NYS Music 202​0

Category: News Desk

  • Rufus Wainwright Presents Live-Stream 2021 Tour

    Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has announced a virtual live-stream tour for the 2021 winter season. Dubbed ‘Rufus-Retro-Wainwright-Spective!’, the tour will take music fans through all of Wainwright’s nine studio albums. Each album will be seen in chronological order, with the much praised debut album Release the Stars kicking off the tour on January 8.

    Rufus Wainwright

    Accompanying Wainwright will be guitarist Brian Green and keyboardist/pianist Jacob Mann, helping to revamp older songs that have not been played onstage in years. Also featured will be cover song that fans had a chance to vote on, along with special guests serving as the concert’s micro-audience.

    Recently nominated for the GRAMMY® Award nominee for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, Wainwright expressed his excitement in a press release for the upcoming tour:

    “I did not expect to have so much fun redoing my first 4 albums with Brian and Jacob on guitar and piano in October and November. So many songs I had not performed live in decades as I always thought they needed a large band but they actually hold up quite well in this very intimate living room setting.  I wasn’t sure how fans would react and whether anyone would buy tickets. Well, my fans have and I am incredibly grateful for their support and for the opportunity to go all the way on this road to my last album. I am so excited that Unfollow the Rules was just nominated for a Grammy and I would love to to actually end this retrospective as a Grammy winner. But even without I feel I have won a lot through this experience.” 

    Tickets are on sale now for $20.00 in advance and $25.00 day of show. Bundles are available and come with the opportunity for fans to participate in intimate Q&A’s with Wainwright and other surprises. Go here to purchase tickets. 

    Dates for RUFUS-RETRO-WAINWRIGHT-SPECTIVE 2021! 

    Jan. 8 – Release the Stars (Side 1)

    Jan. 15 – Release the Stars (Side 2) + Fireside Chat

    Jan. 22 – All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Side 1)

    Jan. 29 – All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (Side 2) + Fireside Chat

    Feb. 5 – Out of the Game (Side 1)

    Feb. 12 – Out of the Game (Side 2) + Fireside Chat

    Feb. 19 – Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets

    Feb. 26 – Rufus at the Movies (Soundtrack Songs) + Fireside Chat

    March 4 – Unfollow the Rules (Side 1)

    March 12 – Unfollow the Rules (Side 2) + Fireside Chat 

    Wainwright along with friends and family of the acclaimed musical clans of Waingwrights, McGarrigles and Roches will also be presenting their beloved annual family Christmas show ‘A No So Silent Night – Virtually Together’. Streaming live on veeps.com December 30, the show will take place 12 p.m. PST from Los Angeles, 3 p.m. EST from New York and 8 p.m. GMT from Montreal simultaneously.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW63hvA0NJE

  • ‘Candlelight: Love in the Time of Cholera’ Concert Set for December 10

    Juliet Kurtzman and Pete Malinverni will perform a livestream concert of their album release, Candlelight: Love in the Time of Cholera on December 10 at 8 p.m. SUNY Purchase College Performing Arts Center will stream their performance and interview afterwards with the director, Seth Soloway.

    Candlelight Love in the Time of Cholera

    Candlelight: Love in The Time of Cholera is a recording that will focus on the themes of universal human desires for love, intimacy, and deliverance from loneliness. The album includes five piano pieces from cornetist Bix Beiderbecke; a tango written by Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla; a read of Scott Joplin’s “Solace,” and a deeply felt version of “Body and Soul,” featuring Kurtzman’s interpretation of Coleman Hawkins’ iconic solo. Malinverni will perform two of his composed tangos: “Pulcinella” and “Love in the Time of Cholera.” Both Kurtzman and Malinverni will give interpretations on their 12-track album, which has never been recorded in violin-piano format.

    It is the artist’s sacred duty to face and comment upon life’s joys and sorrows, illuminating them for others. I hope this album is heard in the same spirit as, for instance, Gabriel García Márquez’s book Love in the Time of Cholera, from which this recording takes, in part, its title.

