Multi-platinum recording artist Kip Winger has announced a live and unplugged show on Nov. 1 at the Rome Capitol Arts Complex in Rome, NY. The show will be opened by indie-pop singer/songwriter Emma Jude. Hailing from Upstate New York, Jude’s crisp vocals and striking storytelling landed her the 2019 SAMMY award (Syracuse Area Music Award) for Best Pop Album.
Kip Winger first gained popularity when he contributed bass and vocals to Alice Cooper before forming the band Winger which recorded several successful albums in the late 1980s. The band disbanded in 1995 only to reunite in 2001. They immediately began to win fans back with non-stop touring and in 2014 released their highly anticipated sixth studio album called Better Days Comin.
Called “one of the best writers of the past three decades” by Classic Rock Magazine, the live and unplugged show in Rome will showcase Kip Winger as a solo artist. During the band’s break, Kip focused on expanding his own talents in a unconstructed way, composing and arranging music that didn’t fit any genre. “It was incredibly freeing to connect to music without any preconceived ideas about what it needed to be or what niche it needed to fill.” Exploring his talents led to hit compositions like “This Conversation seems like a Dream,” “Songs from the Ocean Floor,” “From the Moon to the Sun” and “Ghosts,” which featured a string orchestra. piano and harp.
To keep the concert up close and personal, setting is limited and RESERVED. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
The Music of Cream, the pedigree of the hallowed ’60s trio Cream: Kofi Baker (Ginger Baker’s son), Malcolm Bruce (Jack Bruce’s son) and Will Johns(Eric Clapton’s nephew), have announced an exciting new tour for 2020. Honoring the legendary band’s landmark album, the 40-date North American tour will feature Disraeli Gears performed in its entirety followed by a set of additional hits and rarities from Cream, Clapton, Blind Faith and more. The upcoming tour finds The Music of Cream continuing their celebration of the extraordinary music and legacy their family members created more than 50 years ago via their extensive live show and personal stories and footage of their fathers and mentors.
Will Johns, Kofi Baker, Malcolm Bruce
Kicking off February 28th in Victoria, BC, Canada, the Disraeli Gears Tour will travel all across North America stopping everywhere from Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Phoenix, Boulder, Baton RougeandFort Lauderdale toBirmingham, Atlanta, Annapolis, Long Island, Boston, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, Omahaand all that’s in between, before wrapping May 3rdinAustin. See below for the full list of tour dates. Tickets are on sale starting this Friday, October 18 at 10 a.m. local time; visit www.musicofcream.com for ticketing information.
With primal riffs, soaring operatic choruses, poetry, fashion and theater rolled into one, Disraeli Gearsdefined the era in which it was written. The super-group’s second studio album, released in November of 1967, is often considered Cream’s crowning achievement. Disraeli Gears, featuring the singles “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Strange Brew,” was their American breakthrough reaching #4 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart before ultimately becoming a platinum-seller in the U.S. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and Rolling Stone included Disraeli Gears in their list of the Top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time saying, “Cream’s sharpest, most linear album focused its instrumental explorations into colorful pop songs.” In addition to critical acclaim over the decades, the original band members themselves praised their work on Disraeli Gears. Ginger Baker noted, “You can’t escape the fact we were having such fun playing with each other,” while Jack Bruce said, “This was a whole new beginning for the band and I loved that time very much,” and Eric Clapton added, “We had found ourselves…it was a pivotal point in the history of popular music.”
Malcolm Bruce
For the members of The Music of Cream, who first launched their celebratory 50th Anniversary World Tour in 2017 and have since performed over 100 shows together worldwide, including a string of recent sold-out UK shows, honoring Disraeli Gears and the storied history their family members created on this new tour was an easy choice.
