NYS Music 202​0

Author: Nora Hones

  • Summer Sonic Festival Takes to the Virtual Stage

    Summer Sonic Festival announced their 2020 festivities will take to the virtual stage. The festival will live-stream archived performances from big names like Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Rihanna, Coldplay, The Flaming Lips and many more. The free live-stream starts on July 22 and runs through to July 23 via the Summer Sonic YouTube channel at 7AM EST.

    Summer Sonic Festival is usually held in Osaka and Chiba, Japan at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day and then go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The festival was founded in 2000 and typically features rock music. This year’s festivities were stopped due to the pandemic but the festival will go on in spirit on the virtual stage.

    The festival won’t be hosting live performances but will show highlights from the past 20 years. The archive performances include Boom Boom Satellites from 200, B’z from 2009, Coldplay from 2008, The Flaming Lips from 2009, Oasis from 2005, Sigur Ros from 2012 and Sonic Youth from 2009 on the July 22. The archive includes Green Day from 2012, Nine Inch Nails from 2009, Rihanna from 2012, The Prodigy from 2008, and X JAPAN from 2011 on July 23. The Summer Sonic archived performances will become available for streaming beginning at 8:00PM Japan time (4:00AM in Los Angeles, 7:00AM in New York) on July 23. The live-stream will free and available everywhere via Summer Sonic Festival’s YouTube channel.

    For more information and to see the full lineup please visit Summer Sonic Festival’s website.


  • Alondra Galopa Release Cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence”

    Alondra Galopa dropped their cover of “Sound of Silence” originally by Simon and Garfunkel. The cover comes from a place of unrest and gives the song a new meaning in 2020. 

    Alondra Galopa is an alternative indie band that originates from Granada, Spain. The band has worked with Linier Discos and The Borderline Music record labels producing one of a kind sounds. Some of their biggest songs include, “no hay marcha atrás,” “héroe,” and “a ninguna parte.” The band is made up of Juan A Salinas, Monica Navarro, Antonio “Lopez” y Manuel Marín.

    Before the worldwide pandemic, Alondra Galopa, was in full production work for their next record release. The album production process had to stop due to the group’s inability to reunite. Band members Mónica Navarro and Juan A. Salinas have adapted “Sound of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel to Spanish during their unexpected downtime. They have turned the sound into a dark pop terrain, with the essence of post rock and dark noise that characterizes some of their productions. Between Monica Navarro’s vocals and the eerie sound it’s an original version of  “Sound of Silence.” The cover is really something special that takes a classic song and changes to the sound while still keeping the essence of the song intact which isn’t an easy thing to do. 

    The song is definitely worth giving a listen to if you are a Alondra Galopa or Simon and Garfunkel fan. The song is out now and available on most streaming services.  


    For more information on Alondra Galopa visit their Facebook Page.

  • CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival Postponed Until 2021

    CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival announced it’s plans to postpone it’s 19th annual festival till 2021. The festival came to this conclusion in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic; it was not safe to be held this year. The jazz fest will take place on  June 18 – 26, 2021.

    Photo provided by CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival’s press release.

    The festival was originally rescheduled  from June 19 – June 27 of 2020 to October 2 – 10, 2020 in hopes the pandemic would subside. Marc Iacona and John Nugent are producers of the festival ended up making the decision like many festivals to ultimately postpone until 2021. “This is the decision we didn’t want to make,” said Iacona and Nugent. They explained their decision to cancel saying, “We held out hope for as long as possible even as most major festivals and concert events around the world were postponing. But as we have now arrived at a critical junction, needing to finalize artists and logistic arrangements, reality has prevailed.”

    With more than 208,000 people attending the nine-day festival annually, coming from more than half of the United States and 20 countries around the world to see 325-plus shows, and 1750-plus artists performing there was no way to make the festival a safe environment in the light of the pandemic. They wouldn’t be able to adhere to the distancing guidelines set. The guidelines would severely reduce venue capacities, likely capped at 25%, if venues were even available. Access would be severely limited, making it impossible to accommodate all patrons.The festival also includes lots of free shows, comprising almost a third of the festival’s shows. These shows in particular would be extremely difficult if not impossible to manage for screening, distancing, and oversight.

