This May marks a centennial – 100 years since the birth of Pete Seeger. Although the world lost this preeminent folk singer and activist five years ago, his work lives on. The Egg will host a Pete Seeger Centennial concert on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. Earlier in the month, the Egg will sponsor a “New York Living Legacy” series featuring multimedia performances celebrating the life and works of Seeger.
The Pete Seeger Centennial concert will be an evening of music, dance and poetry. Arlo Guthrie, one of Seeger’s closest friends, will be joined on stage by Amythyst Kiah, Cary Morin, Dan Zanes & Claudia Eliaza, Dar Williams, David Gonzalez, Guy Davis, Richie Stearns & Rosie Newton, Taina Asili, Tony Trischka, Toshi Reagon and Bill & Livia Vanaver. Tickets are on sale now through The Egg’s website, with net proceeds going to support Clearwater, Caffe Lena and WAMC Public Radio.
On May 3, 4, and 5, The Egg will present the program “Wasn’t That a Time.” The multimedia presentation features music writer Jesse Jarnow, author of the 2018 book Wasn’t That a Time: The Weavers, the Blacklist, and the Battle for the American Soul. This volume details the trials of the four singers, led by Pete Seeger. who rose to incredible popularity but whose socialist connections and anti-authoritarian ideologies got them professionally blacklisted at the height of their fame. Live music will be performed by banjoist Richie Stearns and folk fiddler Rosie Newton. Photos of Seeger will be incorporated into the program, as well as recorded music by Pete Seeger and the Weavers. These events are free and open to the public.
Frequently I am asked what genre of music JJ Grey & Mofro falls under. I always find myself fumbling for words but end up with something like “bluesy, jazzy, Florida Swamp funk.” I am usually met with a perplexed look, and I always add, “You have to go. You have to see for yourself and then you’ll understand.”
I have watched this band grow, develop, and change over the course of almost 20 years. As a Jacksonville native myself, it was never difficult to find what was then Mofro floating around town from one venue or another. They were a bit gritty and unrefined in the early days but still put on a fun show. I moved to Colorado in 2004 and would see them any time they came near or when I returned to Florida. Their shows remind me of my roots and what I refer to as “the real South” — the South that most people do not know or understand. Their music would make me homesick and long for the days of Old Florida.
Now that I am back in Florida, I still find myself traveling for their shows and encouraging any true music lover to do the same. Although Florida has changed, the group still reminds me of the Florida I grew up with – the food, the swamps, real people, and the deep soul. The current configuration of JJ Grey & Mofro is my personal favorite. Each musician is topnotch alone but when combined, the depth of their music knows no bounds. The fluid combination of these seven men is nothing short of incredible.
JJ Grey & Mofro getting “Janky” at the Upstate Concert Hall 10/19/17. Photo by Eli Stein
I was fortunate enough to catch the final two shows of a rather long tour that ended in Boulder (Boulder Theater) and Fort Collins (Washington), respectively. Knowing JJ was sick as he entered these shows and had been forced to cancel the Frisco show the previous night, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Musically, Colorado is a finicky area that has high expectations when bands roll into town, but I was cautiously optimistic as I watched them take the stage. They opened with “99 Shades” to “Sweetest Thing” and into “Somebody Else.” I scanned the crowd and saw a few mouths dropped as JJ belted out notes as only he can do. As the show progressed, the crowd was enamored with what they were watching as they sang and danced along. Always a personal highlight for me is the drum solo (Craig Barnette) for “Ho Cake”; it does not matter how many times I hear that song, it is always a little different and always fantastic. (If you don’t know what a Ho Cake is, check it out and make it! You can thank me later.) The show wound down with a little help from a few of The Commonheart members. Nate Insko (trumpet), Abby Gross (saxophone), and Lucas Bowman (keyboard) joined for an “Ol’ Glory” encore that did not disappoint.
