NYS Music 20​19

Category: Finger Lakes

  • Hearing Aide: Treasure Plate ‘Engine Core Phenomenal’

    Galactic space travelers Treasure Plate have traversed time and space to send a message in the form of a rock opera of epic proportions. The self-professed blue collar cybernetic spacemen from somewhere in the 4000th millennium forewarn of a future filled with the dangers of space travel, encounters with hostile alien life, and harrowing narrow escapes on their album Engine Core Phenomenal.

    The audio recording conveys the cosmic story, alternating between songs and narrative segments that push the story line forward. The band is comprised of a mix of sci-fi fans and a theater major, and the full effect of the story is best felt during their performances in full costume with special effects.

    Whether it’s live or recorded, the story of space travelers under siege is a great escape from our run-of-the-mill modern day problems. But then again, some things never change, like the yearning to explore the outside world in order to discover ourselves. As they sing in the final verse of the album, “It’s who you are, it’s how we grow / It’s now where we’re gonna go.”

    Treasure Plate is Brian McCormick on guitar, Ryan Kinal on bass, Luke Cornwell on keyboards, and Joshua Lownberger on drums. They brought a host of friends into the studio for backup on several tracks. Engine Core Phenomenal was recorded and mastered by Jesse Sprinkle at Bluebrick Studios.

    Key Tracks: The Wrong Way, End of the World, Stargazers

  • Hearing Aide: The Stedwells ‘Hideout’

    With their 2018 EP, Rochester rockers The Stedwells announced they were coming of age with the title I’m Too Tall For My Time Machine These Days. It begged the question, what happens now that they’re all grown up? What comes next for the trio after “Body Shots” and “Pipe Dreams”? The answer came this fall in the form of their new EP Hideout.

    When you’re too tall for your time machine, you’re finally mature enough to play in the big leagues. This time they’ve gone with not just one, but two Grammy-winning engineers – Stephen Roessner (Recording Engineer) and Dave Collins (Mastering Engineer). They also had assistance from award-winning Mixer Joseph Chudyk.

    Even without the glossy sheen applied by the dream team of audio engineers, brothers Ryan and Brendan Warren and their friend Alex Durr work together like a well-oiled machine. The new songs play to their strengths. Anchored by a rocking beat, they dig into high energy riffs reminiscent of The Black Keys, The Strokes, and even Arctic Monkeys (minus the cheeky lyrics). Over the top of the instrumentation, lead vocalist Ryan serves lyrics with catchy pop hooks that will have you singing along in no time.

    Key Tracks: Wake Up, Wrong, Hideout

  • First Headliners Announced for 2020 Rochester International Jazz Festival

    Festival organizers have released the names of the first three headliners for the 2020 Rochester International Jazz Festival. They are Nile Rodgers & Chic; A Celebration of 50 Years, Garth Fagan Dance with Monty Alexander Sextet; and Spyro Gyra. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. at RochesterJazz.com . Three and nine-day Club Passes are also on sale now.

    The 020 Rochester International Jazz Festival will be held June 19 to 27, 2020 in multiple indoor and outdoor venues in downtown Rochester. All headlining shows are held at 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.

    Nile Rodgers & Chic take the stage on Friday, June 26. Garth Fagan Dance will celebrate 50 years of dance at the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival performing with long-time friend, Monty Alexander and his Sextet, on Wednesday, June 24. And returning for the first time since 2003 is contemporary jazz icons Spyro Gyra.

  • Tough Old Bird to Finish out the Year with Two WNY Shows

    Tough Old Bird has spent the fall on tour promoting their latest album, The Old Great Lakes. They finish out 2019 with a couple shows close to home. You’ll find them at Nietzche’s in Buffalo on Friday, Dec. 6 and at Mission Hall in Rochester on Saturday, Dec. 14.

    The brotherly duo of Matthew and Nathan Corrigan has been performing under the name Tough Old Bird for the better part of the decade. Their latest release is a concept album that weaves together an array of musical influences and lyrical narratives around the central theme of area waterways.

