NYS Music 202​0

Category: Streams

  • Annual Make Music Day to Be Held Virtually on June 21

    Even amidst this pandemic, the annual Make Music Day will still be held in hopes of spreading happiness and music to anyone across the globe. 

    Annual Make Music Day
    Photo by Thomas Retzer

    Originally started in France in 1983 as Fête de la Musique, Make Music Day is the only music festival of its kind: its mission is to bring free music to anyone and inspire them to create music themselves regardless of their age or experience level. 

    The festival made its North American debut in New York City several years ago, and now has chapters all over the US, including Rochester, Ithaca, and Ossining-Briarcliff. Now every year on the Summer Solstice, over 1,000 cities across the globe take part in this great celebration of music. This year, Philadelphia will dedicate their events to the Black Lives Matter movement.

    This year, although events cannot be held in person, the creators of the festival have still managed to invent creative ways to get many involved with music. A global day-long live stream will be held featuring several New York artists, there will be 12-hour long online music lessons for 25 different kinds of instruments for all experience levels, and composers from around the world will be challenged to perform another’s song. A contest for young people from ages 13-21 motivates them to submit their own work. Make Music Day even will even join Bash the Trash Environmental Arts by encouraging all to create instruments out of trash or household items. Performances of Elliot Cole’s Flowerpot Music, in which he makes music using flowerpots as percussion, will be live streamed for eight hours.

    Annual Make Music Day
    NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 21: Marching bands perform during Make Music Day at the Brooklyn Museum on June 21, 2014 In the Brooklyn Borough of New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Make Music Day)

    Make Music New York even has their own unique lineup of events for the day. An ever-growing list of musicians and singers will perform Mozart’s Requiem at noon, and it is still possible to sign up and get involved in the performance, and the Third Street Music School will livestream Beethoven Sonatas from 1-5pm. Paul Stein, the activist accordion player, will be entertaining countless via livstream at 4. Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre will host a virtual block party that will feature NYC immigrant and international performers.

    Make Music Day has even organized ways to safely bring music in person to some. One June 21, musicians will serenade the elderly from outside nursing home windows in order to maintain a healthy distance. Nursing homes are still looking for musicians! If you are interested, contact your local FirstLight Home Care to be matched with a participating nursing home. One-person marching bands will parade around cities across the US; look out for Matthew Cain, who will be playing the tuba in Park Slope on 9th street in Brooklyn. CenterPoint Arts is hosting live concerts from cars outside of Brooklyn Crepe & Juice (274 Flatbush Ave) at 4:15. Porch Stomp! will host pop-up socially-distant singalongs all around Brooklyn from 6-7:10.

    There are even more events which will take place throughout the day on June 21, and there are still many chances to get involved in this global celebration of music.

  • CMJ Music Marathon Returns Under Amazing Radio

    The CMJ Virtual Music Marathon will return virtually this year, now under the ownership of Amazing Radio. Amazing Radio also has begun their new show One Night Stand, a weekly live performance which will feature up and coming artists broadcast on AmazingRadio.tv.

    CMJ Music Marathon

    One Night Stand was kicked off June 15 with a special introductory show featuring The 1975, Alvvays, alt-J, Daughter, and Wolf Alice and included informational interviews with Amazing Radio founder Paul Campbell and CEO DJ Andy Zicklin. One Night Stand will showcase two new artists each week through music and interviews. Starting June 19, the show will begin broadcasting regularly every Friday night from 8-8:30PM EST. 

    On June 19, fans can watch or listen to interviews and performances by Huw Edwards of KOYO (Leeds, UK) and Grace Gillespie (London, UK), and additional performances by Needshes (Moscow, Russia), Daring Greatly (San Diego, CA), Firstimers (Denver, CO), and James Alexander Bright (Hampshire, UK). The audience will be able to tip the artists directly. 

    Launched in England in 2007, Amazing Radio’s mission is to “[help] new and emerging artists get discovered and make money, without getting screwed.” Its North-American branch kicked off in 2018. Amazing Radio helps undiscovered artists gain media attention in an ethical way. Several iconic artists have been discovered by Amazing Radio, such as Alt J, Haim, London Grammar, Bastille, Chvrches, The 1975, Royal Blood, Sam Fender and Dua Lipa. Billboard called the station “a powerful promotional machine.”

