NYS Music 202​0

Author: Nora Hones

  • “Small Business Live” Benefit Concert to Bring Support to Small Businesses

    Superfly has announced it’s “Small Business Live” concert to help support small businesses during these trying times. The one-day musical experience will raise money for the Accion Opportunity Fund and provide grants to the most at-risk small businesses that were hit hardest by COVID-19. It will do this while also having a focus on those businesses run by women, minorities, and people of color. Some of the big names on the docket include 2 Chainz, Nathaniel Rateliff, T-Pain, and Brandi Carlile among many others. The concert will take place on June 20 from 4PM – 10PM ET and can be viewed on many streaming platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. 

    Small Business Live

    The benefit will feature artists performing at different small business they feel strongly about. The musicians will be delivering their performances from different locations all over the United States and will be sharing stories about the businesses they know, love, and are trying to supporting with this benefit.  

    The benefit will be featuring 2 Chainz performing at and supporting K&K Soul Food in Atlanta, GA, Allen Stone performing at and supporting Terrain in Spokane, WA, Brandi Carlile performing at and supporting Easy Street Records in Seattle, WA, Brittany Howard performing at and supporting Fanny’s House of Music in Nashville, TN, JUFU performing at and supporting Envirobliss in Brooklyn, NY, Leon Bridges performing at and supporting Avoca Coffee in Fort Worth, TX, Moon Taxi performing at and supporting Grimey’s in Nashville, TN, Bam Marley performing at and supporting Sneaker Buyers in Miami, FL, Nathaniel Rateliff performing at and supporting Mercury Cafe in Denver, CO, and T-Pain performing at and supporting Knotzland Pittsburg, PA, and many more.

    The benefit is being put on by Superfly in partnership with TikTok, AT&T Business, GoDaddy, Vistaprint, Square, Bustle Digital Group. To donate to the cause please visit the Accion Opportunity Fund to support local and small businesses.

    https://youtu.be/2z3jP2Ae3CE

    For more information visit Superfly’s website for Small Business Live. 

  • Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Plans to Shut Down

    Long Island’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is shutting down according to a Bloomberg report and will be shut down indefinitely until new investors can be found. Nassau Coliseum is just one of the many venues suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    Phish Performing December 1, 2019 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Photo taken by Thom McKenna.

    The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum opened in 1972 and is used for all sorts of events including sporting events, large exhibitions, shows as well as trade shows, and of course concerts. The coliseum hosted big names like Elvis Presley, The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Beach Boys, Queen, and many, many others.  The coliseum went through renovations back in 2015- 2017 and currently has a seating capacity of 14,500.

    According to posts on Bitcoin Prime, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Sports and Entertainment who operates the venue decided to shutdown the coliseum indefinitely while they seek investors to take over operations. Once they have found a new investor they will have the lease turned over to the new investor and have them pick up the remaining debt on the building which is roughly $100 million in loans on it in return.

    According to the Bloomberg report, Onexim Sports and Entertainment’s explained that, “The unforeseeable and unprecedented Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating effect on the operations of the Coliseum and its finances. While we still believe in the enormous long term economic value of the Coliseum and the development of the surrounding land, we recognize that such value will be best realized by other parties.”

    The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum has been an essential part of the entertainment scene on Long Island for many years and hopefully will be able to continue to do so once they find a new investor. For more information read the Bloomberg report or visit The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum’s website.

  • Virtual Cabaret Announced in Celebration of Pride

    June usually marks a month of LGBTQ+ celebration with parades, festivals, musical events, talks, and etc but due to COVID-19 a lot of the normal festivities aren’t going to be possible this year. Luckily though, CNY Pride (Central New York Pride) isn’t letting this stop them from creating a way for members of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate. CNY Pride is throwing a Virtual Pride Cabaret on June 20 from 7:30PM to 9PM. 

    The virtual cabaret celebration will happen via Zoom on the original date of CNY Pride’s Pride Festival. The cabaret will include an array of different performers from their original line-up for the festival. From musical performances, to drag performances, to belly dancing, the cabaret will have a little bit of everything for everyone. 

    The line-up includes Samantha Vega who will be hosting the event. Burlesque Performers Kitten N’ Lou who will be headlining. Amara Lee Dúpree, Athens Violet-Maraj, Celeste LeRue, Charlotte Diamond Star, Frita Lay, and Sparkle Royale will be performing Drag. Belly Dancer Tessa TrueHeart will be performing. Cabaret Fan Dancer Harlow Holiday will also be on the docket. Solo Musician Nicholas DiMaria and Vocalist Robert Denzel Edwards will also be making an appearance. 

