NYS Music 20​18

Category: Media

  • Hudson Taylor release video for “Old Soul,” featuring Gabrielle Aplin

    Hudson Taylor, an Irish-Americana Pop duo of brothers Alfie and Harry Hudson Taylor have released the video for “Old Soul,” off their recent EP Feel it Again, which charted in the Top 5 on the Irish album chart. The video was filmed during the band’s homecoming show at Dublin’s legendary Olympia Theatre and features guest vocals from Gabrielle Aplin.

    The duo recently toured the United States for the first time, supporting Aplin, and returned to Ireland where they performed to sold out crowds, as they did in Europe and the United States. Hudson Taylor will play summer festivals in Ireland, the UK and continental Europe, including high-profile spots at the UK festivals Leeds/Reading, Latitude and Isle of Wight, as well as Benicassim in Spain. The brothers will return to the UK and US for headlining tours in the fall.

  • Aqueous’ Mike Gantzer featured on Episode 5 of Empire State Music Podcast

    Aqueous is on the road in force this summer, starting out their summer at Disc Jam Music Festival. Lead singer and guitarist (Uncle) Mike Gantzer joins host Andy Hogan for episode 5 of Empire State Music Podcast. Listen on “>iTunes, via Simplecast and below on Soundcloud.

  • Photo Gallery: Post Malone Kicks Off Summer at Darien Lake

    Post Malone’s coast-to-coast, sold out tour made its only upstate NY appearance at Darien Lake on the last Saturday of May.

    All the signs aligned for for an memorable night for fans of the Syracuse native: postcard perfect weather, free entry to the adjacent theme park, first show of the season at Darien and a bevy of up-and-coming hip-hop acts on the bill. Check, check, check and check. From the reaction of the throngs of teenagers and twenty somethings, Posty did not disappoint.

  • Gallery: Journey at Times Union Center

    Journey performed at the Times Union Center in Albany on May 23 to a packed house, opening for Def Leppard.

    Setlist (courtesy of Setlist.fm): Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), Be Good to Yourself, Ask the Lonely, Neal Schon Guitar Solo #1, Stone in Love, Any Way You Want It, Lights, Jonathan Cain Piano Solo, Open Arms, Who’s Crying Now, La Do Da, Steve Smith Drum Solo, Neal Schon Guitar Solo #2, Wheel in the Sky, Faithfully, Don’t Stop Believin’

    Encore: Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’

  • Arkells Release Video for “People’s Champ,” Featured in This Year’s Stanley Cup Finals

    Arkells have released the video for “People’s Champ” via Last Gang Records. Directed by renowned photographer & creative Matt Barnes, the video brings the optimism sought within “People’s Champ” to life. Shot in the band’s hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, the video aims to find the joy at the at the heart of every-day, mundane surroundings. The song is set to debut this week as a key theme to the NHL’s Stanley Cup final.

    “‘People’s Champ’ is a political song, but also a joyful one,” says frontman, Max Kerman. “There’s a pulse to the song we wanted to capture. We wanted to see images of different kinds of people coming to life through music and the company of their friends and surroundings.” Arkells’ vision was realized through the direction of respected collaborator Matt Barnes. “Matt Barnes has a style of photography that is uniquely HIM. He always casts interesting subjects and is able to create a world within its own. We jumped at the opportunity to make a video with him – his effervescence makes for an amazing time on set,” added Kerman.

    “People’s Champ” is the first single to be announced off the upcoming fifth studio album from Arkells, set for release later this year. Written and recorded in Toronto by Arkells, produced by their previous collaborator, Eric Ratz (“Knocking at the Door” and “Leather Jacket”), and mixed by Mark Needham (The Killers, The 1975), “People’s Champ” is an upbeat, horn-infused, politically-charged anthem that is resonating deeply with listeners. CBC calls the song a “top contender for the title of 2018’s protest song of the year.”

    Earlier this year, Arkells announced “The Rally” on June 23, an official kick-off to the summer, live at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, with special guests Cold War Kids, Bishop Briggs and Elevator. Due to popular demand, the hometown show was shortly upgraded to a full stadium affair of up to 26,000 tickets, making it the band’s biggest headline show to-date, surpassing their 2017 summer show at Budweiser Stage in Toronto which sold out in three days. In partnership with PLUS 1, Arkells have already raised over $20K through ticket sales for “The Rally” that will be donated to Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health. More info and tickets can be found here.

