It’s that time of year again! The annual KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival is back for its eighth year. The event promises to be “a 12-day, all-out, no-holds-barred, multi-disciplinary visual and performing arts festival featuring international, national and local artists.” The 500+ events taking place between Sept. 10 through 21 include theater (physical, street, musical), comedy, visual arts, family entertainment, dance, spoken word, opera, poetry, literature, and music.
Plasticiens Volants
Making their return is French theater troupe Plasticiens Volants returns with their larger-than-life puppets, projections, and music. Read about their 2017 performance in our NYS Music coverage from 2017 here, and catch them at Parcel 5 on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept.14.
British sensation Massaoke, a live band that plays all your favorite sing-along songs for the ultimate karaoke experience, will be back for their second year in a row. Read the NYS Music coverage of last year’s event here, and join them at the Chestnut stage for two themed nights on Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21.
A plethora of musical events awaits, many of them free. In honor of the International Fringe Festival tradition, these are acts who reside off the beaten path: Consensual Sax, salsa band Grupo Calle Uno, Table Top Orchestra, WADAIKO (traditional Japanese performance drumming), and RIT’s Ukelele Club. There are plenty of locals on the bill, including Cottage Street, Siena Facciolo, and Cigs Inside. UofR’s Institute for Popular Music returns this year, with a tribute to the band Yes and a tribute to Tom Petty featuring several local bands will be held at George Eastman’s Hidden Garden. Musicians are also coming in from out of town, like NYCduo Charming Disaster and Ithaca’s DJ ha-Meen. Many of the musical events are free, but some require tickets.
Charming Disaster – photo by Shervin Lainez
If you like musical theater, they’ve got you covered. American Idiot The Musical is sold out, but you can still get tickets for Dogfight the Musical. And there’s a free showing of the movie Grease at the outdoor “pedestrian drive-in.”
The popular silent disco, Cirque du Fringe, and many more delights await! Check out the full guide at RochesterFringe.com.
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center together with The Philadelphia Orchestra have announced a celebration of the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven to take place in 2020. In a concentrated four-night event, August 12-15, 2020, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin will present Beethoven’s Complete Cycle of Symphonies in dialogue with music by composers of today. The Philadelphia Orchestra has commissioned works that reflect on the relevance of Beethoven’s legacy today by its Composer-in-Residence, Gabriela Lena Frank, and a diverse group of composers from her Creative Academy of Music – including Jessica Hunt, Carlos Simon and Iman Habibi.
“Traversing the complete Symphonies of Beethoven is a profound and deeply moving musical experience. To hear them under the baton of the great Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in such a concentrated period, will be an artistic experience unlike anything we have ever presented at SPAC,” says Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. “Though Yannick and the Orchestra will also be performing the cycle in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall, only at SPAC will audiences be able to experience the symphonies in this immersive and virtually unprecedented manner.”
“We are incredibly excited to share the majesty of Beethoven’s masterpieces in four consecutive nights with our beloved fans in Saratoga,” said Philadelphia Orchestra Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. “By pairing his groundbreaking works with new companion pieces, we look forward to creating fresh perspectives on Beethoven’s legacy today. It will surely be an exhilarating and deeply moving experience unlike anything we’ve ever presented before at SPAC.”
Beethoven 2020:The Philadelphia Orchestra Beethoven Cycle at Saratoga Performing Arts Center August 12-15, 2020
Wednesday, August 12th
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Carlos Simon: Work in Dialogue with Beethoven – PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA COMMISSION
Beethoven: Symphony No. 8
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4
Beethoven: Symphony No. 7
Buoyant and humorous, the Eighth Symphony belies none of the composer’s worsening health issues or what had to be the devastating end of a love affair, detailed in a famous letter written around the same time to his “Immortal Beloved.” Perhaps the least known, the Fourth was widely admired: Schumann compared it to “a slender Greek maiden” between the two “Norse giants” of the Third and Fifth; Berlioz insisted it was the work of an angel. And Tchaikovsky described the triumphant Seventh as “full of unrestrained joy, full of bliss and pleasure of life.” The exhilarating and familiar second movement is said to have been so inspiring at the premiere, an encore was demanded instantly.
