The 26th annual NYS Blues Festival has expanded to three days for 2018. The extra day of the free festival in Clinton Square has allowed organizers to bring in additional national acts, including Thursday’s headliner, sister duo, Larkin Poe and several local acts.
Anders Osborne, C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band both bring a Louisiana flair to the festival as well as local legends, Los Blancos, who have been known to dip into some Zydeco from time to time.
The festival kicks off Thursday with local blues/soul act the Lightkeepers at 5:00 p.m. They were recently featured on Soundcheck Live at Subcat Studios. You can catch their electric performance below.
Central New York native and saxophonist in fellow Central New Yorker, Joe Bonamassa’s band, Paulie Cerra, is the Friday night headliner for the festival.
In addition to all the action on the main stage in Clinton Square, four venues will be providing free live music on Thursday night. The Dinosaur BBQ on Willow Street offers Anonymous Willpower; Empire Brewpub on Walton Street features Jimmy Wolf performing with Todd Minerd and Zubby; Neil Minet performs at Funk ‘n Waffles on Clinton Street and Shifty’s features the Barking Loungers. Shows at the Dinosaur, Funk ‘n Waffles and Empire begin at 9:00 p.m., while the Shifty’s show kicks off at 8:00.
Everything kicks off with a pre-party Wednesday night with Jack Broadbent at the Syracuse Marriot Downtown. Opening the show for Broadbent is Colin Aberdeen and Max Eyle. Broadbent is being hailed as the “new master of the slide guitar.” Tickets for this show are $20 and are still available through the festival website. See the daily schedule below and check out the Spotify playlist curated by festival organizers to get a taste of what’s in store.
Thursday June 28:
5:00 p.m. – The Lightkeepers
6:10 p.m. – The Hi-Jivers
7:30 p.m. – Larkin Poe
Friday June 29:
3:00 p.m. – Blues Ignition
4:00 p.m. – Chris Eves Blues Trio
4:50 & 6:00 p.m. (side stage) – Jane Zell
5:10 p.m. – Matt Tarbell’s Built for Comfort
6:20 p.m. – The Ripcords
7:30 & 9:00 p.m. (side stage) – Nate Gross
7:50 p.m. – Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers
9:20 p.m. – Paulie Cerra
Saturday June 30:
12:00 p.m. (side stage) – Workshop: Blues Harp Family Jam with Chris Merkley
1:00 p.m. – Mike DeLaney and the Delinquents
1:40 & 2:55 p.m. (side stage) – Mike “Cotton Toe” Scrivens
2:00 p.m. – The Roustabouts with Tom Townsley
3:15 p.m. – Los Blancos
4:10 & 5:40 p.m. (side stage) – Mark Wahl
4:30 p.m. – AJ Ghent [ j-ent ]
6:00 p.m. – Bruce Katz Band
7:10 & 8:40 p.m. (side stage) – Todd Fitzsimmons
7:30 p.m. – C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
9:00 p.m. – Anders Osborne
On the first day of summer, June 21, Albany’s Alive at Five summer concert series was fortunate to have Matisyahu perform to a packed crowd at Jennings Landing. Matisyahu had just wrapped up his 16-stop Strength to Strength Tour with Stephen Marley, and if you weren’t able to see him this past Thursday, he has a full schedule of shows through September, including 6 stops across New York State in July and August. Matisyahu was joined by Upstate NY natives Mirk, a 6-piece powerhouse band that got the party started with originals and familiar covers.
SENSORiUM Music & Arts Festival returns for its second year in Philadelphia at the Ukrainian American Citizens’ Association (The Ukie Club on Franklin) on Saturday, August 25.
SENSORiUM brings together fans of music and arts for multi-dimensional, ultra-curated events, and sensational visual and interactive art installations and was founded by Joe Vela the drummer for Tweed in honor late friend, Suman Addya who used to travel the road with Tweed.
This year there will be some of the hottest national and local acts, the city’s finest craft and food vendors, and a sensational visual and interactive artist lineup including: Tweed, Daedelus, Wax Future, MINKA, Darla, Patrick Richards, Bad Leather, CyberSerum b2b Oni, CrypticFlow, and freedomtacos b2b iLL-Omega. A second phase of performers, including headliners will be announced on July 17.
There is a limited number of early bird tickets, on sale now through July 1 for only $35 which can be purchased through Eventbrite. For more information, visit SENSORiUM Music & Arts Festival’s Facebook. For a feel of what to expect at this year’s SENSORiUM, check out the Spotify playlist below curated by the festival organizers.
