King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is one of the most prolific rock bands currently out there. Starting with their debut album 12 Bar Bruise in 2012, the boys from Melbourne have released almost 2 albums per year since then, pushing it to 5 full length releases in 2017 alone! With a quick break in 2018, King Gizzard is back with a headline show at Summerstage in Central Park.
Fishing for Fishies, released in April of 2019, showed the band
embracing a boogie-sound and mixing this groove into their blend of psych/heavy
rock. Then, King Gizzard began to tease what sounded like a new thrash-metal
album, delivering the incredible Infest
the Rat’s Nest this past August. This album is a true homage to the genre
with their signature style mixed in seamlessly.
It’s no surprise that the audience was intrigued as to how King Gizzard would fill the set at Central Park Summerstage on August 28. The band kicked things off with fierce renditions of Infest the Rat’s Nest tracks “Self-Immolate” and “Perihelion.” The show itself was well organized as the band tended to group tracks from the same album together, allowing them to dig deep into the style of each album: three tracks in a row from Polygondwanaland early on, with three straight tracks from Murder of the Universe later in the set.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard at Central Park Summerstage – 8/28/2019
A last-minute addition of “Planet B” to the setlist paved the way for the final leg of the show. The band ditched the outdated tradition of leaving the stage and resurfacing for an encore, but instead powered through using every last minute of the early show to play for the fully engaged audience. The band was sure not to let up one minute before curfew. A constant stream of crowd surfers, full throat singing, and mosh pits all over the Rumsey Playfield made for a very high intensity show.
King Gizzard embarks on a fall tour of Europe in October and November, with a final show at the Maho Rasop Festival in Bangkok, Thailand in mid-November. Does that leave enough time for one more full-length release in 2019?
Setlist: Self-Immolate, Preihelion, The Great Chain of Being, Plastic Boogie, Inner Cell, Loyalty, Horology, Boogieman Sam, Evil Death Roll, Digital Black, Vomit Coffin, Murder of the Universe, This Thing, The Bird Song, Planet B, Mars for the Rich, Cyboogie, Am I in Heaven?
Over Father’s Day weekend next summer, Fins Up LG will bring the sounds and flavors of Key West to Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George. Parrotheads and Mardi Gras lovers will be drawn to this weekend long festival on the shores of Lake George, with music, margaritas, daiquiris and more in store.
This three day music festival will feature more than 20 musical acts on two main stages for a continuous musical adventure. Featuring a who’s who of Trop Rock Award winners, the lineup also features Jimmy Buffett tribute acts, and some incredible Zydeco, Cajun, and Country acts.
Featured artists include Jimmy and the Parrots (2 days), Mike Nash & Southern Drawl, Donny Brewer and the Dock Rockers, The Boatdrunks, ZBTB (acclaimed Zac Brown Band Tribute), Jesse Rice, John Patti, John Frinzi, Cory Young, Buckwheat Zydeco, Jerry Diaz and Hanna’s Reef, The Detentions, Caribbean Chillers, Rich Ortiz, Big Fez and the Surfmatics, Tropical Beat and more. Craft and food vendors will be on hand, as well as a huge margarita and daiquiri bar. VIP options are available for the weekend as well, and the event will be held rain or shine.
This Thursday, September 19, Saratoga Springs is in for one heck of a party, when Andy Frasco and the U.N. descend upon Putnam Place for one of the best shows you’ll see all fall. The high energy performance Frasco and his band bring to the stage, coupled with local Indie rockers Wild Adriatic opening the night, means an intense night of music you won’t soon forget is on tap.
Renowned for a jubilant jambalaya of rule-breaking rock n roll his career kept rolling ahead at full steam, Andy Frasco has been busy. He has released three independent albums, chronicled a German gig in front of 15,000 screaming fans on the recent live opus Songs from the Road, made jaws drop at festivals such as Grandoozy, Firefly, Mountain Jam, Summer Camp, Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park and Electric Forest, generated millions of streams, launched Andy Frasco’s World Saving Podcast, and performed at festivals alongside icons such as Peter Frampton, Gary Clark Jr., The Revivalists, Snoop Dog, Dr. Dog, Joe Walsh and Kendrick Lamar, to name a few.
Wild Adriatic has added more depth and dimensions to the band’s expansive rock and soul filled sound over the course of 2019, including a brand new collaboration EP release and their tour in support of partners-in-crime Andy Frasco & the U.N. Get ready for an incredible night in Saratoga on Thursday, September 19! For more information visit PutnamPlace.com
The Stone Temple Pilots have been playing since the late 80’s, and even with a new face on the mic, they don’t seem to be slowing down. Droves of fans packed the wide room of Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park, NY on Tuesday September 10th. The crowd was a sea of late 40’s dads and also a young crowd that will keep these memories alive.