    In an interview earlier this year, Nathan told NYS Music, “I think we’ve had a tendency in the past to think of ourselves as a folk band, and with this album I think it was more important to be open to anything, and not worry about what genre it was or whether it sounded like some abstract idea of how we were supposed to sound.”

  • Tommy Stinson Lines Up NY Mini-Tour for December

    Tommy Stinson is currently on a run of solo shows throughout Spain, leading up to a Montreal appearance at a 40th-anniversary celebration of The Clash’s seminal London Calling album called Montreal Calling on Dec. 6. Following that show, which also features Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Malin, and the Asexuals, Stinson will embark on a brief tour of unique venues across New York.

    Stinson, perhaps best known as the snotty young bassist for the should-have-been-more-famous ne’er-do-wells known as The Replacements and as Duff McKagan’s replacement in Guns N’ Roses for 16 years, is currently working on several other projects, including a new solo album, the follow-up to his band Bash & Pop‘s 2017 album Anything Could Happen and an album with his other project Cowboys in the Campfire.

    While returning to his home in Hudson, he will run through a series of “living room” shows across New York, beginning in somebody’s actual living room in Hamburg, just outside of Buffalo on Dec. 10. Stinson then winds his way east, visiting the famous Bop Shop Records in Rochester on Dec. 11 and Wildflowers Armory, a unique art space in Armory Square in Syracuse on Dec. 12, and finishing up at Barry Family Cellars in the Finger Lakes town of Burdett. on Dec. 13. Tickets for all but the Hamburg show are available through Eventbrite and range from $25 for a general admission ticket to $100 for a limited “Drinks With Tommy” ticket.

    NYS Music recently sat down with Stinson to discuss this tour and many other subjects of his past, present, and future. That interview will be published in the next week. For more information on Stinson and his various projects, visit his website here.

  • Pink Talking Fish Announces Nationwide Winter Tour

    Hybrid Tribute Fusion Act; Pink Talking Fish, has announced a new tour that will span a total of two months and take them from coast-to-coast. The Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, tribute band is currently touring throughout the country, with these new dates giving an opportunity to those who haven’t gotten a chance to enjoy a live show.

    After a two-week break from their last performance of 2019, the tour resumes at Pickle Barrel Nightclub in Killington, VT, and will see them perform throughout the West-coast, the South-west, and the Mid-west, with the tour ending on the East coast.

    Pink Talking Fish’s entire slate of tour dates for the remainder of 2019 and 2020’s winter tour can be found below and tickets can be purchased here.

    Remaining Pink Talking Fish 2019 Tour Dates: 

    Nov.13 – The Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC

    Nov.14 – Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC

    Nov.15 – The Orpheum – Tampa, FL

    Nov.16 – Revolution Live – Fort Lauderdale, FL

    Nov. 21 – Winstons – Ocean Beach, CA

    Nov. 22 – Winstons – Ocean Beach, CA

    Nov. 30 – The Strand Ballroom – Providence RI – Phish Afterparty

    Dec. 4 – The Rex Theater – Pittsburgh, PA – Phish Afterparty

    Dec. 5 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH

    Dec. 6 – Otis Supply – Detroit, MI

    Dec. 7 – The Ludlow Garage – Cincinnati, OH

    Dec. 13 – The Caribou Room – Nederland, CO

    Dec. 14 – Summit Music Hall – Denver, CO – PTF Are Beastie Boys w/s/g DJ Logic

    Dec. 27 – Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg, PA

    Dec. 28 – The Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY – Dark Side Of The Moon Phish Afterparty

    Dec. 29 – The Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY – PTF Are Beastie Boys Phish Afterparty w/s/g DJ Logic

    Dec. 31 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston MA

    PTF 2020 Tour Dates: 

