NYS Music 20​18

Category: Photo Gallery

  • 5 Amazing Things Taylor Swift Did at the Metlife Stadium

    Taylor Swift never stops to surprise us with great music and unforgettable performances and Taylor jumped in front of a huge crowd Friday, July 20 2018 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. For the first one of three shows in a row this weekend. Here are the Top 5 amazing things that happened during the show.

    Taylor Swift Metlife Stadium
    Photos By http://www.msartsandphotos.com/

    5. Stages

    The Reputation Stadium World Tour brings an ever changing 110′ feet tall stage with different set ups through out the concert. She also has two other extra stages for a total of three allowing Swift to get closer to those fans that couldn’t make it to the front row. This has been the biggest stage Taylor has ever had on tour.

    4. Bringing people together

    There is no doubt that the 28 year old songwriter is capable of pulling every heartstring of our bodies with her songs. She is also capable of bringing thousands of people together singing at the same time for a magical and fulfilling experience for any fan. The audience clearly demonstrated that they knew every song to its core.

    3. Creativity

    Many fans took the opportunity to unleash their creativity creating custom costumes, signs and props to catch her attention during the show.

    2. Giant Snakes

    No, It’s not a joke!. While she performed the lead single of the Reputation album Look What You Made Me Do. Taylor was joined in stage by her dancers and a stunning 30′ feet tall cobra. During her song “Shake it Off” she also had two giant snakes followed by great fireworks surprising the crowd even more.

    1. Top Quality Performances 

    Charli XCX and Camila Cabello were the opening acts in the show. Both of them performed some of their hit songs such as “Boom Clap” by Charli and “Havana” by Camila. They also joined Swift on stage when she performed “Shake it Off” which was the lead single on her previous album “1989”.

    The Reputation Stadium World Tour is set to continue until November 21, 2018. The last show will take place in Tokyo, Japan. The tour could become one of the highest-grossing tours of all time and it’s definitely worth seeing with your own eyes.

  • Dispatch Hits The Central Park Park Summer Stage

    On the evening of Wednesday, July 18, Dispatch, joined by Nahko and Medicine for the People and singer-songwriter Raye Zaragoza, took the stage in Manhattan’s Central Park for the first of a two-night stand. Brad Corrigan, Chad Stokes and Pete Francis formed Dispatch over twenty years ago and have been no strangers to New York City over the last two decades. The band reminisced on stage about the early years at the former lower Manhattan venue “The Wetlands.” In the summer of 2007, during their hiatus, Dispatch sold out Madison Square Garden for three consecutive nights. All of the money raised from those ticket sales went directly to charities that are fighting disease, famine and social injustice. And now, seven years after the break ended in 2011, they are a part of The City Parks Foundation’s illustrious SummerStage line up. Their blend of folk, indie rock, funk and reggae combined with their ability to just downright jam out is a perfect addition to the outdoor music scene the park is hosting this season.

    Set List:

    Only the Wild Ones, Time Served, Midnight Lorry, Bang Bang, Beto, Windy Like, Flying Horses, Painted Yellow Lines, Rice Water, Fallin’, Curse + Crush, Open Up, Fly With Me, Bats in the Belfry, Be Gone, Out Loud

  • Finding Paradise with Zac Brown Band in Syracuse

    Thousands of fans “went down the rabbit hole” to Zac Brown Band’s sold out show in Syracuse, NY at the Lakeview Amphitheater Saturday, June 23. Zac Brown Band is one of those bands that have been around for a while because they have so much stamina live. As the show progressed, the realization of how many popular songs they have hits you like the radio waves they have been surfing on.

    It was amazing seeing fans of all ages in the audience, proving that the Zac Brown Band appeals to music lovers of all ages. One of the highlights of the evening was when Zac brought out the opening act Mark O’Connor Band to perform “In My Blood” that Zac produced. It was truly an amazing sight and sound with the stage full of such talented musicians surrounding Zac. It was absolutely perfect when they all covered “With a Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles.

    Zac also took the time to speak about a cause that is dear to the band’s heart, Camp Southern Ground, which is a music camp for children. Zac told the audience that $2 from every ticket was donated to Camp Southern Ground that night. As the band began to play the riff’s to their smash hit “Chicken Fried,” Zac also thanked all of the service men and women.

    All in all after seeing the Zac Brown perform live, they made loving them so easy. They are one of the best live bands out there, sounding even better than on their albums. If you missed out on seeing their amazing performance, you still have a chance to catch them live July 28 and 29 in NYC at Citi Field, and on September 29 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.

