Category: Genres

  • Documentary Being Produced About Legendary Long Island Nightclub My Father’s Place

    It was Memorial Day weekend in 1971 when Michael “Eppy” Epstein opened a nightclub in the sleepy town of Rosalyn. “My Father’s Place” hosted some of the hottest up-and-coming acts of the era, including The Ramones, The Police, Blondie, and Talking Heads.

    The legendary hot spot closed in 1987, but is now re-opening. To honor the legacy of the club, a documentary entitled “Names are Bullsh*t” is being produced using vintage footage and archival documents. The Kickstarter campaign which runs through today offers Migliori Crypto Metaverso investors the opportunity to get exclusive perks such as t-shirts and their names in the credits of the film. Follow the film on Facebook for updates.

    https://youtu.be/f7XQpFcdE_Q

  • The Hudson Valley is alive with Folk Music

    Rhiannon Giddens headlined a benefit for the American Center for Folk Music (ACFM) in New York’s Hudson Valley, at the Towne Crier in Beacon on Wednesday September 13th. Giddens, an ACFM Advisory Committee member, was joined by multi instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi for the evening’s performance. The duo shared new material along with songs dating back to the origins of folk music. Opening the show was Bruce Molsky, a two time Grammy nominated fiddler and Beacon resident. The American Center for Folk Music’s mission is to celebrate America’s rich legacy of folk music.

  • Rob Compa joins Empire State Music Podcast for Episode 11

    Guitarist Rob Compa joins Empire State Music Podcast host Andy Hogan to discuss time away from Dopapod, life in Burlington, various musical side projects, his upcoming debut solo album, and more!

    rob compa empire statePlus get an exclusive look into Compa’s guilty pleasure bands you will not want to miss. Visit robcompaguitar.com for music, tour dates, and more!

  • Celebrate National Gumbo Day with Baked Shrimp at Parish Public House

    Long Island’s Baked Shrimp will be in Albany on Friday, October 12 to celebrate National Gumbo Day at the Parish Public House. Joining them are local Albany bands Hasty Page and Hilltop.

    Baked Shrimp has been tearing up Long Island and NYC spots on their Summer Tour and embark on a Fall Tour with their first ever show in Albany. Check out our review of their album Feast of Delight. Tickets are $10 and more info can be found here.

    Pete Mason: Fans in Upstate are getting their first taste of Baked Shrimp – what can they expect to get down to?

    Baked Shrimp: We’re so excited to finally make it to Albany! The band has played in Upstate before, multiple times in New Paltz, and now we’re heading back to Oneonta, but getting to play New York’s capital will be a real treat. Expect the unexpected! We’re going into Fall with over 40 songs that can come out at anytime, and with Albany being the first show of the tour everything is on the table. Over the Summer, on top of teaching Jager all of the already written Baked Shrimp songs, we were also all learning together new originals, Beatles tunes, meme songs, and other cool covers for our Five Night Special that took place in Woodmere. Check out the recap from that and the rest of the Summer to see what’s on the table!

    PM: Was playing on National Gumbo Day at a New Orleans themed venue/restaurant planned or just a delicious coincidence?

    BS: Both! We knew Albany was planned for mid-October, and Dan from Parish Public House mentioned that it would be National Gumbo Day on the 12th. So we had to do it!

    PM: What’s the best part of the Long Island scene?

    BS: The best part is how close the folks in the jam/funk scene community on Long Island are to one another. Everyone knows each other, and the shows become a big gathering for everyone to meet in one spot to support the bands and the scene around them. It’s a goal of ours in the next couple of summers to do an outdoor camping festival on the island that we would host. It’s still a ways away since we’re still trying to find a proper location where we can do such an event, especially on Long Island, but we’ll make it happen! 2020!

  • Premiere: Gallons of Pork debut “WEED POLICE” music video

    The long-awaited music video by New York-based band Gallons of Pork, “WEED POLICE,” debuts today on NYS Music. The song has been an unexpected hit in the Northeast DIY scenes. Produced by Jack of Trades Media, the WPD are a specialized squad who gauge random folks on their Tetrahydrocannabinol levels, tirelessly searching for any dweebs who pass on that loud.

    Gallons of Pork assures fans that there is more to the WEED POLICE than meets the eye: “They will arrest you for not being high / that’s about it, that’s all they do.” … Along with violent involuntary dosing, civil asset forfeiture, and brutal arrests.

