Holly Bowling returns to the Capital District on Sunday, September 16 at Cohoes Music Hall, bringing her classical interpretations from the catalogs of the Grateful Dead and Phish with her. Bowling has twice performed in Albany at the Massry Center for the Arts, as well as at The Whisper Dome in Schenectady, most recently last October. With Phish just one month away in the state capital, Bowling will find a familiar audience once again in one of the oldest venues in the state. Check out what we said of her performance at The Whisper Dome in March of 2017 and get your tickets to this special night of music.
After studying piano performance at SF State University, Bowling has turned her agile mind and interpretive prowess to the works of Phish on 2015’s Distillation Of A Dream album and the Grateful Dead focused Better Left Unsung (2016, The Royal Potato Family). Her compelling playing and unerring ability to successfully collaborate with other musicians in an impressive array of styles has brought her to the attention of Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes, and other luminaries who’ve asked Bowling to perform with them. Already a rising star on the festival circuit, Bowling currently tours as a member of Ghost Light with Tom Hamilton, Steve Lyons, Raina Mullen and Scotty Zwang. Texture, nuance, and a gift for dexterous high-wire improvisation are the hallmarks of San Francisco-based classically trained pianist Holly Bowling.
Will Fredette of El Modernist walked into a conversation that included radio personality Jeff Morad of WEQX. The radio station just concluded the second round of its annual battle of the bands competition. It pits four bands against one another to determine who opens Pearlpalooza, a large all-day block party in the middle of Albany. On this night it looked like Fredette’s band wasn’t going to be it. His band lost, earning first runner-up honors to Dooojj.
Fredette extended a hand and thanked Morad for the opportunity to play. His El Modernists had just played a tight set. Despite the short 20 minutes, the four came out hot. They got the Friday night crowd on their feet with a lively punk act that contrasted against the popular jam and garageband sound across the scene. If he was dejected by the loss, he didn’t show it. The kid’s toothful grin made it look like he just earned the job.
“Nice burp you had there,” Morad said, complimenting Fredette for appearing loose enough on stage to let out a belch into the mic. The lead singer admitted to downing a drink just prior to taking the stage. He felt the air bubble crawling back up from his gut as he was introducing the band to the crowd. He laughed as he later explained what was a pending dilemma in his mind. Should he back away or just own it?
He shrugged it off. “I had to own it,” he said.
El Modernist came out with, not so much a devil may care attitude, but more of an affable and earnest personality between them. Afterall, the band wasn’t supposed to be there. The collection of bands playing in this year’s competition included recognizable names. Acts that had CDs to sell at their merchandise table in the back of Jupiter Hall. The four of them just formed as a band. They only played their first gig together on St. Patrick’s Day five months before.
“Honestly, that first set… we liked that opportunity,” said Will Hahn, El Modernist’s drummer and occasional rapper. The 15 minutes allotted to each band in the preliminary rounds was like doing a late night show on television. Just enough time to do a quick highlight of the band’s act. “Get it done and leave people wanting more.”
It was enough to have judges bring the band back to the final round, and the gratitude was expressed yet again on stage. The largest crowd out of all the rounds gathered for the last act to see who would win. There were members from other bands, promoters and manager scattered around. The local music community was in one room. As if in tune to the fact, Hahn announced he created a Spotify playlist, “We Are Albany NY,” to market all of the local bands online.
“Every single band in every round we played with was a great band,” said Hahn. “Not only that, but very supportive. Awesome people to work with. Fun part of the event was that you get more people to play some shows with.”
These newcomers were going against veterans. Honey Suckle Vine, though relatively new to the local scene, had played together out West before moving into town. Joey Jaquez, who often sported a mean harmonica, fronted the four-piece band that brought a blues flavor to the party. Dooojj, who beat out El Modernist in the second round, was a good four-piece garageband. Then, there was Bendt.
The members of Bendt knew how to embrace the local music community. Before taking the third round, Matt Plummer knew to thank and compliment his competitors. Hahn said he couldn’t “be mad” to losing to a bunch of guys like them. In the final round, taking the stage after El Modernist, with each of its four members sporting a T-shirt from Girl Blue, Good Fiction, Stellar Young and Hasty Page. If any one band knew how to win, it was Bendt. The band’s grunge style won Schenectady County’s Battle of the Bands last year.