    The Good news is that the festival has been able to reschedule the headliner shows, originally scheduled for this year. Both Puss N Boots and Spyro Gyra from their postponed 19th Edition will be featured in the 2021 edition. Puss N Boots will perform on Friday, June 18, 2021. Spyro Gyra will play Tuesday, June 22, 2021. For those who hold tickets for those shows, tickets and selected seats are saved and are automatically valid for these rescheduled shows. Ticket holders do not need to do anything further. For those who wish to purchase tickets for those two shows, they are on sale now on their website.

    For more information please visit CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival’s website.

  • GrassRoots Festival Hosts “Your Roots at Home” Live-Stream

    Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance announces their “Your Roots at Home” free streaming event. The streaming event will host curated footage from former years of the festival and will run July 16-19, 2020 everyday roughly from 10AM-3AM. 

    The event will be following the same structure the GrassRoots Festival has followed for many years. The streaming event will host four days with four separate streams for each stage of the festival. The curated footage comes from all the way from 1992 up to 2019 with footage from last year. The footage will show each band performing at either the Infield, Dance Tent, Grandstand, or Cabaret stages. 

    The stream will host GrassRoots favorites like Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Big Mean Sound Machine, Donna the Buffalo, Old Crow Medicine Show, Preston Frank & His Zydeco Family Band, The Horse Flies, Driftwood, GrassRoots Festival Orchestra, Uma Galera, Lake Street Dive, John Brown’s Body, Jimkata, Ithaca Bottom Boys, Bubba George Stringband and many many many more. The full lineup can be seen here.

    The event will host the Band Contest and Instrument Contest still which will make it an interactive event. People interested in performing during the contests can perform their song specifically for the audience at the “Your Roots At Home” event. People interested can record videos of themselves and upload their media here.

    The streaming events can be viewed stage by stage on Twitch. The Infield stage can be viewed here. The Dance Tent stage can be viewed here. The grandstand Stage can be viewed here. The Cabaret stage can be viewed here. The viewer doesn’t need a Twitch account to listen but an account will give you access to the chat feature and other services.

    For more information visit “Your Roots at Home” website and Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance website. 

  • Adirondack Independence Music Festival Hosts “Drive-In Jam Out” Event

    Adirondack Independence Music Festival has announced the “Drive-In Jam Out” event to take place in Lake George at Charles R. Woods Commons on July 31 and August 1 and 2, 2020.

    Adirondack Independence Music Festival

    The “Drive-In Jam Out” event will follow like many or the drive-in festivals before them. People will be confined to and around their cars during the festival to keep social distancing a priority. The hope is to give that festival feeling to their audience while keeping everyone as safe as possible during the COVID-19 Pandemic. One of the cool features of this drive-in festival though is that it is a multiple day festival. Although the festival won’t be having their own campground they encourage participants to “make your room or camping reservations now!” via their Facebook Page announcement. They recommend “Holiday Inn Resort Lake George for the finest and closest accommodations” for people looking to reserve somewheres to stay for over the weekend. 

    Performers haven’t been announced yet but they plan to drop a major bomb on details of the festival on July 20. Hopefully it will include a lineup and ticket prices. The announcement is the first of many according to Adirondack Independence Music Festival’s Facebook Page. Some information that was already released was the location of the drive-in event. It will be taking place at Charles R. Wood Commons in Lake George, NY. 

    Adirondack Independence Music Festival is still currently scheduled to take place on September 5-6, 2020. On the announcement on their Facebook Page the festival replied to comments asking if the Labor day weekend festival was going to happen and said, “We will be doing these[Drive-In Jam Out events]  labor day weekend as well.” So it’s safe to guess the format of this event will most likely be followed in September. 

    For more information on the Adirondack Independence Music Festival and their “Drive-In Jam Out” Event visit their Facebook Page and Website.

  • Better Noise Music Festival to Stream Worldwide

    Better Noise Music, the independent music label, announces the Better Noise Music Festival on July 16. The festival will benefit Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation which provides support services for people in early recovery from substance use disorders. The festival will feature live performances, unseen footage and more. 

    The Better Noise Music Festival has an impressive line-up of new and classic performances, artist messages and sneak peeks at two Better Noise Films projects slated for the fall. The films are Sno Babies and The Retaliators. The line-up includes big names like Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, and the Dirty Heads.

    The full line-up includes: Motley Crue, Five Finger Death Punch, Papa Roach, Awolnation, Cory Marks, Dirty Heads, The Hu, Bad Wolves, Escape The Fate, From Ashes To New, Fire From The Gods, Bleeker, Tuk Smith, Islander, All Good Things, Hyro The Hero, Eva Under Fire, Nevrlands. Little Stranger, Tempt, The Bottom Line, and Thousand Thoughts.

    The festival will air worldwide on July 16 at the following times: 3PM PST, 5PM CST, 6PM EST, 11PM BST, and 12AM CET. The festival will air at 8AM ACT on July 17. The event is in partnership with LiveXLive. All live streamed performances will be simulcast by LiveXLive on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Twitter. Proceeds will benefit the Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation (GRI) to provide support services for those in early recovery from a substance use disorder.

    For more information on the festival please visit Better Noise Music’s website and LiveXLive’s website. 

    Check out this stream and more through our series NY Stream and Support, where you’ll discover artists around the Empire State streaming nightly, and ways to support musicians and charitable groups close to home!

  • Jazz At Chandlerville Series Announces Summer Line-up

    Jazz at Chandlerville Series announced their July and August line-up. The series will take place at the Thin Man Brewery and Tappo Pizza in Buffalo, NY. The event will take place in the outdoor seating and happen every Thursday this summer from 6PM to 8:30PM.

    The outside seating at Thin Man Brewery and Tappo Pizza. Photo provided by Jazz At Chandlerville Series announcement.

    One of the main concerns for people with an event like this is how social distancing can happen while the coronavirus pandemic rages on? During the series’s opening performance they had tables spread out six feet apart with a good amount of seating available. There was a location for the band across the street – more than the twelve feet requirement. People must also wear a mask when not seated. With these measures implemented the hope is to keep a safe environment for everyone involved. 

    The opening performance was by the Ed Croft Trio featuring Ed Croft on bass, Nelson Rivera on saxophone, and Joe Goretti on drums. This season of performers include DeeAnn Dimeo, Alex McArthur, Paradigm Shift from Rochester, Phil DiRe and Speedy Parker, Will Holton, The TRUTH, and Carina and the Six String Preacher. DeeAnn Dimeo, will start off on July 16 and Carina and the Six String Preacher will wrap up the series on August 27.

    The series is being hosted by JazzBuffalo and is sponsored by Thin Man Brewery and Tappo Pizza. The event is located at 166 Chandler Street Buffalo, NY. The performances are free but JazzBuffalo is accepting donations for their Keep Local Jazz Alive Fund. The fund will help cover the costs of the free summer outdoor live jazz presented during the COVID-19 pandemic. JazzBuffalo asks that people please donate a suggested amount of $3-$5 per person, if they can, to help us make local live jazz possible. Donations can be made via  PayPal: paypal.me/jazzbuffalo or Venmo: @Jazz249.

    Form more information on the Jazz At Chandlerville Series and more information on their performers visit their website.

    Full Line-up listed bellow: 

    July 16 – DeeAnn Dimeo

    July 23 – Alex McArthur

    July 30 – Paradigm Shift from Rochester

    August 6 – Phil DiRe and Speedy Parker

    August 13 – Will Holton

    August 20 – The TRUTH

    August 27 – Carina and the Six String Preacher

  • JamCast Network Announces kNOw Justice! kNOw Peace!

    The JamCast Network announces the kNOw Justice! kNOw Peace! Live-Stream for Equality. The live-stream fundraiser will feature music & cultural education. It will center around the racial equality and justice movement and take place at 4PM on July 18. 

    The live-stream is being hosted by Alan Evans, Laranah Phipps-Ray, and Greg Knight. The event will feature content, statements, & performances from Doom Flamingo, Zion I, Ghost-Note, Mark Lettieri, Angelo Moore, JC aka Tripple Threat, Cosmik Krewe & Friends (Featuring Micheal Ray’s performances with Barenaked Ladies, Sun Ra Arkestra, Instant Funk, & More), Alric Carter and Isaac Teel of TAUK, Nick Cassarino of Nth Power & Erin Boyd of Phantom Vanity, Joslyn & The Sweet Compression, The Sweet Life, Wil Blades, Zach Brock, The A-Beez, Camryn Jackson, Rob Dixon & Trilogy, Brickdrop, After Funk, & More to be announced. 

