Lettuce is bringing their tight funk-grooves and hip-hop inspired beats to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on Saturday, April 20 for a special headlining show with famous jazz guitarist, John Scofield, sitting in as a special guest.
The band is getting ready to premiere their new studio album ‘Elevate’, of which their first single “Krewe” has just been released. Their latest release, 2017’s Witches Stew, is the band’s jazz fusion tribute to Miles Davis. Recorded live at the 2016 Catskill Chill, the album is an interpretive take on the experimental Bitches Brew era. Lettuce continues to push jazz fusion forward with this latest release, a tribute to one of the band’s biggest influences.
With John Scofield as a special guest, you should expect some psychedelic jazz fusion blends from Lettuce at The Capitol Theatre this Saturday. Tickets are still available here.
There’s something familiar behind everything on the gorgeous new album from Newburgh, NY’s Native Harrow. Yet, originality twists through it all, providing a fresh voice for the indie-folk world to fall in love with.
A flourish of drums and guitar get the album started with a surprising, and refreshing, kick to the ear. Devin Tuel’s voice brings to mind Joni Mitchell, though she doesn’t allow the comparison to define her or the music.
The Mitchell likeness might come through clearest in “Blue Canyon,” appropriately a love song of sorts for California. Jazz colors the edges of the title track, and “Hard to Take,” with a slight nod to Van Morrison via Ryley Walker. “Something You Have” injects a gospel-fueled soul, powered by some well-placed B3 organ. The energy of the set peaks with earthbound jazz-rock fusion on “Round to Round” that brings to mind the criminally underrated Arc Iris.
https://youtu.be/7dH5LmX1PrM
Happier Now cements itself as a great album by saving the best for last. “Way To Light,” a sarcastic fantasy about the love of material goods, is a building slow burn, with a hint of “Dear Prudence” and some fantastically eerie slide guitar.
Devin Tuel wrote Happier Now‘s nine songs while constantly touring the country in 2017. The songs center around Tuel growing through her twenties and maturing as a human of her own making, no longer encumbered by the strict ballerina life set out for her since she was just three. When it came time to record with Alex Hall (JD McPherson, The Cactus Blossoms, Pokey LaFarge) at Chicago’s Reliable Recorders, Tuel and her trio tracked live in the same room, later adding minimal overdubs. The immediacy and intimacy comes through in the final product. Happier Now is an album to enjoy thoroughly in the present, but also hopefully a sign of great things to come from this budding artist Native Harrow.
Key tracks: Happier Now, Round and Round, Way To Love
Being a music writer is a lot of fun, and there’s no one I like to talk shop with more than Charles Benoit. He writes for Reggae Steady Ska about his favorite genre, ska. He also plays tenor sax in Rochester’s most active ska band, aptly named Some Ska Band. They’re opening for The Pietasters on Saturday, April 27 at Flour City Station. We recently caught a quick bite over lunch to talk ska.
Paula Cummings: Some Ska Band… How did you guys come up with that name?
Charles Benoit: Well that was a bad move on my part. It was the first thing that came up. I wanted to start a band with three other guys at the agency. Marshall, that was the guitarist and he’s creative director there. Will, our web developer. And Shad, the videographer. Marshall said, “I’ll do the logo. What’s the name of the band?” The first thing I came up with was Some Ska Band and we went with that. I probably should’ve thought it out a lot more, but it kind of works because Ska bands are such a niche market. Let’s say a band was coming to town called The Plastic Cups. OK, I don’t know anything about them, and I never heard of them. They don’t give any descriptors. I thought it was kind of funny. “Well, who’s playing tonight at The Bug Jar?’ ‘Some Ska Band.’ ‘I like ska, which one?’” We’re the ‘Who’s On First?’ of Ska Band names.
PC: I know you can’t speak for the others, but why ska? You’ve been all over the world, and exposed to all kinds of music. What brings you back to ska?
