NYS Music 20​19

Tag: Sunflower Bean

  • Best Of 2019: Best Under The Radar Bands, Uncovered.

    Best Of 2019 Radar

    Welcome to New York State Music’s Best Of 2019, with a twist. Whether you are racing down the interstate, or planing your holiday travels, radar detectors can be extremely useful. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Chuck DeFilippo, Features Editor of NYS – and I am about to acid-bath you from the glam of national touring acts and replant you in the roots of NYS Music: Underground Bands.

    We have been blessed with so much great music throughout the Best Of 2019. My edge stems from discovery. If a spark fires, it not only excites, but is guaranteed to captivate readers.

    Combing through over 40 votes, only two-and-a-half bands had coupled votes. The Best Of 2019 podium is shared with Consider The Source, Hartley’s Encore, and Mike Powell (with his second vote for Mike Powell & The Black River).

    Consider The Source, a fairly (too) well know group to be considered Under The Radar, breeds music where galaxies collide. The NYC Sci-fi trio combines the energy of progressive rock, Middle Eastern, Jazz-Improv. and psychedelic math topped with Indian spices. Good luck getting through their flavourful artist bio, let alone the first set. Hang on! The Best of 2019 is just getting off.

    Albany’s apocalyptic dance party, Hartley’s Encore, is just one of those bands that cumulates the epitome of NYS Music. Under their own label, Hartley’s Encore, LLC, the band draws influence from a precise blend of new jam band’s and classics: Lettuce, The Rolling Stones, The Meters, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King and Stevie Wonder.

    The weekend warriors mission: making music equal parts soundtrack to your Saturday night & bacon for your Sunday brunch, since their inception in 2016.

    Hartley’s Encore Live – 12/13/19 in Albany.

    Mike Powell snagged the last spot for top-three with votes for his solo act and with The Black River. NYS Music has dubbed him as “One of the premier singer/songwriters in music today,” and we continue to follow him, as he is no stranger to the big stage. From sharing bills with Martin Sexton, to crafting his own art studio, Rising Feather in Cazenovia, NY, Powell is a musician’s musician.

    The most apparent difference between this record (Gypsy Winnebago, 2019) and their first is the vocal harmonies. “I had a long conversation with the band and emphasized how much I felt these songs needed more voices,” says Powell. “There’s something really powerful about human voices singing one message together. The guys obviously have great ears so they grabbed ahold of the harmonies right away and it really brought these songs to life.”

    – Mike Kohli – Mike Powell & The Black River ‘Gypsy Winnebago’
    Read more at NYS Music…
    Mike Powell interviews Chris Merkley

    Stay tuned as Mike Powell has a slew of shows, exclusive to New York State booked out through May of 2020. See details HERE.

    Connecticut Is Close Enough, Right?

    New York State Music’s Connecticut duo, myself and photographer Chris Sidoruk, are proud to see bands blooming outside of NY State into the shoreline. From New York City down through Connecticut cities Bridgeport and New Haven, the underground music scene is running rapid. Connecticut’s capital, Hartford, is also a hot bed for Albany and Upstate natives. It’s beautiful how these neighbouring bands and scenes are truly one in the same.

    One Time Weekend @ The Acoustic – Brigeport, CT – Photo By: Chris Sidoruk

    One Time Weekend‘s self titled track (video below), is offsetting from the first full band entrance. You don’t expect it. And it’s so good – so rock, only to be backdropped by a mellow reggae grove – sending you into an internet-search-furry for what else these cats have to offer. Go ahead, explore.

    Other Connecticut votes include: No Mind, Creamery Station and Joon.

    Stay tuned throughout the next few days as we delve into some of the best music, entered around New York State – and beyond. These picks have been curated from our staff and contributing writers to expose you the vast talent of musicians that pass you on the streets and dwell in your neighbouring towns. Each day will introduce new music for you to listen to, but for now – The Best Under The Radar Bands, you’ve never heard of. And that’s a beautiful thing.

    Under The Radar: Discovery

    Annie in the Water – Albany, NY

    Rock Funky Reggae Jam-Fusion with a conscious dose of posivibes. Read More on NYS: The Evolution Of Annie In The Water: An Interview With Mike Lashomb

    Barroom Philosophers – Syracuse, NY

    Energetic, dynamic, charismatic reggae-rock fusion, muddling the barriers of soul, funk, blues and the space-time continuum.

    Bear Grass – Troy, NY

    Folk, rock, and homespun trip-hop that soothes your wounds.
    Bushicks – Brooklyn, NY

    Bushicks are a REAL Rock and Roll band. There are many imitators out there, but these guys don’t need to fake it. Drawing upon inspiration from our heroes of yesterday, I had the pleasure of recording a band that is building for the future and continuing the spirit of great Rock and Roll music. For a young band, I am excited to hear them grow and I hope you do too.

