Thursday July 18 will be the first of the “Thursdays on the Village Green”, a free concert series in Hamilton, NY featuring Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People. “Thursdays on the Village Green” is a family-friendly event, with activities hosted by the Hamilton Public Library every week starting at 5:30 p.m., and then music starting at 7:00 p.m..
Kicking off the series’ music lineup this week is groove-soul powerhouse Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People. The band’s groovy sound combined with Ponder’s powerful voice creates a beautiful and emotional experience for concert-goers. Ponder, a Rochester, NY native, will undoubtedly give you goose-bumps. Soultracks.com said, “Ponder’s vocals combine the spirit of the church with the speak-truth- to-power assertiveness of a movement leader.”
moe.down 17 took place at its original home July 4-6, 2019, at Snow Ridge in the Tug Hill Plateau town, Turin, following a one-year hiatus. The Independence Day weekend featured steamy temperatures and equally scorching sets.
The host band performed seven sets over the course of three days, as well as stints with side projects and sit-ins throughout. This festival has always been a family-oriented affair and this year’s moe.down proved no different — from guest spots from moe. bassist Rob Derhak‘s kids to drummer Vinnie Amico’s dedication of a cover of the Allman Brothers’ “Blue Sky,” to his daughter, who was celebrating her 19th birthday over the weekend. moe.down XVII was the family affair it has always set out to be.
The moePods reunited at moe.down for a Friday afternoon set. Comprised of members of Ominous Seapods and moe., the band first got together at a sold out show at Cohoes Music Hall in January of this year and reconvened at moe.down. A true Wetlands reunion took place during this set when Lo Faber of God Street Wine, another of this year’s moe.down bands, joined the moePods onstage. All three bands came up through the second wave jamband scene of the early ’90s together and the mutual love was obvious onstage.
Highlights of the weekend included an amped-up set from Cory Wong of Vulfpek with his band, all in matching outfits. The guitarist displayed his fret skills while the band funked up the main stage to kick off the music Saturday afternoon.
Drive By Truckers brought a little bit of southern grind to the Tug Hill Saturday, delivering a blistering late afternoon set on the main stage that attracted more and more festival-goers throughout the set.
The weekend was filled with a lot of positivity and small-town vibes one can only find at Snow Ridge this time of year. moe.’s seven sets over the weekend proved that they’re not standing still. Several new songs made it into the setlists and the accompanying light show was on point throughout.
Virginia, there is a Santa Claus; and he has granted all of the good and bad children of the Capital District a very precious present, a Conehead Buddha reunion show! A night filled with frolicking funk and ska that only this classic jam band, formed in the mid-90’s, can provide. Conehead Buddha, once a mainstay of the NYS music scene, will be reuniting for a once in a lifetime spectacle at The Marble Rock House located in Leeds, NY on Saturday July 13 at 9PM. The musical establishment is co-owned by Neil Murphy and long time Conehead Buddha Trumpet player, Terry Lynch, so it will definitely be a hometown performance with their loyal fans in attendance.
Founder of Conehead Buddha and front-man Chris Fisher has traveled back to New York State from his new home base of Brentwood, Tennessee, and along with Lynch they have organized a gathering of Conehead Buddha members, from various iterations of the band’s lineup throughout their 25 year + run. A notable exception to the band’s roster will be the absence of longtime Buddha saxophonist Shannon Lynch whose indelible presence will be missed. Her duties will be expertly filled by Neal Spitzer, who is also a Conehead Buddha alumni.
The night will be a retrospective of Buddha’s extensive catalog mined from their six LP’s of original material released over the years. Tickets are $15.00 and are expected to sell out for the show, so make sure to purchase them prior at the Marble Rock House website.
Ithaca prog soul outfit Noon Fifteen has emerged from the studio, where they just finished recording their sophomore album Finish What You Started. The first single “The Tick” was filmed in 360° video during their recording session in the studio at Cornell University.
“We’d experimented with Vulfpeck-inspired session videos for Volume 1, and I was looking for a way to develop that concept and make it our own,” keyboard player Sam Lupowitz told NYS Music. “The 360 camera let us really show what everyone’s playing on the track in a way that’s interactive, rather than passive entertainment. I loved the idea of really putting the viewer in the studio with us.”
