Luke Bryan will kick off his ‘Proud to be Right Here’ Tour on July 8, 2021 in Syracuse. Special guests include Dylan Scott, Caylee Hammack and Runaway June along with DJ Rock.
Luke Bryan (lukebryan.com)
Tickets are on sale now for the Proud to be Right Here Tour. Luke’s announcement comes a day after his Crash My Playa 2022 concert vacation event set for January 19-22, 2022 sold-out due to record-breaking demand from returning event alumni and Luke’s fans through pre-sale access. The sell-out is the event’s fastest in its seven-year history.
“There is nothing more gratifying about writing and recording music than getting to play it live for the fans. There’s several songs off my new album that I’ve never performed live” shared Luke. “I can’t believe this moment is nearly here when we get to hop on the tour bus and roll into towns across America and get back to doing what we do best. What we live to do!”
Luke Bryan is critically acclaimed with several #1 albums on the Hot Country Albums and Hot Country Songs Charts. He has won multiple awards, ranging from Billboard, American Music Awards, and the Country Music Association.
Luke Bryan’s fanclub information can be found at here and tickets at lukebryan.com.
Oct 16 San Bernardino, CA – Glen Helen Amphitheater *
*indicates concerts that have been rescheduled to these dates Dylan Scott on all dates except July 8-18 Caylee Hammack on all dates through August 14 Runaway June on all dates beginning August 19 DJ Rock on all dates
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
After months of livestream shows, Marble Eyes announce their first series of tour dates, beginning Friday April 30th in Saratoga Springs.
Marble Eyes Tour Poster
Marble Eyes is a fresh new band that formed during the pandemic, comprised of members from Pink Talking Fish, Kung Fu, The Indobox and more. Using downtime from tour, the band crafted over 40 songs, with a debut album out later this year. Several of these new songs have debuted over the past year during their free “Marble Eyes Mondays” livestreams, every other Monday. You can find these on the nugs.net Youtube page.
The first show kicks off this Friday in Saratoga Springs NY at Putnam Place, followed by the band’s debut in Colorado for 2 nights in Denver at Knew Conscious. They will head back east for some more shows, hitting several states in New England.
Marble Eyes’ 2021 tour dates 4/30: Saratoga Springs NY at Putnam Place 5/14: Denver CO at Knew Conscious 5/15: Denver CO at Knew Conscious 5/23: Wayne PA at 118 North 6/03: Stowe VT at Stowe Cider w/ Zach Nugent 6/04: Pembroke MA at Soundcheck Studios 6/06: Portsmouth NH at The Music Hall “Live Under The Arch Series” – 2 Shows 7/31: Mason NH at The Range supporting Melvin Seals & JGB 8/12: Brunswick ME at The Grateful Campout
Music is being served up bistro-style at Rochester’s Lilac Festival this year. While it’s not feasible to host the large open-air concerts the festival has become known for, organizers have found a way to reintroduce music while maintaining safety guidelines.
Over the course of three weekends in May, they are dishing up sets from Big Blue House, Claudia Hoyser, JUMBOshrimp, acoustic-style Big Eyed Phish, and Mikaela Davis & Southern Star. A Lilac Blues & Soul review closes out the series, featuring Steve Grills and the Roadmasters alongside special guests Joe Beard, Cinnamon Jones, Debbie Kendrick, and Mike D’Aurizio.
The events take place under an open air tent, where patrons can purchase tables that seat four to six guests. Relax and nosh in a supper-club fashion – tickets include an appetizer to share. Pair it with a wine or bucket of beer, and additional nibbles from a range of local restaurants. The shows on Mother’s Day, May 9, are all ages, however the remainder are reserved for guests 21 and over (ID required). Tickets are for each event are available now.
Sunday: May 9, 2021: Mother’s Day
Big Blue House – Session: 11:30am
Big Blue House is a raucous trio of seasoned musicians with experience in a variety of genres, merging styles into a unique gumbo of folk, rock, blues, jazz and reggae. Offering a blend of voices, acoustic rhythm and lead guitar, stand-up bass, and occasional mandolin, banjo and resonator guitar. We often add percussion and a random horn or harmonica to fill up the house. Our songs run a broad scope of time and genres but keep a consistency of musicality, lyricism, imagery and tastefulness.
