As we enter June, the fourth month where live music performances are postponed until it is deemed safe to have mass gatherings due to COVID-19, we take a look at the music venues across the state that are closed for now, but in the coming months will hopefully reopen.
Working with 13 photographers to document more than 60 venues in 20 cities across New York State, we present this monthly series that will look at the current conditions of these beloved venues. As they reopen, we will provide photo documentation recording the changes over time in all corners of the state.
Great thanks to all photographers and venues who take part in this series.
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.
Saratoga Springs’s new venue, Universal Preservation Hall, will have its first full month of shows in March, ranging from jazz to comedy to an evening with the celebrity housewives. The venue is a former 1871 Methodist church which has been renovated into a state-of-the-art performance facility.
Universal Preservation Hall Press Photo.
The March lineup will start on the 4th with Sounds of the Hall which will be an evening of jazz music from Chuck Lamb and Friends and the Dylan Perrillo Orchestra. The schedule will wrap up on the 27th with Joey Alexander who is the youngest musician to ever be nominated for a Grammy Award® in a jazz category. There will be performances from a family circus, the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame Ceremony, an award winning Broadway actress, and many more acts.
Universal Preservation Hall Press Photo.
For more information or tickets visit the Universal Preservation Hall’s website. Tickets are also available by phone at 518- 881- 4500 or at the Box Office at 25 Washington Street, Saratoga Springs.
Full venue lineup bellow:
Sounds of the Hall
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4. The Great Hall at UPH, $20.
Sounds of the Hall opens the month with an evening of jazz music from Chuck Lamb and Friends and the Dylan Perrillo Orchestra.
Louie Anderson Live!
8 p.m. Thursday, March 5. The Great Hall at UPH, $29.50 – $69.50.
Stand-up comedian and star of the show Baskets, Louie Anderson, will bring many laughs to The Great Hall at UPH.
An Evening with Chris Botti
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 6. The Great Hall at UPH, $79.50 – $179.50.
Grammy Award® winner for Best Pop Instrumental Album, Chris Botti will enchant UPH patrons with his trumpet playing.
An Evening with the Celebrity Housewives
7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7. The Great Hall at UPH, $30 – $109.50.
Don’t miss Brandy Glanville, Carole Manzo and Caroline Radziwill as they discuss their sensational personal lives, cherished families, amazing businesses and how fame changed their lives forever.
The Marvelous Marquise Family Circus
2 p.m. Sunday, March 8. The Great Hall at UPH, $10.
Think you know circus? Think Again! The Contemporary Circus & Immersive Arts Center presents a unique family unlike you’ve met before.
Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame Ceremony
6 p.m. Monday, March 9. The Great Hall at UPH, $50.
A member of the Grand Ole Opry, a woman who founded an iconic American coffeehouse and two local connections to MTV are among the six 2020 inductees.
Megan Hilty
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 13. The Great Hall at UPH, $32.50 – $109.50.
Known for her role as Ivy Lynn on NBC’s Smash, Megan Hilty brings her Tony-Award® nominated talent to the Saratoga.
Howard Jones Acoustic Trio presented by Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady
7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. The Great Hall at UPH, $29.50 – $69.50.
This show will provide the opportunity for the audience to hear first-hand about the inspiration behind Howard Jones’ beloved material as well as stories from his touring career.
Irish Hooley with the Screaming Orphans
7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15. The Great Hall at UPH, $25.
These four sisters from County Donegal, Ireland are bringing the party to Saratoga on St. Patrick’s Weekend with a good old-fashioned Irish Hooley.
Rochmon Record Club presents: Paul Simon’s “Graceland”
7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17. The Great Hall at UPH, $25.
The Rochmon Record Club will converge to listen and learn about Paul Simon’s 7th solo album “Graceland” which feature some of Simon’s most beloved songs.
One Night in Memphis
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 20. The Great Hall at UPH, $30 – $65.
This rocking concert tribute pays homage to legendary Sun Records recording artists Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
Journeyman
7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21. The Great Hall at UPH, $19.50 – $39.50.