El Modernist, however, stood out with elements of punk — screaming guitar riffs and electric drums. The four each graduated from the College of St. Rose’s prestigious music program. They’ve messed around with other bands before coming together in March, blending various influences and creating something entirely their own.
“El Modernist seemingly came out of nowhere to take us all by surprise with their performance at the finals,” said Morad, after the four earned the coveted Pearlpalooza slot. “It says a lot about them when you consider they knocked off the likes of Bendt, Honey Suckle Vine and Dooojj!”
Morad said El Modernist pulled away with the win because of it’s “high energy, engaging and unique.”
“Going from the wild card slot and winning it, I was little surprised,” said Joe DeTillio, El Modernist’s bass player. “Aside from that, it was so cool.”
The opportunity now places El Modernist in the same company with Good Fiction and four different national acts coming in to Albany to play Pearlpalooza: Kitten, The Greeting Committee, Caroline Rose and Superorganism.
“The four other bands are all national acts that blew everybody away at the 2018 SXSW Fest in Austin,” said Morad. “We’re glad to have been able to put them all together on the same day — for free! Not to mention, but I am mentioning, all four national acts are female fronted, cause girlpower.”
El Modernist is already on the move. After the band sets the scene for Pearlpalooza this Saturday, at 1 p.m. and follows up with a gig at Savoy Taproom at 9:30 p.m. The band released its debut single “Up” on all available streaming services, including the band’s Albany-centric playlist on Spotify.
This article was originally published by The Spot 518. is property of Spotlight Newspapers in Albany, N.Y., and appears as a special to NYS Music. TheSpot518 and NYS Music work in partnership to provide readers with in-depth coverage on the local music scene in the Capital District and New York state, respectively. For more, visit TheSpot518.com.
David Byrne’s much-hyped (and rightly so) American Utopia Tour found its way to Albany’s Palace Theatre on Sunday, September 9, after six months of crisscrossing the country, with all the buzz about the set and production having preceding each performance. Byrne’s catalog of music was on display throughout the night, with 21 songs covering his solo work, as well as that with Talking Heads and with St. Vincent and Fatboy Slim, combining for a nearly two-hour performance with the psychedelic alt-rock of Tune-Yards opening the night. With a futuristic mix of electronic, new wave and indie pop, plus a lead singer dressed like a dystopian Supreme Court justice, made for an interesting prelude to Byrne. Forty minutes of pure energy and symphonic pomp was capped by “Heart Attack,” and paired nicely with the variety of Byrne’s music that would follow. Nature sounds over the PA filled the air as the stage was set for David Byrne. When the curtain opened, we found Byrne sitting at a table holding a human brain, pointing out the purpose for the brain in the lyrics of the opener ‘Here,’ an anticipatory introduction into the evening’s performance. Slowly, an 11 piece band, including six percussionists and drummers, emerged from behind the silver strand curtains that surrounded the stage on three sides, as Byrne moved into “Lazy,” which could have easily been pulled from LCD Soundsystem’s catalog. But it was the opening beats of “I Zimbra” that brought the audience to their feet in unison, like a preacher calling the congregation back from a moment of reflection.
Following “Slippery People,” Byrne took a moment to recognize Headcount and encouraged everyone to register to vote, and then make sure they vote in elections, which was met by thunderous applause from the audience. The St. Vincent collaboration “I Should Watch TV” and “Everybody’s Coming to my House” preceded two of the most familiar songs of the night, “This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)” and “Once in a Lifetime,” the crowd singing along some of Byrne’s finest work.
The band was introduced one by one for a slowly growing intro to “Born Under Punches” from the acclaimed Remain in the Light. Byrne’s solo work was showcased with four songs that followed, “I Dance Like This,” “Bullet,” “Every Day is a Miracle,” and “Like Humans Do.” Blind” took on an ominous feel with low stage lighting projecting a monstrous shadow of Byrne on the curtains behind the band, with a raucous “Burnin Down the House” closing the 80+ minute set.
