Buffalo Iron Works, in partnership with The Transit Drive-In in Lockport are bringing the “LIVE AT THE DRIVE” concert series to life. The concert series will be featuring many artists starting with Aqueous on Friday and Saturday, June 19 & 20.
The socially distanced concert series will be held at The Transit Drive-In and will feature two concerts a week through August. Future artists performing will be announced in the weeks to come. The concert series aims to have 16 shows in total. Thursday nights will feature a concert and movie combo night while Saturdays will host concerts in the afternoons between 2PM-5PM.
Aqueous will be starting off the concert series on June 19 & 20. They are a groove rock band that hails from Buffalo, NY. Aqueous is a locally famous band to the Buffalo area and have been involved in many live-stream shows since the halt on live shows due to COVID-19.
Tickets will be available for purchase though the Transit Drive-In website. Gates for the concert series will open at 1pm both days with the show starting at 2pm. GA tickets are $40 per person and VIP are $80 per person. VIP tickets will include a ticket to the show, a vehicle spot in the front two rows, and a limited edition poster. All ticketing will be through internet pre-sale only, and tickets need to be purchased for all occupants of each vehicle under one transaction. A minimum of two people per vehicle must be purchased, with a maximum of six people.
For more information visit Buffalo Iron Works website and The Transit Drive-In website.
The Mockingbird Foundation has announced its plans to start an emergency grant program that will help protect music education amidst the COVID-19 crisis. The fund will run off of donations from The Mockingbird Foundation and donations from the public.
The Mockingbird Foundation logo.
The music industry has been extremely affected by this pandemic particularly music education. Music education programs across the United States have been experiencing significant negative impacts from the economic fallout of the pandemic. The foundation aims to use this collected emergency grant fund to help music educators and their students who have been affected by COVID-19.
The fund will start with an initial $25,000 provided by The foundation. The foundation will then match an additional $25,000 in donations made from the general public between now and July 31st, 2020. The foundation hopes to collect enough to make $75,000 available to music education by the end of it’s donation period.
The Mockingbird Foundation is a non-for-profit that is volunteer based. It has existed since 1996 and works to raise money for music education for children. It has donated more than $1.6M in grants to 450 grantees covering all 50 states. For more information or to donate visit Mockingbird’s website.
The 26th annual Schenectady Kids Arts Festival will take place on the weekend of June 6 and 7. The festival is usually held in downtown Schenectady, but due to COVID-19, this staple of the community will be broadcasted on cable television, the Internet and social media and will be viewable from your home this year.
Photo from Schenectady Kids Arts Festival’s website.
The festival will be made up of 28 segments. These segments were created by the participating individuals and organizations who are local artists and entertainers. These segments make up four episodes each lasting approximately one hour. Some of these segments were pre-recorded at Open Stage Media on the MainStage at Proctors in Schenectady. Mike Purcell of A-1 Entertainment of Clifton Park also included submissions of Capital District residents dancing to pre-recorded tracks in each episode.
The festival will feature: Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra, Puppet People (a professional touring puppet company based in Schenectady,) students of the Dance Me School of Dance and Character Development, the Oneida Middle School Jazz Band, and many more.
The festival can be viewed on Spectrum on channel 1302 in Albany and Schenectady. It will also be broadcasting on Verizon Fios on channel 37 in Albany. The first and second episode will be broadcast live at 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday, June 6. The third and fourth episodes will be broadcast live at noon and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7. The festival will also be broadcasted live on the Schenectady Kids Arts Festival’s Facebook page. After the live broadcast, the episodes will remain available on the Schenectady Kids Arts Festival’s Facebook page and will become available for streaming free at Open Stage Media’s
Photo from Schenectady Kids Arts Festival’s website.
For more information and a full schedule of events can be found on Schenectady Kids Arts Festival’s website.
Dan Smalls is a promoter who works in central New York and the surrounding areas. He heads Dan Smalls Presents (DSP), which promotes concerts and events in Cooperstown, Syracuse and Albany, as well as DSP’s home base in Ithaca. NYS Music spoke to Small about how COVID-19 is affecting the music industry, particulary in a smaller market such as Ithaca.
Dan Smalls. Photo via Dan Smalls.
Nora Hones: As a promoter, what are the difficulties you expected to undergo during COVID-19, and what are some unexpected challenges?
Dan Smalls: Well I think they are both the same honestly. There is so much uncertainty with what people know about the disease and how it’s transmitted, I think we are pretty clear that our business is the one that is the most affected. Anytime people are indoors and are in close proximity for a period of time you’re gonna have a problem. So we sort of expected there to be issues, maybe not as much as there was, but the hardest part is not knowing when we will be back to doing shows again.