CB: I can speak to the others, and say they play ska because I forced them to. I was only interested in starting a ska band and that’s it. I was first introduced to ska in 1979 when somebody handed me the first Specials album. It changed my life. I fell in love with the message of Two-Tone: the racial unity, fighting against corruption in big government, and the little man view. It’s always attracted me. So I stayed with ska, and quickly ran out of two-tone albums because there were only a handful of bands. I found myself going back to the old traditional original ska of the Skatalites Desmond Dekker, and all the early originators. There was so much there to fall in love with. And then third wave ska came around and you had The Toasters and The Pietasters and all that kind of action that was going on. It’s been a lifelong interest for me. I just love the appeal. “Oh, it’s repetitive, it’s simple, it doesn’t get very deep.” Well, that’s me: repetitive, simple, and I don’t get very deep. It’s what I’ve always liked about the music. As for the rest of the band, none of them came to the band as ska fans, but I think they’re all pretty committed to the cause.
PC: I’ve noticed that you guys do a lot of covers that are not were not originally written as ska songs.
CB: It’s something ska band do. The Skatalites, the originators of the sound back in the early 1960s, one of their first songs they are known for is “The Guns of Navarone.” They took a song and put it to the ska. It’s been a tradition. If you think a song is good, make it better by putting it to the ska. You can take a crappy song and make it better by putting it to the ska.
PC: In your band’s description it says that you guys got together with the dream of pulling off the biggest diamond heist the world has ever seen. It wasn’t a robbery, but you recently acquired a gem that you played the album release.
CB: One of my favorite songs in the ska genre is “Easy Snappin’.” It was written by Theophilus Beckford. I got a chance to talk with Monty Alexander once, the famous piano player. He was in the room when they started developing the sound of the ska. Jamaica was newly independent. They were trying to come up with the sound that was strictly Jamaican, not the stuff coming out of Cuba or the Trinidadian soca sound. They wanted something unique to them. They were literally sitting around in the studio and the musicians started playing an upbeat – Ernest Raglin started playing the upbeat. And they messed around with it. Theo Beckford started playing piano. This is early. It is not ‘63. This is late ’50s, but they knew independence was coming. So they’re playing with the sounds and Beckford pumps out this piano tune called “Easy Snappin’.” It’s the first ska song that was deliberately written to be that. When we did our CD release party at The Record Archive, I wanted to let people know about that. I wanted to make that connection. So through a record collector Darren Reggae, that’s not his real name, I got an original 45 that I played at the show.
PC: In addition to playing ska music, you also interview musicians.
CB: I interview them for Reggae Steady Ska, which is the world’s leading international ska and reggae website. It’s based out of Bonn, Germany. I’ve been writing for them for about five or six years. This is a great great chance to get to meet some of my heroes. I wouldn’t have been able to meet them at the show, but going through using the website as a writer I get ‘backstage.’ I’ve talked to Monty Alexander, Horace Panter of The Specials, Robert “Bucket” Hingley from The Toasters, Stephen Jackson of the Pietasters. They’re all willing to share because ska is such a small community.
PC: Some Ska Band plays with some big-name bands. I saw you open for Bim Skala Bim last year.
CB: We’ve played with The Pilfers, which are a on the harder side of ska. We’ve played with El Grande. And we’ll be playing with The Pietasters on the 27th. This is a pretty big deal, because my wife says that after the Pietasters, Some Ska Band is her second favorite.
PC: To whom or what would you attribute keeping the flame of ska alive here in western New York?
CB: The person who is bringing some of these bigger names is Adam Smith. Adam Smith is such an incredible powerhouse. It’s such inspiring story for anybody, of any fan of any music. Adam doesn’t play music, doesn’t sing – God no, he doesn’t sing. He loves music, all kinds of music. But he has a special place in his heart for ska. He had his favorite band, The Pilfers, and they were just never coming to Rochester. He couldn’t figure out why they weren’t coming. So I jokingly said to him ‘Why don’t you play promoter and bring the band to town?’ Fast forward about a year later, and he and Coolie Rand of Pilfers run a management company called Elevation. They are handling tours and shows all over the country. It’s a cool story about Adam, but the cooler story is if you like music, you can become a promoter. You do risk losing some money, and I don’t think Adam is ever going to get rich doing this. But, he’s bringing in bands he really loves, and getting to host the parties he’d want to go to. So if you’re a fan and you want your bands in town, don’t wait for someone else to bring them. Play promoter and bring them in.
