Varying iterations of rock will grace the stage at Saranac Brewery in Utica, NY this summer, including Dirty Heads, Dispatch and Taking Back Sunday.
Reggae rockers Dirty Heads will swing by Sunday, June 10, supported by Iration, The Movement and Pacific Dub. One dollar of every ticket sold along this tour will be donated to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which works to bring awareness to environmental issues and affect impactful change. Doors open at 6 p.m. Show starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets go on sale Friday, March 16 at 10 a.m. through Ticketfly or Creative Concerts.
Indie rockers Dispatch will play Sunday, July 15 along with songstress and environmental activist Raye Zaragoza.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. This is an all ages show.
Tickets are on sale now at Ticketfly, Creative Concerts, the Brewery Shop, and at the Sound Garden in Armory Square.
Emo rockers Taking Back Sunday will hit the stage Saturday, July 28. Although they will be sharing the stage with Coheed and Cambria for most of their summer tour, they will be performing solo at Saranac. Doors open at 7 p.m. Show begins at 8 p.m. Get tickets through Ticketfly or Creative Concerts.
A total of five years have come and gone without fresh Arctic Monkeys material, leaving fans with AM to hold them over until the English rockers’ latest musical venture. Promising fans fresh content in the near future, it seems the seasoned performers will stay true to their convictions with newly announced North American tour dates for Arctic Monkeys as the warmer weather rolls in.
One gig at LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery kicks things off in May, before hopping to the other side of the states for three-show runs in Raleigh, Nashville and Atlanta. The foursome will take on the East Coast on July 24 at Queens, NY Forest Hills Stadium before moving onto Boston and DC as well as Midwestern territories in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Toronto.
Pre sale tickets went on sale March 13 at 10 a.m., while tickets go on sale to the general public on March 16. In tandem with the freshly announced European gigs, this will be the first tour since 2014.
Check out their tour dates on their site and below:
May 5 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
June 14-17 – Dover, DE – Firefly Festival
June 16 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
June 18 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
June 19 – Atlanta, GA – Coca Cola Roxy Theatre July 24 – Queens, NY – Forest Hills Stadium
July 27 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
July 28 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
July 31 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events center
August 1 – Detroit, MI – Masonic Temple Theatre
August 5 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
“Fake You,” indie pop artist Yoke Lore‘s recent single, off his upcoming album Absolutes, finds him exploring the grey areas between black and white ideas while building upon the lush, sonic palette of his past works. Adrian Galvin, formerly of Walk the Moon and Yellerkin, embarks on a solo musical endeavor that combines echoing waves of banjo, vocals, and percussion to create unforgettable pop songs with tactile sincerity and conviction.
Galvin will release Absolutes in the summer of 2018 after a cross-country spring tour with FRENSHIP. Discussing the upcoming album, Galvin explains, “These songs all gravitate around the struggle between two sides of something. The opening track, “Fake You,” is about the difficulty of realizing your perception of someone doesn’t necessarily match who they really are. “Cut And Run” follows, conveying the instinct to flee versus the instinct to find a home, and “Concrete” illustrates Galvin’s struggle between living in the city and being in the country. “So, they are all the conflicts of absolutes,” he states. “There must be a balance, some movement and some pull. A life of absolutes is no life at all.”
Galvin first hit the ground running in 2016 with Yoke Lore’s debut EP, Far Shore, released on B3Sci Records. In 2017, the title track of his 2017 EP Goodpain hit #1 on Hype Machine, and quickly after his songs caught fire on Spotify, racking up over 10 million plays throughout the year. The new music finds multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and visual artist Adrian Galvin polishing his heartfelt anthems and ruminating on finding balance amid respective oppositions by breaking through the notion that truth necessitates purity.
With ten years in the rear view mirror since his last visit, Andrew Bird finally returned to The Egg Performing Arts Center in Albany for a nearly sold out, intimate performance for an all-ages crowd. Making a comeback to the acoustically enchanting venue, the violin-wielder set up a cozy shop on stage for an uninterrupted show, complete with ample finger plucking and whimsical whistling for anevening of nature-inspired bliss.
A dapper Bird took the stage solo to unleash an eclectic mix of live music and cinematic visuals to “River” and “Canyon” from his 2015 and 2017 albums, Echolocations. Combining the delicate sounds of nature, alluring violin compositions and “visuals generated from USGS Topographic Imagery of Los Angeles River and Coyote Gulch, Utah,” the ethereal musician was able to bring the great outdoors to a chillingly quiet audience, ready to absorb the emotion ahead. With previously captured video of Bird strumming along to the rhythmic flowing of canyon water while barefoot, the audience felt like they too were ankle-deep in the same stream Bird splashed around in.