The quartet came out to a massive roar as they took the stage. They started off strong, working through “Coma,” “Wicked Garden” and “Vasoline.” After a few classics they moved into their newer songs. They did an incredible job weaving through their repertoire, at one point playing two of their most memorable songs sandwiching their newest singles.
You can catch STP on the last leg of their tour coming up on September 19 and 22 in Philadelphia and New York City. Check out the setlist and photos from Zatchmo Lives Media below.
Setlist: Coma, Wicked Garden, Vasoline, Crackerman, Lounge Fly, Big Bang Baby, Glide, Big Empty, Plush, Meadow, Interstate Love Song, Roll Me Under, Dead and Bloated, Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart.
On Wednesday September 11, the Outlaw Music Festival made its stop at the historic Forest Hills Stadium. The traveling festival treated fans to a lineup that included Lukas Nelson & The Promise of The Real, Alison Krauss, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, and the return to the stage for the legendary Willie Nelson. On a day when we remember the biggest tragedy in the history of our nation, we also remember the unity it brought, and that’s the message these amazing musicians spread to a united New York City audience.
Following six sold-out Caribbean cruises and a sold-out inaugural Mediterranean sailing, legendary guitarist Joe Bonamassa, along with the Keeping the Blues Alive Foundation, and Sixthman, have announced the second annual Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea Mediterranean II cruise. The cruise sets sail August 14 to 19, 2020 on the Norwegian Jade, leaving from Barcelona, Spain with stops in Genoa, Italy and Cannes, France.
The cruise will feature blues musicians Jonny Lang, Walter Trout, Ana Popovic, The James Hunter Six, with more to be announced. They’ll be joined by just announced artists Marc Broussard, Samantha Fish, King King, Jimmy Vivino, The Suffers, Selwyn Birchwood, The Cold Stares, Daddy Long Legs, Elles Bailey, Ben Levin, and Lakota John, in addition to New Hartford, NY native Bonamassa for this second European voyage.
Music will be featured across multiple stages, as well meet and greets with artists, and one-of-a-kind collaborative sets from blues legends. In addition to non-stop music, the specially curated schedule of events offers a variety of music-centric activities including an activity with Joe Bonamassa. Beyond the onboard experience, guests will have the chance to explore two of the world’s most beautifully renowned cities. Attendees can spend the day at the waterfront town of Cannes, famous for sparkling, sandy beaches and lush attractions, and explore the historic streets of Genoa, a remarkable gem of the Italian Riviera.
Bonamassa has also announced the release of Live at the Sydney Opera House, featuring recordings from his 2016 performance at the UNESCO Heritage Monument. The album will include previously unreleased live versions of tracks from his No. 1 album Blues of Desperation.
Band members on the live release includeLate Night with David Letterman‘s Anton Fig (percussion), Nashville recording legend Michael Rhodes (bass), Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and member of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Reese Wynans (keyboards), Paulie Cerra (sax), and Lee Thornburg (trumpet), with Mahalia Barnes, Juanita Tippins, and Gary Pinto on backing vocals.
Pressed on vinyl 180 Gram and including a commemorative booklet, the Double LP features the exclusive bonus track “Livin’ Easy,” and is due out on J&R Adventures October 25. Pre-order has begun and you can listen to the first track “This Train” below.
Live at the Sydney Opera House follows the 2018 release of British Blues Explosion Live, which marked Bonamassa’s milestone 20th #1 album, and precedes his latest studio album Redemption that took the blues world by storm later that year, bringing him his 21st #1 album on the blues charts.
In addition to Live at the Sydney Opera House, Bonamassa has a new studio album on the horizon, and plans to hit the studio this winter, following his extensive international and U.S. tour dates.
Fall 2019 Tour Dates
Friday, October 18 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
Saturday, October 19 – Oakland, CA – Paramount Theatre
Tuesday, October 22 – Bakersfield, CA – Fox Theater
Wednesday, October 23 – Rancho Mirage, CA – The Show at Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage
Friday, October 25 – Phoenix, AZ – Comerica Theatre
Sunday, October 27 – Las Vegas, NV – The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Tuesday, October 29 – Oklahoma City, OK – Chesapeake Energy Arena
Wednesday, October 30 – Wichita, KS – Century II Concert Hall
Friday, November 1 – Springfield, MO – Juanita K. Hammons Hall
Saturday, November 2 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
Sunday, November 3 – Springsfield, IL – University of Illinois Springfield Performing Arts Center
Tuesday, November 5 – South Bend, IN – Morris Performing Arts Center
Thursday, November 7 – Madison, WI – Orpheum Theater
Friday, November 8 – Detroit, MI – Fox Theatre
Saturday, November 9 – Washington D.C. – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
Monday, November 11 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Tuesday, November 12 – Binghamton, NY – Broome County Forum Theatre
Hot off their summer tour, Collective Soul is finishing out the year with a series of fall headlining shows. Over the next couple months, they’ll be up and down the coast, from Niagara Falls, Canada and Portland, Maine all the way down through Florida. New York dates include Syracuse on September 28 and Huntington on October 2. Tickets are on sale now.
