The annual tradition of the New York City Ballet taking up their summer residency in Saratoga, NY at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is upon us. Earlier this week seven tractor trailers began arriving carrying costumes, shoes, lights, sets, and anything else a world class ballet company would require on tour. Crews are working hard to ready the stage for the dancers including hanging the beautiful backdrops, and running over 3 miles of cable. Dancer’s have an entire truck load of costumes for this year’s one week run of performances along with over 1000 pairs of toe shoes.
This year’s run begins on Tuesday, July 17 with a production of All Balanchine. George Balanchine was a world renown choreographer, who also had a hand in designing SPAC’s stage and acoustics. There will also be performances of Romeo + Juliet, and 21st Century Choreographers, The closing performance will be on Saturday, July 21 with the 2018 Gala featuring a celebration of Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein. Details can be found at spac.org
Shooter Jennings started his “Bound Ta Git Down Tour.” on July 4 but recently has added new dates which go all the way into November. The tour is partially in anticipation of his new album, SHOOTER, which arrives at all music retailers and streaming services via Low Country Sound and Elektra Records on Friday, August 10.
Shooter Jennings courtesy of Shooter Jennings’ social media.
“The Bound Ta Git Down Tour” includes not only headlining shows but also dates supporting Turnpike Troubadours. He’s also scheduled to do multiple festival performances, including Black Mountain, North Carolina’s Jam In The Trees, Tahlequah, Oklahoma’s Medicine Stone Festival, and Fort Worth, Texas’ KFWR Annual Ranch Bash.
There is also a very special SHOOTER release day celebration at the world famous Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, CA, set for Friday, August 10. For updates and ticket information, please visit Shooter Jennings’ official tour page.
For more information on Shooter Jennings visit his website.
New tour dates listed below:
July 4 – The Beaumont – Wayne, NE
July 5 – The Royal Grove – Lincoln, NE
July 6 – The Shrine – Tulsa, OK
July 7 – Will Rogers Riders Rodeo – Amarillo, TX
July 12 – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI
July 13 – Cavalier Theater – La Crosse, WI
July 14 – Vetter Stone Amphitheater – Mankato, MN*
July 27 – Lawn at White Oak Music Hall – Houston, TX*
July 28 – Whitewater Amphitheater – New Braunfels, TX*
Aug. 2 – Sofia Tsakopoulos Center – Sacramento, CA
Aug. 3 – Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
Aug. 4 – Moe’s Alley -Santa Cruz, CA
Aug. 5 – Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ
Aug. 8 – Belly Up Tavern – Solana Beach, CA
Aug. 10 – Pappy & Harriet’s – Pioneertown, CA
Aug. 11 -Troubadour – Hollywood, CA
Aug. 22 – City Winery – Washington, DC
Aug. 23 – Milton Performing Arts Center – Milton, WV
Aug. 24 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC
Aug. 25 – Jam In The Trees – Black Mountain, NC
Aug. 31 – 9th Street Summerfest – Columbia, MO*
Sept. 2 – Beaver Dam Amphitheater – Beaver Dam, KY*
Sept. 6 – The Burl – Lexington, KY
Sept. 7 – Maddie’s Hall – Bristol, TN
Sept. 8 – Harley Davidson of ATL – Atlanta, GA
Sept. 9 – The Senate – Columbia, SC
Sept. 12 – George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayetteville, AL
Sept. 13 – The HiFi – Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 14 – The Riff – Springfield, MO
Sept. 15 – Legacy Park Amphitheater – Lee’s Summit, MO
Sept. 22 – Medicine Stone Festival – Tahlequah, OK*
Sept. 27 – Turf Club – St Paul, MN
Sept. 28 – Kilbourn City Live – Wisconsin Dells, WI
Sept. 29 – Magic Bag – Ferndale, MI
Sept. 30 – Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI
Oct. 2 – The Aquarium – Fargo, ND
Oct. 4 – Broadway Theatre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct. 5 – Cadillac Hall – Cadillac, SK
Oct. 6 – River Cree Casino – Edmonton, AB**
Oct. 13 – Ashland River Front – Ashland, KY
Oct. 18 – Heights Theater – Houston, TX
Oct. 20 – KFWR Annual Ranch Bash – Fort Worth, TX
Nov. 6 – Shakas Live – Virginia Beach, VA Nov. 8 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory Brooklyn Nov. 9 – Rec Room – Buffalo, NY Nov. 10 – Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY
Nov. 11 – Port City Music Hall – Portland, ME
Calliope Musicals are hitting the road for their Stray Cats Tour and their first two stops are in Rochester on July 25 and Syracuse on July 26 at Funk ‘n Waffles locations.