PC: Some Ska Band released an album earlier this year. Will that be available at the Pietasters show?
CB: We’ll have the CD for sale, bargain price of five bucks. You can’t beat that. We appeared in a CD What Do You Know About Ska Punk Volume 2. That’s got 167 songs on it, believe it or not. That’s five bucks. We’ll have T-shirts and stuff like that.
PC: Anything else you want to add?
CB: This show we’re welcoming MC Lopez. She’s gonna be joining us on keyboard.
PC: So that’ll bring you up to nine members.
CB: We have a tradition in the band: at shows, people are often meeting other people in the band for the first time. And that’s going to be the case at this show. The rhythm guitar player will not have met the keyboard player until we’re there. And here’s the thing – we like bringing people from the audience up on stage. So we’re nine people when we start, but we’ve been a lot more than that when we’re finished!
Catch Charles Benoit and Some Ska Band with The Pietasters and The Pandemics Saturday, April 27 at Four City Station in Rochester. Tickets are on sale now. And be sure to follow Some Ska Band on Facebook for updates and events.
Soulive has confirmed a six dates at Brooklyn Bowl. Bowlive VIII spans two weekends, from July 11-13 and July 18-20. Tickets go on sale April 19 for individual nights or three-night passes.
Formed in 1999, Soulive is celebrating twenty years of making music together. The jazz-funk trio consists of Alan Evans on drums, Eric Krasno on guitar and Neal Evans on keys. In past years, Bowlive has included such guests as Lettuce, Marco Benevento, Chris Robinson, and Aaron Neville. Follow Soulive on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on Bowlive VIII.
The night of Sunday, April 14 was a special night for all of the Capital Region’s music and entertainment scene at Proctors Theatre. It was the first ever Eddie’s – the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards. The Eddie’s were formed this year by Jim Murphy (marketing and corporate development director at Proctors Collaborative) and Salvatore Prizio (program director at Proctors). It provided an opportunity to amplify, empower, and celebrate all creative professionals that are vital to the Capital Region’s growing music scene. Thirty-three categories, ranging from best photographer, soloist, music venue, and others, and three people’s choice categories, were voted on by the public. Two 2019 Inductees, songwriter, Kevin McKrell, and Music Mobile founder, Ruth Pelham, were inducted into the N.Y. Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame.
As a creative professional in the visual arts, photography, and journalism scene, it was an honor to attend and be a part of this show at Proctors. It was a blast being a part of this show with other creative musicians, photographers, publications, and music patrons. The awards show gave patrons an opportunity to learn more about the musicians, bands, publications, music promoters, photographers, venues, radio hosts, and other creatives that make up our music scene in the Capital Region. It was a great event to support all the nominees and winners that make up our growing scene.
This year’s 2019 Inductees for the NY Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame included songwriter and visual artist, Kevin McKrell and Music Mobile Founder, Ruth Pelham. The video presentations and the speeches that both McKrell and Pelham gave to the audience were both interesting and inspiring, particularly Pelham’s. It was interesting to see how McKrell’s Celtic music and his portrait art of musicians that he created inspired him to become a visual artist and a successful musician who previously performed at the esteemed Carnegie Hall.
Girl Blue with Jamie from Chromoscope Video Productions, accepting the award for “Best Music Video” for “Dreams”Sara Ayers and Paul Jossman accepting the award for “Best Arts Publication” for Nippertown.comA photo video montage shown on the screen held in memory of Caroline MotherJudge.Kevin McKrell,songwriter and recipient of The Eddie’s Artistic Lifetime Achievement Award.Music Mobile Founder, Ruth Pelham, the recipient of The Eddies Lifetime Achievement Award for Music Education or Community Impact.