The setlist for their shows is sure to include songs that span their quarter-century-long catalog, from early works like “Shine,” “December” and “The World I Know,” as well as songs from their recently released tenth studio album, Blood.
“For us, we want to play the hits as we always do, but I think we also want to share the new record with our fans. At 25 years later, we want to say, ‘Hey, we’re still making the best that we can do.’ Right now, I’ve got seven of the new songs in the setlist, and hopefully, on some nights, we can play the whole thing from start to finish. I mean, it’s our 25th anniversary. We’re going at it hard, everyone! We’re going hard.”
– E Roland
Collective Soul Fall 2019 Tour Dates
Sept. 21 – The Wellmont Theater – Montclair, NJ
Sept. 22 – Shippensburg University – Shippensburg, PA
Sept. 24 – Capitol Center for the Arts – Concord, NH
Sept. 25 – Aura – Portland, ME
Sept. 27 – Eastern States Exposition – West Springfield, MA
Sept. 28 – Crouse-Hinds Theater – Syracuse, NY
Sept. 29 – Cabot Theater Beverly – Beverly, MA
Oct. 1 – Ridgefield Playhouse – Ridgefield, CT
Oct. 2 – The Paramount – Huntington, NY
Oct. 3 – Parx Casino – Bensalem, PA
Oct. 5 – Hops and Hogs Festival – Huntersville, NC
Nov. 7 – Niagara Fallsview Casino – Niagara Falls, Canada
Nov. 8 – Niagara Fallsview Casino – Niagara Falls, Canada
Nov. 22 – Hard Rock Live – Orlando, FL
Nov. 23 – Coral Springs Center for the Arts – Coral Springs, FL
Nov. 25 – Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts – Melbourne, FL
Nov. 26 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall – Sarasota, FL
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe reconnects for a ‘Thick As Thieves’ fall tour. This 22 show tour in October and November comes just after Denson’s summer stretch as a saxophonist with The Rolling Stones. After shows in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, KDTU will be joined for the remainder of the tour by Thievery Corporation.
The tour will feature KDTU’s first album in the past five years, Gnomes and Badgers, which was released earlier this year by Seven Spheres Records. Blending rock, soul and classic funk, the album takes a dive into the many controversial topics of today. This includes the album’s first single ‘Change My Way’ which gives a moving statement about the issues going on at the US border.
KDTU will kick off their tour on Thursday, Oct. 3. Tickets are available now and can be purchased here on KDTU’s website. See the full list of dates below.
Oct.3 – The Pour House – Charleston, SC Oct.4 – Big House Museum – Macon, GA Oct.5 – Orange Peel – Asheville, NC Oct.6 – Elevation 27 – Virginia Beach, VA Oct.8 – The Hamilton Live – Washington, DC Oct.9 – The Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC Oct.10 – The Broadberry – Richmond, VA Oct.11 – Rex Theater – Pittsburg, PA Oct.12 – The Fillmore – Philadelphia, PA * Oct.13 – House of Blues – Boston, MA* Oct.15 – Aura – Portland, ME Oct.16 – Le Capitole – Quebec City, Canada* Oct.17 – Mtelus – Montreal, Canada * Oct.18 – Putnam Place – Saratoga, NY Oct.24 – The Fillmore – Detroit, MI * Oct.25 – The Vogue – Indianapolis, IN * Oct.27 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN * Oct.28 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL* Nov.6 – The Fillmore – Miami, FL * Nov.7 – The Ritz – Tampa, FL* Nov.8 – Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA * Nov.9 – House of Blues – Orlando, FL *
With three of the most prolific rock guitarists in the world, GE Smith (Hall & Oates, Bob Dylan & SNL band), Jim Weider (The Band & Levon Helm Band), and Duke Levine (Peter Wolf, Rosanne Cash), this is sure to be a historic night of roots rock n’ roll. Playing tunes from Roy Buchanan, Little Richard, Neil Young, Jimmy Reed, Steve Winwood, Sam Cooke and more, the Masters of the Telecaster promises to be a full night of quality music. Opening for the show will be Nate Gross Band followed by Sly Fox.
Jim Weider, a master of classic telecaster guitar, is renowned for his rock and a blues-based signature sound. He is among a select group of musicians with an endorsement from Fender, and for the past three decades, he’s earned enormous respect from fellow musicians and music fans throughout the world.