    Pete Malinverni

    Kurtzman began her violin career as a soloist for her hometown Houston Symphony Orchestra. After concluding her studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, Kurtzman embarked on a career as a symphonic violinist in Europe. Malinverni, who grew up in Niagara Falls, NY, studied classical piano and later jazz. According to Nate Chinen of the New York Times, Malinverni is “a pianist with a forthright and elegant style” for his illustrious pianist career. Malinverni has experience recorded for small and large groups which helps to bridge the worlds of classical and jazz music on the Candlelight performance.

    Click Here to watch Candlelight: Love in The Time of Cholera

  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Artists Announce New Years Eve Global Livestream

    On New Year Eve, Producer Entertainment Group (PEG) will host PEG Presents “New Year’s Queens: Goodbye 2020,” with the top sixteen artists from RuPaul’s Drag Race to count down the wild year. Sessions Live will stream the concert event on their website. PEG is a management and creative company behind the world’s biggest drag queens and LGBTQ artists. The broadcast will livestream the countdown from New York and Los Angeles on December 31 at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET on the Sessions Live platform.

    RuPaul's Drag Race

    The 11-hour event will be hosted by Miz Cracker & Peppermint (New York City), Alaska & Bob The Drag Queen (Los Angeles), and Trixie Mattel & Katya (Los Angeles). The following New Year’s Eve performers include BeBe Zahara Benet, BenDeLaCreme, Boulet Brothers, Divina De Campo, Ginger Minj, Jinkx Monsoon, Jujubee, Manila Luzon, and Sharon Needles.

     We are thrilled to be the exclusive host for The Marathon New Year’s Eve Livestream. This promises to be the most interactive, most global and certainly the most colorful party across every continent and every time zone to ring in the new year. Audiences everywhere will have the opportunity to enjoy and engage with a talented lineup of drag artists from around the world.

    Tim Westergren, Co-Founder of Sessions

    RuPaul’s Drag Race is a competition show that crowns “America’s Next Drag Superstar” through unique challenges each season. RuPaul along with Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews, and other celebrity guest judges measure each of the contenders. RuPaul’s Drag Race has won a total of 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, including six this year including “Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Competition Program” and “Outstanding Competition Program.” The 12th season of the show concluded this May with Jaida Essence Hall as the winner. Ticket prices for “New Year’s Queens: Goodbye 2020” start at $39 with interactive VIP Package options with 11 out of the 16 artists from the show.

    Click here to buy tickets

    RuPaul's Drag Race

  • Non-for-Profit Venues in Upstate New York Call for Aid With #lightsUPstateNY Initiative

    Non-for-profit venues across upstate New York call for aid from Governor Cuomo and their state elected leaders during the COVID-19 crisis. They are calling for aid through their #lightsUPstateNY initiative, trying to bring light to the hardships these performing arts centers are facing. 

    #lightsUPstateNY
    Bardavon interior photo by Tim Lee.

    According to Chris Silva, Executive Director at
    Bardavon 1869 Opera House, the new protocols, requirements and re-staffing caused by COVID-19 will require not only time and capital, but every month these closures continue the costs of these eleven venues add up to a collective $1,500,000 dollars, with no significant revenue to offset it. This is a huge amount of money to these smaller local economies. These venues hope to bring light to the reality of their dim situation, as many venues across the United States are pledged with Save Our Stages campaign.

    The venues involved call for aid with the #lightsUPstateNY initiative are: The Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, UPAC in Kingston, Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, RBTL’s Auditorium Theatre in Rochester, Smith Center for the Arts in Geneva, Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, Stanley Theatre in Utica, Proctors Collaborative in Schenectady, Palace Theatre in Albany, State Theatre in Ithaca, and the Clemens Center in Elmira. 

    These venues estimate the cost to reopen themselves, if a spring 2021 opening is possible, will be at least 15 million dollars – more if the “pause” caused by COVID-19 continues. As a group they bring over 250 million of collective, local economic impact to Upstate each year, which has come to an abrupt halt. 