Sunday: May 9, 2021: Mother’s Day
Claudia Hoyser – Sessions: 2:45pm
American Country music artist, social media influencer, and hometown favorite Claudia Hoyser is bringing it back to her roots at the 2021 Rochester Lilac Festival. Claudia has blended her neo-traditional sound with social grace; her musical palette evokes
feelings through the gift of modern story or can bring on some dusty edge with barnburner flair. Just Announced: Claudia will be opening for Toby Keith and Clay Walker at The California Rodeo in Salinas, CA in 2021.
On the heels of the success of her 4 chart singles, Claudia will be releasing her full-length record this summer 2021. Be sure to tune in for her weekly video series “Hoyser Country Monday” every Monday at 6 pm EST on Facebook. The series has rallied up over 120 million views! Claudia also has her own coffee, “Hoyser Country Blend,” which can be found chain-wide in Tops Markets, Hegedorn’s, Herrema’s, Breen’s and in many local establishments.
Friday: May 14, 2021
Jumbo Shrimp – Sessions: 4pm | 6:45pm
Founded in 2006, just two guys, ALL LIVE! Tom on Vocals & Guitar. Ian on the Clamsteamer (a.k.a. Cocktail Drum Kit of his own creation)
A Rochester favorite, playing local bars, backyards and festivals for the past 15 years strong. JUMBOshrimp is working hard to be the BIGGEST little band IN THE WORLD (or Rochester, whichever comes first). While that’s a pretty serious goal, you should also know that they’re very serious about not taking themselves very serious.
JUMBOshrimp plays mostly current music but also mashes in favorite classics, always committed to engaging their audience, having FUN, making music & friends!
Saturday: May 22, 2021
Big Eyed Phish’s: Dave and Tim Acoustic Show Sessions: 2:45pm | 6:00pm
Ben and Jon are the “Dave and Tim” of Big Eyed Phish – The Dave Matthews Tribute Band. Together they perform acoustic versions of DMB songs that everyone knows and loves. Dave and Tim have played together in many venues and put out the infamous “live at Luther College” CD set! Ben and Jon do the acoustic duo justice just as they do for the full band when playing with Big Eyed Phish! Don’t miss this awesome intimate acoustic show!
Friday: May 21, 2021
Mikaela Davis & Southern Star – Sessions: 4:00pm | 6:45pm
Back this year is Lilac favorite, Mikaela Davis with a new sound! Mikaela Davis & Southern Star are bringing a taste of the Grateful Dead to the Lilac Bistro. Recently, Mikaela has not only been playing Grateful Dead tunes with Southern Star but with Bob Weir himself! Mikaela will be playing a set of Dead inspired Americana Folk with her own original tunes.
Sunday: May 23, 2021
Lilac Blues & Soul Review – Sessions: 3:15pm | 6:30pm
On Sunday May 23, the Lilac Festival will conclude with a Blues and Soul extravaganza featuring Steve Grills and the Roadmasters along with special guests blues artist Joe Beard, singers Cinnamon Jones and Debbie Kendrick and singer and harmonica player Big Mike D’Aurizio. Singer guitarist Steve Grills is well know as Rochester’s formost Purveyor of the Blues. Steve has played at the top blues venues and festivals across the country including the Chicago Blues Festival. His CD release After Hours received tremendous airplay leading it to chart at # 39 on the Top 100 Blues Albums of the year.
Bluesman Joe Beard is truly a Rochester legend. His music has taken him all across the US and he has also performed at some of Europe’s most prestigious music festivals. He has released numerous albums to great acclaim. Joe was inducted to the Rochester Music Hall of Fame in 2017. He continues to thrill audiences with his powerful singing and intense and fiery guitar work after more than 50 years.
Singer Cinnamon Jones has built a tremendous reputation over the last few years through her many spirited and soulful live performances. Once you see and here Cinnamon, you will never forget her. Cinnamon toured extensively with the Campbell Brothers and has since toured the US and internationally on her own. She began singing gospel in NYC where she was born. Cinnamon later moved to the SF Bay area where her performing career grew, leading her to be awarded Best Female Vocalist for consecutive years.
Singer Debbie Kendrick has a personality that warms her audiences like the sun breaking through the clouds. She has led her own group in Rochester for well over 10 years and has built a great reputation with her blend of soul and blues music.
Big Mike D’Aurizio is a singer and harp player who possesses a great command and respect for traditional blues. Mike’s powerful electric harp playing and singing is sure to blow your blues away.
