NYS Music 202​0

Tag: NYC

  • 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.

  • Smithsonian Folkways release LP ‘Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton’

    Smithsonian Folkways has released an album of recordings from legendary bluegrass musician Doc Watson and fiddle player Gaither Carlton. The recordings on Watson and Carlton come from two concerts in New York City in October 1962; one concert at the NYU School of Education and the other at Blind Lemon’s (a folk club in the West Village that was gone the next week).

    Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton

    In the early 1960s, Watson was playing rockabilly tunes on his electric guitar near his home in tiny Deep Gap, NC when he was discovered by folklorist Ralph Rinzler. Watson became known for his heartfelt, powerful singing and the distinctive sound of his acoustic guitar.  

    Ralph Rinzler set up the concerts as Watson’s debut in New York, but it was a young Peter Siegel, who recorded both concerts in New York. Siegel still lives in New York, and founded the Nonesuch Explorer Series. He went on to produce music with Watson, and other talented artists such as Paul Siebel, Tom Paxton, Roy Buchanan. Peter Siegel shared his thoughts on how Doc Watson influenced future guitarists: 

    Today there are all these great flatpicking guitarists we know about. Clarence White, Tony Rice, all kinds of people. Billy Strings too now. At that time, nobody had ever heard a folk guitar player play like that! In folk music, the guitar was an accompanying instrument, which was usually strummed in a specific way. So when Doc showed up, it blew my mind. It blew everyone’s mind!

    Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton

    The music that is played on these recordings is not the virtuosic guitar style Watson is known for. Throughout the album are songs like “Double File” and “He’s Coming to Us Dead” that are comprised of the fiddle, guitar, and banjo to demonstrate the roots of Scottish and Irish music.

    Key Tracks: Double File, He’s Coming to Us Dead

  • Hearing Aide: Hayfitz Releases Debut LP ‘Capsules’

    NYC-based indie folk artist Hayfitz releases debut album Capsules, which debunks the value of time and nurtures brief yet defining experiences into lush songs.

    Hayfitz

    The foundation of Capsules was recorded over eighteen days in a Seattle home surrounded by idyllic views of the Puget Sound and the region’s mountains and evergreens. The setting brought Hayfitz the emotional space to deliver the record with resolve, bringing intentional details to each song and distilling the franticness of a Brooklyn lifestyle.

    Capsules took on its current shape in a secluded winter cabin in Parker, Pennsylvania where friend turned collaborator, Patrick Gregg, hosted Hayfitz for two separate week-long periods. Each inspired by contemporaries like Andy Shauf and Chad Vangaalen, Gregg and Hayfitz collaborated to bring a range of woodwinds to the recording process, with Gregg playing everything from bass clarinet to saxophone. Gregg’s added aptitude in both modular and analog synthesis formed the underlying soundscapes that created a cohesive record, running Hayfitz’s demo midi sequences through various vintage synthesizers.

    The album opens up with the song “Pinpoint,” an illustration of Hayfitz’s complicated and perplexing emotions towards a girl. Throughout the album are songs like “Daylight,” that display Hayfitz’s fear and susceptibility and “Hold On,” which demonstrate Hayfitz’s perseverance to have strength and hope in his darkest moments. The song “Kitchen,” relates to today’s current situation, making it the perfect quarantine reflection: 

    “Kitchen” is about being left alone with someone you’ve just met and quickly becoming enamored with them. We hardly ever have control over the circumstances of these first moments we share with a stranger and it’s utterly terrifying to think about what’s going through their head. It’s oddly coincidental that my song about being unexpectedly trapped in a kitchen is coming out during a time where we now all find ourselves in isolation, without having planned for it. We’re finding expedited and deeper connections with those who we’re sharing our small spaces with and being forced to adapt immediately to this new way of life.

    People have experienced feelings of fear and uncertainty due COVID-19, but Hayfitz’s album communicates that all we have to do is just “Hold On.” 

    Key tracks: Pinpoint, Daylight, Hold On

  • Uptown Drive-In Festival is Parking Itself at Yankee Stadium

    Yankee Stadium parking lots will be filled with cars this summer, but not for the usual reasons. A new festival, Uptown Drive-In, will be situated in Yankee Stadium’s parking lot following the new trend of drive-in events due to COVID-19. 

    News of this festival was dropped in an exclusive in Time Out New York on May 15 and is quickly making buzz for itself. According to the exclusive, Uptown Drive-in will happen every weekend starting in July and feature live music from local artists from NYC, movies, on-site live interactive games, raffles and giveaways, and car-side food service from an array of New York Street Vendors. Uptown Drive-In is planning on organizing it’s weekend activities by having date-night experiences on Friday, Saturday and Sundays in the evening, while having a more family-friendly style brunch series during the day on Saturdays and Sundays.