    For more information on the virtual cabaret celebration visit CNY Pride’s Website.

  • CMAC Cancels 2020 Summer Concert Season

    CMAC (Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center) announces the cancellation of their 2020 summer concert season due to COVID-19. This decision was not made lightly but the safety of their staff, patrons, performers, and community is the priority. They are working to reschedule most of their summer 2020 performances currently. 

    Lynyrd Skynyrd performing Free Bird at CMAC in 2019.

    The performing arts center was founded in 1983 by Marvin Sands. He believed it was needed in the Canandaigua community because of the important role that arts and culture play in the quality of the community. CMAC still lives up to that role today providing arts and culture to the community. This year is just a pause, not the end of anything for CMAC. 

    CMAC is working to have their cancelled and postponed 2020 dates moved to the 2021 season. Cancelled shows include: Trey Anastasio Band, Old Domino, Brandi Carlile, Collective Soul, Tim McCraw, Norah Jones, Steve Martin and Martin Short. Postponed shows include: RATT, Luke Combs, and The Final Tour Ever with Kiss. They have already rescheduled two shows for 2021. Tedeschi Trucks Band was rescheduled for June 30, 2021 and Thomas Rhett for August 22, 2021. 

    For more information on CMAC and their events visit their website. For more information and to purchase tickets for Tedeschi Trucks Band click here or Thomas Rhett click here.

  • ESYO Announces “Sounding Together” Digital Festival

    ESYO (The Empire State Youth Orchestra) announced their “Sounding Together” digital festival in celebration of the orchestra’s 40th birthday season.  The festival will last three days Thursday, June 11 through Saturday, June 13 and will stream across Facebook Watch and YouTube nightly at 7PM.

    “Sounding Together” festival will include thirteen ensembles and over 400 young musicians from around the region. The festival will feature student-produced videos as well as virtual performances of all 13 ESYO ensembles. There will also be a virtual premiere of an original composition by Carlos Ágreda who is the Music Director of ESYO. 

    Some of the highlights will include compositions of “Amazing Grace” by Jay Dawson and  “What a Wonderful World” by Concertino String. The festival will also include Senior Spotlights in honor of the ESYO Class of 2020. Students will reflect on playing through the pause caused by COVID-19. There will also be dedications to front line healthcare heroes, first responders, and Capital Region teachers.

    The “Sounding Together” digital festival was made possible by donations from University at Albany Foundation and the Metlife Charitable Foundation. ESYO is known regionally and nationally for challenging and inspiring young people to engage in a pursuit of musical excellence.

    For more information on ESYO and their “Sounding Together” festival please visit their website.

  • “Singing OUT” in Celebration of Pride at Caffe Lena

    Caffe Lena is presenting a  live-stream performance out of Saratoga Springs featuring Heather Mae and Crys Matthews with their “Singing OUT” Pride Tour. The performance will take place on June 12 from 8:30 PM – 11:30 PM.

    Heather Mae who has been called “the queer Adele” while Crys Matthews has been called “the Woody Guthrie of our generation” and the two of them together make a unique and beautiful sound. They hope with this sound to make celebrating Pride during this difficult time of social distancing and fun and interactive environment. They create this interactive aspect of their show by having people come dressed in Pride gear and hosting sing alongs, games, and giveaways.

    Their motto is that Pride must go on. They hope that this celebration will mirror that with giving  LGBTQ+ people and their allies a way to gather to lift one another up despite COVID-19 and that people will be able to and bask in the power and beauty of their resilient community. 

    https://youtu.be/XFzgolN8nHE

    Tickets are $15 and are available on their side door website. For more information please visit their Facebook Event Page.

  • NYC Erupts in Music Led by Jon Batiste in Support of Black Lives Matter

    Jon Batiste, bandleader of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” led a musical march through NYC in support of the Black Lives Matter protests. The musical march took place on June 6 at 1PM in Union Square. The protest was peaceful and musical in nature. 

    Batiste is a notable jazz musician on top of being the bandleader of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Batiste has his band Stay Human and also serves as the Music Director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. He was nominated for “Saint James Infirmary Blues” in the Best American Roots Performance category in 2018 in the Grammy Awards.

    Jon Batiste advertised the event on his Twitter saying, “This is our response to the deep rooted systemic injustice we have yet to fix, a fact made abundantly clear by the public execution of another black person. This is a movement that exists because I believe the power of art & music is divine.”