    Set 1: Knee Deep, As She’s Walking Away, Sweet Annie, Day That I Die, It’s Not OK, Uncaged, Take Me to Church (Hozier cover), Tomorrow Never Comes, 2 Places at 1 Time, Keep Me in Mind, Highway 20 Ride, Whipping Post (The Allman Brothers Band cover)

    Set 2: Toes, Next to Me (Imagine Dragons cover), Family Table, Free / Into the Mystic, In My Blood
    (Mark O’Connor cover), Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles cover), With a Little Help From My Friends
    (The Beatles cover), Beautiful Drug, Colder Weather / Take It to the Limit, Chicken Fried, Homegrown

    Encore: Cult of Personality (Living Colour cover), Bennie and the Jets (Elton John cover), Long Train Runnin’ (The Doobie Brothers cover), Tush (ZZ Top cover), Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (Sly & The Family Stone cover), Despacito (Luis Fonsi cover), Baby Got Back (Sir Mix‐A‐Lot cover), Thunderstruck (AC/DC cover), Sabotage (Beastie Boys cover)

  • Brad Paisley Heats Up Syracuse With Weekend Warrior Tour

    Blistering heat didn’t stop masses of Brad Paisley fans from coming out to his Weekend Warrior World Tour stop at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater in Syracuse, NY.

    Flocks of ‘Weekend Warriors’ came to the venue early to tailgate by setting up tents, chairs and grills in true parking lot party form.

    Tour mates Dan Tyminski and Kane Brown performed for the crowd as the party moved from the parking lot into the venue for the show. Brown’s good looks and southern drawl left every female, young and old, screaming for more.  

    When Paisley hit the stage, he kept the party atmosphere going by having two bars set up on stage behind him with a handful of lucky fans enjoying drinks while he performed.

    Known for his support for the military and generosity, he brought out members of the military to salute them and every troop for their service. Shortly after that, he signed a guitar and gave it to a young girl in the audience saying, “This is how you make a Taylor Swift,” and instructed the young girl to learn how to play.

    Paisley performed for nearly 90 minutes and his old school guitar pickin’ country was truly refreshing to see. Carrie Underwood even made a surprise “appearance” via video chat with him as she sang their duet hit “Remind Me.”

    Brad Paisley‘s Weekend Warrior World Tour will continue to roll through the United States through September and will re-visit New York in Wantagh at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on August 10. 

  • The New York City Ballet is Coming to SPAC

    The annual tradition of the New York City Ballet taking up their summer residency in Saratoga, NY at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is upon us. Earlier this week seven tractor trailers began arriving carrying costumes, shoes, lights, sets, and anything else a world class ballet company would require on tour. Crews are working hard to ready the stage for the dancers including hanging the beautiful backdrops, and running over 3 miles of cable. Dancer’s have an entire truck load of costumes for this year’s one week run of performances along with over 1000 pairs of toe shoes.

    This year’s run begins on Tuesday, July 17 with a production of All Balanchine. George Balanchine was a world renown choreographer, who also had a hand in designing SPAC’s stage and acoustics. There will also be performances of Romeo + Juliet, and 21st Century Choreographers, The closing performance will be on Saturday, July 21 with the 2018 Gala featuring a celebration of Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein. Details can be found at spac.org

  • Blues Night: Former Members of The B.B. King Blues Band Ft. Tito Jackson at Alive at 5

    Thursday, June 28 was the perfect evening for the blues underneath the Albany Corning Preserve Boat Launch. The passing of a thunderstorm didn’t stop blues fans from across the Capital Region and beyond, from as far as Chicago, Illinois, from coming to Albany to attend the 4th concert of the 2018 Alive at 5 Concert Series, featuring Tito Jackson of The Jackson 5 and former members of the B.B. King Blues Band, with special guests, The Age.

    tito jackson alive at 5

    Infusing their own blend of funk and soul into their original tunes, The Age set the bar high as they brought out their funk and their soothing souls into Downtown Albany. Their short set was led on by The Age’s sister, who was providing the lead vocals throughout the evening. The Age, who happened to have a cold, wasn’t able to provide the vocals to his tunes. He was only able to provide some minimal backing vocals with his sister. Despite his lack of vocals, The Age was able to entice the audience with some sizzling guitar work on his lead solos on stage. Still, their set was just as fun and entertaining and set the mood for a great evening of blues.