As the into explains, if you’re seeing stationary photos, try using a different browser or device. Toggling around on the video will allow you to view the entire recording studio – from the acoustic ceiling tile to the guitar pedals on the floor and everything in between.
The music video for “The Tick” is just the beginning. Noon Fifteen announced they will drop three new songs, play three free shows, and release three podcasts this month. They’ve nicknamed this month “Julyfecta” in honor of this trio of trios. Follow this linktree to access content (videos, podcasts, and music streaming). And if you’re in the Finger Lakes area this month, save the date for these performances:
Thai-Funk trio, Khruangbin, made their debut at the historic Capitol Theatre on Wednesday June 19, where curious music fans were treated to something special. For the first time the Texas trio played their 2018 album, Con Todo El Mundo, in its entirety, followed with a complete performance of their 2015 debut album, The Universe Smiles Upon You.
Bassist Lara Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer Donald “Dj” Johnson have come up with this amazing sound that blends many global musical influences working towards never being pigeonholed into one label. As the band played the final note of “Zionsville” to close out the show, an extremely diverse group of music fans erupted in ovation, showing why this is one of the must see acts in music right now, and hopfully cementing many returns to the The Cap.
Setlist – Khruangbin at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY
Set 1: Como Me Quieres, Lady and Man, Maria Tambien, Aug 10, Comom Te Quiero, Shades of Men, Evan, A Hyman, Rules, Friday.
Set 2: Mr. White, Two Fish, Dern Kala, Little Joe & Mary, White Gloves, People, The Man Who Took My Sunglasses, August 12, Ball and Pins, Zionsville.
Woodstock may be returning to Central New York at Vernon Downs for the 50 year anniversary of the iconic music and arts festival. Scheduled to be held Aug. 16-18, some of the previously announced headliners for the event include Jay-Z, The Raconteurs, The Killers, Miley Cyrus, John Fogerty and Dead & Company.
The festival would still be held on the originally planned weekend of Aug. 16-18, only now possibly at Vernon Downs Casino Hotel in Vernon, a small town located along the New York State Thruway between Syracuse and Rome. There would most likely be no camping and the performances would run from until 11:00 p.m. each day.
After Watkins Glen International Speedway pulled out as host of Woodstock 50 on June 10, organizer Michael Lang vowed the festival would still be happening and that they were in discussions with other venues. It now appears that Vernon Downs was one of those venues.
Michael Lang is no stranger to the Central New York area. Woodstock ’99 was held at the decommissioned Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. The festival drew upwards of 200,000 people that year and was marred by riots and sexual assaults that brought the festival to a fiery conclusion.
The harness racing track located on site has a past of hosting larger concert events, the latest being Aug. 29, 2012 when Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band visited during the Wrecking Ball Tour. Track owners at the time suggested that they could comfortably host 30,000 people for the Boss’s show at their venue, a sharp decline from the 100,000 attendees Lang had originally anticipated for his event at Watkins Glen this year.
The track has also hosted Phish, the HORDE tour, the Other Ones (one of many Grateful Dead offshoots) and several versions of the regional radio festival, K-Rockathon.
Even with a lack of on-site camping, attendees would still have several lodging options in the area. The nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona has several hotels and an RV park. Other local options for lodging include two state parks at Verona Beach and Delta Lake, along with several private campgrounds and hotels in nearby Utica, Rome and Syracuse.
Ticketing information was unavailable at press time but would be contingent upon organizers acquiring final permits from the town. The lack of camping would preclude the need for a mass gathering permit from New York State.
NYS Music will have more information as it becomes available.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited to reflect a different number of attendees at Woodstock ’99.
Brooklyn based funk outfit, Lettuce, has been one of the pioneers in modern funk and jam music. The band’s skill and taste, combined with their ability to blend historic and popular music aesthetics together puts them in the spotlight for aspiring bands. The spotlight is nothing new to Lettuce and they are perpetually growing a global fan base. In fact, members Adam Deitch (drums/percussion), Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff (guitar), Erick “Jesus” Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone) and Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet) have been doing this for 25 years, scoring Grammy’s and working with some of the biggest forces in music such as Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Kanye West, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. It’s no wonder the glamor for more original Lettuce music after a three-year wait was at an all time high. That time has come with their new album, Elevate.