Prior to the Fort Collins show, I was speaking with guitarist Mike Minda from The Commonheart, and he said to me, “We love touring with them. We learn so much musically, personally. We admire them.” There was a bit of a student-master appreciation that I could hear while listening to him speak. As the show began, the Mofro band came out swinging to “Junior” with Dennis Marion (trumpet), Todd Smallie (bass), Marcus Parsley (trumpet), Craig Barnette (drums), Eric Brigmond (keyboard), Pete Winders (guitar), and JJ (vocals and whatever other instrument he can get his hands on). I could see the steam from the tea to help JJ’s throat, but if you couldn’t see that or didn’t know he wasn’t feeling well, you certainly would not have picked it up in his voice or enthusiasm. Fort Collins fans were treated to a smoking “Gal Young’en,” “Orange Blossoms,” and “Lazy Fo Acre” to name a few. As “Ol Glory” began for the second encore, Eric brought an unwavering depth to a song filled with soul that resonates with any music lover. One by one, the members of The Commonheart joined JJ & Mofro on stage for a third and final encore with “On Fire.” Seventeen musicians joining forces and not skipping a beat is no small feat. I know of very few artists who would even attempt to tackle such a challenge.
Although I may always struggle to pinpoint a genre to appropriately describe what I would consider a music lover’s dream band, I can tell you: “If you haven’t been, go.” This is some of the best music out there right now. As they say, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” You won’t be disappointed. As I overheard leaving Fort Collins, “It’s like being taken to church … you walk out better than you came in.”
The Northeast is in for a special treat when they roll thru Port Chester, New York on March 1st with Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
For your own taste of this Florida Funk visit their website and check out all upcoming dates around the Northeast.
February 8, Boulder, CO
Setlist: 99 Shades, Sweetest Thing, Somebody Else, Every Minute, Jookhouse, Fire Flies, Junior, Gal Young’en, Seminole Wind, Lochloosa, Orange Blossoms, Slow Hot Sweaty, Ho Cake, Shining Down
Encore: Brighter Days, Ol’ Glory
February 9, Fort Collins, CO
Setlist: Junior, Everything is a song, Sweetest Thing, Circles, Every Minute, Florabama, This River, Gal Young’en, Seminole Wind, Lochloosa, Orange Blossoms, Lazy Fo Acre, Ho Cake, I Believe
Pink Talking Fish has teamed up with the Big Apple Circus to create a new concept called Junta Circus, celebrating Phish’s album Junta, and are bringing the circus to the Capitol Theatre on Saturday, February 23. Greg Ormont from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong has been recruited as ringmaster. The show will feature circus acts both on and off stage. Who better to lead the wacky circus than Scrambled Greg?
Pink Talking Fish celebrates the music of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish all on one stage. They have already played two concept shows at The Capitol Theatre, one for “The Wall” and another for “Stop Making Sense.” The energy, artistry, and improvisation are incredible at these shows, and, undoubtedly, they will pull out all the stops to provide a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle. Like other shows, this will be one long marathon set, so you better get ready.
The New Year’s Eve performance from Phish, featuring several suspended aerialists flying around the band, seems like it may have inspired this show even though it was announced before Phish’s New Year’s run. Junta features Phish classics like “You Enjoy Myself,” “Dinner and a Movie,” “Divided Sky,” “David Bowie,” “Fluffhead,” “Sanity,” “Contact,” “Icculus” and more. Some of those feature masterful composition with parts that are difficult to play, so the musicians of “Junta Circus” certainly have their work cut out for them.
Pink Talking Fish team up with Start Making Sense and the ladies of Turkuaz for one of their concept shows at the Capitol Theatre.
With The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical making its way to Schenectady, NY on Friday February 22 and Saturday the 23, James Hayden Rodriguez took time out of his busy schedule to talk about the performance. Rodriguez was very excited to be touring again as one of the four original cast members from when the show debuted in 2017 Off-Broadway. With a wonderful attitude and a humble down-to-earth personality, the conversation was fluid with a few laughs. To Rodriguez, acting in a show like this or any musical is second nature and something he always knew he was meant to do.
NYS Music was able to speak to James Hayden Rodriguez via phone on February 14 as he was just reaching his next stop of tour in D.C, before the cast and crew make their way to Proctors in Schenectady. Rodriguez plays Luke and Others in The Lightning Thief.
Headshot via jameshaydenrodriguez.com
Shannon Marie Palmo: In the musical you are said to play Luke and others. What are the other characters you play aside from just Luke?
James Hayden Rodriguez: My main two characters that I play are Luke and Ares, who is the god of War, who ends up being one of Percy’s biggest villain in the show.
SMP: I read that you guys used the book as your bible, how do you articulate the books on stage? How does that fuse with who you are as an actor, and the freedom that comes with being an actor?
JHR: With Luke specifically, I really have a lot of freedom to just use a lot of my own personal experience. We are all children of Greek Gods, but we are also still human and we have human qualities so we are able to use our personal experience to create these characters which is pretty cool. We have a lot of freedom.
