NYS Music 202​0

Author: Nora Hones

  • Electronic Artist i_o Drops New Song “Annihilation” Featuring Alt-Pop Artist Lights

    Electronic Artist i_o released his new song “Annihilation,” part of his third installment titled AM 444 of his 444 album series. This song features Canadian alt-pop artist Lights and has reached #2 on iTunes electronic chart. The AM 444 installment is based on what the world feels like around 4am when the lines between night and day become foggy, and night turns into day, the world just before dawn.

     i_o’s 444 album series was named for an obscure New York City underground venue. The 444 album is part of a three-part series of four tracks each as a nod to the number this series nodding to the number four. i_o uses each installment of 444 album series to project his own feelings about the different areas of dance music that he feels defines him as an artist. The first two installments were ACID 444 and NRG 444. ACID 444 was released back in late 2019 and was all about his warehouse roots meanwhile NRG was released in early 2020 and was more of an upbeat, peak of the night, collection of songs.

    On AM 444 i_o is joined by Lights on all tracks and highlights his production skills on the more melodic and progressive side. Although “Annihilation” is the only track dropped so far from the AM 444 installment you can already see it making nods to his production value and melodic rhythms. The song’s repetitive and trancelike beats in combination with the ebb and flow of vocals between i_o and Lights really reflects the feeling of 4AM when you are still out dancing just letting the music flow through you which the entire section will be focusing on.   

    The rest of the AM 444 installment is due to drop on May 29th on mau5trap. For more information on i_o and his 444 album visit mau5trap’s website. For more information on Lights visit her website.

  • 518 Day Celebrates Local Music across Eastern New York

    May 18th may be just any other day of the year for most of the world, but for the extended Capital Region in New York, it is a day of celebration. 518 Day highlights the variety of local music that has been a defining part of this expansive region of New York State. 

    The 518 region stretches all the way from the Canadian border to the Mid-Hudson region, borders with Vermont, and covers more than 12,000 square miles across 17 counties of New York. Area code 518 was established on January 1st, 1947 and has a population of more than 1.3 million residents, with major cities that include Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and Troy among others.

    The 518 has become it’s own cultural hub and is known particularly for it’s great local music scenes. A great deal of artists come from the 518 region and call it home, including Blotto, Madison Vandenburg, Wild Adriatic, Blind Owl Band, Sawyer Fredericks, Eastbound Jesus, Ominous Seapods, moe., Glass Pony and many, many more.

    518 music is being celebrated by Radio Radio X who are running an all day show from 5AM to midnight tonight featuring local music from the 518 area. There will be a pause for Big Ed’s Little Rock and Roll show at 7PM and a new CD by Off The Record Trio which will be played from start to finish. You can listen live online here.

    Check out some videos of local 518 talent over the years

  • Suwannee at Home: Spirit Raiser 2020

    From Live Oak, Florida the Suwannee at Home: Spirit Raiser 2020 will take place May 15th through 17th. This will be a virtual online festival streaming across multiple platforms. The festival’s intention is to raise the spirits of the music community and to raise some funds for festival support staff.

    The festival is being presented by Spirit of Suwannee Music Park and Relix Magazine and will be hosted by Suwanee Rising Event Co-Producers: Beth Judy (Suwannee Spring Reunion, Suwannee  Roots Revival) and Paul Levine (Hulaween, Purple Hatters Ball). The festival will take place Friday, May 15th from 4PM-9PM, Saturday, May 16th from 4PM-9PM, and Sunday, May 17th from 2PM-8PM.

    Suwannee at Home: Spirit Raiser will Featuring Members of: Big Gigantic, Donna The Buffalo, Doom Flamingo, Dopapod, Dumpstaphunk, Eric Krasno, George Porter Jr., Grass Is Dead, Greensky Bluegrass, Jennifer Hartswick & Chris Chew, Jim Lauderdale, Joe Craven, Jon Stickley Trio, Keller Williams, Larry & Jenny Keel, Leftover Salmon, Lettuce, Luther Dickinson, Mike Dillon, moe., Nikki Talley, Railroad Earth, Rev Jeff Mosier, Roosevelt, Collier, Sierra Hull, Snarky Puppy, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Duhks, The Motet, The New, Mastersounds, The Nth Power, The Travelin’ McCourys, Toubab Krewe, Umphrey’s McGee, Van Ghost, Verlon Thompson, Weedie Braimah, Will Kimbrough, Zach Deputy, with more to be announced.

