NYS Music 202​0

Category: Hudson Valley

  • Mazzstock Music Festival Cancels for 2020 Due to COVID-19

    Marlboro New York’s Mazzstock Music Festival cancels their 2020 festival in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision didn’t come lightly, but staff decided that protecting the health, safety, and well-being of their attendees, staff, performers, and vendors was most important than having the festival take place this year.

    In Mazzstock Music Festival’s original COVID-19 announcement posted on their website and Facebook page on April 5 said the festival would be tentatively scheduled for August 20-23, 2020. Then it was announced on June 23 via their Facebook page they would be cancelling the event entirely saying, “Mazzstock will not take place in 2020.  We will miss all of the awesome people who make our event special this year, and we look forward to celebrating life, love, music, and our health with you under more normalized circumstances in 2021. Until then, please stay safe and take care of each other. We [love] you!

    Take A Walk On The Wild Side ~ The Mazzstock Allstars ~ Mazzstock 2018

    If it all goes as planned, and COVID-19 calms down, Mazzstock Music Festival will be back and kicking in 2021. The Mazzstock Music Festival hosts jam bands to blues, reggae to trip hop, alternative to country, this family vibe fest covers the entire spectrum of great rock and roll. Previous lineups can be found here and include a lot of great local music. The festival started as a birthday party back in 2008  has become an annual three-day festival that sprawls over two stages.

    For more information on Mazzstock Music Festival visit their website.

  • Marco Benevento Shares His Musical Journey on the Past, Present, Future, Live! Podcast

    Marco Benevento joined RJ Bee on this week’s episode of the new podcast series Past, Present, Future, Live! brought to you by Osiris Media. Spanning almost an hour, in the episode we hear the virtuoso keyboardist discuss his life experiences and musical inspirations behind the 7 solo albums that have successfully blended indie pop, jazz, hard rock and improvisation into the smooth fun sound he is known for. The episode wraps with a special performance “Two of You,” “Dropkick,” and “In the Afternoon Tomorrow” right from Benevento’s studio home in Woodstock, NY

    Marco Benevento went on to talk during the podcast about musical partnership that has spanned over twenty years with drummer Joe Russo, the other half of the Benevento/Russo Duo and mastermind behind Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. From bus tours to moving to the Hudson Valley of New York, Benevento’s life and career was impacted immensely leading up to the new artists who have inspired diverse sounds on Benevento’s new album Let it Slide.

    “I literally am living the dream. I couldn’t even imagine being anywhere else right now,” said Marco Benevento.

    Past, Present, Future, Live! is a weekly show that captures the musical journey of an artist in four parts. From early inspirations to the creative process to what drive’s future projects these stories provide a unique inside look. Hosted by RJ Bee, past episodes have included Grammy winning producer and musician Eric Krasno and the frontman for Old 47s Rhett Miller. Upcoming episodes of Past, Present, Future, Live! will include conversations with Ted Leo, Dani Markham, Maggie Rose, and more. Check out full audio episodes every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A video of each live performance will be available immediately following on the Osiris website and Youtube channel.  

  • Woodstock 50 Takes Previous Investor to Court Again

    In August of 2019, a huge festival celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock was supposed to be held. The event’s lineup included artists such as Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, and more. Although it was extremely hyped, the festival was cancelled less than a month before its scheduled date due to multiple issues which were prompted after Dentsu, one of the festival’s investors, pulled out of the event. Now, Woodstock is taking Dentsu back to court and demanding that they be refunded for the company’s fraudulent actions.

    Woodstock 50 court
    Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (10160758ad) Woodstock co-producer and co-founder, Michael Lang, participates in the Woodstock 50 lineup announcement at Electric Lady Studios, in New York Woodstock 50 Lineup Announcement, New York, USA – 19 Mar 2019

    On April 29 2019, Dentsu announced that the event was cancelled altogether, claiming that the reason was due to doubts regarding the festival’s ability to host a safe event for artists and customers alike, as an administrator of New York’s Schuyler County reported that the tickets could not be sold because Woodstock had failed to get a mass gathering permit from the Department of Health. Despite this, the New York State Department of Health announced that the “cancellation announcement [was] not a result of the permit application pending with the Department,” admitting that “The Department was surprised to learn of [the] decision to cancel the event.”