    Jan. 16 – Pickle Barrel Nightclub – Killington, VT

    Jan. 17 – Nectars – Burlington, VT

    Jan. 18 – Nectars – Burlington, VT

    Jan. 30 – Terrapin Crossroads – San Rafael, CA

    Jan. 31 – Crystal Bay Casino – Crystal Bay, NV

    Feb. 1 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA

    Feb. 4 – Crazy Horse Saloon – Nevada City, CA

    Feb. 5 – Humbolt Brews – Arcata, CA

    Feb. 6 – Volcanic Theatre – Bend, OR

    Feb. 7 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR

    Feb. 8 – Nectar Lounge – Seattle, WA

    Feb. 9 – Wild Buff House Of Music – Bellingham, WA

    Feb. 12 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT

    Feb. 14 – Last Concert Café – Houston, TX

    Feb.15 – ACL Live – Austin, TX

    Feb.16 – Deep Ellum Art Co – Dallas, TX

    March 5 – The Vogue Theatre – Indianapolis, IN

    March 6 – Park West – Chicago, IL

    March 7 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH

    March 13 – Flying Monkey – Plymouth, NH

    March 14 – Putnam Place – Saratoga Springs, NY

    March 15 – Infinity Music Hall – Norfolk, CT

  • Futurebirds Take Flight At Three Heads Brewing for Rochester Residency

    In the case of the Futurebirds, it’s a whoa-eliciting moment. Two electric guitars, one acoustic, pedal steel, bass and drums round out this band from Athens, Georgia. They’re so tight, and the sounds intermingle so well. As a listener you don’t pay much attention to who’s playing what, but the full blended sound becomes king.

    In their 10th year, and touring in advance of a new album, the sextet found their way to Rochester for the first time, to participate in Three Heads Brewing‘s Rochester Residency. This month’s resident, bassist Kyle Vock, is putting his own spin on things by booking some of his favorite national acts to play in addition to getting in on the action with his own bands.

    Futurebirds mix country twang, soulful grooves, shoe-gaze swirls and a twinge of psychedelia with a centring Southern-rock pulse. It was all on full display during their 70-minute set that spanned their catalog, including some new tunes from their forthcoming LP.

    “Virginia Slims” off of 2013’s Baba Yaga got things going nicely. They showcased incredible two, and three-part harmonies throughout. Quality vocals certainly came in handy for a mid-set cover, Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry,” which they wonderfully smashed into an pulpy alt-country ballad. The set ramped up to close, with “Rodeo” off 2015’s Hotel Parties preceding a powerful “Ski Chalet” in the “we’re not playing an encore” slot. Some Neil Young-esque guitar shredding foreshadowed a surprise “Powderfinger” cover they managed to squeeze into the “Ski Chalet” closer to send the crowd off into the night with a proper rocking.

    Kyle Vock’s band, The Mighty High and Dry, opened the evening with a short taster set. Alan Murphy on guitar and lead vocals, Alex Cote on drums, and Eric Katerle on lead guitar joined Vock. The band can balloon to nine members or shrink down to a duo, but played at their baseline quartet. Opening with “Day and Night” they showcased their blues-based, soul rock across four of their original tunes, but kept them close to the vest. This is a band that can keep it rocking for three hours strong, stretching out with some fun rock tunes. So don’t miss them next time they play.

    Futurebirds
    Mighty High & Dry
    Futurebirds
    Futurebirds
    Mighty High & Dry
    Futurebirds

  • The Wood Brothers announce new album, drop single “Alabaster”

    Grammy-nominated band, The Wood Brothers, have a new full-length on the way. Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers is putting out the studio album, Kingdom In My Mind, on January 24, 2020. They’ve just debuted the first song, “Alabaster.”

    Kingdom In My Mind is a follow-up to 2018’s One Drop of Truth, which hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and garnered the band their first GRAMMY Award-nomination for “Best Americana Album.” The material for the forthcoming album started as they were breaking in their new Nashville studio, as they were tracking instrumental jam sessions to get a feel for the facility.

    “If we had known we were making a record, we probably would have been too self-conscious to play what we played,” reflects Chris. “At the time, we just thought we were jamming to break in our new studio, so we felt free to explore all these different ways of playing together without worrying about form or structure. It was liberating.” Preorders the album here.