For an encore, Byrne introduced “Dancing Together” as a song with lyrics provided from Imelda Marcos’ own words and originally from a musical Byrne collaborated on with Fatboy Slim about the former Philippine dictator’s love of shoes and disco. A frenetic version of “The Great Curve” followed, with the woke audience moving to the enthusiastic Talking Heads original. Returning to the stage for a second encore, Bryne chose “Say Your Name” by Janelle Monae to put a coda on the evening, which shares the names of numerous individuals who have been victims of police and/or racial violence, including Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, Amadou Diallo and others. It was a powerful statement to send the audience out on and left an exclamation point on an evening at The Palace.
Byrne’s American Utopia tour continues with stops in Syracuse on Sept. 12, Queens on Sept. 15, and two nights in Brooklyn Sept. 16-17.
Setlist: Here, Lazy, I Zimbra, Slippery People, Dog’s Mind, I Should Watch TV, Everybody’s Coming to my House, This Must be the Place (Naïve Melody), Once in a Lifetime, Doing the Right Thing, Toe Jam, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), I Dance Like This, Bullet, Every Day is a Miracle, Like Humans Do, Blind, Burning Down the House
Encore: Dancing Together, The Great Curve Encore 2: Hell You Talmbout*
Funk Night becomes Phunk Night on October 16 when Wurliday and NYS Music host a Phish After-Party at Parish Public House in Albany, just one block away from the Times Union Center and right after Phish wraps up Night 1 of their Fall Tour.
Phunk Night features Natalie Cressman (Trey Anastasio Band), Chris Bullock (Snarky Puppy), Beau Sasser (Kung Fu), Adrian Tramontano (Kung Fu), Chris DeAngelis (Kung Fu), Justin Henricks (Wurliday), and Ilana Morris (Wurliday). Tickets are on sale now and this event will sell out. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show. More info and tickets can be found here.
There’s nothing better in the world than good music, food, and dancing to make an event successful. The 23rd annual Albany Latin Fest had no problem delivering on those three markers and much more. The event was proudly presented by the Albany Latin Fest Association (ALFA) at Washington Park in Albany, NY. The event was a cultural mashup celebrating the best of the best of the Latin culture and influence in the world around us. Thousands of attendees from all backgrounds banded together to destroy barriers and appreciate the contributions made by Hispanics in an international scale. With live performances from Bachata Heightz, Don Sonero, Cuboricua, and local acts, the event was one of the largest turnouts the organization’s history.
The Albany Capital center hosted a triple-bill of heavy metal music on Friday, Aug. 3 — Halestorm, In This Moment and New Years Day — all of which featured a female lead singer. Halestorm, the Grammy Award-winning band out of Red Lion, Pennsylvania, may have been the headlining act, but it was a special night for Maria Brink of In This Moment. For Brink, the Capital District concert was a homecoming event for the Clifton Park native. She dedicated her band’s set to her family and friends in the audience.
Culture and nationalism are often based around beloved traditions, zany family, tasty food and festive music alike. For its 23rd year in operation, Albany LATIN FEST calls on the diversity and flavor of Hispanic culture in the Capital Region to come together for a family-oriented day filled with live talent, traditional recipes, arts and craft vendors, child entertainment, information booths and more.
Albany’s Washington Park acts at the event’s annual stomping grounds from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. LATINFEST celebrates the widespread diversity and beauty of Hispanic cultural heritage and pinpoints the contributions made by Hispanic Americans on all levels from local and state to national and international. Through this non-profit organization and event, the community is given a unified voice to speak for an often under served and underrepresented group of people.
Having already created a name for themselves in the Capital Region, the annual celebration is chock-full of musical acts both local and international and provides the ability for patrons and businesses to engage with one another in an effort to address world issues and disaster relief aid.
In 2017 after hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, ALFA crafted Una Noche Espléndida where all proceeds went to the Puerto Rico Disaster Relief Fund as well as a Benefit Concert where all money would go to Puerto Rico Disaster Relief. Over $10,000 were raised in an extremely rewarding effort.