    Woodstock still assured fans that the festival would go according to plan without Dentsu, and on May 6, co-creator of Woodstock Michael Lang claims that Dentsu “illegally swept approximately $17 million from the festival bank account” and tried to persuade artists into dropping out of the festival. Woodstock asked for a court order shortly after demanding that Dentsu refund the festival the $17.8 million. Dentsu disputed their claims, and the Supreme Court of New York’s order on May 15 said that although Dentsu could not cancel Woodstock 50, they owed the festival nothing.

    Now, over a year later, the Woodstock 50 organizers have officially filed a lawsuit against Dentsu for “sabotage” despite the previous court decision. The suit claims that Dentsu’s decision to pull out of the event had “nothing to do with any alleged breaches by Woodstock 50, but rather to avoid the potential that the Festival would not make money or not be as successful as they hoped” even though Dentsu claimed that the decision to leave the festival was because of the lack of a proper permit. The plaintiff states that Woodstock 50 is entitled to “tens of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages” as a result of Dentsu’s fraudulent behavior. The suit alleges that it was Dentsu’s intention from the start to “kill the festival.”

  • Pete Seeger’s Clearwater Sloop Hosts ‘The Virtual Great Hudson River Revival: An Epic Stream to Save the River’

    Setting sail five decades ago by the folk icon Pete Seeger, The Hudson River sloop Clearwater was recently doubting its state of continuing after the pandemic forced a stop to its educational and activism activities. With donations from supporters worldwide, the ‘nation’s oldest music-rooted activist organization’ has stopped this ship from sinking. The annual music festival will once again go on this year, but virtually to keep in accordance with the current social distancing guidelines, dubbed ‘The Virtual Great Hudson River Revival: An Epic Stream to Save the River.’

    Airing June 20 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. est. Viewers can enjoy the 3 hour festival on Clearwater’s website, YouTube channel  and Facebook page for free with donations being accepted that will go to continue the educational, environmental and activism programming. Artists will get to perform one at a time, giving them a chance to watch their fellow performers, something that has never occurred in the history of the activism festival.  

    Great Hudson River Revival

    Grammy winning singer/songwriter Tom Chapin, a returning headliner and one of the organizers for this year’s virtual concert said, “Happiness, for me, is performing at the Clearwater Revival and, for the first time, being able to actually watch all the other great artists play.”

    Other musicians who have stepped up to the plate for 2020 include Judy Collins, David Amram, John McCutcheon, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason many more.  

    Conceived in 1966, the Clearwater sloop has played an important role in the history of environmentalism and grass-roots activism along the Hudson River. From a history of female captains, to flying of the rainbow flag in support of its trips dedicated to empowering LGBTQ young people and its role in the long running cleanup of the Hudson River. The organization called for an end to systemic racism in a post on their Facebook page and recalled when Seeger and civil rights activist Paul Robeson were attacked 70 years ago after performing in Peekskill, NY according to a Billboard article. Also the sloop has hosted several generations of the region’s youth have learned about the Hudson River from field trips aboard the Clearwater.

    “Despite the distance, we’ve been excited to be able to bring people to the river through virtual sails and interactive online programs, and the response so far has been terrific,” says Erik Fyfe, Clearwater’s education director.

  • Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Annual Summer Concerts Cancelled Due to COVID-19

    Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization which works to provide all with rich and diverse art through performances as well as education, has announced it has cancelled its annual Pavilion season.

    bethel woods cancelled
    Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

    Since 2004, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has been holding Summer concerts at its outdoor pavilion. The performances would continue even under horrible circumstances: through “torrential rain, lightning, and squalls of wind,” Chief executive Eric Frances says.  However, due to the continued threat of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Pavillion stage would not open this year. This year’s set was supposed to include artists such as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Norah Jones, and the Black Crowes.

    Although not all concert dates have been rescheduled yet, some have announced plans to perform in 2021. Frances announces that Bethel Woods is still “[looking] to provide alternative programming throughout this year” by “utilizing [their] amazing venue in a responsible manner” even in this time of uncertainty. Bethel Woods is looking forward to being able to open their museum exhibits, the event gallery, and their outdoor augmented reality tour as soon as it is safe to do so. 

    Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

    As Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a 501(3)c non-profit organization, all of their revenue comes though ticket sales and donations. Because their Summer sets are cancelled, Bethel Woods could be in financial trouble. To encourage otters to participate, its Board of Trustees has graciously offered to match each each donation which is given to Bethel to increase finances. 

    In the video in which Frances announces this unhappy news, he delivers and important message to the public: with the upcoming 51st anniversary of Woodstock, its original message of the “strength in unifying for peace” is crucial for everyone to remember right now. It is more important than ever to remember that “we are one.”

  • Hearing Aide: Guitars A Go Go Debut LP ‘Travel Advisory’

    Guitars A Go Go, the improvisational duo of two acclaimed Hudson Valley-based guitarists, Rick Warren and Sal Cataldi (Spaghetti Eastern Music), have released their debut album, Travel Advisory. The duo have been performing at leading concert venues and art galleries since early 2019 and, on occasion, in a quartet abetted by bassist/composer Mark Steven Brooks and percussionist Pete Tenerowicz.

    NYC and Saugerties-based guitarist Sal Cataldi may be best known these days for his style-jumping solo project, Spaghetti Eastern Music. Time Out New York describes Cataldi’s music as “largely instrumental, Eastern-influenced jams are infused with some delicate guitar work and hauntingly moody atmosphere.”

    Guitars A Go Go

    Originally from Kingston, Hudson-based guitarist Rick Warren has been deeply involved in the improvisational and experimental music scene. He was encouraged by renowned vibraphonist Karl Berger at his Creative Music Studio in Woodstock. It was Berger’s visit to a Rick’s high school music theory class that led him to become a regular participant in twice-yearly workshops held at CMS, an international hot bed of improvisational music performance and education founded in 1971 by Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman. Rick is best known for using his guitar and a variety of electronic sound sources, each one a new and different on-the-spot creation. 

    Their debut album is a quartet of live-in-studio duets recorded just as the COVID-19 quarantine took hold. Travel Advisory features contemplative, peaceful songs as well as songs with textured noise and dissonance. These songs communicate the wide array of emotions we are feeling in response to the global pandemic. Five more songs were later produced in remote collaboration, with Cataldi adding guitars, synths, and effects at his studio in West Saugerties to solo pieces performed by Warren at his studio in Hudson.

    Travel Advisory opens up with “A Jig for Europa,” comprised of blues performed by Warren on heavily processed acoustic 12-string, electronic blurbs, and backwards guitars by Cataldi. Throughout the album are songs such as “The Volcano Lovers,” 13 minutes of serene music with back-and-forth relay of melodic improvisations by each guitarist and “DeKooning Was a Crooner” the final and longest live-in-studio improvisation. The song consists of jazz chordal voicings from Cataldi lead into the inside-out improvisations from Warren. 

    Key tracks: A Jig for Europa, The Volcano Lovers, DeKooning Was a Crooner

  • Young Singer/Songwriter Shawn Wodraska Uses His Voice to Call for Peace

    One of the greatest blessings we have in life is the ability to use our voice; Shawn Wodraska, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from the small town of Wingdale, NY recently used his to represent his passion for the Black Lives Matter Movement and overall peace between those with different backgrounds and beliefs.

    Shawn Wodraska

    Shawn took to Facebook to portray a message of hope with a beautiful cover of “If I Can Dream” by Elvis Presley. “As I was scrolling through social media, I noticed that news coverage and posts were almost exclusively negative,” he said, “I decided that I had to do something; we all have to play our role to make a change, so I chose to sing, the only thing I know how to do.”

    Click here to view the original post.

    His video generated an exceptional amount of positive feedback with more than one thousand views. Prior to posting, Shawn said, “I was worried about negativity or that people would think I was using the Black Lives Matter Movement to further my career.” He continued, “I knew I had to do something to play my role in restoring peace, likes and views were the last thing on my mind.”