In the same vain, I don’t expect it to be the same again. Things changed when 911 happened and I think the future of the music industry is very different now. That being said we are luckily going into it in a really good place, where we feel like surviving it will be okay and we are pretty forward thinking in how we are as a company. So I think we will be prepared for whatever comes next and be ready to capitalize on it.
Dan Smalls speaking into microphone. Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: In a city like Ithaca, that has a really big music scene and central business, what are fallouts you are expecting due to the pandemic?
DS: Well I think this community is relatively isolated, at least when you talk about Ithaca, in that it’s driven from education and the services surrounding it. That being said education is impacted and if people aren’t coming back to town then that will affect our community more than most. In most economic downturns, cities like Ithaca can survive pretty well because education is always here. It’s not manufacturing, it’s not things that change. If kids don’t come back it’ll be a little more [difficult] than in the past. So we will have to see, I think Ithaca College is very bold by saying they are going to have kids on campus this fall but who knows at this point. Like anyone who says that stuff it’s a little bit of an interesting choice at this point.
NH: So coming off of that [vein of thought] as a promoter who is working through this, what are your ideas of how things will work once they start the phased reopening of different venues like, State Theater vs. the Beak and Skiff?
DS: I’m not going to pull punches here, but my opinion is that we’re (and maybe I’m wrong, I hope I am) but I don’t think indoor shows in theaters are going to be. I think the best case-scenario is probably March or April of 2021 at th0is point. I think outdoor shows next summer we have a better chance, but again, all of this is predicated on so many unknowns. Will there be a treatment or a breakthrough? I’m not a proponent of believing a vaccine will come out any quicker than in the past, but I’m also not trying to get elected so I don’t have to say these things. But it’s definitely doom and gloom to believe it’s going to be a long time but it’s better to be prepared for a longer break and come out of it in different ways and find ways to spend the time like with different types of programming or content creation in the meanwhile.
NH: I 100% agree with you. I think it’s going to be a long time before we are back to indoor shows.
How is that really going to work with them being postponed all at the same time and trying to prioritize?
DS: There is for sure lots of traffic, but that being said I think we are going to manage it pretty well and it will come together as it does. I think there will be a lot of opportunities when it’s done with bigger acts playing in smaller venues just because they will be afraid with how much their tickets will be worth. But there will be a lot of traffic, no doubt. This is how people make money now so the question is: how do we manage that and prioritize?And really, I hate to keep going back to it, but there is just a ton of unknowns. How many venues will survive? Luckily our partners are mostly in very good shape and I think we are going to chrome out of it okay but we will have to see. It depends how long [this pandemic] goes on for.
NH: I know you are involved in some smaller festivals like the Ithaca Reggae Fest for example, how do you think this pandemic will affect small festivals like that across the United States?
DS: They are all going to lose a year.
NH: For sure, but how many do you think will be able to come back in the capacity they were used to coming back in every year?
DS: Well again, it’s going to depend on how the industry is going to [handle things]. Everything is going to be understated, I really believe it’s going to take years to get back to what we are used to. So a lot of them will probably not take the risk. A lot of it was dictated by sponsorship dollars and all of that and I don’t know if all of that will be as out there when the economy is struggling.
NH: Have you seen a lot of sponsorships getting pulled?
DS: Not at this point. It’s more just that everyone is trying to believe that a future will come back around and I just don’t know if the sponsorship piece of that is [will,] it’s relatively small at this point.
Dan Smalls (right). Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: What’s your thoughts a venue’s chance of surviving with so many small businesses closing?
DS: Being the Vice President of the Independent Promoter Alliance not-for-profit, that recently formed to help guide indie performers and their venues, I’m hearing a lot of challenges from a lot of people. The question is just who is going into this in a position where they aren’t behind the eight-ball financially I guess. Venues who serve food and things like that have been able to pivet pretty well, at least some of them have, it really just comes down to how management has done in the past and how they run their businesses. I don’t know how else to put it.
We don’t have a ton of venues of that size. We generally have [places that are] 300 and up [for capacity] but I hope they [venues] all find a way though. I really do but I think looking at what’s happening to restaurants in NYC [you can see] there is going to be a lot of fallout here and the question is just how long we can prop them up or whether the economy will come back quicker than people will believe. Again, I hate to go back to uncertainty, but that’s all we really are talking about here. It’s hard to make a prediction.
NH: For sure, everything is very uncertain right now. And there is so much fake news out there, nobody really knows what’s going on.
DS: I wish they never created it. I wish it was just news, you know?
