Redbeard Samurai has just released a new music video that’s going to make you want to get your groove on. The video for his catchy number “Turn It Up” features dancers from a variety of different styles, from hip hop to swing. This fits with the song’s overriding message: “It doesn’t matter how you cut loose, it matters that you cut loose.”
“Turn It Up” is the first single from from Redbeard Samurai’s upcoming debut hip-hop album Second. The project is the brain-child of versatile musician Blake Pattengale, a recent graduate of Eastman School of Music. With school behind him, Redbeard Samurai is finally ready to launch the music they’ve been writing and recording for the past few years.
Photo: Dave Jones Empire West Photography
The video for “Turn It Up” was directed by Josiahx, and features some members of the band and their friends. (Vanishing Sun fans will recognize a cameo by singer Zahyia.) The dancers don everything from traditional dance costumes to a panda suit. It was filmed at Arbor Loft in downtown Rochester, which fit the cleaned-up post-industrial vibe Pattengale was looking to achieve.
As a concept album, ‘Second’ includes both songs and skits to tell a tale. Pettengale describes it as “an underdog story in which Redbeard Samurai works to liberate the people of Highstrung Falls from the shackles of propriety, conformity and mostly from the autocratic Chancellor who rules Highstrung Falls.” ‘Second’ is being mixed and mastered by Matt Ramerman of The Green Room. The release date will be announced soon. The album visuals were designed by Mexican artists Raul Urias and Moises Cordova.
To stay current on upcoming events and album news, visit the website or follow Redbeard Samurai on Facebook and Instagram.
In the middle of her move out of Brooklyn, Arleigh Kincheloe of Sister Sparrow carved out some time to speak with us about her upcoming album and the end of her tour as she hits a few more spots in NY.
Kincheloe and the Brooklyn-based Dirty Birds got their start in this borough in 2008 and have made quite the name for themselves, performing in almost all of the 50 states and over 10 separate festivals. Their latest work has evolved into something unique compared to their three studio albums. Kincheloe speaks about the reason for the change, the source of her inspiration, as well as a few words of reassurance about the albums development and sonic success.
Sparrow and the Birds will fly through The Egg on November 10 and Irving Plaza on December 1 – two venues that Kincheloe has deep connections to.
Dave Ostroff: There’s something different about this album. What would you say is setting this one apart from your previous work?
Arleigh Kincheloe: This one is a different for me because this is more of a solo project. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and I never really had the time to do it. I had a baby and all of a sudden we had to stop touring for a while and I focused on this record and started writing some of the songs while I was pregnant … then when my son was two months old I started going into the studio and working on it. One of the reasons I wanted to do this was we made a lot of records as a band and most of those records were created in a live style – we’d go in and together and try to capture our live side. What I really wanted to do for the first time was let the production side (take control) and kind of explore things I’ve always wanted to try in the studio that I never had because we were trying to go for that live band sound. It was really fun for me. I was trying to be creative in a new way and I was writing with a lot of different people and was really just stretching my legs a little bit. And also I was trying to figure out how to be a new mom. It was a crazy time in my life and I think this record was made all out of love (along with) a lot of exciting stuff happening in my life.
DO: There’s definitely tons of experimentation in there and it’s very successful experimentation. What kind of musical inspiration have you channeled into this album?
AK: I always wanted to try too marry modern sounds, hip hops elements, soul and funk stuff that I love. I sometimes still listen to the track and say, ‘I can’t believe it came out like this!’ I have a whole Spotify playlist that was my soundscape for this. The Staples, Aretha Franklin, The Pointer Sisters, Bill Withers, Paul Simon, Joe Cocker – a very ’70s vibe. But I tried to add the modern techniques and drum sounds. The person I worked with in the studio, his name is Carter, we really got each other. I met him because of a song songwriting session where we created “Gold”. After working with him that one day, he got a exactly what I‘m going for. I verbalized exactly what I was picturing and I said, ‘ build me this world!’ and five minutes later he completely created that world. I wanted to make the rest of the album with him because I thought he just nailed it. So that’s where it’s all coming from. It was such a fun experience and it was just the two of us a lot of the time.