Born and raised in the famed arts colony of Woodstock, NY, Jim received great acclaim during his long tenure (1985-2000) as lead guitarist (replacing Robbie Robertson) for Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame inductees, The Band. During 15 years of international touring with original members Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Rick Danko, Jim was featured on numerous albums, films, videos, and television appearances. Highlights included a 1990 performance with The Band and Ronnie Hawkins at The Berlin Wall concert, produced by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, and several cable TV specials including “The Bob Dylan Tribute” at Madison Square Garden, “The Road,” and “This Country’s Rocking.” Jim performed and recorded at the “Unofficial Blue Jean Bash” for President Clinton’s 1993 Inaugural Ball, with special guests Bob Dylan, Steven Stills and Dr. John, was on a 1994 pay-per-view concert telecast from the Woodstock ’94 Festival, and a 1995 appearance on the A&E Biography documentary “The Authorized Video Biography The Band” for cable TV and video, released by ABC Video.
Jim furthered his reputation as a versatile and talented guitarist in performances and recordings with Scotty Moore, Keith Richards, Los Lobos, Graham Parker, Taj Mahal, Mavis Staples, Hot Tuna, Bob Weir/Rat Dog, Johnny Paycheck, James Talley, Kim Wilson, Paul Butterfield and Robbie Dupree, among many others.
G.E. Smith was Music Director and led the Saturday Night Live (SNL) band for 10 years. During this time he also toured with Bob Dylan for four years. He also helped Mike Myers write a song for Aerosmith for when they performed on SNL. G.E. Smith was sought out by major recording artists like Jagger, who, shortly after Live Aid, called Smith to work with him on his first solo album, She’s the Boss. During this period Smith also did a few one-off recordings and concerts with David Bowie and Peter Wolfe. He just finished a three year run with Roger Water’s WALL LIVE worldwide tour.
Guitarist Robert “Duke” Levine was born and raised in Worcester, MA. He moved to Boston to study music and graduated from the New England Conservatory. In addition to releasing five records of instrumental guitar music, Duke Levine divides his time between the studio and the road. He has recorded and/or performed live with Peter Wolf, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, Lee Ann Womack, The J. Geils Band, Robbie Fulks, Slaid Cleaves, Aimee Mann, Jonathan Brooke, The Del Fuegos, Otis Rush, and many others.
TV appearances include The Late Show w/ David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Late Show w/Conan O’Brien, Late Night w/ Jimmy Fallon, Austin City Limits, and Soundstage. You can hear his playing on film scores such as “Lone Star,” “The Opposite Of Sex,” “Passion Fish,” “Honeydripper” and “Music Of The Heart.” Duke’s work has been recognized by the Boston Music Awards (“Unsung Hero” of 2006, “Outstanding Instrumentalist” of 1995). He is featured in the book: The Fender Telecaster: The Life And Times Of The Electric Guitar That Changed The World, by Dave Hunter.
The celebration they wanted – a weekend of music on the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair – continued following Arlo Guthrie’s opening performance to commemorate 50 years since the festival occurred.
Many alumni from the 1969 festival returned to Bethel Woods over the course of the four days to breathe life into their memories, joined by younger generations looking to enjoy music and learn about a piece of 1960’s history.
Each of the three nights brought back performers from the 1969 festival. The Beatles never played Woodstock as they were busy working on their album, Abbey Road. However, Ringo Starr and his All Star Band brought Santana’s keyboardist back to the stage to jam on a couple of Santana’s early works and paid tribute to other performances from 1969, with a medley of tunes later in the set. Saturday brought Carlos Santana back to the stage, with a little help from The Doobie Brothers. Closing out the weekend was a powerful set by Creedance Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty who, at age 74, rocked with the stage presence and humor of someone 30 years younger. Other 1969 performers to hit the stage included Blood, Sweat & Tears (new lineup) and Edgar Winter, who sat in with his brother Johnny for part of his Woodstock set.
John Fogerty (photo by Kevin Ferguson/Bethel Woods)
Scenes from the 1970 Woodstock documentary immortalized the weather that mired parts of the festival. Somewhat true to that form, some threats of weather and a short but heavy rain hindered the festivities a little bit. Spirits were kept up; some recreating the “no rain!” chants and others taking the opportunity to chat and share stories while activities were on hold.
The weekend was a perfect pace to celebrate the history, and anniversary, of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair. Although the 50th anniversary weekend is behind us, the conversation will keep going. The Museum at Bethel Woods has done an excellent job at preserving and documenting the history of Woodstock with their permanent exhibit and their special exhibit, “We Are Golden: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the Woodstock Festival and Aspirations for a Peaceful Future” which remains open through October.
Stay tuned to NYS Music as we bring you parts three and four of our coverage, featuring stories from people who were there, including Nick & Bobbie Ercoline, Duke Devlin, and photographer/Hog Farm member, Lisa Law.
Photos by Steve Malinski.
Main stage photos below by Kevin Ferugson/Bethel Woods:
