Fresh off their first ever SXSW performances, Toronto indie group Common Deer have debuted the video for “Mistakes,” and have announced additional April dates in the Northeast of the U.S., including April 17 at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC.
Common Deer formed while in college, centered around the harmonies of Graham McLaughlin (guitar, violin) and Sheila Hart-Owens (keyboards), with Sheila’s brother Adam Hart-Owens (guitar, cello, synths) and brothers Liam Farrell (drums) Connor Farrell (bass). The group developed their sound and eventually worked with producer Laurence Currie (Wintersleep, Hey Rosetta!) to release EP I, released in January, followed by II released in September and produced by Gus Van Go (Arkells, The Stills).
Guitarist/violinist Graham McLaughlin shared his thoughts on “Mistakes,” stating “Performing “Mistakes” live is always cathartic. It’s a very personal track about mental illness, specifically depression and anxiety in our current climate, and we hope that others can find the same release listening as we do playing it.”
Tour Dates
March 24 – Vancouver, BC – Biltmore (JUNOfest)
March 27 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite Temple
March 29 – Calgary, AB – Palomino Smokehouse
March 30 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos Cantina
March 31 – Winnipeg, MB – Good Will Social Club
April 2 – St. Paul, MN – The Amsterdam
April 3 – Madison, WI – The Frequency
April 5 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s Music Joint
April 6 – Pontiac, MI – Pike Room
April 7 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Room
April 8 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern
April 12 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah April 17 – New York, NY – Rockwood Music Hall
April 18 – Philadelphia, PA – World Café Live
April 19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose
The promise of colorful blossoms, a great selection of artwork and crafts, delicious food and two full days of music will all unfold as the 70th annual Tulip Festival takes place in Albany, Saturday May 12 and Sunday May 13, 2018 in Washington Park during Mother’s Day weekend.
With the lineup just announced, there’s plenty to be excited about with a great selection of talented regional acts vibrantly showcasing the magnitude of musical skill in Albany and around the state. The lineup below is sure to offer every music lover something to look forward to. NY bands (which is nearly all of them!) are in bold. This event is free so there’s no reason not to go support these fantastic musicians.
For more information including kids events, tulip tours, volunteer opportunities, shuttle services, the BEER GARDEN and more, visit their website. And don’t forget to bring your mom.
SATURDAY, MAY 12
MAIN STAGE
Washington Park Parade Grounds
Media sponsor: 102.7 WEQX
4:30 p.m. – White Denim (Rock) – Austin, TX
3:00 p.m. – Naked Giants (Indie) – Seattle, WA 1:30 p.m. – Front Business – Albany, NY
LOCAL 518 STAGE
Washington Park Lakehouse Stage
Presented by WellCare
Media sponsor: Exit 97.7
4:45 p.m. – The Age (Neo soul) – Upstate NY 3:30 p.m. – The LateShift (Rock) – Albany, NY 2:15 p.m. – Blind Crow (Bluegrass) – Albany, NY 1:00 p.m. – Sorrow Estate (Indie folk) – Albany, NY
SUNDAY, MAY 13
MAIN STAGE
Media sponsors: 98.3 TRY, 1023 Kiss FM, 99.5 The River & PYX 106 4:30 p.m. – Dr. K’s Motown Revue (Motown tribute) – NY 3:00 p.m. – Taina Asili (Afro-Latin/reggae) – Albany, NY 1:30 p.m. – The Sea The Sea – (Indie folk/pop) – Upstate NY
LOCAL 518 STAGE
Media sponsor: Exit 97.7 4:45 p.m. – North and South Dakotas (Bluegrass) – Upstate NY 3:30 p.m. – Zan Strumfeld (Folk) – Troy, NY 2:15 p.m. – Jordan Taylor Hill (Indie roots) – Albany, NY 1:00 p.m. – Ryan Leddick Trio – (Indie acoustic rock) – Albany, NY
The Pulse of Music lies deep in the heart of Rochester Institute of Technology. The 89.7FM WITR DJ booth is visible from the campus’s centrally located student union. But below the hustle and bustle of the popular student hangout lies the original radio studio, complete with recording booths, stacks of physical copies of music, and a recording studio large enough to comfortably fit a full band. It was here on an unassuming Sunday afternoon that, unbeknownst to most students, Rochester alternative rock band Total Yuppies were unloading their gear and setting up to record some songs for Rochester Sessions.