    Bushicks Engineer, Phil Duke at Continental Recording Studios, Long Island.
    Read more at NYS Music…

    Birkby – Buffalo, NY

    NYS Music’s own, Gabe Birkby, is not only a talented writer and contributor to the site, but his talents shine all alone, onstage, or in his bedroom. NYS writers and contributors wear many hats, to which many of us are musicians, like Gabe. This Best Of 2019 features a beam of light, to shine, and thank all of our staff who continue to follow their passion, while working so hard to bring our readers quality content. With Gabe, he’s totally stripped down as a solo artist with nothing but a microphone, his guitar and loop pedal. Enjoy.

    Folk, Singer-Songwriter, looping guitar, with a captivating voice.

    Brighton Beat – New York, NY.

    Brighton Beat at Peekskill Brewery Takeover – Photo by: Steve Malinski.

    NYC’s freshest Afrobeat-Jazz-Funk Dance Party; The Brighton Beat is a positive musical force for all ages, aimed at getting the crowd dancing. This diverse group combines elements of classic Afrobeat, Modern Jazz, New Orleans Funk, and World Music into their own sound that gets booty’s shaking and the bar flowing, according to the band’s bio.

    C.K. and the Rising Tide – Ravena, NY.
    Indie-rock/Americana band fronted by poet C.K. Flach transcends songwriting norms.

  • Beck and Cage the Elephant Stampede Saratoga

    Beck and Cage The Elephant arrived in Saratoga on Monday night, as it was the next stop in their Night Running Tour, which will conclude at the end of August. The night was kicked off with a bang, as the New York City based Sunflower Beans brought an energetic indie-rock sound, bringing the early-arriving crowd to their feet. Their set was followed up by Spoon, who kept the same pace and energy as the Sunflower Beans, despite being two decades older.

    Cage The Elephant took the stage shortly after the Spoon’s set. The lights all fell, and the Bowling Green native band was silhouetted by the surrounding pyrotechnics. Eventually Matt Shultz, the band’s lead singer, emerged wearing an outfit you’d only imagine from a Cage The Elephant frontman— a grey trench coat, a masquerade mask, a straw sunhat and an assortment of accessories on various satchels donned by the singer. This was the outermost of many (and I mean many) layers that Shultz was wearing. Throughout the set he unpeeled each layer, revealing strange outfit after strange outfit, until he was left in a nude leotard and red short-shorts. These layers of clothing didn’t impede Shultz’s mobility in the slightest however, as there wasn’t a single minute in the 19-song-set that he wasn’t running, dancing, jumping, or leaning hard into each and every lyric.

    Beck and Cage the Elephant
    Photo by Jim Gilbert

    Cage just released their fifth studio album, Social Cues, this past April, so naturally, they played many tracks from the new record, including; “Broken Boy,” “Social Cues,” “Ready To Let Go” and various others. As the set went on the energy of the band never slowed, keeping the thousands in attendance dancing right along. Playing hits such as “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked,” “Come A Little Closer” and “Cigarette Daydream,” before finally finishing their set with “Teeth.” However, just because the band was done didn’t mean Matt Shultz was. Midway through the last song the singer left the stage and began to make his way through the crowd, and didn’t stop when the song concluded and his bandmates left the stage. Shultz continued on, making his way through the amphitheatre, eventually reaching the lawn, where he crowd-surfed all the way up to the concourse and eventually made his way to the balcony, embracing and entertaining fans the whole way. It was almost 20 minutes after the set that Matt Shultz made his backstage, however, we hadn’t seen the last of him yet…

    After Cage The Elephant’s long and exhilarating set it was hard to believe we still hadn’t seen the main act. But, sure enough, there was another entire set to be seen, and it did not disappoint. Beck opened his portion of the night with an acoustic slide guitar solo, such as one you may hear in an Old Western, that solo transitioned into arguably his most recognized song, “Loser.” Beck’s set was filled with his signature indie-rock-rap music, impressive solos from him and his band, bright lasers and lights, and fans who had not stopped dancing since the night began. The night did slow down for a few minutes, when Beck gave a touching speech, talking about his mother who was in the crowd, the importance of savouring what you have and not taking anything for granted – this did not disappoint the fans though, as they continued to cheer and show their support. Beck then covered the Korgis “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime,” then played his own “E-Pro,” before exiting the stage in preparation for the encore that was surely to follow.

    Beck began his encore with the sound of the iconic guitar intro of “Where It’s At,” leaving no one unsure of what song was being played. Once that was over Beck gave an unexpected but riveting harmonica solo, beginning his 1994 song “One Foot in the Grave.” Following this, Beck invited the Spoon singer, Britt Daniel, to come back on stage and asked him what he song he wanted to play, Britt replied, “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello, and so that became the third song of the encore.

    Next, Beck invited yet another singer back on stage, this time Cage The Elephant frontman Matt Shultz (who came out wearing yet another exotic outfit, this time complete with a yellow rain jacket and hat). Beck and Shultz sang their recent single together, “Night Running” (of which the tour was named after), followed by a reprise of “Where It’s At,” during which confetti rained from the amphitheatre before the night finally came to an end. 

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