    The Wood Brothers are currently finishing out an extensive US tour. They’ll be in NYC on January 30 and 31, Rochester on February 5, and Albany on February 8. Some of the proceeds from ticket sales go to support Thistle Farms, a Nashville-based non-profit organization which helps women to rebuild their lives.

    The Wood Brothers Tour Dates

    11/15 – Madison, WI – Barrymore Theatre ^ (Sold Out)
    11/16 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue ^ (Sold Out)
    11/18 – Old Saybrook, CT – Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
    12/3 – Baton Rouge, LA – Manship Theatre ^^ (Sold Out)
    12/4 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater ^^
    12/5 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre ^^
    12/6 – Dallas, TX – The Kessler Theater ^^ (Sold Out)
    12/7 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^^
    12/9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown ^^
    12/11 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen ^^ (Sold Out)
    12/12 – Steamboat Springs, CO – Strings Music Festival
    12/13 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater ^^
    12/14 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater ^^
    12/15 – Breckenridge, CO – Riverwalk Center ^^
    1/29 – Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
    1/30 – New York, NY – Webster Hall 
    1/31 – New York, NY – Webster Hall 
    2/1 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
    2/3 – Toronto, Canada – Mod Club Theatre
    2/5 – Rochester, NY – Kodak Center
    2/6 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
    2/7 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
    2/8 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre
    2/9 – State College, PA – The State Theatre
    2/11 – McKees Rocks, PA – Roxian Theatre
    2/12 – Richmond, VA – The National
    2/13 – Chattanooga, TN – Walker Theatre
    2/14 – Nashville, TN – The Ryman
    2/27 – 3/1 – Punta Cana, DR – Avett Brothers at the Beach (Sold Out)
    3/4 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom
    3/5 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent
    3/6 – Santa Barbara, CA – Campbell Hall
    3/7 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
    3/8 – Eureka, CA – Arkley Center for the Performing Arts
    3/10 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theater
    3/11 – Kirkland, WA – Kirkland Performance Center
    3/12 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
    3/13 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial
    4/2 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
    4/3 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
    4/4 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
    4/5 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre
    4/7 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
    4/8 – Columbus, OH – Southern Theatre
    4/9 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
    4/10 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
    4/11 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel

    ^ w/ Nicole Atkins
    ^^ w/ Katie Pruitt

  • Hearing Aide: Mud Head ‘Black Blood, Black Tongue’

    We live in a world of singles and streaming, and it’s amazing to see bands boast over a series of releases they’ve contributed in a year’s time. For Rochester rock duo Mud Head, the work doesn’t stop after album one. Formalizing their group in January of this year, this industrial alternative outfit has delivered a self-titled album, exclusive single and follow-up EP, all by the end of September, growing their following with every release, rocking 2019 for sure. The group’s latest EP Black Blood, Black Tongue is by no means a wrench in this roaring machine.

    This EP is loaded with ruminating lyrical confessions to echo over wet drum slaps and rattling chimes, rising and falling in a progressive rock nebulous. The opening track “Sunshine Boy” has a Floyd-like overture, mimicking clocks with cymbal strikes as a brooding energy builds to the opening down beat.

    Considering their lack of bandmates, this duo makes a loud bang when they emphasize their most vulnerable moments. The lyrics are relatable and expressive, without pushing towards a particular source. They know the capacities of studio recording and how to alter them, suiting the EP in an industrial armor.

    Stripped clean is the final track of the EP “Hiding Beneath Ladders,” where we see the softest side of Mud Head. The meter is deceptively mixed, and the somber chord progressions lead us into an uneasy waltz. Bands with this versatility only come around once in a while, and performing their discography live would not only bring their music to new heights, but welcome them to develop their image, message and in due time, a massive following.

    Key Tracks: Sunshine Boy, Hiding Beneath Ladders.

  • Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band announces Blues Revolution Tour featuring special guests

    The Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour will bring together three artists who are both master musicians and amazing showmen. With five stops across New York in November, The Reverend Peyton, Dom Flemons and J.D. Wilkes will take the blues-roots-folk music that they love and live on a unique tour. Each night will culminate with a special jam session featuring all three artists. 

    Blues Revolution Tour

    The tour begins November 6 in Asheville, N.C., then heads north for a date in Brooklyn at Knitting Factory on November 13. From there, shows in Saratoga Springs (Nov 16), Syracuse (Nov. 19), Buffalo (Nov. 20) and Corning (Nov. 21) will bring blues-driven folk across the Empire State.

    The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, a 2019 Blues Music Award nominee, includes the Reverend’s wife, “Washboard” Breezy Peyton, drummer Max Senteney and is led by the Reverend Peyton, considered to be the premier fingerpickers playing today. A singularly compelling performer and persuasive evangelist, the rootsy, country-blues styles that captured his imagination early in life led him to Clarksdale, Mississippi to study under such blues masters as T-Model Ford, Robert Belfour, and David “Honeyboy” Edwards. The recently released album Poor Until Payday debuted at #1 on the iTunes Blues Chart and #4 on the Billboard Blues Chart.

    Joining Reverend Peyton is Don Flemons, who draws from a repertoire of more than 100 years of American folklore, ballads, and tunes. A Grammy Award winner and two-time Emmy nominee, Dom Flemons is known as “The American Songster” and is a music scholar, historian, and multi-instrumentalist – an expert player on the banjo, fife, guitar, harmonica, jug, percussion, quills, and rhythm bones. His 2018 Smithsonian Folkways release Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Flemons co-founded the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2010 and were nominated for Best Folk Album in 2012.

    J.D. Wilkes is a true Renaissance man — musician, visual artist, author, filmmaker, and self-proclaimed “Southern surrealist.”  Also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist (notably on harmonica and banjo), Wilkes has recorded with Merle Haggard, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton, and Hank Williams III. Wilkes is perhaps best known as the founder of the Legendary Shack Shakers, a Southern Gothic rock and blues band whose fans include Stephen King, Robert Plant, and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. Rolling Stone named Wilkes “best frontman” at the 2015 Americana Music Association Festival for his performance with the band.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wItG_D3Vuvc

    Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour Dates:

    Wed., Nov. 6  ASHEVILLE, NC  The Grey Eagle

    Thurs., Nov. 7 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. The Ramkat

    Fri., Nov. 8  RALEIGH, NC The Pour House Music Hall

    Sat., Nov. 9   LEESBURG, VA  Third Annual Chad Dukes Veterans Day Jamboree @ Tally Ho Theater; without Dom Flemons

    Sun., Nov. 10  ANNAPOLIS, MD  Rams Head On Stage

    Tues., Nov. 12 BOSTON, MA  City Winery  

    Wed., Nov. 13  BROOKLYN, NY  Knitting Factory

    Thurs., Nov. 14  SELLERSVILLE, PA   Sellersville Theater 1894; without Dom Flemons

    Fri., Nov. 15  TUCKERTON, NJ   Lizzie Rose Music Room; without Dom Flemons

    Sat., Nov. 16  SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY   Cafe Lena; without Dom Flemons

    Sun., Nov. 17  HAMDEN, CT Space Ballroom

    Tues., Nov. 19  SYRACUSE, NY   Westcott Theatre; without Dom Flemons

    Wed., Nov. 20  BUFFALO, NY The Tralf

    Thurs., Nov. 21  CORNING, NY Corning Museum of Glass

    Fri., Nov. 22  MORGANTOWN, WV 123 Pleasant Street

    Sat., Nov. 23  COLUMBUS, OH Woodlands Tavern

    Fri., Nov 29  INDIANAPOLIS, IN  The Vogue; without Dom Flemons

    Sat., Nov 30  NEWPORT, KY  The Southgate House Revival; without Dom Flemons