    There will also be educational speakers, interviews, & panels at the live-stream. Some of the people on the docket include Kim Dawson, Nahbi Reality (Wu-Tang Clan Affiliate), Delia McGee (Founder of TakeBlaction), with many more to be announced.

    The JamCast Network has teamed up with TakeBlaction which is a fully decentralized & volunteer-based initiative. The partnership is fundraising for Social Justice Matters, America Scores NY, The Emma Bowen Foundation, & more with the live-stream. Every dollar raised from this stream is being donated and dispersed throughout these organizations.

    The primary source of streaming & donations will be on JamCast Network’s website. The live-stream will also be available on Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, JamCast Network, and Cash Or Trade Streams.

    For more information on the kNOw Justice! kNOw Peace! Live-Stream for Equality visit the JamCast Natwork’s website.

  • The Palace Theatre and Mirth Films to partner for “The Palace Sessions”

    The Palace Theatre announced The Palace Sessions in partnership with the City of Albany and Mirth Films. The Palace Sessions are a monthly live music streaming sessions hosting regional acts starting on July 15.

    Wurliday in front of The Palace Theatre. Photo by Frank Cavone.

    The Live Stream Sessions will host artists performing in unique spaces within the The Palace Theater. The series kicks off on Wednesday, July 15 with a live performance by Wurliday. Wurliday are a soul-funk R&B fusion band from Albany, NY. 

    “We are thrilled to be able to welcome live music back to the hallowed halls of the Palace Theatre,” noted Billy Piskutz, Executive Director of the Palace Performing Arts Center. “This historic building exists to entertain and create memories and after a nearly four-month absence due to COVID-19, it is a thrill to know that it will again. We hope that our patrons will enjoy these performances as much as we do!”  

    The concerts series will start on July 15, and then take place on August 19, September 16, and October 21. Performances will stream live on the Palace Theatre and Mirth Films YouTube Page. The shows will begin at 7PM on each day. So far Wurliday is the only artist announced for the series.

    “Summer in Albany is synonymous with music and entertainment and it is wonderful to have the Palace Theater hosting local musicians albeit in a different way this year,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “I applaud the ingenuity of the Palace Theater, the Office of Cultural Affairs, and Mirth Films in bringing entertainment to people during COVID-19.  I continue to be impressed with how our community has risen to the challenge of keeping the arts alive during this time and look forward to tuning in to the Palace Sessions.”

    Donations can be made to benefit the Palace Performing Arts Center during the live stream. The Palace Performing Arts Center, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that owns and operates the historic Palace Theatre. Donations can be made here or directly through the Palace Theatre’s Text To Give program, by texting Palace2020 to 44321.

    For more information on The Palace Sessions visit The Palace Theatre’s website.

  • Consider The Source Announces Radiohead Themed Live Stream

    Consider The Source is putting on a free live Stream concert that will feature their Radiohead themed set. The live stream will take place on July 25 at 9PM EST on their Facebook or YouTube pages. 

    Consider The Source are self identified, “Sci-Fi Middle Eastern Prog-Rockers” that have been touring for the last 15 years. The trio formed back in 2004 and five studio albums, two live albums, and one compilation. The group hails from NYC and has dubbed their fans the “Sourcerors.”

    The trio have had their Radiohead set in the works for years. They created their Radiohead rearrangements a few years ago when they introduced the concept of recreating the classic radiohead sound at select festivals and venues. Now people will have the opportunity to experience this unique Radiohead performance from the comfort of their own homes. People may wonder if a trio can recreate the radiohead sound but they believes they have mastered the recreation. Radiohead is known for its sound that oozes of texture, tones and technology, all while supporting Thom Yorke’s vocals. Recreating this sound would prove impossible for most instrumental trios but they have managed to use their virtuosic abilities and cutting edge collection of gear to do so while also maintaining their own unique sound. 

    This live stream will be a real treat for Consider The Source, Radiohead, or music fans in general. The trio has two pro-shot music videos for “Paranoid Android” and “Reckoner” as a sneak peak of what people can expect during the live stream. The full show can be viewed on Saturday, July 25th at 9pm EST on the their Facebook or YouTube pages. 

    For more information on Consider The Source and the live stream event visit their website.