June usually marks a month of LGBTQ+ celebration with parades, festivals, musical events, talks, and etc but due to COVID-19 a lot of the normal festivities aren’t going to be possible this year. Luckily though, CNY Pride (Central New York Pride) isn’t letting this stop them from creating a way for members of the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate. CNY Pride is throwing a Virtual Pride Cabaret on June 20 from 7:30PM to 9PM.
The virtual cabaret celebration will happen via Zoom on the original date of CNY Pride’s Pride Festival. The cabaret will include an array of different performers from their original line-up for the festival. From musical performances, to drag performances, to belly dancing, the cabaret will have a little bit of everything for everyone.
The line-up includes Samantha Vega who will be hosting the event. Burlesque Performers Kitten N’ Lou who will be headlining. Amara Lee Dúpree, Athens Violet-Maraj, Celeste LeRue, Charlotte Diamond Star, Frita Lay, and Sparkle Royale will be performing Drag. Belly Dancer Tessa TrueHeart will be performing. Cabaret Fan Dancer Harlow Holiday will also be on the docket. Solo Musician Nicholas DiMaria and Vocalist Robert Denzel Edwards will also be making an appearance.
For more information on the virtual cabaret celebration visit CNY Pride’s Website.
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.
In a hilarious new video, moe.’s Rob Derhak waxes philosophical while drinking chocolate syrup from the bottle. “2020 didn’t really turn out the way we all expected did it?,” Derhak asks. “But it still is moe.’s 30th anniversary.”
While moe. can’t celebrate on the road with live shows (just yet), the band is asking on fans to shoot videos and share photos of their favorite memoe.ries using the hashtag #thisisnotweare.
Submissions are open through Monday, June 8, with 10 winners selected to enjoy a virtual happy hour with the band.
Dan Smalls is a promoter who works in central New York and the surrounding areas. He heads Dan Smalls Presents (DSP), which promotes concerts and events in Cooperstown, Syracuse and Albany, as well as DSP’s home base in Ithaca. NYS Music spoke to Small about how COVID-19 is affecting the music industry, particulary in a smaller market such as Ithaca.
Dan Smalls. Photo via Dan Smalls.
Nora Hones: As a promoter, what are the difficulties you expected to undergo during COVID-19, and what are some unexpected challenges?
Dan Smalls: Well I think they are both the same honestly. There is so much uncertainty with what people know about the disease and how it’s transmitted, I think we are pretty clear that our business is the one that is the most affected. Anytime people are indoors and are in close proximity for a period of time you’re gonna have a problem. So we sort of expected there to be issues, maybe not as much as there was, but the hardest part is not knowing when we will be back to doing shows again.
In the same vain, I don’t expect it to be the same again. Things changed when 911 happened and I think the future of the music industry is very different now. That being said we are luckily going into it in a really good place, where we feel like surviving it will be okay and we are pretty forward thinking in how we are as a company. So I think we will be prepared for whatever comes next and be ready to capitalize on it.
Dan Smalls speaking into microphone. Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: In a city like Ithaca, that has a really big music scene and central business, what are fallouts you are expecting due to the pandemic?
DS: Well I think this community is relatively isolated, at least when you talk about Ithaca, in that it’s driven from education and the services surrounding it. That being said education is impacted and if people aren’t coming back to town then that will affect our community more than most. In most economic downturns, cities like Ithaca can survive pretty well because education is always here. It’s not manufacturing, it’s not things that change. If kids don’t come back it’ll be a little more [difficult] than in the past. So we will have to see, I think Ithaca College is very bold by saying they are going to have kids on campus this fall but who knows at this point. Like anyone who says that stuff it’s a little bit of an interesting choice at this point.
NH: So coming off of that [vein of thought] as a promoter who is working through this, what are your ideas of how things will work once they start the phased reopening of different venues like, State Theater vs. the Beak and Skiff?
