NYS Music 20​19

Author: Alain Clerine

  • Elton John Announces Additional ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ Tour Dates

    Great news for Elton John fans. The Rocketman singer has announced that he is adding new dates to his final tour, “Farewell Yellow Brick Road.” The tour, a play on his seventh studio album and song of the same name, was originally announced on a VR180 YouTube live special. This farewell, which is planned to span three years, three hundred tour dates and five continents, commenced on Sept. 8.

    “It’s time to come off the road so I can fully embrace the next important chapter in my life,” he said on his official website. Having already performed throughout the United States, he is coming back for another go-around in the States, only this time, he’ll be solely performing in the New York/ New Jersey area.  In fact, of the remaining twenty-one dates he has left in the United States, the final eight will be performed throughout the tri-state area. His last show in the United States will be on April 18, 2020, at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island.

    Overall, the five-time Grammy award winner has ninety-three dates left on his tour. Thirty-four in Australia, twenty-one in the United States, twenty in the United Kingdom, eight in Canada, Six in New Zealand, three in France, and one in Ireland. Elton John has his final tour date on this grand expedition set for Dec. 16, 2020, at the O2 arena in London, UK.

    More information can be found here. A list of remaining New York tour dates can be found below.

     Nov. 16 – Nassau Coliseum- Long Island, NY

     April 6 – Madison Square Garden- New York, NY

     April 7 – Madison Square Garden- New York, NY

     April 10 – Barclays Center- Brooklyn, NY

     April 11 – Barclays Center- Brooklyn, NY

     April 17 – Nassau Coliseum- Long Island, NY

     April 18 – Nassau Coliseum- Long Island, NY

  • Gang Starr Releases First New Song in Sixteen Years Featuring J. Cole

    After a sixteen-year hiatus, legendary hip-hop duo, Gang Starr, is temporarily back on the scene with a new release, Family and Loyalty. The record, their first release since their 2003 LP The Ownerz features a posthumous verse from fabled Emcee Guru, along with current hip-hop juggernaut, J. Cole.

    Backed by DJ Premier’s renowned scratching and drums, Guru opens and closes the record with his acclaimed delivery, flow and rhymes. With his verses being interrupted by J. Cole, who delivers a devastating lyrical onslaught in his own right. It is the first single from what appears to be a new Gang Starr album.

    gang starrDJ Premier, one of the most revered producers in hip-hop and the duo’s other half, has been teasing fans about a new LP with cryptic social media messages, tweeting, “I WONDER WHAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY IF I RELEASED A NEW…,” alerting fans that new music may be on the way but left it unspecified.

    The mythical Premier seems to have confirmed the suspicions, after posting what appears to be a promotional video on his Instagram which features a voicemail from legendary rapper Nas. Saying, “Yo Premier, what up man it’s your man Nas. Is it true there’s a new Gang Starralbum? That’s crazy man let me know man. Alright chill.”

    Nas and DJ Premier have a history in their own right, with the producer handling a lot of the production on the rapper’s acclaimed debut project Illmatic.

    A new Gang Starr album would be much anticipated. The duo, known for classic hip-hip songs like “Work,” “Above the Clouds,” and “Mass Appeal,” would surely bring many fans memories of the genre’s golden age.

    It will also be refreshing to hear unreleased verses from Guru, nearly a decade after his death from cancer in April of 2010 at 43-years-old.

  • New Music: Kyle Stockman’s ‘Shooting Star’

    “Shooting Star,” the guitar and vocal-laden song, off of 19-year-old alternative-pop artist Kyle Stockman’s debut-project, Hearts, is more than worth a listen. Produced, mixed, and mastered by Stockman himself, the record, incidentally, did not start off as one his favorites, going through a metamorphosis before taking its present form. “It started out as a very different song than it ended,” Stockman reveals. “It sounded a lot different and I went back at the end of the album and rewrote the chorus and re-wrote one of the verses. At that point, I realized I really liked what it had become.”

    The song serves as a transition in the album. In context with the rest of the project, its purpose is to be a relaxed and melodic break from some of the edgier produced songs. “It took on a more relaxed vibe and its content matter shows a transition from what I was talking about in the beginning,” says Stockman.

    On its own though, the single possesses high replay value. With distinctive guitar riffs that are bound to be embedded in the listener’s brain and effortless vocals from Stockman, the record remains melodic while not being overzealous in its attempts at being catchy. It is a song that begs to be repeated throughout the day.

    While the album was released on June 29, the Harlem native is still keeping up with the promotion, releasing a three-part music video on Sept. 9, that features three of the songs from the album, including “Shooting Star.”

    Listen to “Shooting Star” below and check out the newly-released video for “Hearts” here.

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