With their new series moe.ron Monday, Nugs TV continues the series on Memorial Day with the premiere of moe.’s Sunday performance on July 2, 2017 at moe.down 16 in Turin, NY. The free stream starts at 8:30 PM ET and can be found here. Read our recap of the festival weekend here.
Sunday, July 2, 2017 • Snow Ridge Ski Area • Turin, NY
Set 1: Puebla> Meat*> Awesome Gary, Crab Eyes, New York City, Johnny Lineup> Mexico^ Set 2: McBain> Skrunk> Yodelittle> McBain%, Prestige Worldwide, Brent Black Encore: Not Coming Down> Wormwood> Okayalright3, America Fuck Yeah *First 75% of song. Completes Friday night’s meat which was ending only. ^With Mihali Savoulidis (guitar) & Ryan Dempsey (keys) of Twiddle. %With Mike Dillon.
Lap steel guitarist Sean Williamson recently released his tribute to Phish with a heavy metal version of their rock anthem “First Tube” under the moniker Velocihamster. Williamson’s take on “First Tube” incorporates jam rock elements into the guitarist’s pioneering hard-rock lap steel work.
Nominated for a Grammy in 2001 for “Best Rock Instrumental,” “First Tube” is a staple at Phish shows, typically closing out a high energy set or appearing as an encore.
Lap steel is featured exclusively on upcoming full-length Velocihamster album Balls to the Wall, which features Williamson modeling his approach after the acrobatic electric guitar leads typically heard in progressive metal and “Djent” genres. The debut Velocihamster album Wheel of Steel released in 2018 garnered the attention in Guitar World & Guitar Player magazines, earning the project recognition as “the world’s first lap steel metal band.”
Williamson says of the challenges he embraced on the new album:
“Lap steel guitar has no boundaries, so neither should this project. Trey (Anastasio) is on my Mt. Rushmore of musical influences and it’s exciting to explore an alternative approach to his trademark style and share it with a new audience.”
Washington, D.C. based Restless World today premiere the lyric video for their latest single “Precipice.” A globe-spanning journey follows the inspiring lyrics, which blends an R&B/Trap vibe in the verses with a classic pop ballad chorus.
The ‘trap ballad’ celebrates all creators and those who stay the course towards achieving their dreams, even when the road ahead is uncertain. Lyrics include “I’ve got nothing in my hands, just my dreams struggling to stand” will resonate with anyone fighting to turn their dreams into reality. The song’s inspirational message is supported by powerful vocals from Cadence XYZ, and acoustic piano from Berklee grad Suwon Yim.
Restless World‘s “Precipice” was named one of the Top 5 songs received by SongwriterUniverse in April and has been announced as a finalist in their May 2020 “Best Song Of The Month” contest.
CEO of SongwriterUniverse Dale Kawashima says of “Precipice”:
“I enjoyed listening to this song; I think it’s one of the best songs you’ve submitted for song evaluation. Your demo production is very good; it has a modern pop/soul quality with excellent musicianship. The female vocalist is very good, and she does a good job of conveying the emotion of the song and lyrics. I also like the female vocal harmonies in this demo; it adds to the hook and to the fullness of the arrangement. The melody is well crafted in each section, especially the chorus which has the good harmonies. So the whole song flows pretty nicely…this is good song that has feeling and emotion, and has a demo that is well sung and produced.”- Dale Kawashima (Founder and CEO of SongwriterUniverse, former President of ATV Music and of the publishing division of Giant Records)
It’s Memorial Day weekend and typically, you might find yourself at a music festival to kick off summer. With COVID-19, the collective experiences are on hold for the year, but festivals are doing their best to provide fans with a bridge to the experience they look forward to all year. Summer Camp Music Festival, founded by moe. in 2001 is holding a Virtual Festival all weekend, with live performances, throwback highlights, new songs, interviews, panels, and much more to bring Scamp vibes to the Scamp family across the country.
Each day kicks off with OM On The River hosting Yoga. Then Scamp will dive into various panel discussions, artist retrospectives, and close it out with bangin’ late night sets from some of the your favorite performers over the years, including hosts moe., Umphrey’s McGee, Keller Williams, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Twiddle, Gov’t Mule and more. As a bonus, Zac Brown Band, Trey Anastasio Band, Jane’s Addiction, Willie Nelson, Tedeschi Trucks Band and The Roots will be making appearances in Headliners: A Look Back segment, on Sunday, May 24.
Get a 3-Day Summer Camp Virtual Festival Pass and you’ll have the ability to rewatch the entire stream through June 17! Each 3-Day Virtual Pass is just $24.99 with a portion of proceeds going towards nonprofits including Headcount, Conscious Alliance, and Backline, plus participating artists and their crew. Get your pass here, and check out the schedule below!
With their new single “Open Sky,” Brooklyn’s Escaper give a taste of their upcoming studio release, Apotheosis, their first official studio album in nearly two nears. Due out on June 19, “Open Sky” fits the mood of the country right now – comtemplative, melodic and a needed reminder to take time to celebrate the simple beauty of human existence while the world is on pause.