“To follow our 50th Anniversary Tour, it was a no-brainer to go out and celebrate Disraeli Gears in its entirety,” shares Kofi Baker (drums). “There are songs that are quite different, they wanted to challenge everything! And from a personal point of view, it gives me the opportunity to perform another song my dad wrote called ‘Blue Condition’ that I really like. I also loved the artwork for the album; my sister and I used to laugh because we said you could see up my dad’s nose. Happy memories that we can bring to the stage.”
Kofi Baker
“Why Disraeli Gears? Well, that’s easy for me,” says Will Johns (guitar, vocals). “It was the birth of the wah-wah pedal and you gotta love the wah-wah! That we can interpret such groundbreaking music and continue to tell Cream’s story is as exciting for us as we know it was for the band when they recorded it all those years ago. Like my uncle, I am a blues man through and through, and on this record there’s some fantastic interpretations of this genre, the likes of ‘Lawdy Mama’ and ‘Outside Woman Blues,’ so it doesn’t get better than that!”
“There are many reasons I love the idea of performing Cream’s second album Disraeli Gears,” adds Malcolm Bruce (bass, vocals). “Many of Cream’s best-known songs are on the record including ‘Sunshine of Your Love,’ ‘Strange Brew’ and ‘SWLABR.’ But importantly to me, perhaps my favorite Cream song, and I think my Dad’s too, ‘We’re Going Wrong’ is on there as well. It has always been such a special song to perform, so open in its possibilities for improvisation, and lyrically, the song works on a number of levels, both personal and universal. I also love some of the less well-known songs on the album like ‘World of Pain’ and ‘Dance the Night Away.’ It even contains comedy elements in ‘Mother’s Lament.’ Overall, it is a very cohesive set to perform. We are looking forward to it!”
Will Johns
During its heartbreakingly short lifespan, Cream was an explosive musical cocktail that provided the super-group blueprint for others to follow. Their third album, Wheels of Fire (1968), was the world’s first platinum-selling double album, and collectively Cream sold more than 15 million copies of their albums worldwide. Not surprisingly, Rolling Stone ranked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group (inducted in 1993) as 67th in their 100 Greatest Artists of All Time list. The trio originally said farewell on a 1968 U.S. tour, and apart from a brief reunion in 2005 at London’s Royal Albert Hall and New York’s Madison Square Garden, Cream retained an almost mythological status in the music world, right up until the passing of Jack Bruce in 2014. This, for many fans, marked the end of an era and an acceptance that there would never really be another opportunity to celebrate the group’s legacy. That is, until The Music of Cream emerged. And with the recent passing of Ginger Baker, the new trio (Kofi, Malcolm, Will) look forward to sharing more of their stories as well as Cream’s incomparable music with fans new and old to keep Cream’s legacy alive.
For more information on The Music of Cream, visit:
Framing Hanley will be headlining SMACK Fest 2019 – Halloween Edition on October 26th at the S.I. Hall at the NYS Fairgrounds.
Framing Hanley, who shot to fame with their cover of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” will be joined by some of the best metal bands CNY has to offer.
The full lineup for SMACK Fest is as follows:
– Framing Hanley – Skinbound – Murder In Rue Morgue – Less Than Hate – Obdura – Damon Larus – Kilter – Level VII – The Burned Out Suns – Northwoods Wendigo
Doors open at 3pm – Show starts at 4pm All ages show. Under 18 must be accompanied by an adult $5.00 additional fee at door for Under 21
Tickets can be purchased HERE. PreSale Tickets are $15.00 ($20 day of show). Costume Contests with prizes will be awarded.
The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Bandstand will roll out a coast to coast tour starting October 25 in Oklahoma City, OK. This tour comes after this smash- hit spent 2017 on Broadway. During the residency it was nominated for three Tony Awards and snagged the Tony for Best Choreography.
