Phish will perform an exclusive concert for listeners of their SiriusXM channel, Phish Radio, on Tuesday, December 3 at The Met in Philadelphia, PA.
SiriusXM subscribers will have a number of opportunities to win a pair of tickets to this show, including on-air on Phish Radio, online at SiriusXM.com/Phish (see official rules for complete details), via e-mail invitation sent to qualified subscribers who have opted in to receiving email from SiriusXM and who have registered their music interests at SiriusXM.com/perks.
The Met show marks the smallest venue Phish has played in nearly 20 years and will be broadcast live on Phish Radio.
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD) this week confirm they will return to The Capitol Theatre in 2020 with a three night run from February 21-23.
Presale tickets are available via Facebook on Wednesday, October 23 from 12PM to 10PM. The presale password will be available that day via JRAD’s Facebook page.
Presale continues via The Capitol Theatre on Thursday, October 24 from 12PM until 10PM, and general on sale begins Friday, October 25 at Noon.
The Phryg, a four piece progressive funk band from Brooklyn, best known for tremendously original music featuring deep pockets of funk have found their talents bringing them across the country. Today, The Phryg release the video and single for “Bad Habit,” a song about being ‘addicted’ to funk and attempting to suppress the urge to dance when hearing music that makes you want to let loose.
The lyrics playfully describe the main character coming to terms with his problem and later succumbing to his primal urges stating, “If we could all come to see that the funk is a remedy.”
The tune opens with a thumping groove between the bass and drums that drops into an intoxicatingly catchy chorus. The verses bounce along as lyrics intertwine with Hammond organ before synth chords. The song climaxes with a fiery guitar solo that twists, turns and ascends upwards. The listener is brought back down to earth with a return to the chorus and the final lyrics, “It’s easier to give in then to refrain – I’ve got a funk bad habit.”
The video features Seth Schiesel, Terry Brennan (Cousin Earth) and Angelic Aguilera, with videography by Brandon McClasky and editing by Bryan Walters.
The Phryg most recently played an after party at Garcia’s for a sold out Vida Blue show at The Capitol Theatre, and 2018’s Shakori Hills Festival alongside NY artists like Lettuce and Consider the Source. They’ve shared the stage with Bob Lanzetti of Snarky Puppy, Organ Freeman, Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers, The Fritz, Cycles and many more. The Phryg released their self-titled full length album in July 2016 as a follow up to their debut EP Midnight Snack.
The Phryg Fall Tour dates
Nov. 2 – Official Umphrey’s McGee pre-party at Goose Island – Philadelphia, PA
Nov. 8 – Casa del Sol – Nyack, NY
Nov. 22 – Rock Harbor Pub & Brewery – Rockland, ME
Nov. 23 – Maine Craft Distilling – Portland, ME
Dec. 28 – Phish after party at Rockwood Music Hall – New York, NY
Update 11/27/19: Per an email this week, this event is cancelled. The official statement reads:
Unfortunately, the Museum at Eldridge Street has cancelled the December 1 Greg Wall concert to benefit the Museum due to unforeseen circumstances. We will notify you when the event is rescheduled.
Saxophonist and composer Greg Wall, a staple on the downtown avant-garde jazz scene since the early 1990s, celebrates his 60th birthday with a benefit concert in the stunning historic sanctuary of the Museum at Eldridge Street on Sunday, December 1 at 3 p.m. Wall will perform with his longtime working bands including: Zion80, Hasidic New Wave, Portal, Klezmerfest, and Greg Wall’s Later Prophets, as well as the Ayn Sof Arkestra and Bigger Band which returns for this concert. Proceeds will benefit the Museum.
A leading figure in the Jewish music scene for over thirty years, Greg Wall is a pioneer in blending Jewish music with jazz. After early training under Archie Shepp and Max Roach in Amherst, MA, Wall finished his apprenticeship at New England Conservatory in Boston, studying and performing jazz with Jaki Byard, George Russell, and Jimmy Guiffre, and was part of the Klezmer revival scene at NEC.
After graduation he headed to New York and together with classmate Frank London, helped define the sound of “Jewish Jazz” with groups like Hasidic New Wave, Midrash Mishmash and later, the Ayn Sof Arkestra and Bigger Band, Shechina Big Band, Later Prophets and Zion80. He toured with the late Yosi Piamenta, the “Hasidic Hendrix,” and released several recordings playing original compositions alongside spoken word.