Thursday, August 13th
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Jessica Hunt: Work in Dialogue with Beethoven – Philadelphia Orchestra Commission
Beethoven: Symphony No. 2
Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (“Eroica”)
Beethoven was just beginning to go deaf when he wrote his Second Symphony and though he was losing his hearing, he was finding his voice. He could have composed a manifestation of despair, but instead gave the world one of his most ebullient and life-affirming works. The Third Symphony was groundbreaking, a turning point in the composer’s oeuvre and a watershed in musical history. A vast ode to heroism, revolution, and freedom, the “Eroica” is considered by many to be the greatest not just of Beethoven’s symphonies, but of all time.
Friday, August 14th
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Iman Habibi: Work in Dialogue with Beethoven – PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA COMMISSION
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”)
The indelible four-note opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony lays the foundation for a truly fateful symphonic journey. Written in 1804, and on the program when The Philadelphia Orchestra gave its first concert in 1900, it’s an epic tour de force that resonates in 2020. Following its rousing conclusion come the verdant valleys and sweet smells of the woods and the Austrian countryside, an exposition of Beethoven’s love of nature. Composed and premiered at the same time, the “Pastoral” offers a striking contrast to the assertive Fifth.
Saturday, August 15th
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin Chorus: Albany Pro Musica Concert Chorus
Frank: Work in Dialogue with Beethoven – PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA COMMISSION
Beethoven: Symphony No. 1
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (“Choral”)
Beethoven was just 25 when he wrote his First Symphony. Delightful and high-spirited, floating on strains of Mozart and Haydn, it’s a fascinating glimpse of the greatness and genius to come—all on full, glorious display in the climactic Ninth. Written just a few short years before his death, “Beethoven’s profound ode to brotherhood, salvation, and pure joy reminds us why we are here as an orchestra,” says Yannick, “and why we constantly try to make our world better by playing music.”
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe ‘Thick As Thieves Fall Tour 2019’ will roll through Saratoga Springs on October 18 for a hot night of funk at Putnam Place. On the heels of touring the U.S. this summer as the saxophonist in The Rolling Stones, Denson reconvenes KDTU for 22 dates this fall, mixing headline performances alongside several dates supporting Thievery Corporation.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe is supporting its latest studio album, Gnomes & Badgers, out now on Seven Spheres Records. Distilling the sweeping stylistic range of KDTU’s concert performances into their own authentic sound, the inimitable Denson and his long-standing seven piece unit that includes guitarist DJ Williams, drummer Zak Najor, bassist Chris Stillwell, keyboardist David Veith, trumpeter Chris Littlefield and slide/lap steel guitarist Seth Freeman have delivered what is undoubtedly their strongest work yet.
The album’s first video and single, “Change My Way,” makes a poignant statement about the current crisis at the U.S. border. The clip was directed by award-winning director, writer and producer TG Herrington, whose work includes ‘The Free State of Jones,’ a series of music videos for Paul McCartney and the new feature-length documentary ‘A Tuba To Cuba.’ Denson co-wrote “Change My Way” with New Orleans singer-songwriter Anders Osborne and co-produced the track with Adrian Quesada (Brownout, Spanish Gold).
KARL DENSON’S TINY UNIVERSE Thick As Thieves Fall Tour 2019
10/3 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House 10/4 – Macon, GA – Big House Museum 10/5 – Asheville, NC – Orange Peel 10/6 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27 10/8 – Washington, DC – The Hamilton Live 10/9 – Charlotte, NC – The Neighborhood Theatre 10/10 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry 10/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater 10/12 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore * 10/13 – Boston, MA – House of Blues * 10/15 – Portland, ME – Aura 10/16 – Quebec City, Canada – Le Capitole * 10/17 – Montreal, Canada – Mtelus * 10/18 – Saratoga, NY – Putnam Place 10/24 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore * 10/25 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue * 10/27 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater * 10/28 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues * 11/6 – Miami, FL – The Fillmore * 11/7 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz * 11/8 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle * 11/9 – Orlando, FL – House of Blues *
Famed rock photographer Jay Blakesberg has announced the release of his latest photographic endeavor, JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams – a fine art, hardcover photography book of Jerry Garcia, beginning from the middle of his career with the Grateful Dead and covering the last third of his life.
In early September 1977, the Grateful Dead performed four Labor Day weekend concerts along the east coast and at the legendary September 3rd Englishtown, NJ show where Blakesberg’s connection with the Grateful Dead was born. A year later, on September 2, 1978 at Giants Stadium, Blakesberg’s father, an amateur shutterbug himself, loaned his 16-year-old son his Pentax camera, a couple of lenses and a few rolls of film to photograph the Grateful Dead for the very first time. A photograph of Jerry Garcia from this show begins the chronological display of photographs that spans the following decades of Garcia’s life in JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams.