DS: I’m not going to pull punches here, but my opinion is that we’re (and maybe I’m wrong, I hope I am) but I don’t think indoor shows in theaters are going to be. I think the best case-scenario is probably March or April of 2021 at th0is point. I think outdoor shows next summer we have a better chance, but again, all of this is predicated on so many unknowns. Will there be a treatment or a breakthrough? I’m not a proponent of believing a vaccine will come out any quicker than in the past, but I’m also not trying to get elected so I don’t have to say these things. But it’s definitely doom and gloom to believe it’s going to be a long time but it’s better to be prepared for a longer break and come out of it in different ways and find ways to spend the time like with different types of programming or content creation in the meanwhile.
NH: I 100% agree with you. I think it’s going to be a long time before we are back to indoor shows.
How is that really going to work with them being postponed all at the same time and trying to prioritize?
DS: There is for sure lots of traffic, but that being said I think we are going to manage it pretty well and it will come together as it does. I think there will be a lot of opportunities when it’s done with bigger acts playing in smaller venues just because they will be afraid with how much their tickets will be worth. But there will be a lot of traffic, no doubt. This is how people make money now so the question is: how do we manage that and prioritize?And really, I hate to keep going back to it, but there is just a ton of unknowns. How many venues will survive? Luckily our partners are mostly in very good shape and I think we are going to chrome out of it okay but we will have to see. It depends how long [this pandemic] goes on for.
NH: I know you are involved in some smaller festivals like the Ithaca Reggae Fest for example, how do you think this pandemic will affect small festivals like that across the United States?
DS: They are all going to lose a year.
NH: For sure, but how many do you think will be able to come back in the capacity they were used to coming back in every year?
DS: Well again, it’s going to depend on how the industry is going to [handle things]. Everything is going to be understated, I really believe it’s going to take years to get back to what we are used to. So a lot of them will probably not take the risk. A lot of it was dictated by sponsorship dollars and all of that and I don’t know if all of that will be as out there when the economy is struggling.
NH: Have you seen a lot of sponsorships getting pulled?
DS: Not at this point. It’s more just that everyone is trying to believe that a future will come back around and I just don’t know if the sponsorship piece of that is [will,] it’s relatively small at this point.
Dan Smalls (right). Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: What’s your thoughts a venue’s chance of surviving with so many small businesses closing?
DS: Being the Vice President of the Independent Promoter Alliance not-for-profit, that recently formed to help guide indie performers and their venues, I’m hearing a lot of challenges from a lot of people. The question is just who is going into this in a position where they aren’t behind the eight-ball financially I guess. Venues who serve food and things like that have been able to pivet pretty well, at least some of them have, it really just comes down to how management has done in the past and how they run their businesses. I don’t know how else to put it.
We don’t have a ton of venues of that size. We generally have [places that are] 300 and up [for capacity] but I hope they [venues] all find a way though. I really do but I think looking at what’s happening to restaurants in NYC [you can see] there is going to be a lot of fallout here and the question is just how long we can prop them up or whether the economy will come back quicker than people will believe. Again, I hate to go back to uncertainty, but that’s all we really are talking about here. It’s hard to make a prediction.
NH: For sure, everything is very uncertain right now. And there is so much fake news out there, nobody really knows what’s going on.
DS: I wish they never created it. I wish it was just news, you know?
NH: Me too, believe me I always have to tell people you have to check out the website you’re looking at.
What are your thoughts about bands, who are smaller local bands whose members supplement their income with performing, how it’s going to affect these bands and their members who are no longer able to supplement their income?
DS: Well a lot of them are finding creative ways though selling special merch or doing live-streams and stuff like that, and I think that’s all we really have for now. So the question is who can do them [the most] creative, and do them a little more uniquely, and go from there. I think how you find ways to stand out in that game are important.
Photo via Dan Smalls.
NH: What kind of advice would you give to musicians who are trying these creative ways to supplement their income?
DS: What I think, is that there are so many – It’s the wild wild west. There is no other way to put it. The more I think about it, anything goes tight now. Everybody is talking to everybody and the goal is just how do we take care of each other through this? The spirit of working together between managers and agents and promoters and venues has never been better and that’s what I think we are looking for in this. Let’s work together and go from there, you know?
NH: Definitely. Have you heard about these social distancing concerts that have been being put on, like the one in Arkansas?
DS: I will completely say no thanks. That’s not something I’m interested in doing. I think they are just such a terrible experience we aren’t interested in those at this point.