    CMJ Music Marathon

    Amazing Radio now also owns CMJ, the College Music Journal. CMJ was founded in 1977 and began hosting an annual music festival showcasing new, undiscovered talent in New York City in 1980. The festival helped artists like Lady Gaga, Mumford & Sons, and Arcade Fire gain notoriety. Unfortunately, the CMJ Music Marathon has not taken place since 2015. However, CMJ and Amazing Radio are happy to announce that the festival will be returning virtually this Summer. Although the festival cannot be in person, it will still maintain “its spirit of new music discovery,” and will now span “New York and beyond.” 

    All emerging artists can submit their music for the CMJ Virtual Music Marathon by becoming Amazing Artists on Amazingradio.us. Doing so offers the artists several benefits, including the chance to be considered for One Night Stand. Additionally, new artists who sell their music on AmazingRadio will keep 100% of their profits and donations.

    Be sure to watch or listen to One Night Stand on AmazingRadio.tv or AmazingRadio.us respectively every Friday night from 8-8:30PM EST and submit your original work for the CMJ Virtual Music Marathon.

  • Celebrate Juneteenth virtually with SummerStage Anywhere’s Digital Day of Dance

    Capital One City Parks Foundation Summerstage is virtually celebrating the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The New York City concert series, now known as Summerstage Anywhere, is having a digital day of dance on Friday, June 19, with hourly tribute performances starting at 12:00 p.m. EST leading up to a panel discussion at 7:00 p.m. Originally planned to be held in-person, the Juneteenth event will be free and fully virtual on Summerstage’s Instagram and YouTube channels.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CBiim-5npb4/

    Performers include RudduR Dance, who will perform an excerpt of their three-part contemporary ballet “Witness” at 6:00 p.m. “Witness” intertwines art and activism to depict the past, present, and future of race in America. During his candidacy, current French president Emmanuel Macron visited a rehearsal. RudduR Dance was founded in 2015 by Guggenheim fellow Christopher Rudd.

    At 7:00 p.m., Hope Boykin of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will host a panel discussion called “Reflecting the Times.” Boykin, an alumna of Howard University, is a three-time recipient of the American Dance Festival’s Young Tuition Scholarship. Following the panel, there will be a tribute performance of “Hanging Tree” featuring Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet (JGCO) Dance Theatre, vocalist Marcelle Davies-Lashley, and poet Carl Hancock Rux. For almost 25 years, JGCO has performed across the United States as well as internationally.

    Juneteenth

    Observed annually on June 19, Juneteeth celebrates the end of slavery in Texas in 1865. Following the U.S. Civil War, Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation still had yet to be enforced in Texas until Union general George Granger issued an order in Galveston freeing the last remaining slaves in the Confederacy.

    “As a Black woman in America, I am a direct beneficiary of the struggles and battles for justice and I stand on the shoulders of those who fought and continue to fight for my freedom,” said Danni Gee, Dance Curator and Music Programming Associate for SummerStage. “I am honored to be able to celebrate this important anniversary of Juneteenth in our country’s history on SummerStage Anywhere. I am proud to present this program even more so in light of current events and it is crucial to me that the communities we serve know that we stand with them.”

  • Virtual Cabaret Announced in Celebration of Pride

    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.

  • Celebrating 30 Years of Mariah Carey

    As of Friday, June 12, the self-titled debut album from Mariah Carey is 30 years old. With four consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 including “Vision of Love” and “Someday,” it instantly shot the Long Island-born diva into superstardom and an elite class of vocal legends including Whitney Houston. While Mariah’s legacy has been watered down to that of a washed-up Christmas singer in recent years, this unfair revisionist history ignores the impact she’s had on virtually every pop and R&B act after her.

    mariah carey

    When Mariah Carey released “Vision of Love” in 1990, the French-German duo Milli Vanilli had just been busted for lip-syncing and artists like Madonna made up for subpar vocal talent with shock value and spectacle. On the contrary, Carey demonstrated she was capable of belting, runs, melisma, and whistle tones in less than four minutes, swinging the pop pendulum the other way and reintroducing the concept of pop stars as vocalists with few gimmicks besides their own voices. More of these rose to fame throughout the 90s, from Brandy to Usher to Destiny’s Child, and the explosion of reality talent shows in the 2000s only intensified the phenomenon. Mariah’s power ballads like “Vision of Love” and “Hero” have been American Idol since its inception, a show she eventually judged.

    Throughout the 90s and 2000s, Carey achieved 18 #1 hit singles on the Billboard Hot 100. She wrote and produced 17 of them, the sole exception being a cover of the Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” for her MTV Unplugged EP. She also shared the record for the chart’s longest-running #1 with Boyz II Men for their 1995 single “One Sweet Day,” which spent 16 weeks at the top and had yet to be surpassed until Lil Nas X’s 2019 hit “Old Town Road” beat it with 19 weeks atop. Late last year, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” finally hit #1 on its 25th anniversary, giving Carey her 19th #1 overall and the first in 12 years.

    Despite her immense success, Mariah’s career hasn’t been without its setbacks. She made bizarre guest appearances on MTV’s TRL and Cribs in the early 2000s that she later attributed to bipolar disorder, and she was the subject of public ridicule when critics panned her 2001 film and album Glitter. However, she returned to form with her 2005 comeback single “We Belong Together” and its accompanying album The Emancipation of Mimi, winning three Grammy Awards. And although her 2016 New Year’s Eve fiasco temporarily made her the butt of the joke again, she set it right with a pitch-perfect performance the following year.

    mariah carey
    Mariah Carey with her three wins for The Emancipation of Mimi at the 2006 Grammy Awards.

    Carey is also no stranger to engaging in public feuds with other singers. Interestingly, a short glance at the long list of artists Carey has feuded with shows that they’ve all been influenced by her in one way or another: Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, to name just a few. They might not like her, but they still respect her achievements and emulate her in their music, style, and personas. With the Ol’ Dirty Bastard remix of “Fantasy” in 1995, Mariah became one of the first mainstream pop singers to feature a rapper on a song’s verses while singing the hook—now a common crossover recipe for top 40 artists.

    Even Canadian electropop artist Grimes defended her love of Mariah Carey to Pitchfork, saying, “I know very few adult males who consider themselves serious ‘music guys’ who don’t laugh when I say I like Mariah Carey. Why? Because she’s beautiful and people like her. Therefore she must be selling sex, right? So obviously her music is terrible, right? Ugh. The first time I heard Mariah Carey, it shattered the fabric of my existence.”

    Celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary below:

  • New York Rock N Roots Festival Acquires New Looks with CHAUVET Professional

    Roger Sharp, owner of High Peaks Event Production has launched New York Rock N Roots Festival to highlight talent in Saratoga Springs. The festival is livestreamed Sunday nights on the Rock N Roots Facebook page.

    New York Rock N Roots

    Sharp has always entertained the idea of putting on a summer festival in his hometown. His Upstate New York stomping grounds have nurtured a wealth of talent in virtually every genre, from Lana Del Rey the Goo Goo Dolls, and Ani Di Franco to moe., Rick James, Lou Gramm, 10,000 Maniacs, and Chuck Mangione. But keeping up with the demands of his growing business prevented him from getting around to realizing this dream. He finally found the time though after the COVID-19 lockdown put all events on hold. Roger Sharp expresses his thoughts on the livestream festival: 

    Since we can no longer do mass gatherings, we’re focusing on another way of reaching people, This isn’t a money-making deal, it’s a way to keep ourselves and bands busy, while providing our community with an entertainment option, all while following strict safety standards. Our goal is to create excitement around the bands without distracting from them. 

    Looking to give viewers something as close as possible to an engaging festival experience, Sharp and his wife LD Christine Sharp along with their associates decided to support each musical act with a full production light show that reflected the music. Helping Sharp and his team achieve these looks is CHAUVET Professional. CHAUVET Professional offers innovative professional lighting fixtures for the production and touring market as well as permanent installation in theaters, hospitality venues, cruise ships, clubs, television and architainment applications. 