    Notable Upcoming Shows and Festivals:
    June 23 – Hamilton, ON @ Tim Horton’s Field: The Rally w/ Special Guests Cold War Kids, Bishop Briggs
    Aug 25 – Cleveland, OH @ INCUYA Music Festival
    Aug 31 – Seattle, WA @ Seattle Centre – Bumbershoot Festival
    Oct 12 – Austin, TX @ Zilker Park – Austin City Limits
    Full tour schedule at arkellsmusic.com

  • Listen: Karolina Rose “Goodnight, Mr. Moon,” an electro-pop gem

    Karolina Rose, a Polish-American singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn today released her second single “Goodnight, Mr. Moon.” The midtempo and dark electro-pop gem explores grief through dreams while pulling on the moon as a muse. Rose will release her debut EP, produced by Andros Rodriguez (Florence and The Machine, Madonna) on August 10, and is already hard at work on her second EP with producer Elliot Jacobson (vérité, KAYE).

    The lyrical spark for “Goodnight, Mr. Moon” came from a conversation with experimental artist Heide Hatry, about her work with human ashes, and asked Karolina if she could write a song about death and perform it in her end of year showcase.  “As soon as I left the concert in the LES where she and I had met up, I had the song coming to me in my head and was singing it as I was walking down the street. Initially, it was just “How do I get you back? All the pieces in one. How do I get you back? All the pieces came undone.” I kept thinking about the theme of putting the pieces together to bring one’s loved one back,” recalls Rose. Coupling this concept with Karolina’s frequent nightmares, the first verse takes inspiration from a nightmare she woke from to see the moon projecting a spotlight onto the wall. Combining these two concepts led to her writing a song about a woman who processes her grief in dreams. “She thinks it is totally real until the end of the song when she wakes up from the dream and knows that it’s really time to say goodbye, indicated by the last lyrics: “Goodnight, Mr. Moon, you gave a kiss of peace, sweet gentle release.”

    With this dark seed of inspiration planted, thoughts of grief and delirium began to dance in Karolina’s head. ‘Goodnight, Mr. Moon’ is a grieving lunar daydream. After meeting producer Andros Rodriguez (Madonna, Florence and the Machine) last year, the two began collaborating shortly after and the Polish-American artist swapped the mundane for the magical, rediscovering her romantic soul. Now, with quixotic passion, Karolina explores a celestial grief. Listen to “Goodnight, Mr. Moon” on Spotify.

  • Listen to Episode 4 of Empire State Music Podcast featuring The Blind Spots

    In episode 4 of Empire State Music Podcast, host Andy Hogan sits down with The Blind Spots, a female-fronted, indie-pop power house out of Ithaca, NY who have toured throughout the United States. From playing with bands & artists like Lake Street Dive, Amy Helm, and Sharon Jones, The Blind Spots are guaranteed to make you shake your bones. Tune in on iTunes and Simplecast or listen below!

    https://soundcloud.com/empirestatepod/the-blind-spots

  • Queensryche Withstands Another Rainy Night in Upstate NY

    On Saturday, May 19, Queensryche, with special guests Great White and Autograph, took the Budweiser Summer Stage at Tag’s in Big Flats, NY despite intermittent rainy showers and brisk temperatures.

    Slated to kick off this headlining show at 10 pm, Queensryche, a powerhouse staple in rock and roll history since 1982, hit the stage early, just before 9:30, following solid performances by both Autograph and Great White. Although many thought this show might actually run behind, fearing rain delays, Queensryche busted out with their first song “Best I Can,” from their fourth studio album Empire, released in August 1990.

    Queensryche

    Led by original members Michael Wilton on guitar and Eddie Jackson on bass, Queensryche formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington. The band has gone through only a few notable lineup changes in 36 years, including Todd La Torre on vocals who replaced lead singer Geoff Tate in 2012, Parker Lundgren who, since 2009, has filled original guitarist Chris DeGarmo’s duties masterfully, and Casey Grillo, who is currently filling in the drumming department while original Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield is out on hiatus for paternity leave.