Photo courtesy of Calliope Musicals website.
Calliope Musicals has a pop-rockesque vibe and can captivate an audience. The band is from Austin, TX and is made up of six members. Carrie Fussell on lead vocals and guitar, Craig Finkelstein on vibraphone and vocals, Josh Bickley on drums and vocals, Andrew Vizzone on bass and vocals, Jerry Sparkman on confetti cat, and Joe Cannariato on lead guitar and vocals.
For their Rochester show, they are joined by special guest Stationary Escape Pod and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. and is an 18 and up show with a $7 cover.
For their Syracuse show, they are joined by special guest Pet Cheetah. The show starts at 9:00 p.m. and is also an 18 and up show with a cover of $5 in advance or $7 at the door. Tickets for both shows can be purchased in advance through TicketWeb.
The collective will also perform in New York City at Bowery Electric on July 27.
For more information on Calliope Musicals be sure to check out their website.
Hochstein School of Music and Dance continues its tradition of afternoon concerts this summer. This summer’s lineup includes music by Watkins & The Rapiers, Hanna & The Blue Hearts, Mambo Kings, Hypnotic Clambake, Crooked North Duo, and Genesee Johnny.
The free performances are held at Granite Mills Park in the High Falls District at noon on Thursdays through August 16. Food is available to purchase from a variety of vendors. Visit the Hochstein School of Music and Dance website for more information.
2018 Hochstein at High Falls:
July 12 – Watkins & the Rapiers
July 19 – Hanna & the Blue Hearts
July 26 – Mambo Kings
August 2 – Hypnotic Clambake
August 9 – Crooked North Duo
August 16 – Genesee Johnny
10,000 MANIACS will be rolling into Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes on Saturday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Photo courtesy of their website.
10,000 Maniacs started in Jamestown, and were founded in 1981. They are known from the early “alternative rock” movement, having released close to 20 albums, including 2015’s Twice Told Tales and 2016’s Playing Favorites. They consistently tour not only the U.S. but abroad as well.
This year marks three significant anniversaries in the band’s history. Their first full-length recording was released 35 years ago. Secrets of the I Ching, which caught the attention of BBC radio legend John Peel, who brought the band to the attention of millions of listeners worldwide. 25 years ago and the second significant event happened; Mary Ramsey began her tenure as lead singer for the band. It was in that same year the 3rd significant thing happened, which was that 10,000 Maniacs made their iconic performance on MTV’s “Unplugged”; the released recording would go on to sell millions of copies.
In celebration of these milestones on their 2018 tour, 10,000 Maniacs will play select acoustic sets including songs from Secrets of the I Ching and MTV Unplugged as well as their hit songs. 10,000 Maniacs is comprised of Mary Ramsey, lead vocals,viola; Steven Gustafson, bass guitar; Dennis Drew, keyboard; Jeff Erickson, guitar; John Lombardo, guitar; and Jerome Augustyniak, drums.
Tickets for the all-ages event are $35.00-$55.00.
For more information call 518-953-0630 or visit Cohoes Music Hall’s website.
For more information on 10,000 Maniacs visit their website.
The Hot Rize 40th Anniversary Bash album is a recording of Hot Rize’s live performance at the Boulder Theatre over the course of three sold out shows in January of this year. The album will include 19 tracks from these three sold out shows.
Hot Rize is known for being one of the most respected and influential bands in bluegrass music. The 40th Anniversary Bash shows Hot Rize’s broad appreciation for soulfulness and their conscientious balance between traditional and experimental bluegrass which is a hallmark of Hot Rize since their inception.
