Troy Savings Bank Music Halland WEXT present the UpLift Commission Series, faeturing local artists to participate. In collaboration with Organ Colossal, the Lift was curated and invited a small audience to sit on stage with artists while they performed.
The pandemic caused the program to end forcing staff at the Music Hall to find creative ways to keep it going. The Hall reached out to the Organ Colossal to find local community talent in the Capital Region. Each artist selected has contributed to their community throughout the years and their participation is another contribution. Their creations for this project reflect the mood of current times and each performance is honest and speaks to the changes music has faced over the year.
Upcoming UpLift Commission Series performances begin later this month. Indie singer based Upstate and Brooklyn,Belle Skinner, performs on Friday, April 23 at 7 p.m. Mother and son duo, sitarist Veena and tabla drummer Devesh Chandra perform on Friday, May 7. New York-based Puerto Rican singer, Taína Asili and guitarist Gaetano Vaccaro perform on Friday, May 21. The events are free and open to the public and links to performance will be released closer to the performances.
Troy Savings Bank Music Hallwas created in 1870 built on the upper level to show the bank’s appreciation to the local citizens for their support. In the beginning, the hall hosted performances from musicians nationally and internationally even during the World War II era. In 1979 the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Revitalization Committee after Troy’s declined and had problems supporting the arts.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Corporation came about through funding from the bank and from the city and county. It is a non profit organization and it leases the Hall from the bank. The Hall has a reputation for orchestra and chamber music. However with sound as its main priority, it became a venue with classical and modern music performances.
TheCaroga Lake Music Festival returns this year during the summer, and marks the 10 year anniversary for the festival.
Artist: Erica Harney
Caroga Arts Collective hosted several performances and events featuring artists from all around the world spanning from different genres. They use inspiration from nature found in the Adirondacks and bring the community together through art, culture and business.
The Caroga Lake Music Festival is presented by the Caroga Arts Collective and founded and directed by Kyle Barrett Price. It is five weeks and offers free music performances and community outreach. Artists from all around the world and from the community create interactive experiences for the audience. Four series arose from the festival including – Sherman’s Revival Series, Caroga Chapel Series, Encore!Jazz Session and The Barge.
This year is not only the 10 year anniversary for the Caroga Lake Festival, it is also the 100 year anniversary of Caroga Arts new home, Sherman’s Amusement Park. The festival takes place July 24 – August 22 and is featuring debut artists from genres such as classical, bluegrass, pop, jazz and more. Caroga Arts plans to partner with local businesses and organizations.
With health as the main priority for artists, the audience and staff, a Protocol Advisory Team is meeting every week to maintain safety as the festival approaches. Every concert held at the park will be held at Sherman’s Bumper Car Pavilion with socially distanced pods to seat the audience. More updates about the Caroga Lake Music Festival will be announced later this Spring.
The American Symphony Orchestra announces plans for free nine-concert chamber music series, taking place in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and 34th St. Herald Square Plaza and will run through May 3–19, 2021.
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra that was founded back in 1962. Their mission is to make orchestral music accessible and affordable for everyone. The musical performances and works are curated around ideas drawn from a variety of disciplines such as history, visual arts, science, politics and literature. They often try to revive works that were rarely-performed in their hay day that audiences would otherwise never have a chance to hear performed live.
The nine concert series will include five different programs curated by American Symphony Orchestra musicians. The performances will feature music ranging from 20th century Mexican and all-American jazz composers to Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and classical works for horn quartet and woodwind trio. Some of the featured artists include percussionist and composer Javier Diaz, saxophonist Roxy Coss, and oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz.
There will be a limited number of first-come, first-served chairs set up near the Bryant Park Fountain Terrace in front of the stage and at Herald Square for people to watch the live music from American Symphony Orchestra. Artists and audience members will be required to follow current public health guidelines including wearing masks and social distancing. All the concerts will last for at least one hour and will begin at 5:30PM.
For more information on the American Symphony Orchestra and their concert series visit their website.
The full schedule can be read below:
Modernism in Mexico – String Quartet
Monday, May 3 & Tuesday, May 4, at 5:30 pm
Bryant Park Fountain Terrace
Modernism in Mexico explores string quartets by some of Mexico’s most important 20th-century composers: Manuel Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas, and Carlos Chávez. Ponce was Mexico’s leading classical musician, and this performance of his well-known song Estrellita is a new arrangement for string quartet. Carlos Chávez was his student and heir apparent, touring extensively as a conductor and producing an impressive body of compositions. Chávez’s close colleague, violinist Silvestre Revueltas, was a notable conductor/composer whose work includes the score to the 1936 film Redes (The Wave), commissioned by the Mexican government.
Cyrus Beroukhim, violin
Philip Payton, violin
Will Frampton, viola
Alberto Parrini, cello
Manuel Ponce: Estrellita
Manuel Ponce: Petite suite dans le style ancien
Silvestre Revueltas: Musica de Feria
Carlos Chávez: String Quartet No. 3
Strike Force – Percussion Ensemble
Wednesday, May 5 & Wednesday, May 12 at 5:30 pm
34th Street Herald Square Plaza
This percussion ensemble combines Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and poetry with the sounds of contemporary chamber percussion, featuring Grammy-nominated Imani Winds’ oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz in compositions by percussionist and composer Javier Diaz.
Kory Grossman, Javier Diaz, and Charles Descarfino, percussion
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe
All-Javier Diaz Program:
“Chandani”
“Canciones del Idalgo”
“Maleza”
“Son Montuno Sinfonia”
“Sakpata”
“Lucumi Cycle”
ASO Salutes NYC/USA – Jazz Ensemble
Monday, May 10 & Tuesday, May 11 at 5:30 pm
Bryant Park Fountain Terrace
A truly American genre, the ASO presents this jazz ensemble as a salute to U.S. healthcare workers who have made it possible for New Yorkers to experience live music once again. The program, including works by Gershwin, Bernstein, Ellington, and Chick Corea, among others, celebrates composers who have defined the sound of this vibrant city.
