Psychedelic-rock legend Jorma Kaukonen is heading out on a carefully planned Northeastern road tour in an RV he calls the “Ultimate Mechanical Toy.”
Jorma will embark on a solo tour in July celebrating the vinyl release of John Hurlbut and Jorma Kaukonen: The River Flows Volume Two, with John Hurlbut joining Jorma for a special set highlighting The River Flows.
Recorded last summer along with Volume One, this album continues along the same path. “Guitar maestro Kaukonen shares top billing with singer/guitarist John Hurlbut in a downhome session of remarkable six-string storytelling” said Sterophile and No Depression revealed “Kaukonen and Hurlbut view music as a conversation … What we hear in this acoustic marvel is an intimate tête-à-tête celebrating 40 years of friendship.” The album releases on Record Store Day, July 17, 2021.
June 13 The Mill Event Center, Lancaster, OH July 15 Jewish Community Center, Rochester, NY July 17 The Cabot, Beverly, MA July 18 Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield, CT July 23 & 24 Concerts On The Green @Suneagles, Eatontown, NJ July 25 City Winery Hudson Valley, Montgomery, NY
In May, Kaukonen and sound technician, Myron Hart, will headed out for three dates in the Northeast. An RV, which he calls the “Ultimate Mechanical Toy,” looks more like one of Willie’s buses than anything, provides a safety factor for the tour.
In a career that has already spanned a half-century, guitarist and vocalist, Jorma Kaukonen has been one of the most highly respected interpreters of American roots music, blues, and americana, and at the forefront of popular rock-and-roll.
Kaukonen is a founding member of two legendary rock bands, Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane, as well as a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a Grammy recipient.
Jorma Kaukonen’s repertoire goes far beyond his involvement in creating psychedelic rock; he is a legend and one of the finest singer-songwriters and master instrumentalists in music today. Jorma tours the world bringing his unique styling to old blues and writing new songs with insight and imagination.
All of the venues on the tour are making amazing efforts to be safe and comfortable places while also adhering to social distancing guidelines. Each show will have limited seating, extra cleaning, and require attendees to wear masks and stay at their tables once they’re seated. Most of the shows will be held outdoors.
Come out and enjoy the delight of spontaneous melodies and insightful songs peppered with Jorma’s wry sense of humour. When asked if he would hire a driver for the RV, Jorma said, “Absolutely not! This is the ultimate mechanical toy!”
May 04 Vinoski Winery, Belle Vernon, PA May 06 Homer Center for the Arts Drive-in series, Homer, NY May 09 Tupelo Music Hall, Derry, NH Two shows: 1PM & 4PM
You can find out more about Jorma Kaukonen, the “Ultimate Mechanical Toy,” and the Northeastern tour on his website and on Hot Tuna’s website.
To kick off PRIDE month and launch their ‘Come On Out’ Summer Performance Series, “party-inducing” queer performance company The Neon Coven is taking over Radial Park’s drive-in arena with JANNIFER’S BODY, starring Jan from Season 12 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, performing live for one night only on Wednesday, June 30th.
RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jan is eating boys alive and living to sing about it in JANNIFER’S BODY, a blood-soaked love letter to queer horror and the emo-punk music of the early millennium put together by The Neon Coven.
Featuring a screening of the cult classic 2009 film Jennifer’s Body along with the music of Avril Lavigne, Panic! At The Disco, Kesha, and more, this one-night-only experience in Radial Park’s uniquely “Cinemersive” outdoor drive-in arena is going to be the gay prom night you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Call your Top 8. We’ll see you there.
Joining Jan on stage are face-melting Neon Coven performers Tony Lawrence Clements, Mark Mauriello, Kelly McIntyre, Jada Temple, and Ryan Gregory Thurman.
The show features original music, arrangements, and costume design by Andrew Barret Cox, as well as additional original music by Kelly McIntyre. All summer series shows are directed by Shira Milikowsky. The Managing Producer of the series is Carla Troconis.
The Radial Park drive-in offers distanced picnic tables that seat up to 5 people, as well as parking spots for cars. General Admission Tickets cost $100 per car/table, and VIP Tickets, which include premium seating and a post-show meet & greet with Jan, cost $175. “Doors” open at 8pm; show at 9pm.
Radial Park is located at Halletts Point in Astoria and is accessible by taking the NYC Ferry to Astoria Landing (5 minute walk) or the N/W train to the 30th Ave station (20 minute walk).