Wall played regularly at the original Knitting Factory locations, Tonic, the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe, and the Stone, as well as making frequent tours abroad to Europe and Israel, maintaining a parallel career performing classic and mainstream jazz. While on the road, Wall pursued Talmudic study and was ordained as a Rabbi in 2006.
Wall is no stranger to Eldridge Street. In the early- to mid-90s he frequented the venue at a time when the landmark was dilapidated and only beginning to establish itself as in important cultural hub for families, hipsters, artists and religious and secular Jews.
My relationship with the museum goes back almost 30 years, when the restoration of the Eldridge Street Synagogue was the dream of a few determined, hard-working individuals. They never forgot their roots, and simultaneously became an important national cultural icon, while continuing to serve the folks in the neighborhood – It’s my kind of place.
Greg Wall
In 2009, Wall was appointed rabbi at the Sixth Street Community Synagogue in the East Village and continued to exhibit his particular blend of spirituality and avant-garde music with regular performances in the temple’s sanctuary. He was the founding Artistic Director of the synagogue’s Center for Jewish Arts and Literacy, which was an incubator for cutting edge modern music with a Jewish flavor. That practice continued, in 2013, when Wall became rabbi at Beit Chaverim Synagogue, in Westport,CT, where he’s continued to perform regularly his eclectic mix of classical and experimental jazz, Eastern European and African American roots music with a rotating group of influential musicians.
Wall’s latest release is The Book Beri’ah with Zion80, on the Tzadik record label of legendary producer John Zorn. A live recording with jazz pianist Andy LaVerne is scheduled for January, 2020.
The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wish to visit Jewish New York. Exhibits, tours, cultural events and educational programs tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages and interests.
Songhoy Blues are set to release their new EP, Meet Me in the City via Fat Possum on October 18 in support of a 5-week North American tour. The band also helped kick off the United Nations Climate Change Week in New York City with a breakout performance in support of the historic Great Green Wall initiative they are helping bring to life.
The EP is their first collection of new music since the critically acclaimed album Résistance, which Rolling Stone called one of the best albums of 2017, and will be released on special edition yellow vinyl.
They recently shared two versions of the EP’s title track — one mixed by Blake Mills (Grammy-nominated producer of Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color, John Legend’s Darkness and Light, and Perfume Genius’ No Shape) and the other by David Ferguson (known for his sound engineering work with “Cowboy” Jack Clement and on Johnny Cash’s American Recordings). The title track was written by Junior Kimbrough (with additional lyrics by Songhoy Blues and produced by Matt Sweeney).
Steeped in the deep traditions of classic Malian music & desert blues fused with a youthful and super-charged sound of today, Songhoy Blues formed in 2012 in Bamako after its members had left Timbuktu, which was under siege by Islamist militants. The band released their debut album, Music In Exile, in early 2015 receiving across the board praise, including a 5/5 rating in The Guardian who claimed, “they have all the makings of African-rock crossover heroes.”
Songhoy Blues says, “We’re really happy to introduce this new EP and our English-language debut on the song ‘Time To Go Home.’ Please enjoy it and get ready for a heavy new album coming up very soon.”
On PBS’ American Masters, Will Oldham spoke of working with Songhoy Blyes, saying, “They are a Malian band that’s really trying to make sense of what they’ve been witnessing, what they’ve been experiencing, and create or transmit a message to people about what they’re seeing and how they’re trying to understand it and make change…And to think, well I want them to know that I’m trying to listen and trying to understand, and if I can give voice to some of what they’re experiencing, that they might be emboldened by this musical connection.”
Most recently, the band completed a sold out run of UK dates, recorded a live session for BBC 6 Music; filmed an episode of the new UK TV show Noughts & Crosses in South Africa; featured in a new photography exhibit called My Rockstars by Hassan Hajjaj at La Maison Europeenne de la Photographie in Paris; and collaborated with UK artist Andy Morgan on a multimedia exhibition called Music & Conflict at the Imperial War Museum, which debuted in June 2019.
Songhoy Blues are also proud spokespersons for the charity WaterAID, and have helped to raise money & awareness toward providing relief in their native Mali. They will be appearing in an upcoming documentary on climate change in the Sahel; and were featured in the award-winning documentary “They Will Have to Kill Us First”, about the plight of musicians in war-torn Mali.
Indie-jam band Glass Pony has been performing throughout the Capital District over the last year, with a wave of fans in tow for each performance. On November 2, they’ll release their self-titled debut album with a release show at Parish Public House that night.
