NYS Music 202​0

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  • 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.

  • PROCTORS AND 98.3 TRY Present Concert Cinema Drive-In Series

    Proctors and 98.3 TRY will present musical acts paired with classic movies in a Concert Cinema Drive-In Series at Jericho Drive-In in Glenmont. The series features artists performing oldies, Motown, classic rock, and even Disney music over five consecutive Wednesdays beginning July 8. Each artist is paired with a similarly-themed classic film that is shown after the live concert performance, except for a Pink Floyd tribute act which performs The Dark Side of the Moon as the soundtrack during a showing of the 1939 film classic “The Wizard of Oz.”

    The concerts will kick off with a performance from The Oldies Show as well as the screening of the film “American Graffiti” on July 8 at 8p.m. The Albany-based The Oldies Show, led by three dynamic singers and backed by a rhythm section and horns, play hits from the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s. “American Graffiti” is the 1973 American coming-of-age comedy film directed and co-written by George Lucas, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, and Cindy Williams.

    Concert Cinema Drive-In Series

    Into the Floyd will perform Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon live as the soundtrack to the “The Wizard of Oz” on the big screen on July 15 at 9p.m.  

    Concert Cinema Drive-In Series

    The Little Mermen is set to perform on July 22 at 7:30p.m. followed by the movie “Beauty and the Beast.” The Little Mermen are a New York City-based Disney cover band that play the hits from “The Jungle Book,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen” and more. “Beauty and the Beast” is the 2017 live action musical film about an arrogant prince cursed to live as a terrifying beast until he finds his true love.

    Concert Cinema Drive-In Series

    A performance from Tusk- The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute is on July 29 at 8p.m. as well as the screening of the movie “Almost Famous.” Tusk takes audiences on a sweet ride down memory lane through the catalogue of one of classic rock music’s most enduring acts; the 2000 comedy-drama “Almost Famous” follows. The film, written and directed by Cameron Crowe, is the fictional story of a 15-year-old music fan assigned by Rolling Stone magazine to interview an up-and-coming rock band.

    Concert Cinema Drive-In Series

    Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble and “Lady Sing the Blues” is scheduled for August 5 at 8p.m. Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble is an all-star group of lead singers from top Capital Region bands who pay tribute to the golden age of Motown, Staxx Records, Chess Records and Philadelphia International soul music. “Lady Sings the Blues” is a 1972 film about legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday featuring Diana Ross.

  • Aqueous Ushers in a New Era of Live Music

    At Transit Drive In in Lockport, NY, live music returned for the first time in over three months. The drought was lifted with three shows from Aqueous, who performed with a limited crowd that was safely distanced throughout the grounds.

    As Sunday attendee Pete Connors of Utica attested, “For a post-apocalytpic world, they put together as close to a first class event as you’re gonna see this year.” From the looks of the recap video by Jim Houle and just shared by Aqueous, the joy on the faces of the fans, even spread out among the Drive-In grounds agrees with this sentiment.

    Aqueous live music

    With a line forming at noon for the matinee concert, doors opened at 1pm for two sets starting at 2pm. From most points around the state, you’d be home in bed before it was dark. The sound was reported as fantastic from all fronts, even if the sound had to be adjusted to appease neighbors.

    Each dad had its own unique highlight from the band. Friday opened up with local legend Rick James’ “Below the Funk,” and Saturday featured a single song second set of “Half In Half Out,” with teases throughout. On Sunday, the band left the stage before “Kitty Chaser” with a looped beat playing, as they staged a runaway golfcart marathon around the ground, saying hi to fans (from a safe distance).

    In time, we’ll remember the shows and the return to live music, even if the details get foggy. Fans are grateful for music more than ever thanks to intimate experiences like Live at the Drive In, and the easing back into live music will present us all with a new appreciation for the blessings of music around us.

    Aqueous live music

    Setlists via Darren Kemp

    Friday, June 19th, 2020

    Set 1: Below the Funk¹ > They’re Calling For Ya > Numbers and Facts, Little Something to Me, Strange Times² > Burn it Down³ > Below the Funk

    Set 2: Mind Games, Say it Again > Complex Pt. II, Realize Your Light

    Encore: What’s The Connection?⁴

    Notes: ¹ BUSTOUT LTP 12/7/2018 (100 shows)² Unfinished³ G’z and Hustlaz (Snoop Dogg) tease⁴ Birds of a Feather (Phish) tease

    Aqueous live music

    Saturday, June 20th, 2020

    Set 1: Staring into the Sun¹, Good Days, Split the Difference² ³ > Underlyer, Bring Me Down⁴

