NYS Music 202​1

Author: Nora Hones

  • Flushing Town Hall announce their Jazz-packed tribute for Women’s History Month

    Flushing Town Hall has announced their Jazz-packed tribute for Women’s History Month. The tribute will take place on March 26, 2021 7PM EST and is being called “Songbirds,” a virtual tribute to Minnie Riperton, Shirley Horn, and Joni Mitchell by the Mala Waldron Quartet. 

    Women's History Month

    Flushing Town Hall is known particularly for its long history of presenting strong jazz programming. It has been able to expand its audience across the globe through virtual programming since the COVID-19 pandemic closed its doors one year ago, like most music venues around the world. Although audiences are still not permitted into the venue, local performers are now slowly being able to return to the stage for live-streamed performances. The cultural nonprofit also has increased its collaboration with other performance venues to bring additional programming to its fans.

    The Mala Waldron Quartet features Mala Waldron who is a pianist and vocalist who has a unique technical alacrity and sensitivity that isn’t widely known. She is the daughter of Jazz Icon Mal Waldron. She has performed all over the world at prestigious music festivals including in Belgium, Russia, Belarus & China, Taiwan and Malaysia. Waldron has performed on some of NYC’s most prestigious stages, including the Iridium Jazz Club, the Blue Note, and the Jazz Standard, and at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage. The rest of the quartet is made up of Steve Salerno on guitar, Michael T.A. Thompson on drums and Gene Torres and bass. They will perform “Songbirds”—a beautiful journey into a not-so-distant past made popular by Minnie Riperton, Shirley Horn and Joni Mitchell. It will be filled with memorable music and songs. 

    The concert will be performed at Flushing Town Hall’s theatre and will be streamed live for audiences at home in celebration of  Women’s History Month. It will be available on the Flushing Town Hall’s YouTube channel. This performance is ticketed performance and requires a prior purchase of $5.00, plus a $1.00 convenience fee to view the performance online. Audience members can submit questions at any time during the performance for a live Q&A which will be moderated by Flushing Town Hall’s Jazz Producer Clyde Bullard after the show. 

    For more information on Flushing Town Hall tribute to Women’s History Month visit their website.

  • Syracuse Area Music Awards Announces Winners of 2021 Season

    The Syracuse Area Music Awards or more commonly known as the SAMMYS announced the winners of their 2021 season on March 5, 2021 at the virtual awards ceremony. 

    The 2021 SAMMYS streamed for free LIVE from SubCat Music Studios at 7PM and hosted performances from Byron Cage, Cam Caruso, Sophistafunk, Stephen Phillips, and the Vaporeyes. The show was hosted by Dave Frisina from the RebelRocks.com and was free and open to the public with donations being accepted. 

    There were 60 nominees for the SAMMYS in 14 Categories this year. In addition, to winners of the Jack O Bocchino Award, Community Spirit Award, Brian Bourke Award for Best New Artist there was also the People’s Choice Winners in 4 Categories awarded for Best Artist/Band, Academic Organization, Venue and Live-stream Series or Event. 

    The winners are as listed. Best Alternative went to The Exploding Flowers for Strangers. Best Americana went to Harmonic Dirt for Live At The Ridge. Best Blues went to Tas Cru for DRIVE ON. Best Country went to Tink Bennett & Tailor Made for Hate The Game. Best Electronic went to Asael for We Believed. Best Hard Rock went to Junexa for Lifeless. Best Hip-Hop or Rap went to Big Nate MG for The Story of MG. Best Jam Band went to the Vaporeyes for Cantrips. Best Jazz went to London McDaniel for Anatural Aphrodisiaca. Best Other Style went to DiCosimo/Pagán for Con Moto. Best Pop went to Jess Novak Band for Standing Now. Best R&B went to Jaquiel for Summer Nights in the Southward. Best Rock went to Atkins Riot for Couch Potato. Best Singer-Songwriter went to Amanda Rogers for The Hallow. People’s Choice for Local Artist or Band went to Gary Johnson, Livestream Event or Series for Disruption Network Local Music Monday, Academic or Musical Organization for Baldwinsville Marching Band, and Local Venue for Rise N Shine Diner. Jack O Bocchino Spirit of the Sammys Award went to Bill Baldwin. Brian Burke Award for Best New Artist went to Trauma Cat. Community Spirit Award went to Corey Paige.

