After months of speculation, the Woodstock 50 lineup was revealed Tuesday. Included in the lineup were the rumored artists leaked two weeks ago.
Headliners for the Aug. 16-18 festival, being held at Watkins Glen International Speedway in the Finger Lakes region of New York include: Jay-Z, the Killers, Dead & Company, Imagine Dragons, Miley Cyrus and Chance the Rapper.
In a reflection of the current musical landscape, the lineup includes several pop and hip-hop performers: the aforementioned Jay-Z, Run the Jewels, Common, Halsey, Janelle Monáe, Cyrus, India.Arie, Princess Nokia, Chance the Rapper and Earl Sweatshirt.
There’s also a noticeable female presence this year with artists such as Soccer Mommy, Brandi Carlile, Bishop Briggs, Monáe, Cyrus Margo Price, Jade Bird, Emily King, Flora Cash and Cherry Glazerr.
The somewhat lacking legacy component of the lineup that producer Michael Lang had promised was also officially revealed in the Tuesday announcement. Several original Woodstock performers will be gracing the stages for the 50th. Santana, Canned Heat, John Fogerty, Country Joe McDonald, John Sebastian, Melanie, David Crosby and members of Dead & Company all performed at the original Woodstock at Bethel in 1969.
Tickets for the three-day event go on sale April 22. For more information, visit the official Woodstock website here.
Woodstock 50 Lineup:
Friday, Aug. 16:
The Killers Miley Cyrus Santana The Lumineers The Raconteurs Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats John Fogerty Run The Jewels The Head and The Heart Maggie Rogers Michael Franti & Spearhead Bishop Briggs Anderson East Akon Princess Nokia John Sebastian Melanie Grandson Fever 333 Dorothy Flora Cash Larkin Poe Brian Cadd Ninet Tayeb
Saturday, Aug. 17:
Dead & Company Chance The Rapper The Black Keys Sturgill Simpson Greta Van Fleet Protugal. The Man Leon Bridges Gary Clark Jr. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros David Crosby & Friends Dawes Margo Price Nahko & Medicine For The People India.Arie Jade Bird Country Joe McDonald Rival Sons Emily King Soccer Mommy Sir Taylor Bennett Amy Helm Courtney Hadwin Pearl John-Robert IAMDBB
Sunday, Aug. 18:
Jay-Z Imagine Dragons Halsey Cage The Elephant Brandi Carlile Janelle Monáe Young The Giant Courtney Barnett Common Vince Staples Judah & The Lion Earl Sweatshirt Boygenius Reignwolf The Zombies Canned Heat Hot Tuna Pussy Riot Cherry Glazerr Leven Kali The Marcus King Band Victory Hollis Brown John Craigie Amigo The Devil Liz Brasher
It was an unremarkable day on the calendar and a fairly unremarkable day outside, but inside the doors of Anthology in Rochester big things were happening. Buffalo’s Aqueous, who’ve called Rochester their second home since near their inception, were moving on from their frequent and beloved haunt Flour City Station. Like a hermit crab, they shed that shell and crawled the short distance down East Ave and nestled into the much larger Anthology. Remarkably, the band sold the venue out on their first visit.
Everything about the move was big, The crowd, the stage, the lights, the sound. The crab had long outgrown its shell and was just yearning for this expansion. In other words, Aqueous wasn’t overwhelmed by the shift. On the contrary, it allowed for a huge release long in the making. To celebrate the occasion, the band planned to even make the show bigger, by adding a third set. And not just any set, plopped right in the middle of two regular-sized Aqueous sets was a fully improvised second set.
It was a risky endeavor, but at worst a ho-hum jam set had the safety of being surrounded by two strong Aqueous sets. Ho-hum it wasn’t. The band found theme upon theme upon groove in five to ten minute segments pieced together seamlessly for a full 65 minutes. During that hour all in attendance were equals. No matter if this was someone’s first show or someone’s 100th, no one knew what was to come, band included.
The set had no lulls and little to no meandering. It was defined and refined jamming. It felt familiar, until it didn’t, until it did again, mixing and matching genres along the way. It was EDM, then, “Oh damn!” It got Dead-y, then deadly, Phishy then fizzy, went from metal to meta, Ska to “Gah!” PeAQ Aqueous. When the band revisits the recording of the set they could easily mine a few new songs from it.