SMP: What do you think are the disadvantages or advantages? What do you like/dislike about doing the tour verse being at one venue in NYC?
JHR: I don’t think there are disadvantages, I think it’s very exciting for us to be just doing the show again at all and the fact that we are able to bring it to all of our fans who were unable to see it in NYC because our fanbase is really massive and its spread and not just in the United States. We are even surprised by coming to these cities and selling out houses and the kids in the audience have read the books and seen the movies and know these characters. They are just really excited that we are bringing it to them. The great thing about the movie is that it has reached a lot of people, so we have a lot of people who are coming to see the show because they have seen the movie. We have the young book fans, but also the people who are new to theatre. They saw this really awesome film so they want to check out how we put this on the stage.
SMP: What is the balance between stage production between dialogue, there’s fighting scenes and it’s also a musical. So how would you say that balances out because some musicals are non-stop music with very little dialogue.
JHR: There’s definitely a lot of dialogue, and Percy is thrown into this world where he is learning this completely new universe to him. He is also dealing with the fact that his mother was just killed by this monster that he didn’t know existed. But when he gets to these really emotional parts in the story, it turns into these big rock numbers, which is really cool. I think we have a good balance from music to dialogue. There’s definitely a lot of scene work which helps us develop the characters and tell the story.
SMP: What is something that goes through your mind when you’re on stage performing whether it’s an actual performance or rehearsal?
JHR: I try to be as present in the story as I can and actively listening to everything on stage. I can’t concern myself too much with who’s in the audience because then it will throw you out of the world and the more you can focus on what is actually happening on the stage the better the performance will be. I don’t like to know if there’s press, or family, or casting directors in the audience.
SMP: With a show being about Greek Mythology, what’s it like being thrusted into such a world as Percy Jackson trying to portray that world on stage because like you said, you guys don’t have CGI as the movie did.
JHR: Yeah, it definitely allows us to be more creative with how we tell the story and that’s what has always been so exciting about theatre in the fist place, and why I got into theatre. You have to use your imagination to tell stories like this and we have been doing this with puppetry, which is cool this time around. We have a puppet team who has really elevated our storytelling. They are scary when revealed. People in the audience scream when they come out.
Rodriguez in The Lightning Thief. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
SMP: So, what’s it like playing an antagonist like Luke or a character like Luke. When I saw the movie, and who Luke really was, I was completely shocked – without giving too much away.
JHR: (Laughs) Ares is more of the antagonist of this story. I don’t like to think of Luke as the antagonist because he starts out in the show with really good intentions and he’s just really misunderstood. He’s just dealing with his own insecurities and resentment issues because of the relationship with his dad. He’s a teenager as well and coming of age and learning all these new things and starting to have to make choices for himself. And Luke ends up going down a darker path than the rest of the characters. He doesn’t start off this way so you really get to see his journey from being a really good kid to more of a bad kid. I don’t think Luke is an antagonist, I just think he’s trying to make his own path.
SMP: How do you keep up with the physical demands of the show?
JHR: All of us are pretty good at making sure we are going to the gym, doing physical warm ups and stretching so we are not hurting ourselves in the show because the fights are pretty intense.
SMP: Did you guys have to go through fighting boot camp to train?
JHR: Oh yeah, we have a really great fight choreographer who has helped us through our process, and I’m also the fight captain in the show. I take the fights a little more seriously, making sure everyone is safe and doing what they are supposed to do because our choreographer was only here for rehearsals, he doesn’t travel with us.
Save the date. On Friday, April 19, the Dirty Pennies celebrate the release of their new EP with a show at the Bug Jar in Rochester. Special guests include Buffalo’s Handsome Jack and indie rockers The Stedwells. Tickets are on sale Thursday, February 21.
The Dirty Pennies’ much-anticipated sophomore release will be out a couple weeks before the show, on April 2. Entitled ep, the collection will be available over all major music platforms (including Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Bandcamp).
The new work demonstrates The Dirty Pennies’ ability to create a cohesive sound from blues and surf rock influences. The Dirty Pennies turned to Josh Pettinger and Greg Thompson of Wicked Squid Studios to record and engineer their new songs. The pair took on the herculean task of harnessing the raw energy of this dynamic trio and translating it into a recording that remains true to the feel of the Dirty Pennies’ live shows.
Located at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Arrington, Virginia, Infinity Downs and Oak Ridge Farm will once again be the venue for LOCKN‘ in 2019, the four-day camping festival.
