NYS Music 202​0

Category: News Desk

  • 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.

  • Martin Scorcese to direct documentary on David Johansen of New York Dolls

    Oscar winning film director Martin Scorcese has announced plans for a documentary on David Johansen of New York Dolls fame. The film will explore Johansen’s teen years growing up in Greenwich Village, his alter ego Buster Poindexter, feature footage of Johansen’s recent performances at New York’s Café Carlyle.

    To be released on Showtime, the Queens-born/Little Italy-raised Scorcese will co-direct the film with David Tedeschi, who has previously worked with Scorcese on music documentaries No Direction Home and Shine a Light.

    The film plans to take an intimate biographical look at Johansen, looking at his upbringing on Staten Island and later his arrival in New York’s East Village in the late Sixties. While known best as lead singer of the New York Dolls, the documentary will also explore his time in the 80s as alter-ego Buster Poindexter and later the Harry Smiths.

    “I’ve known David Johansen for decades, and his music has been a touchstone ever since I listened to the Dolls when I was making Mean Streets. Then and now, David’s music captures the energy and excitement of New York City. I often see him perform, and over the years I’ve gotten to know the depth of his musical inspirations. After seeing his show last year at the Café Carlyle, I knew I had to film it because it was so extraordinary to see the evolution of his life and his musical talent in such an intimate setting. For me, the show captured the true emotional potential of a live musical experience.”

    Martin Scorcese

  • 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.

  • Caffe Lena Cancels Reopening

    Update: Based on the rise of new Covid-19 infections in the Saratoga Springs region, Caffe Lena have announced the halt of live audience concerts at their venue. This postponement comes just after the announcement of a series of live audience concerts that were to be held starting July 14. Programming will continue via livestreams. Once the infection has diminished Caffe Lena plans on reopening their doors to a live audience.

    See original announcement below.

    Saratoga’s Caffe Lena Set To Reopen During Phase 4

    Saratoga Springs‘ famous 60+ year old concert venue, Caffe Lena, begun preparations to reopen, as performance venues are given the green light during Phase 4 of New York’s reopening plan.

    In a press release Caffe Lena’s Executive Director Sarah Craig explains their plan:

    “We’re taking it in baby steps, starting with 25% capacity. Live performance venues were the first to shut down, and they’re the last to reopen. It’s essential for the future of music that we work out a way to open stages safely. Our goal is to meet and surpass the NYS Health Department guidelines.”

    The venue’s first regular concert would have taken place on July 14 with ensemble members from the New York City Ballet. Serving as an alternative opening night due to the cancellation of their Saratoga Performing Arts Center performance, the five musicians would have been able to play for 12 parties as well as hundreds that will be tuning in via an online stream. In compliance with social distancing, guidelines seating would have been in groups of two to four with no individual tickets being offered the time. The New York City Ballet will now be live-streamed event instead of being a live audience concert after the postponement.

    https://youtu.be/UCH4LeK8iY4

    When New York hit pause in March Caffe Lena was forced to close its doors to the public. Due to designation as an essential business for live broadcasting use, the seats remained empty but thousands watched via the venue’s Youtube channel, concerts taking place on Lena’s stage.

    “Recognizing that many of our patrons are not in a position to return to public gatherings, we’re becoming a kind of hybrid live-stream and live-audience venue,” explained Craig. “From now on, our headline concerts will be available in real time via Vimeo for a small fee, and our community programs and shows featuring local amateur talent will be streamed on YouTube for free.”

    Tickets and Information about Caffe Lena’s upcoming schedule are available on their website.

  • New York Guitar Festival Kicks off today with Set Two of ‘Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of Harlem Street Singer’ with Jim James, Chris Thile and more

    New York Guitar Festival (NYGF) has announced Set Two of the festival’s 2020 online performance series Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer. The series focuses on the music of blind blues musician Reverend Gary Davis.

    Rev. Gary Davis performed on the streets of Harlem from the late 1940s until his death in 1972. Overcoming poverty, racial discrimination, and blindness, Davis made numerous influential recordings and festival appearances, and also taught students including David Bromberg, Stefan Grossman, Dave Van Ronk, and Bob Weir.