Additional shows in the ‘Come On Out’ Summer Performance Series will be announced at a later date. Shows will take place at various venues across New York City.
The Neon Coven is a growing performance collective creating theater, events, and nightlife. We like: queer people, theater in non-traditional spaces, and screaming.
Their first production, the immersive nightclub musical OSCAR at The Crown, had a twice-extended run at 3 Dollar Bill in Bushwick and was described by The New York Times as “a party-inducing Rocky Horror transplanted to a 1990s Madonna video.”
Other work includes the 2019 World Pride Opening Ceremony at Barclays Center, shows at Arlene’s Grocery and Ars Nova, and collaborations with Hot Rabbit Events and The Muse Brooklyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @theneoncoven.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
It’s time. Megadeth and Lamb of God cannot be stopped and today announced the rescheduled run of the Metal Tour of the Year.
Joining them, as previously planned, will be special guests Trivium and In Flames, heralding the long-awaited return to the stage for these bands, who are every bit as excited about these historic and not-to-be-missed shows as fans are.
Produced by Live Nation, the epic, rescheduled tour will now kick off on Friday, August 20th in Austin, TX and hit a further 26 cities before wrapping in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on Saturday, October 2nd.
Megadeth, fueled by Dave Mustaine’s triumphant return to the stage following his diagnosis and recovery of throat cancer, will finally embark on their first North American tour since 2017.
Megadeth’s leader and frontman, Dave Mustaine says:
Can you hear that sound of armies on the march – of destruction on the horizon? That’s this tour, coming for you. We cannot wait to return to the stage and I promise you you do NOT want to miss these shows. You’re not going to know what hit you!
Lamb of God pressed ahead with the release of their crushing self-titled album, one of the best-selling metal albums of 2020.
The band now looks to take the show on the road as they return to the stage for the first time since the release of the record. Randy Blythe, inimitable frontman of Lamb of God, adds:
It’s been far too long since we got together to do our thing— by ‘we’ I mean bands, road crew, bus drivers, truck drivers, local venue staff, vendors, audience, parking lot attendants, the freaking janitors- the whole damn enchilada. ALL OF US. TOGETHER. Everyone has been waiting, but the time has come to put the puzzle back together— I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been more ready to hit the road with lamb of god. See y’all in a few months with Megadeth, Trivium, & In Flames. Over a year with no live music? These shows are gonna be INSANE…
Trivium’s Matthew Kiichi Heafy added, “The Metal Tour of the year couldn’t be stopped by anything. It is still happening, and we can’t wait to bring back shows with this monumental tour. We’re ready. Are you?”
With In Flames singer, Anders Fridén stating:
“I can’t really describe how good it feels to be really talking about going on tour, let alone The Metal Tour of the Year. This setup is long overdue and we can’t wait to finally make it happen.”
Tickets and VIP packages for the rescheduled Megadeth and Lamb of God dates go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 7th, 2021 at 10am local time at LiveNation.com.
All previously purchased tickets for any of the rescheduled dates listed below will be valid for the new date. For any cancelled dates, refunds will automatically be processed at your point of purchase.
Megadeth and Lamb of God 2021 North American Tour Dates:
Fri Aug 20 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater
Sat Aug 21 Irving, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun Aug 22 Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
Tue Aug 24 El Paso, TX Don Haskins Center
Wed Aug 25 Albuquerque, NM Isleta Amphitheater
Fri Aug 27 Denver, CO Ball Arena
Sun Aug 29 Phoenix, AZ Arizona Federal Theatre
Tue Aug 31 Reno, NV Reno Events Center
Wed Sep 01 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre
Thu Sep 02 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion
Sat Sep 04 Portland, OR Moda Center
Sun Sep 05 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre
Thu Sep 09 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago
Sat Sep 11 Danville, VA Blue Ridge Festival*
Sun Sep 12 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Mon Sep 13 Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion
Wed Sep 15 Camden, NJ BB&T Pavilion
Thu Sep 16 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat Sep 18 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center
Sun Sep 19 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
Mon Sep 20 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion
Wed Sep 22 Rogers, AR Walmart AMP
Fri Sep 24 Mount Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino Amphitheatre
Sun Sep 26 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis
Literary-folk duo, Gawain and the Green Knight, have unveiled their latest single, “Birds & Wine,” with a premiere on Folk Alley, along with an animated lyrics video.