Created in 2013 and now an annual event, LOCKN’ is promised to be one of the summer’s most exciting experiences.
Starting on Aug. 22 and finishing up on Aug. 25, several unique headline collaborations are scheduled for the event, beginning with the Trey Anastasio Band featuring Derek Trucks on Aug. 23, Tedeschi Trucks Band featuring Trey Anastasio on Aug. 24, and concluding with Bob Weir & Wolf Bros featuring Susan Tedeschi on Aug. 25.
In addition to daytime performances, the festival has added a more intimate touch this year: a rare performance by Soulive as well as sets by Circles Around The Sun and Galactic in the intimate Garcia’s Forest setting. These performances will be taking place in the evening following early shows by Fruition, The Lil Smokies, and Town Mountain.
Peter Shapiro, co-founder of the festival, hinted at his excitement for the artists yet to be revealed. He said, “By announcing the full lineup now we wanted to give fans a good idea of what to expect, but there’s definitely a surprise or two still coming.”
LOCKN’ is offering a Three-Day Weekend Pass in addition to the traditional Four-Day Festival Pass. This option gives fans with tighter schedules the opportunity to enjoy all the bands performing at the festival for a lower price. Single-Day Passes are also available.
Tickets are available now through the LOCKN’ website.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 22
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
Gary Clark Jr.
Khruangbin
Chris Robinson Brotherhood,
Andy Frasco & The U.N.
Jerry Party
FRIDAY, AUGUST 23
Trey Anastasio Band Feat. Derek Trucks
The Revivalists
Old Crow Medicine Show
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Melvin Seals & JGB
Moonalice w/The Chambers Brothers
Greg Humphrey’s Electric Trio
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24
Tedeschi Trucks Band Feat. Trey Anastasio
Vulfpeck
Oteil & Friends feat. Bob Weir, Devon Allman, Duane Betts and more
Twiddle
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
The Allman Betts Band
Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles
Liz Cooper & The Stampede
SUNDAY, AUGUST 25
Bob Weir and Wolf Bros. Feat. Susan Tedeschi
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
moe.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Steel Pulse
Nahko and Medicine For The People
Soul Rebels Brass Band
Deva Mahal
Keller Williams’ Grateful Gospel
GARCIA’S FOREST: EARLY SHOWS
Fruition
The Lil Smokies
Town Mountain
GARCIA’S FOREST: LATE SHOWS
Circles Around The Sun
Galactic
Soulive
SVIP LOUNGE
Bob Weir & Wolf Bros.
David Shaw (The Revivalists)
Mihali (Twiddle)
Proctors is thrilled to announce that THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL, an “electrifying” (Newsday) musical adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel written by Rick Riordan, will play Schenectady, 8:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22; and 2:00 and 8:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23.
As a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson has newly discovered powers he can’t control, monsters on his trail, and is on a quest to find Zeus’ lightning bolt to prevent a war between the Greek gods. Based on the best-selling novel by Rick Riordan and featuring a thrilling original rock score, THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL is an action-packed theatrical adventure that has been celebrated by audiences and critics alike.
Tickets, which range from $20–$50, are available at the Box Office at Proctors, 432 State Street, Schenectady; by phone at 518.346.6204; and online at the Proctors website.
Hilltop, a 5-piece band from Albany that features a blend of rock with funk, jazz, blues and bluegrass mixed in, is set to release their self-titled debut album on Friday, February 8.
The band combines original music, diverse covers, and improvisation to create a unique listening experience. The band includes Aris Nieuwkerk (guitar, vocals), George Scherck (keyboards, vocals), David Klang (bass, guitar, vocals), Stephen Perry (drums, percussion, vocals), and Reid Perry (drums, percussion, vocals) who have collective influences of The Grateful Dead, Phish and Miles Davis. All these artists feature many different styles over the span of their careers, and this is what has shaped Hilltop’s sound and how to incorporate various styles into their songs – there is not just one sound or style that defines Hilltop.
Hilltop was tracked at recording studios at the two colleges band members attend – Schenectady County Community College and Mercy College in Westchester. Mixing was completed at Mercy College and the album was mastered on Long Island at MEI Studios, where David is an engineer. The songs on the album had already been performed live numerous times, with David noting, “This made it easy to get a natural feel for our songs in the studio, giving the listener an accurate representation of what the band sounds like live.”