Showcasing his talent and vulnerability as a solo artist, the Chicago native proved that one instrument and a few foot pedals can provide endless looping and musical possibilities. With a main backdrop and two smaller screens off to the side of stage left and right, visuals of vast canyons of wonder and trickling rivers worked in tandem with Bird’s musically replicated sounds of nature, creating a sensory highway for the masses. The film footage, captured by Tyler Manson, allowed Bird to duet with himself for a harmonious delivery and even seemed stunted to the larger scope of the musician playing on screen behind him.
As the visuals subsided, the tranquil music was paused for three bandmates, a drummer, bassist/guitarist and pianist/guitarist/bassist to hop on stage. While the fans remained glued to their chairs with wide eyes, Bird didn’t refrain from rocking out in front of an illuminated, color-changing backdrop. The whistling wizard and his band began with a mini throwback off the 2005 album Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs (fitting for the venue), “A Nervous Tic Motion Of the Head to the Left,” which brought exuberant energy to the spherical theater. While maintaining the up-beat tempo the band supplemented on stage, Bird partook in some witty banter with the crowd admitting he was “… shredding so hard” as he ripped loose hairs off his shedding bow.
After “working out some frustrations” to the song “Are You Serious,” he and the band scaled back to play acoustic tunes with all four musicians circled around one booming mic. The 44-year-old musician collected a group of fantastic artists to play alongside him, as they were able to swap instruments to perfectly compliment each song’s energy. Among xylophone solos and a spinning double horn speaker, a fan-favorite treat of the night came in a flawless cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest” during a three-song encore.
With acoustics bouncing off the wall and striking internal emotional chords, Monday night’s story was illustrated through a perfect amount of sensory creativity and topographical genius for the audience to talk about for the foreseeable future.
Andrew Bird was set to wrap the tour on March 7 at Kingston NY’s Ulster Performing Arts Center, but due to an impending storm, it’s been rescheduled for Friday, June 22.
Setlist: Intro, Down Under the Hyperion Bridge, Gypsy Moth, Sweep the Field, Nervous Tick Motion of the Head to the, Left, Capsized, Bloodless, Why?, Truth Lies Low, Are You Serious, Roma Fade, My Sisters Tiny hands (Handsome Family Cover), Orpheo Looks Back, Give it Away, By any Means, Three White Horses, Archipelago, Pulaski at Night, Danse Caribe
Encore: Harvest (Neil Young cover), Sisyphus, Weather Systems
With thousands of artists releasing new music daily thanks to technological advances which allow musicians to record a song and share it with the world in the matter of minutes, performers must be more creative than ever to break through the clutter and establish a name for themselves. Some tour relentlessly to get their name out, a few incorporate jokes or magic into their act to entertain audiences on multiple levels, and others go out and slap a “Magic Pipe” until their fingers bleed. Mike Silverman, or That 1 Guy, happens to do all three, as well as much more. On Thursday, February 28, the one-man traveling circus graced the stage in Buffalo at Mohawk Place for an unforgettable night of music, laughs and wizardry.
Like most nights with live music at Mohawk Place, the crowd was split between people who had marked their calendars the day the performance was announced and causal music lovers seeking their Thursday night fix. Things were a bit different that night, however, as those who arrived with the intention of winding down after a long day of work to some relaxing tunes were exposed to far more than they bargained for. The imminent weirdness presented itself as soon you made your way to the stage and observed the large, Festivus-esqe, pole standing atop a raised grate in front of three jumbo screens. The large pole Silverman dubs the “Magic Pipe,” is a homemade, electronically rigged pair of machined aluminum pipes connected by adjustable phosphorus bronze joints, with each pipe hosting an orchestral bass string.
Waiting for the absolute last possible second to go on before the crowd exploded in anticipation, Silverman hopped on stage, pulled out a double-bass bow, and began playing a hauntingly beautiful melody on the smaller pipe. The instrument’s unique tone sounded like a combination of Vivaldi and Pink Floyd, as the screens behind displayed psychedelic images that morphed in unison with each note played. As he hit lower notes, the room trembled with the heavy bass, and audience members could feel spiritually cleansing vibrations run through their chests. The orchestral vibes would not last long, however, as Silverman’s bolstering creativity wouldn’t allow him to stick with one genre at any point in the night. The world-class street performer quickly shifted gears to an African tribal rhythm as he played around with his numerous foot pedals, combining the infectious rhythm with a top layer of EDM beats and deep, bluesy vocals.