    SAMMY awards were given out based on the judgement of submissions sent to the SAMMYS Board by musicians in Syracuse and the surrounding area. 166 artists submitted 194 recordings in total for this year’s season. An independent panel of music industry professionals and educators from around the country, led by James Abbott, reviewed the submissions and made their selections based on their merit within their genre.


    For more information on the 2021 SAMMYS winners visit the SAMMAYS website.

  • Kitsuné Musique, shesaid.so and Bandsintown Announce International Women’s Day Celebration

    Kitsuné Musique, shesaid.so and Bandsintown announces a 24-hour mix in celebration of the International Women’s Day on March 8, 2021 starting at 7AM EST until 5AM EST on March 9, 2021. The performances will stream live on Bandsintown’s Twitch channel and will be available the next day on Kitsuné Musique’s Soundcloud channel.

    International Women’s Day

    The 24-hour audio mix compilation is an attempt by the companies Kitsuné Musique, shesaid.so and Bandsintown to help empower women all around the world through music for international women’s day. Not only will they provide this platform for artists to perform for the celebration but also the shesaid.so x Kitsuné Women’s Day Fund was created. 

    shesaid.so x Kitsuné Women’s Day Fund will provide hardship payments of up to €250 each to freelancers, contractors and artists in the independent music industry whose income has been severely affected due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The fund will support creators and executives from the shesaid.so community that have lost committed income or have not been able to secure novel paid work in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.

    The performance will include appearances from, YonYon, DJ KADE, Banga, stephseeks, Whitney AbstraKt Shacia Päyne Marley, Sahar Habibi, Sujin, Butta B,  ShioriyBradshaw, and JI NA.  Bandsintown’s Twitch channel where the live performances will be appearing can be found here on international women’s day. The 24-hour audio mix compilation will also be available on Kitsuné Musique’s Soundcloud channel at 7AM EST the next day which can be found here.

    Andreea Magdalina, Founder shesaid.so. spoke on the event in the press release saying, “We are very excited to partner with Bandsintown who, via their Twitch channel, will enable us to reach an even wider audience at a time when physical gatherings & supporting touring artists is still not possible. With the pandemic disproportionately affecting women and gender minorities in our business, we hope that the funds we raise with our partnership will provide much needed support to the shesaid.so community worldwide.” 

    Kitsuné Musique is a music label who looks for up-and-coming talents who the label believes are about to break through in music. Over the years, Kitsuné Musique has become first home of now unmissable artists such as Parcels, Two Door Cinema Club, Digitalism, and more. 

    Shesaid.so is known as being a global community of women and gender minorities in the music industry. It was built up in London by Andreea Magdalina back in 2014. Since then the company has grown into 12,000+ members around the world across 15+ chapters including New York, Los Angeles, France, Germany, South Africa, and India. 

    The Bandsintown is the global hub of live streaming and live music discovery. They have a reach of 220 million monthly active fans globally, 60 million registered users and 540,000 registered artists, Bandsintown has listed and marketed 69,000 live streams since March of 2020. In January 2021 Bandsintown PLUS was launched, a first-of-its-kind live music subscription service offering fans an “All Access Pass” to over 25 exclusively produced live shows per month.

    View the full line up bellow: 

    7AM – 9AM EST | YONYON

    9AM – 11AM EST | DJ KADE

    11AM – 1PM EST | BANGA

    1PM – 3PM EST | STEPHSEEKS

    3PM – 5PM EST | WHITNEY ABSTRAKT

    5PM – 7PM EST | SHACIA PÄYNE

    7PM – 9PM EST | SAHAR HABIBI

    9PM – 11PM EST | SUJIN

    11PM – 1AM EST | BUTTA B

    1AM – 3AM EST |  SHIORIYBRADSHAW

    3AM – 5AM EST | JI NA

  • Club Helsinki Hudson Announces Virtual Open Mic Best of EXTRAVAGANZA

    Club Helsinki Hudson announces it’s virtual open mic best of EXTRAVAGANZA night highlighting a full evening of curated performances of favorite video submissions from this last “pandemic year” on March 16, 2021 at 7PM. This will be the one year anniversary ‘virtual-style’ for the open mic night.  