The opening track, “Trapezoid” walks the listener in slowly, offering a close listen at the eccentric synth patches featured. Soon enough, a dark, unrelentingly ‘dub’ bass shatters the ground underneath the lush combination of squeaking synth, ambient whistles and palm-muted guitar. Deitch’s live drums are performed with machine-like technical skill. That is, until the unmistakably Lettuce horn lines kick in. Absolutely huge melodic phrases are composed with ease into tighter chorus hooks and are climaxed right before a colossal bass drop. While there is a chance that mashing up elements of trap, dub, funk, ambient and hip hop could go wrong, Lettuce navigates each mood change with confidence and expertise. The band’s grasp of their song’s structures at large is most easily seen by their ability to essentially re-write “Trapezoid” at the end of the album in “Trapezoid Dub.” There’s much more music to go before that arc is completed, but it is something to keep in mind when considering the magnificent flow of the album.
Something Lettuce does as well as anything else is write true funk tunes. “Royal Highness” is a great example of this, with simple yet effective instrumentation coming together with well-organized rhythmic grooves blooming into a great dance tune. This instrumental leads in for the 60’s Ethiopian funk song, “Krewe,” which features arguably the best sax solo on the album. This track has a nice blend of high-energy rhythm with darker but upbeat instrumentation; an intriguing juxtaposition.
The cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” is a fresh take on a classic tune. Lettuce brings the song out of its comfort zone, adding a swing, along with a more compelling instrumentation. The vocals make their debut here and do a great job of adding flavor and depth to the song, outside of simply holding down the famous melody. The bass really shines and punches along the deep end, supporting the layered vocals and the occasional soaring flute line.
Flourishing trumpet fanfares and melodic horn phrases find their rhythmic soulmate in “Larimar.” The bass heaves along with a parallel guitar line, yielding a thick baritone guitar feel without sacrificing density. This song hits in two halves; the first half being a funk groove with attitude, which transitions into a cheekier outro groove. The instrumentation remains largely the same keeping the experience of the song isolated, but still very unique in its progression. “Love Is Too Strong” is a blues rock song, heavily influenced by the gospel and blues of the 60’s, but with some more 70’s styled mixolydian guitar solos and tones. The vocals are a highlight here as well, offering a strong, resonant lead melody with a raspy blues aesthetic, with accents and emphasis being added by a backing gospel choir.
There’s a lot in this album in the way of genre, evinced by the Brian Eno/J Dilla inspired ambient hip hop instrumental, “Purple Cabbage.” Lettuce flexes their creative muscles here. The output is an atmospheric soundscape, which acts as the backdrop for an echo-laden layering of guitars to sputter around an unmistakably potent beat from Deitch. The horns, which maintain a strong presence throughout the album, remain front and center for much of the tune, stabbing right at the heart of the melody hidden in the backing soundscape the band creates. Running at just over nine-minutes, this song is steeped in timbre of all sorts. Listeners will be able to find something completely new with each listen.
To be clear, this is the case with the album as a whole. Such a diverse selection of songs can be tough to wrangle into one concise piece of work, yet Lettuce does just that. The band transforms constantly from the start to end. Their final song “Trapezoid Dub” is a different version of the first song on the album, which is hardly noticeable unless looking at the track titles. Once you notice though, it becomes apparent that the framework for both tunes are the same, but Lettuce has managed to create an entirely different listening experience. A shining example of the band’s ability to adapt and reimagine.
They change, while remaining just enough of the same Lettuce, that fans have known for all these years. The improvisational aspect is not lost among the composition, and the experimentation takes front seat just long enough for each tune (and the album in general) to have an unexpected but fulfilling arc. It’s not enough to say, “keep an eye on Lettuce.” Rather, this album marks the opportunity to appreciate their determined foray into seemingly unrelated genres and pull out exactly what pieces best fit their sound. Mesh those into tracks that are not only stunning, but also a whole lot of fun.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Riverboat Bar in Alexandria Bay (A-Bay) will host a summer series of live music running from mid-June through the end of September. In all, more than 30 bands will be gracing the newly renovated stage over the course of the summer.