The middle set was the highlight of the night, but of course there was plenty to love about sets one and three. “The Median” opener blasted the evening open with a soaring fiery jam. “Origami” got disco funky before a slow building theme peaked and exploded. “Good Enough” contained one of the more beautiful segments of the night, with a progression reminiscent of Jerry Garcia Band’s version of “Dear Prudence.” And “All In” and Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” were a fun big rock combo to close out the third set in the wee hours of the morning.
Anthology still has that new venue smell and is ripe for the taking. Friday night, Aqueous put a stake in the ground. All that’s left to do is raise the flag. Their new Rochester home is well underway to being claimed.
Setlist: I: The Median, Kitty Chaser (Explosions) > Undone – The Sweater Song (Weezer) > Kitty Chaser (Explosions), Origami > Good Enough > Complex I, Warren in the Window II: Improv III: 20/20 > Aldehyde, Underlyer > Marty, All In > Run Like Hell (Pink Floyd) > All In E: Jam > Triangle
Dead Horses, a duo from Wisconsin, and Honeysuckle, a trio from Boston, met somewhere in the middle Tuesday night – geographically in the middle via Rochester, NY to be exact – as a part of the latest show put on by Honest Folk. The show itself also met in the middle musically, landing squarely within folk traditions both new and old.
Honeysuckle opened the night. Guitar, mandolin, banjo and a kick drum blended into a joyful swirl of acoustic strings and beats. They played some new, as-yet-recorded songs to keep them “on their toes.” Though early in the set, “Catacombs,” off their 2017 release of the same name, kept the audience on their toes as well. An airy and floating psychedelic segment broke into a full-fledged mandolin-led jam before slinking back into the main song.
They weren’t afraid to break free from folk and bluegrass expectations, mixing the two and then splashing in some more modern elements from pop, rock and jazz. Most noticeably, Chris Bloniarz’s mandolin was being fed into a rather large bank of effects pedals. He used them subtly, allowing his playing to shine through and it never overwhelmed the acoustic three-piece sound.
On a new song, “Windstorm,” lead singer and guitarist Holly McGarry explained that it was written as a reaction to someone who once wrote a mean poem about her, saying she dressed like an old woman. She wore it like a badge of honor though; old women are great dressers! Appropriately enough, their music also had a timeless quality to it, but in a youthful and new body.
The band exhibited wonderful three-part harmonies throughout the set, but truly flexed their vocal chords with, as they deemed it mandatory, a cover of Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping.” They nailed it, silencing all doubters, if there were any remaining at that point in the set.
Dead Horses, comprised of Sarah Vos on guitar and Daniel Wolff on double bass, played a set of sparse, sometimes dark, folk songs with their Midwestern charm shining through. They met and matched their openers in vocal prowess with Vos carrying the bulk of the load. As lyrically excellent as their songs were, some of the most captivating vocals were ooh’s and mmm’s or the chills-inducing extended and repeated “sweeeet”s during the song “Brothers.” In “Turntable” Vos sang, “If my heart was a turntable, and my belly was the speaker and my soul the needle,” which just about sums up their songwriting as well as one could.
Wolff’s bass carried the heft of the instrumental melodies, plucking out the bottom, bowing higher registers and banging out rhythms off the body, at times all in the same song.
The band has been writing songs and releasing them as singles when they’re ready, not waiting for a full album to emerge. New tunes like “Birds Can Write the Chorus,” “A Mighty Storm,” and the “Family Tapes” show how the band is still developing their sound. On the latter, in a short span, the song moved through at least three distinct sections, stepping away from a more traditional structure.
Generally a taboo question for a band, Dead Horses were forthcoming about the origin of their band name. Named after a friend who died of a heroin overdose, they feel a need to be open about it since it is such a prevalent issue that needs even more exposure than it currently is receiving.
What better place to start NYS Music’s City Guides series, a monthly musical tour through New York State’s cities, than far West, on the shores of Lake Erie, in The Queen City of Buffalo. Home to the die-hard Buffalo Bills fans, surrounded by the sweet smell of Cheerios from the General Mills cereal plant, and comprised of stunning neoclassical architecture, this city is a little slice of snowy heaven packed full of action.
One of its longstanding claims to fame is the musical talent that seemingly is bred in Buffalo, NY. From activist singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, R&B singer and instrumentalist Brian McKnight, to drummer and co-founder of the alternative rock band Weezer, Patrick Wilson, and finally, to the masterminds behind everyone’s favorite karaoke jam, “Iris,” The Goo Goo Dolls, Buffalo has supplied music with some staple artists from a plethora of genres throughout the years. The music scene of the city now is as hot as ever and this article highlights all the can’t miss music action in Buffalo.