NH: I think that’s the safe and fair opinion on them at this point. It seems like a very risky revenue and road to go down.
DS: Yeah I agree. It’s just for us how we categorize our business, [is] we have been a forward thinking artist and fan-centric business. And we want the best experience for both the fan and the artist. It’s been our motto and our goal from day one. So that being said we’re not going to start doing things different because of this. We would rather wait it out and do it proper.
NH: So what kinds of things are you doing currently, despite COVID-19 sort of destroying everyone’s plans? I saw you’re doing the live-stream for Bob Dylan’s birthday, but what other things is Dan Smalls Presents currently doing?
DS: We are going to keep doing those [live-streams] for the State Theater and some one offs here and there for other venues close to us. We’re announcing some ticked live-stream stuff in the next couple of weeks here with the Whitney show this week and we should have a couple more of those coming. We are making the best use of the time. We’re gonna do our best to just keep coming up with creative ideas and that’s our goal. More will come out of this for working with managers on lots of crazy ideas. So stay tuned, everyday is a new idea.
NH: So how do the ticketed live-streams work? I’ve seen some different things about them but I’m not sure exactly how they work. Do people buy a ticket and get a code for the live-stream or something like that?
DS: Yup, they buy a ticket and it gives them access. Whitney has done it, Japanese Breakfast has done it, there’s a bunch of them that have happened already. They’re pretty cool. They are just another way [to do things.] There are two schools of thought, the suggested donation generally works pretty well but some of them want to have a wall up and have a ticket and that works. It’s really simpler than it looks. It’s just like buying a ticket to a show and all they do is send you a link and a code to get into to watch it.
NH: Okay, awesome, that sounds really cool. So that was pretty much all my questions. Do you have anything else you would like to say? Anything else you would like to put out into the world?
DS: I wish the news was better and everything was more solid but unfortunately at this point we just don’t know. It’s day by day, hour by hour, and it’s a good time to take stock of your friends and your family and your life. What we [have] learned is that the go, go, go mentality doesn’t have to come back that way. I have been pretty good about that even in the past. I think we were ready for this, we were prepared for it from a financial standpoint, we will weather the storm and come out the other side strong.
Hamilton Movie Theater has announced that they will continue Hamilton Unity Concerts starting Sunday, May 31 and running through the end of June.
Concerts will be live streamed at 7PM on their Facebook page. Hamilton Unity Concerts Part II will support a variety of non-profit organizations. A link will be provided on their Facebook page for people to donate to the organizations and offer tips to the artists.
The concerts will kick off with Vermont-based indie-rock band Jesse Taylor on May 31. Other artists who will perform include: Liz Fiddle, Jeffrey Monty, Sam Herbert, and Blaine Holcolmb. Check out more details below.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series was supposed to announce its lineup but unfortunately it has decided to postpone it’s festivities. The ten week free concert series will be back in the summer of 2021. This difficult decision was not made lightly but with COVID-19 alive and raging the Utica Monday Nite and the Levitt AMP committee have decided that with the concerns for the health, safety and well-being of their community that postponing was the only real option.
The grant money won by the public voting campaign by Utica community members will roll over to 2021. The Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation has assured that the $25,000 will be safe and be able to be used for next year’s festivities. The only catch is that Utica will not have to apply again and won’t have to vote again for next year’s grant.
The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties usually match the funds and grants collected for the past four years. Alicia Dicks, president/CEO of the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties said she supported the decision to postpone The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series till next summer and look forward to next summer.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series team is currently working on rebooking as many of the headlining bands that were scheduled for the festivities this summer for next year’s festival. The series will also feature local talent each week as it always does.
Levitt AMP Utica Music Series. Photo Provided by Levitt AMP Utica Music Series.
The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series will be joining the 10-Week Virtual Music Series with The Levitt Foundation. They will be joining 19 other Levitt AMP cities for this 10-week Virtual Music Series which will highlight some of Utica’s local talent on a national platform. The Levitt AMP Utica Music Series will also be exploring the possibility of applying for a new Bridge Grant for 2020. The Levitt Foundation created this grant to bring people together through music in alternative ways and is shaping what that may look like for our community.