    Set 2: Half In Half Out⁵

    Encore: Freedom⁶

    Notes: ¹ w/ ending² Wedge tease (Phish) between songs³ So Fresh So Clean (Outkast) tease⁴ Original – Debut�5⁵ Teases galore, including 20/20, Below the Funk (Rick James), Sample in a Jar (Phish), YYZ (Rush), Echoes (Pink Floyd), Californication (Red Hot Chili Peppers)⁶ Jimi Hendrix Cover, BUSTOUT – LTP 2011/6/11 (858 shows)

    Sunday June 21st, 2020

    Set 1: Dig It Good, Josie > Second Sight¹ > Good Enough, The Median

    Set 2: Can You Get Me There?, Willy is 40 > Loop Jam² > Kitty Chaser (Explosions)

    Encore: Freebird³, Complex Pt. I > Second Sight⁴

    Notes: ¹ Unfinished² Band set loops on their instruments and proceeded to drive through the audience on golf carts thanking fans³ Lynyrd Skynyrd cover, Partially played as a joke, mostly acapella from Rob⁴ Ending

    Photos by Zachary Todtenhagen

  • 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.  

  • Phantom Planet Releases First Record in 12 Years and Shares Their Journey

    Many will remember Phantom Planet for their song “California,” but for many fans there more than just a theme song.  The band actually started their career at just 15 years old and will later be an indie rock staple with songs like “Lonely Day,” “Big Brat,” and “Do the Panic.”  Now after 12 years the bank has come back with their highly anticipates album Devastator – now available worldwide.

    Devastator is the first album Phantom Planet has released in 12 years.

    The album is a great tribute to summer with songs like “BALISONG” and “Only One,” and the lyrics are on point!  However, after listening to the album, it left me with several questions for the band.

    Fortunately, I had the amazing chance to chat with lead singer, Alex Greenwald to not only discuss about the creative process with the album- but to also discuss the challenges that were involved:

    Tamara Estrella: Thanks Alex for chatting with us here at NYS Music, I remember when there were teasers that a song was being produced.  However, once you did the release and the mini tour, what led to the creation of the album?  Was this all a part of a big plan that fans didn’t know about?

    Alex Greenwald: The night we played our first show in January 2019, our last album’s producer Tony Berg (who is a LEGEND) said he was floored watching us and invited the band to record in his new studio. The ‘new studio’ happened to be Sound City which is one of LA’s most historic places to record, where many, many great records have been made. Nirvana’s “Nevermind” for example. Also, the hugely successful version of Fleetwood Mac with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks actually formed in the room we recorded in. THEN ,when we were mixing the album, Bob Dylan was recording at the same time across the hall. Making this album was incredible.

    TE: Listening to songs like “Time Moves On” and then seeing the album art….I hate to ask…but was this album inspired about personal events?  Or was there another meaning behind it?

    AG: Before I answer this question, I’d like to make it clear – as the person who wrote it – that these songs are about whatever you think they’re about. You, the listener are who gives these songs meaning. Ok. Now to answer your question. Yes. A lot of the songs on Devastator were inspired by a breakup with someone I’d been in a relationship for seven years. Every time I told someone about the breakup – that she got to keep our dogs – they would say something like: “My G_d that’s devastating!” Always that word. So, the album just kind of titled itself.

    TE: I love watching your YouTube videos and it’s great to see that you guys were even able to release a music video during all of this.  How has this whole pandemic experience been for you guys as a band?

    AG: The pandemic has affected everyone in such different ways, but the one thing we all have in common is that we are trying to live our lives to the best of our abilities while under house arrest. I’ve been learning all I can about anything I can, and being as creative as I can be during this time. The band has been sharing music amongst its members, collaborating via “satellite”. We’ve been making home vids of certain songs and putting them up online. I made a music video for our new song “Only One” with a green screen. I found a bunch of royalty free video from the internet, and edited it to the song. I filmed myself with my iPhone. It came out way better than I thought it would, seeing as I had absolutely no experience making music videos or editing or green screening. One of my favorite qualities of human beings is our ability to adapt. I see a lot of adapting, and although the circumstance are FAR from ideal, I have seen so many flashes of beauty through this dark unprecedented time. Stay strong everyone. We still have each other, even if we can’t be close right now. Love will carry us through.

    So as Billboard shares, be ready to ‘dance, smile, cry and go through all the emotions,’ for an 11-track musical narrative that was seriously 12 years in the making- and honestly worth the wait.