The song comes from the forthcoming EP, A Sleeping Place, which will be released on June 21, 2021. Like many of the songs on A Sleeping Place, “Birds & Wine” takes inspiration from Greek mythology—a nod to singer and guitarist Alexia Antoniou’s Greek heritage.
Antoniou examines the connection between Aphrodite, whose name comes from the Greek word for foam, and the sea:
There’s something I really like about taking the abstract and divine – a god – and distilling them into these concrete images. It’s part of the reason why, when thinking about what supplicants might bring to a sacrifice for Aphrodite, I went with ‘birds and wine’ instead of ‘doves and wine’ – I liked the image of someone pulling up to Aphrodite’s altar with a roast chicken, grease and bones.
Originally written in a moment of insecurity, the song evolved into “a big, completely over-the-top boast from the perspective of the goddess of love and beauty herself.”
Antoniou’s bandmate, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Mike O’Malley elaborates, “I referenced neo-soul tracks (like those from Lake Street Dive and Alabama Shakes) for the percussion textures and Vulfpeck for joyous clarinet solos.”
“Alexia’s choice of chords lent a lot of opportunity for melting, diminished harmony, so there’s a lot of that in the winds – the feeling of being perpetually gooey-eyed in someone’s presence.”
Inspired by the etymology of the Greek word for cemetery, which simply means “a sleeping place,” the record sits comfortably in the deep, sometimes dark, parts of the subconscious, arranged in such a way that you remember why life can be so joyful in the first place, its tempo anything but sad.
“I think of this EP as a love letter, full of desperate affection, to anyone who has ever been alive and been scared to die,” Antoniou states. “Death is loud, but it doesn’t mean you were never heard.”’
“Birds & Wine” from Gawain and The Green Knight is available for listening on all streaming platforms.
Bard SummerScape is back in New York’s Hudson Valley with an adventurous lineup of live performances from July 8th through August 15th of 2021.
Staged for limited in-person audiences, the 2021 season presents the 31st Bard Music Festival, “Nadia Boulanger and Her World,” which pays tribute to one of the most important female figures in classical music history; the first fully staged American production of King Arthur (Le roi Arthus), the only opera by Boulanger’s compatriot and near-contemporary Ernest Chausson; the world premiere of I was waiting for the echo of a better day, a major new dance commission from Bard’s Fisher Center Choreographer-in-Residence Pam Tanowitz and Sphinx Medal of Excellence-winning composer Jessie Montgomery.
Also featured are Most Happy in Concert, comprising songs from Frank Loesser’s The Most Happy Fella, directed by Tony nominee Daniel Fish; “Black Roots Summer,” a two-weekend celebration of Black roots music curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro; and a newly commissioned concert from longtime SummerScape favorite Mx. Justin Vivian Bond.
All programs will be staged between July 8 and August 15 in both the Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center and outdoors at Bard’s Montgomery Place campus, a designated National Historic Landmark set amid rolling lawns, woodlands and gardens against the spectacular backdrop of the Catskill Mountains. Select programs will also be livestreamed at UPSTREAMING, the Fisher Center’s virtual stage.
Gideon Lester, Artistic Director of the Fisher Center at Bard College, explains:
This summer’s festival includes new works by artists who have deep and evolving relationships with the Fisher Center. We are also thrilled to be presenting several artists for the first time, including some we’ve collaborated with over the past year as part of our continuing journey toward becoming a more equitable and inclusive organization. After the uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic, the coming months will offer particularly joyous and meaningful opportunities for all these artists to return to rehearsal and performance again, inviting audiences to join them on voyages of creation and discovery.
The health and safety of Bard’s audiences, artists and staff are of paramount importance. All SummerScape productions will be presented in adherence with strict COVID protocols and in accordance with CDC and NY State guidance and regulations. Learn more about SummerScape 2021 health and safety protocols here.
Bard SummerScape 2021 – highlights by genre
Music: 31st Bard Music Festival, “Nadia Boulanger and Her World”
Founded by co-artistic director Leon Botstein, it is the Bard Music Festival – “a highlight of the musical year” (Wall Street Journal) – that provides the creative inspiration for SummerScape. The first woman to come into Bard’s festival spotlight, Nadia Boulanger (1887–1979) was a true musical polymath.
A prize-winning composer, peerless composition teacher and trailblazing conductor, organist and scholar, she is “arguably … the most important woman in the history of classical music” (BBC Music magazine).