Fronted by Shaun Hague, Journeyman is the only nationally touring tribute to Eric Clapton.
Joey Alexander
7:30 p.m. Friday, March 27. The Great Hall at UPH, $39.50 – $89.50.
Don’t miss the youngest musician to ever be nominated for a Grammy Award® in a jazz category.
Pink Talking Fish will continue their busy 2020 and bring their unique fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish from coast to coast between April and June, after a winter tour that has brought Pink Talking Fish through the Midwest and heads into the Northeast in early March, with a tribute to Cornell ’77 on tap.
Spring tour includes sets at early music festivals, including Skull & Roses in California, Wanee Block Party in Florida, Some Kind Of Jam 15 in Pennsylvania and a return to Strange Creek Campout in Massachusetts. The performance at Wanee will include a ‘PTF is Allmans’ concept where the band will add The Allman Brothers catalog into the mix. Skull & Roses will see the band adding the Grateful Dead as a ‘4th Band’ for a ‘PTF Are Dead’ concept.
In May, Pink Talking Fish will celebrate one of the most famous shows in Grateful Dead history – ‘Cornell ’77,’ aka the famous Barton Hall show from May 8, 1977. This year, the State Theatre in Ithaca will host a very special ‘PTF Are Dead’ concept by blending 5/8/77-inspired Grateful Dead material into the mix of the night.
Joining PTF along the way are The Dire Wolves opening the show in Boulder, CO; Space Bacon (Friday) and Neighbor (Saturday) opening the Brooklyn Bowl shows in April, the latter of which features PTF keyboardist Richard James, and very special guests Strange Machines supporting PTF’s hometown celebration in Boston. The spring tour finale also features a co-headlining bill with Star Kitchen at Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore PA.
Pink Talking Fish Winter Tour 2020
3/05: Indianapolis IN at The Vogue Theatre
3/06: Chicago IL at Park West
3/07: Columbus OH at Woodlands Tavern
3/13: Plymouth NH at The Flying Monkey
3/14: Saratoga Springs NY at Putnam Place w/s/g Eggy
3/15: Norfolk CT at Infinity Hall
Pink Talking Fish Spring Tour 2020
4/03: Ventura CA at Skull & Roses – Pink Talking Fish Are Dead
4/04: Boulder CO at The Fox Theatre w/s/g Dire Wolves
4/09: Asbury Park NJ at The Stone Pony – Jams In The Sand Release Party
4/10: Brooklyn NY at Brooklyn Bowl w/s/g Space Bacon
4/11: Brooklyn NY at Brooklyn Bowl w/s/g Neighbor
4/24: Fort Lauderdale FL at Wanee Block Party – Pink Talking Fish Are Allmans
4/25: Schuylkill Haven PA at Some Kind Of Jam 15
5/08: Ithaca NY at The State Theatre – 5/8/77 Anniversary Party featuring Pink Talking Fish Are Dead inspired by “Cornell ‘77”
5/09: Fairfield CT at FTC Warehouse
5/15: Boston MA at Paradise Rock Club w/v/s/g Strange Machines
5/22: Greenfield MA at Strange Creek Campout
5/28: Roanoke VA at 5 Points Music Sanctuary
5/29: Richmond VA at The National
5/30: Norfolk VA at The NorVa
6/05-06: Ardmore PA at Ardmore Music Hall – 2 Night Double-Bill with Star Kitchen
Dave Matthews Band announced a new summer tour that will see the Grammy-winning rock group make several stops in the New York tri-state area. The tour – set to begin on June 16 and end on September 22 – will begin in the Northeast, and travel throughout the Southwest, Southeast, and the Midwest.
Photo by Steve Malinski @ Madison Square Garden.
Additionally, DMB will be making a return to St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview, where they last performed in 2018 to a near full-house, and in 2016 to a sold-out venue. A performance from DMB will be one of many live shows at St. Joseph’s Amphitheater, which will see its fair share of concerts this year, with Live Nation announcing 20-25 slated performances to be held at the Syracuse arena.