    Club Helsinki Open mic
    Photo courtesy of Club Helsinki Hudson’s website.

    Club Helsinki Hudson, located in Hudson, NY and closed back in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with The Restaurant at Helsinki Hudson and their event space. The open mic night has been a tradition since the creation of the venue more than 20 years ago. 

    Cameron Melville, co-owner of Helsinki has been the host for the open mic night for many years. He has found a way over the years to keep the well known and loved weekly event a good experience for both performers and online audiences. A whole year later and the Helsinki virtual open-mic has become a vital, well attended weekly offering, about to celebrate one year of virtual streaming— 52 shows hosting nearly 800 performances with an audience of thousands.

    Filmmaker Randall Martin of Martin’s Digital Media, has leant his hand as producer on the project.  Melville speaks on the project in the press release saying, “The authenticity of our submissions really blows my mind. As well as our wonderful regulars, we now get submissions from all over the country, all over the world.”

    This best of EXTRAVAGANZA will host some of the best performances that have come in over the year. The open mic night will feature poetry, performance art, music, interview, pandemic journaling and On-the-Street videos, political marches and celebrations from an extraordinary year. People can stream the event live on Helsinki Open Mic Facebook page as well as the clubhelsinki.live website on Tuesday, March 16, at 7 pm EST.

    For more information on the Open Mic, visit Club Helsinki Hudson’s website.

  • Tedeschi Trucks Band Announce their Six Part Fireside Sessions

    Tedeschi Trucks Band announced their six part Fireside Sessions which was filmed at Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi’s home. The series will begin on February 18, 2021 and new episodes will air every Thursday at 8PM EST on nugs.net.

    The Tedeschi Trucks Band formed back in 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. They are a blues rock group that is led by Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. They won a Grammy Award for Best Blues Album back in 2012 for their debut album, Revelator. They have released four studio and two live albums over the years. Some of their most well known songs include “Midnight in Harlem,” “Bound Glory,” “Anyhow,” and “Learn How to Love.” 

    The Fireside Sessions will be the return to live performance for The Tedeschi Trucks Band after nearly a year without performing live. With COVID-19 still raging on and touring not being an option on the table they decided to these live sessions to showcase the talented musicians in a more intimate setting. Each episode features a different cast of band members. The combinations vary from Derek and Susan as a duo to four, six, and eight-member combinations which offer unique arrangements on their song catalog, including some deeper cuts not often performed live. They will also be performing several new songs they have been working on during their time off the road.

    Each episode of the series was captured in 4K detail by 7Cinematics, which is an award-winning crew of concert filmmakers, with audio recorded, mixed and mastered by TTB’s engineer Bobby Tis. Audio from each session will also be available in an mp3 bundle or separately for purchase in all additional formats. After the 8PM broadcast, episodes will be available for on-demand viewing for a 48-hour period.Single tickets are available for $17.99 and six show bundles are available for $89.99. For more information on tickets and bundles can be found here.

    For more information on the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Fireside Sessions visit their website here.

  • Capital One City Parks Foundation Announces Michael Mwenso Performance

    Capital One City Parks Foundation announces performance from Michael Mwenso as part of their SummerStage Anywhere series on February 25, 2021 at 7PM EST. The performance will be streamed virtually as part of a Black History Month celebration. 

    Michael Mwenso

    The performance is titled the Michael Mwenso: Hope, Resist & Heal, Performance and will also be hosting a conversation with Shannon Effinger. Michael Mwenso is not only a musician but an artist and social commentator. He will offer his unique and ancestral perspective on Black music and its power to heal. He is an African-born queer man who grew up in London and New York. The performance will consist of a  live studio recorded performance with his group, Mwenso and the Shakes, a multicultural New York jazz group. After the performance the conversation with arts journalist Shannon Effinger focusing on the continuum and power of Black roots music will take place. 

