New York is a vast state with pockets of local scenes throughout. While a “scene” these days isn’t what it was in the ’80s or ’90s where bands of similar genres created scenes out of necessity, the music scenes of the 21st century are, more or less, regions where live music is simply a way of life. Some regions are even cross-pollinating. So while we aren’t seeing strictly area scenes, live music is no less prevalent around the state.
We polled our staff looking for the best music towns across the state and this year, our state’s capital came out on top. The Albany area’s diverse scene includes small venues such as Parish Public House, The Hollow Bar + Kitchen and The Low Beat, mid-size venues that include The Egg, Cohoes Music Hall and the Palace Theatre along with the storied Times Union Center.
The Times Union Center, then known as Knickerbocker Arena, was christened on January 30, 1990, by none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Other big-name acts that have performed at Kickerbocker/Pepsi Arena/Times Union Center over the years include the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion and Phish.
The Palace Theatre opened in 1931 as a movie and vaudeville house and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. This not-for-profit building has also hosted the Stones and Springsteen and has been the New Year’s Eve home for moe. and Twiddle.
When it comes to smaller venues, Albany has plenty to choose from, attracting national and international acts that are on the rise. The Hollow Bar + Kitchen has served as host for numerous Capital District acts as well as up-and-coming national acts such as White Denim and Barns Courtney.
Add all these venues to the varied acts in the local scene and you have a diverse music community that draws from influences from all over.
Glass Pony, Wild Adriatic, Hartley’s Encore and Annie in the Water are spearheading the next wave of jambands not just in the Albany area but across the state and beyond. And while the term “jamband” may bring a certain style to mind, these bands are all unique in sound, all based in rock, but drawing from disparate influences.
Eddie Hotaling of Glass Pony
When you look at Albany’s music history, venues such as Valentine’s come to mind. moe., the Ominous Seapods, God Street Wine and others of the third wave of jambands got their feet wet in and around the Albany scene.
In the late ’70s, the comedic rock band Blotto burst onto the Albany scene. Comprised of members with names like Sergeant Blotto, Broadway Blotto, Lee Harvey Blotto, Bowtie Blotto and Cheese Blotto, the band received significant play on MTV’s airwaves with the UAlbany student-shot video for “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard.”
In later years Sarge Blotto (real name Greg Haymes) became a writer for the Albany Times Union and later went on to found the Capital District website Nippertown, which champions the Albany area music and arts scene. Haymes died on April 10 of this year, leaving a large hole in the Albany music scene.
Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors is one of rock’s iconic albums. Annie in the Water and Hayley Jane will be joining forces this winter to pay tribute to this classic album.
The Hayley in the Water Spread Rumors Tour begins Feb. 5 at the Waterhole in Saranac Lake and wraps in Burlington at Higher Ground. The tour will visit cities throughout the Northeast from Buffalo to Hartford, CT. Stops include Flour City Station in Rochester, the Buffalo Iron Works, Stone Church in Brattleboro, VT and the Disruption Network‘s third-anniversary party in Utica.
The full-set tribute to Rumors will be sandwiched between sets of original music from both acts, beginning with an acoustic solo set from Burlington’s Hayley Jane. Annie in the Water closes each show with Hayley Jane sitting in.
Hayley Jane has recently collaborated with Ryan Montbleau in the duo Yes Darling, a project that presents a whimsical take on relationships with a Vaudevillian vibe. Her solo set draws from folk, blues, musical theater, and ’60s and ’70s pop and rock. Her performance of “The Chain” with Montbleau and moe. at the 2017 moe.down was one of the highlights of that weekend.
Annie in the Water released its latest album Time to Play in June of this year. This is the band’s second album overall and first since the 2011 debut Destination. They’re riding a wave of tremendous success in 2019 which saw them performing at several festivals, including headlining Woods Fest in Westernville, NY this past August and the Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance in Pittsboro, NC in October.