The book’s Foreword is written by Grammy-award winning musician and guitar master John Mayer, who has been touring with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead as Dead & Company’s lead guitarist and vocalist since 2015. Providing the unique perspective of re-interpreting the lead guitar slot once held by Jerry Garcia, Mayer explores the magic and distinction of Garcia’s playing and the profound and lasting impact of his music on the world.
“I’ve always said that musicians play like they are, and in the case of Garcia, his performances serve as a detailed map of a man, his intentions, his desires, and his impressions of the world around him,“ Mayer writes. “And going by that map, Garcia was a lovely, mighty soul. I never met him and will never understand the loss of those who did, but the vast archive of his music amounts to the makings of a starry night sky that turns listeners into explorers.”
John Mayer
The introduction, by journalist, musician, radio host and Grateful Dead historian David Gans, dives deep into the character and charisma of the mythical non-frontman, frontman – and Blakesberg’s innate ability to capture Garcia’s magic on film. In the book’s 208 pages, Blakesberg shares 139 photographs of Garcia spanning nearly 20 years––September 2nd, 1978 (at Giants Stadium) through the April 1995 making of the “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” music video. With an essay by Garcia’s daughter Trixie and quotes from the likes of Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, David Crosby, Jim James, Carlos Santana, Trey Anastasio, Robert Hunter, Jackie Greene, Jorma Kaukonen, Country Joe McDonald, David Grisman, the “core four” members of the Grateful Dead––Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart– and more, Blakesberg leads us on a visual journey of Garcia’s life, both on and off the stage.
In the afterword, Widespread Panic founding member, author, and producer Dave Schools muses on the man, myth and legend portrayed in the pages of the photographic biography. Schools thoughtfully reflects on Garcia’s ability to “display his own frailty in the service of the song,” and to connect with the audience as participants in the performance.
“These are just some of the attributes of a human being who led without leading, who conveyed his own truth better through his music than he was able to do through the spoken word…and who lived the majority of his life onstage being part of a performance troupe that went far beyond the sum of its parts,” he writes. “And luckily for those of us who want and need to remember such experiences we have a vast recorded archive of music, millions of words both scholarly and lay, and in our hands now these magnificently telling photographs by Jay Blakesberg so that we can always queue up the memories of our shared experiences with a rare human being known as Jerry Garcia and his equally rare cohorts.”
Dave Schools
The release of JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams comes on the heels of Blakesberg’s recent photography books FARE THEE WELL: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead (December 1, 2015) and Eyes of the World – Grateful Dead Photography 1965-1995, (October 23, 2017). FARE THEE WELL is a vibrant visual record of the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary “Fare Thee Well” concerts, gathering iconic images from all five performances, plus two rehearsal days, as well as band portraits, a few archival images, written tributes and setlists from the historic shows. Eyes of the World celebrates The Grateful Dead with photographs spanning their entire career from the likes of Jim Marshall, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Greene, Peter Simon (60 different photographers) and Blakesberg, who has the most photos in the book from any single photographer.
Signed copies of JERRY GARCIA: Secret Space of Dreams are available now for pre-order. Pre-orders will begin shipping September 23.
Music is Medicine Festival, a one day music festival helping raise awareness for Pancreatitis, will be held on Saturday, September 14 at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs. Headlined by Bret Bollinger (of Pepper), the event is co-headlined by funkmasters Hartley’s Encore from Albany who will kick off the event.
The genesis of the festival comes from founder Jetta Intelisano’s wife Kate, who has been battling this disease and nearly lost her life three times in the past year. Countless trips to NYC to see a specialist to have dangerous, and life-threatening procedures performed to save her life. Out of this tragic situation, Jetta has endeavored to raise awareness of this disease through our common love of music. Join Music is Medicine in this celebration as the community embarks to find better treatment and ultimately, a cure.
Additional music performances at Music Is Medicine Festival include Resinated (St. Petersburg, FL), Audic Empire (Austin, TX), Joint Operation (Baltimore, MD), The Brothers Grim (Rome, NY), and The Lateshift (Albany, NY). For more information, visit the event page.
A great movie can act as a time capsule, documenting a specific era in time to relive, revisit and enjoy in the days to come, and that’s essentially what Turkuaz did in late 2018 while filming a live performance, which was promised to be released as a film at a later date.