The Great South Bay Music Festival is Back for it’s 12th Year at Shorefront Park in Patchogue, NY from July 12-15 with sixty-five performers on four stages over four days.
Known for being Long Island’s longest-running and largest four-day music festival, The Great South Bay Music Festival has grown considerably from it’s first outing in 2007, when they presented 20 artists over three days, and their major headliners were Richie Havens and Foghat. The Great South Bay Music Festival definitely makes a mark of it’s own in the festival world by taking into account four completely different genres with a different tactic than most festivals use.
This tactic is covering several genres by splitting up genres by days. Thursday is covering the indie scene with popular headliners the Front Bottoms, Thrice, the Get Up Kids, and Long Island’s Envy On The Coast. Friday covers the Rock-Reggae-Ska Party scene on the bay, with headliner Sublime with Rome, plus the Dirty Heads & Less Than Jake. Saturday covers a “Jam Day” vibe with headliners Umphrey’s McGee, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. Papadosio, JGB featuring Jerry Garcia Band alum Melvin Seals, Infamous Stringdusters: Andy Falco & Friends with special guests: Alwyn Robinson of Leftover Salmon, and Andrew Altman of Railroad Earth.
Sunday will consist of it’s annual Morning Children’s Concert, Great South Bay is bringing back Disney’s Imagination Movers and then the festival closes with a historic lineup, as they present guitarist, singer-songwriter, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Co-Founder of the Allman Brothers, Dickey Betts and His Band in his only New York Festival appearance. Supporting and returning for their third visit is Electric Hot Tuna, plus the legendary Little Feat, and the Devon Allman Project, featuring Duane Betts.
The fest features three different craft beer tents, a wine garden, an artisan and craft market, and food court offering a diverse gourmet menu. Ticket price includes all concerts and entertainment. Food & beverages not included. Children ten and under are free, except for the Imagination Movers concert. For a full schedule and other info visit The Great South Bay Music Festival’s website.
Drawing of The Great South Bay Music Festival courtesy of their website.
Festival Door times:
Thursday, July 12 – Doors are at 3:00 p.m., till 10:00 p.m.
Friday, July 13 – Doors are at 3:00 p.m., till 11pm,
Saturday the 14 – Doors are at 1:00 p.m, till 11PM,
Sunday the 15 – 11:00 a.m. doors for Imagination Movers Kids Concert
Sunday Regular Fest Ticket holders – 1:30 p.m. Doors till 10:00 p.m.
Bad Religion have released “The Kids Are Alt-Right,” a sharp takedown of the alt-right movement delivered with their signature brand of socially conscious and sardonic punk.
With a nod to The Who’s 1965 anthem, “The Kids Are Alt-Right” is poignant in a tense political climate, with lyrics that cut right to the core – “Humanity is a nowhere scene/When everybody has an AR-15.” A lyric video offers an onslaught of unnerving images, including girls taking selfies in KKK hoods and chalk body outlines as constellations. Southern California punk is awake and alive with Bad Religion and their powerful yet melodic Southern California hardcore sound.
The 2018 American Music Festival for the Lake returns to Lake George at Charles Wood Park June 30 and July 1 after being absent for a year. This year will feature a mainstream country headliner and an artist who shows a progressive viewpoint on America today.
Amy Helm
Jamie Lee Thurston will be performing on Saturday and is known for being “Nashville-by-way-of-Vermont.” He has perfected the roles of being an entertainer, a vocalist, an instrumentalist, and a producer all at the same time which isn’t often seen in the music industry. Thurston has shared stages with country music’s biggest acts, such as the Waylon Jennings, Roger Miller, the Dixie Chicks, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Billy Currington and Charlie Daniels. Joining him on Saturday will be award-winning rockabilly partymakers the Lustre Kings and rising 518 star Vinny Michaels and his solid backing band.
Amy Helm and her Handsome Strangers band will be performing on Sunday. She is known for being a lifelong musician and music-lover. The Band is known for its legendary drummer and singer Levon Helm and singer/songwriter Libby Titus which are both known for guiding Helm’s training and influences. Helm has currently taken over the role of tribal chief of the Woodstock area’s musicians’ network which was previously a role her father filled. In the process, she has established herself as a major national act in her own right. Joining her on Sunday will be Boston-based twangster’s Girls Guns & Glory (which have been compared to Chris Isaak) and a reunion show by 518 jam band pioneers Raisinhead.