“THE SHOW DEFIES YOU NOT TO BE MOVED”
Time Out New York
The vibrant musical, Bandstand, shows how one can heal through music and dance, written by Robert Taylor (book and lyrics), Richard Oberacker (music) and directed by three-time Tony winner Andy Blankkenbuelher (Hamilton choreography). The plot features World War II veteran Donny, fresh from the front lines, as he returns home to be a songwriter. When this proves difficult, he forms a group to compete in the NBC bandstand contest. Using a peppy outlook and upbeat music, Bandstand delves into the challenges faced by our service men and women upon returning. This is a story that stretches across many decades.
Photo by Michael Pool
Along the way Bandstand will make stops in various New York cities. Included is The Stanley Theater in Utica, Proctors in Schenectady and the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Greenvale. Tickets are on sale now through the musicals website. Check out the additional tour dates below.
BandStand Tour Dates: 2019-2020
Oct.25-26 – OCCC Visual and Performing
Arts Center Theater – Oklahoma City, OK
Oct.29-30 – Rudder Auditorium – College Station, TX
Nov.1 – Popejoy Hall – Albuquerque, NM
Nov.2-3 – Civic Center Auditorium –
Amarillo, TX
Nov.4 – Bicknell Center for the Arts –
Pittsburg, KS
Nov.5 – Chapman Music Hall – Tulsa, OK
Nov.6 – Abilene Convention Center –
Abilene, TX
Nov.7 – Cowan Center – Tyler, TX
Nov.8 – Lutcher Theater – Orange, TX
Nov.9 – The Grand 1894 Opera House –
Galveston, TX
Nov.11-12 – Washington Pavilion – Sioux
Falls, SD
Nov.13 – Civic Center – Bismarck, ND
Nov.16-17 – Hult Center for the
Performing Arts – Eugene, OR
Nov.19-20 – Granada Theater – Santa
Barbara, CA
Nov.21-24 – Fred Kavli Theatre –
Thousand Oaks, CA
Dec.3-4 – Pikes Peak Center – Colorado
Springs, CO
Dec.6-8 – Orpheum Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
Dec.11 – Orpheum Theatre – Sioux City,
IA
Dec.12 – Juanita K. Hammons Hall –
Springfield, MO
Dec.13-14 – Civic Center – Des Moines,
IA
Dec.15 – Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing
Arts Center – Cedar Falls, IA
Dec.16 – River Center Adler Theater –
Davenport, IA
Dec.17 – Yardley Hall – Overland Park,
KS
Jan.3-5 – Von Braun Center Concert Hall
– Huntsville, AL
Jan.7 – Paramount Arts Center – Ashland,
KY
Jan.8 – Honeywell Center – Wabash, IN
Jan.9-12 – Stranahan Theater – Toledo,
OH
Jan.14-16 – Century II Performing Arts
Center – Wichita, KS
Jan.17-19- Lied Center for Performing
Arts – Lincoln, NE
Jan.21 – Grand Theater – Wausau, WI
Jan.22 – Bloomington Center for the
Performing Arts – Bloomington, IL
Jan.23 – Niswonger Performing Arts Center
– Van Wert, OH
Jan.24-26 – Morris Performing Arts
Center – South Bend, IN
Jan.27 – Emens Auditorium – Muncie, IN
Jan.29 – Givens Performing Arts Center –
Pembroke, NC
Jan.30 – Clayton Center for the Arts –
Maryville, TN
Jan.31 – Charleston Gaillard Center –
Charleston, SC
Feb.1-2 – Oxford Performing Arts Center
– Oxford, AL
Feb.4-5 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
– Sarasota, FL
Feb.6 – Alan Jay Wildstein Center for
the Performing Arts – Avon Park, FL
Feb.7-8 – The Sharon L. Morse Performing
Arts Center – The Villages, FL
Feb.9 – Mainstage Theater – Niceville,
FL
Feb.10 – Lafon Performing Arts Center –
Luling, LA
The masterminds behind Yes Darling, songwriters Ryan Montbleau and Hayley Jane, have just announced that they will be taking their debut album to the theatrical stage on Dec. 7 at The Double E in Essex, VT. This announcement comes just one week after their first music video for “Call Your Mother.” Using exaggerated humor, this playful duo brings to stage the reality of what many couples experience in finding harmony in a relationship. Â
“I do think Hayley and I have a pretty special chemistry together,” shares Montbleau. Of the upcoming performance, Jane elaborates, “We try to pull on every string of the heart. Not just the loving, romantic ones. Our show usually starts meaningful discussions. We take you down with us then we make you laugh. It’s real and raw.”