Foreground: Ben Burdett Background: Jacob Walsh and JT Fitzgerald
The show’s producer and host Bailey Gribben and audio engineer Austin Frey helped the band members to connect cables and set up the studio. Bandmates chatted lightly, joking about consuming Smart brand water at RIT as they set up for the recording. There was no need to bring a lot of equipment to the studio. WITR has microphones, cables, speakers and a drum kit (if a band wants to use it instead of bringing their own). A full list of amenities is on the WITR website, and it concludes with “…. and 1 red couch.” Bands who have been featured on Rochester Sessions have signed the black walls in white ink. Names include Mikaela Davis, Maybird, Nerds In Denial, Tart Vandelay, and Talking Under Water.
The story behind Rochester Sessions is documented by these signatures, and oral history and social media posts. There’s no formal history. People who originally started the series have long since graduated. Turnover happens frequently as students come and go from the college. And those who get involved have an opportunity to move up the ranks fairly quickly.
Bailey Gribben and Austin Frey
Gribben became involved with the program just last year. “I started booking last fall semester,” Gribben told me as we walked through the studio, “I started off working with a group called Love Hope Strength. They do bone marrow drives at concerts. They wanted to do a drive at Springfest when we had Walk the Moon. So I started working with them. They got me an interview with Andrew McMahon. That was my first interview and booking. From there, I went with it. I interviewed Kevin Devine. I primarily only do local bands now.”
When the former producer of Rochester Sessions graduated last June, Gribben took the reins. He’s incorporated some innovations into the sessions, hosting a station takeover where the session was spent with Tart Vandelay, choosing the songs from amongst their influences. As a third year Motion Picture Science student, he also incorporated his videography skills to direct and edit the first video session, featuring Zuli from Long Island performing their song “Kubadiver.”
Jacob Walsh and JT Fitzgerald
During this session, Gribben asked Total Yuppies to introduce each song by saying a little something about it. With Frey at the helm of the soundboard, the band recorded two songs from their recent EP Care, as well as two new songs they have been working on, “Holy Place,” and “Numb.” Jacob Walsh (guitar and vocals), JT Fitzgerald (bass guitar), Ben Burdett (guitar) and Dylan Vaisey (drums) play with an intense focus and passion, but also convey the confidence and ease that comes from doing this together for years. Their music is distinctive for its pop melodies and extensive use of fuzzy effects, which balance out the somber nature of the lyrics.
Jacob Walsh
Members of the band knew their way around the studio. This was their second time appearing on Rochester Sessions, Fitzgerald and Walsh used to be involved in WITR while students at RIT. “It’s really cool to see the next generation of people doing what we used to do,” Walsh told me after the recording session as the band packed up their gear.
Dylan Vaisey
Gribben showed me around the rest of the studio, where RIT students interested in radio broadcasting have access to a vast array of tools and resources. While the upstairs booth is sleek and streamlined, with wall murals depicting WITR alum, the basement has an old-school station feel that hearkens back to the heyday of FM radio. Movable library shelves hold what the school boasts as the second largest privately owned vinyl collection in New York State. In addition to updated technology, they’ve retained some of the traditional tools such as reel to reel machines. There are tapes of interviews with The Ramones and The Pixies from ’88 lying atop a shelf of vinyl, crammed amongst other memorabilia.
Rochester Sessions airs Mondays from 4-5pm. Local listeners can tune in to 89.7 FM, and it can also be streamed online. The Total Yuppies session airs on Monday, March 26. It can also be found on Bandcamp. Previous sessions appear on Rochester Sessions’ Soundcloud. Follow WITR and Rochester Sessions on Facebook for program schedules and news. For more details about the station, check the RITpedia article.
After placing the focus on his own work over the last 18 years, former Soul Coughing frontman and solo wordsmith, Mike Doughty is making a quick trip around the Northeast to turn back the clocks and perform the alternative rock group’s ‘Irresistible Bliss’ for a total of seven dates.
You’d figure by the time he notched The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns, his ninth solo album since 2000, Doughty would settle into his ways and follow a musical pattern. Simply, that’s just not the way he operates. Always diving into and exploring new sounds, the ever-growing artist and former front man is constantly taking chances on new styles and setting personal deadlines of crafting and recording original music as often as possible.
From country crooning to hard hitting beats and even a 2015 rock opera by the name Revelation, it’s clear Doughty doesn’t rely on one-track mind of creativity. Instead, he chooses from a bank of ideas in his head and decides how he wants it to translate to the public. Appealing to his roots, An Evening with Mike Doughty performing Soul Coughing’s Irresistible Bliss with Andrew “Scrap” Livingston launched on March 22 in Portland, ME before heading to a sold out gig in Boston. Having just made his way through NJ and MD, Doughty finds himself in NY from March 28 to 30, playing for crowds each night in Pawling’s Daryl’s House, Homer Center for the Arts and Albany’s the Linda, respectively.