Through the prism of her life and career, “Nadia Boulanger and Her World” offers an illuminating series of concerts, pre-concert talks and panel discussions over the final two weekends of SummerScape.
On August 6–8, Weekend One explores Music in Paris in the first half of the 20th century, and on August 13–15, Weekend Two addresses The 20th-Century Legacy of Nadia Boulanger. Twelve concert programs spaced over the two weekends explore such themes as Paris as the epitome of chic, the crosscurrents of influence between France and America, and the relationship between French Catholicism and spirituality.
The festival will present examples of Boulanger’s own, little-known oeuvre alongside music by her teachers and mentors, including Gabriel Fauré, Louis Vierne and Charles Marie Widor; her Parisian contemporaries, like Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, Francis Poulenc, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie and expats George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Igor Stravinsky; her male students, including Jean Françaix, Astor Piazzolla, and illustrious Americans Marc Blitzstein, Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Walter Piston and Virgil Thomson; her female students, like Marcelle de Manziarly, Thea Musgrave, Julia Perry and Louise Talma; other women composers, Germaine Tailleferre and Lili Boulanger, Nadia’s celebrated sister, among them; and some of the bygone composers whose music she vociferously championed, like Monteverdi, Bach and Brahms.
Finally, two thought-provoking panel discussions will be supplemented by informative pre-concert talks to illuminate each concert’s themes. As the Los Angeles Times writes, Bard offers “the summer’s most stimulating music festival.”
Opera: Ernest Chausson’s King Arthur (first fully staged American production)
Musical America observes: “Bard’s annual opera has become an indispensable part of the summer operatic landscape.” Of an earlier generation than the Boulanger sisters, Ernest Chausson (1855–99) played a pivotal part in the development of French late-Romanticism. Set to his own libretto, Chausson’s sole completed opera, King Arthur (Le roi Arthus, 1886–95) depicts the tragic love triangle between the mythological English king, his wife Guinevere and his trusted knight Lancelot. Despite having enjoyed recent revivals in Edinburgh and Paris, the opera has yet to be seen on the American stage.
With its rich lyricism, ravishing harmonies and otherworldly final chorus, however, it has won many advocates. In King Arthur, Gramophone affirms, “passion is often white-hot; the orchestration is opulent; and there are … passages of sheer beauty.”
Marking the opera’s long overdue first fully staged American presentation, Bard’s new production will be directed by Princess Grace Award-winner Louisa Proske, Founding Co-Artistic Director of Heartbeat Opera and designated Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director of Germany’s Halle Opera.
Singing the title role will be baritone Norman Garrett, who made his Metropolitan Opera debut in last season’s Porgy and Bess after winning top prizes in more than a dozen international vocal competitions. He will be joined by Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke as Guinevere under the baton of Leon Botstein, who previously led the opera both on a Telarc recording with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and in a 2001 concert performance with the American Symphony Orchestra at Lincoln Center.
That performance was hailed as “one of the best Leon Botstein and the American Symphony have given together,” showing Chausson’s score to be “sumptuous, majestic, brilliant in its fanfare moments and often powerful” (Paul Griffiths, New York Times). King Arthur will run for four performances in the Fisher Center’s Sosnoff Theater on July 25, 28 and 30 and August 1.
Dance: world premiere of I was waiting for the echo of a better day by Pam Tanowitz and Jessie Montgomery
SummerScape has long produced and premiered significant dance productions, including commissions from choreographers Ronald K. Brown, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Bill T. Jones, John Heginbotham and Mark Morris. SummerScape 2021 opens with the world premiere of I was waiting for the echo of a better day, a new commission from Pam Tanowitz, the Fisher Center’s inaugural Choreographer-in-Residence, in collaboration with Jessie Montgomery, next Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Symphony, whose honors include the ASCAP Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Award.
Set to new arrangements of Montgomery’s chamber music, which has been called “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (Washington Post), along with material from her collaboration with Eleonore Oppenheim, big dog little dog, this large-scale work marks Tanowitz’s first return to SummerScape since the resounding success of her ballet Four Quartets.
A Fisher Center commission, Four Quartets was named “Best Dance Production of 2018” by the New York Times, which pronounced it “the greatest creation of dance theater so far this century.”
Performed with live musical accompaniment from artists including Montgomery on violin and Oppenheim on double bass, I was waiting for the echo of a better day will premiere in three performances on July 8, 9 and 10 against the glorious backdrop of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, using the historical parkland of Montgomery Place as inspiration.
Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Most Happy in Concert
The legendary composer-songwriter behind Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Frank Loesser accrued a string of honors including an Oscar, multiple Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Featuring some of his most soaring lyricism, his classic 1956 show, The Most Happy Fella, “is one of the greatest musicals ever. Or one of the greatest operas. Hell, it’s just great,” declares New York magazine.
Loesser’s songs take center stage in Most Happy in Concert, a setting of his ebullient songs for a cast of seven female and non-binary vocalists with a 13-piece instrumental ensemble. Originally developed for a full production in SummerScape 2020, this meditation on our longing for human connection, made only more poignant by the isolation of the past year, will now be presented as a concert under the summer sunset.
Helming the concert is director Daniel Fish, whose revelatory, Tony Award-winning revival of Oklahoma! debuted at SummerScape 2015 before traveling to St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn and then to Broadway, where it scored the director his first Tony nomination. Most Happy in Concert will take place in three performances on August 5, 6 and 7 on the Stage at Montgomery Place.
Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Black Roots Summer
Bard celebrates the uplifting spirit of Black roots music over two weekends this July, with Black Roots Summer, presented in association with Electric Root and curated by jazz vocalist Michael Mwenso, the London-raised Sierra Leone native whose mentors include James Brown and Wynton Marsalis, and Jono Gasparro, former curator of Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem.
Both weekends take place on the Stage at Montgomery Place, where Mwenso and the Shakes give two performances of their set “Love Will Be the Only Way” on July 23 and 24. Fronted by Mwenso himself, the Harlem-based Shakes hail from destinations ranging from Madagascar, South Africa and France to Hawaii and Jamaica. Taking listeners on a journey through the kaleidoscope of Black ancestral diasporic music and traditions, by way of Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and other musical legends, the Shakes’ international blend of jazz and blues has been called “intense, prowling and ebullient” (New York Times).
Next, on July 29, Mwenso leads a lineup of special guest vocalists in “Genius Mother Mary”: A Sonic Retrospective of Mary Lou Williams. A Black woman in the male-dominated field of jazz, Grammy-nominated American pianist, arranger and composer Mary Lou Williams (1910–81) wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements, some of them for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, as well as making more than a hundred recordings and serving as a friend, mentor and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and many more.
As NPR put it, it was Williams who “mastered the language of swing and pushed the genre towards more expansive, experimental sounds.”
Finally, on July 30 and 31, the hills come alive with The Sound of (Black) Music, when Bard presents “Edelweiss,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi” and other favorite songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved final musical, as reimagined through an Afrofuturistic lens by the 20-plus BIPOC vocalists and instrumentalists assembled by Mwenso and Gasparro.
Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Mx. Justin Vivian Bond
A longtime SummerScape favorite, Mx. Justin Vivian Bond has been heralded as “the greatest cabaret artist of this generation” (New Yorker). The recipient of an Obie, a Bessie and a Tony nomination, they return to Bard this season for three performances of a new concert specially commissioned for Montgomery Place, in the picturesque setting of the Stage at Montgomery Place on July 15, 16 and 17.
SummerScape tickets
All tickets go on sale on June 2. The Box Office can be reached by telephone at (845) 758-7900, on Mondays through Fridays at 11am–4pm EST, or by email at boxoffice@bard.edu. Tickets are also available 24/7 on Bard’s website at fishercenter.bard.edu.
The 2021 SummerScape season is made possible in part through the generous support of Jeanne Donovan Fisher, the Martin and Toni Sosnoff Foundation, the Advisory Boards of the Fisher Center at Bard and Bard Music Festival, and Fisher Center members, as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Commissioning and development support for the Stage at Montgomery Place provided by the Fisher Center’s Artistic Innovation Fund, with lead support from Rebecca Gold and S. Asher Gelman.
Commissioning funds for I was waiting for the echo of a better day are provided by Jay Franke and David Herro.
Bard SummerScape 2021: Key dates
July 8–10 Dance: I was waiting for the echo of a better day by Pam Tanowitz and Jessie Montgomery (world premiere)
July 15–17 Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Mx. Justin Vivian Bond
July 23 & 24 Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Black Roots Summer, Weekend One
July 25–August 1 Opera: Chausson’s King Arthur (first fully staged American production)
July 29–31 Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Black Roots Summer, Weekend Two
August 5–7 Concerts on the Stage at Montgomery Place: Most Happy in Concert
August 6–8 Bard Music Festival, Weekend One: Music in Paris
August 13–15 Bard Music Festival, Weekend Two: The 20th-Century Legacy of Nadia Boulanger
Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi of the Tedeschi Trucks Band have announced Fireside LIVE, a special series of socially distanced, limited-capacity performances taking place this summer.