Theatres
Shea’s Performing Arts Center – Shea’s is not only one of the most treasured gems in Buffalo, but also a National Historic Site as the theatre was built in 1925. Extensive amounts of work and volunteering has been put into renovating and ensuring that this theatre is still up and running for Buffalo and beyond to enjoy. It now hosts a plethora of installments of Broadway shows, as well as huge musicians such as Mariah Carey and Bob Weir. This versatile venue is devoted towards sustaining a classic theatre that the youth can enjoy art in for years to come. Take a look at their upcoming schedule.
University at Buffalo Lippes Concert Hall – Every year, at the University at Buffalo’s state of the art facility, the Department of Music hosts over 150 public performances. Here anything from string quartets, to pianists, guitarists, jazz ensembles, and even computer music concerts can be experienced and heard. This is yet another somewhat hidden gem of Buffalo as locals can see the fresh faces of music that are learning and perfecting their craft in their hometown.
Arenas
Key Bank Arena – Not only is this massive entertainment home to the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, but it also houses some of the world’s biggest musicians as their tours come through Buffalo. Since the grand opening of the venue in 1996, the arena has hosted over 23 million guests at its countless events in its over 19,000 seating capacity space. In the months to come, the KeyBank Center will host huge tours such as Ariana Grande, Fleetwood Mac, Cher, Justin Timberlake, Twenty One Pilots, and Carrie Underwood, among many others. For large-scale fun and entertainment all year long, this staple of Buffalo is a go-to.
Darien Lake Amphitheater – About 40 minutes outside of Buffalo, is Western New York’s destination for summer concerts. This large amphitheater is where many Buffalo natives travel for summer concerts of all genres including country, rock, and reggae to name a few. Alternative Buffalo 107.7|104.7 hosts most of their larger shows here, including the upcoming shows for The 1975, as well as Beck and Cage The Elephant. Other shows for this upcoming summer include Chris Young, Zac Brown Band, 311 & The Dirty Heads, Heart, and KISS.
Music Festivals
Cobblestone Live Music and Arts Festival– Presented by Buffalo Iron Works & Lockhouse Distillery & Bar, this year will the third annual Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival. It will be held on August 2nd and 3rd in the historic Cobblestone district of downtown Buffalo, with two outdoors main stages, one inside Buffalo Iron Works, and an electronic stage and lounge inside the Distillery. Spread across these 4 stages, there will be over 25 artists featured, to be announced in the coming months, as well as festival games, local food trucks, vendors, cider, beer and a specialty beverage menu courtesy of the two producers of the festivals’s venues. The festival has been growing and will be sure to continue to grow in years to come, making it one to watch in the Buffalo area.
Beau Fleuve Music Festival – Not only is this festival a staple in the Buffalo area, but it is internationally recognized as a trendsetting, one of a kind celebration of arts and music that bridges the gaps between generations, cultures, and beyond. The festival has been a great success in the past, bringing in a diverse lineup of artists. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on this year’s events.
Notable Venues
Rec Room – Rec Room is the newcomer in Buffalo’s venue scene. Following the closing of the beloved Waiting Room, former owner Chris Ring poured his energy into opening this new venue that he hoped would have something for everyone. On top of stellar live music, the venue hosts parties and karaoke nights that keep the fun going at all times. The venue opened for “test” shows in August and fully set sail in September and has been making waves ever since. The future of this venue looks promising as their upcoming shows are pretty stacked.
Town Ballroom– Yet another historical piece of Buffalo’s musical lineage. Town Ballroom was originally called The Town Casino in the 1940s and ’60s and hosted performances from legendary musicians like Frank Sinatra, Nat “King” Cole, John Coltrane, and Les Paul. After a turbulent few years and switching ownership, the venue was restored to the former glory of the original venue in 2005 and has since been continuing its legacy of incredible shows. Upcoming shows include Action Bronson, Snarky Puppy, and Tom Morello.
Iron Works – Right next to the musical giant of Buffalo, the KeyBank Center, is the live music, full bar, and your go-to destination for chicken wings: Iron Works. Voted “Best Music Venue in Buffalo” in 2017 by the Buffalo Spree Awards, this venue hosts a variety of acts such as local bands, cover bands, and national touring acts such as the upcoming KT Tunstall show in May. Check out their upcoming events to plan a night of good music and good food.
Riverworks – Located right on the banks of the Buffalo River is another versatile venue of the city. In addition to skating, rope courses, a brewery, and river boat tours, Riverworks puts on a variety of live music shows throughout the year. Their space can produce both indoor and outdoor shows, and hosts artists from every genre from rock, country, to dance music.