Prior to the February Hayley in the Water tour, Annie in the Water will finish the year with a two-date New Year’s run that has them performing at the official moe. post-party, the Hometown Throwdown Dec. 30 at The Sanctuary in Utica with special guests. They’ll ring in the new year with Raisinhead at the High Peaks Resort Ballroom in Lake Placid. Tickets for both shows are available now.
Hayley in the Water Spreading Rumors Tour Dates:
Feb. 5 – The Waterhole – Saranac Lake, NY
Feb. 7 – Frog Alley Brewing Company – Schenectady, NY
Feb. 8 – Disruption Network’s 3rd Anniversary – Jewish Community Center – Utica, NY
Yonder Mountain String Band announced a lineup change this week. Mandolinist Jacob Jolliff will be leaving the band at the end of this year. His final show will be Yonder Mountain’s New Year’s Eve show at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, CO. Nick Piccininni
In a statement, the band wrote, “As of January 1, 2020, we will be saying farewell to our brother and fellow musician, Jacob Jolliff. This comes to you as a deeply considered decision. We are grateful for the music, the memories and friendship we forged with Jake and are in full support of his future endeavors with The Jacob Jolliff Band. We hope to join forces with them down the road.“
Joining the fold is multi-instrumentalist Nick Piccininni, who will be joining the band as its new mandolinist. Piccininni, a Central New York native, has been a part of several projects, one of them is Floodwood, which includes mandolinist Jason Barady, who also performed with Piccininni in Woodenspoon, moe. drummer Vinnie Amico and guitarist Chris Eves. Al Schnier of moe. is a former member of Floodwood. Piccininni also performs as a duo with Barady and in a recent project, Follow the Muse.
Piccininni sat in with Yonder Mountain at a few shows this past year, paving the way for his joining the veteran string band. When reached for comment, he told NYS Music that the foundation of this new opportunity has its roots in the Summer Camp Festival, an annual event jointly hosted by moe. and Umphrey’s McGee in Chillicothe, IL each May.
We used to run into the fiddle player, Allie Kral, at Summer Camp in Illinois when we would go out there with Floodwood. She made the suggestion to try me for the few shows I filled in this summer. I guess it went well enough that they felt comfortable with asking me along with this change! I felt really comfortable with everyone in the band and crew. My first show is in Park City, UT on Jan. 6. I’ve never been to Utah so that’s cool.
Piccininni has every intention of making this a permanent gig while still hoping to maintain time for his other projects.
“I will say that on both sides, I think the idea is to get into this winter tour to make sure the fit is right. But they have expressed that their first choice would be to just move forward with me as their new mandolinist. Piccininni continues, “Barring any personality conflicts, which I don’t think any of us really see being an issue if this becomes my main gig it will be tough to maintain everything I already had going. But I do intend to do my best to keep up with it all. Yonder doesn’t play a super intense schedule, so that does leave room for other projects, which is awesome.”
Piccininni’s next performance is with the Amico-Barady Quintet, moe. drummer Vinnie Amico’s annual jazz show at Tiny’s Grill in Utica on Dec. 29.
The Great American Irish Festival has announced that it will be relocating and has changed the dates for next year’s festival. The festival has traditionally been held on the last weekend in July at the Herkimer County Fairgrounds in Frankfort. After 16 years in Frankfort, the festival will make its new home at the new Irish Cultural Center in the Brewery District of Utica on the weekend of Sept. 18-20.
The festival’s original intent was to raise funds to establish a state of the art cultural center highlighting the rich Irish heritage in the Mohawk Valley. With the opening of the multi-use facility on Columbia Street in July of this year, that goal has been met and the decision was made to move the event from Frankfort to Utica as its permanent home.
The new 23,500 square foot venue boasts an event center, an authentic 19th-century Irish pub, Five Points Public House and a museum dedicated to Irish culture.
The move to the Brewery District means there will no longer be camping available to attendees nor will the popular Highland Games be held.
“We recognize the fact that a change of venue may present some short-term challenges and adjustments for our guests and volunteer staff,” organizers stated, “but we encourage your support and good-natured Irish spirit as we make this monumental transition.”