“None’s A Ton is our first time truly capturing the Turkuaz show experience in a live concert film,” shares Turkuaz frontman, Dave Brandwein, who also co-directed and is credited as an Executive Producer on the film. “It’s something we’ve dreamed of doing for a long time and finally, it has arrived. This film is sort of a ‘best of’ of our favorite moments that have developed on stage over the last five years of non-stop, coast-to-coast touring.”
On Tuesday, September 10th and for one night only, Turkuaz will screen their feature film debut, None’s A Ton, in their hometown of Brooklyn, NY at Prospect Park’s Nitehawk Cinema.
“We feel it’s the next best thing to being at a Turkuaz show (and maybe, it’s even better if you have your feet up with a bowl of popcorn!),” adds Brandwein. “We want you to feel the raw energy, the sweat and the excitement, but from the comfort of your own home, smartphone, or however, you choose to enjoy it.”
For this very special film debut, fans are invited to join members of Turkuaz and the film’s co-director and Executive Producer, Dani Brandwein, for the screening premiere of None’s A Ton over dinner at the lovely Nitehawk Cinema located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Directly after the film premiere, fans have the opportunity to participate in a Q & A session with band members and the film’s directors.
For an elevated experience and a chance to score some exclusive merch, fans can upgrade to VIP for a meet & greet opportunity, photo with the band and a signed movie poster, in addition to the above offerings. VIP ticket holders must also purchase a GA ticket.
GA tickets and VIP upgrades for the None’s A Ton premiere are .
Turkuaz Fall Tour Dates
9/10 – Brooklyn, NY – Nitehawk Cinema Park Slope !
9/20 & 9/21 – Perris, CA – Same Same But Different Festival
9/20 – 9/22 – Felton, CA – Mountain Sol Fest
9/29 & 9/30 – Tokyo, Japan – Blue Note Tokyo
10/4 – 10/6 – Kings Beach, Australia – Caloundra Music Festival
10/11 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West *
10/12 – Mills River, NC – Sierra Nevada Concert Series
10/13 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater ^
10/19 – Washington, DC – Night At the Point
10/20 – Corolla, NC – Mustang Rock & Roast
10/31 – Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground * 11/1 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom * 11/2 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Place
12/5 – Fairfield, CT – Warehouse ~
12/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of The Living Arts ~
12/7 – Salem, VA – Salem Civic Center %
12/12 – Kalamazoo, MI – Bells Brewery #
12/13 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue Theater #
12/14 – Nashville, TN – Exit / In #
12/31 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater$
1/7 – 1/12 – Miami, FL – Jam Cruise
* w/ Wild Adriatic
^ w/ Andy Frasco
~ w/ Great Time
! notes None’s A Ton Film Premiere
% w/ The Isley Brothers
# w/ Paris Monster
Live From Here hosted by Chris Thile will return this month with the fourth season of the weekly variety show from their new home at New York City’s Town Hall. Thile and producers American Public Media announced in May that the show’s creative and production teams would move from St. Paul, MN to NYC.
“Next season, our public radio listeners and live-stream viewers will get the best and broadest selection of music and musicians we can possibly present,” Thile said via press release, “and they can also expect an expanded range of spoken word content, including poetry, literature, comedy and storytelling.”
Live From Here‘s fourth season kicks off Sept. 7, with additional performances on Sept. 14 and 28, Oct. 12 and 26, Nov. 2, 16 and 23; and Dec. 7 and 14.
Guests for the season premiere include Ezra Koenig, frontman for Vampire Weekend, Natalia Lafourcade, Sarah Jarosz, Jake Gyllenhaal, Matt Braunger, and Holly Laurentand. The season continues with The Lumineers, Raphael Saadiq, Aparna Nancherla, Maria Popova, and Rachael Price on Sept. 14, then Jamila Woods, John Cameron Mitchell, Ann Patchett, and Tom Papa Sept. 28.
Oct. 12 brings Trey Anastasio plus The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, Sarah Jarosz, and Tom Papa, and Oct. 26 features Lake Street Dive frontwoman Rachael Price. Guests on Nov. 2 include Gregory Alan Isakov and Aoife O’Donovan. More artists and guests will be announced soon.
Tickets for the fall season are already on sale. To sign up for the Live from Here newsletter and for more information, visit LiveFromHere.org.