    Check out Phantom Planet’s latest video “Only One”:

    Here is the full Track Listing for Devastator:

    1. BALISONG

    2. Party Animal

    3. Only One

    4. Leave A Little Light On

    5. Time Moves On

    6. Through The Trees

    7. Torture Me

    8. Dear Dead End

    9. Waiting For The Lights To Change

    10. Gold Body Spray

    11. ROTK

  • Jon Batiste, Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Pedrito Martinez Headlining “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions”

    Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Absolutely Live Entertainment and Caffè Lena have announced the first ever “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions” to take place June 26 -28 at 8 p.m. est. The series will feature pre produced videos from national artists along with live performances on Caffè Lena‘s stage from local favorites. Each session will be hosted through Caffè Lena’s “Stay Home Sessions” Youtube channel. “Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions” have replaced the 2020 Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival usually hosted at Saratoga Performing Arts Center that was cancelled due to health and safety concerns as a result of the Coronavirus Pandemic.

    Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of  Saratoga Performing Arts Center gave this statement in a press release; “Freihofer’s has been a generous and steadfast supporter of Jazz Fest for the last 23 years. When presented with the possibility of creating a Virtual Jazz Fest, they didn’t miss a beat – pledging to support our efforts to bring great musicians and audience together despite the challenges of COVID-19.  Being able to create connection for jazz lovers – and support both national and local musicians, the latter performing from Caffe Lena — is a privilege.”

    The series is broken down into three themed nights. Kicking things off with a Cuban-themed evening will be previous headliner, Grammy nominated Pedrito Martinez with local artists Chuck Lamb and Jorge Gomez. Bringing the sounds of folk and jazz together will be husband and wife duo Bela Fleck (four time headliner and winner of 15 Grammy awards) & Abigail Washburn followed by Saratoga Spring’s own Skidmore Jazz Institute Alumni Trio. Closing out the weekend long event with some smooth sounds from Detroit will be Garland Nelson’s Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble” opening for musician and television personality Jon Batiste.

    Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Stay Home Sessions Lineup:

    *all performances at 8 PM EST

    June 26

                Pedrito Martinez

                Chuck Lamb & Jorge Gomez

    June 27

                Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn

                Skidmore Jazz Institute Alumni Trio

    June 27

                Jon Batiste

                Garland Nelson’s “Reflections: A Motown Tribute Ensemble”

  • Rough Trade NYC Announces Reopening

    Rough Trade Records NYC has announced that their Manhattan storefront will be reopening Wednesday, June 24th at 12 noon. The store also is operating under new business hours which were also announced in the original Twitter post.

    The new business hours will be Wednesday- Sunday, 12pm-6pm, remaining closed on Mondays and Tuesdays until further notice.

    In cooperation with State of New York’s latest government guidance’s, the store has implemented safety measures keeping the health of both costumers and employees at the forefront of priorities.

    rough trade reopening



    New guidelines include the use of masks and or face coverings by everyone in the building as well as strict card only transactions.

    Rough Trade NYC will continue to fulfill all Click and Collect orders as usual and, as always, will be open online 24/7.

  • Hearing Aide: Baked Shrimp ‘Bubble Suit’

    With the times changing week by week, it’s been pretty hard for bands to get together and practice safely like they used to. However, Baked Shrimp had a different idea all together. This progressive-funk trio from Long Island just released their second full album, Bubble Suit, and their approach towards recording this new LP is ingenious.

    Jared Cowen, Scott Reill and Jager Soss recorded their parts virtually and used cloud-based systems to send the tracks back and forth to create the final product. These 12 tracks have never been performed live or even played at practice and the band is quick to point out that this is not a studio album… it’s a quarantine album!

    baked shrimp bubble suit

    Regardless of how you classify it, this album is an impressive musical and technical feat from start to finish. The opening track, “The Vision That I Can See,” is a jaw-dropping epic that really showcases the prowess of this band and make you scratch your head as you ponder how they were able to put this album together. “Conduit” fits this same description too and will undoubtedly become a staple at their live shows. The band also shows off their light-hearted side with humorous tracks like “I Wanna Do Nothing” and “Drinking on the Beach”, but they really flex their skills on more upbeat songs like “Koko” and “Rock Bottom.”

    Bubble Suit is a response to Baked Shrimp’s 30-date Summer Tour being cancelled. The band plans to resume touring as soon as safely possible and will stay true to release new music frequently in the future. For now, this album is a milestone achievement for Baked Shrimp and the music scene as a whole. They’ve taken our current uncomfortable situation and truly made the most of the situation. Bubble Suit was released on June 18 on Bandcamp.