Gates Open for both shows at Noon, with the music starting at 1:00 p.m. Headliners are due on stage at approximately 4:00 p.m.. Food and beverage service will be available, as well as a playground and skate park for the kids. All for free, as is the Million Dollar Beach right across the road. Attendees are also encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for best seating in the grassy, open-air field.
The annual four day Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance has been alive and kicking in Trumansburg since 1991. It’s known for its for it’s multi-stage, multi-genre, multi-day fun but now it’s also getting known for its addition of the Grassroots Culture Camp which takes place July 15-18, the four days before the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance.
Culture Camp photo courtesy of the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance website.
The point of the Culture Camp is for participants to be able to Immerse themselves for four straight days of instrument, dance and movement workshops, with themed nightly dinners & dances include. The Culture Camp is a unique way for amateurs and professionals to connect and learn from each other. From those just picking up a fiddle for the first time, to those who are knowledgeable on an Irish fiddle, there is instruction for all. Most of the workshops are taught by performers at the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance.
And at the end of the long day of instruction there are new workshops included just this year called the, “Old Time Jam” and the “Cajun jam” which is basically a time when after a long day of workshops and before the nightly dinner where everyone can get together and jam. It’s open to all levels and everyone is encouraged to grab their instruments, join in and experience playing old time tunes in a group.
There are workshops in: fiddle, banjo, bass, guitar, banjo uke, mandolin, old time jam, pedal steel, accordion, accordion and fiddle, Cajun double fiddling, Cajun Jam, Triangle, Scoreboard, Afro-Carribean hand drumming and song, Bodhran, Cajun drums and bass, origins of country drumming, improvisation, adult singing, singsong for children, Cajun song, country songs old and new, country harmony singing, songwriting, Native American, Cuban Son music, accompanying oneself on piano, one mic: hip hop and the power of voice, workshop for social change, “On the road again” (Learning the business side of getting your band out there), Dance, Yoga, Tai Chi, acrylic painting, youth square dance, and youth percussion.
Full instructor bios can be found here for each work shop. For more information and to purchase tickets visit the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance website. There is also an option to volunteer at the Culture Camp and in doing so acquiring admission free in exchange for working one three hour shift for each day you would like to attend the camp. Camping at the Culture Camp is also available for purchase.
Metal fans everywhere feel a dagger in their hearts, and a pit in their stomachs’ with the recent news of legendary stick man Vinnie Paul Abbott being found dead in Las Vegas at the age of 54. No details about his death have been released.
Paul co-founded one of metals’ most influential bands with his brother “Dimebag” Darrell in Pantera, before moving on with his brother in the band Damage Plan. Paul was currently playing behind the kit for HELLYEAH. Paul released seventeen studio albums during his career including 10 Pantera albums, 1 Damage Plan album, 1 Rebel Meets Rebel album, and 5 albums with HELLYEAH.
HELLYEAH posted the following statement on social media:
Just so brokenhearted and in shock. I’m struggling to write this but we want to thank you all for your kind words and support in this tragic time. We don’t have much info to give you other than Vinnie is now with Dime and they are together in a better place. Sadness, shock, confusion, anger, despair. We feel it all together. Hug your loved ones and keep them close. Thank you all again for all your love. Vinnie will be and is greatly loved and missed but his music will live forever. Crank it loud today and scream to the heavens so he can hear you. -Maxwell
Pantera’s social media posted the following statement:
Vincent Paul Abbott aka Vinnie Paul has passed away. Paul is best known for his work as the drummer in the bands Pantera and Hellyeah. No further details are available at this time.The family requests you please respect their privacy during this time.
Heartbroken friends and musicians have taken to social media to share their thoughts about Paul’s passing.
Disturbed: Our deepest condolences go out to the friends, fans, family, and loved ones of our friend, Vinnie Paul. Our hearts are broken.
Mike Portnoy: FUCK!!! Just waking up here in Belgium to the news of Vinnie Paul…I’m in total shock…Heaven just got a little crazier with the Abbott Bros back together again…RIP Bro
Alice Cooper: Terribly saddened by the news of Vinnie Paul’s passing. Vinnie was a beloved fixture in the rock and metal communities and we will miss seeing him out on the road. His impact on heavy music is immeasurable. Rest In Peace Vinnie, condolences to your family, friends and fans.
Slash: Tragic news about Vinnie Paul today. He was one of the warmest people I knew. A truly good & fun friend. We’re going to miss you more than you could possibly have known. RIP buddy.