    Despite recovering from a broken right hand, La Torre’s vocals were amazingly powerful and strong as he belted out most of the progressive metal band’s catalog of hits including “The Lady Wore Black” and “Queen of the Reich” from Queensryche’s 1983 self titled EP, as well as the powerhouse hits from 1988’s Operation Mindcrime, “I Don’t Believe in Love” and “Eyes of a Stranger”. La Torre’s vocals only seemed to get stronger as the night progressed as he closed out with “Jet City Woman” and “Take Hold of the Flame.”

    Queensryche

    Although fans were thoroughly impressed with both Autograph and Great White, who were definitely in the pocket and put on great shows, they were most certainly left mesmerized by Queensryche’s powerful performance and 16-song set list that seemed to only get better after each song, leaving the crowd of thousands at Tag’s Summer Stage screaming for more. Queensryche closed this almost 90-minute set with the encores “Screaming in Digital” and “Eyes of a Stranger.”

    Setlist: Best I Can, Damaged, The Whisper, The Mission, Breaking the Silence, I Don’t Believe in Love, Silent Lucidity, Guardian, The Lady Wore Black, Empire, Queen of the Reich, Jet City Woman, Take Hold of the Flame, Walk in the Shadows, Screaming in Digital, Eyes of a Stranger

  • Electronic Duo Nite Haus Release Single and Video for ‘Calling You’

    American / German electronic duo Nite Haus have released “Calling You,” their first single and music video off their upcoming self-produced project, Saturation, due out in June. The album was recorded throughout 2015-2017 and was heavily influenced by Carrie Turner (vocals) and Nils Siegels’s (instrumentals, production) ever eventful lives in New York.

    Nite Haus shares on the influence of New York City on their music: “The City is a place full of stimuli, where your mind is constantly stimulated, and in turn, saturated. Carrie’s songwriting across the album touches on the glamour, the sex, and the energy that comes from living in such a place as New York City, while also opening up about her own experiences with depression and loss.”

    Nite Haus is an American / German electronic music duo who met through Craigslist, where Carrie had placed an ad saying: “Singer/fashion icon seeks weird amateur electronic musician.” Nils was her guy. Shortly after, the two began recording in Nils’s Williamsburg living room, and in 2014 self-released their debut album,Transform the Dark, which went to #11 on the CMJ RPM charts. Inspired by everyone from Kate Bush and Grimes to Daft Punk and New Order, their music mixes elements of house, electronic, and synthwave.

  • Intrepid Travelers bring out the oldies on ‘Over 65 Night’ of Cinco en Mayo Residency

    For week 2 of Intrepid Travelers Cinco en Mayo residency at Nietzsche’s, the theme was oldies, for “Over 65 Night” found the band members dressed as old men – except for Donny who was dressed as an old woman, and played songs congruent with the theme. The show opened with the debut of a new original song, “Mind Wanderer,” introduced as being written by Sam. The lyrics were changed to “I lost my grandma” rather than “I lost my mind” to reference the theme for the night.

    “When I’m 64” welcomed Marc Kabigting and Ellen Pieroni on clarinets, and the band did a double-time, bluegrass version of the song. “My Old School” and “Grown Folks” welcomed Pieroni back to the stage, this time on alto saxophone. The show Intrepid Travelers ‘Oldies’ show concluded with an extended version of “Once in a Lifetime.”

    https://www.facebook.com/intrepidtravelersfamily/videos/1937168176316047/

    Setlist: Mind Wanderer(1), Funnel ~> Over 65 Jam > Funnel, Old Man(2), When I’m 64(3)%, Lonely Skies, Touch of Grey(4), My Old School(5)$ > Grown Folks(6)$

    Encore: Once In a Lifetime(7)

    % with Marc Kabigting and Ellen Pieroni on clarinets
    $ with Ellen Pieroni on alto saxophone
    (1) Original debut, lyrics changed to “Grandma Wanderer”
    (2) Neil Young
    (3) The Beatles, played double time bluegrass style
    (4) Grateful Dead
    (5) Steely Dan
    (6) Snarky Puppy
    (7) Talking Heads

    The third week of IT’s Cinco en Mayo residency will feature Cosmic Brownie and celebrate Band Geeks and Spongebob Squarepants!

    Intrepid Travelers Oldies

Built in Breakdance