Arielle O’Keefe walks into The Hollow Bar + Kitchen with a guitar case in her hand and only blues on her mind.
photo by Shannon Straney
She just finished a prior engagement that left her unfulfilled. The audience wasn’t familiar with her. Her music was background noise to their conversations about other things. She stepped onto the stage and dutifully set herself up for her solo act, opening for Wurliday, her name is on the inside jacket of its debut album. She knew she was coming into her own community. She stepped to the mic and apologized in advance. She was going to spend the next hour playing music the way she wanted to. She had nothing to hide.
“I’m more comfortable with the solos because that’s where I come from,” said O’Keefe. She nearly two years removed from being known as the local Spotify phenomenon with 200,000 listens in a day. The following year was seemingly hers, gracing newspaper covers, touring across the country, a CD release and a successful collab with Wurliday kept her name circulating. It’s November, and she just released a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” on YouTube. It’s a video of her sitting in the woods at night performing what appears to be a Wiccan ceremony. By appearance, it’s her, alone, doing her own thing. It’s fitting. That’s how she likes to control her career.
photo by Shannon Straney
“I like to be able to tell stories, basically,” she said. ”For me, at this level, it’s just easier for me to do when it’s just me. And, the music I love, if someone can just get up there with a guitar or a piano and make me feel something like that, that’s very meaningful to me. That’s more meaningful to me than seeing a full band that jams out all night. Which I love, but I’ve come from hearing singers and songwriters, hearing songs. I want to hear the song.”
The Hollow crowd treats the diminutive O’Keefe “pretty tall” as she continues to play a stripped down, bluesy variation of her songs. They stand facing the stage, soaking it in.
“I Am Not a Star”
Her 2016 Just Pretend Records release of “I Am Not a Star” was her first collaboration effort with a band. It was the first time she trusted her songs, to which she said she’s protective of, with anyone else. She could do that with the help of longtime friends Jimi Woodul and Dan DeKalb of Dark Honey. The three have been friends ever since meeting in Dallas, where they lived before “life happened” and brought them together again in New York a few years ago.
DeKalb and Woodul were raised in upstate New York and O’Keefe was raised on Long Island. Coincidentally, the three moved to Dallas and during shows. They became really good friends.
O’Keefe moved to New York City to pursue her music career. The boys moved to Albany, and she would go up to visit. Before long, Albany started feeling like home.
“I just realized, after four times of visiting, that everytime I went up to Albany, all my stress was gone,” she said. She said she would dread going back to the city, “it’s an overwhelming place, and I never found community.” When she decided to move, she found an apartment, quickly signed the lease, and moved in with little else than her clothing in her guitar case.
It was during this period she wrote “I Am Not a Star.” Though the song initially sounds like an anthem for strength, O’Keefe said it was a conversation with herself. She had uprooted herself, and worried about taking a wrong step in her career. “I Am Not a Star,” was a means to psych herself up and dispel those worries. A new career path was taking shape.
“Spotify”
Spotify placed “Fire Under Water” No. 7 on its New Music Friday playlist in late 2016. On a playlist that boasts anywhere between 50 to 80 songs, she was at a premium location for exposure. In one day, she received 200,000 plays. By the end of the week, her track was played a million times. Record labels took noticed and approached her. There was a push to have her sign a deal. She said no.
photo by Shannon Straney
“I want to have control and have the rights over what I do,” she said. “[There were pushes made to sign right away] but that’s not really who I am. … I’m not really the type to go and grab a major label deal. I don’t know. I’m just not green anymore with the industry stuff.
In 2012, she had auditioned for Season 2 of “The Voice.” The production had taken on 120 musicians. She was sequestered into a California hotel for a month and a half before the show aired. However, teams were filled before all of the musicians auditioned, and she never appeared on television. Shortly afterwards, she was approached by Nigel Lythgoe Productions for a television project. She signed a contract without knowing the premise of the show. It would lead to her appearance on “Opening Act” in which she appeared on its first show, in which she was the opening act for Rod Stewart in front of a Caesars Palace crowd in Las Vegas.