    Bassist and video director Frankie Krungus says of the video, “Our nerdy side is apparent; the video is rife with Dragon Ball references, combo moves, and sound effects. I was really inspired by music videos like Black Flag’s ‘TV Party’ and anything by Mac DeMarco, so I took that and peppered it with my dear childhood memories of watching raunchy dashcam footage on YouTube and the tv show ‘Cops.’

    Gallons Of Pork blurs the lines between genres with versatile and high-energy music that is highly addictive, loaded with chemicals, packaged and ready to serve. Gallons of Pork are in a class of their own with bizarre caricatures and zany tonality, teetering atop the precarious point between magnetism and chaos. These are stories about the band and their encounters in a world that they never asked to be born into – each song an expertly-sourced blend of extreme elements of metal, jazz, punk, funk and more, designed to shake the hanging meat right off the hooks.

    Gallons of Pork is bassist Frankie Krungus AKA Copus Krungus in WPD, guitarist and vocalist Joe Kap (the good citizen), singer Peter Grancio AKA Sneaky Pete, guitar maestro Mo LaMastro (another target of the WPD), and drummer Mike Sandbags AKA “Mikey Gash.”

    The band formed when Frankie gathered these hooligans in a rehearsal space. He and Mike knew each other from back in their hometown of Staten Island, NYC. Mike performs with his band Figurehead who is based there. The first time Frankie and Joe Kap met, they jammed while an edible kicked in. Joe gave the band a home to jam and write songs out of on Dietz Street in Oneonta, NY. Mo LaMastro has developed a musical language and flavor unique to his own style and this band. Pete has been a recent addition to the band, at first as engineer, then producer, then performer. He transcends from a bizarre vocalist on the record into an in-your-face MC live. He also plays drums in the bands Elm Sun and Gamma Ghouls, whose members are all featured in the Weed Police video.

    The band is currently recording their third album, The Third Annual Phram Dongleson Memorial Hot Dog Eating Contest for a digital and vinyl release in April 2019, with eight tracks that incorporate their improvisational & multi-genre instincts into a freshest farm to table sound.

  • Hearing Aide: Mirk ‘Sense’

    Mirk has been a part of the local scene since it first formed in 2009. Each of the band’s previous six releases has its own vibe, which makes it difficult for anyone to pigeonhole the band into a specific genre. The band’s sound is best described as “dance clap,” incorporating elements of pop music from different eras to get audiences onto the dance floor, and clapping.

    In the past, Mirk has played with the harmonizing doo-wop of the ’50s, the horn arrangements common in soul music from the ’60s followed by the predominant guitar and drums of the ’70s. Mirk’s sound, however, never strays from its roots of hip-hop, R&B and soul.

    Mirk’s seventh and latest album Sense is inspired by the music frontman Joshua Mirsky hears from his clients at his Foster House Studios in Albany. Mirsky said it delves more into the pop, which is evident from the electronic beats on some of the tracks. But, overall, the album is steeped in rich and soulful R&B.

    The baseline on “Priceless,” the album’s opening track, sets the tone for the entire listening experience. It introduces the listener to a smoldering atmosphere with a danceable beat with electric accents. It aptly holds your hand into the next track, “Cleopatra,” an equally hot song featuring Stellar Young frontman John Glenn.

    Glenn is one of four local musicians brought along for the ride on this 12-track album. Another, Nick Horace of The 7th Squeeze, lends a powerful performance on the ambient track “First of Her Name.” Tara Merritt lends her vocals on two tracks. The Albany singer has been associated with members of Groovstick and The Chronicles. She really shines through on the final track, “Rapture.”

    Your up-close and personal dance tracks move aside after “Pretty Brown Eyes.” featuring Troy R&B artist James Rock providing the hook with his silky smooth voice. From there, the pace picks up a notch with “Options” and “Living It Up,” only to ease back subtle like.

    By the time you get to “So Bad,” you will understand that this is not a disco dance compilation. Sense is light the candles, turn the lights down low, sexy. This is the soundtrack to your Friday night; whether you have plans with someone, or you plan to cruise the scene downtown. Audiophiles with their headphones should also check this out. Whatever your intent may be, this is good music.

    This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYSmusic. TheSpot518 and NYSmusic 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.