    Artists are both performing live and sending in pre-recorded content from their respective areas of self quarantine. These artists are volunteering their time with performances to brief cameos to 30 minute slots to Q and A sections.

    Suwannee at Home: Spirit Raiser will be able to be viewed online everywhere on Zoom via Facebook and Website. Live Oak Music and Art Foundation Inc, a 501c3 organization will collect and distribute any collected funds and will be the sole recipient of any merchandise sold.

    For more information please visit Suwannee at Home: Spirit Raiser’ website.

  • Live From Out There Announces Virtual Festival

    11E1even Group, in partnership with LivexLive, have announced their The Live From Out There festival for four weekends of music. The festival will be accessible by subscription and pay-per-view and will run from May 15th through June 7th. 

    11E1even Group has been putting on their Live From Out There performances which have been providing a wide variety of content streaming for people to view from their homes while raising money for the greater music community through Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund for the last two months. The festival will run as a four-week pay-per-view and subscription series for viewing the festival.

    The lineup includes Big Gigantic, Dispatch, Zeds Dead, moe., Nahko, Umphrey’s McGee, STS9, Turquaz, Hiss Golden Messenger, Twiddle, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Goose, James Petralli & Michael Hunter of White Denim, Zach Williams of The Lone Bellow, Motet and many more.

    The Live From Out There festival will be partnering with Summer Camp Music Festival for its second weekend May 22nd through the 24th for the “Summer Camp Virtual Festival: A 20 Year Retrospective.” This weekend will focus on featuring live music, throwback performances, interviews, workshops, panel discussions, giveaways and more. The Summer Camp team will also take the opportunity to connect Summer Campers with each other through these virtual programs. 

    The subscription series will run from May 15th to June 7th and subscribers will have access to four weekends of live and archival sets, with the majority available on-demand after the live broadcast. Tickets for pay-per-view and subscriptions are on sale today, May 13th and details can be found on the Live From Out There website.The content will be available on all LivexLive platforms either by their website or by accessing their app.

    This Thursday, May 14th at 8PM EST, Live From Out There will host a free performance on the LiveXLive platform to introduce fans to the new platform and prepare them for the upcoming festival. People can watch on LiveXLive.com and apps, social media channels and its OTT channels on Amazon, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung TVs, desktop and mobile/tablet. The performance will feature Rick Mitarotonda and Peter Anspach of Goose performing a very special acoustic set from their home in Connecticut.

    The Live From Out There series has generated over $400K so far. All the proceeds from each subscription benefit Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund. This organization is using donor-directed funding to provide immediate assistance, lodging, clothing, food and more to the musicians and crew involved in the series as well as music industry workers and artists who have suffered a loss of income due to the recent outbreak and resulting restrictions placed on live events and gatherings.

    For more information visit the Live From Out There’s Website.

  • Beanstalk Festival Will Go on at the Drive-In

    The 8th Annual 2020 Beanstalk Music Festival will be moving forward in spite of COVID-19 with a little thinking outside of the box. The festival will go on for a two nights at Holiday Twin Drive-In Theater in Fort Collins, CO. 

    The festival will take place during the weekend of June 26th and 27th. The festival will feature two nights of music from Beanstalk festival founders and annual hosts Magic Beans. There will also be performances from Kitchen Dwellers and Cycles, as well as Colorado artists The Great Salmon Famine and Envy Alo. 

    The Beanstalk Festival will be observing all state & county social distancing protocols while providing the music and a brand new way of experiencing a festival. There will be a limited capacity in order to work with the drive-in theater’s layout.  Beanstalk Festival producers have also decided that attendees will be parked with an empty spot between each vehicle to help ensure social distancing is properly being followed. This decision by the producers will cut down on capacity, and profits for the event but have decided it is the safest and best way to keep everyone safe. Attendees will be permitted to set up a “hang out area” directly adjacent to their vehicle that is safely distanced from other guests. In adherence with typical drive-in admission policies, there will be no entry after 8:30pm.

    Existing ticket holders will be granted admission for themselves, a guest and their vehicle. Tickets for Beanstalk At the Drive-In are now on sale at www.beanstalkfestival.com and on Eventbrite.

    For more information on the Beanstalk Festival visit their website or on their social media pages.

  • Rock Legend Little Richard Dies at 87

    Rock and R&B legend Little Richard died on May 9th, 2020 at the age of 87. The legend sold more than 30 million records worldwide and was widely recognized as the “architect of rock ‘n’ roll.” Pastor Bill Minson, a close friend of Little Richard’s, told The Associated Press that Little Richard died Saturday morning. The rock icon’s agent Dick Allen later confirmed he was suffering from bone cancer.

    Richard Wayne Penniman, more commonly known as Little Richard, was born in Macon, Georgia. He grew up during the Great Depression and was one of 12 children. As a child he didn’t conform to typical gender expression norms and suffered a small deformity where his right leg was shorter than his left, making him a bit of an outcast.

    He had multiple successful hits including “Tutti Frutti” which made it into the Top 40 and “Lucille,” “Keep A Knockin’,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good Golly Miss Molly” which were all foundations of rock music according to the New York Times.

    Little Richard was one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which opened in 1986, alongside Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke and others. Little Richard is known for saying, “I am the architect of rock ‘n’ roll! I am the originator!” during the 1988 Grammy Awards due in part to being a founding member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    He announced his retirement from live performing back in August of 2002 but still could be seen performing the occasional show or on commercials like his appearance in a 2006 commercial for GEICO insurance.

    Little Richard is known for being an influence on many musicians and  claimed he paved the way for Elvis, provided Mick Jagger with his stage moves and conducted vocal lessons for McCartney according to the New York Times. Bruno Mars is known for saying Little Richard was a big influence for him.

    We mourn his loss and send our condolences to his family and friends.

  • 2020 City of Albany Tulip Festival Moves to Virtual Celebration

    The 72nd annual 2020 City of Albany Tulip Festival is moving to the virtual field as many festivals and performances are due to the COVID-19 outbreak sweeping across the world. The festival will be presented by Citizens Bank and kicks off on Saturday, May 9th at 12p.m. 

    The virtual 2020 City of Albany Tulip Festival will feature musical performances from local artists like Sawyer Fredericks, The Age, Hartley’s Encore, Caity Gallagher and many others. There will also be City of Albany Gardeners who will be taking the  viewer on a tour of the Tulip beds with their expert knowledge. Local businesses will also be joining the celebration with take-out specials. There is even something for kids during the festival with a performance from Melvin the Magnificent.

    The festival will premiere on the Albany Events YouTube Page at noon on Saturday, May 9th. It’s also available to be found on Albany Events social media channels under @AlbanyNYevents!  The festival can also be viewed on Open Stage Media’s Art’s channels: Channel 1302 on Spectrum Cable and Channel 37 on Verizon Fios.

    People are encouraged to watch live and celebrate the Albany community in the live chat accompanying the streaming. Media sponsors for the event are WEXT Radio and Albany.com.

    For more information on the 2020 City of Albany Tulip Festival please visit Albany Event’s website.

  • Proctors Collaborative Produces High School Musical Theatre Awards to be broadcasted on TV

    Throughout the many closings due to COVID-19, one that has particularly affected students interested in the arts is the cancellation of school musicals. The Proctors School of the Performing Arts, a celebration of regional scholastic productions, has decided to do something about it during their fourth annual High School Musical Theatre Awards. They plan to broadcast the awards over TV at 7 p.m. on Saturday,  May 16th.

    Unfortunately many of the original participating schools were unable to stage their performances before schools closed due to state COVID-19 executive orders, making it impossible to complete adjudication and award student actors, technicians and ensembles. However there will be 27 schools participating in the 2020 HSMTA, represented by 1,400 students participating in musicals.