New York-based electropop powerhouse Car Astor has released the new music video for her single “Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak.” The self-directed video contains elements of classic 90’s music videos by Garbage, Placebo and Foo Fighters, including fisheye lenses, loose narratives, and energetic performance footage.
“I was able to look to many of my earliest musical influences and nod my head to them with the performance aspect of the video,” says Car Astor. “It was such a blast. I really wanted to pull on the tension and desire that surrounds the lyrics of the song, and execute that in a symbolic, dark ‘me’ way.”
“‘Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak’ is a song that really pushed me to grow as an artist, and this video did the same exact thing,” says Car. “I’m super stoked with the end result. The project was a true labor of love from start to finish.”
Car Astor previously released “Don’t Stop, Don’t Speak” as a standalone single earlier this year, which served as the follow-up to her music video “Girlfriend”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II7iehfiJRs
Hailing from Long Island, Car Astor first emerged into the music world via YouTube known simply as SEE, creating a viral underground presence that infected a whole legion of internet fans.
Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, was joined by a lively Dan Crisp on vocals, Alan Thomson on Bass, Darby Todd and Clive Bunker rocking the drums, and Dee Palmer on keyboards for two nights at The Strand Theater in Hudson Falls. The show featured a special multimedia presentation that, together with the music, highlighted the 50 years of Jethro Tull’s classic hits.
Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial – This large indoor arena, constructed in 1955 as the Rochester Community War Memorial, to this day hosts some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events that come through the city. While the large venue has a variety of events, heavily concentrating on sports, bigger music acts utilize the space when they come through on their tours. Most recently, The Millennium Tour, featuring R&B group, B2K and Mario performed there. Make sure to keep an eye on the arena’s calendar for big upcoming events.
Main Street Armory – This active entertainment hotspot has remained central to the music scene of Rochester for a long time. It began as a military facility hosting center and grew into a hub for sporting events, paintball and, of course, concerts. Holding 6,500 attendees, this venue has hosted a multitude of genres and has upcoming shows to reflect its diversity of sound as well. To name a few highlights off the venue’s calendar, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will be coming in May with PnB Rock, Lil Baby in June, and Buckcherry with WARPAINT in July.
Theaters
Kodak Center Theater – The Kodak Center is more than just a music venue, as it additionally holds conference and alternative event spaces, as well as a Visitor’s Center. However, the main pull to the center, located just minutes from downtown Rochester, is their main stage, the Kodak Center Theater. The room holds 1,968 attendees in comfortable seating and has produced a variety of shows in the past from comedy to dance shows to children’s camp events to full-on concerts. Some highlights from their calendar for upcoming events include Gary Allen, who will be performing later this week, Derek Hough Live and The Temptations & The Four Tops.
Eastman Theatre – The Eastman Theatre of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester is located in downtown Rochester and is home to multiple state of the art theaters and venues. Within the facilities are Kilbourn Hall, the ornate and acoustically pure Venetian Renaissance styled theatre that holds 400+ guests, Hatch Recital Hall – the modernly-styled, newest addition to the building that holds an intimate 200+ audience, and a handful of other different rehearsal rooms. The gem of this facility, however, is the extravagant Kodak Hall which opened in 1922 and since then has been a driving force of fine arts in Rochester. It holds 3,352 people and commonly holds a high-quality schedule of musical performances.
Clubs
Sensation Nightclub – Sensation Nightclub claims to be the premiere nightclub experience in Rochester, inspired by the founders’ opinion of the lack of a proper nightlife experience within the city. In addition to presenting a luxurious experience with table bookings, bottle service, and top-notch accommodations, Sensation books high-quality, nationally-touring DJ acts for their late nights. If you are looking for a fun night out accompanied by some electronic music, Sensation is the place to go!
