Eight-piece funk-pop band Reliably Bad is set to release Space Girl, their first full length album, on February 26th.
Based out of Greensboro, North Carolina, Reliably Bad’s sound draws influences from funk, soul, and R&B greats like Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Michael Jackson, and many others. While Reliably Bad pays tribute to these influences, they bring their own unique, modern sound as well.
The album starts off with the title track, “Space Girl.” This first track channels that distinct 70’s funk sound that bands like CHIC made famous. A funky, wah-heavy guitar strumming propels Reliably Bad into the first energetic track of the album. Taking after the name of the track, the chorus exemplifies the spacey feel of the composition. But while it is spacey, the band is super tight rhythmically.
“Phone” is another catchy song that tells a story of miscommunication between two lovers. While all of the songs on the album exemplify lead singer Jessica Schnieder’s vocal capabilities, “Phone” is one track where she really shines. Her smooth vocals carry the laid-back, jazzy vibe of the track.
The album ends with “All The Time,” a track of epic proportions that features a host of additional musicians and is a perfect finale to the album. It is Stevie Wonder-esque, and culminates with a high-energy chorus that opens up, bringing in additional vocalists, horns, and strings.
Space Girl features production and mixing from recent Grammy Nominee Gabe Fox-Peck (Young Bull and Harriet), and was partially mixed by Caleb Parker (Vulfpeck, Scary Pockets, and Pomplamoose).
Each year, February 1st marks the beginning of Black History Month in the U.S., a time to celebrate African-American heritage and the legacy of extraordinary contributions that they have made to the fabric of our nation. On Wednesday, February 24 at 7pm, Albany’s Palace Theatre will host their annual Black History Month celebration.
Typically, the Palace would be gearing up to host events like the annual Step Show, and educational performances that highlight some of the remarkable African-Americans in our history. While COVID-19 won’t allow us the Albany venue to host these events in person this year, that doesn’t stop the Palace from shining a spotlight on some of the incredibly talented people in our own community.
Wednesday, February 24 will be feature a free virtual evening of art, music, dance and spoken word by some of the most talented Black artists in the Capital Region.
The event is hosted by Diana Perry & Rev William Lynn Hamilton and some of the performers joining The Palace include Move 2B Moved (Drum & Dance team), Poetyc Visionz (Spoken Word / Poetry), Restoration Voices, Tone Setters (Step Team), Barbara Howard, Hayes M. Fields II & Azzaam Hameed, Christian Mark Gibbs and others.
Tune in below on the Palace Theatre’s YouTube channel on Wednesday, February 24 at 7pm.
D’Angelo will hold a Verzuz DJ battle against unnamed “friends,” taking place on February 27 at 8 pm EST, at the historical Apollo Theater in Harlem.
(Photo by Cheryl Gerber/Invision/AP, File)
He announced another episode of Verzuz, an online DJ-battle series, in which artists face off their contemporaries. The competition is fun, friendly, and fans cheer on artists as they DJ hit songs against each other. Previous sets have included Alicia Keys vs. John Legend. Beginning during lockdown, Verzuz has become a staple respite for music fans everywhere. The notoriously reclusive artist, D’Angelo, who champions quality over quantity will take the stage at the Apollo Theater for the first time since 2014.
D’Angelo will be challenging several guests at his performance, which expands the online show to a larger spectacle. Due to his sparse public performances, rumors have arisen of new music, although the artist has released one album in 21 years.
In the early 1990s, D’Angelo exploded onto the “new retro soul” scene with artists such as Erykah Badu. His 2000 hit album, Voodoo, catapulted him into the spotlight, and he retracted, rarely playing shows. The next D’Angelo album did not come to fruition until 2014, and he vanished from the public eye quickly after a supporting tour. On that tour, it was the last time D’Angelo played the Apollo Theater. This return is long anticipated, and you can stream it on February 27 at 8pm EST through Verzuz.
Sensual pop experimentalists Body Language have been developing their genre-blend tone for some years now. Beginning in 2008, the band (Angelica Bess, Grant Wheeler, Matt Young, and Ian Chang) has added a future-shocked mixture of soul and R&B to their sound. These Brooklyn-based musicians have even received praise from NPR, The New York Times, and The Guardian. As a matter of fact, Body Language and their new music video for “Start It Up” doesn’t stray away from this amount of appraisal.
Photo Credit: Nat Magliore
With an introduction of glamorous dancers and a pulsating beat, “Start It Up” gives viewers nostalgia of packed dancefloors. The combination of the smooth vocals from the front-woman Bess, the glitzy outfits, and an electric flow makes anyone want to get up off their seat. The video travels through a fisheye lens creating a greater sense of funk to the already bouncy instrumental and harmonic hook.