The festival has developed relationships with many of its new Varick Street neighbors, including the F.X. Matt Brewing Company, the Celtic Harp, Nail Creek Pub and Brewery and the Sanctuary, which will allow for more performance spaces.
This year’s festival was headlined by Enter the Haggis, We Banjo 3, The High Kings and the Young Dubliners. Further information on the 2020 festival will be released in the coming months.
We Banjo 3 spoke with NYS Music’s Kathy Stockbridge at the 2018 edition of the festival. View that interview below.
Charley Orlando may be best known to the jamband world as the former frontman for psychedelic ’90s road dogs Dexter Grove, who toured incessantly for the better part of ten years. The Syracuse area knows Orlando as not just a musician but also one of the area’s biggest music ambassadors. This Sunday, Dec. 22 the Syracuse community will come together at the Westcott Theater with a full day of music to celebrate his contributions while also raising money for a recent emergency spinal fusion surgery Orlando had performed.
Photo: Ian LaRochelle
Tickets for the all-ages benefit are $20 and can be purchased online, at Sound Garden in Armory Square, Syracuse, or Funk ‘n Waffles on Clinton Street. Doors open at noon. Artists scheduled to perform include Sophistafunk, Root Shock, Pearly Baker’s Best, The Old Main, Chris Merkley, Chris Eves, Bea, and Joe Driscoll. See the schedule below.
Orlando’s recent projects include the Grateful Dead tribute band, Pearly Baker’s Best, who has a Monday residency at Funk ‘n Waffles. He also has done work as a solo artist and with his bands Ruha and the Charley Orlando Band. His work managing the Little Rock Music Group has helped bring many national, international and regional acts to Syracuse-area venues such as Funk ‘n Waffles, Ray Brothers BBQ, along with the Seedstock Festival in Cortland and the Middle Ages Brewing Company Brewfest in Syracuse. Little Rock Music Group also represents David Gans along with such up-and-comers as Root Shock, Big Sexy & the Scrambled Eggs, All Poets & Heroes, and Steven Cali.
All proceeds from the event will go towards Orlando’s medical bills. Those who cannot attend the show can contribute funds through Facebook here.
New Jersey folk-punk duo The Front Bottoms have been forced to cancel a string of shows this week due to Brian Sella’s emergency appendectomy on Monday.
According to a post on the band’s Twitter feed, the surgery went well but the band was unfortunately forced to cancel all dates scheduled for this week, including one in Amityville on Thursday and Albany on Saturday while Sella recovers.
Last night Brian was diagnosed with appendicitis and was rushed into emergency surgery. Luckily, the surgery went well. Unfortunately we need to cancel this weeks shows as Brian needs time to recover. All refunds are available at point of purchase. Hope to see ya at Champagne Jam pic.twitter.com/APUZ9DKIot
Refunds for the shows are available at point of purchase. The Front Bottoms are next scheduled to perform at their annual curated Champagne Jam at the Fillmore Complex in Philadelphia on Dec. 21. This year’s event is sold out.
Tommy Stinson is perhaps best known for his time in one of the most influential American alternative bands of the past 40 years, The Replacements. However, he also spent 16 years as Axl Rose’s bassist in the Chinese Democracy-era version of Guns N Roses and now performs as a solo act as well as with his bands Bash & Pop and Cowboys in the Campfire. Stinson has certainly lived a rock and roll life, one that included him joining The Replacements at the age of 15.
The road antics of The Replacements read like a movie script. At one point, while holed up in Bearsville Studios in Woodstock recording what would become their 1989 album Don’t Tell a Soul, the band shared the grounds with Metallica. The exploits of The Replacements scared even the hardened metalheads in Metallica during this period. Author Bob Mehr documented many of these stories in his 2016 biography of the band, “Trouble Boys – The True Story of the Replacements.”
The Hudson resident recently sat down with NYS Music in advance of his series of solo New York “living room” shows taking place in early December. Tommy Stinson discussed his latest projects, his time with Guns N Roses, being a dad and of course, his time in The Replacements.