    Silva explained the reasoning behind the union of #lightsUPstateNY initiative saying, “The large theatres of Upstate so often share similar realities. As we think about our restarts sometime in 2021, we decided to come together to speak with one voice about our needs and challenges as we get back to being at the heart of our cities and communities.”

    #lightsUPstateNY

    All of the venues involved  operate as 501(c)3 non-profit organizations – committed to serving their communities – and have worked together to create a network across Upstate for bands and theatrical performances to take place. They do this by offering a variety of live entertainment for all audiences, including concerts, comedy, dramatic and family events, as well as offer a mixed-use space for local performing groups, graduations, recitals and other presentations. 

    The hope of #lightsUPstateNY is to bring awareness to the dire need these venues are experiencing, while also calling on Governor Cuomo and their state elected leaders for aid. 

  • Matisyahu to stream Festival of Light Hanukkah shows from The Capitol Theatre

    This coming week marks the start of Hanukkah, and once again Matisyahu will bring his famed ‘Festival of Light’ shows to fans, through FANS, on December 10, 11 and 17. The performances will take place at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and will be streamed on FANS.

    Matisyahu’s Festival of Light shows are an annual celebration and some of the most notable performances of his career. Each end-of-year celebration spreads the traditions and light of Hanukkah, sharing the holiday in a relevant way to both Jews and non-Jews alike, and an universal experience that transcends themes of peace and prosperity.

    matisyahu festival of light

    The streamed event is billed with each night featuring classic, show-stopping hits, and the powerhouse ballads and powerful energy that Matisyahu is known for. Meet Matisyahu beneath the glittering dreidel-disco ball and send out good vibes to the world during this Festival of Light.

    The stream is available for purchase for one or all three nights. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

    Joining Matisyahu will be Aaron Dugan on guitar, Jason Fraticelli on bass, Rob Marscher on keys, and Tim Keiper on drums.

    Read more about Matisyahu

    What makes this music so engaging and unmatched, is that Matisyahu; a vocalist with no other instrument at his disposal, is an integral creative part in the improvisation. Dugan and Yuki work well beyond the constraints of the “solo” constantly working to modulate the improvisation, while Brook’s pocket is so deep and harmonically smart, that regardless of how far the melodic elements of a jam may get pushed, it’s impossible not to feel rooted to the core of any tune performed.  

    Matisyahu allows his band to breathe within each tune, finding his place with a wordless melody that serves to enhance the harmonic elements of an improvisation, developing the rhythmic ideas with his beat boxing, or crowning a jam with a full-on lyrical call-to-the-heavens and the great unknown. It’s that cathartic moment as a jam summits and the audience lets out its release that tells the performers we are all in it together.

  • Goosemas to Livestream from Rockefeller Center on Dec. 11

    Connecticut-based Goose have announced plans for their seventh annual Goosemas holiday celebration, this time with a live stream concert from Rockefeller Center in New York City. On Friday December 11 at 7pm ET, Goose will offer an exclusive Twitch stream on the new Relix Channel, with proceeds benefiting Save Our Stages and Conscious Alliance.

    goosemas rockefeller center

    A first of its kind livestream, Goose will perform more than seven stories high in the Manhattan skyline. Goosemas is an annual year end celebration, having grown from small clubs to the Wall Street Theater in Norwalk, CT over the past six years. Peter Anspatch recalls his first show with the band:

    Goosemas 4 was my first gig playing with Goose so the annual show has a big place in my heart. I’m bummed we can’t be with our family and friends in person for this one, but the location is going to make it that much more exciting to stream. I’m beyond stoked we were able to pull that together in such a chaotic year. Big shout out to our whole team for always crushing it, Peter Shapiro, and thanks to Rockefeller Center for hosting what will be a very special night. 