For more information please visit Levitt AMP Utica Facebook and Instagram pages.
For years Utica’s own alternative rockers Trampoline Jetstream have played shows without recording a single track. Now even with measures in place that prevented them from being together they have produced their debut EP For Days On End.
The first single off the EP, “Patience,” shows off futuristic dreamy bedroom pop sounds backed by heavy bass that produces a psychedelic image. Urging listeners to take their time in ‘deciding their own fate’ and showing yourself patience in a time of drastic change and uncertainty, “Patience” is a track you can put on and forget about now.
For Days On End was long awaited from a band that has seen some trouble since they first decided to start recording their debut album in 2018. Plans were all brought to a screeching halt when lead singer Nick Vanderwood sustained vocal injuries that lasted over a year.
Recorded completely separately due to social distancing measures implemented during the pandemic, the debut EP will consist of three songs that did not make the debut album. The band has plans to release a full debut album hopefully in the fall according the press release. ‘For Days On End’ is available for streaming on all platforms.
The third and final time the Grateful Dead performed at the Carrier Dome was on October 20, 1984 and featured one of the most blistering “Jack Straw” versions ever.
The October 20 show was smack dab in the middle of their 1984 fall tour, and the final show on the East Coast before heading to San Francisco for the remainder of the year.
A first set opening with “Bertha” -> “Greatest Story Ever Told” found a great groove in “Ramble on Rose,” which was followed by the first of a few requests from Bob Weir for the audience to ‘take a step back,’ heard quite often during this era of the Dead. The “Bird Song” clocks in at just over 11 minutes, and is followed by the aforementioned powerful “Jack Straw.”
The energetic show features resounding versions of “Shakedown Street” to open Set 2, which led to non-stop dancin’ in the rafters. During “Turn on Your Lovelight,” fencing on stage right fell, leading to fans spilling down onto the Carrier Dome field.
Leaving the show on the mantra of “Revolution” (‘You know its gonna be, alright’) set the crowd out on a high note, for it would be the last Dead on the East Coast until March, 1985 in Hampton, VA. Of course, leaving the Carrier Dome (up until recent renovation began) meant the wind would push on the backs of fans as they egressed, which can be either cathartic or unsettling, depending on your mindset at the time.
Check out photos of the Grateful Dead at the Carrier Dome pre and post-show from James R Anderson here and check out an extended breakdown of the show from Visions of Dylan.
Set 1: Bertha-> Greatest Story Ever Told, West L.A. Fadeaway, CC Rider, Ramble On Rose, My Brother Esau, Bird Song, Jack Straw
Set 2: Shakedown Street-> Samson & Delilah, He’s Gone-> Smokestack Lightning-> Drums-> The Wheel-> The Other One-> Black Peter-> Turn On Your Love Light
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.
The Chenango Blues Association announced on their website that their 2020 summer festival will be cancelled. The festival which was originally scheduled for Friday August 21 through Saturday August 22 is postponed to next year. Statements from the association can be seen below.
We agonized over this, and we held out as long as we could , but we have arrived at the conclusion that there is no responsible way to move forward with any of our planned events for 2020. We are all as disappointed as we know you are, and it was difficult to contact all our artists and break the news. At this point in events no one was very surprised, and everyone shared the belief that it was the safe and reasonable thing to do. Our artists, our volunteers and of course all our fellow music lovers mean the world to us and the thought of an event that would put anyone’s well being at risk was reason enough to take pause. An event next year where we will all be present to enjoy it means a lot more than rushing in to something we don’t understand well enough to prepare for. We like all of you too much to do that! It came as quite a blow to have to do this but I have to tell you-we were uplifted by the many kind words of vendors, volunteers and artists about how much the event means to them and how excited they were to participate next year. In fact, most of our artists have already agreed to perform at the 2021 Fest, and we are all thrilled to death because we thought it might be our best lineup yet! Hope to see you all next year-it will be bigger and better than ever. Until then-wash your hands, cover your face and stay safe!
While the Chenango Blues Fest is off for 2020, check out NYS Music’s coverage of past Blues Fests from 2019.