Bash & Pop’s latest album Anything Could Happen was released in early 2017 and Stinson is currently working on the band’s third as well as two other projects — a solo album and one with Cowboys in the Campfire. Anything Could Happen is a raw, bluesy, rock and roll album filled with songs that would fit nicely in a playlist alongside The Rolling Stones, The Faces and obviously, The Replacements.
Mike Kohli: You’re coming from Montreal for this little run of shows in New York.
Tommy Stinson: I’m going to go up to Montreal to do this Joe Strummer benefit thing that happens a lot. Jesse Malin is a big part of how this happens. I’m starting in Montreal and going to Hamilton and Toronto and Buffalo…
It’s kind of my way of keeping myself active a bit. Like I’m working on three different records right now. But I gotta play for the peoples a little bit because it’s what keeps me alive. And I don’t want to make a big fuss about it because I’m in between things and stuff like that, but I can stand there with my acoustic guitar and just sing ya a bunch of shit, a bunch of songs or whatever.
MK: Did you come up with this idea of playing in these types of venues?
TS: Yes, I did and I’ll tell you why. I’m in between records and have been for a while. The intimate gigs with just the bare minimums are a cool part to like – ya know, I’ve played all kinds of places all over the world – What’s interesting to me is to switch it up and do different things, get right in people’s faces and sing a song right to them, that kind of thing. It makes sense sometimes. I figure if I do six to eight gigs a month, I have the rest of the month to work on the other three records I’m trying to finish up and do a thing with and it will work out.
MK: You’ve played in front of 50,000-60,000 people at a time when you were with Guns and the Replacements reunion gigs were big shows too. When you guys first started out, you were probably playing in front of basically a roomful of your friends, right?
TS: Kegger parties and shit, yeah.
MK: You’re coming from a place with a punk rock heart in a way, right?
TS: I’m trying to get myself to a place where I can do it on my own terms. If I feel like getting out and playing new songs, stuff I’ve been working on for Bash & Pop, Tommy Stinson solo stuff, Cowboys in the Campfire…whatever it is. If I feel like going out and playing some songs, not stretch myself out too much. I’ll go do that. Test the songs out. See what people think. See if people like them and all that crap. It gives me a place to start with new material.
MK: But do you feel exposed doing that? Or are you past that stage at this point in your career?
TS: It’s beyond naked. It’s beyond the skin. It’s like you’re fucking up there in your bones going, “Heyyyy, here’s a song I wrote last week…” It’s that kind of thing.
MK: These projects you’ve been talking about, you’re working on albums for all three of these projects?
TS: I’m working on all three at once.
MK: Is that all going to be done at your studio?
TS: Um, no. And I’m not gonna tell ya where they’re going to be done because I don’t know yet. Certainly, a good hunk of it will be done at my studio here in Hudson, New York. A good portion of it could be done in other places too, like Muscle Shoals or Memphis. I got things going on.
MK: I ran into your one-off gig in Ithaca about three years ago. You had a gig canceled in Toronto or something and picked this one up…
TS: That was Ithaca, what was the name of that bar?
TS: Wow. I loved that night. It was fucked up. We got a canceled gig but we’re going that way anyway. Where do we pick one up? That was totally fucking awesome. I lost my voice in the middle of that one. That was kinda fucking weird.
TS: But ya know what? All the dudes I play with are old comrades. They’ve been down the road before. That’s the reason I play with these kinds of people. It’s an important thing. It’s good to get in the trenches with people you love and pull shit like that. I remember that night pretty well, as messed up as my voice got in the end. What a cool bunch of people.
MK: So the guys you played with back then, these are the same guys you’re playing with as Bash & Pop now, right?
TS: Yup.
(Editor’s note: The current lineup of Bash & Pop includes Steve Selvidge of The Hold Steady on guitar, Joe Sirois of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones on drums and Justin Perkins of Screeching Weasel on bass.)
MK: Do you feel like you guys are really starting to gel as a band now?