Two songs and the audience had already time traveled around the world and back. The performance oozed with surrealism as Silverman continued his set featuring a duck sock-puppet on one song, a cowboy boot rigged to play like Congo drums on the next, and a whimsical song about a great whale race that took place just before our very eyes to complete the trio. In between each song the incredibly talented entertainer told jokes, performed magic tricks, and spoke to the crowd as if they were friends in his living room.
Those who had seen That 1 Guy before added another dimension to the performance as they called for specific songs and yelled out phrases that were obvious inside jokes between Silverman and his audience. Aside from his own kooky songs and singing quotes from passive-aggressive Airbnb reviews he received, the renaissance man performer mixed in popular songs from Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” to jazz standards, and kept the crowd on their toes with whatever classic rock riffs came to his mind. That1Guy is the kind of virtuoso musician you’d imagine would be playing the Lincoln Center today if the hippies won (or even fought) the war.
To cap off a wildly entertaining performance, Silverman finished the night with some jazz. He told the audience he saved the jazz songs for the end as an attempt to influence a younger generation to listen to the genre. Once he had everyone buttered up with EDM and rock and roll, he played jazz standards to subconsciously influence a generation of music listeners to seek out a genre that has mostly disappeared from popular music today. When it was all said and done, the set was nearly two hours long, despite it only feeling like a few minutes. From stunning visuals to bizarre compositions you cannot hear anywhere else on the planet, That1Guy is a show all music lovers should seek out immediately. Thankfully, that should not be too difficult as the one-man circus averages an astonishing 150-200 performances a year around North America in an effort to spread joy and weirdness around the continent.
Nothing beats that rush of nostalgia when listening to classic 90’s anthems from artists such as Third Eye Blind, Weezer, Spin Doctors, and the men who Fight Foo. It’s a shame there aren’t any modern day bands emulating this sound through their original music…or are there? If you’re looking for songs that’ll bring you back to a simpler time, look no further than the entire catalog from Marquee Grand.
Marquee Grand is an alternative rock band from Buffalo, NY with deep-seated roots in 90’s alt rock. Recently, the four-piece released a single titled “Another Toke,” the first among a series of singles the band plans on releasing over the next few months.
If you don’t like catchy guitar riffs or powerful sing-along choruses, you should probably stay as far away as possible from this track. Otherwise, throw on some over-ear headphones, and bring yourself back to the days of smoking doobies on the couch in your mom’s basement.
If you’re in the Buffalo area, be sure to catch Marquee Grand in concert!
3/23/18: Spring Kickoff at Mr. Goodbar on Elmwood @ 11PM
4/20/18: with Ponder at Milkie’s on Elmwood @ 9PM
4/28/18: Daemen SpringFest at Daemen College
5/25/18: Countdown to Summer at Mr. Goodbar Elmwood @ 11PM
‘Another Toke’ was released on February 6, 2018. Marquee Grand consists of band members John Richter (Guitar/Vocals), Josh Owczarzak (Guitar), Sean Szymanski (Bass/Vocals), and Matt Lawniczak (Drums). Keep up with Marquee Grand on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
In the Arndt family collection of movies is a video of Jocelyn and Chris playing upon the consecrated stage of Caffe Lena. Their father still watches it, though Chris says it’s from a “long time ago.”
It was six years ago.
Consider that six years is nearly a quarter of a lifetime to a 21-year-old, and just yesterday to his father. Still, let’s also factor in the sister-brother duo’s professional career; contracts, albums and countrywide road trips. There’s The Whisky a Go Go, Mountain Jam and, yeah, Billboard’s Top 40 that have since followed. From that perspective, it has been a long time.
“Touring is the best job, ever,” said Chris. “Playing music, making music in general, it is the single greatest job you can have, hands down. I’m not biased or anything. Except for driving through Nebraska.” On cue, David Bourgeois holds up a thick set of tire chains.