“That whole attitude to make it nowadays, it’s just so not what people think it is,” she said. She has nothing ill to say about the television or music industry, only that she felt that in her television moment she was not true to herself. The vigorous pace and push to get something on presentable on television pulled her in many directions. “It’s so not what it’s presented to be. I got to see behind the curtain just enough to where it became unappealing to me. I don’t know, man. Anything that’s just going to shoot you up there, I don’t know. It seems too good to be true.”
O’Keefe is less concerned about whether she took the wrong step in moving away from New York City. Her self-described itch to move every year-and-a-half has been quelled. The Albany music scene has allowed her room to explore herself, and the community she couldn’t find in Gotham. The past few years have confirmed that a music career is not defined by where one lives. Instead of trying to wedge herself into the industry machine, she’s trying to “have the plan fit me a little better.” She is presently working on a new album with the help from AntiFragile Music out of New York City. She’s also started an account on Patreon, a membership platform that connects her with fans through subscriptions. It gives her the chance to share her music intimately with fans instead of throwing herself out into the empty ethos of the internet. Her next track “Lolita” is to be released Friday, March 30. Her latest work, she said, is delving deeper into herself. It will be the most vulnerable she has been with her audience, and she’s excited.
She’s also to play in Capital Records Live at Proctors on Friday, March 23 before a gig at another iconic venue, Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs next month.
“I want to build it slowly and build something that’s going to last,” she said. “I’ve been doing this since I was young. I’m a young woman, so especially a lot of people want to come in and tell me what they think that I am. At this point in my life, I’m just not really interested. I understand the idea of branding, but I kinda know who I am at this point. I’m trying to build a business.”
If you’re in New York City this week, you should consider checking out one of the upcoming shows from Girl Ray. The London-based group features Poppy Hanking on guitar/vocals, Iris McConnell on drums, and Sophie Moss on bass. They started the group two years ago as teenagers going to school in North London and now they’re on their first tour in the U.S.
Poppy’s songwriting is influenced by pop artists like ABBA and The Beatles and indie artists like Neutral Milk Hotel. Their newest album, which cleverly rhymes with their band name, is called Earl Grey. The vinyl version album is sold out on Bandcamp, but listeners may still enjoy online or on Spotify. They recorded the album at Ramsgate’s Big Jelly Studios and they claimed they little crazy during the process giving it their all. The organ sounds throughout give it a full texture coupled with the distorted guitar. The vocal harmonies are fragile and exciting to listen to.
The girls are still teenagers, and their sound reflects the uncertainty young adults feel as they move through life and have to make important decisions. They’re just what young listeners need to hear in terms of heartbreak and losing friendships. Their music videos are a bit quirky and show their individual personalities.
After a stop in Washington DC, you can catch them at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 23rd in Brooklyn, The Bowery Ballroom on the 24th in Manhattan, and back again in Brooklyn on the 25th at Union Pool.
With the first weekend of the Big Dance in the books (and Syracuse busting brackets left and right), we are now at the Final Four of NYS Music’s 2018 March Madness! Two weeks ago, we started with 64 up and coming artists from across the Empire State, and now there are four vying to take it all in our friendly tournament-style competition.
These artists who hail from the Empire State are a sampling of the next generation of artists and come from all corners of the state, from Buffalo to Binghamton, Plattsburgh to Patchogue and all points in between. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
Winner of the Putnam Place division, Black Mountain Symphony showcases an eclectic range of influences, blended together to create their own special sound. From baroque classical violin and haunting folk-tinged ballads to funk-rock drums and hard-hitting dance numbers, the six-piece band sprinkles their live sets with hints of everything from classical music to bits of Motown, blues and jazz. Black Mountain Symphony performs both intimate acoustic shows as well as intense, full-band rock shows. Upcoming shows include April 6 The Colony in Woodstock, and on May 18 Flyday Music Festival in East Durham, NY.
Candy Ambulance is the winner of the Anthology division. Formed in the summer of 2014, grunge-influenced Candy Ambulance of Upstate NY are Caitlin Barker, Jesse Bolduc & Jon Cantiello. Lifelong friends and musical mates Bolduc & Cantiello rescued Barker from a wealthy engagement prospect and whisked her away to the land of DIY punk. Poppy melodies, dynamic vocal changes and half-naked live shows have solidified this rock trio as always entertaining, unabashed fun. Boasting a healthy and frequent tour schedule the band has played with notable acts such as Screaming Females, Speedy Ortiz, Daddy Issues, and Dorothy. Their next show is on March 30 during Troy Night Out at River Street Pub with The Death Vacation and Sun Natives.