Bess characterizes the video as a “Dreamlike mirage of glamour and shimmering movement. It’s a tribute to our favorite videos of the 90’s and early 00’s. An ode to the New Roaring 20’s: a little old and a lot new. ‘Start It Up’ represents the new age of loving yourself, expressing yourself, and having a good f*cking time.”
“Start It Up” is featured on Body Language’s latest LP Travel Guide. As described as their most collaborative effort yet, Travel Guide consists of ten tracks of genre-bent psychedelic. Check out the LP below for an escapism of the realities of day to day life. Also, look out for Body Language’s remixes for “Start It Up,” coming soon.
The Weeknd announced his After Hours World Tour, a 104-date global tour beginning at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on January 14th, 2022.
He will be playing in New York on February 11th and 12th in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, and will be back in early April on the 4th and 5th at Madison Square Garden. He will then be playing at the new UBS Arena in Belmont on April 7th.
The worldwide tour announcement comes just days ahead of the multi-platinum singer’s headlining Super Bowl performance, and also includes a handful of rescheduled dates shifting from 2021 to be a part of the After Hours World Tour in 2022.
With the addition of 39 new tour dates, The Weeknd will also release The Highlights on Friday, February 5th. The Highlights is a way to present some of The Weeknd’s most notable works in one place. While this isn’t a “Greatest Hits” album it does provide a new listener a rich foray into some of the iconic artist’s best and favorite work. Fans can pre-save and pre-order the album on theweeknd.co/thehighlights.
Tickets for the tour will be available following The Weeknd’s Super Bowl performance starting Monday, February 8th at 10 A.M. local time on TheWeeknd.com/Tour.
AFTER HOURS WORLD TOUR 2022 DATES: * New Show Jan 14 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena Jan 15 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena Jan 17 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place Jan 19 – Winnipeg, MB – Bell MTS Place Jan 21 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center Jan 23 – Chicago, IL – United Center Jan 24 – Chicago, IL – United Center* Jan 26 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum* Jan 27 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena Jan 29 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena Jan 30 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Feb 01 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena Feb 02 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena Feb 03 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell Feb 05 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center Feb 06 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Feb 08 – Boston, MA – TD Garden Feb 09 – Boston, MA – TD Garden* Feb 11 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center Feb 12 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center* Feb 13 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena Feb 15 – Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center Feb 16 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena Feb 19 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center* Feb 20 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center Feb 22 – New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center* Feb 24 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center Feb 25 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center Feb 27 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena Mar 01 – Salt Lake City, UT – Vivint Smart Home Arena Mar 03 – Portland, OR – Moda Center Mar 04 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena* Mar 06 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center Mar 08 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena Mar 09 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center Mar 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum* Mar 13 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena Mar 15 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center Mar 16 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center* Mar 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center Mar 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center Mar 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center Mar 22 – Glendale, AZ – Gila River Arena Mar 25 – Ft. Worth, TX – Dickies Arena Mar 28 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center Mar 29 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena Mar 30 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena Apr 01 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena Apr 03 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center* Apr 04 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Apr 05 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden* Apr 07 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena* Apr 08 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center Apr 10 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena Apr 11 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena* Apr 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center Apr 16 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center Omaha Apr 18 – Austin, TX – Moody Center* Apr 19 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center Apr 23 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena* Apr 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Suns Arena* Apr 27 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center* Apr 30 – Spokane, WA – Spokane Arena* May 01 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome Sept 10 – Helsinki, Finland – Hartwall Arena* Sep 13 – Stockholm, Sweden – Ericsson Globe Sep 15 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena Sep 16 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena* Sep 18 – Oslo, Norway – Telenor Arena Sep 20 – Hamburg, Germany – Barclaycard Arena Sep 21 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena Sep 23 – Munich, Germany – Olympiahalle Sep 24 – Berlin, Germany – Mercedes-Benz Arena Sep 26 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle* Sep 28 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis Sep 29 – Antwerp, Belgium – Sportpaleis* Oct 01 – Cologne, Germany – Lanxess Arena* Oct 03 – Amsterdam, Holland – Ziggo Dome Oct 04 – Amsterdam, Holland – Ziggo Dome* Oct 06 – London, UK – The O2 Oct 07 – London, UK – The O2 Oct 08 – London, UK – The O2 Oct 10 – Manchester, UK – Manchester Arena Oct 11 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Oct 13 – Belfast, UK – SSE Arena* Oct 15 – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena Oct 16 – London, UK – The O2 Oct 18 – Paris, France – Accor Arena Oct 19 – Paris, France – Accor Arena Oct 20 – Paris, France – Accor Arena Oct 22 – Bordeaux, France – Arkea Arena* Oct 24 – Madrid, Spain – Wizink Center* Oct 25 – Lisbon, Portugal – Altice Arena* Oct 28 – Barcelona, Spain – Palau Sant Jordi* Oct 29 – Montpellier, France – Sud de France Arena* Nov 01 – Milan, Italy – Mediolanum Forum* Nov 02 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion* Nov 04 – Budapest, Hungary – Budapest Arena* Nov 05 – Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena Nov 07 – Krakow, Poland – Tauron Arena* Nov 10 – Mannheim, Germany – SAP Arena* Nov 12 – Lyon, France – Halle Tony Garnier* Nov 13 – Paris, France – Accor Arena* Nov 15 – Glasgow, Scotland – The SSE Hyrdro* Nov 16 – London, UK – The O2*
Singing-songwriting couple, Katya Diaz and Chris Hierro, combine artistic forces and sound to form Break Out the Crazy, their soulful band that prides itself on breaking genres and blurring the lines between them. The worldly couple is released their newest single, “Fool For You,” on January 29, a song that explores the theme of risking everything for love.