DO: I’ve done some digging and found some initial reactions to the single “Ghost” and your fans loved it. But some are saying they think it’s too poppy and they don’t like the change in style. What would you like to say to some of those people to reassure them this album has a lot more to offer than this one track?
AK: I want express as an artist that we have to evolve. If we stay the same, then we’re going backwards. We have to try new things and not everyone will like it all the time, but that’s why it’s art and music is subjective and that’s why we’re all entitled to our own opinions. I would definitely like to say wait and listen to the whole album to get a bigger picture because “Ghost” is definitely one of the more poppy songs on the album. I hope people stick around and check the rest of it out. It definitely has a little bit of everything on there. Some of the tracks lean closer to the Dirty Birds sounds and some lean farther away.
DO: When is the release date?
AK: It’s October 12th. It’s going to be everywhere that day. You preorder it on iTunes, you get two of the songs now. We’ll be pressing vinyl which is very exciting. The vinyl will have a couple different versions of the songs that we have – Ghost will be different on that vinyl.
DO: Moving on to the tour and the shows – you’ve found a full time keys player, Nat Osborn. What’s his story? What does he bring to the table?
AK: We brought him on to be the keyboard player when we did a cover show of Aretha Franklin’s Live at the at Fillmore West album. We did that at the Brooklyn Bowl and we obviously needed a piano player because that album has her playing the organ. We all got along so well – he’s actually an old friend of a couple of the guys in the band and I personally got along really well with him. It’s been adding a lot of freedom in other ways. Whereas my brother on harp, a lot of time he was holding down the organ sounds through his pedalboard and his harmonica, so he now has the freedom to mess around with a different things. My brother is also playing lap steel (guitar) now so we’re bringing a lot of dynamic sounds to the mix which is a lot of fun for us. That is helping bring in the new album songs to life. It’s been really fun and I’m really excited for the rest of the fall.
DO: You have three NY shows coming up, out of those, do you have a favorite?
AK: New York is a hometown. I was born in Albany and raised in the Catskill Mountains so Albany is a hometown show in that my dad will be there, my friends from high school will probably come up and see that one. Aand then here in Brooklyn, this is where the band started and where I’ve been for the past decade so those two are both going to be really special.
DO: I wanted to close out with this – to those who haven’t seen a Sister Sparrow show, what would you say to that are on the fence about seeing you guys live?
AK: If you’ve never seen us before, we’re all just having a good time. For me, the whole point of this is to have a good time, to spread that feeling of joy and dancing – that’s a very important part of it for me and I hope people also feel the same way. It’s just a good time. We’re a little bit loud, a little bit rock, a little bit emotional as hell. We’re trying to bring everything together, spread a little love, spread a little joy – I know it sounds so cheesy but it’s true! That’s my mission and if I could have a good time up there, hopefully it’s contagious. When the crowd is having a good time then we’re having a good time and visa versa.
PEAK combine the characteristic flair that a weathered live band brings to the table, along with the instrumental prowess and focus needed to capitalize on recording a studio album with an all-star engineer. Produced by Dave Brandwein (Turkuaz), this thirteen-track epic is aptly named Electric Bouquetfor its variety of styles and poetic narrative arc. Vocalist and guitarist Jeremy Hilliard weaves a tale of existential breakdown and regrowth of a relatable narrator. Packaged along with a stellar instrumental backdrop, this album checks the necessary boxes for a song cycle washed in arresting psychedelic musings and jams. The band consists of singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeremy Hilliard, percussionist Dale Paddyfote, bass player Eric Thachuk, and organ/keys player Otis Williams. This album offers a staple sound that PEAK can use to differentiate themselves from an ever-growing list of funk/rock bands.