  • STS9 Lights Up NYC with Empire State Rooftop Performances

    If a band is going to perform on the rooftop of a building to nearly 3,000 people, and that rooftop is in Manhattan, then the show should feel larger than the sprawling metropolis itself. That’s exactly what jamtronica heavyweights Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9) did on their two-night run this weekend at new music venue Rooftop at Pier 17 NYC.

    An aerial view of Pier 17 during the show, taken by photographer Bill Bernal aboard a FlyNyon helicopter.

    The Seaport on South Street has seen an artistic resurgence in recent times, and part of that has been the harbor’s opening of a brand new live entertainment venue in August, Pier 17. The venue sits on the rooftop and commands breathtaking views in all directions. Musicians from Sting and Shaggy to Kings of Leon, as well as Comedians like Amy Schumer have graced this rooftop gem. But even with those big-name acts, the venue featured one of its most anticipated events so far in Sound Tribe’s two night run this weekend.

    Night One

    Peaceblaster’s “Metameme” kicked things off in comfortable and colorful style, as Tribe’s lights began to illuminate the New York City night in similarly cosmic, mind-bending style. Night one overall would be a well-appreciated offering of old school-style Tribe, not only in the songs making the setlist but also in the spirited feel the band found again and again through the evening, harkening back some of their best days of live performance over the past many years. Such night one gems as “Ramone and Emigilio” even with its relatively new style, and a first-set “When The Dust Settles Reprise” instilled some spontaneous joy in the die hard percentage of the audience.

    Following the opener was “Out of This World,” and its segue into “March” really helped the night launch proper. By the end of this nicely extended two-hit segment, around seven o’clock and barely twenty-five minutes into the show, the playing from the band was reaching top-notch and the energy on the rooftop reaching towards the sky. Over the last many shows this year, Tribe has been working in more drum and bass grooves into their live mix. Whenever the building energy of a particular song seemed to call for it, bassist Alana Rocklin and the twin percussion killers of Zach Velmer and Jeffree Lerner were given the floor to launch into energetic drum and bass sections.

    Several times over, the night saw Rocklin meticulously weave her bass lines into the percussive wall that helped to charge some of the great night one jams. On one such drum and bass segment at the end of a fantastic version of “Reemergence,” Velmer saw a furious moment across the drum kit, and made for arguably the most exhilarating segment of night one.

    Sound Tribe offered a banger of an encore for this first of two shows, with a “Water Song” that blended perfectly with “Kaya” to wrap it all up. As angelic white beams of light beaconed into the dark New York City sky, a gorgeous, liquefied, stretch of space linked the two songs seamlessly, with David Phipps leading on his pristine synth work.

    Night Two

    As the band took the stage again on night two, the iconic Brooklyn Bridge loomed behind, and a colorful sunset transitioned across the sky. The mood was incredible. Set one, which began with “Menacer”, felt like a jam filled donut, with the band seamlessly weaving new and old songs together. The high energy and sprinkled rap samples got the crowd going.

    “Menacer” segued into Peaceblaster’s “Shock Doctrine,” and the heavy, dark undertones and electric riffs from guitarist Hunter Brown set the tone for the night. “A03,” a new, airy tune, came next, and was an exciting one for the crowd to hear, because STS9 had debuted this song at their Red Rocks Run only three weeks ago in Colorado.

    “A03” segued into several classic Tribe tunes sandwiched together, starting with “Frequences 3.” This was not an ordinary Frequencies rendition, as the high energy Frequencies 3 was played first. The band smoothly moved into another older favorite, “Squares and Cubes.” The colorful light rig above the stage was dominated by illuminated squares and cubes, perfectly complimenting this song. Without stopping, the band continued into the mellower dance tune “Frequencies 2,” and eventually found their way back into “Squares and Cubes.” The band created a reverse “Frequences” “Scubes” sandwich, and the crowd was energized to a maximum level.

    Next up was “ABCees,” another older STS9 song mixing dark undertones and reggae samples, and included another drum and bass section. “Strange Games,” was next, and utilized both Outkast lyrics and melodies from their own song “Get Loud.” The band closed the first set by transitioning into “When The Dust Settles,” which included lyrics from “Games”.

    After a short break, the band returned with another newer song “Spending Time,” which they debuted at their recent New Years show. This segued into Peaceblaster’s “Beyond Right Now,” and also included a crowd-pleasing drum and bass section.  The quintessential “Moonsocket” followed, and has evolved significantly since the Interplanetary Escape Vehicle release in 1998. “Moonsocket” included a longer jam that did not disappoint. The band changed gears with three new songs, “Dragon City,” “New Dawn, New Day”, and “Seed.” “Seed” segued into the fan favorite “Rent,” teasing “When the Dust Settles.”