    Michael Mwenso was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone but spent his teenage years at the legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott’s in London where he was exposed to musicians like Benny Carter, Elvin Jones, Ray Brown and Billy Higgins. Mwenso is known for his work as a  trombonist, singer and performer playing in jump bands, reggae and Afrobeat horn sections and at hard-bop sessions.

    Mwenso has worked with big names like Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jon Batiste, Aaron Diehl, Sullivan Fortner and Jamison Ross.Mwenso began his collaboration of Juilliard trained musicians known as The Shakes which come from all over the world including Sierra Leone, South Africa, Madagascar, London, France, Jamaica and Hawaii. Between all of them they create a unique jazz and blues sound  through African and Afro-American music.

    The performance will take place on February 25, 2021 at 7PM EST. The performance will be streamed virtually on SummerStageAnywhere.org and across SummerStage social media outlets Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch as part of a Black History Month celebration.  For more information on the performance visit Capital One City Parks Foundation’s website.

  • Electronica Duo Daft Punk Announce Break Up

    Electronica pioneers Daft Punk, who are responsible for some of the most well known dance and pop songs of the past two decades, announced their break up. Their retirement was announced to the world in a video titled “Epilogue,” posted on the morning of February 22. 

    Daft Punk

    Daft Punk is an electronic due that started back in Paris in 1993. The duo consists of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter; they are known for being influential members of the electronic dance genre helping create the French touch style of house music. Their sound combines elements of house music with funk, techno, disco, rock and synth pop. They are known for wearing their ornate helmets and gloves to assume robot personas for most of their public appearances. Some of their most known songs include “One More Time,” “Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger,” “Get Lucky,” and “Around the World.” 

    https://youtu.be/udvYSd2TIkg

    Their announcement video “Epilogue,” was an excerpt from their 2006 film Electroma and was posted to their website and social media accounts. The video is eight minutes long and features the two in full costume silently walking away from each other in a vast sandy landscape with one of them blowing up and then sliding into music with the caption saying 1993-2021 with a setting sun on the horizon. 

    Kathryn Frazier, who was the duo’s long time publicist, has officially confirmed the split to Variety. Frazier declined to provide further details behind the duo’s disbandment and retirement at this time. 

    https://youtu.be/LYuD9ydQr3w

    It is still unknown if the duo will be working together under different names or whether other new projects are in the works. Considering the group’s history of popping back out of the woodworks, fans hope they will continue to release music, videos and whatever other projects strike their fancy. We hope the era isn’t truly over. Some wonder if this announcement is in fact the beginning of a new project.

    For the time being, Daft Punk has called it quits. For more information on it visit the duo’s website.

  • Prince Markie Dee of The Fat Boys Passes Away at 52

    Mark Morales, known as Prince Markie Dee and a founding member of hip-hop/ rap group The Fat Boys, passed away at 52 years old, just one day before his birthday, on February 18, 2021. AllHipHop reported Prince Markie Dee had died from congestive heart failure after suffering “distressing” health issues. 

    Mark Anthony Morales also hosted “The Prince Markie Dee Show” on LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells channel on SiriusXM radio.Credit…Robin Marchant/Getty Images

    Mark Morales was born on February 19, 1968 in Brooklyn. He formed the band called ‘Disco 3′ with Darren Robinson and Damon Wimbley in the early 1980s. After they won a talent contest at Radio City Music Hall in 1983 the group signed a contract with the show’s promoter. They eventually ended up rename themselves the Fat Boys in reference to their weight under their promoter at the time’s recommendation. 

    The Fat Boys went on to release seven albums, three of which were gold certified and one reaching platinum status. They had hit songs like “Jail House Rap,” “Can You Feel It,” and “The Fat Boys Are Back” and brought beatboxing into the spotlight. The trio even appeared in a few films including “Disorderlies” “Krush Groove” and “Knights of the City.” They ended up breaking up in the early 1990s. Band member Darren Robinson died in 1995 at age 28 after falling off of a chair while rapping for friends and lost consciousness.