This year, attendees can look forward to letting loose to the Latin flavor from three well-known acts. Bachata Heightz began as four men in Manhattan, veering away from the streets and towards their musical passions. Climbing the ladder of success, they’re sure to bring tropical hip hop vibes while the south Bronx’s Don Sonero welcomes salsa beats to the stage paired with creative lyricism and social messages. Also making an appearance on the lineup is the seven-piece, Conjunto Cuboricua, ready to unleash the mixed musical stylings of Cuba and Puerto Rico with meringue and Caribbean nods as one of the Hudson Valley’s favorite acts.
Past festivals have displayed talents such as Tony Vega, Ray de la Paz, Jorge Blanco, Raulin Rosendo, Hector Tricoche, Alex Torres & his Latin Orchestra, Tito Rojas, Tony Swing, Anissa Gathers, Michael Stuart, Ismael Miranda, Jose Alberto ‘El Canario’, Chembo Corniel, Puerto Rican Power, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Frankie Negron, Kevin Ceballo, Luisito Carrion, Nestor Torres, Jimmy Bosch, Brenda K. Starr, Choco Orta, Larry Harlow and the Latin Legends, Joe Cuba, and many others.
Check out the Albany Latin Fest musical schedule below:
August 25 at Washington Park:
11 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. – Washington Park Rumberos
11:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. – Triquis Sin Fronteras
12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. – SUNY Albany Great Danes Marching Band
Building on 30 successful years in Albany’s Washington Park, Park Playhouse is expanding its year-round artistic and educational program offerings at the Cohoes Music Hall in the City of Cohoes. In addition, the company announced that it is creating Playhouse Stage Company, a new division which will support the growth of these programs throughout the Capital Region.
“We are excited to announce this fantastic partnership with the City of Cohoes and our new division, Playhouse Stage Company,” said Playhouse producing artistic director Owen Smith. “We will continue enhancing our popular and growing summer programming in Albany’s Washington Park.
The creation of Playhouse Stage Company is an important strategic move for Park Playhouse, which strengthens the company’s role as a leading regional arts and education organization serving families and children in the Region since 1989,” continued Smith. Many Park Playhouse alums have performed nationally and internationally, appearing in performances on Broadway, in national tours and on major television networks including AMC and HBO.
“It’s incredible that just two years ago we were a struggling mill town trying to find our identity, and today we are one of the premier locations within the Capital Region- known for our stunning Music Hall, top rated Rock The Block concert series, highly reviewed restaurants, and now home of Park Playhouse, one of the most celebrated theatrical organizations in the region,” Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse said. ” It’s exhilarating to know that such a highly regarded organization as Park Playhouse, with many of the region’s top-rated professionals serving as staff and board members, sought out Cohoes to be their new home. It sends a loud message that Cohoes is alive, well and the place to be.”
As part of the partnership, the City of Cohoes will support an expansion of the company’s programming at the historic Cohoes Music Hall, which will grow from five shows in 2017 to seven shows in the 2018-19 season. This opportunity has enabled the company to present theatre year-round, as well as offer a subscription series. In addition, the city will support new programming produced by Park Playhouse in the summer of 2019 at the new amphitheater in Canal Square Park.
“Our partnership with the City of Cohoes and Cohoes Music Hall is a significant development in the history of Park Playhouse,” said Board President Allen S. Goodman. “We are grateful for their generous support and dedication to Park Playhouse’s success.
“We look forward to expanding our presence throughout the Capital Region by establishing a home at the Cohoes Music Hall, launching our Playhouse Stage Company division, expanding our educational programming to more schools throughout the Capital Region and growing our 30-year presence in Albany’s Washington Park offering free summer theatre,” Goodman continued. “All these initiatives will continue to grow our impact on families and children throughout the Capital Region and its surrounding communities.”
Park Playhouse will continue to produce their Broadway-style free musicals sponsored by Albany Med, KeyBank and other corporate and individual donors in Albany’s historic Washington Park. These productions have been presented for the past 30 years and have been attended by more than 1.25 million people. Over the past several years, Park Playhouse has offered a year-round slate of musicals, school programming and educational services at venues including Albany’s Washington Park, Cohoes Music Hall, Palace Theatre and the City School District of Albany as well as more than 40 schools in the region.