CEG Presents’ division winner is ShwizZ, a unique cast of characters reigning from downstate New York. Best described as a melting pot of funk and progressive rock, this giant original sound will be sure to put a smile on your face. The band’s variety and depth allows for lovely twists of improvisation and spontaneity spiked with technical prowess and musical complexity. Over the years the group has shared bills with many notables including Jeff Beck, Primus, Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Kung Fu, Dopapod, Consider The Source and more. ShwizZ can be found gigging all over the northeast and you won’t be surprised to find them playing at your favorite festival or club for years to come. Their next show is on April 11 with The Mushroom Cloud & Stubbs at Wonder Bar in Allston, MA.
Final Four voting begins at 10AM EST on Monday, March 19, and closes at midnight on Wednesday, March 21. The Championship round begins at 10AM EST on Thursday, March 22. Vote now for your favorites and discover some of the great up and coming music that New York State has to offer!
Brooklyn-based trio, Modern Whale, are too pop for indie, yet too indie for pop, and have a released their latest single, “The Dirt,” cultivating a sound rooted in pop-rock. The driving rock of “The Dirt” brings to mind the post-grunge 90’s of Three Days Grace and My Chemical Romance with driving guitar rhythms and symphonic vocals that combine for an instant, and pleasant earworm.
Helmed by Bushwick-based record producer and songwriter Rob Guariglia, Modern Whale is not a specimen of the sea but rather a musical crossing. The group formed in Brooklyn at the infamous rock refuge Meserole Sound Studio, with a name that reflects the animalistic tendency of music and is encapsulated through Rob’s dog Stella, his assistant and muse. “The Dirt” was written by Robert J. Guariglia & Stephen Ericson and produced by Robert J. Guariglia.
Any good St. Patrick’s Day celebration includes music. Music and the Irish are inseparable. According to the latest U.S. Census, nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population claim some Irish ancestry, a total of 35 million people. A very high percentage of this population is centered in the Northeast U.S., particularly right here in New York State. So, it is only fitting that the day to celebrate the Irish would be rife with music across the state. Naturally, a state with such deep Irish roots celebrates the day with parades following the parade activities, much live music can be found around New York. NYS Music provides you with a listing of some St. Patrick’s Day festivities from the North Country to Long Island, Albany to Buffalo. Whether you crave traditional Irish music, reggae, punk, reggae, rock or blues, we have you covered.
Saratoga singer-songwriter Katie Louise will perform a set at Main Street in Saugerties beginning at 9:30.
Plattsburgh’s seminal venue, the Monopole hosts Burlington’s Jiggawaltz for the funkster’s first appearance at in quite some time at the venue.
Capital District
If you’re in Albany for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, start your day off with a brunch at the Savoy Taproom on Lark. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. you can enjoy traditional Irish music from Toss the Feathers while enjoying traditional Irish food.
All day long, the Pearl Street Pub offers live music with DJs at night. Larry Ross gets things rolling followed by an appearance from the City of Albany Pipe Band.
Following the parade, head on down to Paulys Hotel on Central for an after-party with the sometimes punk, sometimes ska, sometimes rap act Smittix with special guest Feral Meryl from 2-6 p.m.
Celtic Hall, located on New Karner Road, hosts its own post-parade party beginning at 5 p.m. The City of Albany Pipe Band continues its busy day with an appearance at Celtic Hall, along with the An Clar Irish Dancers and the popular Celtic-rock band Hair of the Dog. Hair of the Dog has been performing since 1993 and is a regular act at Irish festivals throughout the northeast.
Also in Saratoga, a special night celebrating female voices in Irish music featuring the Grady Girls and Kara Doyle is going down at the legendary Caffe Lena. The kid-friendly event begins at 8 p.m.
Central NY
Funk ‘n Waffles in Syracuse gives St. Patrick’s Day a little zydeco flair with the soulful, funky, blues of hometown boys, Los Blancos, starting at 3:00. Dubbed “The Hardest Working Band in Syracuse,” Los Blancos has a proven track record of packing venues and laying down the funk.
Syracuse’s symphony, Symphoria, will perform a pops concert celebrating the Music of the Emerald Isle at the Onondaga County Civic Center beginning at 7:30. Tickets for this special event, which features violinist Maria Kaneko Millar a performer with Riverdance productions on Broadway as well as the touring version, are still available through the Symphoria website. Prices range from free for 18 and under to $38.
Maria Kaneko Millar
EDM jamband, Phasers Engage puts an interesting twist on the day’s festivities, throwing a house party on Tennyson Ave. with free beer for anyone 21 and over. They’ll perform from 1-3 p.m.