Electric Bouquet highlights many aspects of the band’s dynamic approach to songwriting; from the poetic use of narrative to the transitions between songs that create the flow and feel of the album as a whole. From funk, to psychedelia, to folk, Hilliard is deft in his writing and grouping of the songs. The first track, “Barometric Pressure (Here Comes The Rain)” starts off with a heavy hand alongside a drum and bass groove akin to Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.” PEAK wears their funk influence on their sleeve for much of this album, showcasing the ability of the band to lock in on a groove and develop its melodic nuances until the song “peaks” (no pun intended), often with a grand guitar solo. Many of the tracks are built around a bit of a blank canvas that the group paints with aesthetic guitar layering, big Bonham-like drums, and new interesting rhythmic features (like the congas in track 11 “Nothing New Under the Sun”). Thachuk (bass) and Paddyfote (drums) have great chemistry throughout, matching the bass and drum parts to give each song a strong backbone while organist Williams brings color and flavor to the instrumentals, yielding room for Hilliard’s full-toned guitar solos to blast through the mix.
As the album progresses, there’s a feeling of resolve in the lyrics with an emphasis on coming to grips with the predictable yet arduous nature of life and growing up. It feels like a coming of age story, referencing passing time and transitions from night to day, while simultaneously showing present growth of the narrator. Thematically, the album stays interesting. Instrumentally, the album not only conserves its appeal throughout while taking the listener on a psychedelic funk rock adventure, but also develops and changes as the songs roll on. There’s a gradual departure from the darker and heavier type of psychedelia early on (“Win Some, Lose Some”, “On the Grind”), to a more Grateful Dead or The Band folk rock/Americana feel (“Ballad of Wiley Jones”, “Mama’s Got A Lot of Love”). I would absolutely recommend giving this album a listen. From the production, to the actual performance of each song, it was a treat to look at each one of these baker’s dozens of tunes.
Amy Helm’s album This Too Shall Light comes out Friday, September 21 on Yep Roc Records. Produced by Grammy-award winning producer Joe Henry, this 10-track album delivers on illuminating a whole different side of Helm’s already unique songwriting style. Amy Helm left the comfort of her home in Woodstock, NY to record in Los Angeles at Union Recording Studios over a span of just four days. Along with a cast of stellar musicians and collaborators, Helm was able to pull together a collection of original songs and some covers to create a sonically vibrant album, guided by her rich vocal reflections, on the cyclic essence of life. While her past work was a bit more raw production wise, this album makes great use of stacked gospel harmonies while maintaining the fidelity of the instrumentals. Each song offers a steady build, but each also occupies a different level on the dynamic spectrum keeping the motion of the songs interesting.
Something that stands out when the album is looked at as a whole is the organic feel of each recording. While the production is not pristine, it effectively acts as a nod to the authentic nature of the music, as well as the authenticity of Helm herself. She and her band went into the studio for four days without having really rehearsed the songs, giving the performances a feeling similar to that of Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. This experimentation, and the overall leap out of the comfort zone, payed off big for Helm in a genre mixture where authenticity breeds emotion. One song that stuck out was her original piece, “Odetta.” It sums up a lot of what the album is about musically; the loose interplay between the guitar and piano along with a percussive sync between the bass and subtle drum line give the song a steady pulse and interesting variety of melodic lines. Stacked on this are wonderfully produced and performed gospel harmonies. Helm’s pristine transitions from full-voiced resonance to her elegant lead voice are stunning. Her dynamic range is huge, and she’s able to emote the lyrics by the difference in her tonality. From her note attack to how she slowly fades out her lines, her control is apparent.
Amy Helm was able to carve out a fresh sound on a few covers, and offered a couple tribute songs to her father, Levon Helm (The Band). One of these tributes, a cover of the hymn “Gloryland,” showcased just how well these featured vocalists (Allison Russel, JT Nero, Adam Minkoff, and Doyle Bramhall II) can lock in with Helm and each other to create bright and vivid harmonies which sound like one big voice singing together. From the album’s beginning to end, the harmonies shine through the mix of just about every song and give them a characteristic gospel taste. Whereas the instruments tend to keep it on the loose side, these harmonies are air-tight without being overproduced – they were mixed in stereo to great effect. While the album doesn’t feature too much original material, Helm is able to make the covers interesting in a manner different than the originals. Specifically, in “Freedom for the Stallion” (Allen Toussaint’), Helm’s cover is steeped in gospel influence, and her vocals give the song new character, as she breathes a different perspective into the strong set of lyrics. She and the band are able to do this effectively throughout the album. It would be great to see more original work, but this is understandable since the timeline was so short, and that shortened timeline was a gamble that ultimately paid off. Overall, both the covers and original compositions that are on this album are wonderful and show signs of things to come as Amy Helm continues to build her discography.