Now in it’s 123rd year, the internationally-known festival held at historic Highland Park features lilacs and gardens, runs, beer and wine tasting, and a kid zone. For more information visit the Rochester Events website.
To whet your appetite for the Lilac Fest bistro experience, here’s a clip of Mikaela Davis playing with Bob Weir on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert series:
Alejandro Sanz’ #LAGIRA is making a comeback in the United States this October. Spain’s most international artist will visit 12 cities across the country alongside his grand show produced by Live Nation. One of these shows he is performing at is right here in NYS: Radio City Music Hall.
The artist will present his greatest hits as well as songs from his 3x Latin Grammy-winning and Best Latin Album Grammy-winning album, #ELDISCO. #LAGIRA has sold out numerous shows globally, including shows in Spain, the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, and more. Make sure to grab your tickets when they go on sale on April 29 through Sanz’s site or Ticketmaster.
Projects Through the Pandemic
Alejandro Sanz has always had a close and unique relationship with his fans. Back in March 2020, Sanz offered a show streamed through a digital platform, #LaGiraSeQuedaEnCasa, alongside Juanes. Sanz was one of the first artists to do so, and the feedback was overwhelming. Nearly 5 million people around the world have viewed the video.
A week after #LaGiraSeQuedaEnCasa release, Sanz released #ElMundoFuera. This song paved the way for the creation of a documentary. People all over the globe were able to come together and share their pandemic stories. Over 4,500 videos were received through this platform and ultimately led to the largest collaborating project by a Spanish-speaking artist. The documentary was Spain’s most sold music DVD of 2020 and is also available now on Amazon Prime Video.
Even though 2020 was a hard-hitting year for many, Alejandro Sanz made the best out of a challenging situation. He started off the pandemic with a surplus of well-developed projects and didn’t fall short of his successes when the year ended. The international artist received his second consecutive Latin Grammy for Record of the Year. This award added to Sanz’s collection of achievements. With 4 Grammy wins, and 25 Latin Grammy wins, Sanz became Spain’s most Grammy award-winning artist.
The Great New York State Fair will return in 2021 for an end of summer celebration, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo. The New York State Fair will take place at the fairgrounds in Syracuse from August 20 to September 6, 2021 and will include musical performances, Midway rides, agriculture education, plus food and drinks.
The New York State Fair had been a staple in Upstate New York for entertainment and fun since it first started all the way back in 1841. Due to COVID-19, the fair was cancelled last year. This reimagined version of the State Fair will look quite similar to the event that is loved and known by people. The Great New York State Fair will take place in four outdoor areas across the fairgrounds, one representing each of the major elements that make the fair great.
The fair will feature an exceptional array of food and beverage including some of the Fair’s most iconic culinary experiences, such as the Pizze Fritte, sausage sandwiches and wine slushies. It will also host daily concerts from national touring performers in the scenic, spacious New York Experience festival grounds. Have thrilling amusement rides, games and attractions for all ages on the Midway. It also will feature farm animals on display to introduce the young and young-at-heart to New York’s agriculture. Admission to the fair will only be $3 per person, with children under 12 being admitted free of charge.
Although a full list of acts hasn’t been announced yet, it has been revealed that there will be performances from REO Speedwagon, Dropkick Murphys, Sheena Easton, Great White and Vixen and the Oak Ridge Boys at least.
Governor Cuomo spoke of the resurrection of the fair saying,
The New York State Fair is one of our biggest and most exciting tourist attractions that celebrates the spirit of New York and generates economic growth for the region and the entire state. I’ve said time and again that no one wants to open the Fair this year more than I do – and we are finally making it happen in a safe, responsible way with the 2021 Reimagined New York State Fair. This celebration is a unique reward for New Yorkers who have made so many sacrifices during this pandemic and will allow visitors from across the state and the country to enjoy some of the best attractions the Fair has to offer with all necessary safety guidelines in place. This is an important step towards the full return of New York’s largest events as we continue to reopen and reimagine our state’s economy.
The preparation for the fair will be in accordance with the Department of Health’s COVID-19 health and safety guidance. As public health conditions and the guidance changes, the fair will adapt and adhere to all applicable health protocols, such as capacity restrictions, social distancing, face coverings, and health screening where necessary.