    Varying which upstage fixtures are turned on at different times allows the team to create distinctly different looks for each band, while gobo patterns from the beam and spot units add depth to the stage. Additionally, the wide zoom range of the downstage fixtures increases the variety of looks during the two-hour stream by allowing the design team to change the coverage area of their front lighting.

    New York Rock N Roots

    Although, he is happy with how the livestreams have gone, Sharp admits he “can’t wait to get back to live events” once the lockdown is over. When that happens, he’s going to have a lot of great music to light, given the rich tradition of his Upstate New York market. For now, there’s New York Rock n Roots.

  • Adirondack Theatre Festival & Bloomington Playwrights Project Bring “In the Box” Virtual Experiences

    Adirondack Theatre Festival (ATF) & Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) have announced a brand new interactive virtual experience named ‘In The Box Entertainment’.  Beginning this September and running through February 2021, these from-your-couch experiences will include a cruise, hands-on-insane magic shows, a holiday talent show with live voting, an interactive hunt for a criminal, a film festival, and a “wine and canvas” night gone wrong. 

    Chad Rabinovitz, the Producing Artistic Director for ATF and BPP will create and direct the entire series. Also on the stellar team is; playwright Hank Greene (Knights of the Sales Office) and Jeffrey Small as the consulting producer. From Saratoga Springs, Mills Entertainment will ensure that these online experiences perform at high levels, taking Zoom from ‘a video chat to an interactive television experience’.

    “Our goal from the start was to create entertainment that isn’t a consolation prize for not having live theatre, but instead to develop an iteration of live theatre that benefits specifically from being digital.  We’re not putting our art form on Zoom, we’re creating an art form for Zoom,” states Chad Rabinovitz. 

    Shows will be live ticketed performances experienced within the comforts of your home.  Rounding out the unique experience will be a themed box mailed to the ticket holder prior to the show of their choosing.

    More information and ticketing can be found at the BPP, ATF or at www.intheboxentertainment.com.  Tickets may also be purchased by calling the Wood Theater Box Office at (518) 480-4878.

     In The Box Entertainment Lineup:

    Sep. 10-12 – Magic in a Box: Remote Control with Max Major A Virtual Mind Reading Experiment

    Sep. 15-19 – Magic in a Box: Glitches in Reality with Simon Coronel

    Oct. 15-18 – Film Festival in a Box: 5th Annual Adirondack Film Festival

    Nov. 3-14 – Cruise In a Box: Living Room Cruise Lines

    Dec .10 – Bloomington, IN – Talent in a Box: Holiday Family Talent Show

    Dec. 17 – Glens Falls, NY – Talent in a Box: Holiday Family Talent Show

    Jan. 12-23 – Mystery in a Box: Manhunt

    Feb. 9 -20 – Paint in a Box: Painting for One

  • A new virtual age for the Village Vanguard begins

    New York City’s legendary Village Vanguard invites you to join them Saturdays starting June 13 at 7 p.m. EDT for a 75 minute live streaming concert. A matinee will follow the next day at 2 p.m. EDT. Admission for each performance will be $7.

    First up on the lineup will be The Billy Hart Quartet featuring  drummer Billy Hart joined by a phenomenal group of artists including tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson and bassist Ben Street. 

    After closing its doors on March 16 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, just three weeks after the club’s 85th birthday, many were left wondering how indefinite the closure would be. Virtual concerts have become the revival answer for many and now The Vanguard is back with four weekends currently slated with performances. Please continue to check the website and follow the club on Instagram @vanguardjazz and Facebook for updates on upcoming shows. 