Duff McKagan: RIP Vinnie Paul. Friend. Humorist. Badass drummer. All-around good man. Condolences to the family. You will be missed bro…
Zakk Wylde: GOD BLESS VINNIE PAUL – 1964-2O18 – FATHER VINNIE,Your Compassion for others & Your Love for seeing everyone around you Happy I will never forget – Your Heart of Gold Made The World a Better Place – Go be w/Your BELOVED BROTHER – I LOVE YOU – tBLSt SDMF
SiriusXM Octane: All of us at Octane are so broken hearted to hear of the passing of our brother Vinnie Paul. We send love to his family, band members, and fans. You will be missed. Thinking of you…
Corey Graves (WWE): Bummed to wake up to the news about Vinnie Paul. One of the greatest to ever play. Black Tooth Grins tonight in memoriam.
Megadeth: We are deeply saddened to hear that our dear friend and brother, Vinnie Paul has passed away. Rest in Peace Vinnie, you will truly be missed and forever remembered.
Grant Random: Just waking up in Portugal to the sad news of Vinnie Paul’s passing. He was a super nice guy and a massive talent. Such a huge loss. RIP Vinnie.
Dee Snider: So sorry to hear about passing of Vinnie Paul. Such an incredible force & influence in metal. I remember literally stopping song “Becoming” 1st time I played it on radio, opening the mic & freaking out over his drumming on air. How many drummers make somebody do that?
Chris Jericho: I need no # RIP for my friend. Vinnie Paul was my friend a brother. I miss him already. I’m honored and pleased to say that I had The pleasure to know. Thank you Vinnie and Sleep well my friend.
Rockin’ on the River in Troy hosted Albany’s Wurliday on June 20 for some lively funk and soul, with guest vocals by Tyrone Hartzog and Ilana Morris, and led by Justin Henricks on guitar. Super Doppler followed with their brand of country rock and roll from Norfolk, VA, who perform later this year at The Sloss Music Festival in Birmingham, AL.
JAZZ IS PHSH is in the middle of their Northeast tour across New York, with stops in New Hampshire and Boston, bringing with them an incredible lineup of musicians who explore the music of Phish with a focus on improvisation of the group’s many compositions. Adam Chase, co-founder of the JAZZ IS PHSH ensemble, is introducing broader audiences to not only the music of Phish from musicians who did not come up in the jam world, but to also introduce Phish fans to musicians that may or may not have been on their radar.
The current tour includes familiar faces in the jam scene such as Rob Compa of Dopapod, a Berklee School of Music graduate who has been performing recently with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous, where you can hear Compa’s jazz influences come out from a smooth sounding acoustic duo. A trio of horns features trombonist Alicia Aubin of Big Mean Sound Machine and Ithaca College alumni who has performed across the country with the high-energy funk band, and as far away as China and Russia. Rounding out the horns section are Carl “Geerz” Gerhard and Dave “The Truth” Grippo of Phish’s Giant Country horns, the latter two of which performed with Phish numerous times in the early 90’s. Grippo continues to perform with Grippo Funk Band in the Burlington area and has toured with Trey Anastasio Band on numerous occasions.
Familiarity with these players will make jam fans feel at home, while Felix Pastorius and Domi Degalle will add in fresh jazz takes on the music of Phish. Son of Jaco, Felix Pastorius walks in his father’s footsteps as a bass guitarist, who at the age of 19 was recommended by Victor Wooten to fill the bass chair in Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet. He won a Grammy with jazz mainstay The Yellowjackets, and now based in New York City, has started his own projects, including an incredible jazz fusion group The Hipster Assassins. Domi is a teenage musical prodigy and was brought up in a musical family in France and began playing music at age 2, entered Conservatory at age 5 to study classical and jazz. She is now studying on a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music and has performed with the likes of Thundercat, David Gilmour, Ghost-Note, MonoNeon,Louis Cole & More. Both musicians are well known in jazz circles and join the band for a different angle on the music of Phish, a twist on your everyday troupe.
The group will perform this month in Albany at The Egg on June 27, at Buffalo Iron Works on June 28, and ANTHOLOGY in Rochester on June 29. They recently stopped at Brooklyn Bowl to perform with Strange Machines on June 16. Check out a photo gallery over at Relix. Adam Chase, who also plays drums in JAZZ IS PHSH spoke to NYS Music about the upcoming shows and how their interpretations of Phish’s music stands apart from others.
Pete Mason: How did you assemble this tour’s lineup for Jazz is Phish?