Key Tracks: Odetta, Gloryland, Freedom for the Stallion
It was a hot night in Buffalo, the same night that Elton John was playing at Key Bank Center for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. Parking was difficult since the Elton John show was a sellout, but neither the heat nor the traffic could deter people from showing strong for Funktional Flow‘s show at Iron Works. Even with a sold out event next door, the Buffalo-based group never fails to draw a crowd of eager attendees to one of their main home-base venues. As per usual, the Funktional Flow team was able to enlist the support of another great act; the Syracuse-based reggae group Root Shock. Anyone coming early was lucky enough to catch a preview of the light show for the night. The lighting at Iron Works was vamped up and prepped to go, with a spectacle of mixed colors and effects. It’s always a pleasure to catch a show here.
Root Shock opened up the night for Funktional Flow
The crowd started flowing through a few minutes into Root Shock’s set. Root Shock came off as a weathered group, utilizing all the tools present in their 6-piece outfit. Guitarist Phil Grajko and Jessica Brown traded off on vocals, while the extended rhythm section showcased their ability to create intricate reggae grooves. Their set had great transitions, giving the audience some slower songs to rock to, and some faster ones to get down. From the balcony of the venue, it was cool to see a group of dancers doing tricks with hula hoops and getting the audience moving. The band also got the crowd dancing, and even played some songs that they’ll be recording this upcoming weekend- always a treat to hear unreleased material. As Root Shock finished, it was a good idea to venture closer to the stage to get a spot near the barrier. One could overhear chatter that there was a line out the door. 11 pm came around and the crowd cheered as Funktional Flow took the stage.
The lighting was a huge highlight for this set. A backdrop of colors and textures adds so much to the atmosphere of the show, and the effects lined up well with the music the band played. You can tell that these Iron Works shows are special by how in sync the band and the sound and light crew were. Funktional Flow’s set was rock solid; their mix of flavorful reggae and funk rock works to great effect live. They also had a couple of feature percussionists for this event: Ryan Nogle on drums and Griffin Brady on auxiliary percussion. This added a lot to the groove which was simultaneously being fortified by Ben Whelan’s melodic and percussive bass lines. Joey Lewis flashed his technical prowess with scathing guitar solos and carried some of the vocal duties along with singer Jefferey Kuebler. One of the coolest parts of these Funktional Flow sets is when Jefferey and Joey lock in on a guitar riff and get a classic rock type guitar duel going. Matthew Lester provided a heap of energy as he ripped solos on the saxophone and held down the keys to round out a huge live sound. The highlight of the night was hearing their original song “Trouble” with the night’s lineup. The album version from Time Will Tell is great, but the added meat from the auxiliary percussion, on top of Nogle’s huge drum sound and lightning fills, differentiated the tune and revealed a whole different dimension of the song. That’s what these live shows are all about! Definitely catch these two bands if they come through your town and be on the lookout for their music.
Matthew Lester provides energy through his stage presence and concise solosBen Whelan (right) holds down the groove while Joey Lewis (middle) nails riff after riffThe variety of lighting textures added to the audience experienceRyan Nogle and Jefferey Kuebler (right) lock in with Ben and Joey (left)Iron Works filled up with eager supporters
The soulful funk group, West End Blend, shared this week that their impressive Fall 2018 tour will be expanding across cities in the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest. In what Sam Horan, the band’s drummer, has described as “one of our most exciting tours to date,” eager fans can expect performances including surprises such as a Secret Location TBA for Halloweekend.
This tour will mark the band’s next step to spread their unique sound as they claimed: “We’re visiting some brand new cities and we look forward to expanding that WEB family!” Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased via the band’s website.