The Wallflowers – Great NY State Fair Grandstands
Daily admission is planned to be limited to approximately 50 percent of capacity for the areas available for attendees to allow for social distancing. Capacity limits will be reexamined and adjusted if necessary to comply with health and safety guidelines. The fairground’s buildings will not be open to the public, except for bathrooms. Attendees will be required to observe social distancing and wear masks, except when eating or drinking. People buying food and drinks will be asked to sit while they eat and drink, and ample tables and dining spaces will be made available. Midway rides, games and attractions, as well as all surfaces of frequent customer contact will be rigorously and frequently cleaned and sanitized.
Joan Jett and The Black Hearts – Great New York State Fair Chevy Court
Further details on fair ticket sales and on specific rules for guests will be announced later and will be subject to change with the State’s health and safety guidance change and adapt over time. Visit the New York State Fair website for more information.
Genesis has announced highly anticipated return to North America for the first time in 14 years with The Last Domino?
Tour dates that will have Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford, playing major cities across the U.S. and Canada this November and December 2021. Kicking off at Chicago’s United Center on November 15th, 2021, the group will be joined by Nic Collins on drums, and the band’s long-time lead guitar and bass player Daryl Stuermer. Stops along the tour include Madison Squire Garden which Genesis will be playing at on December 5th, 2021.
Genesis The Last Domino? North American Tour will be one of the first concerts at the brand-new UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York with the Friday, December 10th , 2021, show. Opening this fall, UBS Arena is a $1.1 billion world-class multipurpose arena next to the Belmont Park racetrack. In addition to being the new home to the famed New York Islanders Hockey Club, UBS Arena is one of the few venues in the world designed with a sharp focus on music.
The Last Domino? North American Tour marks the first time Genesis has performed stateside since 2007’s Turn It On Again: The Tour which went on to be one of the biggest grossing tours of that year playing sold-out arenas and stadiums around the world. One of the most successful and legendary rock bands of all-time, Genesis has sold more than 100 million albums with numerous top 20 hits.
Beginning May 7, tickets will be available through a public on-sale. Visit www.genesis-music.com for tour, ticket, and official VIP package information.
Tony Markellis, a Saratoga Springs resident for more than four decades, and co-founding member of Trey Anastasio Band, has died. Markellis’ death was noted in a Facebook post by his nephew Cory Markellis. The cause of death has not been shared.
Tony with Trey Anastasio Band, February 19, 2011, Palace Theatre, Albany
Born in Helena, Montana, Tony began playing bass in third grade and never looked back. Living in Saratoga Springs for 45 years, as a bassist, he had a wide range. Over his 47-year career, he played blues, folk, jazz, rock, country and bluegrass with musicians including Anastasio, Paul Butterfield, The Mamas & the Papas, Johnny Shines, David Bromberg, David Amram, Paul Siebel, Rosalie Sorrels, Eric Von Schmidt, Ellen McIlwaine, Mary McCaslin, Railbird, Jo Henley, Russ Lawton, Ray Paczkowski, Jennifer Hartswick, Natalie Cressman, James Casey, and Floodwood.
Tony was a founding member of the groundbreaking Vermont-based jazz fusion group Kilimanjaro, as well as the Unknown Blues Band featuring Big Joe Burrell. At the 2017 Grand Point North Festival, Anastasio revealed that Tony was the reason he eventually decided to go to UVM.
I went into this bar, I had just gotten off the plane, I was 18-years-old. Hunt’s, this used to be a great club and I went in and I saw this band that to this day I would say is my favorite band of all time. I was completely floored by the musicianship and the coolness and that was the moment that I wanted to move to Burlington was when I saw these guys. And of course, that band was Big Joe And The Unknown Blues Band.
Trey Anastasio
Tony was the first member brought on for Trey’s solo project, which began with 8 Foot Flourescent Tubes, evolved into a trio with drummer Russ Lawton, who Tony suggested to Trey, and eventually into a 7-10 piece band over the course of 2001 through today. He was part of Anastasio’s introspective 2019 album and band, Ghosts of the Forest. Markellis would also help develop songs with Anastasio for the Broadway musical, Hands on a Hardbody.
Tony gained fans once again during the Beacon Jams in the Fall of 2020, where his presence, humor and bass playing anchored an incredible run of 8 weeks of musicianship. “You can spatchcock just about anything” went from a backstage comment by Tony to Trey, to an onstage banter and meme among fans.
photo by Jake Silco
Tom Mitchell, whose first record was produced by Tony in 1976, said on Facebook, “He was the bass player that made everyone sound better.”