The series opens this weekend with Pennsylvania funk-reggae band, Kluster Phunk. They’ll be performing on Saturday, June 15 and will be joined by special guest Ben Carrey of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong.
The weekend of June 21-22 turns back the clock to the ’90s with Buffalo’s Tiny Music doing a tribute to the Stone Temple Pilots on June 21 and fellow Nickel City alt-rockers Stalking Jenna playing a reunion show on June 22.
June wraps with Toronto party machine After Funk on June 28 and two bands on June 29 when Saratoga’s Let’s Be Leonard will perform with local favorites, Adapter.
Fourth of July weekend is packed with music at the bay. Three shows dot the weekend beginning on Thursday, July 4. Utica psychedelic rockers Trampoline Jetstream make their debut at the Riverboat on Thursday followed by the funktronica of Tweed on Friday the 5th and the resurgent Annie in the Water on Saturday the 6th.
Visit the Riverboat Bar in A-Bay this summer and don’t miss the great music offerings they have in store!
Salutations friends! As June opens its’ door, festival season is officially underway. People can once again begin to embark out on the perpetual quest to satisfy their ears and eyes by indulging in one of the greatest gifts life has to offer-live music. Across the nation, fans now engage in chasing their favorite destination events, bands, songs, and comrades. Among them, next weekend’s (June 13-16, 2019) Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
Bonnaroo has risen to world fame from its’ beginnings as a mostly jam-centric haven to its’ current state, a wonderful melting pot of genre, visual art, and collectiveness from all over the planet. Yes, Bonnaroo is one of the largest festivals in the country, but it’s so much more. It is an explosion of diversity through art, a sponge for culture, and a tradition of expression like none other.
The lineup this year is as staggering as ever, dripping with intrigue at every avenue. Heading up the cavalry is the likes of Phish, Cardi B., Post Malone, The Childish Gambino, The Avett Brothers, Griz, John Prine, Gucci Mane, Odesza, Solange, The Lumineers, Brandi Carlisle, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, The Grand Ole Opry, The National, and so many, many more brilliant acts waiting to unload, including tremendous representation from New York sure to stamp the South. Additionally, Bonnaroo boasts so much extra flavor it differentiates itself from any other event on the circuit. Bonnaroo has, and continues to always stand-alone in greatness and mystique. As I prepare to join the horde down on the farm, let’s look ahead to some of what this year’s installment has to offer.
Bonnaroo stretches four days; each packed to the brim with exciting names, activities, and opportunity. I look forward to rejoining the mass down in Manchester for the first time in many years, and it’s a pleasure to act as the correspondent for NYS Music for the first time! I’ll be rolling along from start to finish as the biggest party of the year pops its’ top, and I’d like to point to a few things which excite me about this event.
The Grand Ole Opry (Thursday evening): This conglomerate of folk and bluegrass takes the headlining slot on Thursday evening. The wagon features Old Crow Medicine Show, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Ricky Skaggs and a collection of other friends that is sure to bring the downhome sounds of the do-si-dos right into the heart of Graceland. The energy at Bonnaroo on Thursday night is something fierce; of course arriving at a festival is always special. Anticipation breathes, evening comes quickly, and for the first time the site really becomes alive. Bonnaroo Thursday is the above but just a little more special simply because of the size and tradition of this place. The sounds of Appalachia is the perfect way to send the first shockwave through the crowds, and I can’t wait to see what this group of bluegrass all stars has to throw down.
Access to new discovery: I can’t stress to our readers and fellow attendees how special this aspect of the festival is. Naturally a few names will jump off the lineup every year, and every individual has their favorites, but Bonnaroo is at its’ roots a mecca of discovery. Stumbling upon a band I’ve never heard of, from a distant region, or perhaps one whose genre is so outside my wheel well is just serene, and Bonnaroo is the place for that. I encourage those on the grounds to get lost at least once, and bask in the sheer size and undertaking of this gathering. Follow your feet to sound, and discover something new.
