6. Annie
    7. Miss Bliss
    8. Tommy’s Song
    9. Walk On
    10. Mckenna
    11. Shadows

    Key Tracks: “Mexico,” “Colas in the Sky,” “Shadows”

  • Iraqi Metalists Acrassicauda Host Immigrant Resettlement Benefit in Brooklyn

    Brooklyn-based Acrassicauda, a metal band originally formed in Iraq and featured in the 2007 documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad, is hosting a benefit at the Knitting Factory Sunday to support immigrant resettlement programs in Brooklyn. The 6:00 p.m. all-ages show is free to attend, donations are encouraged.

    AcrassicaudaSpeaking with Billboard about the decision to conduct the benefit, the typically apolitical band says it was sparked by President Trump’s executive order calling for a travel ban from seven majority Muslim countries. Drummer Marwan M tells the magazine:

    We dodged that conversation because of everything we went through growing up in Iraq. But what’s going on here is idiotic and making us sick to our stomachs. We decided that we can’t pretend nothing is happening. This country is built on immigration and the idea of diverse cultures united. So many Americans are people who have fled their countries for one reason or another and built a home here. And this country has benefited from them.

    The Sunday show features special guests Alex Skolnick of Testament – who produced Acrassicauda’s debut EP, Only the Dead See the End of the War –  and Jay Weinberg of Slipknot, along with the bands I Killya, Sun & Flesh, Robots and Monsters and Signals of Bedlam.

    Original Acrassicauda members, drummer Marwan and guitarist/vocalist Faisal Talal, with assistance from members of Staten Island band Sicada, will headline the affair. All proceeds from the event, including from all Acrassicauda merchandise sold, will go towards immigrant resettlement causes. The band hasn’t designated one specific organization, but did say a portion will go to the International Rescue Committee, an organization instrumental in helping the band members when seeking asylum in 2009.

    Weinberg was enlisted to help via text message from Marwan after witnessing the recent airport protests. He was on board right away.

    If you’ve seen the documentary, then you know what those guys went through just to be a band; just to practice. They are trying to live, quote unquote, the American dream, but it seems more difficult to attain these days.  So, they are standing up and speaking out for what’s right. They walk the walk, and if I can contribute to a cause that they’re behind, I’m honored to be a part of it.

    Acrassicauda released its first full length album Gilgamesh in February 2016. Watch the powerful video for the single “Rise” below.  The Vice documentary Heavy Metal in Baghdad can be viewed in its entirety on the band’s website here.

  • Mike Powell & the Black River Making 2017 Debut Saturday

    Mike Powell returns to Syracuse this Saturday. However, he won’t be wielding the lacrosse stick that helped him become the all-time leading scorer with Syracuse University’s acclaimed lacrosse program. This time he comes packing his guitar and his new band, Mike Powell and The Black River.

    The show, at Funk ‘n Waffles Downtown, will feature Powell playing double duty. He’ll open the show with his solo material, which should be heavy on music from his latest album Tied to the Rail (reviewed here by NYS Music in December).  Powell’s solo material draws heavy influence from Bob Dylan and John Prine. His soulful voice and deep lyrics take the listener on an introspective ride. The Boston Globe has called him, “a polite rebel; a truly unique and inspiring American voice.”

    Mike Powell Black RiverFollowing Powell’s solo set, his band The Black River, named after the North Country waterway of the same name where Powell was raised, joins him for a set of high energy indie/soul/rock.

    The band (guitarist John Hanus, bassist Joe Bell, keyboardist Shane Kelson and Dom Scicchitano on the drums) formed in October of 2016 and has been busy laying down tracks at Big Blue North Recording Studio in Utica for its debut album, scheduled to arrive in March.

    Doors open at 6:30 and Powell’s solo set will begin at 7. Tickets, available via Ticket Fly or at the door, are $10.

  • Grammy Nominee Joe Louis Walker to appear at Funk ‘n Waffles

    When they’re serving up chicken and waffles at Funk ‘n Waffles, everybody wants a piece. Everybody Wants A Piece is also the name of Joe Louis Walker’s current record, recently nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. His own nomination follows previous recognition, as he has contributed both his songwriting and guitar playing skills to Grammy-winning recordings by B. B. King and James Cotton. The album, produced by Paul Nelson and released October 9, 2016, on Provogue Records through the Mascot Label Group, is available here.

    Joe Louis WalkerJoe Louis Walker is a San Francisco native who quickly gained expertise and notoriety, playing in a club’s house band at 16, touring with B. B. King at 19, and opening shows for innumerable blues and rock music legends at the famed Fillmore West for promoter Bill Graham.

    Joe Louis Walker, also a Blues Hall of Fame member, brings his band to Syracuse Thursday night for a performance at Funk ‘n Waffles, 313 South Clinton Street. It should be an exciting evening and a full house, as Syracuse native Byron “Kidd” Cage is Walker’s drummer. NYSMusic will be there, with a review and photos to follow.

    Doors for Grammy winner Joe Louis Walker open at 8:00 and the show begins at 8:30. Tickets are available through Ticketfly or at the door ($20/$25).

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