NH: Me too, believe me I always have to tell people you have to check out the website you’re looking at.
What are your thoughts about bands, who are smaller local bands whose members supplement their income with performing, how it’s going to affect these bands and their members who are no longer able to supplement their income?
DS: Well a lot of them are finding creative ways though selling special merch or doing live-streams and stuff like that, and I think that’s all we really have for now. So the question is who can do them [the most] creative, and do them a little more uniquely, and go from there. I think how you find ways to stand out in that game are important.
Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: What kind of advice would you give to musicians who are trying these creative ways to supplement their income?
DS: What I think, is that there are so many – It’s the wild wild west. There is no other way to put it. The more I think about it, anything goes tight now. Everybody is talking to everybody and the goal is just how do we take care of each other through this? The spirit of working together between managers and agents and promoters and venues has never been better and that’s what I think we are looking for in this. Let’s work together and go from there, you know?
NH: Definitely. Have you heard about these social distancing concerts that have been being put on, like the one in Arkansas?
DS: I will completely say no thanks. That’s not something I’m interested in doing. I think they are just such a terrible experience we aren’t interested in those at this point.
NH: I think that’s the safe and fair opinion on them at this point. It seems like a very risky revenue and road to go down.
DS: Yeah I agree. It’s just for us how we categorize our business, [is] we have been a forward thinking artist and fan-centric business. And we want the best experience for both the fan and the artist. It’s been our motto and our goal from day one. So that being said we’re not going to start doing things different because of this. We would rather wait it out and do it proper.
NH: So what kinds of things are you doing currently, despite COVID-19 sort of destroying everyone’s plans? I saw you’re doing the live-stream for Bob Dylan’s birthday, but what other things is Dan Smalls Presents currently doing?
DS: We are going to keep doing those [live-streams] for the State Theater and some one offs here and there for other venues close to us. We’re announcing some ticked live-stream stuff in the next couple of weeks here with the Whitney show this week and we should have a couple more of those coming. We are making the best use of the time. We’re gonna do our best to just keep coming up with creative ideas and that’s our goal. More will come out of this for working with managers on lots of crazy ideas. So stay tuned, everyday is a new idea.
NH: So how do the ticketed live-streams work? I’ve seen some different things about them but I’m not sure exactly how they work. Do people buy a ticket and get a code for the live-stream or something like that?
DS: Yup, they buy a ticket and it gives them access. Whitney has done it, Japanese Breakfast has done it, there’s a bunch of them that have happened already. They’re pretty cool. They are just another way [to do things.] There are two schools of thought, the suggested donation generally works pretty well but some of them want to have a wall up and have a ticket and that works. It’s really simpler than it looks. It’s just like buying a ticket to a show and all they do is send you a link and a code to get into to watch it.
NH: Okay, awesome, that sounds really cool. So that was pretty much all my questions. Do you have anything else you would like to say? Anything else you would like to put out into the world?
DS: I wish the news was better and everything was more solid but unfortunately at this point we just don’t know. It’s day by day, hour by hour, and it’s a good time to take stock of your friends and your family and your life. What we [have] learned is that the go, go, go mentality doesn’t have to come back that way. I have been pretty good about that even in the past. I think we were ready for this, we were prepared for it from a financial standpoint, we will weather the storm and come out the other side strong.
Dawn, an all-night cultural arts festival, will take place virtually on May 28 and 29 from 7PM to 6AM PT (10PM-9AM ET) for the celebration of Shavuot. The 11 hour celebration will include three reimagined tracks of the 10 Commandments as well as art, comedy, music, film, and conversation. Shavuot is a Jewish holidays that commemorates both the first harvest of early summer, as well as the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai following the exodus from Egypt.
The event will live-stream on Reboot’s website. The festivities will include Yoga, Meditation, Sound Bath, Cooking Class, Music, DJ Dance Party among the many activities.
One of the main attractions will be an Original Score by Cecil B Demille of the Ten Commandments pt.1 performed by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips and Scott Amendola. This reimagining of the silent era film from 1923 will be split into two stories. The first revolving around the Jewish Exodus from Egypt and a present day, or present for 1923, melodrama. The new score will musically follow Moses out of Egypt and into the dessert where he receives the Ten Commandments.
The Dawn celebration will also have lots of other appearances. Others on the bill include Jill Soloway, Carl Reiner, Norman Lear, Gabi Moskowitz, Kasher vs. Kasher (Moshe Kasher and Rabbi David Kasher), Michaela Watkins, John Schott, Tiffany Shlain, The Milk Carton Kids, Zackary Drucker, and AJ Jacobs.