Derek and Susan will be joined by varying members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band each night, with the total band configuration ranging between four and seven musicians depending on the show.
The modified lineup will perform under the name ‘Tedeschi Trucks’ for the first time as a nod to their band members who are unable to join the tour because of the challenging conditions with the current pandemic.
Fireside LIVE was inspired by their very successful at-home online performance series from earlier this year, the Fireside Sessions. The shows will be the first fully live public performances for the ensemble since February 2020, and come on the heels of the recent postponement of their annual summer Wheels of Soul Tour to next year (2022).
Venues will include a mix of small or reduced-capacity outdoor amphitheaters, drive-ins, and pod set-ups, all of which are COVID-19 compliant and taking precautions to ensure the safety of fans, staff, band, and crew.
Fireside LIVE will kick off in Jacksonville, FL with a two-night run on June 11 and 12 and then hit cities across the south before coming to Apple Valley Park in Lafayette, NY on July 9, 10, and 11 before continuing across the Northeast.
Tickets for all shows, except Red Rocks, will go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 23 at 10am EST.
We’re really looking forward to getting on the road and seeing everybody’s beautiful faces,” said Susan. “Getting together earlier this year to record the Fireside Sessions was really re-energizing, and we are excited to play live in front of fans again. As much as we love performing as the full Tedeschi Trucks Band, current conditions just don’t allow for us to do that.
The decision as to which members will join for each show will be decided week to week, depending on local conditions at the time.
Fireside LIVE brings to the stage the same intimate window into Tedeschi and Trucks’ creative chemistry that was on display during the Fireside Sessions, which streamed back in Feb-March on nugs.net.
Stuart Levine, February 1, 2020, London
Packed with deep cuts, reimagined songs, and several premieres of rare covers and new original songs that the band has been working on during the break, the six-episode streaming series was enthusiastically received for delivering something new and unique each week.
For fans who missed the original broadcasts or want to watch it again, TTB and nugs.net will offer a re-broadcast of all six Fireside Sessions. Fans who originally purchased the 6-episode bundle will be able to view the shows for free.
Details on the broadcasting schedule for the encore presentation of the Fireside Sessions will be announced shortly.
FIRESIDE LIVE 2021 ITINERARY June 11-12 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place Amphitheater June 18 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center June 19-20 Murfreesboro, TN Hop Springs Brew Park June 24-25 N. Charleston, SC The Bend June 26 Cayce, SC Columbia Speedway Entertainment Center July 1, 2, 3 Frederick, MD Showtime at the Drive-In July 9, 10, 11 Lafayette, NY Apple Valley Park July 16 Gilford, NH Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion July 18 Elmer, NJ Appel Farm Arts & Music Center July 20-21 Eatontown, NJ Concerts on the Green/Suneagles Golf Club July 30-31 Morrison, CO Red Rocks – on sale TBA *
More dates to be announced
* Red Rocks dates will now be ‘Fireside Live’ shows with a separate ticket sale and with priority access to people who bought tickets for the 2021 ‘Wheels of Soul’ shows at Red Rocks. We are working closely with Red Rocks to confirm ticketing details and will announce further information when finalized. (The 2021 ‘Wheels of Soul’ shows have been postponed to July 29, 30, 2022 and tickets for the 2021 WOS shows will be honored for 2022).
On March 26th, Long Island funk trio Baked Shrimp released their second studio album, Conscious. Known to many as Long Island’s best kept secret, Baked Shrimp has been expanding their audience and have had sit-ins from Brandon “Taz” Niederauer and Ryan Dempsey of Twiddle.
Cover art by Scott Reill
The band, who were among the finalists on NYS Music’s March Madness bracket, intended to release Conscious in time for their 2020 summer tour, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within this time gap, Lon “Conscious” Gellman—a close friend and loyal fan of Baked Shrimp—passed away. To honor Lon’s memory, the band named their album after his nickname.
Conscious has been in production since February of 2020, and was recorded in Patchogue, NY with help from Nick and Mike Rufolo of The Brothers Nylon who assisted in recording, mixing, and performing on all 10 tracks. The album’s final mix was done by Anthony Cimino at Mojo Music Studio in Franconia, New Hampshire.
