NYS Music 202​0

Category: Folk/Americana

  • The Felice Brothers Sell Out The Colony In Woodstock On New Year’s Run

    It was a warm winter Friday night and the street lights and holiday decorations glowed through the mountain mist in sleepy Woodstock. But just down the street, the foundation of The Colony was shaking as a capacity crowd danced the night away to home town heroes The Felice Brothers in the middle of their New Year’s Eve run of shows.

    After playing Rockville, Hudson, then Boston, the band was tight and the audience that packed in the venue-surrounding balcony was excited for a band that grew up, wrote an awful lot about, and clearly loved their local fans and the area. The lights that hung across the stage and throughout the venue gave a warm ambiance and this warmth could be felt in the crowd as nearly everyone sang along, danced, or did both to the new and older material

    Ian (guitar/vocals) and James Felice (keys/accordian/vocals) along with band mates Jesske Hume (bass/vocals) and Will Lawrence (drums/vocals) led off with a mix of tunes from their most recent album and then went all the way back through their catalog that spans 15 years. Both Ian and James are seasoned song writers and, as musicians, can make material about a bleak winter or drowning one’s sorrow in whiskey into foot-stomping barnburners. Yet, the next moment might find Ian gently strumming his guitar while he and James croon about family woes in a song that sounds like it came from a campfire during the Civil War.

    Ian Felice introduced the song “Wonderful Life” from their 2008 self-titled album noting, “I wrote this next song in a cemetery just down the road.” Though some might categorize The Felice Brothers as folk/Americana, there are moments of pure rock, ’90s grunge, swelling punk, and tenderness and sweetness that transcend through the spirit of the audience as well as the haunted Catskill Mountains.

    “Me and you we did the same damn thing,
    We fell in love knowing the pain it would bring,
    Now all I do is sing…. sad songs with red eyes,
    Throw your arms around me,
    Let’s keep this quiet,
    Hear our hearts in the distance like cannon fire,
    See our breath in the window, in the turning light,
    Oh it’s a wonderful life.” -Ian Felice “Wonderful Life”

    After a beautiful, solo opening set from Allison Olender of the amazing group Upstate Loves You, The Felice Brothers did not disappoint. They were called back twice for encores. The Colony is a great venue, with a full bar and small plates from the kitchen that come out quickly. The sound engineer had a perfect mix for the room as well. Ian and James just keep getting better and their shows capture a raw energy. The next night they closed out the New Year’s run in Brooklyn and, at the end of the month, head to Europe for a tour before a couple of festivals in April.

    Setlist: Lincoln, Katie Dear, Awesome Bomb, Let Me Come Home, Cheeky Momma, Homeless Red Neck, Whiskey In My Whiskey, The Kid, Wonderful Life, Cherry Liquorish, Hometown Hero, Savin’ Up For President, Life In The Dark, Take This Bread, Love Me Tenderly, Frankie’s Gun, Penn Station

    Encore: Salvation Army, Companion, Sell The House

  • Bonnaroo 2020 Lineup Announced – Tool, Lizzo, Tame Impala Named as Headliners

    The 2020 Bonnaroo lineup was revealed Tuesday morning. The June 11-14 festival returns to Manchester, TN for its 19th year with headliners Tool, Lizzo and Tame Impala.

    Other acts slated to appear this year include the newly reformed Oysterhead (featuring Trey Anastasio of Phish, Stewart Copeland of the Police and Les Claypool of Primus — which will also be performing), Lana Del Ray, Vampire Weekend, Miley Cyrus, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Tenacious D.

    Brooklyn’s Turkuaz, which released its latest EP Kuadochrome in November of last year, is performing with former Talking Heads members Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew as part of a 40th-anniversary tribute to the Heads’ Remain in Light album. Also Nelly will be performing a 20th-anniversary tribute to his Country Grammar album.

    Tickets for Bonnaroo 2020 go on sale Thursday, Jan. 9 at Noon ET at several different price levels. Details can be found here.

    Check out Lizzo’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert below.

  • The Alpaca Gnomes to play NYC’s Rockwood Music Hall

    The Alpaca Gnomes, fresh off of a holiday toy drive show, head to NYC Friday night, January 10, for a set at Rockwood Music Hall‘s Stage 1 at 10 p.m. The band has built up a loyal following with their vibrant, stomp-and-groove, 7-piece original rock-folk jam band. The Gnomes ensemble currently features violin, electric & acoustic guitar, bass, drums, sax, and percussion. Check out their set for FREE this FRIDAY.