Hot Rize is made up of Nick Forster on bass, Pete Wernick on banjo, Tim O’Brien on mandolin and fiddle, and Bryan Sutton on guitar and they were joined during their Boulder three nights performance by longtime musical friends Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, and Sam Bush.
Hot Rize’s 40th Anniversary Bash will be available on CD and vinyl (double LP) and will be released via Ten in Hand Records and distributed through The Orchard. The band will play the Ryman Auditorium on July 12th as their Nashville CD release show, as part of the Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman series.
The celebration will also be making a stop in Oak Hill, NY for the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival as one of the Friday headliners on July 20. Their complete tour dates are listed below.
Check out the newly released video for “Colleen Malone” below the tour dates.
On tour:
July 12 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
July 20 – Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival – Oak Hill, NY
July 29 – Rockygrass – Lyons, CO
Aug. 31 – Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival – New Castle, DE
Sept. 1 – Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival – Brunswick, ME
Sept. 2 – Rhythm and Roots Festival – Charlestown, RI
Nov. 2 – The Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries – St. Louis, MO
Nov. 9 – Peoples Bank Theatre – Marietta, OH
For more information on Hot Rize visit their website.
Sherrill may be the smallest city in New York State, but its long-running summer concert series boasts some of the biggest music acts in the Central New York scene.
Among those slated to perform at 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday from June 26 – Aug. 28 are country artist Eddie Arcuri, alt-folk band the Old Main, fan favorites and Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame inductees, Fritz’s Polka Band and Central New York’s premier party band, Showtime.
Eddie Arcuri performs in the pavilion Tuesday, July 3. Arcuri has recently been recording in Nashville and performed at Frog Fest in June. You can check out his single for “Beer Goggles” here.
(Photo: Anthony Owens)
Cazenovia’s Oldfield 5 performs on July 10. The band’s name is derived from the old phone exchange for Cazenovia. Band member, Gary Powers is a Sherrill resident.
Showtime takes the stage on July 17. This seasoned band has a proven track record of being able to perform just about anything. They’ve been on the CNY scene since the early ’90s and are one of the most high demand bands in the area.
Fritz’s Polka Band, based in nearby Verona, has the claim of being the only Polka band to ever play at a Woodstock Festival, having performed at the ill-fated Rome version in 1999. FPB was inducted into the Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame in 2017 and have been nominated in several categories at the Cleveland awards ceremony over the years. The band has proven over the course of its career that Polka music can, in fact, rock, as exhibited in this fan-shot video of their version of “All Along the Watchtower” below.
The Old Main brings their unique brand of Americana to Sherrill on July 31. The band has proven very popular on the upstate brewery circuit and also has a solid fan base at the ski resorts of the Adirondacks and Vermont.
On Aug. 7, the jazz group E.S.P. This high energy group of seasoned jazz professionals is the recipient of three SAMMY Awards for Best Jazz Album (2009, 2011, 2017) and features Sherrill native, Evan Duchene on drums. Check out their video for “When Fortune Smiles” below.
The PartyNuts perform oldies from the ’50s and ’60s at the gazebo on Aug. 14. Their performance will be followed by a movie under the starts. The movie will be announced at a later time.
Central Winds is an all-star CNY wind ensemble comprised of more than 40 local music educators. They will be performing music spanning several genres at the park on Aug. 21. Aside from performing at such esteemed venues as the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, the ensemble also conducts workshops throughout the year. Read more about this talented group of musicians here.
Sherrill Summer Series concerts are held in the gazebo of Reilly-Mumford Memorial Park, next door to Sherrill City Hall. For more information on this series, visit the City of Sherrill’s website here.
Nothing says summer in the ROC like Party In The Park 2018. Now in it’s 22nd year, this concert series brings some of the hottest acts around to play in the heart of the city. Dr. Martin Luther King Park will be host to the likes of Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, The Original Wailers, Hayley Jane and The Primates, G. Love & Special Sauce, Devon Allman Project, Almost Queen, and Big Eyed Phish. General admission is $5, with children under 12 free. VIP packages are also available. Go to the City of Rochester website for more information.
Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad
July 5 – Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Uma Galera, Ely Flynn and The Everymen
July 12 – G. Love & Special Sauce with special guests Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express, Ron Artis II
July 19 – The Original Wailers with special guests Ginkgoa, Grupo NextLevel
July 26 – Devon Allman Project with special guest Duane Betts, Tommy Burnett Band, Hayley Jane and The Primates
Aug. 2 – Almost Queen, Big Eyed Phish
Every Thursday this summer from July 5 – Aug. 30, The Crossings of Colonie brings its live concert series to the Capital Region from 6 – 8 p.m. rain or shine at the Crossings Park Gazebo.
A wide variety of different music can be found each week during the series from some of the area’s top local artists, including the Audiostars, Skeeter Creek, and the Georgie Wonder’s Big Band.
Fans are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, blankets, and picnic set ups to the show. All shows are free to the public. The Crossings is located at 580 Albany Shaker Road in Loudonville.
Concerts at The Crossings Lineup:
July 5 – Body and Soul
July 12 – NY Players
July 19 – Audiostars
July 26 – Skeeter Creek
Aug. 2 – Lustre Kings
Aug. 9 – Georgie Wonders Big Band
Aug. 16 – Hair of the Dog
Aug. 23 – The Pipe Kings
Aug 30 – Sorrow Estate/Rich Ortiz
¡Viva Mayhem!, commonly referred to as Viva, is an eight-piece post-wave ska band out of Ithaca, NY which are fan favorite at the CFCU Summer Concert Series that takes place at the Bernie Milton Pavilion stage in Bank Alley on the Ithaca Commons. Sean Bonney-Burrill is one of the original member and founders of the band and still an active participant when he’s not attending Berklee College of Music in Boston for Contemporary Writing and Production.
Viva Mayhem’s drummer Sean Bonney-Burrill playing at the Ithaca Festival taken by Edna Brown Photography.
Nora Hones: So tell me a little bit about your position in ¡Viva Mayhem! and how the band formed?
Sean Bonney-Burrill: So my position in it is really weird because the band formed, I don’t remember exactly what year it was formed, but it was five or six years ago as Mayhem Attack Squad and at the time I was the drummer for the band. And at that point, it was just two horn players, guitar, bass, drums and vocals and it kind of went from there to what it is today. Over the years I have switched gears, switched instruments many times. I went from drums, to doing vocals, to doing both vocals and drums at one point, but I didn’t really feel like that had enough energy going on upfront. I felt like that we needed someone upfront to get the crowd excited so since we were having a hard time finding a vocalist that was sticking around in Ithaca, I decided to jump on doing the front man position for a while. Then when I went away to school, we got a new vocalist and a new drummer and I just sort of filled in on whatever instrument needed to be played when another member was out and besides that I would play aux percussion or keyboard. But right now, this summer, I am playing drums again which I haven’t done in almost five years with Viva which is really awesome.
NH: So how long have you guys been performing at the CFCU summer concert series? Because I know this isn’t your first year.
SBB: It’s not the first year. I think it was two years ago we started. I know we opened for SAMMUS the first year we did the concert series. It’s basically been since the series started at the Bernie Milton Pavilion after the Commons renovation ended. But we have a lot of fun each time. It seems like the CFCU concert series has been progressively growing a lot stronger each year and bringing in new and interesting bands and really getting some good talent from a bunch of different spots in New York.
Photo courtesy of CFCU Concert Series website.
NH: So what got you involved in it? Like did someone approach you or did you apply to be part of the concert series?
SBB: We did let the CFCU people know about us a few years ago and then it sort of just happened organically over time. As Viva was playing more places around Ithaca and getting their name out more and more we started not as much looking for gigs but working with people to put gigs together. Like I said we opened for SAMMUS our first year that we played the CFCU concert series and that gig was an Ithaca Underground showcase which is actually what we are doing again this year as the headliner instead.
NH: What is it about this concert series that keeps you coming back to keep performing at it?