Katya Diaz has a lengthy background of touring internationally, both a singing and dancing background, for artists such as Passion Pit, Beyoncé, Alejandro Sanz, and Thalia. She worked as a vocalist for Snarky Puppy‘s Family Dinner DVD in which she sang background for Lalah Hathaway’s Grammy-winning live performance of “Something.” For the past five years, she’s shifted her sights onto songwriting, even writing the national commercial for JC Penny’s 2015 spring campaign and getting to work alongside acclaimed writers Itaal Shur and Stewart Matthewman.
Writing and producing Latin music from a young age, Chris Hierro has worked with many popular artists such as Leslie Grace, Eli Jas, and Prince Royce. He toured as a keyboardist and backup vocalist for some of Latin music’s most popular artists, including Jerry Rivera, Obie Bermudez, and Alejandro Sanz. One of his most noteworthy songwriting and producing achievements is reaching the #1 position of the Billboard Tropical Airplay Charts with the hit, “We Never Looking Back” featuring Toby Love.
Together, the recently married duo has composed singles in multiple genres and themes, ranging from soulful love songs to tropical pop songs made to dance to. Their newest single, “Fool For You” is accompanied by a powerful and hypnotic music video showcasing the couple’s passion for both their music and each other.
Intrepid Travelers are starting the New Year off strong with new music. The Buffalo 6-piece have released a double single, pairing “You Gotta Work” and “Up To You” as they look towards a brighter 2021.
Cover art designed Adam Bronstein
A Buffalo-based improvisational rock band that has been around since 2013, Intrepid Travelers were revitalized in 2020 with some significant lineup changes.
Bassist Zak Beutel was the first new addition, joining founding members Donny Frauenhofer (keys), Brian Calisto (guitar), and Jon Fohl (drums). Shortly after, two more travelers joined the group: Ellen Pieroni, formerly of Folkfaces (saxophone), and former Universe Shark frontman Adam Bronstein (guitar).
This new incarnation of Intrepid Travelers has been hitting the pavement hard since the summer, as hard as they can mid-pandemic. The band has been live-streaming the first three Tuesdays of each month as well as select holidays, while working on plenty of new material. The band was able to play a few live shows in the late summer/early fall – including a sold out double header on Halloween at Sportsmens Tavern and a socially-distanced IT Fest – but with the recent shutdown, IT decided to shift their focus to recording.
The newly released double single features two tracks, “You Gotta Work” (Pieroni/Frauenhofer) and “Up To You” (Calisto/Beutel/Fohl). Both tracks were recorded entirely at home, with mixing and mastering by Donny Frauenhofer.
These two tracks are a great representation of where the band is heading, and the amount of fun we’ve been having together.
Jon Fohl
The first track, “You Gotta Work,” a driving, Motown-inspired Lettuce-esque funk tune, will make you dance and leave you feeling empowered, and features dazzling guitar licks by Adam, tasty organ playing by Donny, a percussive bassline by Zak, and Ellen on lead vocals.
“Up To You” is more introspective, but just as catchy as the first track. You’ll be reeled in by Brian’s acoustic guitar playing, but be sure to stick around for him to shred later in the tune, and Jon displays his vocal abilities singing lead. The production value is especially great on “Up To You,” with congas from special guest Ryan Campbell, fun added background vocals over Brian’s guitar solo, catchy horn lines, and various sound and vocal effects.
This recording session was among the most rewarding and creatively fulfilling projects I’ve ever been a part of – self producing these tracks has the band energized and excited for more!