This announcement is only the first of many plans for this upcoming fall. West End Blend prides themselves on their own vibe and flair and what better way to do that than with a live album release. Horan mentioned that they have been getting so many requests for this project because “Everyone can agree that while our studio albums sound great, they just don’t quite capture the raw energy and vibe that you see from us live.” It’s the ultimate way to provide the most authentic content possible and Live at the Waterhole will be released Oct. 5.
Recorded during a two-night long session at the Waterhole in Saranac Lake, the album sees technical contributions from GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Brendan Morawski. By building a studio-style soundboard side stage, Morawski was able to capture studio quality recordings of both evenings. This was also taken into consideration for which songs would be included on the album since the objective was to pick those which have taken on new arrangements and morphed significantly from the studio album versions. This direction the band is taking will demonstrate how they want the utmost interactive experience for the fans and how they are constantly rearranging their songs during live performances to showcase their progression as a group.
See Tour Dates and Tracklist below:
Live at the Waterhole Tracklist:
1. Attitude
2. Say Hey
3. Get By
4. I’m Time
5. Too Heavy
6. Day Dreamer
7. Is that All you got
8. The Scene
West End Blend Tour Dates:
Sept. 18 – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY * Sept. 19 – Buffalo Iron Works – Buffalo, NY * Sept. 20 – Funk n Waffles – Syracuse, NY *
Sept. 29 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA ^
Oct. 5 – Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT #
Oct. 6 – H.O.M.E. – Portland, ME Oct. 12 – The Hollow – Albany, NY
Oct. 18 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH
Oct. 19 – Emporium – Chicago, IL
Oct. 20 – Founder’s Brewery – Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 27 – Halloween Horror Camp – Secret Location TBA
Nov. 7 – Hofgarden – Richmond, VA
Nov. 8 – The One Stop – Asheville, NC
Nov. 16 – Pour House Music Hall – Raleigh, NC
Nov. 17 – Heist Brewing – Charlotte, NC
Nov. 24 – Riverwalk – Nashua, NH
Nov. 30 – Tropicalia – Washington DC
Dec. 7 – King’s Rook Club – Erie, PA Dec. 22 – The Haunt – Ithaca, NY @
The last time Jamiroquai graced NYC with its presence, they sold out the newly opened Nokia Theater Times Square for two nights back in 2005. The band was hot off the heels of their latest release, Dynamite, and it seemed like the United States could not get enough of their frontman, Jay Kay. Fast forward to 2018 and the East Coast was aching for some Jamiroquai news. After teasing 4 U.S. dates via Twitter, it was finally announced that their triumphant return to NYC would occur on September 8 at the Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.
Saturday finally arrived and the crowd did as well to a day full of drizzle and promise. Gangstarr’s DJ Premier took the stage at 7 pm to start a massive dance party for anyone that beat the traffic. The legendary producer spun ’90s hip hop tracks for the ever-growing crowd to get down to as the sky continued to open up on everyone that arrived. He warmed up the crowd for 45 minutes before the stage was set for the main act.
Just after 8 pm, the enormous screen on stage lit up and the band members began to assemble as Jay Kay ran on stage to a thunderous applause. As Jay’s helmet moved up and down while changing colors, they started things out with “Shake It On,” off of the new album, Automaton, before diving into 2001’s “Little L” off of A Funk Odyssey. The party continued with “Use The Force” and the always funky “Space Cowboy.”
“Alright” from Traveling Without Moving kicked the crowd into fifth gear and gave everyone the opportunity to sing along with Jay during the chorus. He brought it back to 2018 with “Dr Buzz” off the new album and followed that up with the hit, “(Don’t) Give Hate a Chance.” Continuing the hop between decades, they dove into “Main Vein” as the rain started coming down a little harder. No precipitation was going to keep this crowd from enjoying their night and the classic “Runaway” was the perfect soundtrack to the weather. Jay was met with a phenomenal cheer as he sang the opening lyrics, “Can you dig it? There’s something in the air tonight”.
Jamiroquai knows what their fans love and “Cosmic Girl” could not have come at a better time in the show. This psychedelic disco track illuminated the crowd as they continued to lose their minds before Jay slowed things down and treated everyone to the slow version of “Emergency on Planet Earth” off of their debut album. Soon enough, the sounds of Jay’s Lamborghini Diablo SE30 could be heard over the speakers as they dove into “Travelling Without Moving.”