TS: Well, ya know what? We did that record and toured behind it. And now we’re working on new material for another one. I went down to Memphis to work on some stuff with Steve…I gotta get Joe Kid up here to work up some of these songs before we get everyone in it. The reason I’m saying this is because I really don’t want to produce this one in my studio on my own again. I’d like us to get a good 10-12 song set together of new songs that we could ultimately learn one way or another–over the phone or whatever the fuck–and ultimately come together and play it live in the studio and record it in a heartbeat.
MK: So you’resharing files over the internet to get everyone on the same page?
TS: Only to get the bits down. What I don’t want to do, is get to the studio and do 20 takes of one song. I just can’t do that. I’ve never been able to do that. So my core idea of how to make a record that I would want to listen to again would be to go in the studio and make a record in three days, tops.
MK: Efficient.
TS: That’s the way we did it in the ’80s. You can look back at Queen. They made their first record, they kept re-running the tapes. They basically wore the tapes out to get “Bohemian Rhapsody” and it was a huge hit. There are all kinds of tales of that. But most of it comes from, the band plays live in the studio. You capture what you get in a three-hour session or whatever. And if you don’t get it then you try to get it the next day. The clock’s ticking.
MK: And it creates a sense of immediacy that everyone has to all be together to make it work.
TS: Absolutely! The best Replacements records were done that way. My favorite records were all done that way. It was only because of the advent of multiple…more than eight tracks of sound, 16, 32 tracks…it just became masturbatory. And you could just sit and fuck around and waste a fucking year making a record. No, no, no, we don’t have any money. The best records are made when you’ve got no money and you gotta make a record in a weekend.
MK: So that’s how you approach it these days?
TS: Yeah, totally. Because I hate…no one cares about the sound quality and all that bullshit. The overthinking is overthinking always. People are listening to it on their iPhones or their computers or their iBuds, whatever the fuck they got. It doesn’t really matter. What it comes down to is the song.
MK: I agree.
MK: When I listen to the Anything Can Happen album, it’s got a really raw, Stones-y/Faces feel to it. That’s something you probably grew up listening to, right?
TS: A little bit, yeah.
MK: But it’s still got that Replacements-y sound to it as well. Which you’re not going to escape. You were a Replacement at the age of, what, 11? 12? It’s ingrained in your DNA at this point.
TS: Exactly
MK: Just listening to it, it’s almost like a great lost Replacements album in its sound.
TS: Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you. I appreciate that.
TS: I wouldn’t boo-hoo that. I mean, I came from where I came. I’ve made the records I’ve made. Jeez, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I didn’t learn a lot from Paul Westerburg (Replacements vocalist) or Peter Jesperson (Twin/Tone Records owner) as well or my brother (guitarist Bob Stinson of The Replacements) or Chris Mars (Replacements drummer). I learned a lot from all those people. We were all buddies and pals and turned each other on to different shit. I’d be remiss if I didn’t cop to it and say, yeah, I’m proud of all that and certainly, I learned a lot from all of them.
MK: When you put this album together when you put any of your albums together really, are you sitting down writing parts for each individual musician you’re planning on playing with? Are you allowing input from them? Is it a collaborative effort?
TS: Ya know it’s mostly a collaborative effort. If I can do that. If I have a song idea, I’ll send it to Steve or Joe or Jeff or Justin…I’ll throw it out, “Do you have an idea for this? For bass or guitar here?” and try to work it out as a group effort. My whole theory is that it’s a group effort the best it can be. If I write the song, I write the song. But if they come up with parts, I always give them their due on the parts that are important. That’s the way I’ve always known how to do that.
MK: Did Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) play on this latest one too?
TS: Yeah, he played on Anything Can Happen.
MK: I read that he was in the studio during the production of (1987 Replacements album) Pleased to Meet Me that his dad (famed producer Jim Dickinson) was producing for you guys in Memphis. He jumped in during the recording of “Shooting Dirty Pool.” Is that true? Because he was like, what 14-15 at the time?