    The musical march started at Union Square and went all the way to Washington Square Park. Batiste explained to CNN’s Bill Weir that this protest was bringing people together over a common outrage and that there are things people need to start doing. He said, “Look at what we are doing. We’re using music to bring people together of all races, of all genders, for Black lives. We have to get to protests and we have to get to voting. 100 million people did not vote in the last election. We’re battling three candidates Donald Trump, Joe Biden and apathy.”

    Watch the CNN videoclip bellow.

  • The Relix Roadie Lounge Announces a New Digital Hub for the Music Industry Community

    The Relix Roadie Lounge has announced a new digital hub that will help support people in the music industry during these trying times. The hub was created in partnership with LD Systems, Robe Lighting, Backline, and Fender.  The Relix Roadie Lounge was first implemented at Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, SXSW and LOCKN’ Festival in 2019.

    The digital hub will supply news, special offers, resources in a broader terms, and mental health resources for artists, crew members, and other industry professionals. The Relix Roadie Lounge is hoping that this digital hub will be able to give these hard-working people opportunities to win premier gear and exclusive product opportunities on top of connecting people with reliable outlets.

    Josh Rowe who is the director of Relix’s Roadie Lounge program explained the reasons behind this hub creation saying, “With the current status of the music industry, we realize things are tough. We’ve banded together with our partners to bring the Roadie Lounge to you. We’ve put together a collection of useful information, resources, product specials, and contests for your time off the road.”  

    There’s a lot of news about musicians being out of work but there hasn’t been a lot of resources put out there that’s focusing on the behind the scenes workers. This hub tries to recognize how crew members and artists are the foundation of the live music industry. Festivals, concerts, and live music wouldn’t be possible without the endless work done behind the scenes.

    For more information please visit The Relix Roadie Lounge’s website.

  • PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE, LIVE! Podcast Announced

    Osiris Media announced their PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE, LIVE! podcast revolving around the artist’s journey through interviews and live performances. The podcast will debut on June 9 across streaming platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and etc.  

    The podcast will explore artists’ first music lesson to the first paid gig. It will investigate their early inspirations, creative process, what’s driving them towards the future, and everything in between. Executive Producer Adam Caplan said, “We wanted to create a show that taps into the power and spontaneity of musical discovery beyond a typical interview.”

    The first season will drop new episodes every Tuesday. They will also release a video of each live performance which will be available on the Osiris website and YouTube. An accompanying curated playlist chronicling the music and artists mentioned in each episode will also be available on the Osiris site and on Spotify.

    The podcast will include guest appearances from Eric Krasno, Rhett Miller, Marco Benevento, Ted Leo, and many more. The first episode will feature Eric Krasno, the second will feature  Rhett Miller, the third will feature Marco Benevento, and the fourth will feature Ted Leo and more episodes and their guests will be announced later on. 

    For more information on the PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE, LIVE! podcast visit Osiris’s website.

  • SummerStage Anywhere Digital Series Launches

    Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage announces the launch of its digital series SummerStage Anywhere. The series will highlight  genres that were born in or deeply represent New York including hip hop, salsa, jazz, global, indie, and contemporary dance. SummerStage Anywhere will start on June 6 at 7PM EST and will feature performances each weekend for the rest of June. 

    Angélique Kidjo photo provided by City Parks Foundations website.

    The series will debut on June 6 with an original performance by New Yorker pop phenom MAX. MAX performing a love letter to New York of sorts. Max has been called a “Young Pop God” by GQ in the past and has been called the “top popstar to watch” by Billboard and was nominated for “Best New Pop Artist” at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. 

    On June 13 LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference) will be taking the stage and highlighting  key voices in the Latino LGBTQ community. Some of the performers include pop singer Kany Garcia, hip hop artist Mabiland, indie electro pop musician Javiera Mena and rock band Circo. The event will be hosted by Los Angeles’ KCRW radio DJ Raul Campos and the Latin Grammy winning artist Cheo, formerly of Los Amigos Invisibles. 

    On June 19 SummerStage Anywhere will be hosting a celebration for the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Juneteenth for those unaware is the nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. The event will be featuring Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet Dance Theatre and poet Carl Hancock Rux, and a panel discussion led by Executive Artistic Director of The Billie Holiday Theatre, Dr. Indira Etwaroo.

    On June 26 the series will wrap up with an exclusive performance from Angélique Kidjo. Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress and activist. She will also be doing a live Q&A session after her performance. 

    The series will be available on SummerStage Anywhere’s website and streamed exclusively on the SummerStage’s YouTube channel. SummerStage is an independent, non-profit organization, and relies on donations to make it’s free performing arts festivals possible. Anyone interested in supporting the SummerStage series can donate.

     For a full schedule of upcoming programming and more information please visit SummerStage Anywhere’s website.