The festival is being put on by Reboot and the Jewish Emergent Network. Reboot has put on festivals in the past in San Francisco for Shavuot but because of COVID-19 this year’s programming will be a little different. The hope of these organizations is that moving to a digital platform will make them accessible to a larger audience.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series was supposed to announce its lineup but unfortunately it has decided to postpone it’s festivities. The ten week free concert series will be back in the summer of 2021. This difficult decision was not made lightly but with COVID-19 alive and raging the Utica Monday Nite and the Levitt AMP committee have decided that with the concerns for the health, safety and well-being of their community that postponing was the only real option.
The grant money won by the public voting campaign by Utica community members will roll over to 2021. The Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation has assured that the $25,000 will be safe and be able to be used for next year’s festivities. The only catch is that Utica will not have to apply again and won’t have to vote again for next year’s grant.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties usually match the funds and grants collected for the past four years. Alicia Dicks, president/CEO of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties said she supported the decision to postpone The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series till next summer and look forward to next summer.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series team is currently working on rebooking as many of the headlining bands that were scheduled for the festivities this summer for next year’s festival. The series will also feature local talent each week as it always does.
Levitt AMP Utica Music Series. Photo Provided by Levitt AMP Utica Music Series.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series will be joining the 10-Week Virtual Music Series with The Levitt Foundation. They will be joining 19 other Levitt AMP cities for this 10-week Virtual Music Series which will highlight some of Utica’s local talent on a national platform. The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series will also be exploring the possibility of applying for a new Bridge Grant for 2020. The Levitt Foundation created this grant to bring people together through music in alternative ways and is shaping what that may look like for our community.
For more information please visit Levitt AMP Utica Facebook and Instagram pages.
Loose Leaf Talent Agency has announced the premiere of the first ever StreamFest via JamCast Network. The live-stream festival will start on Friday, May 29 and will run through Sunday, May 31.
The festival included two stages. The first stage that centers around full bands will be The Green Mountain Stage and the other will focus on EDM and DJ sets. The festival will feature completely new or improvised sets from all the artists on the lineup in alignment with its Jam name.
Artists performing on the full band The Green Mountain Stage include: Rumpke Mountain Boys, Sophistafunk, Luke The Knife, DJ Yesmann (Craig Broadhead of Turkuaz,) Bandemic (Ft. Members of The Motet, Shred Is Dead, & Magic Beans.) Also on the Green Mountain Stage, blues prodigy Quinn Sullivan, Rob Compa of Dopapod, Hayley Jane, Higher Education, LITZ, Runaway Gin, The Sweet Life, D’Vibes, The Mighty Good Times, Swimmer, Lee Ross, Squeaky Feet, The Trichomes, The Copper Children, The Mushroom Cloud, Mad Midi, Leon Trout, Isaac Young, Bryan Walters of The Phryg, Solar Circuit, Mt. Pleasant Band, MarSOUPial, Max Kipnis, Cozm & Naught, Amorphic, Devin Bender, Xoa, UN!TY and Wonderkid.
EDM and DJ’s performing on the The Rocky Mountain Stage include: Desert Dwellers (Amani Solo Set), Govinda, David Starfire, Living Light, Mlakai, Equanimous, Ruby Chase, Evanoff, Spaceship Earth, Morillo, Cosmal, Laika Beats, Beardthug, Tahabdra, Zoo Logic, PropLydz, Teddy Midnight, Pj Wrecks, Terraphorm, Soley, Bake Joynton, Daze Inn, Ives, Steronest, Sylph, Galactivators, Closed Loop, ILAS, L3tho, The Paplin, and Tendrel.
https://youtu.be/JMBZKmt2M7Y
The festival will be streamed on JamCastNetwork.com. The StreamFest will also feature live painters, dancers and flow artists. The live-stream has a $5 entree fee for a one-day pass or $10 entry fee for the full weekend. Tickets are available for purchase here.
The State Theatre of Ithaca, in partnership with DSP has announced a free live-stream in honor of Bob Dylan’s birthday on Sunday, May 24 at 8 PM. The live-stream will feature a bunch of different artists from Central New York and even some largely well known artists. All proceeds from The Bob Dylan Birthday Salute will go to supporting the participating local and national touring artists that have lost their income and livelihood during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bob Dylan’s birthday is on May 24 and he’ll be turning 79. Dylan is one of America’s top all time artists and is considered one of the most original and influential voices in music history. He is a legendary singer-songwriter that has won Grammy, Golden Globe and Academy awards, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Although he won’t be performing himself, the show will be in the spirit of Bob Dylan.