TS: Yeah, yeah. He was a kid. He was totally a kid. It was kind of a part of a thing and a story and a bit. And um, yeah, that all happened. I can’t go down that road too much cuz it’s sad that Jim’s not here anymore (Editor’s note: Jim Dickinson died in August 2019). But um, Luther is like a fucking little brother to me.
MK: During that recording, is that when you two struck up a friendship and kept it going all these years? You probably weren’t that much older than he was then, right?
TS: Yeah, I’m a bit older than he is but um, yeah, that’s where we struck up a relationship. But then we also hit it back up. We started a band together, him, Cody (Dickinson) and I. I went to Memphis seven or eight years ago to work up some songs for a new project that I’m gonna leave the name out of. Ya know, we’ve got way deep history I can’t really go into it. It’s a lot.
MK: Is that project something that will see the light of day?
TS: That’s why I’m not talking about it.
MK: OK, fair enough.
(long pause)
TS: Yes. (laughter)
MK: So when you’re playing these solo gigs. I’m assuming you’re doing strictly your stuff. Solo material, Bash & Pop stuff…do you get into any Replacements material? And if you don’t, do you get a lot of guff from the fans looking for you to play Replacements?
TS: No, because I didn’t sing any Replacements stuff. I’d be stupid getting up there trying to fucking sing fucking “Alex Chilton.” I didn’t sing that. I played bass on it and helped write it. I was part of writing I suppose. No, no, I wouldn’t do that. The only Guns N Roses song I would sing would be the one that I fuckin’ wrote that apparently has leaked all over the internet the past 15-20 years. Whatever.
MK: That project there. Going back to what you said previously about getting a recording done quickly, that project, the Chinese Democracy album became almost a punch line in the media for how long it took to complete. What kind of project was that for you? Was that something you were in and out of for years? Did you work on your own stuff too?
TS: Nah, that was a fucking huge undertaking. You’re trying to reinvent the wheel at that point, ya know? Without being able to reinvent the wheel. There was a lot of good stuff that was on that record and I’m totally proud of being a part of it and all that. And you can’t, I can’t get too far into it right now, but you can’t underestimate how important it was to try and make a great record. With all the great records they already made as Guns N Roses from the ’80s. It was a different period, a new time, a new place. And Axl is always forward-thinking in a lot of ways, Mike, ya know? He’s always like, he wants to step 20 years ahead and fucking make a record. And the rest of the guys are like, “But this is what we are. This is how we do it.” And he’s just always pushing the envelope in a way. You’re always gonna have a conundrum with that.
MK: Well that’s the mindset of a creative person. They don’t want to look back. They want to keep looking forward.
TS: EXACTLY
TS: And ya know what? For all practical purposes, it was a great gig for me. And I’ll tell you what, I have nothing but respect for those guys, all of them. A bunch of them are my friends. The only one I don’t know is Slash so much. It was a great gig. And ya know, I wouldn’t take any of it back.
MK: Do you miss it?
TS: No
TS: I miss the people.
TS: I don’t miss the schedule and the touring and all that stuff, the way that was. I did almost 20 years of that and it takes its toll, ya know?
MK: I bet.
MK: So when you left Guns N Roses in 2014, it was during a pretty tumultuous time in your personal life. And so you became a full-time dad at that point. Your daughter was young then.
TS: She’s 11 now. I had to kind of basically (sighs)…I had to say I couldn’t do a bunch of tours right around the time my relationship with my soon-to-be-ex fell apart and had to basically, had to be a stay at home dad. And luckily at the same time, as I was not able to do a four to six-week tour, the Replacements went out and did the reunion stuff on weekends. The weekend gigs I could manage with being a stay-at-home dad and all the stuff going on in my life. But the reality is, I really couldn’t do a four-week tour of Europe or a six-week tour of this or that. I had to say I couldn’t do it because I had a little kid. And I don’t regret any of that. And ya know what? If that’s what spurred on Duff and Slash coming back and playing with Ax, that’s fantastic. People are loving it. It’s great. As well it should be. That’s all I got to say about that.
MK: Your daughter, does she appreciate music?