Adam Chase: I really like combining musicians from a variety of backgrounds on each show, whether it’s older and younger musicians, male and female, black and white, etc. And for this project the musical backgrounds being diverse is very important, regardless of gender or ethnicity.
Having a combination of musicians that are familiar with the music and musicians that never listened to Phish before I introduced them to it is the best recipe for really doing justice to the compositions while pushing the boundaries of what the tunes can sound like.
For this run I am particularly excited about having the teenage piano prodigy, DOMi, on the road with us. Having grown up in France and having her exposure to music in America be through jazz and classical professors at Berklee School of Music and through her collaborations with Thunder Cat, Knower, and Ghost Note, her lack of knowledge of Phish has been really fun for me. She is so talented that she can take the sheet music I give her and not only play the complex compositions with ease, but is also able to expand the ideas and improvise in a way that I’ve never heard within the framework of a Phish song.
Being able to pair her talents with Felix Pastorius is very exciting for me as well. As many people know, Felix is the son of Jaco Pastorius, which carries a fair amount of weight for the level of talent one would expect, but what a lot of people don’t know is that Felix himself is one of the best bassists around and he has his own voice on his instrument. His knowledge of music and his approach to playing bass is mind bending and he is one of my favorite musicians to play with.
In addition we have Rob Compa of Dopapod who is great guitarist and amazing human being, Alicia Aubin from Big Mean Sound Machine who will be making her debut with us and Dave Grippo of The Giant Country Horns. It’s always fun for me to play music with guys like Carl Gerhard and Dave Grippo, because growing up in the 90s as a Phish head, I had a ton of cassette tapes of those guys playing with Phish. They are quintessential figures in the Phish experience.
PM: What makes the interpretations of Phish’s music done by JAZZ IS PHSH different from those of other Phish tributes?
AC: There are lots of Phish cover bands. I don’t consider this to be a Phish cover band, though it is absolutely a Phish tribute. I may be splitting hair with terminology, but when I think of a Phish cover band, I think of a band trying to play Phish songs like Phish did in attempt to recreate the experience of seeing Phish (or as close to that as they can get). With Jazz Is Phsh our goal is to create a unique experience, where the music is a vehicle for incredible musicians to put their own identity into the music. Not just from an improvisational perspective but also from a compositional perspective.
Every song that we have done arrangements for have happened in a group setting with musicians that range from Chris Bullock of Snarky Puppy and Kofi Burbridge of Tedeschi Trucks Band, but also Michael Ray of Sun Ra Arkestra and Anthony Wellington of Victor Wooten Band. With each arrangement, we have not only reharmonizes the vocal melodies to fit into a horn section but for many songs we have composed original parts, reworked existing parts and even mashed up Phish songs with jazz songs and in some cases even jazz influenced hip hop.
A recent mashup we did took the popular Phish cover “Yamar” (which is actually an old calypso song) and mashed it up with the Q Tip song “ManWomanBoogie”. What makes this mashup so cool is that the Q Tip song was a variation of a sample of a Wayne Shorter jazz piece. What makes this so relevant to me is that jazz is often trapped in a box and held to just being swing music or a sound associated with the legends of the origins of jazz. But jazz is much more than that. Just follow the career of Herbie Hancock and you will see how jazz has evolved into funk, hip hop and so much more. The idea of jam music to me is the intersection of jazz and rock and roll. So to be able to explore the brilliant music of Phish in this way is what jazz is all about.
PM: Is there an era of Phish that lines up with the sound of Jazz is Phish more than any other?
AC: I think what we are doing is very unique and different so it would be hard to say if it lines up with any particular era of Phish. I do however enjoy turning on musicians to some of the early compositions of Phish as the complexity of the arrangements are very “Zappa-esque” and provide a challenge and in some cases an explanation of what a musician would find so charming about Phish’s music. But really there are Phish songs throughout their career that lend themselves so well to a horn driven, instrumental, funky jazzy setting.
PM: This is your first time in Albany, and you’re playing in The Swyer Theater at The Egg – what can fans expect from a show in this intimate venue?
AC: We are particularly excited to play this beautiful room. It’s always special when playing this type of music, to be in a room with great sound and a great feel. It really opens up the dynamics of the music and the creativity the musicians feel. I find that shows in rooms like this, feel like they have room to breathe, which is very exciting. I am looking forward to really giving each musician an opportunity to showcase their talents while also exploring the music collectively in a way that will really connect everyone in the audience with everyone on stage. When everyone on stage and the audience are all listening wholeheartedly and in the moment, magic can be made.