    The Alpaca Gnomes at Soupstock 2018 – Video by: LiveMusic420

    The Alpaca Gnomes’ eclectic style always gets crowds moving and has allowed them to appear on a multitude of bills with varied acts and musical genres such as Living Colour, Blues Traveler, Twiddle, DJ Logic, Funky Meters, Anders Osborne, Railroad Earth, The Drifters, The Tokens, Rick Derringer, Soul Rebels, Roots of Creation, Kung Fu, Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds, Funky Dawgz Brass Band, Box Set Duo Trio, and The Main Squeeze, as well as private events such as ESPN Radio’s NCAA College Football National Championship pre-party in Pasadena, California.

    Alpaca Gnomes

  • Song Premiere: “The Budding of The Rose” by Jake Bellissimo and Gerald Busby

    With each new year comes the promise of new music, and this year is also the start of a new decade. To usher in the new era, musician Jake Bellissimo has collaborated with legendary composer Gerald Busby on a new song, “The Budding of The Rose.” The song is from Bellissimo’s new album The Motion That We Make, which is set to release later this month.

    Jake Bellissimo Gerald Busby

    Formerly of Rochester, NY, Bellissimo has been living in Berlin, Germany. The song is a cross-Atlantic effort with Bellissimo providing lyrics, and Busby setting them to melody and composing music for viola from his home at the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. The resulting song is sublime. The ardent love song traipses through a sonic garden of delight. It’s contemporary, yet timeless and classic.  

    Busby has resided at the Chelsea since 1977, when his mentor Virgil Thompson procured him a room. A child prodigy, he was playing with the symphony by the age of 15. He started composing later in life, and debuted professionally when he wrote the score of Runes for choreographer Paul Taylor’s dance company. He’s best known for writing the music for Robert Altman’s acclaimed movie 3 Women.

    Bellissimo, in addition to being a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, runs the label Drunk With Love Records. The Motion That We Make is a contemplation on motion, mortality, and coincidences. It is a reflection on the places they’ve been and the people they’ve loved, and those they’ve lost. Watch for the release on January 24 on Drunk With Love Records.

  • Creamery Station ready to kick off 2020 at Daryl’s House

    A multi-generational group of soulful, bluesy, roots jam musicians known as Creamery Station are bringing their act and first show of the year to Daryl’s House Club in Pawling, NY. The show is this Wednesday at 7 p.m. and, best of all, FREE.

    Creamery Station at Just Joshin 2018 – Video by: MKDevo

    Originating from Bethany, CT, Creamery Station is a Connecticut-based band which takes multiple styles of music, such as jam, blues, rock, and bluegrass, and mixes it together into what is guaranteed to be a thrilling live experience. The multi-generational aspect of this band combines the varying talents and experiences of each member to create something truly dynamic. With almost weekly practice sessions and consistent shows, their live performance has only been getting tighter. They can appeal to any age willing to listen.

    creamery station

    The band has been working hard in the studio on an album this winter and they plan to release it this spring. They toured the Northeast heavily in 2019 and one would expect nothing less in 2020. Their early notable 2020 shows are:

    • Jan. 08, 2020 – Daryl’s House – Pawling, NY
    • Jan. 17, 2020 – The Acoustic – Bridgeport, CT
    • Feb. 01, 2020 – Beau’s Bar – Greenlawn, NY
    • Feb. 16, 2020 – Mt. Snow – West Dover, VT

  • Woody Guthrie Center to host ‘This Land Is Your Land: A Celebration of 80 Years’ at New York City’s Town Hall

    Eight decades ago, Woody Guthrie wrote the iconic folk song “This Land Is Your Land.” The Woody Guthrie Center is commemorating the occasion by hosting an event at NYC’s Town Hall. The location is significant because it’s just around the corner from where Guthrie wrote the song on February 23, 1940. The show will be held February 23, with doors opening at 7:30. Tickets are on sale now.

    “For 80 years, ‘This Land is Your Land’ has been for many of us an alternate national anthem. Woody’s lyrics are timeless as they praise the beauty and bountiful resources of our country, but they also question the way we share and care for those rich blessings. The Woody Guthrie Center is proud to be gathering friends from along that ribbon of highway to join us in the same neighborhood where Woody wrote these important words to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the song—and we will be singing ALL of the verses Woody wrote on that day.”

    Deana McCloud, Executive Director of the Woody Guthrie Center

    A proponent of social justice, Guthrie’s original version contained verses about private property and poverty, which were as relevant in the post-Depression era as they are today. These political verses, contained in the original manuscript, were later dropped.

    The evening will feature special guests, including Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. John Fullbright, Branjae Gangstagrass, and Haley Heynderickx will also make appearances.

    All proceeds from the show will help the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, OK, as they further their mission of sharing Guthrie’s message of diversity, equality and social justice. For more information, visit woodyguthriecenter.org.