Lake George native and indie-rock singer/songwriter Frank Palangi has released a new video for his fans. “Set Me Free” is the title track off his self produced and mixed EP. The video was directed and edited by Cameron Gallagher.
After having the opportunity to work with Brian Craddock of Daughtry on his first single “Break These Chains,” Palangi returns to serve up edgier deep and gritty vocals while maintaining a positive, passionate attitude. “Set Me Free” showcases an artist’s struggle to break free from the control of a bad deal.
The video release comes in the midst of Frank
Palangi’s regional tour. Palangi plays King Neptune’s Pub in Lake George on
Sept. 7. See the full list of tour dates below.
Tour Dates:
Sept. 7 – King Neptune’s Pub – Lake George, NY
Sept. 14- Our Place Bar & Grill – Mechanicville,
NY
Sept. 21 – Abrews Tap & Grill – Dracut, MA
Oct. 19 – The Towne Tavern – Averill Park, NY
Nov. 2 – Fort Orange Brewing – Albany, NY
Nov. 8 – Bourbon Street Bar & Grill – Schenectady,
NY
The Disco Biscuits are back. The Philly-based trance-fusion band has announced an extensive 23-date winter tour with several multi-day runs, including SI Hall at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on November 22 and 23, 2019.
The tour kicks off with two dates in McKees Rocks, PA at the Roxian Theatre on Nov. 14 and 15. The tour also includes the previously announced four-day run at the Playstation Theater for New Year’s Eve. The run marks the band’s 40th and final time performing there as the venue announced it will be closing at the end of December.
Photo: Stephen Olker, NYS Music
Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, Sept. 6 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Ticketing information can be found on the band’s website here. See the full list of dates below.
The band issued a statement regarding the tour and timeline for their upcoming album:
“We’ve been teasing this for some time now, it feels so good to finally be able to share it with you. We are back…and back in a big way. New tours. New music. New Jams. 2019 and 2020 are going to be our best years yet and all of you are at the heart of it. Expect to see us a lot, expect the unexpected.
The first thing we’ve got for you is our winter tour starting in just a few weeks. We’re coming back to a few places we haven’t been to in a while, and others that we’ve seen a lot through the years. All will be sweat dripping off the ceiling, Bisco fire fueled nights.
The second is a new album…we’re already burning the midnight oil on this, and can’t wait for you to hear it. We plan on teasing some of these soon, and dropping them individually in early 2020, then a full album next summer. ‘Til then, we’ll be seeing you all quite a bit and spending every waking hour making sure this is the best of the Biscuits for all of us.”
Disco Biscuits Winter 2019-2020 Tour Dates: Oct. 5 – Breckenridge Brewery Hootenanny – Littleton, CO Nov. 14 – Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks, PA Nov. 15 – Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks, PA Nov. 16 – The National – Richmond, VA Nov. 17 – The National – Richmond, VA Nov. 20 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT Nov. 21 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT Nov. 22 – SI Hall – Syracuse, NY Nov. 23 – SI Hall – Syracuse, NY Dec. 11 – House of Blues – Orlando, FL Dec. 12 – Jannus Landing – St. Petersburg, FL Dec. 13 – Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL Dec. 14 – Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL Dec. 27 – PlayStation Theater – New York City Dec. 28 – PlayStation Theater – New York City Dec. 30 – PlayStation Theater – New York City Dec. 31 – PlayStation Theater – New York City Jan. 2 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL Jan. 3 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL Jan. 4 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL Jan. 15 – The Ritz – Raleigh, NC Jan. 16 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC Jan. 17 – The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD Jan. 18 – The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD
Every third Thursday of the month, starting September 19, Buffalo is going to be getting funky at MFDF Funk Nights at Nietzche’s, presented by NYS Music.
Guitarist Matt Fantini of Space Junk and keyboardist Donny Frauenhofer of Intrepid Travelers, DF3, & THE TRUTH will be your hosts, bringing in a rotating cast of local, regional, and national artists each month for a night of improvised heavy funk. This month will feature John Fohl from Intrepid Travelers/Big Martha on drums, James Benders from grüvology/DF3 on bass, and Ellen Pieroni from Folkfaces/THE TRUTH on saxophone.
Admission is $5 at the door, and the events are 21and over unless accompanied by a guardian. Upcoming dates for MFDF Funk Night are Sept. 19, Oct. 17, Nov. 21 and Dec. 19.