    As with annual tradition, Goosemas will also include a charitable aspect during 2020’s most important giving month. Proceeds from the benefit will go to two separate organizations; NIVA’s Save our Stages — a national charity that provides support to independent live event venues and promoters throughout the United States in these trying times; and Conscious Alliance — a nonprofit that connects a network of creatives to collect large-scale donations in order to combat hunger in historically underserved communities.

    goosemas wall street theater rockefeller center
    photo by Scott Harris

    Donations from Goosemas at Rockefeller Center will help keep Conscious Alliance on the road this winter delivering 200,000 meals to kids and families in need. Every $1 donation = 2 meals to someone going without food this holiday season.

    Goose has amazing momentum right now and we are so excited to be working with them on this incredibly special performance at Rockefeller Center– one of the most iconic locations in the world. There isn’t a more epic way to ring in the holidays than with a rock show in the sky.

    Peter Shapiro, Publisher of Relix Magazine and Twitch Relix Channel. 

    Donations are now being accepted at GOOSEMAS.com. Those who make donations through the Goosemas website will receive early access to the Goosemas Merch Store on Wednesday, December 9th at 10 am ET, and opening to the general public at 1pm ET. For more information, visit GOOSEMAS.com.

  • Bob Dylan Sells Entire Songwriting Catalog to the Universal Music Publishing Group

    Bob Dylan has sold his entire songwriting catalog to the Universal Music Publishing Group. The catalog includes over 600 songs including the classics “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and “Like a Rolling Stone.”

    At the age of 79, Bob Dylan is one of the most well known folk singers in the world and selling the catalog of his music, which the rights have been held by him for most of his career, is huge news, not only in the music realms but in the world as a whole. It has been a trend for musicians to sell their catalogs of music during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Just last week another big name, Stevie Nicks, sold a majority stake in her songwriting catalog for an estimated $80 million to Primary Wave Music which is an independent publisher and marketing company. It’s unclear if these buyouts are directly influenced by the ongoing pandemic but it’s hard to believe they aren’t connected. 

    It’s unclear how much Bob Dylan received in compensation for his songwriting catalog but according to The New York Times, it is estimated at more than $300 million.

    The deal covers the entirety of Bob Dylan’s long career. All the way back to his earliest work right up to his latest album, Rough and Rowdy Ways. This deal was struck directly with Bob Dylan by Universal Music Publishing Group.

    Bob Dylan at the Civil Rights March on Washington.

    The deal leaves Dylan with 100 percent of rights for all the songs of his catalog. What this means is that he will still collect the income he receives as a songwriter and will still be in control individual song copyrights. So what is Universal Music Publishing Group getting out of it?  Universal Music Publishing Group’s division of the French media conglomerate Vivendi, will collect all future income from the songs. 

    Dylan has made no public comment on the deal. 

  • EPAC Virtual Christmas Show Starts December 17

    The EPAC Virtual Christmas Show will be available on EPAC Digital, a new online platform granting digital access to EPAC Productions, from December 17th through January 3rd, 2021.

    EPAC

    Endicott Performing Arts Center has put together a spectacular variety show of great holiday classics, as well as some newer contemporary songs to brighten your holiday season. You can watch local talent perform your signature holiday songs, that you can’t have Christmas without, including performances of “Happy Christmas… War is Over,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “White Christmas,” among many others. There will be performances from different locations, including people singing and dancing from home, from the EPAC Recording Stage, and out and about in the local landscape of the Southern Tier.

    A short holiday themed puppet show presented by the EPAC Puppet Tree Theater Group is also a part of the series, as well as archival footage of shows from Christmas’ past. Don’t miss this experience, with amazing local talent performing virtually for the safety and entertainment of the entire community.

    Visit the Endicott Performing Arts Center website for more details and how to register for on-demand tickets to this Virtual Event.

    EPAC

    The Endicott Performing Arts Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide an affordable and high quality venue to local, regional and touring performing artists, enabling them to present, develop, & improve their artistic efforts.

    Over the past 23 years, EPAC has: Renovated and Operated out of the 104 year old “Lyric Theater” in Endicott, NY. To provide a means for thousands of community members to gain education about all aspects of the performing arts, while presenting a diverse array of affordable high quality performing arts events to our community. EPAC typically attracts over 20,000 people to the Arts Center every year, as well as hundreds of people to the outdoor “Stage at Little Italy” with its annual Shakespeare in the Park event at the George W. Johnson Park.