    Philosopher Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and his belief that “the line between good and evil passes through every human heart” was one of the driving forces in Shawn’s decision to post on social media. “I want to do what I can to help bring peace to all corners of life by inspiring people to find the humanity in who they perceive to be their enemies,” he continued, “I am one voice of the many needed to bring about unity, but it’s important to remember that we are all human and we have to work together.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jntQW9XOxQ

    The passion inside of Shawn is evident in his original music as well. Although he doesn’t mind if he never makes it big, he said, “I want to use the platform I build to promote positivity. We can always do better. I want to highlight that in my music.”

    Typically accompanied by the piano, his content ranges from story-telling folk tunes that draw inspiration from Marty Robins to easy-listening ballads without lyrics. While some of his songs have a theme, many of them are left open to interpretation. “Mediums like music tend to reach people on a spiritual level – there’s a reason why they call it soul – the music we write should be inspirational and bring people together,” he continued, “We can all unite and enjoy a good song, regardless of the differences that polarize us.”

    To check out Shawn’s original music, visit his Youtube page.

  • Flyday Music Festival postpone until September

    The 4th Annual Flyday Music Festival will postpone until September, and once again return to the Blackthorne Resort in the Northern Catskill Mountains. Taking place over the course of three days from September 10 – 13, this year festival attendees can expect music from all different types of genres including rock, jam bands, soul, R&B and so much more. 

    With over twenty acts already scheduled to perform headliners include Lespecial, returning favorites The Magnetic Pull, Hartley’s Encore, plus first-timers Consider The Source, Schleigho, Now vs Now led by Jason Lindner (keyboardist on David Bowie’s final album Blackstar as well as a member of Meshell Ndegeocello’s touring band), Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Expansion Project, Space Junk Is Forever, Muscle Tough, Cats Under Stars featuring Adam Czolowski, Acoustic Trauma, bassist Nigel Felony (of Floodwood), The Mark Basil Band, Level:Memory and K-Weef.

    Sun Colored Chair is set to host the first annual Flyday Open MicNight on Thursday in the Phoenix  Pub at Blackthorne Resort, in addition to being part of the festival lineup. Other acts are set to be added to the lineup via the website at later dates.

    Originally scheduled in May, the spring festival was moved to September in response to the COVID-19. As of now tickets sales are set at 250 this time to allow for 6 feet of social distancing. Additional ticket sales will happen at the door if  there is a lift in the gathering bans. Tickets are available for purchase here. 

  • This darkness has got to give: Music venues during COVID-19 across New York State

    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.

    Buffalo – photos by Zachary Todtenhagen

    Capital District – photos by Zach Culver

    Brooklyn – photos by Joseph Buscarello

    Hudson Valley – photos by Mickey Deneher

    Long Island – photos by Andrew Camera

    Plattsburgh – photos by Jerry Cadieux

    Manhattan – photos by Jamie Huenefeld

    Syracuse – photos by Josh Davis

    Utica – photos courtesy of The Stanley Theatre

    Ithaca – photos by Casey Martin

    Long Island – photos by Rob Tellerman

    Brooklyn and Manhattan – photos by Steve Malinski

    Port Chester – photo by Chad Anderson

  • 518 Day Celebrates Local Music across Eastern New York

    May 18th may be just any other day of the year for most of the world, but for the extended Capital Region in New York, it is a day of celebration. 518 Day highlights the variety of local music that has been a defining part of this expansive region of New York State. 

    The 518 region stretches all the way from the Canadian border to the Mid-Hudson region, borders with Vermont, and covers more than 12,000 square miles across 17 counties of New York. Area code 518 was established on January 1st, 1947 and has a population of more than 1.3 million residents, with major cities that include Albany, Schenectady, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Plattsburgh, Saranac Lake, and Troy among others.

    The 518 has become it’s own cultural hub and is known particularly for it’s great local music scenes. A great deal of artists come from the 518 region and call it home, including Blotto, Madison Vandenburg, Wild Adriatic, Blind Owl Band, Sawyer Fredericks, Eastbound Jesus, Ominous Seapods, moe., Glass Pony and many, many more.

    518 music is being celebrated by Radio Radio X who are running an all day show from 5AM to midnight tonight featuring local music from the 518 area. There will be a pause for Big Ed’s Little Rock and Roll show at 7PM and a new CD by Off The Record Trio which will be played from start to finish. You can listen live online here.

    Check out some videos of local 518 talent over the years