    STS9 ended their two-night run at Pier 17 on a high note, before returning to play one more song before the 10 pm curfew. They sent their fans home happy with an energetic version of yet another classic offering, “Be Nice.” 

       

  • Ghost Note announces November tour of Europe as new album ‘Swagism’ tops iTunes charts

    Powerhouse jazz ensemble, Ghost Note, made a European tour announcement this week as they promote their critically acclaimed album Swagism. November will see both Grammy award-winning artists Robert Sput Searight and Nate Werth collaborate with a wide spectrum of other talented sounds including Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas Jr. (bass), Xavier Taplin (keys), Vaughn “V-Keys” Henry (keys), Peter Knudsen (guitar) and Jonathan Mones (alto sax & flute).

    Several exciting European destinations for the group on this tour include Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy as this 3-week long exploration will touch down in a total of 18 overseas cities. Their live performances have also been a topic of extraordinary skill with fantastic reviews and a genuine appreciation from their fans. They lighten the stage with a cool, mellow energy that sets a tone for a night full of seemingly endless groovy vibes.

    Their evolution to get to this point began in 2015 with the group’s debut record, Fortified, being their first step toward endless potential. Eventually, they would come out with Swagism three years later that would dominate the iTunes jazz charts at the number one position and boasting a stunning 20 featured musicians, including Kamasi Washington, Karl Denson, Nigel Hall, Brandon “TAZ” Niederauer, and many more. Despite the awesome quality of these live performances, they aren’t very frequent so hop on a chance to experience this jazz sensation and check out their tour dates below.

    U.S. Tour Dates:

    Oct. 9 – 1884 Lounge – Memphis, TN
    Oct. 10 – Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
    Oct. 11 – 1st Ward Chop Shop – Chicago, IL
    Oct. 12 – Detroit Institute of Music Education – Detroit, MI
    Oct. 13 – Founders – Grand Rapids, IA
    Oct.14 -15 – The Rex – Toronto, CAN
    Oct. 16 – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
    Oct. 17 – Gypsy Sally’s – Washington, D.C.
    Oct. 18 – Asheville Music Hall – Asheville, NC
    Oct. 19 – Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC
    Oct. 20 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
    Oct. 21 – Aisle 5 – Atlanta, GA
    Oct. 23 – Thirsty Hippo – Hattiesburg, MS
    Oct. 24 – Blue Nile – New Orleans, LA
    Oct. 25 – Last Concert Cafe – Houston, TX
    Oct. 26 – Deep Ellum – Dallas, TX

    EU/UK Tour Dates:

    Nov. 5 – Nefertiti – Göteborg, Sweden
    Nov. 6 – Fasching – Stockholm, Sweden
    Nov. 8 – Cosmopolite – Oslo, Norway
    Nov. 9 – Jazz Onze Plus – Lausanne, Switzerland
    Nov. 10 – Ingolstädter Jazztage – Ingolstadt, Germany
    Nov. 11 – Roxy – Ulm, Germany
    Nov. 12 – Colos-Saal – Aschaffenburg, Germany
    Nov. 14 – Quasimodo – Berlin, Germany
    Nov. 15 – 15 Bunker Ulmenwall – Bielefeld, Germany
    Nov. 16 – Super Sonic Jazz Festival – Amsterdam, Netherlands
    Nov. 17 – Jazz Out – Heerlen, Netherlands
    Nov. 18 – Bird – Rotterdam, Netherlands
    Nov. 20 – Scheltema – Leiden, Netherlands
    Nov. 21 – Badaboum – Paris, France
    Nov. 23 – Ronnie Scott’s – London, England
    Nov. 24 – Unterfahrt – Munich, Germany
    Nov. 25 – Teatro Forma – Bari, Italy
    Nov. 27 -Lumiere / Pisa Jazz – Pisa, Italy

  • Mike Powell set to release new solo EP, ‘Shelter Without Walls’

    Mike Powell has had a prolific few years, performing throughout the northeast with his solo act, his duo, and his full band the Black River.  He also released a solo album and an album with his band. This Friday, Oct. 5, Powell will release his latest solo effort, Shelter Without Walls.

    shelter without walls

    The six song EP features two previously released, but re-worked songs, “Twenty One Rounds” and “Sad Day in Champion” and four brand new heartfelt compositions. The album can be pre-saved on Spotify and Apple Music through this link. It will be available on all streaming services beginning Oct. 5.