  • Jazz Standard in New York City Closes Doors for Good

    Jazz Standard announced on December 2 that it would be permanently closing its New York City venue. In their Instagram announcement, the venue shared a heartfelt message thanking their team members, guests, and New York City for embracing and supporting the jazz venue throughout its tenure. 

    Jazz Standard is one of many independent and local music venues that faced immense economic hardship from a lack of revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first major jazz club in New York City to permanently shut down.

    Jazz Standard

    According to an NPR article about the recent news of their closing, Jazz Standard first opened its doors in 1997 and then reopened in 2002, with the basement club along with the new edition of a barbecue restaurant upstairs called Blue Smoke Flatiron. Danny Meyer owns the club and restaurant.

    The venue is well known for the variety of musical talent at their venue, including artists’ recordings that eventually tuned into albums from Maria Schneider Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, trumpeter Dave Douglas, drummer Dafnis Prieto, and pianist Fred Hersch. In addition to professional performances, Jazz Standard also hosted different programs to promote growth in the jazz community among all generations of jazz musicians, young and old including “Mingus Mondays,” “Jazz For Kids,” and “Jazz Standard Discovery Program.”

    Their farewell post stated,

    While our physical doors may be shut, our passion to serve and entertain lives on and we are optimistic about the future and writing the next chapter of Jazz Standard. In the meantime, the club is hosting exclusive artist conversations and performances virtually.

    Five “Virtual Talk Series” from the venue are all available to watch on their YouTube page, with the latest video “Wayne’s World: A Discussion on Wayne Shorter with Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, and Brian Blade,” uploaded this past week.

  • Darlene Love To Live Stream “Love For the Holidays” on Dec. 5

    Darlene Love is set to live stream a holiday concert on Saturday, December 5. The Christmas icon’s holiday set starts at 8 p.m. ET, including her hit “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

    Tickets are available for $35, and once purchased the performance is available to access until Christmas Day. A portion of the proceeds supports the Empire State Plaza Perfoming Arts Center.

    Darlene Love Stream

    Love is a Grammy Award Winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, recognized as “one of the greatest singers of all-time” by Rolling Stone Magazine. Through the years, Darlene has continued to captivate audiences worldwide with her warm, gracious stage presence and sensational performances. Dozens of hits including “He’s a Rebel,” “(Today I Met) The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “Marshmallow World” and her signature song, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” are featured (along with many others) in this one-night-only holiday performance. 

    From 1986 to 2014, Love performed “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on almost every single pre-Christmas episode of David Letterman’s talk shows, Late Night and eventually The Late Show. The sole exception was in 2007, due to the writer’s strike.

    After Letterman’s 2015 retirement from late night, Love moved her annual performance to The View and has continued the tradition there. On The View she’s often sung the song as a duet: partners have included Patti Labelle, Fantasia, Bryan Adams and Jason Derulo. Other artists to cover the song are U2, Joey Ramone, Cher, and fellow Christmas royalty Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey.

    Love’s discography also extends beyond Christmas. With her 1960s girl group The Blossoms, she sang The Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel.” The group was touring and unable to make it to the studio, so producer Phil Spector had The Blossoms perform it under The Crystals’ name. Love’s other high-charting songs include “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” also credited to The Crystals, and “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Gets Home.”  In 2013, Love appeared in 20 Feet From Stardom, an Oscar-winning documentary about the lives and careers of backup singers. Along with her co-stars and crew, Love took home the 2015 Grammy for Best Music Film.

    In 2011, Love was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She performed “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” with Bruce Springsteen, and Bette Midler, who also appeared in 20 Feet From Stardom, honored her with a speech. Love has also acted, playing the wife of Danny Glover’s character in all four Lethal Weapon films.

    For more information on Darlene Love and her live stream of “Love for the Holidays,” see The Egg’s website.