    Key Tracks: Conduit, The Vision That I Can See, Koko

    Bubble Suit by Baked Shrimp

  • Ian Holubiak Releases Music Video to “The Ballad of Michael Brown”

    Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and self-taught musician Ian Holubiak, who goes by the name Great Ian Alexander, has released the music video to his new protest anthem, written in response to the death of George Floyd and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

    Ian Holubiak

    “The Ballad of Michael Brown,” was originally supposed to be a battlecry for the late Michael Brown, a victim of police brutality. As the years have passed, the song has maintained its relevance, serving as yet another voice in defiance of the systemic racism inherent in America’s police forces. Great Ian Alexander presents a song to aid in the revolution, to form a new police system and oust the racism that has been perpetuated and brutalized through the 13th Amendment.

    Written by Ian Alexander Holubiak, Larz Principato & Denis Lipari, the song is a part of Holubiak’s solo project, Great Ian Alexander. Holubiak, a self-taught musician from the age of nine has toured with the Atlantic Records band, Oh Honey, as both a member and co-songwriter. Among the other groups he has toured with include Beach Weather and singer-songwriter acts inducing Grammy award nominated Elle King. 

  • Justice Comes Alive Virtual Music Festival Announced in Support of PLUS1’s Black Lives Fund

    The virtual benefit festival, Justice Comes Alive, was announced and will be streamed across multiple platforms. It will take place on June 28 at 12PM ET. The festival will be a donation based event supporting the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund. It will feature live performances from big names like Phil Lesh and The Terrapin Family Band, The Soul Rebels, and Lettuce. It will also feature speakers like Gary Bartz, George Porter Jr., and Harvey Mason tackling racism & the fight for equality.

    This festival is taking place after the success of the Quarantine Comes Alive which raised over $170,000 to benefit participating artists and PLUS1’s COVID-19 Relief Fund. The creators of QCA and mainstay events Brooklyn Comes Alive and Denver Comes Alive decided to create Justice Comes Alive in hopes of having similar outcome and felt obliged to shift their focus to matters of racial inequality facing our nation. The festivals partnership with the  PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund will donate proceeds raised during the day-long event directly to benefit participating artists as well as  organizations. Some of the organizations include Equal Justice Initiative, Impact Justice and The Bail Project. The donations will also go to Black and Indigenous-led grassroots organizations combating racism. Justice Comes Alive is also partnering with HeadCount during this event to encourage voter participation and help people register to vote.

    The virtual festival will feature performances by: Antibalas, Alvin Ford Jr., BANDEMIC (feat. John Scofield, John Medeski, Billy Martin and Jesse Murphy), Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Bobby Rush, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Christone “KINGFISH” Ingram, Cory Henry, D’Vibes Trio w/ Adam Deitch & Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, David Shaw, Doom Flamingo, Dumpstaphunk, Eric Krasno, Everyone Orchestra, Full Moonalice, The Funky Knuckles, G. Love, Galactic, George Porter Jr., The Ghost of Paul Revere, Ivan Neville, Jennifer Hartswick w/ Nick Cassarino & Christian McBride, Kim Dawson, Lettuce, Louis Cato, Marco Benevento, Maurice “MOBETTA” Brown, Mononeon, Moon Taxi, The Motet, MoTown Getdown, Nahko, Neal Francis, Nick Cassarino & Erin Boyd, Nigel Hall, The OG’s, The Original Nth Power, Phil Lesh and the Terrapin Family Band, Robert Walter, Roosevelt Collier, Shaun Martin, The Soul Rebels, Southern Avenue, Stanley Jordan, Star Kitchen, Stout, Tank and the Bangas, TAUK, Terence Higgins & The Nola Krewe, Turkuaz, and Umphrey’s McGee.

    The festival will feature talks by: Christian McBride, Dennis Chambers, Ellis Hall, Eric Krasno, Gary Bartz, George Porter Jr., Harvey Mason, Ivan Neville, Karl Denson, Oteil Burbridge, Patrice Rushen, Terence Blanchard, and Weedie Braimah.

    Justice Comes Alive will be hosting a donations page which can be found on their website where the viewer donates the amount of their choice and then will be emailed links to watch on the day of the show. Options range from donating  $5 to $1,000 and any donation gives the viewer the link to stream on the day of show to donating. There is even a custom donation amount viewers can use to donate less or more depending on their financial situation. 

    For more information please visit Justice Comes Alive’s website.