    Village Vanguard

    Livestream schedule:

    June 13-14 – Billy Hart Quartet featuring Mark Turner, Ethan Iverson and Ben Street

    June 20 – 21 –  Vijay Iyer Trio featuring Nick Dunston and Jeremy Dutton   

    June 27 – 28 – Joe Martin Quartet featuring Mark Turner, Kevin Hays and Nasheet Waits

    July 4 – 5 – Joe Lovano Trio Fascination featuring Ben Street and Andrew Cyrille

  • Billy Strings Announces Streaming Strings 2020 Tour

    Known for his flat-picking guitar technique and intense, confessional songwriting bluegrass musician Billy Strings has announced an ambitious live streaming/virtual touring project. The shows are set to kick off on July 16, 2020 in Billy’s adopted hometown of Nashville, Tennessee.

    The Streaming Strings 2020 Tour is an innovative approach to touring for post-shelter in place times. All nine shows on this livestream-only tour will be performed in crowdless venues throughout Nashville. Both audio and video will be streamed via various partners.  Digital “tickets” will go on sale June 16, 2020 at 12:00 pm EDT and can be purchased at Streamingstrings.com.

    Streaming Strings

    Nashville has long been a hub for innovation and creativity, from the earliest days of the Grand Ole Opry breaking ground by broadcasting their live show nationwide to the television era. Nashville is home to a plethora of record labels, music publishers, songwriters, and entertainment executives, all of which contribute to the ever-expanding creative community that initially established Nashville as “Music City.” And of course, Nashville is also known for its tight-knit, generous, and supportive community that places tremendous value on collaboration and shared experiences. Billy Strings aims to create a shared experience for fans around the world with the Streaming Strings 2020 Tour, and hopes that the joys of music, community, and connection will continue to thrive, even amid difficult times.

    A portion of all proceeds will be equally divided and donated to several charity partners: ACLU, Backline, and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Check out the dates of Billy String’s Streaming Strings 2020 Tour below.

    STREAMING STRINGS 2020 TOUR DATES

    Thu – 7/16/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)

    Fri – 7/17/20 Brooklyn Bowl (Streamed live via FANS)

    Sat – 7/18/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)

    Sun – 7/19/20 Station Inn (Streamed live via Station Inn TV)

    Wed – 7/22/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)

    Thu – 7/23/20 City Winery (Streamed live via Nugs TV)

    Fri – 7/24/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)

    Sat – 7/25/20 Exit/In (Streamed live via TourGigs)

    Sun -7/26/20 3rd & Lindsley (Streamed live via Nugs TV)

    The dates listed may change based upon the status of the COVID-19 virus. Contingency plans (and dates) are in place three times over. For safety’s sake, all necessary precautions will be taken.

  • Launch Global announces 12 hour virtual Protest Festival in support of Black Lives Matter movement

    Launch Global has announced that their 12 hour virtual festival is set to premiere on Saturday, June 13 at 4PM. Launch is a virtual concert platform and artist co-op that supports and celebrates independent artists. Artists can collaborate with other artists, acquire the success for live-streaming and help artists develop their careers. 

    The virtual festival is a donation-based protest in full solidarity and support of the anti-racist and pro-equality movement, fueled by powerful Black voices, and by diverse artists who all stand against racial injustice, the racist prison system, deeply ingrained racial bias, and who celebrate the Black community’s contribution to music at large. The event will be streamed live at LaunchGlobal.TV and donations will go directly to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to support the development of all the progressive legislation coming from this current watershed moment. 

    Launch Global

    The festival which was originally scheduled for June 6 is postponed to June 13 in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and media blackout. Launch Global’s roster of artists includes Jessie Wagner (Nile Rodgers & Chic), Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Kaydonna, Bonita Jalane, Girl God, Qing Screw Face, TrewCulture, Kendra Black, Rogue Wave, Karaleigh, Abracadabra Field Trip, Mars Motel, Cello Joe, Raphael25 and many more.

    A statement from Launch Global can be seen below.

    Out of respect for the current sociopolitical climate, and to do our part to help make space for voices that need to be heard, Launch Global felt compelled to postpone our streaming festival scheduled for this past weekend. We’ve decided to move the event this coming weekend, and transform it in to an exercise in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Launch Global is, at its core, a music coop, and as such we all owe an immeasurable debt to Black culture. We find ourselves in one of many pivotal moments through our nation’s history where everybody needs to band together to protect the right and safety of Black people, and Launch Global intends to do our part in whatever way we can.