This summer, Hilltop plans to hit the festival circuit in New York and the Northeast, and looks forward to building their following so they can spread out beyond the confines of the Northeast. The band knows this is a long journey and is dialed in for just that. “We know it often takes decades for a band to become seriously established outside of a small niche, and I think we’re all preparing ourselves to keep moving forward with Hilltop on a long term basis. We’ll see where it can take us if we can keep it going for a while!” said Klang.
The band’s single off Hilltop, “Driftwood” was released on January 18 and a multi-cam studio video of the single was recently released on YouTube.
Hilltop’s self-titled debut album drops on Friday, February 8 and will be available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp and Google Play.
To celebrate the release of Hilltop, a release party will be held on Saturday, February 9 at Parish Public House in Albany. Doors open at 8pm with Glass Pony opening the night at 9pm. Cover charge is $10.
Sixteen years after his Ethiopian, global pop blend “Bo’ee” jump started his career, Israeli artist Idan Raichel has released an album entitled And If You Will Come To Me. The collaboration represents Raichel’s newest phase in personal growth following a period of intimate performances either solo or in collaboration with a small ensemble.
Promising to be the most impactful project of his career, the album includes special guests from Japan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Cuba and India. The album also features songs with African guitarist Bombino, Grammy nominee Danay Suarez, Israeli stars Berry Sakharof and Zehava Ben, and a new studio track reunited with his roots, the Idan Raichel Project.
“Ve’Eem Tavo’ee Elay,” the title track, in Hebrew, on And If You Will Come To Me, rapidly became one of Raichel’s most successful songs in Israel. Over 20 million streams have been recorded on YouTube alone, and the singles from the album have nearly 40 million plays.
Over the years, Idan has become an ambassador representing a world of hope in which artistic collaboration breaks down barriers between people of different backgrounds and beliefs.
Raichel will be supporting his album release with four arena shows in Tel Aviv followed by a lengthy international tour.
TOUR DATES AND VENUES:
Feb. 18- Kesselhaus – Berlin, DE
March 1- Blue Note – Milan, IT
March 2- Centro Culturale Candiani – Venice, IT
March 3- Melkweg – Amsterdam, NL
March 4- MOODS – Zurich, CH
March 6 & 7- New Morning – Paris, FR
March 9 – Porgy & Bess – Vienna, AT
March 16 – City Winery – Washington DC March 17 – City Winery – New York, NY
March 19 – City Winery – Boston, MA
March 21 – City Winery – Atlanta, GA
March 23 – City Winery – Chicago, IL
March 24 – Merage JCC – Irvine, CA
And If You Will Come To Me is now available to purchase and stream on major digital platforms such as Itunes, Amazon, and Cumbancha.
Grammy Award winner, John Mayer, announced the dates for his upcoming North American tour Monday. The tour will begin once Mayer finishes his duties with Dead & Company this summer.
Each North American concert will auction off two pairs of front row tickets that will allow fans to experience a meet and greet prior to the start of the show. The proceeds from the tickets will go towards the Back To You fund: an organization that donates money to causes such as healthcare, education, and charities related to talent development.
Tickets to Mayer’s tour will be on sale through Ticketmaster beginning Feb. 1 at noon. Presale tickets are available Jan. 29 at 10 a.m.
Furthermore, American Express card holders may begin purchasing tickets on Jan. 29 through Jan. 31.
Tour Dates:
July 19 – Times Union Center – Albany, NY
July 29 – Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
July 22 – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
July 23 – Capital One Arena – Washington D.C. July 25 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY July 26 – Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
July 28 – PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
July 30 – Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
Aug. 2 – Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Aug. 3 – Schottenstein Center – Columbus, OH
Aug. 5 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN
Aug. 6 – Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, WI
Aug. 8 – Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
Aug. 9 – Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
Aug. 11 – State Farm Arena – Atlanta, GA
Aug. 12 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Aug. 14 – United Center – Chicago, IL
Aug. 31 – Snomass Mountain – Snowmass Village, CO
Sep. 2 – Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
Sep. 3 – Engterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
Sep. 5 – American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
Sep. 7 – AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
Sep. 8 – Toyota Center – Houston, TX
Sep. 10 – Talking Stick Resort Arena – Phoenix, AZ
Sep. 11 – Viejas Arena – San Diego, CA
Sep. 13 – The Forum – Inglewood, CA
Sep. 14 – The Forum – Inglewood, CA
Promising to be the most impactful project of his career, the album includes special guests from Japan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, 
Beginning on July 19 at the