Guitarist Will Hanza says of the album,
“[Apotheosis] represents change and growth for us as a band, as well as individually… On “Open Sky”, the first single from the album, we feel a freedom of being.” “Open Sky” represents the sheer Escaper way of breaking free of confinement and allowing our most true selves through. The idea… reflects the climb to self actualization.”
The single was recorded and mixed by John Davis at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn, and colorfully exhibits the refined sound of Escaper’s dedicated core of musicians. “Open Sky” is the combination of each band member’s individual expertise combined with their musical sensibilities, keeping your feet moving and brain grooving as you listen.
An airy sequence starts off “Open Sky,” with light percussion and keys being introduced before a velvet smooth bass line frames the song as Hanza and company work into the structure of the song. The song has a full-bodied quality to it, with no one member standing out more than the others. “Open Sky” finds Escaper firing on all cylinders in a groove that is reminiscent of their live performances.
Escaper continues to bring fans both new and old their weekly Escaper at Home video series, and listeners can expect a great deal of fresh content ahead of Apotheosis‘ release on June 19 on Ropeadope Records.
Caffe Lena, the storied venue for folk and indie music in Saratoga Springs will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Thursday, May 21 with festivities adapted for social distancing guidelines.
Early in the day from 12-1pm, a two-part event will include Bonacio Construction’s flatbed trucks as they roll around Saratoga Springs with bands playing music on the back. These artists include gypsy jazz group Hot Club of Saratoga, soul singer Garland Nelson and jam band Let’s Be Leonard on a route that includes Broadway, Lake Avenue, and Circular Street in Saratoga Springs. Attendees are encouraged to park along the route, decorate their cars, and cheer out the window as the parade rides along.
In the evening starting at 7pm, there will be a live stream at CaffeLena.org, featuring stories, songs, and photos from the Caffè Lena community.
The evening broadcast will feature artists such as humorist Christine Lavin, Vermont folk duo Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, celebrated blues guitarist Rory Block, singer-songwriter Don Armstrong and Colorado folksinger John Winn, who joined the venue’s roster in 1960.
“Each of these performers have played the Caffè Lena stage many times and represent the breadth of our programming,” said marketing manager Carolyn Shapiro.
The celebration marks six decades of Caffè Lena, which opened its doors on May 21, 1960. Actress Lena Nargi Spencer opened the doors of a new coffeehouse at 47 Phila Street in Saratoga Springs with a goal to create a venue with a “continental atmosphere,” complete with espresso, folk music, poetry, fine art, and plays.
Artists and curious customers made their way to the top of Lena’s narrow stairs and the venue quickly became an off-the-beaten-path mainstay in the burgeoning world of folk music. Lena passed in 1989, but not before making her venue a landmark.
When COVID-19 collided with Caffè Lena’s spring season, the venue, recognized as the longest continuously operating venue of its type, pivoted almost immediately to an online schedule of “Stay Home Sessions” that have reached thousands of YouTube viewers across the globe with nightly live or pre-recorded performances. Tips donated by viewers have put more than $25,000 into the pockets of these musicians since March 14.
Viewers may make donations during the broadcast to sustain Caffè Lena through the shutdown.
In addition, the nonprofit organization is using the occasion to launch the Lena Legacy Society, a new endowment fund that is expected to grow over the coming years.
On Saturday, May 30, Live For Live Music in partnership with Nugs.TV and PLUS1 will presents their one-day virtual music festival, Quarantine Comes Alive. With events like Brooklyn Comes Alive cancelled for the time being, Quarantine Comes Alive offers a music marathon with more than 60 artists with a reported 90% brand new content created for the event.
The non-stop day of entertainment starting at 1 PM ET on May 30. Much of the new content will be produced in safe studio spaces, or captured creatively between band members who will work together remotely from various locations.
Dedicated to an even split of donation proceeds between the participating artists and PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund, the event is modeled after one-day music marathons Brooklyn Comes Alive and Denver Comes Alive. Quarantine Comes Alive was founded to celebrate and support musicians, provide fans with unique musical experiences from the comfort of their couch, and raise money for comprehensive COVID-19 relief during this unprecedented time.
In response to the devastating COVID-19 outbreak, PLUS1 launched a PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund to support those in the musical community most affected. Working directly with leading non-profit organizations like Sweet Relief, MusiCares, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, World Central Kitchen, Partners In Health, Trans Lifeline, and Backline, the PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund’s goal is to provide aid where it is needed most. PLUS1 is a leading non-profit organization that mobilizes cultural leaders and their fans to bring visibility, awareness and funding for social and environmental justic
Ari Fink of SiriusXM JamOn, Phish Radio & Dave Matthews Band Radio will host the virtual event, as well as set break interviews with artists from across the lineup and the minds behind Quarantine Comes Alive’s various non-profit partners. Additionally, alongside the main Quarantine Comes Alive stream, the festival will be hosting Zoom dance parties all day long.