Attendees can expect to hear Yes Darling in its entirety with Montbleau and Jane being accompanied by a full band. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through Eventbrite.
Jane is headlining the inaugural Harvestfest: Tribute to Mother Earth with special guest Rob Compa of Dopapod on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Woods Valley Ski Area in Central New York.
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.
While in the midst of a change of leadership, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has nominated 20 new possible inductees for 2020. These latest nominees—which include posthumous nominations for legendary rapper, The Notorious B.I.G, as well as R&B and soul songstress Whitney Houston—are bridging a gap between genres, genders and race. Something departing Rock Hall chairman Jann Wenner has been criticized for in the past. A claim which he has refuted. “Musical achievements have got to be race-neutral and gender-neutral,” said Wenner, according to the New York Times.
Nonetheless, incoming chairman John Sykes—the president of Entertainment Enterprises for the radio conglomerate iHeartMedia—has made it a point to embrace the new direction that music is heading into. “The important goal is to diversify the New York foundation board, with more women, more people of color and [become] a board that reflects the artists that are now being inducted,” said Sykes, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
While new agendas are being set forward, traditional rock bands are still a mainstay of the Rock Hall of Fame. This year’s nominations include rock acts Motörhead, Judas Priest, Dave Matthews Band, Nine Inch Nails, the MC5, Thin Lizzy and T Rex, among others.
After nominations, the committee in charge of electing inductees—made up of more than 1,000 historians, members of the music history and every living Rock Hall inductee—fill out ballots with the five highest vote getters making up that year’s class. Beginning in 2012, fans have been allowed to vote who they think belongs in the Rock Hall, with the top five fan vote-getters making up one ballot. Artists become eligible to be nominated 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording, according to the Rock Hall’s official website.
The official inductees will be announced in January, with the ceremony to take place in May. The show will air at a later date on HBO.
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.
Syracuse shoe-gazers Trench has announced a series of November dates that sees the band hitting up venues throughout the Northeast. The tour kicks off in the band’s hometown at the legendary Lost Horizon on Nov. 9.
Joining Trench at the Lost Horizon show are Rochester’s The Joke’s on Us, Boston’s reprieve., and Syracuse’s Buggin’ Out and The Same Page. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. show are available now through Ticketweb. Advanced sale tickets are $10. Tickets the day of the show are $12.
Trench formed in 2015 when Chris Reilly (guitar/vocals) and Roberto Becerra (bass) got together. They were soon joined by Ron Ballweber (guitar) and Dan Sanborn (drums) to round out the band. They released their debut EP Sun Soaked on Flesh and Bone Records in 2016 and followed it up touring with Nothing, Thrice, Basement, and Silversun Pickups.
Their second release, 2018’s genre-spanning Ritual Love has the band visiting spaces that include post-rock, shoegaze, post-hardcore and dream pop. Speaking about the album, Reilly states, “The most important thing when writing music is to be honest and genuine, and I think we accomplished that both musically and lyrically on this record.” Ballweber adds, “We never write a song and say that isn’t ‘us.’ When you write honestly and without a conscious influence or direction then everything you create is sincere.”
Trench is part of a growing Syracuse alternative scene that includes artists such as Mattydale Music Collective, Late Earth, Lucky33, Atkins Riot, Major Player, Lily Grave and Outside Voices. Reilly, speaking to Rochester alternative culture magazine Floated recently said of the scene, “I feel like the community is stronger than it’s been in a long time…It doesn’t feel like a competition. Everyone’s moreso contributing in building a community.”
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