“Stardust” features dense sonic elements from dreamy background vocals meshed with guitar effects and funky bass grooves. The lyrical depth offers just enough ambiguity for listeners to develop their own meaning against a backdrop of the other musical elements. When performed live, “Stardust” serves as a vehicle for standout jams with the solo section navigating to new territory before being led back into the composition by guitarist Greg Pittz.
Lyrically, “Stardust” is meant to be open for personal interpretation with the underlying theme being the search for our place in the big picture of life – the questions, insecurities and realizations that are present in every stage of growth and development, with the goal of finding and settling into our place. Guitarist Eddie Hotaling says of “Stardust,” “Everyone is ultimately the king or queen of their cosmic experience, but the discovery of that concept manifests differently for everybody. That message can be found in the lyrics, “It takes a moment / let the stardust settle down / and all your thoughts could be delivered / everybody wears a crown.”
Glass Pony’s debut album Stardust was recorded and mixed by Eddie Hotaling at The Stables in Albany, NY and was mastered by Scott Apicelli at Blue Sky Recording in Delmar, NY. Glass Pony is Chanda Dewey (drums, vocals), Eddie Hotaling (vocals, rhythm guitar) Jeff Picarazzi (bass, vocals) and Greg Pittz (lead guitar). Featured on “Stardust” and multiple tracks on the album is Matt Richards (keys, Formula 5, Annie in the Water).
Star Kitchen, the recent side project from Marc Brownstein, has announced a late-night show at New York City’s Sony Hall on Sunday, December 29 during The Disco Biscuits‘ New Years Eve run.
The band, which also features Danny Mayer (Alan Evans Trio, Eric Krasno Band), Marlon Lewis (Lauryn Hill, John Legend), and Rob Marscher (Matisyahu, Addison Groove Project), will bring their unique brand of funk and improvisation to Sony Hall on Sunday, December 29. The show will take place on place on the Biscuits’ day off in between the second and third nights of their four-night run, while also conveniently falling on night two of Phish‘s new years run, which takes place just a few blocks South at Madison Square Garden.
Following appearances at Electric Forest, High Sierra, Jam Cruise, and The Peach Music Festival, among others, Star Kitchen has been touring hard behind the project, winning fans over at each stop with fun covers, deep improv, and undeniable collaborative energy between all four players. Star Kitchen tends to bring special guests along for the ride when they play, and this show will definitely feature some ace musicians to help add to the mix. The horn section from Trey Anastasio Band—Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, and James Casey—will be on hand to add some brass and vocals. In addition, decorated guitarist Eric Krasno will add some six-string firepower to this already stacked performance.
There are surely a few other surprises in store, as you never know who’s going to show up at a Star Kitchen show. Tickets to Star Kitchen at Sony Hall are on-sale now via Ticketmaster. Use the Presale Code “STAR” to grab yours, and make sure to RSVP via the Facebook Event Page for updates.
Boston’s Juniper today premiere their latest single “Concrete Ocean,” a song that tackles a theme of ‘aloneness,’ inspired by bassist Scott Johnson’s transfer to Boston University. The constant sensation of being surrounded by thousands of young adults his age, Johnson was still feeling isolated due to a lack of new friends and connections.
Johnson wrote “Concrete Ocean,” with band members Cam Ayer (lead vocals), Ahren Shreeve (guitar), Alejandro Marin (drums, vocals) and Sebastian Themelis (keys, vocals) aiding in the process throughout, making the track a full team effort in various arrangement aspects.
“The line “Who the fuck talks to me anymore?” in the third verse highlights that even though I would engage in conversation, it wouldn’t be about how I was feeling, or of any profound nature—merely day to day topics.”
“I look down on, the concrete ocean, with no notion, of where I’m going” refers to constantly looking out of my dorm window at the vast city and feeling overwhelmed as to whether I made the right decision to transfer, and further questioning what I was to do/what I want to do with my life now being in a completely new environment, and the calamity of both of those coming together. Feeling like I was drowning, “may it be in loneliness” identifies that this perpetual superficiality of my reality and the loneliness I felt was suffocating.
The end of the track and how it repeats the first two lines was meant to allude to the cyclical nature of my experience in transferring, and how others deal with similar issues, and how it may not be my last time having to undergo a similar experience.