    Set Two of Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer will premiere one video performance each day from July 13-19, at 4pm EDT daily via the New York Guitar Festival YouTube channel. There will be musical performances by Jim James, Chris Thile, David Bromberg, Piedmont Blūz, Jontavious Willis, and a special discourse by DJ Spooky to launch the festival. The schedule for the program can be seen below:

    Discourse by DJ Spooky (Paul D. Miller)  – Monday, July 13

    Jontavious Willis – Tuesday, July 14

    Chris Thile – Wednesday, July 15

    Jim James – Thursday, July 16

    Dave Bromberg – Friday, July 17

    Piedmont Blūz  – Saturday, July 18

    TBA – Sunday, July 19

    Access to Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer is free. The New York Guitar Festival and performing artists are asking viewers to make donations to MusiCares. You can learn more about charitable foundation of The Recording Academy’s MusicCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, and donate here.

    The New York Guitar Festival first moved its distinguished musical curation online in May, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioning a diverse group of stellar musicians to participate.  Watch Set One of Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer – featuring performances by Bill Frisell, Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal, Warren Haynes, Fantastic Negrito, Amythyst Kiah and many more below.

    “We are incredibly grateful to the artists who have collaborated with NYGF to help shine a light on the authentic soul and humanity of Rev. Gary Davis’ music, and taken inspiration from his resilient life,” explains New York Guitar Festival’s Artistic Director David Spelman. “Heartfelt thanks, too, for the continued support of the Augustine Foundation, and for a special gift from the John and Joan D’Addario Foundation – for helping make Set Two of Reverend Gary Davis: In Search of the Harlem Street Singer possible.”

  • Roan Yellowthorn Covers Chris Cornell’s “Can’t Change Me”

    Indie pop rock duo Roan Yellowthorn have released a cover of Chris Cornell’s “Can’t Change Me” to benefit the Chris and Vicky Cornell foundation. 

    Roan Yellowthorn Chris Cornell
    Photo courtesy of roanyellowthorn.com

    This single is the second in the Blue Élan’s ‘We Are The Highway’ project series, which features Chris Cornell covers to benefit children across the globe who struggle with issues like homelessness, neglect, abuse, and poverty. The project seeks to uphold Chris Cornell’s legacy and show that music can create positive change. Blue Élan stresses that now it is more important than ever to help children in need, and co-founder of Blue Élan and friend of Cornell Kirk Pasich states that “We cannot think of a better musical way to do that than sharing the music of Chris Cornell, in his memory, and to help children.”

    Roan Yellowthorn is made up of Shawn Strack and Jackie McLean, daughter of Don McLean. Jackie McLean comments on covering “Cant Change Me,” saying: “When I hear [Cornell’s] words, I am struck by his depth of feeling. I am struck by the intensity of his emotion. I am struck by the strength of his presence.” 

    Much like Chris Cornell, Jackie McLean is an artist who is also known for putting deep feeling in her music. Their latest album Indigo “is an extremely sincere album” and was written as a way for McLean to process her feelings. All of Roan Yellowthorn’s music comes from the heart. 

    Roan Yellowthorn

    There are more songs to come in Blue Élan’s We Are The Highway project. The songs inspire people in difficult situations to survive and persevere despite their struggles, embodying the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation’s mission to help children who cannot help themselves. You can follow the official “We Are The Highway” playlist here.

  • Rock the Dock and Eastbound Throwdown festivals cancel for 2020

    Two beloved music festivals in the 518 will not return until 2021 due to COVID-19. Rock the Dock, held in Lake George, and Eastbound Throwdown, held in Salem, have each postponed their scheduled events until next year

    rock the dock eastbound throwdown

    Originally scheduled for July 17, then rescheduled for August 14, the festival was looking forward to their fourth year at Lake George Steamboat Company, but have made plans for July 23, 2021 to hold the annual event.

    Founded by Formula 5 in 2017 as a way to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lake George Steamboat Company, the band played their final show on July 12, 2019 at Rock the Dock. The festival hosts regional and national acts with a stage on the pier of the Lake George Steamboat Company, with three steamboats framing the event.