    Powell is a unique storyteller who writes with emotion, breaking down walls to allow the listener into the story. He writes best when he draws from personal experiences. “Twenty One Rounds” tells the tale of a mother who lost her son while serving his country; something Powell has knowledge of through his upbringing in Carthage, just outside of the Fort Drum Army Base in Northern New York. This much-loved song gets a rework on the new EP and has lost little of the original’s emotional appeal.

    Writing songs has always been a soul satisfying activity for me. I just have a deep love for words and telling stories. Music is the most impactful medium I’ve found for connecting with people and evoking emotion. Being able to play intimate acoustic sets in tandem with rock n’ roll shows with my band is like scratching two creative itches at once. I feel like I have two separate vehicles that share the same fuel system.

    “Sad Day in Champion” recalls the closing of a paper mill in that same region of the North Country that affected so many of the people in the region as well as those close to the young Mike Powell.

    One of Powell’s new songs, “Poison Diamond” closes the record. A dirgy number, highlighted by Hanus’ trademark guitar and a church-like organ, where the narrator laments, “You took my hand/You stole my heart/ You loved me to pieces/That’s what tore me apart/You set the fire/And it made me cold/You made me higher/And you cut me down low/That’s what tore me apart/I need some glue, or something heavy I can hold on to/This old bottle here will do/I’m never together with you.”  This is one of the Powell’s most powerful recordings to date, from the lyrics to the delivery to the musicianship within the song. The subdued duet with a female voice on “I’m never together with you” hits the listener in the heart. This song could be Powell’s launching pad to a wider audience.

    shelter without walls

    “The Polite Rebel” will also embark on the most ambitious month of his professional music career beginning Friday. The busy month kicks off with the Black River opening for Canadian rockers The Trews at Exhibition Hall in Watertown this Friday, Oct. 5. Following the Watertown gig, Powell and his duo partner, John Hanus trip down to Goshen, CT for a main stage gig at the Black Bear Americana Music Fest on Oct. 6. The weekend wraps on Sunday with an intimate gig at The Sinclair in Skaneateles on Oct. 7.

    Powell’s intense schedule continues Oct. 10 and 11 as he makes his solo debut at Ani DiFranco’s 9th Ward at Babeville in Buffalo and Lovin’ Cup in Rochester. Oct. 12 sees Powell closer to home at the Brewerton Center for the Arts for another solo show.

    The most highly anticipated nights of the month occur at the historic Nelson Odeon, a renovated former Grange Hall located in the rolling hills of Nelson, near Powell’s current hometown of Cazenovia on Oct. 13 and 14. These shows will be used to record Powell in both solo and duo formats as well as certain selections with the Black River, to be included in a future live Powell album.

    The Odeon is one of Powell’s favorite rooms to perform and is the reason he chose this historic building for the recording of his first live album. He says of the building:

    The Nelson Odeon stands for everything I love about music. It’s like stepping back to a simpler time. I have always dreamed of releasing a live record and this is the perfect room to try and bottle up a moment in time. It will be a special night.

    The Black River, in addition to their gig opening for The Trews on Oct. 5, will take up a Thursday residency at King of Clubs in Syracuse’s famed Armory Square on Oct. 4 and 18. Dubbed “The Thursday Night Rock Show,” this ongoing event is hosted by the band and features some of the region’s top acts. Capital District rockers Wild Adriatic will join the Black River in a November session of “The Thursday Night Rock Show.”

    Finally, on Oct. 19 Powell makes a trip to Blue Mountain Lake for a performance at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts and wraps up with a songwriters and on Oct. 20 the 18 Songs Tour visits Casita del Polaris in Ithaca. This set brings together three of Central New York’s premier singer songwriters for a night of music – 18 songs- with Powell joined by Charley Orlando and Chris Merkley.

    When not on the road, Powell will be in the studio recording the Black River’s sophomore effort. The band released its debut, Classic Universe in January.

    Check out the video for “Sad Day in Champion” below featuring Powell and members of the Black River.