The birthday celebration will feature performances from Joan Baez, Sam Harris from the X Ambassadors, Billy Strings, Sarah Jarosz, Eilen Jewell, Aoife O’Donovan w/ Eric and Colin Jacobsen, Chris Smither, Tommy Siegel from Jukebox The Ghost, Steve Forbert, Miss Tess & Thomas Bryan Eaton from Miss Tess & The Talkbacks, Maddy Walsh & Mike Suave from Maddy Walsh & The Blindspots, Joe Crookston, and Jim Miller from Western Centuries.
The State Theater of Ithaca is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization who relies on donations from the community on top of it’s ticket sales to keep its doors open. Donations will go to the artists as well as covering the production expenses that go into creating the live-stream. DSP Shows also known as Dan Smalls Productions, is a staple promoter who largely works out of central New York. Dan Smalls played a significant role earlier this month in organizing the John Prine live-stream tribute with The State Theatre.
People can view the live-stream on the State Theatre of Ithaca’s Facebook page as well as their YouTube channel starting at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, May 24. For more information visit the State Theater’s website or DSP website.
NYC Nightlife United launches an emergency relief fund that will help musicians and small businesses stay afloat amidst COVID-19 crisis. NYC Nightlife United is partnering with not-for-profit The Solo Foundation whose focus is to bring awareness about social issues revolving around the arts and will help deliver the money raised to those who receive the grant.These organizations are attempting to keep safe spaces, nightclubs, venues, and small businesses from closing while helping promoters, musicians, comedians, sound techs, bar staff, and DJs with having an income still during these difficult times.
NYC Nightlife United is focused on what it calls ‘the ecosystem’ of NYC which is basically businesses and individuals who are key players in the nightlife in NYC. The people whose livelihood is dependent on entertainment that is defined as music, comedy or performances within the 5 boroughs of NYC and make NYC the cultural center it is known for.
Businesses who are looking to apply must meet the criteria of being within the 5 boroughs of NYC, making under $150,000 in revenue per month or having under 50 employees, providing evidence they create an substantial amount of programming being either music, comedy or performances, must be in financial hardship from COVID-19 and must be able to supply letters of recommendation from one from staff member (preferably a manager), from one talent, and from one patron. Those who meet the criteria are potentially eligible for up to $20,000 of relief funds.
Individuals who are looking to apply must be able to prove having had a gig canceled or postponed due to COVID-19. Applicants can include musicians, talent, artists, engineers, and ect. Either individuals or individuals representing a collective like a band or comedy group for example can apply. Those who are able to fit this criteria are potentially eligible for up to $5,000 of relief funds.
The relief fund applications will be due in two phases. The first phase will be small business venue owners on June 5th. The second phase will be individuals of ‘the ecosystem’ on July 5th. Funds will be distributed to as many applicants as possible but not every applicant will get funded. Those who meet the criteria best will be chosen and funded on a nondiscriminatory basis by The Solo Foundation staff. All applicants who are selected will be notified by email.
People can help support the cause by donating through NYC Nightlife United’s website. All donations are fully tax-deductible and will help keep NYC’s nightlife alive.
For more information please visit NYC Nightlife United’s website.
Yankee Stadium parking lots will be filled with cars this summer, but not for the usual reasons. A new festival, Uptown Drive-In, will be situated in Yankee Stadium’s parking lot following the new trend of drive-in events due to COVID-19.
News of this festival was dropped in an exclusive in Time Out New York on May 15 and is quickly making buzz for itself. According to the exclusive, Uptown Drive-in will happen every weekend starting in July and feature live music from local artists from NYC, movies, on-site live interactive games, raffles and giveaways, and car-side food service from an array of New York Street Vendors. Uptown Drive-In is planning on organizing it’s weekend activities by having date-night experiences on Friday, Saturday and Sundays in the evening, while having a more family-friendly style brunch series during the day on Saturdays and Sundays.
The Festival is being put on by MASC Hospitality Group who is the same company responsible for events like Bronx Night Market and the Bronx Beer Festival. Not many details about the event have been announced yet, but MASC Hospitality Group’s Marco Shalma did confirm within the exclusive that the plan is for people to view the performances from their cars just like you would at a drive-in theater. This comes from Governor Andrew Cuomo gave New York state permission to re-open some drive-in movie theaters on May 15 as part of New York state’s phased reopening. There is a plan to lift the stage and have the sound be accessible from a PA system to visitor’s car radios.
The cost of admission is still undetermined. But those interested in attending can sign up on their website to receive information on booking dates, promo codes, exclusive packages, and giveaways.