    The Festival is being put on by MASC Hospitality Group who is the same company responsible for events like Bronx Night Market and the Bronx Beer Festival. Not many details about the event have been announced yet, but MASC Hospitality Group’s Marco Shalma did confirm within the exclusive that the plan is for people to view the performances from their cars just like you would at a drive-in theater.  This comes from Governor Andrew Cuomo gave New York state permission to re-open some drive-in movie theaters on May 15 as part of New York state’s phased reopening. There is a plan to lift the stage and have the sound be accessible from a PA system to visitor’s car radios.

    The cost of admission is still undetermined. But those interested in attending can sign up on their website to receive information on booking dates, promo codes, exclusive packages, and giveaways.

  • Allison Leah’s “We Can Still Sing” an Anthem for Surviving COVID-19

    New York City’s own Allison Leah released her new single, “We Can Still Sing” which summarizes how many are feeling during the COVID-19 pandemic that is gripping the world.

    Allison Leah is a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised just north of New York City and currently resides there. She writes everything from heartfelt originals like “We Can Still Sing” to familiar commercial jingles like “Hess Truck.” Leah released her debut EP Fly Home back in 2018. 

    “We Can Still Sing” revolves around the helplessness everyone is feeling during this pandemic but that we can stand together and ‘still sing’ and that we aren’t alone even though it feels like it currently. She focuses part way through the song on holding on to yourself and your loved ones and how when this is over eventually. How we will joke about this time of staying inside in the future. 

    When the song starts it has this sad restless undertones created by the lingering piano. Between the  lingering tune and the songs lyrics and their inflections it mirrors these feelings or restless and hopelessness people have been feeling. The song then takes a turn though when hitting the chorus between the piano, acoustic guitar and snapping and shakers it turns into the hopeful song it is. 

    This EP is definitely worth checking out especially for anyone feeling the quarantine blues. For more information on Allison Leah check out her website.

  • Sony Hall Becomes Doomed

    Last Friday, at midnight, Umphrey’s McGee fans raced over from Hell’s Kitchen after the band’s first night at the Beacon theater ended. As they descended into the underground club-room of Sony Hall, they waited for the bassist, Ryan Stasik, to make his way down to Times Square and bring out his late night masterpiece of a band, Doom Flamingo

    This band has really been making a splash in the last year, charging headfirst into late night rallying fans’ hearts with a heavy 80’s-synth powerhouse of fury that keeps everyone coming back for more. They began the night with an original fan favorite “F-16” and quickly went into one of their incredible covers, David Bowie’s “Afraid of Americans.” This group really creates their own versions of the covers they choose, always picking an unexpected song.

    Singer, and general badass, Kanika Moore sported what can only be described as a Doom Ballerina outfit. She also carries an incredible set of pipes and was really belting out her lyrics into the crowd. Their single set ran on deep into the morning until their triumphant finish, another single>cover showdown of their own “Runaway” and their amazing cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”

    You can catch Doom Flamingo a few times this winter down in their home area of the Carolinas before they head to Sweetwater 420 fest, and to New Orleans for a post-Jazz Fest late night set. You’ll also be able to see them at a few festivals this summer like Summer Camp and Floydfest. And don’t be surprised to find that a few other festivals are “Doomed” before long. If you have any chance to see them this year, or ever, you are strongly suggested to do so.

    Set: Replicant, F-16, Afraid of Americans, Somebody, Telepathy w/ Jam, Delorean, Blade Theme, Harvest Moon, Need To Feed, Love on Hold,

    Encore: Wicked Game, Runaway

    Photos by Zatchmo Lives Media, Follow on Facebook and Instagram

  • Governors Ball Announces 10th Year Lineup

    Governors Ball Music Festival has released its 2020 lineup, returning for the 10th year to Randall’s Island Park in New York City, the festival will take place Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7.

    To celebrate the milestone, over 65 acts are slated to take the stage including: Tame Impala, Flume, Vampire Weekend, Stevie Nicks, Solange and Miley Cyrus. Joining the all-star lineup is Missy Elliott in her first NYC headlining performance in over ten years. There will also be surprise pop-up performances from local subway and street performers, as in years past.

    governors ball 10th year
    Governors Ball 10th year lineup

    Tickets are on sale now, including a festival pass to the entire event. The three day GA and VIP tickets, including payment plan options, HERE.

    Check out Missy Elliott’s newest single “Why I Still Love You”.