TS: She’s 11 years old. She sings, dances around. She’s more into gymnastics than vocalizing. (laughter)
MK: What’s she listen to? Does she try to turn you on to stuff she listens to?
TS: Yeahhh, it’s music 11-year-olds listen to, ya know. She knows a good amount of other stuff. One of her big (laughter) — because she asked, which I appreciate so much — one of her favorites is (AC/DC’s) “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.” (laughter) She’s done videos for that. I don’t want to put my kid’s face up on Twitter and all that. She’s funny as shit. She knows the solo, the whole thing. She plays air guitar and sings it. She knows the words. I don’t know why it’s one of her faves…
MK: It’s a fun song.
TS: Well yeah, obviously it’s a fun song. I love it as well. I can’t put it out there. I want to be as private as I can and not have her thrown out in public. Ya know, that kinda thing.
MK: Is she aware of your place in music?
TS: Yeah, yeah…her teachers know who the fuck I am and why and all that crap.
MK: Is there any respect for that legacy?
TS: There’s respect for it but it’s a pain in the ass. Some teachers are inappropriate about it sometimes. So you gotta watch out for that.
MK: One thing I wanted to bring up, I don’t know if it’s even touchy…Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you guys have been on the ballot for a few years. I think you guys should definitely be in. Thoughts?
TS: Well, I’ll give you one last anecdote before I gotta go. I gotta go to a parent-teacher meeting right now. One last anecdote on that particular question. Questlove is working his ass off to get the Replacements in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And that’s all I’ll say to you.
MK: No shit, Questlove? Nice.
TS: No shit.
MK: That’s great.
TS: (laughter)
MK: Let’s hope it happens.
Stinson brings his solo set to Wildflowers Armory in Syracuse Thursday, Dec. 12 as part of a string of New York dates in unorthodox performance spaces. He’s performing a private show in somebody’s living room in Hamburg just outside of Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 10 and at Rochester’s Bop Shop Records on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The mini-tour wraps with a performance at Barry Family Cellars in Burdett on Dec. 13. Tickets for all but the Hamburg show are still available and range in price from $25 to $100 for a special “Drinks with Tommy” ticket.
The Governors Ball Music Festival, held annually on Randall’s Island in New York, is instituting an 18 and over age policy for festival attendees beginning in 2020. The 10th edition of the festival will be held June 5-7.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform at the 2018 GovBall
Festival attendees 17 and younger must have a valid photo ID and be accompanied by someone 21 or older in order to gain entry to the 2020 festival. According to the new policy, “All persons aged 17 and under MUST attend with an adult who is 21 or older. Each adult must have a valid form of ID and may accompany up to TWO ticket holders aged 17 or younger. All individuals must arrive together, via the same entrance, and all individuals must have valid wristbands/tickets.”
Festival co-founders Tom Russell and Jordan Wolowitz stated, “The changes we are implementing this year come directly from fan feedback and conversation. We are always listening, always evolving, and always trying to give our fans and our City the best festival they could ask for.”
In addition to the new age policy, the festival also announced new VIP perks. The VIP Experience allows access to all VIP viewing ages at all four stages, specialty food vendors, shade tents, cell phone charging stations and comfortable seating options. New to the 2020 festival is a separate lane for transportation pick up points, private Wi-Fi, free water and air-conditioned bathrooms. VIP areas will be 21 and over.
This year’s GovBall was fraught with weather issues. Organizers were forced to cancel the entire final day of the festival due to severe thunderstorms. The cancelation nixed performances by The Strokes and Nas along with 25 other acts.
The 2020 lineup should be rolled out after the first of the year. For more information, follow the festival’s Twitter feed here or the website here.
Tommy Stinson is currently on a run of solo shows throughout Spain, leading up to a Montreal appearance at a 40th-anniversary celebration of The Clash’s seminal London Calling album called Montreal Calling on Dec. 6. Following that show, which also features Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Malin, and the Asexuals, Stinson will embark on a brief tour of unique venues across New York.