The crowd exploded with cheers as they started “Canned Heat” and I certainly saw at least a dozen ‘Vote for Pedro’ shirts dancing harder than anyone else. Jay allowed his bandmates to really jam out this song and the funky beat never stopped. The last song of the set was 2002’s “Love Foolosophy” and the crowd could not have been more receptive of this choice. Jay thankfully understood the strict 10 pm curfew enforced by the venue, so without leaving the stage, they dove headfirst into their most popular hit, “Virtual Insanity.” The crowd and the band gave it all they had as 10 pm approached. Amidst a roaring applause, Jay promised they would be back and we couldn’t have been happier.
Brooklyn-based nine-piece Turkuaz have released the video for “If I Ever Fall Asleep”, the second single off their upcoming album Life In TheCity, due out in September 28. The video was filmed live at vocalist/guitarist Dave Brandwein’s Galaxy Smith Studios, and was produced by Jerry Harrison.
“If I Ever Fall Asleep” is a powerhouse funk number, the first written by Josh Schwartz (baritone saxophone), has incredible energy as the Turkuaz signature upbeat funk channels the paranoid ramblings of an insomniac before embracing his own unraveling.
Turkuaz is currently on the road in support of the new album, traveling across the U.S. with performances at Red Rocks in Morrison, CO on September 23 and The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on October 19 before the band closes out 2018 with a bang on New Year’s Eve at The Palladium in Worcester, MA.
TURKUAZ 2018 TOUR DATES:
September 14 Greenfield, MA @ Wormtown Music Festival
September 15 Fredericton, NB, Canada @ Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival
September 20 Steamboat Springs, CO @ Old Town Pub
September 21 Steamboat Springs, CO @ Old Town Pub
September 23 Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre October 4 Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater*
October 5 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom*
October 6 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Putnam Den*
October 11 Chattanooga, TN @ Songbirds*
October 12 Mount Vernon, KY @ The Moonshiner’s Ball
October 14 Greensboro, NC @ The Blind Tiger*
October 17 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street*
October 18 Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall* October 19 Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre^
October 24 Greenville, SC @ The Firmament*
October 25 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In*
October 26 Covington, KY @ Madison Theater*
October 28 Live Oak, FL @ Suwanee Hulaween
October 31 Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station~
November 1 Greenville, NC @ State Theatre~
November 2 Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore~
November 3 Washington DC @ Anthem~
November 8 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Rex Theater%
November 9 Columbus, OH @ The Funk’n Beer Fest
November 10 Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue#
November 11 Grand Rapids, MI @ Elevation#
November 14 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
November 15 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon#
November 16 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café+
November 17 Chicago, IL @ Park West December 29 Rochester, NY @ Anthology**
December 31 Worcester, MA @ The Palladium**
January 15 Miami, FL @ Jam Cruise
* with Butcher Brown
^ with Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles
~ with Lettuce
% with Dynamo
# with Andy Frasco & The UN
+ with Rubblebucket
** with Too Many Zooz
The seventh year of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival is underway. Now the largest multi-genre festival in New York State, the 2018 Rochester Fringe Festival offers more than 500 performances and exhibits across dozens of venues. Offerings include theater, comedy, art exhibits, multidisciplinary shows, and live music. Here’s the NYS Music Guide to what music-lovers can look forward to this opening weekend.
https://youtu.be/f2WL6Gy329o
The main attraction this weekend is the outdoor spectacle on Friday and Saturday, featuring the US debut of Massaoke. The UK sensation is sweeping the festival circuit world-wide, playing everyone’s favorite sing-along hits. Catch the act at Parcel 5 on Main Street. Massaoke starts at 8:30pm each night, but live music starts at 5pm. Opening on Friday night are The Crooked North (Americana), La Muralla (salsa), and Vanishing Sun (funk/soul). Saturday night features Chris Eves and The New Normal (rock), EightFingers (country/blues), and Cold Fronts (garage rock from Philadelphia). Parcel 5 events are free and open to the public.