    Keyboardist Matt Richards of Formula 5 was slated to return with Annie in the Water for this year’s installment, but that will have to wait another year. Other announced artists included Dogs in a Pile, Raisinhead, and Big Time Kitty.

    eastbound throwdown

    Eastbound Throwdown, hosted by beloved Northern rock outfit Eastbound Jesus, was scheduled to take place September 11-12, 2020. New dates have not been announced, and only Eastbound Jesus was announced for the lineup this year. Past lineups have included The Mallett Brothers Band, Girl Blue, Driftwood, Formula 5, The Ghost of Paul Revere, among many others.

  • NYC Indie Outfit Longwave release video for “It’s Not Impossible,” share Bowery Ballroom concert footage

    Acclaimed NYC indie rock band Longwave have teamed up with filmmaker Bill Moldt to debut a music video for their song, “It’s Not Impossible,” from their latest album If We Ever Live Forever.

    The idea was to create a unique experience by presenting a choose-your-own-adventure style video for the song. “It’s Not Impossible” is the band’s first debut single off an album in 10 years making the release of If We Ever Live Forever a big deal.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEvH1Y7Ybdg&feature=youtu.be

    The music video was constructed through a series of bi-weekly Instagram story posts, each depicting a possible scene painted in watercolor. Each post contained a video of the scene being created, a caption, and a question prompting the band’s Instagram followers to determine the direction of the next scene. The video used the “poll” feature on Instagram Stories to tally the audiences choices. The process left director Moldt with 10 scenes that were ultimately created and assembled into what become Longwave’s official music video for “It’s Not Impossible.”

    Additionally this week, Longwave have shared full concert video of their November 2018 performance at The Bowery Ballroom. The performance was filmed by Erik Braund at Braund Studios.

    Connect with Longwave on Facebook, Instagram, and stream their music on Spotify.

  • Levitt AMP Utica to present TV special “AMP the House!”

    The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series is producing a two-hour TV special called “AMP the House!,” showcasing Utica’s diverse local music scene as well as some national acts. Focused on community and family, the show seeks to encourage viewers’ mental health and support musicians. Genres highlighted in the special include pop, soul, blues, Latin, instrumental, and country. The performers, 12 acts in total, consist of all different backgrounds, genders, languages, and ages.

    Not only will “AMP the House!” feature Utica’s unique range of talent shown above, but explore what else Levitt AMP Utica does behind the scenes. The special will include “Beyond the Music” segments about the AMP Utica internship program and more.

    Coordinator Michelle Truett says, “We chose to produce a television show because it will allow us to share great bands, singers and musicians with viewers throughout the Central New York region and hopefully entice them to come to downtown Utica next summer to see the concerts in person. Also, a TV show gives us a great opportunity to share what else we do at the park with our series – our internship program, fostering of youth performers, placemaking activities, art, inclusion and community-building. The show is going to be jam-packed with inspiration and talent.”

    In addition to local Utica acts, two national bands are participating. B2wins and Bassel & the Supernaturals were originally supposed to perform in person, but will instead appear in the special and rebook for 2021. B2wins, short for Brazilian twins, are Iowan brothers who bend genres with the help of a violin and ukulele. Recently, they’ve been keeping busy with community outreach for the COVID-19 crisis. As for Bassel & the Supernaturals, they’re a Chicagoan neo-soul and funk band that raises awareness for Syrian refugees both on and off the stage,

    Utica Monday Nite board president Alyssa Spina adds, “Utica Monday Nite is proud to be a part of a project that exemplifies the power art as a tool to bring community together, especially and most importantly during a time when connection is most needed.” Founded in 1997, Utica Monday Nite is a local arts initiative that has accepted the Levitt AMP [Your City] Music Awards grant for the last five years. Going to cities with underutilized public spaces, the Levitt AMP Utica Music Series previously took place at Kopernik Park in Oneida Square. Although they postponed live concerts, this TV special is still possible due to a bridge grant from the Levitt Foundation.

    The special will air Monday, July 20 on CBS-Utica 2 and again Thursday, July 23 on WFXV 33, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. both nights. Both channels are available throughout the greater Utica area. The show won’t be put online after, so these are the only opportunities to watch it.

  • 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.