Throughout Conscious, layers of horns, strings, keyboards, and synthesizers create musical textures that come together to create the defining ‘Baked Shrimp sound.’
The first track of the album, “NO2-4U,” is a fitting start, beginning with a classical acoustic guitar introduction that captures the listener and builds into a lively jam full of funky horn lines that drive the energy of the song.
Across the album, one thing you will always notice is the proficiency of each musician. The rhythm is always locked, the bass is grooving and locked in with the drums kick.
Each of the many instrumental, jam sections found in songs throughout the album fit the moment well and create bridges that effectively link to later sections. These moments help keep the energy of the track, but also allows the band to breath a little bit and show their chops.
Baked Shrimp performing in April 2021
“Rosa” is a good example of the dynamic instrumentals mentioned in the last paragraph. The track begins with a mellow but upbeat instrumental section that is carried by the spacey sound of the guitar and keyboard.
This instrumental section returns later in the track, except this time with more layers of keyboard and synthesizer parts that lift the energy, which is carried through the rest of the song until its end.
“Down the Drain” is riff heavy and has a very progressive-rock influenced sound. It definitely has a harder sound than most of the tracks on the album, but it shows the versatility of Baked Shrimp’s sound.
Now we can only look forwards to the days when more venues reopen and tours start rolling again, so Baked Shrimp can showcase the work they put into Conscious to a larger audience.
While opportunities for gigs are sparse now, Baked Shrimp was lucky enough to play at Lambrou’s Hall in Island Park, NY on April 3rd. In this show, the band was able to play through all of Conscious, as well as debut three other original songs. Baked Shrimp will soon be releasing full video and audio of the event.
There are big things in store for fans of Baked Shrimp. The band is eager to show their hard work to audiences around New York state and the country.
On April 14th, Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández announced his fall 2021 “Hecho en México” U.S. tour. The announcement comes on the heels of four consecutive number one singles.
The 19-date tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on September 10th in Reno at the Grand Sierra Theatre with stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York and more, before wrapping October 24th in Phoenix at Arizona Federal Theatre.
A portion of proceeds will be donated to Families Belong Together – a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, that works to end family separation and promote dignity, unity, and compassion for all children and families.
The multiple Grammy winner and son of the legendary Vicente Fernández, has conquered stages all around the world with his personal interpretation of Mexican music.
He has sold more than 35 million records worldwide and won countless awards and nominations. Alejandro is the first act to achieve No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums in the 1990s, ‘00s, ‘10s, and ‘20s.
His most recent album, Hecho en México, debuted #1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Album chart. The album marked Alejandro’s return to the mariachi format and garnered him a Latin GRAMMY win for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album and a GRAMMY nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album.
The album has earned four consecutives #1 singles at radio in the United States and Mexico with “Caballero,” “Te Olvidé,” “Decepciones,”and his current single, “Duele.”
Throughout 2020 while live touring shut down, Alejandro Fernández remained very active, looking for new and innovative ways to be close to his fans and lend his voice to important causes impacting our community.
In the early days of the pandemic, Alejandro partnered with Univision TV’s Dr. Juan Rivera in sharing vital information about health and COVID-19 on television and social media platforms.
Seeing the impact of the shutdown on the artist community, Fernández released a stirring rendition of Joan Sebastian’s classic “Eso y Más” as a fundraiser for out of work musicians, donating 100% of the proceeds to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund in the United States and MúsicaMéxico COVID-19 in Mexico.
In October 2020, the singer offered a historic live streaming event, América A Una Sola Voz (America Together in One Voice), a breathtaking concert viewed by over 150,000 fans in 19 different countries across the American continents.
During the show Alejandro paused to remind his fans of the importance of voting in the upcoming elections. Following this performance he launched (along with a coalition of artists) the “Vota Por Nosotros” (Vote For Us) get-out-the-vote campaign airing on Estrella Media, encouraging Latino voters to vote on behalf of our entire community in the November 3rd elections.
In accepting his Latin GRAMMY, Alejandro dedicated the award to the victims of the recent hurricanes in southern Mexico donating MXN $1,000,000.00 to the Mexican Red Cross to aid with the relief efforts.
Most recently Alejandro joined Mana’s Fher Olvera as the face of the “We Are Home” campaign calling for a fair and dignified immigration policy for the millions of Latino immigrants living in the US.