    The blues remained alive and strong in Greater Albany as blues night continued inside Corning Preserve. The audience, even patrons holding up The Jackson 5 signage along the front barrier of the main stage, was anticipating the wait of the B.B. King Blues Band and their featured guitarist and vocalist, Tito Jackson. Many music fans may remember Tito Jackson from another famous musical family, the Jackson 5. Paying homage to blues great, B.B. King and the Jackson 5, this band was electrifying and certainly brought on the heat to continue to ignite a spark in the love of blues through their music and through the energy of their fans, and new fans alike.

    tito jackson alive at 5
    The B.B. King Blues Band, featuring band members Tito Jackson (lead guitar/vocals), Walter King (saxophone, B.B. King’s nephew), Darrell Lavigne (piano), Raymond Harris (trombone), James Bolden (vocals, with over 35 years as an original member of B.B. King’s Band), Russell Jackson (bass/upright bass/vocals), Herman Jackson (drums), Eric Demmer (saxophone), Lamar Boulet (trumpet), and Wilbert Crosby (lead guitar/vocals), were impressive and amazing to watch, paying homage to the late B.B. King as well as the Jackson 5 through a medley of tunes.

    Ranging from B.B. King’s “Every Day I Have the Blues,” “Guess Who” and “The Thrill Is Gone” to standard blues songs such as “Big Boss Man,” “Rock Me Baby,” “A Dog Is Still a Dog” (Tito dedicated the tune to his late father Joe Jackson and brother Michael), and even the classic Jackson 5 hit tunes “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “A.B.C.” among others, the entire ensemble was on fire! The chemistry and the back to back interplay amongst the performers like Herman Jackson (drums) and Lavigne and Eric Demmer, to the guitar interplay by Wilbert Crosby, Russell Jackson (who was tip toeing towards the front of the stage playing the bass guitar as if it was a standard guitar, moving fast along the fret board), and Tito Jackson was captivating to watch! The emotion was certainly felt between the performers through their effortless performances within their song choices.

    tito jackson alive at 5

    “I love the blues!,” shouted out bassist Russell Jackson after playing one of the songs during the start of their set! The crowd was certainly giving the band and Tito Jackson some love to their blues playing all evening, waving their arms in the air and swinging album art of the Jackson 5 towards the group for them to sign at a later time.

    Upon entering the stage to perform a series of guitar solos during the middle of the B.B. King tune “Every Day I Have The Blues,” Tito Jackson took the time to thank the fans for their kind words and thoughts concerning the recent passing of his father and founder of the Jackson 5, Joe Jackson, who had passed away just two days shy of the 9 year anniversary of his son Michael’s death (June 25). Jackson had contemplated on whether or not he was going to cancel his Albany performance but had decided that the show must go on and performed in honor of both his father and brother. Jackson would also later dedicate “I Want You Back,” “The Love You Save” and “A.B.C.” to his loved ones and his fans. Concluding the evening with B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone,” Tito Jackson stood upon the large speakers and moved along the row to shake hands with his fans and sign autographs on their signage and other memorabilia while the band concluded the song to signal the end of an evening. Although the fans shouted out for an encore song from Jackson, there was no encore performance.

    To be a part of watching two established performers such as the B.B. King Blues Band and Tito Jackson on the Alive at 5 Concert Stage was truly an honor and a privilege to be a part of this special evening underneath the Albany Corning Preserve Boat Launch. Great blues from these living and non-living legends continues to remain strong as shown through the eyes of these great performers that continue to keep their band members and family members’ legacies alive through the power of blues.

  • Drive By Truckers Solo Show Rocks Woodstock

    Southern rockers Drive By Truckers took a free night amid their Summer tour with Tedeschi Trucks Band and The Wheels of Soul tour to play a rocking show in Woodstock, NY. The Colony, a beautifully restored building in the heart of Woodstock, hosted a full house of excited fans, braving the heat, to hear the five piece group play some of their time-tested favorites along with some new songs that will appear on their next album.

    Facing these turbulent times the only way they know how, The Drive By Truckers tackle today’s issues with straight forward and honest lyrics. Showing that they’re in the same boat as many of us, trying to make sense of a world that is making less and less sense.