Nietzche’s – They say it best themselves, “Life without music would be a mistake.” A longstanding favorite of NYS Music, Nietzche’s has been a staple venue of Buffalo for over 25 years. Notable for its welcoming reputation to national and regional touring acts alike, and for being the jump-off points for big musicians, Nietzche’s is still kicking and going strong. Currently hosting a multitude of local acts from not only Buffalo, but all across New York State, Nietzche’s is always serving up good times and great music.
Sportsman Taven – Opened in 1985, the Sportsmens Tavern has won over the hearts of Buffalo natives and quickly became one of the best venues in the county. It is another great place in Buffalo to catch local acts on one of their Emerging Artists nights, local bands, and bigger nationally touring acts. The undeniable character and longstanding charm of this venue is a “can’t miss” of Buffalo. Check out their upcoming shows.
Unique Venues
Asbury Hall – Once a Gothic Revival-style sanctuary, this eye-catching venue within Babeville, the arts space founded by Ani DiFranco and Scot Fisher, has been completely remodeled into a music hall with plenty of character. Asbury Hall can accommodate a more intimate crowd of 1,200, compared to Buffalo’s large scale event spaces, and has hosted incredible singer-songwriters such as its own Ani DiFranco, Sufjan Stevens, and Tallest Man on Earth. While Asbury Hall is regarded as one of the most intimate concert venues within Buffalo, Babeville also houses The Ninth Ward, a subterranean bar and listening room, and an art gallery, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center. Check out the events calendar to catch a show at this iconic venue.
PAUSA Art House – Honorable mention for a unique and intimate art experience in Buffalo has to be PAUSA Art House. An intentionally small audience, and ritual of pre-show and post-show receptions bring a new and refreshing atmosphere to experiencing a wide array of musicians that perform here. This art space, wine and tapas bar focuses on showcasing the artists local to Buffalo and the surrounding region, but also welcomes international and national touring acts. Check out their upcoming events and be sure to make a reservation to ensure your spot for this one of a kind atmosphere.
Wherever you turn, in any season, Buffalo will be bustling with the music that it’s been breeding since it all began. While some venues and festivals may come and go, Buffalo’s musical roots are definitely here to stay. Hopefully this guide will help you make your way through all the incredible experiences that Buffalo has to offer your ears.
Andy Frasco & the U.N. have been hitting the road in support of their latest album Change of Pace and Sunday, March 10, saw them stop at Buffalo Iron Works. No strangers to Buffalo, they really made a name for themselves in the Queen City at last summer’s Cobblestone Live. Needless to say the place was packed by the time openers Wild Adriatic took the stage and the party did not let up. Beers were chugged, Jameson was passed around and crowd surfing …oh the crowd surfing.
After the recent news of the Bethel Woods Woodstock Anniversary show being scaled back, fans have turned their attention to original Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang’s anniversary event for what may feel more like a Woodstock 50th anniversary celebration with headliners recently leaked.
Billboard has recently reported that after a brief delay, Woodstock festival organizer’s have wired a “full payment” to most artist appearing at the festival in advance. Some of those artist leaked include Dead & Company, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Chance the Rapper, and Bethel Woods celebration-announced artist, Santana, who has expressed his desire to play both anniversary shows.
The reason for the delayed payments was due to the financial backers of the festival, Dentsu, trying to resolve possible attendance issues at the Watkins Glen site where the festival is being held, expecting over 100,000 fans. Considered a first year event, and Dentsu not being a major promoter like Live Nation or AEG, artists require 100% of their fee paid upfront before the lineup was announced.
Representatives for the main headliners told Billboard that they were paid weeks ago, but some of the other 80+ artist have not received payment making some fear the festival would be scrapped, and now pushing the February lineup announcement to sometime in March.
The day after reports surfaced that the event was having financial problems, Woodstock representatives confirmed that organizers had wired several million dollars to various major talent agencies that represent acts appearing at Woodstock 50. One agency boss even confirmed that all their artist have been paid in full, and festival camping organizers Superfly, has also been paid in full for the event.
Woodstock co-founder Michael Lang recently stated: “There’s always been lots of rumors around Woodstock. We have excellent partners and an incredible talent lineup of over 80 artists which will be announced within the next couple of weeks. We’re preparing a once in a lifetime event.”
Woodstock 50 will take place at the Watkins Glen International Speedway on Aug. 16-18.