Participating artists on the lineup span an eclectic range of genres, presenting everything from bluegrass to singer-songwriters, jam bands to indie rock, electronic music to funk, soul to Americana and more—surely there is something for every musical taste in store. A full list of artists can be found below.
Fans are encouraged to visit QuarantineComesAlive.com and RSVP. Those who make a donation of any size in advance will receive an email with a link to the stream the event on the day of show, Saturday, May 30th. Additional information is available over at the event’s official Facebook Event page.
Quarantine Comes Alive Performances By: ALO Anomalie Andy Frasco Arlo McKinley Aron Magner Aqueous Big Sam’s Funky Nation Big Something Brandon “Taz” Niederauer Brendan Bayliss The California Honeydrops Casey Russell Circles Around The Sun Cris Jacobs Dave Brandwein Dave Watts David Shaw Dominic Lalli Dopapod Dumpstaphunk Electric Beethoven Everyone Orchestra Fruition Galactic George Porter Jr. The Ghost Of Paul Revere Goose Goldfish Greensky Bluegrass Here Come The Mummies Holly Bowling The Infamous Stringdusters Ivan Neville Jen Hartswick Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers Joel Cummins John Medeski Jon Cleary Karina Rykman Lawrence Leslie Mendelson Lettuce Lindsay Lou Lyle Divinsky Maggie Rose Magic Beans Marco Benevento Melvin Seals & JGB Mike Dillon Mononeon Moon Taxi The Motet feat. Jason Hann Natalie Cressman Neal Francis The New Mastersounds Nick Cassarino Nigel Hall The Nth Power OG Garage A Trois Papadosio Pigeons Playing Ping Pong Prince Purple Party Railroad Earth Robert “Sput” Searight Robert Walter Roosevelt Collier Ryan Dempsey Ryan Montbleau Shira Elias Southern Avenue Spafford SPAGA SunSquabi Tom Hamilton Turkuaz Vince Herman
On June 1, Cousin Earth will release their new single worldwide for their newest song, “Bacon, Cat Food & Cheese.” The track, which was recorded last summer and mixed and mastered in quarantine will be available on all streaming platforms and accompanied by an absurdist video featuring the individual band members in quarantine. The video debuts three days early at Noon on Friday, May 29 via Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and NYSMusic.com, along with an audio pre-release on Cousin Earth’s Bandcamp.
That night, band will also stream an online Zoom meeting dubbed “Bacon, Cat Food & Chill” at 8pm on Monday, June 1, with special guests expected, and hosted by Wendy LaManque of The Whistles.
The song, clocking in at nearly 8 minutes, showcases all the things fans have come to love about Cousin Earth: layered vocal harmonies, extended improvisation, and humorous lyrics. “Bacon, Cat Food & Cheese” recently entered the band’s repertoire, juxtaposing a down tempo funk song with an upbeat dance-jam vehicle. It was also featured in several shows as a quirky but party-hard late set jammer.
The lyrical concept started as an inside joke, that became a meme, that became a ridiculous song about the internal strife of eating a sandwich that could definitely be better. At a time when so much is uncertain in the world, Cousin Earth took a silly moment from tour and turned it into a metaphor about life that seems all-too-fitting right now. Without gigs to support them, this Zappa-esque project shows no remorse in pointing out the absurdity in our current isolation as a society.
“Bacon Cat Food & Cheese” was written by Cousin Earth and recorded at Call Hollow Studios in Pomona, NY. in the summer of 2019 with engineering by Matthew Einsidler and Ryan Liatsis.
Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, shared an acoustic rendition of her song “New York” during the Brooklyn Academy of Music‘s Virtual Gala held this week. The performance will be available via livestream through May 20.
Due to the Covid19 pandemic, BAM held their annual gala online, which included performances and tributes from Cate Blanchett, Zadie Smith and Jeanne Donovan Fisher.
For todays Jerry Sunday installment, we look back at the November 16, 1991 performance by Jerry Garcia Band at The Knickerbocker Arena (aka The Knick) in Albany. Now known as The Times Union Center, this show brought Deadheads back to Albany eight months after the Grateful Dead’s three-night run in March.
Jerry was joined by John Kahn (bass), Melvin Seals (keyboards), David Kemper (drums), and Jaclyn LaBranch and Gloria Jones (backing vocals).
As noted by Colin Parsons, you can observe Garcia’s having technical problems with his guitar Tiger during “Lay Down Sally” and leaving the stage. Steve Parish worked on teh guitar with a visibly upset Garcia, who eventually went back out on the stage with his Wolf guitar. The band didn’t miss a beat and kept playing while waiting for Jerry to rejoin them.
Jerry Garcia Band at The Knick, Albany, NY – November 16, 1991
SetOne: Cats Under the Stars, Stop That Train, You Never Can Tell, Run For the Roses, Money Honey, My Sisters and Brothers, Let’s Spend the Night Together
SetTwo: Lay Down Sally, Waiting for a Miracle, Think, And It Stoned Me, Ain’t No Bread In the Breadbox, Shining Star, Tangled Up In Blue