If you’re looking for more traditional Irish fare along the lines of the Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem or the Dubliners, head out to Jake Hafner’s Restaurant & Tavern in North Syracuse for Quigsy and the Bird from 5-9 p.m.
The Syracuse Polish Home hosts its annual parade day corned beef and cabbage dinner with entertainment from 4-9 p.m. Jo Duz provides Irish and folk music from 4-6 p.m. followed by Just Joe from 6-9 p.m.
If you’re out Utica way, Nick Piccininni and Jay Barady of Floodwood are performing at the recently re-vamped John Devereux’s Tavern from noon until 4 p.m.
Piggy Pat’s Smoke and Ale House in Washington Mills, just outside of Utica, is now under new ownership, but that hasn’t changed the music offerings they’ve presented over the years. The Blarney Rebel Band will take the floor from 1-4 p.m. This veteran Celtic band from Utica performs traditional Irish music from pub tunes to sea shanties to moving ballads and rousing rebel songs.
Woodland Farm Brewery in Marcy, just north of Utica, gets the day off to an early start. The local farm brewery opens at 8 a.m. for liquid breakfast and keeps the party going all day, highlighted by bluegrass from Remsen Social Club starting at 1 p.m.
The Continental Kit Band will perform at the 16 Stone Brewpub in Holland Patent. Doors open at noon with Irish stew, Reubens and an almost Irish Red ready for sampling.
If you’re in Rome, Copper City Brewing Company is offering traditional Irish music by Mighty Craic from 1-3 p.m. Mighty Craic is a trio with deep roots in the Central New York Irish scene. This farm brewery will also have a taco truck on hand as well as two Irish beers freshly tapped for the day.
Western NY
Out west, Rochester, as always, has several musical offerings for St. Patrick’s Day. The Crooked North brings its brand of Rust Belt bluegrass to the Little Theatre on East Ave. from 8-10 p.m.
Three Heads Brewing hosts the reggae vibe of Personal Blend from 8-11 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge for one of Rochester’s favorite reggae bands.
The Montage Music Hall has a ’90s night on tap for St. Patrick’s Day. The 8 p.m. show features Pearl Jam tribute act, Given to Fly, R.E.M. tribute act, Dead Letter Office and Flannel Millennium, who covers music from such ’90s alt-rock staples as Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alice in Chains. Tickets for the show are $20 in advance and available at the Montage website.
Cathie Ryan, the original lead of Irish-American sensation, Cherish the Ladies, joins the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre for a Celtic Celebration both Friday March 16 and Saturday March 17. The shows begin at 8 p.m. The combination of Ryan’s beautiful voice and sarcastic wit, accompanied by the RPO, promises to be a unique night of music in the Flower City.
The Buffalo Iron Works welcomes Vancouver Celtic rockers, The Town Pants and Whitesboro native Tim Britt with his Tim Britt Band. Syracuse native and Pale Green Stars drummer, Jeff Tripoli, plays drums for the Pants, who also perform at the Smith Opera House in Geneva on March 16. The 9 p.m. Buffalo Iron Works show has a ticket price of $17-22.
NYS Music 87/90 artists, the Intrepid Travelers, return to their home base, the Sportsmens Tavern on Amherst for St. Paddy’s Day for a psychedelic jam session. Doors for the two set show open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.
Downstate
Larry Kirwan of Black 47 brings his St. Patrick’s Day show to YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts in Bay Shore. Aside from fronting the politically reactive New York-based band Black 47, Irish expatriate Kirwan hosts the show Celtic Crush for Sirius XM. He’ll be joined by Deni Bonet (violin), Coty Cockrell (keyboards), Thomas Hamlin (drums), Rene Hart (double bass), Andrew Sharp (Uilleann pipes). The band will be releasing a new single for the occasion, a remake David Bowie’s “Heroes” from a Belfast perspective. Tickets for the 8 p.m. show are $47.
Legendary Queens punks, Murphy’s Law will perform at the Brooklyn Bazzar with Drunken Rampage, Moral Panic and Runny. The 7 p.m. show costs $17 and tickets are available through Ticketweb.
Needless to say, there is no shortage of live music available to music fans across the Empire State on St. Patrick’s Day no matter what your taste. This is but a snapshot of all that is happening across the state on one day. If your area wasn’t covered by this piece, leave us a message, comment or tweet us @NYStateMusic. NYS Music’s mission is to expose ALL of New York’s musicians, venues and scenes and with your help, we can do just that. Now take this list and get out and enjoy some music!
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