Sheryl Crow – photo by Nick Karp, Bonnaroo 2018
Phish: The boys from Vermont make their third appearance on the hollowed grounds of the What Stage for what promises to be an epic soul shakedown. Their last appearance at the ‘Roo was in 2012, and the band is in quite a different place today then they were in 2012, when they really had just begun to step back into their stride following their hiatus during the early and mid 2000s. Today, the band has been firing on all cylinders for quite a while, and while Bonnaroo is only at the tip of their summer tour, these shows will be absolutely special. Especially of note is Friday’s performance, which finds the foursome busting loose at 11pm, a start time much later than their usual shows. Always well aware of the stage and moment, expect a high energy, barnburner style punch right out of the gate.
Photo by Brian Ferguson – Magnaball 2015
New York in the house: Good news everyone! Fine company represents New York this year down in Manchester. A group that includes headliner Cardi B, the space funk party sounds of Rubblebucket, the indie quartet Parquet Courts, the dynamic electro dance king Space Jesus, the multi-instrumentalist rockers The Lemon Twigs, the young singer-songwriter and producer whiz King Princess, modern pioneers of the “now” sound AJR, and of course Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. I want to touch explicitly on Russo’s band for a second, or, JRAD, as many known them by their acronym. JRAD, a band born at the New York’s own Brooklyn Bowl in 2013 is a group which reprises the music of The Grateful Dead in a way that is so fresh, so their own that a listener can get completely lost within their compositions. Bonnaroo would not be the same without some iteration of The Dead’s catalogue in its’ midst and JRAD is the perfect selection. Late night? In a tent (That Tent)? Yes please. The group pioneered by kit virtuoso Joe Russo is always good for a surprise as well. Listen carefully for off the wall covers and licks to keep the crowd guessing. This collection of homegrown artists is as diverse as the great state and city from which they hail, and it will be a treat to see how they weave into the mix.
Photo by Nick Karp, Bonnaroo 2018
The site/sights/people: Bonnaroo is absolutely a national treasure of sound, but it’s also delightfully visual. The installations and works of vast creative genius teams stretch far beyond the actual venue (dubbed Center Roo), and engulf in color, light, and wonder that sweeps through the surrounding campgrounds and commonplaces that make up the bulk of the festival’s map. Feast your eyes on tapestry of color created by attendees and visual artists alike. There is not a more diverse group of patrons to be found than at Bonnaroo, and there is something very powerful to be said in that. The beauty in a distinct diversity of ages, races, sexes, nationalities and beyond all transcend themselves on the farm. I have always found it to be a fluid place in so many different ways, I encourage everyone to notice how special this feature is as they traverse through the weekend.
Bonnaroo has a lane, a speed, and a taste for everyone. It continues to reinvent itself. It’s a testament to the industry and people for which it serves. Stages arise out of the woods; themed areas such as The Christmas Club Barn wait to be stumbled upon, roving DJ pop up sets in the plazas of the camps are just the beginning. To invoke the great Paul Simon, these are the days of miracle and wonder, of lasers in the jungle my friends, this is the long distance call. A wave of positive kinetic madness is about break under the hot Tennessee sun. Bonnaroo 2019 is finally here!
For more information on the Bonnaroo Music & Arts
Festival, including tickets, the complete lineup, map, schedule, and much more,
visit www.Bonnaroo.com. Keep your
browsers dialed in right here at NYS Music for all of our coverage as I roam
around the fields with my trusty photographer Rob Roane. Check our coverage out
throughout the festival as we document our happenings via the NYS Music
Instagram page, and after the festival wraps we will be dropping our reviews to
keep you informed, up to date, and enthralled. Until then my friends, I will
see you on the other side.
This past weekend, Randall’s Island played host to the 2019 Governors Ball Music Festival. The festival, in its ninth year, featured many of the hottest musical acts of today with performances by Tyler the Creator, Florence and The Machine, Nas, Lily Allen, Lil Wayne, The 1975 and many more of today’s most popular musical acts. An amazing first two days set the stage for a full final day of music, with the home town favorites The Strokes closing out the 2019 edition of the New York City music festival. But Mother Nature had other plans as impending inclement weather forced a delayed gate opening and, eventually, thunderstorms forced the cancelation of the rest of the day including The Strokes’ headlining set.
A full statement from festival organizers can be found here.