    The televised broadcast features videos submitted by the schools showcasing rehearsals, solos, dance numbers and backstage activity. This televised event will end with a performance of “Finale B (No Day but Today)” from the musical Rent that will include at least one artist from each participating school. There is also a red-carpet-component on social media where students are also encouraged to participate from home in a virtual red carpet. Students can post a photo beginning at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 16 using the tag #HSMTAatProctors on Instagram to “walk” the red carpet on Proctors Instagram page.

    The High School Musical Theatre Awards can be viewed live at 7 p.m. Saturday on May 16 several ways. Spectrum subscribers can view it on Channel 1302 in Albany and Schenectady. It will be rebroadcast at later dates. Verizon Fios subscribers in the Albany area can view it on Channel 37. And a livestream will be available at openstagemedia.org/channels/live-stream. There is a suggested donation of $10 per household for the event, and viewers can text HSMTA to 41444 to donate.

    The hosts of the show are Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors Collaborative, and Rex Smith, editor at large of the Times Union, HSMTA’s presenting sponsor. The event is produced by the School of Performing Arts at Proctors and Collaborative Studios, an affiliate of Proctors Collaborative. 

    For more information please visit Proctor School’s Website.

  • Allison Leah’s “We Can Still Sing” an Anthem for Surviving COVID-19

    New York City’s own Allison Leah released her new single, “We Can Still Sing” which summarizes how many are feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic that is gripping the world.

    Allison Leah is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised just north of New York City and currently resides there. She writes everything from heartfelt originals like “We Can Still Sing” to familiar commercial jingles like “Hess Truck.” Leah released her debut EP Fly Home back in 2018. 

    “We Can Still Sing” revolves around the helplessness everyone is feeling during this pandemic but that we can stand together and ‘still sing’ and that we aren’t alone even though it feels like it currently. She focuses part way through the song on holding on to yourself and your loved ones and how when this is over eventually. How we will joke about this time of staying inside in the future. 

    When the song starts it has this sad restless undertones created by the lingering piano. Between the  lingering tune and the songs lyrics and their inflections it mirrors these feelings or restless and hopelessness people have been feeling. The song then takes a turn though when hitting the chorus between the piano, acoustic guitar and snapping and shakers it turns into the hopeful song it is. 

    This EP is definitely worth checking out especially for anyone feeling the quarantine blues. For more information on Allison Leah check out her website.

  • Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival Announces 2020 Lineup

    Buffalo New York’s fourth annual Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival announced its 2020 lineup which will include 15 different artists across five stages. The festival will take place July 31 and August 1, and will benefit the Child Advocacy Center for the third year in a row.

    This year’s lineup includes Smash Mouth, Spin, Doctors, Aqueous, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Magic Beans, Hayley Jane, Root Shock, Funktional Flow, Witty Tarbox, Workingman’s Dead, Critt’s Juke Joint, PA Line, Grub, Cypher, and Grosh. The festival will be made up of two main outdoor stages located on Illinois and Columbia Streets, an existing stage inside Buffalo Iron Works, another inside Lockhouse Distillery & Bar, and a stage on Mississippi Street.

    There are three tiers of tickets that can be purchased. Tier one tickets with the current lineup consist of either two-day general admission tickets for $40 or two-day VIP tickets for $150. Tier two tickets are available after July 30 with the final lineup announcements and consist of either general admission for $20 on Friday, July 31, general admission for $35 for Saturday, August 1, a two-day pass for general admission for $50, or two-day VIP tickets for $150. Tier Three tickets are day-of show pricing with Friday’s general admission being $30, Saturday’s admission for $45, and a two-day VIP ticket still for $150. VIP tickets include exclusive VIP-only tented areas, preferred viewing areas of each outdoor stage, a premium bar with craft beverages, lounge area under the VIP tent, complimentary meals, private bathroom access, a commemorative laminate, and more to be announced.

    For more information and to purchase tickets visit Cobblestone Live’s website.