SBB: Well, it always pulls a really cool crowd. You see people that you wouldn’t necessarily see at other shows. It’s great that it’s free and a family event because there’s definitely some festivals around town and stuff like that, but it’s one of those few series that anyone can go and enjoy. You don’t have to pay to go there. you don’t have to be a certain age, we love that. We get to see a really diverse fan base from that. It also always feels like a really good way to connect with the community in a really cool way. It feels like a very quote unquote “Ithacan” thing to do. But besides that, like I said, they always bring in a lot of really cool talent so it’s awesome to be put in a lineup with so many other cool bands who are doing really interesting things with their music in Ithaca and the regional area around Ithaca.
NH: So what do you think it is about you guys that makes this concert series want to keep bringing you guys back?
SBB: I would say that the number one thing that we have going for us as a band is energy and excitement. I think that we do really good job engaging with the audience and I think the audience really enjoys engaging back. It doesn’t really feel like performer, audience, and like there’s a barrier between the two. We really want to interact and make people have a good time, get people dancing, and I think because of that people think, “Oh this band is playing on the Commons, should we go? Yeah, we always have a good time. It’s fun and dance-y.” I think that’s one of the reasons they enjoy us is because we are really excited to just go out and perform for people and show them the best time we can.
NH: You already mentioned it a little bit while we have been talking but I was wondering, as a participant of these concert series, what do you think a concert series like this can bring to a city?
SBB: Well one really cool thing they can do is make connections between different musicians that you wouldn’t necessarily get to see at some shows because it’s such a wide range of people coming to play these series. And I know, for myself, I love to check out all the other bands playing over the summer. And it’s a different thing than if we were just playing shows and looking for other bands that fit a similar style to us, it doesn’t necessarily work in the same way, which is really cool. Besides that, it’s a way to see people in Ithaca that you wouldn’t always see. It’s hard to have enough money to go see all the great bands in Ithaca, so being able to check out some people who you couldn’t make it to their normal shows at the concert series is really cool. It’s cool to have that showcase on a Thursday evening when there isn’t normally a lot else going on and they always have really quality acts so if you wanna go you know you’re going to have a good time.
Photo courtesy of Viva Mayhem website.
NH: Okay, so just to close us up, is there anything about Viva Mayhem we should keep an eye out for?
SBB: Well on Tuesday, July 3 we will be on WVBR with Tuesdays With The Band at 6 and we will be playing some music off of our newest album, we will be playing music live in the studio and just sort of be talking about the show with the CFCU concert series on Thursday July 5. Besides that, our next big thing we are really looking forwards to is playing at Big Mean BBQ where we will be playing with a huge, awesome lineup of regional musicians like Big Mean Sound Machine, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Ithaca Bottom Boys and a bunch of other really fun bands. And that will be August 24 and 25 and we are really pumped to do that right now. We have a lot of new music we are writing right now, which has started to be introduced through our last few weeks of shows, so if you come out on Thursday you will probably get to hear something by us you haven’t heard before.
The CFCU Concert Series takes place Thursday evenings on the Ithaca Commons. The series is a free outdoor concert series which is open to the public held every Thursday evening from 6-8pm. The series started on June 21 and runs until September 6 (with the July 18 concert moving to Wednesday evening and a special Saturday afternoon show on August 18 at 1 pm.)
July 5 – Viva Mayhem (Ska)
July 12 – Maggie Koerner (Soul/Rock)
July 18* – Taj Weekes & Adowa (Reggae/Afro Folk)
July 26 – Searson (Canadian Celtic Pop)
Aug. 2 – Fall Creek Brass Band (Brass Funk)
Aug. 9 – Stone Cold Miracle (Soul)
Aug. 16 – The Hilltoppers (Bluegrass)
Aug. 18* – East Hill Classic Jazz Band (Jazz)
Aug. 23 – The Blind Spots (Moxy Rock)
Aug. 30 – Kwame Binea Shakedown (Roots Rock)
Sept. 6 – Gunpoets (Hip-Hop)
*Denotes non-Thursday shows. Taj Weekes is performing on a Wednesday evening and East Hill Classic Jazz Band is performing on a Saturday at 1 p.m.
For more information on ¡Viva Mayhem! Visit their website.
For more information on the CFCU Concert Series visit their website.