  • In Conversation with Izzy Heltai About Performing FreshGrass for 3rd Time

    Folk singer and songwriter Izzy Heltai spent his summer on tour all over the United States, but there was one festival in particular he was excited to play, the FreshGrass Festival in North Adams, MA.

    Izzy Heltai
    Izzy Heltai captured by Emma K. Rothenberg-Ware.

    Having lived down the street from MASS MoCA where the festival takes place the four years he attended MCLA as an Arts Management major, this festival has always felt like a homecoming for Heltai.

    “What’s great about FreshGrass is that its always felt like the festival in my backyard,” Heltai explained. Even though he now lives roughly an hour away in Northampton, there is still something about North Adams and the FreshGrass festival in particular that holds a special place in his heart.

    “The festival took me on before I was really ready to play that festival which, when organizations or places do that for someone who’s just starting to figure out what they are doing, is really cool and really nice,” Heltai explained.

    “Now I feel really ready, prepared, and good enough to play there, but when I first started playing there I had no idea what I was doing.”

    When Heltai climbed on stage in Courtyard C, there was an ease about him that showed he had really come into his own as a musician, a comfort in what he was doing. As he explained it in his interview, the more you practice, the better you get and spending the entire summer on tour it seemed, from the audience’s perspective, he was more than ready for his third year occupying the stage.

    Over the years, Heltai has learned a lot on the fly, but one thing he’s figured out for sure is to not leave practicing until it’s too late, He says one always thinks they will have time to get another practice together during the festival weekend, but the likelihood of that actually happening is pretty low. With his accompanying band, which included stand-up bass player Dan Bisson and electric guitarist Micah Katz Zeiger, it was easy to tell they had run through these songs many times. It was practically second nature for them.

    Izzy Heltai captured by Emma K. Rothenberg-Ware.

    Heltai was more than okay with his 12:30 p.m. time slot on Sunday, explaining that he gets booked at a lot of bluegrass festivals. In reality, he’s more of a singer-songwriter and doesn’t have just a four-chord progression with intense violin or mandolin ‘shredding’ over it. His sound is very acoustic and mellow in comparison.

    “Maybe everyone is a little hung over and ready to listen to some softer folk tunes,” Heltai explained, with a laugh about why he thought his time slot worked so well. For him, getting to share the poster with names like Brandi Carlile, one of his favorite singer-songwriters who also performed at FreshGrass last year, or the Indigo Girls, who performed this year, is one of the best parts about it. It’s an honor for him to be in the same lineup as them.

    Sometimes during performances, when an artist tries to get the crowd to participate, it’s like pulling teeth, but not for Heltai. He had the crowd participating with ease in combination with some witty remarks made by his supporting guitarist, Zeiger.

    Two of his favorite songs to perform are “Not Eden” and “Anyone to Anybody.” He explained they are a lot of fun to play, especially around the North Adams area, because a lot of people know the words and sing along, which was definitely evident at his performance. People all around were matching his words in harmony with the tune and clearly knew these songs.

    One of the big things that helped Heltai in his career was the support from the Arts Management professors at MCLA. They not only taught him how to organize, market, and advertise himself, but also gave him the freedom while still in school to use his tools in the real world and go on mini tours instead of being in the classroom all the time. The goal is to be able to put what you are learning to use outside of a classroom, and Heltai was able to do just that.

    Heltai doesn’t see himself as a successful artist yet, saying, “We will see about successful,” despite the fact he has performed at FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival, Kerville Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Ossipee Valley Music Festival. He has also worked as support for musicians such as Ghost of Paul Revere, Honeysuckle, Caitlin Canty, Upstate Rubdown, Frances Luke Accord and The Sweetback Sisters.

    Izzy Heltai captured by Emma K. Rothenberg-Ware.

    When asked what one of the hardest hurdles to get over is, Heltai replied, “Especially with the type of music I do as a singer-songwriter, I usually play solo, a lot of people just don’t listen and that’s okay.” He explained as a solo artist you have to find the environments you work best in. Sometimes you aren’t going to end up in the best environment, and people there won’t care about your music. That’s unavoidable, and it’s okay.

    From watching him at Stage C, it would be hard for listeners to not care about his music, because the crowd was hanging on every word.

    Heltai plans to start recording his new EP in October and it will include his “Marching Song,” performed at the FreshGrass Festival. His music and social media can be found on most platforms, under the name Izzy Heltai.

    Article was originally published on The Beacon.