Markellis leaves behind a legacy that includes co-writing Phish staples “Sand,” “First Tube” and “Gotta Jibboo,” the latter of which he would join Phish for at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on June 20, 2010. At the final show of Trey Anastasio Band’s inaugural summer tour on August 5, 2001 at SPAC, Trey held up a sign that said “We’re on Tony Tour,” a photo of which Tony proudly displays on his website.
More recently, Markellis published a book of short stories, titled Life…Real & Imagined, published by Vermont’s Shires Press. He very recently contributed to Marcus Rezak’s album Truth in Sound, released on April 30, 2021, on Color Red Music.
Trey Anastasio shared his thoughts on his friends and bandmate on social media.
Tony Markellis passed away yesterday. He was a truly remarkable human being. He was kind and had a sweetness to his personality, and he was the baddest bass player I’ve ever heard. I loved Tony, and I always will. I’m having a hard time processing this. Tony was the heartbeat to so much of my life, and to the lives of so many others. He played bass for my first dance with Sue at our wedding. We wrote First Tube and Sand together, and played so many years, so many memories. I was very lucky to have had a very long phone conversation with Tony only a few days ago. We talked for almost two hours. We caught up on family, friends, and funny pandemic thoughts. It wasn’t often that we talked on the phone like that. I had no idea it would be our last conversation. Now it feels like it happened for a reason. I’m so grateful today for those hours, and for all of the years together. Tony, we’ll all miss you. Thank you for the gifts you brought to all of us. RIP my friend.
Los Angeles based artist, Jake Miller, announces his tour “hi, i missed you” and releases his new single, “I Hope I Die First” from his upcoming album.
Photo Credit: Zack Caspary
Miller is an independent artist who has gained a following over the years from his music and social media presence. He has over 200 million streams and headlined eight tours throughout the country. Ariana Grande, Shawn Mendes and Fifth Harmony are some of the talents that Miller has shared the stage with.
In 2019 he wrote and produced his six song EP Based on a True Story in his bedroom and received 15 million streams. His single “Wait for You” off the EP made it to Billboard Top 40. Miller became a hit on Tiktok with his viral series “Quarantunes”. Throughout 2020, he released eight singles displaying his craft with different sounds.
Miller’s “hi, i missed you” tour comes after last year’s releases and is the beginning of his journey for 2021. The tour consists of 33 dates and will be stopping in major cities across the nation including New York, Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles. The stop in New York City will be at Le Poisson Rouge on September 30. Indie pop duo, Fly By Midnight, and the triplet pop group, Just Seconds Apart, is joining Jake Miller on tour. Tickets for the “hi i missed you” tour are currently on sale on Miller’s website, with meet and greet packages included.
Along with the announcement of the tour, Miller also released his newest single titled “I Hope I Die First”. The song was written before the pandemic with the help of five of his best friends. It touches on the feeling of having someone that you love by your side and not wanting to live without them. For Miller, the ballad means that even when the world seems crazy, having someone special with you makes things better. The single is available on all streaming platforms through The Orchard.
The highly anticipated upcoming remake of West Side Story gives a glimpse in its trailer of the classic musical with a brand new cast. The trailer aired during the 2021 Academy Awards telecast on Sunday, April 25.
After sixty years, the love story of Tony and Maria returns to theaters. The clip is a minute-and-a-half long, giving a quick look at the beloved romantic musical drama.
The trailer begins with a New York City morning, the dawn sky and quickly shifting vignettes of the city. The town, divided in its gangs, ramps up into action with a beautiful orchestral drone in the background.
The Jets and the Sharks, the indelible rivaling gangs, collide in small action sequences. Within the tumultuous community, the two star-crossed lovers find each other, their tragic love story illuminating the screen.
20th Century Studios / Youtube
The leads in Spielberg’s production are Rachel Zegler as Maria and Ansel Elgort ofThe Fault in Our Stars as Tony. The film also features talented actors such as David Alvarez as Bernardo, Ana Isabelle as Rosalía, and Mike Faist as Riff.
The film, as well as the original, was heavily based off of Romeo and Juliet, written by Arthur Laurents in 1957 as a Broadway musical. An interesting fact about the 2021 remake is that Rita Moreno, who played Anita in the original 1961 movie, returns as a shop owner named Valentina, who employs Tony.
West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, is set to hit theaters in December 2021.