It’s February and the band has returned after several months of touring across the country. There’s still little rest. Chris, Joceyln and Bourgeois sit at White Lake Studios to rehearse for a radio gig in Boston. Bourgeois takes a moment to slump into a comfortable chair. He’s a man of many hats. Visually, he’s the band’s drummer. Behind the scenes, he’s its music director. He owns the Albany studios along with his wife, Anna. Within the bigger picture, he’s president of Bridge Road Entertainment. About five years ago, he discovered the two while they played together at a local festival. He’s been their manager ever since.
Playing gigs and hitting radio stations like the one in Boston is all in the effort to earn more air time. It’s called chasing radio play. It involves a lot of networking, sending tapes, exchanging phone calls and logging in the miles on the road. Where U2 and Interscope have years of established success and reputation, Jocelyn and Chris need to hustle. On top of being musicians, they also have to act as their own marketers. There are about 120 radio stations across the nation that play under the adult album alternative format, and grabbing a program director’s attention can be “extremely challenging,” according to one.
“To put it simply — there is so much great music out there, and very few slots they can fit in, and that goes for every format,” said Kim Neaton, former music director for WEQX. She was among three directors responsible for deciding what songs played on the radio. Unknown bands have to win out against trusted record labels, often times against management and promotional companies, for just a few open slots. For a band chasing radio play, “Even if you have one of the best songs in the room,” said Neaton, “you have the smallest voice in the room. But if you find a station that will take a chance, and you do well there, that’s ammo you can take to the next station when you reach out. Maybe things go well there, too. A story can build and so can a song’s success.”
One of the first stations the band won over was Albany’s WEXT. Its programming has helped local artists earn air time and, “they’ve helped us out so much,” said Jocelyn. There’s also WDST in Woodstock, a good station to have behind you. It originated Mountain Jam in 2004, a three-day music festival that has featured Robert Plant and Tom Petty in recent years. Jocelyn and Chris played there three years ago and will return to play its main stage in June.
Last December, Jocelyn and Chris broke into the Top 40 on Billboard’s Adult Album Alternative chart. “Red Stops Traffic,” the band’s third single off its 2017 studio release “Go,” debuted at No. 37. Jocelyn and Chris were listed along with the names of The Killers, Big Head Todd and U2. The band topped at No. 35 before slipping back down in January.
“The next goal is Top 10,” said Jocelyn, with a smile. The volume of her statement tapers off to a near whisper, as if in fear of sounding arrogant. There is no arrogance in the room, as the two siblings are still laughing in amazement over having charted above Bono. Their story has caught the attention of television producers. Four television shows, including NBC’s “The Voice” approached Jocelyn to perform. She turned it down. “That’s not how it works,” said Jocelyn. “We’re a team. Any time it starts to tilt towards one or the other, we’re just weary of and we don’t do it.”
Jocelyn and Chris resigned a three-year contract with Bridge Road Entertainment, and head back into the studio in April to record a new album. Before retreating to the studio, the band is set to perform at Caffe Lena on Sunday, March 4, at 7 p.m. Edge TV will be following as it films a documentary. The documentary should contrast with the video their father is still fond of playing from years ago. As “Red Stops Traffic” continues to resonate with radio listeners, people can expect to hear a maturity behind their play.
“It’s definitely a more mature sound,” said Jocelyn. “We’re not kids anymore.” she laughs.
This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYS Music. TheSpot518 and NYS Music work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com.
Brooklyn four-piece Honduras will begin their Spring Tour at Elsewhere on Thursday, March 1 with the release of a limited edition 7″ single of “Need the Sun / Water Sign” via Mind Altar Records. Honduras continues their tour in support of Public Access T.V. throughout March, including performances at SXSW in Austin March 14-17.