  • Special Guests join Tedeschi Trucks Band at SPAC for a Night of Rockin’ Southern Soul

    Southern rock and roll rose up in Saratoga Springs at SPAC on July 3rd, with special guests led by Greenville, South Carolina’s Marcus King Band, Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s Drive-By Truckers and Jacksonville, Florida’s Tedeschi Trucks Band. If that lineup of musicians doesn’t conjure images of extended soulful guitar solos and rock n roll in the vein of The Allman Brothers Band, you may need to eat a peach. Over three hours of combined music, these three bands combined for one of the most rockin’ shows this year, and a treat for anyone able to see the Wheels of Soul tour and is treks across New York State and the country this month, headed west for a two-night run at Red Rocks in Colorado.

    tedeschi trucks special guests

    Opening with “Tell the Truth,” TTB’s love for Clapton shone on both ends of the set, with “Key to the Highway” appearing later in the set. “Don’t Know What it Means” with its blaring horn intro and Tedeschi’s pipes never fails to get bodies moving, and a giant sax bridge from Kebbi Williams segued perfectly into “The Letter.” A smooth jam in “Little Martha/Midnight in Harlem” preceded covers of Dylan’s “Down in the Flood,” and the Stevie Wonder written/The Band performed “Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever,” then punctuated by “I Want More,” an original that crescendoed like a rock orchestra, ending with thunderous drums from the duo of J.J. Johnson and Tyler Greenwell.

    The earlier performers of the evening were welcomed to the stage eagerly by both band and audience. Drive by Trucker’s Patterson Hood joined in on “Let me roll with it,” a sing along featuring double driving guitar via Hood and Trucks. Marcus King joined on guitar and vocals for Clapton/B.B. King’s “Key to the Highway” where Mike Mattison showed monster presence with his powerful vocals. To close the night, the band welcomed Eric Krasno of Lettuce and Soulive fame and Tash Neal from London Souls for an enthusiastic “Statesboro Blues.”

    There is as mantle for the wider Allman Brothers Band family, including Gov’t Mule, Les Brers, Great Southern, Derek Trucks Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and many more yet to come. To see any is to experience the full southern rock band sound, the real deal, every time.

    Setlist (via setlist.fm): Tell the Truth, Part of Me, Don’t Know What It Means, The Letter, Little Martha/Midnight in Harlem, Down in the Flood, Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever, I Want More, Let Me Roll It*, Laugh About It, Key to the Highway^, Shame, Bound for Glory
    Encore: Statesboro Blues+
    * w/ Patterson Hood
    ^ w/ Marcus King
    + w/ Eric Krasno, Tash Neal (London Souls)

  • Umphrey’s McGee: Welcome Back to Asbury Park

    For the eighth consecutive year, Umphrey’s McGee made The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park New Jersey a part of their summer plans. Located in the lot behind the iconic Jersey shore rock venue The Stone Pony, the Summer Stage sets have historically showcased the metal and prog rock side of Umphrey’s Mcgee’s vast spectrum of musical influences. The 2018 installment continued this tradition by showcasing “Remind Me” as a first set closer followed by a “Wizard Burial Ground” into a  “Sludge & Death” second set opener. They would ultimately close out the second set by going back to “Wizard Burial Ground” as well.

    In past years, Umphrey’s McGee has taken the Asbury Park encore as an opportunity to bust out a cover. They have dropped both “Mother” by Danzig and “Last Caress” by the Misfits as band debuts in 2012 and 2016, respectively. And their 2014 “Front Porch” had a “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls” (reprise) mashed into it. “Don’t Go Chasing Front Porches” on Zonkey part 2 maybe? For 2018’s encore, Pantera’s “Walk” was played for the first time with this preamble from bassist Ryan Stasik; “What’s up, New Jersey!?!?!?!? Put your fists in the air! When we come to New Jersey, we come to kick fuckin’ ass and play rock and roll.  We lost a good one, we lost Vinnie. He’s up there with Dimebag. Pantera meant a lot to me growing up. Rest in peace, we’re gonna play some non-sissy type music. Let’s have some fun!”

    mm/

    Setlist:

    Set One: Nipple Trix, Roctopus, Pequod, Andy’s Last Beer, Seasons, It Doesn’t Matter, You and You Alone, Remind Me

    Set Two: Wizard Burial Ground, Sludge & Death, Xmas At Wartime, The Silent Type, Jessica, Cemetery Walk, Cemetery Walk II, August, Wizard Burial Ground

    Encore: Kula, Walk

  • Photo Gallery: Lettuce at Blue Note Jazz Festival

    The Blue Note Jazz Club hosted Lettuce for an extraordinary 5-night residency for the tail-end of the Blue Note Jazz Festival.  Photos from June 29 10:30pm set are below!