For the night owls, the party continues long into the night at the Immersive Igloo 3D sound experience at Spiegelgarden at 9:30 and 10:30 and the Silent Disco in the Spiegeltent. These two events are ticketed, and sell out quickly. Check ticket availability: Immersive Igloo and Silent Disco.
Silent Disco photo by John Schlia
Looking for something a little more laid-back? Settle in and enjoy some refreshments at local coffee shops and enjoy some free live music.
Java’s Cafe on Gibbs Street hosts eclectic rock/folk band Paxtor at 7 p.m. on Friday. Then on Saturday, they feature acoustic trio The Genesee Three on Saturday at 5 and the eclectic musical stylings of Leah and the Upheaval at 7 p.m.
Around the corner the Little Theatre Cafe has plenty to offer music-lovers, starting with local cover bands B2 and Sad Bastards on Friday night. A full bill on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. includes RIT Surround (a capella barbershop), Proof of Purchase A Capella, The Annual Bill Destler and Rebecca Johnson Show (folk), Norm and The Outliers (jazz), Desert Rhythms (belly dancing), and Howie Lester (international/folk). And the fun continues with interactive shows on Sunday with Music and Visuals with Motion Capture at 1:30 and Virtual Karaoke at 5:30.
Eastman School of Music will be hopping this weekend. Friday night features two performances by the University of Rochester’s Institute for Popular Music: a performance of The Yes Album at 7 p.m. and Led Zeppelin IV at 9 p.m. Dave Rivello’s ensemble performs Saturday Night. And Sunday brings the return of the popular Gospel Sunday at 2 p.m. Gospel Sunday is free, but the room fills to capacity quickly, so arrive early. Tickets are on sale for the other shows at Eastman School of Music’s Killbourn Hall.
U of R Institute for Popular Music
Fans of contemporary dance troupes will want to check out the schedules for PUSH Physical Theatre and Garth Fagan. And if you’re in the mood for a musical, there’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch at 7 p.m. all this weekend or next Thursday and Friday at Lyric Theatre (click here for tickets).
If you’re already looking ahead to next week’s events, you may want to consider heading out on Wednesday night to catch a rare live performance of Instrumental, the soundtrack to the comic of the same name. Author and composer Dave Chisholm released the set last year, and this will be the first time it will be performed with the comic pages projected as the backdrop. More information and tickets are available here.
This is just a taste of what this weekend has to offer in Rochester. A comprehensive list of events can be found at the Rochester Fringe website rochesterfringe.com.
Several events are already selling out. If you plan to attend a show, purchase tickets in advance.
Online: rochesterfringe.com
Phone: (585) 957-9837 (additional fees apply)
Box Office: One Fringe Place (corner of Main & Gibbs Streets)
In Person: Venue door one hour before start of show (subject to availability)
Just in time to close out the summer, Adirondack Independence Music Festival snuck in a final taste of carefree living and beaming sunshine with a two-day jam in Lake George. Tucked away in upstate New York, the cozy site with two alternating stages backdropped the Labor Day Weekend everybody needed with familiar faces and top-notch talent across the early September lineup.
Ready to launch festival goers into two straight days of live music, The Melting Nomads took the stage as the opening act. Featuring members from Annie In the Water’s last lineup, the fresh-on-the-scene artists played about an hour set. Next up was Jen Durkin & the Business on the Improv Stage. Steal your Peach band entertained in classic fashion with covers of The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers over two sets. Keller Williams brought a real blue grass, jazz vibe to the entire grounds while Twiddle’s Mihali brought out his guitar to jam alongside Keller. Following Keller Williams was the renowned Sublime cover band Badfish. Twiddle closed out the night for the second year in a row, with an outstanding performance that had everyone on their feet. The band brought out special guests such as Joshua West of The Melting Nomads and Lowell Wurster. Attendance was nearly double of what the festival brought in the year prior, reaching nearly 3,5000 attendees.
Ready to follow the kinetic atmosphere of day one with high energy, Let’s Be Leonard jump started Sunday funday and got the crowd moving in the early afternoon. Their laid back personalities and welcoming sound are the first to reel you in but their individual talents bring an extra flair to their live performance as a whole. The quintet played a few tunes from their sophomore release, Static, among the zany crowd favorite, “Brad Paisley.”