Tickets to see DMB live will be on sale through Live Nation and Ticketmaster on February 21. A list of Dave Matthews Band, as well as St. Joseph’s Amphitheater concert dates can be found below.
Dave Matthews Band Summer Tour Dates
June 16 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
June17 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
July 8 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
July 10 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 11 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 21 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
July 22 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview has a stout 2020 lineup starting May 31, with Zach Brown Band, and continuing with: Sugarland, Thomas Rhett, Steeley Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Matchbox Twenty, Nickelback with Stone Temple Pilots, Hall & Oates, Foreigner, Brad Paisley and Jason Aldean. To see a full schedule, please see their WEBSITE.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Daryl Hall and John Oates have just announced that they will be on the road once again this spring and summer for a North American Tour. British rockers Squeeze and Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall along for the ride.
A series of random warm-up dates in will span February, March and May before the proper tour begins. Those stops will include a performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 28.
The official tour for the best selling duo begins on May 29 and will make 32 stops along the way. Three stops in New York will include St.Joseph’s Amphitheater in Syracuse on July 30, Northwell Health at Jones Beach on Aug. 25 and finally SPAC on Aug. 31.
Fans will be delighted to know that Hall & Oates will focus the set on their huge pop hits like “Private Eyes,” “Rich Girl,” “Maneater,” and “You Make My Dreams.” Hall & Oates expressed how excited they were to revisit their timeless hits in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
“I feel a professional responsibility to play the songs that people want to hear,” Oates says. “They are the songs that have made us who we are. We have a lot of them. The only problem is we have too many of them, but that’s a problem that many artists would love to have.”
“A few years back we had a big show where we didn’t play ‘Private Eyes’ for some reason,” says Hall. People got pissed off. They got angry at us. You can’t do that. You have to play these songs.”
Tickets go on sale Friday for all tour dates and can be purchased by clicking here.
Hall & Oates 2020 Tour Dates
* w/ Squeeze ^ w/ KT Tunstall
Feb. 26– Giant Center – Hershey, PA * Feb. 28 – Madison Square Garden – New York City, NY *^ Mar. 21 – Fantasy Springs Resort – Indio, CA Mar. 27 – Neal S. Blaisdell Center – Honolulu, HI Mar. 29 – Maui Arts & Cultural Center – Kahului, HI May 15 – Foxwoods – Mashantucket, CT May 16 – Foxwoods – Mashantucket, CT May 23 – HoagieNation – Philadelphia, PA * (Presale starts Wednesday 1/22) May 29 – Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA *^ May 31 – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA *^ June 3 – Theater of the Clouds at Moda Center – Portland, OR *^ June 5 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA *^ June 7 – Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA *^ June 10 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA *^ June 12 – Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ *^ June 14 – Pepsi Center – Denver, CO *^ June 17 – Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, TX *^ June 19 – Germania Insurance Amphitheatre – Austin, TX *^ June 21 – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX *^ July 10 – Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON *^ July 12 – Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH *^ July 14 – Blossom Music Center – Cleveland, OH *^ July 16 – Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, MN *^ July 18 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater – Chicago, IL *^ July 20 – DTE Energy Music Theatre – Detroit, MI *^ July 22 – Ruoff Music Center – Noblesville, IN *^ July 24 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater – St. Louis, MO *^ July 26 – American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Milwaukee, WI *^ July 28 – S&T Bank Music Park – Pittsburgh, PA *^ July 30 – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview – Syracuse, NY *^ Aug.13 – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA *^ Aug.15 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL *^ Aug.18 – PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC *^ Aug. 20 – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater – Virginia Beach, VA *^ Aug. 22 – Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD *^ Aug. 25 – Northwell Health at Jones Beach – Wantagh, NY *^ Aug. 27 – PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ *^ Aug. 29 – Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA *^ Aug. 31 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY *^ Sept. 2 – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH *^