SKYWAY – By day, SKYWAY is better known as Cafe SOL, but at night, the place transforms into a unique and visionary clubbing experience. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, SKYWAY Lounge captivates guests through their “musical collage of seamlessly woven beats” that is comprised of every imaginable genre including Balearic lounge, Caribbean rhythm, soul, disco, pop, hip-hop, and deep house. Bottle service and private event booking is available, but regardless, a good time and good music is always guaranteed. For your next big night out, check out their calendar.
Vertex – Another notorious and long-standing club in Rochester happens to be the club Vertex. For over 20 years now, this goth club has continue to operate, while seeing multiple changes in locations, it still continues to bring great music for this scene within the city. Operating on the usual schedule of Thursdays with DJ Noname, Fridays with Silver Crash, and Saturdays with DJ Darkwave, the standard set still packs the house. Throw their Facebook page a like and a follow to stay up to date on their events.
Flour City Station – Flour City Station is a different breed of club, aside from the usual EDM sets at most. For a late night fix of all categories and genres ranging from DMB and The Grateful Dead cover bands, 90’s throwback parties, to ska, funk, and beyond, the Station is the place to go. Don’t miss out on the stacked upcoming events.
Venues
Anthology – An undeniable personality within the Rochester music scene, Anthology is a re-invented multi-level auto warehouse in the East End of the city. It holds about 1,000 people, providing enough space for a large scale audience for local acts and an intimate audience for nationally touring acts, which the venue finds a solid balance between. The facility is beautifully remodeled and has been known to host memorable shows, so keep an eye an out to catch one of your favorite artists there.
Montage Music Hall – Montage Music Hall is a small but mighty, long-standing staple in Rochester’s music scene. This 400-capacity venue has been kicking for over 20 years and has never failed to promote an overwhelming variety of genres. Some past notable acts that have played the venue include The Arkells, Max Creek, Melvin Seals, and Attila, and their calendar is set to include many more dynamic acts to come for the summer and beyond.
Bug Jar – It is safe to say that there is always something going on at the Bug Jar. Whether it be a comedy show, trivia night, DJ set, or live band set, their calendar is packed full, 7 days a week. It is a local favorite and a can’t miss when addressing the city’s musical landscape.
Festivals
Rochester Summer Soul Festival – Set to take place on Friday August 23 and Saturday, August 24, Rochester’s Summer Soul Music Festival is an event that will serve to highlight the bright array of musical talent in Rochester coupled with a great family environment and local food vendors. It will be held at Frontier Field and the lineup is set to be announced soon.
Rochester International Jazz Festival – Right in the heart of Rochester is one of the world’s leading jazz festivals that has been going strong since 2002. Hosted by M&T Bank and spanning a whole nine days, this celebration of music features over 1,500 artists yearly with over 320 shows that take place in over 20 venues around the city. It is a small citywide takeover that lights the city up with good vibes and good music. If you catch yourself in Rochester between June 21 and June 29, you’re sure to be in for a good time. Be sure to check out the lineup.
The Gateways Music Festival – In association with Eastman School of Music, from August 6 until the 11th, The Gateways Music Festival will be gracing Rochester once again with over 50 performances throughout the area. The festival aims to be a resource for classical musicians of African descent and will feature more than 125 musicians from their ever-growing database of now 700 musicians. The tickets are cheap, but the organization will be accepting donations to support their ongoing cause. For more information click here.
Party in the Park – For the 22nd consecutive year, the City of Rochester presents Party in the Park every Thursday from June 6 until August 8. The weekly event transforms Martin Luther King Jr. Park into a treasure trove of local vendors, incredible food, and awesome musicians. Check out the website for more details and this summer’s lineup.
Hidden Gems
Lovin’ Cup – Lovin’ Cup has become Rochester’s one-stop-shop for all the city’s coffee, food, bar and entertainment needs. From breakfast, lunch, dinner, to drinks, Lovin’ Cup has got you covered. Upcoming on their calendar for live music includes The Klick, Hey Mavis, Hanna and the Blue Hearts, and plenty of Open Mic Nights and Salsa Nights to get involved in.