Back to School Special followed punctually on the adjoining stage of the 25-acre Charles R. Wood Park. The first-time super group crafted by Turkuaz drummer Mikey Carubba, laid down the funk as they offered up impressively tight playing and fun splashes of covers throughout the hour set. With a highly skilled lineup consisting of Carubba, Beau Sasser (Kung Fu keys), Craig Brodhead (Turkuaz guitarist) and Sam Kininger (former Lettuce Sax), the experienced quartet instantly blended together to create quality tunes and a professional sound you’d think they’ve been crafting for years.The first double set at AIM Fest was taken on by Lucid, who draws a familiar and devoted crowd from Plattsburgh NY.
Bringing Woods Rock to the forefront of the ADK stage, the North country musicians tapped into an eclectic selection of genres including harmonica solos throughout their two-hour gig. Previously introduced to Lucid or brand new to their sound, their catalogue and live performance is equipped with something for everyone. Right in the middle of a Lucid sandwich, Swift Technique came as a fresh pop of flavor delivering Philly funk with charisma, booming voices and a horns section demanding to be heard. Stellar crowd engagement from all band members and light-hearted messages to take care of one other truly reaffirmed what the upstate festival setting was all about. The entertaining outfit ended their set with Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” and passed the mic back to Lucid for their final set, which found a performance of “Backwoods,” featuring Lowell Wurster’s father and Scott Hannay (Mister F, Wild Adriatic).
Stepping on stage as if they were walking in the front door of their childhood homes, Pink Talking Fish comfortably let loose and connected with the vibrance of their musical predecessors. Momentum kept rolling through a seemingly sped up version of Phish’s “Cities,” giving phans who missed out on Curveball a reason to groove and shake about. A dive into Pink Floyd’s “Breathe” surely found bodies swaying in unison, with the song’s lyrics acting as a reminder to cherish the final moments of festival season. The Allman Brother’s Band “Whipping Post” made a surprise set-list appearance, acting as a bookend to a drum heavy “What’s the Use?” with Pigeons Playing Ping Pong drummer Alex Petropulos dropping by for a tasty breakdown.
Lespecial hit the stage at dusk, taking the setting sun as an opportunity to bring the hard hitting funk metal and entrancing beats. The multi-talented trio has a way of mesmerizing festival goers with their gritty, unique sound. They loop their live performances and indulge in genres from electronica and house to progressive rock and dark metal. Known for their musical parallels and tendency to cover Primus, Lespecial took on “Jerry Was A Racecar Driver” to begin closing out their set in style with drummer Rory Dolan nailing the Les Claypool vocals.If there was any comfortable space around you, it was instantly absorbed by the time 8 o’clock rolled around. Bodies quickly assembled and flocked towards the front of the stage as Saturday night headliners Pigeons Playing Ping Pong closed out the fest with high spirits and optimal animation. With two sets of straight funk, the unstoppable touring machines pulled out all the stops, including a “Funk E. Zekiel” opener, a number of hits from their latest album, Pizazz, and two sit-ins from the Swift Technique horns on “F.U.N.K.” and Pink Talking Fish keyboardist Richard James on “Cliffs”> “Once In A Lifetime”> “Cliffs.” Always at the top of their craft with wacky facial expressions, in sync jamming and polished dance moves, the quartet have perfected their stage presence. With a tune self explanatory of the entire weekend, PPPP appropriately shut down AIM Fest with fan-favorite, “Fun in Funk.”
Mirroring a similar feel that the tight-knit Disc Jam community gives off and what has been missing since Catskill Chill shut down, AIM Fest continues to emerge on the scene at the right place and time. It’s fourth year in operation proved to be the best yet and a fitting, colorful sunset to a noteworthy summer of live music.
Just after 8 pm, the enormous screen on stage lit up and the band members began to assemble as Jay Kay ran on stage to a thunderous applause. As Jay’s helmet moved up and down while changing colors, they started things out with “Shake It On,” off of the new album, 