Alejandro will be joined by his son Alex Fernandez and latin-pop duo HA*ASH on certain dates in the tour.
Tickets go on sale beginning Friday, April 16th at 10AM local time on Ticketmaster.com.
ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ TOUR 2021 DATES:
Fri, Sep 10 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Theatre^
Sat, Sep 11 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center*
Sun, Sep 12 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center*
Wed, Sep 15 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena*
On April 7th, multi-talented visual and musical artist Valley Latini released her latest single “Tu y Yo,” a lustrous heartbeating alt-pop track.
In the single released on Side Hustle Records, Latini takes listeners on the dark adventure of a late night rendezvous.
The song is inspired by an encounter that only happens in a place like a strip club or a dance club. It’s about having a connection with someone but not talking to them the whole night. Just a very primal connection through dancing, and spirit vibration.
Valley Latini
For the visual, the Brooklyn DIY Queen crafted a stop-motion music video, which she produced, shot, directed, and created all of the art for (she’s also a visual artist in addition to her music).
The video takes viewers on another journey through the underbelly of hell on earth where men in power attempt to control womxn. There are themes of shaming and corruption as a sleazy priest exiles women to a hell, known as the “haux house.”
Not to fear, Valley, herself as the triumphant protagonist, dangles a literal carrot in front of the priest and wreaks havoc on his deserving soul. Ultimately, as it turns out, the “haux house” leads to a beach utopia where the womxn can enjoy the finer things in paradise anyway.
Valley expands on the concept, “the video is a metaphor for a modern day ‘witch hunt’ caused by men in power that fear female sexuality and censor the female body and sex workers.”
Latini writes about her personal philosophies on delusion, joy, and romance. Her performances are based on expression of individual freedoms, and finding power in the human essence.
Originally born in Bogota, Colombia, she’s now been living in the US for most of her life and currently has a studio in Brooklyn where she writes and records all her music.
In addition to her career as a singer-songwriter, Valley is also an artist and a stripper. She uses her artwork as a way to escape from technology and defines it as transgressive divinity, mixing sensuality with alternate realities. To view her artwork, visit valleylatiniart.com.
As a stripper, she advocates for both female autonomy and the dignity of those who choose sex work. When J Lo released the critically-acclaimed award-winning “Hustlers” film, Valley was invited to partake in the premiere events as a member of New York’s sex-worker advocate group to share their experiences and the validity of the movies’ themes.
She spoke to IndieWire and others about the “whorephobia” that exists within her industry to help raise awareness and break down the misleading, misinformed labels often forced upon her occupation.
Her single “Pay My Rent” has been a sex worker’s right’s anthem ever since releasing it in 2018. Her subsequent singles “Serpiente,” “Ask Me Why,” “Blue Moon,” and the latest addition “Tu y Yo,” are set to be part of a bigger collection called Attention Lover due out by the end of 2021.
The Colombian pop artist wrote, recorded, and produced “Tu y Yo” in Austin, TX with her songwriting collaborator “Ben Cina.”
For music updates and more, stay connected with Valley Latini on Instagram, and be sure to follow her on Spotify and Apple Music.
On April 1, Bard College announced a transformational $500 million endowment from philanthropist and long-time Bard supporter George Soros.
This challenge grant — among the largest ever made to higher education in the United States — will facilitate and strengthen Bard’s exemplary educational and social initiatives, establish the College’s most substantial endowment ever, and set the stage for a $1 billion endowment drive.
In response to Mr. Soros’s generous challenge grant, Bard announced it has raised an additional $250 million from supporters, including trustees, alumni/ae, and friends, and will raise another $250 million over the next five years.
Mr. Soros’s visionary support of Bard’s role as one of two founding partners of the new Open Society University Network, a global network of educational institutions created with the Central European University in partnership with Mr. Soros’s Open Society Foundations, has permitted the College to expand and strengthen the College’s pathbreaking network of domestic and international partnerships.
“Bard has had an outsized impact, setting the standard in liberal arts education in prisons, in high school age students, and in the arts and in its international work,” said Mr. Soros.
Bard College is widely recognized for its excellence in undergraduate education and rigorous liberal arts curriculum, its emphasis on the arts, and civic engagement.
This endowment pledge from Mr. Soros, along with Bard’s matching contributions, will endow the College’s full array of student financial aid, faculty, and programs; enable the College to sustain its mission and to grow its international profile; and begin its endowment drive with $750 million.
For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