“We have been honored to work with the City of Cohoes and Music Hall Arts Alliance over the past year and welcome the opportunity to further expand our year-round programming in Cohoes as we head into our 31st Season,” said Smith. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to grow this programming in Cohoes and are grateful to the City for supporting our expanded artistic and educational programs.”
Smith noted that Park Playhouse programming at the Music Hall during the last season resulted in over 7,000 visits to the Music Hall and City of Cohoes; this number is expected to continue to grow as the company builds its year-round regional presence. As part of establishing the Playhouse Stage Company division, Park Playhouse will continue to lead the Cohoes City School District’s free summer youth arts program for city students. Additionally, the Playhouse will bring each of its school touring productions to the Cohoes Musical Hall for Cohoes district students. Playhouse staff will also provide venue management support to Music Hall Arts Alliance for the operation of the Cohoes Music Hall. Most notably, the company’s summer programming will be expanded beginning by mounting two productions in Cohoes’ beautifully renovated Canal Square Park next summer, including a musical revue-style production and a “Theatre for Young Audiences” musical for families.
Titles for the 31st Season of Park Playhouse, including next summer’s lineup in Washington Park, a series of musicals to be presented at Cohoes Music Hall year-round, new Canal Square Park programming, and scholastic touring productions, will be announced later this month. “It is a tremendous step forward for our organization to present unique theatrical programming in Canal Square Park alongside our traditional summer musicals at the Washington Park’s lake house in Albany,” Smith said. “It allows us to move even further toward our long-held goal of implementing a regional summer theatre festival to connect and enhance the lives of more people through the arts. None of this could be possible without the support of the City of Cohoes and the establishment of our new Playhouse Stage Company division.”
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.
Slayer brought their Farewell Tour to the Times Union Center in Albany, NY on August 1, along with a handful of some of the metal genre’s best acts. Lamb of God, Anthrax, Testament and Napalm Death joined the legendary thrash metal band’s going away party. In January, Slayer announced that they would be embarking on a farewell tour, playing concerts all across the United States along with select dates in Canada. The show started right around 5 pm with Napalm Death taking the stage. Following a short set by Napalm Death, Testament was up next. The band played many fan favorites among music off their latest album, Brotherhood of the Snake. Anthrax took the stage next playing fan favorites such as “Indians.” The thrash metal band out of New York City also delivered a tribute to Pantera.
Slayer opened the show with guns blazing, courtesy of one of their newer songs, “Repentless.” Next, they played “Blood Red” followed by “Disciple.” For the rest of the show, Slayer treated fans to career-spanning songs ranging from the early days up to their latest album. The line up featured Gary Holt from Exodus on lead guitar who has been with the band since the passing of the great Jeff Hanneman, along with Paul Bastoff on drums who has been in and out of the band throughout their career. Slayer’s legacy began when they formed in 1981. What made them stand out is that they pushed metal to its limits. The group out of Huntington Park, California is known to be one of the heaviest and most influential bands in the metal music community. They have produced many of the most important albums in the scene including their third album, Reign In Blood. They are also part of the “Big Four” of thrash metal which also includes Metallica, Anthrax and Megadeth who all toured together between 2011-2012 all over the world, including a special concert at Yankee Stadium. Slayer has released 12 studio albums over their career and will always be known as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Fans will truly miss them.
For the final installment of Albany’s Alive at Five summer concert series, the rain location at the Corning boat launch played host to local opener The Late Shift and Los Angeles based Indie band Sir Sly. Formed in 2012 by lead singer Landon Jacobs, Haydon Coplen and Jason Suwito, the group played a mix of alt-pop songs off their albums Don’t you worry, Honey and You Haunt me. For their encore, they played “Oh Mama,” a song Landon wrote about his mother who recently died of cancer. Sir Sly will be back in New York, performing at Warsaw in Brooklyn on October 20 with Joywave, and are also on the Austin City Limits Music Festival lineup.
Will Fredette of El Modernist walked into a conversation that included radio personality Jeff Morad of 