Stinson, perhaps best known as the snotty young bassist for the should-have-been-more-famous ne’er-do-wells known as The Replacements and as Duff McKagan’s replacement in Guns N’ Roses for 16 years, is currently working on several other projects, including a new solo album, the follow-up to his band Bash & Pop‘s 2017 album Anything Could Happen and an album with his other project Cowboys in the Campfire.
While returning to his home in Hudson, he will run through a series of “living room” shows across New York, beginning in somebody’s actual living room in Hamburg, just outside of Buffalo on Dec. 10. Stinson then winds his way east, visiting the famous Bop Shop Records in Rochester on Dec. 11 and Wildflowers Armory, a unique art space in Armory Square in Syracuse on Dec. 12, and finishing up at Barry Family Cellars in the Finger Lakes town of Burdett. on Dec. 13. Tickets for all but the Hamburg show are available through Eventbrite and range from $25 for a general admission ticket to $100 for a limited “Drinks With Tommy” ticket.
NYS Music recently sat down with Stinson to discuss this tour and many other subjects of his past, present, and future. That interview will be published in the next week. For more information on Stinson and his various projects, visit his website here.
The Black Crowes announced tour dates on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut album Shake Your Money Maker. The tour will see the Robinson brothers visiting amphitheaters across the country beginning June 17 in Austin performing their debut album in its entirety along with select hits.
Chris and Rich Robinson appeared on Monday’s Howard Stern show to make the tour announcement. The extensive tour makes stops at Bethel Woods, Jones Beach, Saratoga and Darien Lake in New York and wraps at the Forum in Los Angeles on Sept. 19.
The Black Crowes
While this is being billed as a Black Crowes reunion, the brothers Robinson will not be performing with any of their former bandmates on this tour. Joining the Robinsons in the band are Isiah Mitchell (guitars), Tim LeFebvre (bass), Joel Robinow (keyboards) and Ojha (drums). The band last performed in 2013 with each of the brothers forming their own bands in the meantime.
Tickets are on sale now. For information, visit the Black Crowes website here.
June 17 – Austin360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX June 19 – Dos Equis Pavilion – Dallas, TX June 20 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX June 23 – BOK Center Tulsa, OK
June 24 – Walmart AMP – Rogers, AR June 26 – Oak Mountain Amphitheater – Birmingham, AL June 27 – Cellairis Amphitheater at Lakewood – Atlanta, GA June 30 – Coral Sky Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL July 1 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre July 3 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC July 4 – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek – Raleigh, NC July 7 – Ascend Amphitheatre – Nashville, TN July 8 – Ascend Amphitheatre – Nashville, TN July 10 – Veteran United Home Loans Amphitheater – Virginia Beach, VA July 11 – Jiffy Lube Live – Washington, DC July 14 – BB&T Pavilion – Camden, NJ July 15 – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts – Bethel, NY July 17 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ July 18 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater – Wantagh, NY July 21 – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH July 22 – Xfinity Center – Boston, MA July 24 – Xfinity Theatre – Hartford, CT July 25 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY July 28 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON July 29 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Detroit, MI July 31 – Darien Lake Amphitheatre – Buffalo, NY Aug. 1 – KeyBank Pavilion – Pittsburgh, PA Aug. 13 – Xcel Energy Center – Minneapolis, MN Aug. 15 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL Aug. 16 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Indianapolis, IN Aug. 18 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH Aug. 20 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH Aug. 23 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St Louis, MO Aug. 26 – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater – Kansas City, MO Aug. 28 – CHI Health Center – Omaha, NE Aug. 30 – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Denver, CO Sept, 1 – USANA Amphitheatre Salt Lake City, UT Sept. 4 – White River Amphitheatre – Seattle, WA Sept. 5 – Sunlight Supply Amphitheater – Portland, OR Sept. 8 – Concord Pavilion – Concord, CA Sept. 9 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA Sept. 11 – MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas, NV Sept. 12 – Ak-Chin Pavilion Phoenix, AZ Sept. 18 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – San Diego, CA Sept. 19 – The Forum – Los Angeles, CA