Life has been full of surprises for Sarah Eide. She captures the twists and turns of her journey in “Dreams on Hold,” the title track of her next album. In this song, Eide brandishes her flair for dramatic storytelling. The song ebbs and flows like a soundtrack. It starts off with straightforward acoustic Americana, culminates in a jazzy whirlwind, and ends on a high note full of curly-cue flourishes of trumpet, piano, and fiddle. The biographical story line takes the listener along as Eide holds a conversation with her childhood self, then her own children.
Eide grew up in Rhode Island, where she started playing at age 3. Classically trained during childhood, Eide became exposed to jazz, Americana, and world music at Berklee College of Music. Her dreams of scoring films in LA were waylaid when she took a detour and found herself as a mom in the Midwest.
The song is about the disparity between ambition and priority, with the ultimate resolution being the underlying foundation of unconditional love: “I’m still believing and I’m still scheming/ Good things come to those who wait/ So for now, I’ll put my dreams on hold for you.”
“Dreams on Hold” features Chicago musicians Shane Jonas of Low Down Brass Band, Joe Camarillo of The Waco Brothers, and fiddler Jess MacIntosh. Eide produced this album herself. Dreams on Hold comes out May 6th.
Newly relocated to Rochester, New York, Eide is already making waves in the local scene with her unique spin on Americana. Her next show is on March 14 at Abilene Bar and Lounge, a homey little spot on Liberty Pole Way in the heart of the city.
There is something to be said about David Bowie. He was a man once you heard of, you were entranced by him. He has a legacy following that still holds strong. David was a musician of his time, and unfortunately passed away much too young due to his secret battle with cancer.
His longtime pianist Mike Garson and other members of Bowie’s band decided to create a tour to fill the void his passing left. They brought the show to Buffalo, Tuesday February 26, to Town Ballroom. The lineup includes other Bowie alumni musicians Carmine Rojas and Earl Slick, as well as Bernard Fowler, Corey Glover, Naia Kete, Imani Elijah, and Stevie Salas. The special surprise of the evening was Slick’s son, Lee John Madeloni on drums.
Walking into the venue was an intimate experience. The top part of the venue, where the bar is, was blocked off by large black curtains. Giving the room an intimate feel. While the majority of the room was filled with middle-aged people, it was refreshing to see young 20-somethings there singing their hearts out to almost every song played. Others swayed their arms in the air, while some just swayed back and forth.
Towards the end of the set Bernard said in a playful voice, “Buffalo, Buffalo, Buffalo,” only to then giggle and start telling a story. When pianist Garson and he went to the casino, which is currently one of the most safe Canadian Bitcoin casinos, they would play a slot machine that yelled buffalo three times when you win.
They played classics such as “Aladdin Sane” and “Sweet Thing/Candidate.” The huge hit of the night was “Under Pressure,” Bernard Fowler and Corey Glover did a sensational job performing this together. Glover’s pipes had such range that during the song they hit window shattering levels. Fowler stood out predominantly during softer pieces such as “Win,” and one of their encores “Heroes.” Glover’s commanding pipes lit up “Suffragette City” and “Young Americans.” Naia Kete came center-stage to sing “Quicksand” with the band. Her versatile voice gave grittiness and smooth jazz throughout the song. Slick stole the show with his guitar playing by far though. His solos during “Time” and “Fame” were ones the left your mouth hanging open just a bit.
The show was intimate and breathtaking. Everyone left that night with a little less void in the heart. Realizing even though David is gone. People will still carry on his legacy.
The funk-rock quartet, ponder, specializes in soulful and original tune-making. Praised for engaging live performances, the group from Buffalo, has been working diligently to shine light on their music in other regions of the state.
Previously, ponder has performed at Buffalove 2016 and Rochester Fringe Fest 2016 & 2017. An extension of the list includes Cobblestone Live Music and Arts Festival. Music is Art Festival, and Rock Autism Music Festival. Additionally, they have been granted the opportunity to open shows for acts such as LITZ, The Werks, Formula 5, and many others.
With the intention of bringing their talent to North America, ponder’s international tour begins in March, kicked off by the decision to release a brand new single today. Titled “Greener,” the tune embodies the multi-dimensional groove rock aura ponder promotes. Harmonies are smartly layered, accompanied by drums and dueling guitar phrases. The thoughtful lyrics in combination with a prominent bass line results in a full body experience for the listener. In reference to previous works, the single offers an uplifting message about staying together through tough times while keeping life exciting through transition and monotony.
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.