Record Archive – For over 40 years, this record store has been providing Rochester with quality music on vinyl. Beyond it’s primary purpose, Record Archive has two live stages within the store with which they host their own events. A favorite place for locals and a popular attraction for tourists, the Record Archive keeps people coming back with their wide array of records and stellar live events.
Sofar Sounds Rochester – Something that adds an interesting dynamic to local music scenes and does it incredible job of highlighting local musicians in intimate and unusual venues is Sofar Sounds, and Rochester is fortunate enough to have this active organization in their area. If you’ve ever wanted to see acoustic sets in a neighbor’s home, an office building, or a rooftop, Sofar Sounds is one to watch for your next favorite small concert experience.
If you’re looking for a place to get away and lose yourself in music, Rochester holds a promising array for lovers of any genre. This guide is only the tipping point of all the endless possibilities and incredible musical experiences awaiting in this city.
Sounds Good To Steve and Offside Tavern present a 4/20 celebration in New York City featuring O’Duo and guitarist Will Bart’s project, Johnny In The Basement. The afternoon event serves as an “unofficial” pre show for those going to see Lettuce at The Capitol Theatre, Twiddle at Brooklyn Steel or Dumpstaphunk at Brooklyn Bowl.
The show is free and runs from 2:30-5:30pm, leaving plenty of time to get to Brooklyn, Port Chester or wherever the night takes you. There will be limited 4/20 inspired giveaways, and if you register with Eventbrite, you’ll get a buy back on your first drink. Offside Tavern is located at 137 West 14th Street in NYC.
One of UPAC’s bartenders skipped down an abandoned hall, hands aloft, waving side to side, an unadulterated grin glued to his face. An usher, with no one requiring assistance, leaned against a post, nodding appreciatively and smiling approvingly. It was the encore, but the exit hall was empty and there was nobody to usher; no one left this show early. Meanwhile, Angelique Kidjo and her backing band took a victory lap, wading into the crowd from stage right, dancing, hugging and high-fiving their way to the back of the room. They shifted to the adjacent corner and shimmied back up onto stage left, all the while covering Talking Heads “Burning Down the House.”
Kidjo and her band brought down the house from the opening djembe drum solo to the Talking Heads finale. When she took the stage, Kidjo’s presence instantly demanded full attention; her attire rivaled the vibrancy of her voice and she and her band held onlookers riveted all evening.
Originals and Talking Heads covers alternated throughout the evening, with anecdotes sprinkled in. After the opening drum solo kicked things off, a cover of “Born Under Punches” flowed into a bass and synth-heavy “Crosseyed and Painless.” Kidjo followed these covers by informing the Ulster Performing Arts Center, “We love doing Remain In Light—with the blessing of the Talking Heads of course!” Kidjo and her cohorts played a few California concerts with David Byrne, she explained.
For most of the evening, the aisles were filled with a wave of grooving bodies and seats were left abandoned. Kidjo is undeniably a star: her presence is vast and her voice is a wide-ranging instrument unto itself. She formed a symbiotic relationship with the Kingston crowd that blossomed all evening. Her dancing was like jujitsu that warded off bad energy as she bounced from American funk to African beats.
Midway into the show, Kidjo disappeared into the crowd and would occasionally pop up in a sea of fans in the heart of UPAC. She finally reemerged onstage for the remainder of her nearly two-hour set to energetically cover “Once In a Lifetime” to fans’ delight.
As the show neared its end, Kidjo exclaimed, “I want at least thirty people up on stage– first come, first serve, ladies, men, I don’t care who– get up here! Let’s go!” The stage quickly filled with eager attendees looking to bask in Kidjo’s presence. The djembe drummer lumbered to center-stage and began serenading dancers with beats, which they, in turn, interpreted with their shaking bodies. Anyone who wanted the limelight was given their shot at it. Those who preferred watching were treated to a show.
The evening was more an interactive musical experience than a concert. When Kidjo said, “Clap,” the Kingston crowd clapped; when she said stand, they stood. “Dance!” Kidjo demanded, and dance they did. No one left early, and no one left without a look that said they yearned to remain in Kidjo’s bright light.