A five piece band who began performing in the Spring of 2017, quickly garnered a small but strong fan base and that summer embarked on their first recording project. A 5 song EP was released in September of 2017, and the group have performed in Brooklyn, Burlington, and various venues around Boston MA in the past two years.
Since formation, Juniper have crafted their sound, which takes on a unique and eclectic energy, while maintaining a strong fluidity and purpose. Juniper derives their influence from the notion that what they have to say matters, that what everybody has to say matters. One’s voice and identity and what they experience transcends time and space, and connecting with people on that level through the medium of music is what Juniper values most.
Greensky Bluegrass has announced an expansive Winter Tour to kick off 2020 with stops in Ithaca, NYC and Albany.
With the first show in St. Louis, MO at The Pageant on January 15, the tour winds through the Midwest and East Coast, and finishing with a two-night stand at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. Ghost Light will joining Greensky as the opener for a majority of the dates, with another act being announced in the near future. General on-sale begins on Friday, October 18.
Ahead for Greensky Bluegrass this fall include appearances at Hulaween & Hangtown festivals, then an epic Midwestern Halloween weekend run kicking off in Chicago at the Chicago Theatre on Halloween, then off to Kansas City and St. Paul. The band will appear at ‘What The Night Brings’ tribute to Jeff Austin on November 4 then a duo of shows in their hometown of Kalamazoo, MI Nov. 29 & 30. Greensky will debut at Denver’s new Mission Ballroom on Dec. 6 & 7 before heading to Mexico for Cloud 9 Adventure’s Strings & Sol. The band will ring in 2020 with a three-night stand at The Riverside in Milwaukee, WI – with support from Horseshoes & Hand Grenades on 12/29 and 12/30, and a three-set Greensky NYE event to close out the year.
The band’s third incarnation of its Camp Greensky Music Festival is the latest confirmed 2020 date, happening June 4 to 6 in Wellston, MI, tickets are available now.
Greensky Bluegrass Winter Tour dates
1/15 – The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
1/16 – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall, Louisville, KY
Goose has let loose their third studio single of 2019, “Butter Rum,” ahead of the start of their Fall Tour which kicks off in Albany on Friday, October 18. The track is the band’s third consecutive song mastered by Grammy award winner Emily Lazar (Beck, Vampire Weekend).
“Butter Rum” is a playful tale of holiday romance heartbreak. The song’s lively tropical momentum will carry you through butterflies, barbeques, and blue Hawaiians as a boy and a girl wander aimlessly hand-in-hand for days. The couple weave through sweat-soaked night clubs and piercing 6 AM sunshine until the vacation ends he’s left with “nothing but the rum.” Grab a drink and prepare to have your heart broken by the sweetheart you were never meant to have.
As their fall tour kicks off, Goose has four sell out shows and surely more to follow given the buzz they’ve been gaining over the year. A stellar Peach Festival set is just one of the highlights of this Norwalk, CT based indie-groove outfit. At the tour opener in Albany at Parish Public House, Eggy will open the night, with music starting right at 9pm, followed by two sets of Goose.
The rest of the 20+ date tour carries Goose to NYC on Halloween, Buffalo in mid November then out to with a year end show at Goosemas, the band’s annual holiday extravaganza, held at the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk.
Fall 2019 Tour Dates
OCT 18 – Albany, NY, Parish Public House Sold Out
OCT 19 – Cambridge, MA, Sonia Sold Out
OCT 25 – Wilkes-Barre, PA, River Street Jazz Cafe
OCT 31 – New York, NY, Mercury Lounge Sold Out
NOV 02 – New Haven, CT, College Street
NOV 07 – Harrisburg, PA, Club XL
NOV 08 – Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
NOV 10 – Richmond, VA, The Camel
NOV 14 – Pittsburgh, PA, Roxian Theatre
NOV 15 – Columbus, OH, The Summit
NOV 16 – Buffalo, NY, Nietzche’s Sold Out
DEC 05 – Fort Collins, CO, Aggie Theatre
DEC 06 – Denver, CO, Cervantes Other Side
DEC 07 – Steamboat Springs, CO, Old Town Pub
DEC 08 – Steamboat Springs, CO, Old Town Pub
DEC 11 – St. Louis, MO, The Bootleg
DEC 12 – Chicago, IL, Lincoln Hall
DEC 13 – Cincinnati, OH, Top Cats
DEC 14 – Indianapolis, IN, The Mousetrap
DEC 21 – Goosemas VI – South Norwalk, CT, Wall Street Theatre