    Morales started work as a songwriter and producer for Uptown Records, collaborating with Father MC and Mary J. Blige after the group disbanded.  According to The New York Times article “He helped write and produce Ms. Blige’s 1992 breakout hit “Real Love” and worked on her debut album, What’s the 411? He also worked on songs and remixes for Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey and others.” Later in his life, Morales became a radio personality based in Florida.  He started back in 2008 to 2010, serving as the afternoon drive radio host/DJ at 103.5 The Beat WMIB radio in Miami, Florida. He also ended up working at WEDR 99.1 FM and the Rock the Bells station of Sirius XM which he hosted his show The Prince Markie Dee Show.

    https://youtu.be/cvqxIDmEw_c

    Prince Markie Dee aka Mark Morales will be missed by the music community. We mourn his loss and send our condolences to his family and friends.

  • Madison Square Garden May be Opening for Live Audiences Sooner than You Think

    Madison Square Garden may be opening for live audiences sooner than one might think, according to President Andy Lustgarten. Their first in-person event will take place on February 23, 2021 for the Knicks game. 

    Madison Square Garden

    Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that arenas could open up to 10 percent capacity on February 10, 2021 using a testing- based program.  People who provide a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the live event in question would be able to attend live entertainment like musical events according to the testing- based program.

    At Madison Square Garden 10 percent capacity is about 2,000 people. Which means at the upcoming Knicks game against the Golden State Warriors 2,000 people can be cheering from the crowd. Although 2,000 isn’t that many, Madison Square Garden hopes that they “are on a path to continue to increase capacity,” according to Lustgarten. They hope that in time  attendance will be able to increase beyond 10 percent before the basketball and hockey seasons end.

     “This was earlier than we had expected,” Lustgarten told analysts on a Friday at the New York Post. And because of the fact reopening to live audiences was unexpected there are some things that are still up in the air. Like the fact there will be limited types of food for sale, but it’s unclear what types of food will be available in the upcoming events. Madison Square Garden says details will be coming soon on what options will be available. 

    Madison Square Garden

    This MSG reopening is coming just in the knick of time for the arena with its second fiscal quarter, ending in December of 2020, was down $23.1 million which is 94.1 percent from the previous year’s $394.1 million according to Billboard. The live entertainment industry has been harder than most industries by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that live shows are slowly but surely coming back is the light at the end of the tunnel the industry has been searching for. 

    For more information on Madison Square Garden visit their website.

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

  • NYC Announces Curtains Up NYC Program For the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant

    New York City announced it’s Curtains Up NYC government program which will work with the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant process on February 8, 2021. This grant and program are available to help venues suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic with services provided by the city for free. The program will provide application assistance to live-performance venues, organizations and workers applying for federal relief. 

    Curtains Up NYC

    The program and grant was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), Commissioner Anne del Castillo, and NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Jonnel Doris. The Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is made for businesses or nonprofits who are connected to live performances. These organizations could get a grant up to, or equal to, 45 percent of their 2019 gross earned revenue, capping out at $10 million. Shuttered Venue Operators Grant bloomed from the Save Our Stages initiative. 

    The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is available to operators or promoters of live performance venues including, but not limited to: theater, music, arts organizations, movie theaters, talent representatives, museums, zoos and aquariums. In addition, they must meet certain guidelines including active operation as of February 29, 2020, and they must not have applied for a PPP loan on or after December 27, 2020. 

    The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant isn’t accepting applications yet, but people interested in applying are urged to start organizing their application. To prepare for the application process people should register for the federal System for Award Management (SAM), which will be a required part of the application. People need to know their D-U-N-S number to register in SAM. You can get a D-U-N-S number on the Dun & Bradstreet website. You should check the federal government’s website for the most recent updates on when and how to apply and for frequently asked questions. Watch the federal government’s webinar on YouTube and Register for email alerts from the federal government about the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant so you will be the first to know when applications open.

    In the meantime, you should check out the Curtains Up NYC program. Curtains Up NYC provides free application assistance for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Curtains Up NYC offers free webinars and one-on-one counseling for people interested in applying for the grant. The Services are free starting on February 10, 2021. 

    For more information on the Curtains Up NYC program and the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Process visit their website here.