Founding band members Patrick Philips (vocals) and Tyson Moore (guitar) have helped Honduras grow into one of the hardest working bands in New York City, becoming known for their energetic live performances while drawing on inspiration from a number of genres and eras. Blunt lyrics bring to mind Sex Pistols, dreamy guitar work parallels Deerhunter and the rhythm section of Josh Wehle (drums) and Pauly Lizarraga (bass) create a foundation similar to The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys. Honduras tour dates: Mar 01 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere*
Mar 06 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Mar 07 – Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
Mar 09 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover
Mar 10 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Mar 11 – Nashville, TN @ The End
Mar 13 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Mar 14 – Austin, TX @ Pond Mag House Party (9pm) SXSW*
Mar 15 – Austin, TX @ Shangri La (12:40pm) SXSW *
Mar 15 – Austin, TX @ Cheers Rooftop – Balcony TV’s Rock The Rooftop (4pm) SXSW*
Mar 15 – Austin, TX @ Parlor – Faux Ferocious’ Showcase (6:30pm) SXSW*
Mar 16 – Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlies’s (TBA) SXSW*
Mar 16 – Austin, TX @ Embassy Suites (5pm) SXSW*
Mar 17 – Austin, TX @ Sidewinder – Pianos Showcase (12pm) SXSW*
Mar 17 – Austin, TX @ Georgia Theater Showcase (2pm) SXSW*
Mar 17 – Austin, TX @ Valhalla – Little Dickman Records (4pm) SXSW*
Mar 17 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda – AGI showcase (11pm) SXSW*
Mar 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Foxes Mag Minifest*
Apr 02 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
Apr 03 – London, ON @ Call The Office*
Apr 04 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Apr 05 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus
Apr 06 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott Apr 07 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Going to the mall on a Friday night seems something a bunch of teenagers might do. Friday, February 23 saw a slew of twenty and thirty-somethings take over Crossgates Mall in Albany. The relatively new Jupiter Hall, located toward the back of Lucky Strike Social, has been bringing a variety of great concerts to the area and they might have outdone themselves with Deer Tick.
Deer Tick’s “Twice Is Nice” tour is highlighting an acoustic set and an electric set. This allows the band to explore their wide variety of influences from folk to rock and from country to blues. It’s a special treat for the dedicated fans that want to hear over two hours of music from the incredibly talented group from Rhode Island.
Deer Tick (John McCauley, Ian O’Neil, Chris Ryan and Dennis Ryan) brought along a friend for the Albany show, the Catskills’ very own James Felice jumped in on keys and accordion adding to the energy of the evening.
The tour heads out west and back in New York for shows at The Haunt in Ithaca (March 3) and the Lost Horizon in Syracuse (March 4). The band will be taking the tour overseas to Australia and will be back in the states in April for the Rhythm and Blooms Festival in Knoxville and then another stretch of dates throughout the south.
The Black River will headline a March 9 benefit for Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare at the Palace Theater on James Street. The event features a who’s who of the burgeoning Syracuse music scene while raising funds for SBH programming for substance abuse recovery and mental health care.
The unique showcase will feature performances from some of the best talent in the Syracuse rock scene. In addition to the Black River, performers include Atkins Riot, Late Earth, Molina and Climbing Stars. The show will be also have an infusion of stories of recovery from the effects of substance abuse, mental illness and other health issues. On-air personality, Scott Dixon (DXN) of 95X will be the event’s emcee.
The March 9 show begins at 7 p.m. Advanced sale tickets can be purchased for $10 through the SBH website. Tickets at the door will cost $15. All proceeds from the event will go towards promoting SBH programming for recovery from the effects of substance use and mental health disorders through healthcare programs at every stage of the recovery process.
The Black River, one of the hottest bands in the Syracuse scene, recently released its debut album Classic Universe and is currently playing shows throughout Upstate. Their album is available on all streaming services. A live video of the Black River’s “Roomful of Flies” can be seen below.
Alt-rockers Atkins Riot features veteran members of the Syracuse music scene. Their riff-heavy eponymous debut is picking up steam around the Syracuse scene and can be purchased at their shows. You can check out a couple of their songs via SoundCloud below.
Late Earth has been nominated for a Syracuse Area Music Award for their album The Prevail. This young band’s album is an original sounding, genre-spanning work with influences ranging from ’90s alt-rock to blues to ska to reggae. Check out some tracks and purchase the SAMMY nominated album through their BandCamp page.
Binghamton-area alt-rockers, Molina released their debut EP, Swing Devotion in 2015. Their single for “Wasted Years” boasts a heavy influence from The National and Interpol. Take a listen in their official video below.
Climbing Stars recently recorded a “Live @ SubCat” session for 105.9 The Rebel’s weekly show, “Soundcheck.” The band’s bio states that they “pick up where grunge left off.” They are currently in the studio recording their debut album. In the meantime, you can hear the single “Angel From Afar” on their BandCamp page.
Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare (SBH) promotes recovery from the effects of substance use and mental health disorders through healthcare programs at every stage of the recovery process through inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation as well as residential rehabilitation. In the past year, SBH programs have helped 6871 people in the Central New York area. For more information on Rock for Recovery and the services SBH provides, visit their website here.
Like most nights with live music at 
Marquee Grand