Lee Musiker, piano
Lou Bruno, bass
Kory Grossman, drums
Eugene Moye, cello
Roxy Coss, tenor saxophone and flute
Harry Warren: “42nd Street”
George Gershwin: “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess
Duke Ellington: “Take the A Train”
Leonard Bernstein: “Some Other Time”
Leonard Bernstein: “Cool” from West Side Story
Gustav Holst: I. Mars, the Bringer of War, from The Planets, Op. 32
Chick Corea: Children’s Songs
Charles Mingus: “Nostalgia in Times Square”
Woodwind Trio
Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 pm
Bryant Park Fountain Terrace
Woodwind chamber music had something of a renaissance in the 1920s; at the same time, works for reed trio—oboe, clarinet, and bassoon—were coming together with the formation of the Trio d’Anches de Paris, a collaboration of three virtuosi reed players. This program offers music from some of the greatest composers of wind music in the 20th century.
Alexandra Knoll, oboe
Shari Hoffman, clarinet
Marc Goldberg, bassoon
Charles Koechlin: Trio d’anches Op. 206
Jean Françaix: Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon
Alexandre Tansman: Suite for Wind Trio
Claude Arrieu: Suite en trio
Albert Roussel: Andante from an Unfinished Wind Trio: Adagio
Joseph Canteloube: Rustiques – I. Pastorale
Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32a
Gilles Silvestrini: Oboe Etude No. 1: Hôtel des Roches Noires à Trouville
Horn Quartet
Monday, May 17 & Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 pm
Bryant Park Fountain Terrace & 34th Street Herald Square Plaza
Perfectly at home in the outdoors, the horn quartet has enjoyed a rich history from the forest to the concert hall. This program features composers highlighted by Bard Music Festivals of the past with a few modern classics that will inspire.
Chad Yarbrough, David Smith, Lawrence DiBello, and David Peel, French horns
SummerStage Anywhere announced their April programming, including virtual programming celebrating National Poetry Month, International Dance Day and World Portuguese Language Day.
SummerStage Anywhere is put on by the City Parks Foundation. It was originally announced by the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Anywhere in response to the COVID-19 pandemic when it started back in 2021. They are presenting free, exclusive digital performances that people can watch from anywhere. SummerStage Anywhere is continuing in 2021to keep bringing free live performances to the masses.
National Poetry Month Celebration will be taking place on April 22 and is being presented by the SummerStage and Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The celebration is also being put on in association with New York Music Month Extended Play which is an initiative of the NYC Mayor’s Office of Entertainment. The event will be showcasing New York City poets Caridad De La Luz, reg e gaines, Mariposa Fernandez, J.F. Seary, Erik Maldonado (aka Advocate of Wordz), Helena D. Lewis, Suzen Baraka, Darian Dauchan (performing with loop station), Wilson “Chembo” Corniel (performing solo, with congas), Rome Neal (accompanied by Chembo on percussion, Lonnie Plaxico on bass, and Andre Chez Lewis on piano), Ramya Ramana, Carlos Andrés Gómez, Andres Chulisi Rodriguez and more. The performances will be recorded both live from The Sultan Room in Brooklyn and remotely. The celebration will stream on SummerStageAnywhere.org and across SummerStage socials: Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch starting at 7PM EST.
Their World Portuguese Language Day celebration, in association with Arte Institute, is on April 15th. The event will be put on at 7PM EST. It will feature performances including Angolan star Paulo Floresand recited poems and reflections from renowned artists and writers Mia Couto, Ondjaki and Pedro Coquenão (aka Batida). Past SummerStage performance highlights will be aired featuring global music stars Mariza, The Gift, Selma Uamusse, and Dead Combo.
International Dance Day: DanceAfrica at BAM with Artistic Director Abdel Salaam on April 29th at 7PM EST. The event is in honor of International Dance Day, SummerStage pays tribute to BAM’sDanceAfrica, America’s largest celebration of dance from the African diaspora. It will feature a talk between the festival’s artistic director and founder of Forces of Nature Dance Theater, AbdelSalam, and DanceAfrica producer,Charmaine Warren.The informal conversation will cover Salaam’s experience with DanceAfrica as a performer and now artistic director, and will be followed by breathtaking excerpts from past festival performances.
For more information on the upcoming April programming visit SummerStage Anywhere’s website.
Add Midnight North to the growing list of bands that are slowly starting to announce upcoming tour dates. The Bay Ara-based rock outfit has announced a string of shows in June that cater to some East Coast states.
The spring tour begins June 3 in Asheville, NC at the The Grey Eagle and wraps up June 19 in Stowe, VT at Stowe Cider. The tour also includes a gig at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua, NY on Friday, June 11.
Midnight North Spring Tour 2021
April 18 | Terrapin Crossroads | San Rafael, CA – SOLD OUT
April 25 | Terrapin Crossroads | San Rafael, CA
June 3 | The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall | Asheville, NC
June 4 | Charleston Pour House | Charleston, SC
June 10 | Phantom Power | Millersville, PA
June 11 | Lincoln Hill Farms | Canandaigua, NY
June 13 | Levitate Backyard | Marshfield, MA
June 19 | Stowe Cider | Stowe, VT
June 20 | TBA | Portsmouth, NH
Tickets go on sale today at noon. They can be purchased through the band’s website here. You can also listen to some selected tracks from their upcoming album There’s Always A Story there.
Rolling Stone hailed Midnight North as the “Best New Act” in its review of 2018’s Peach Music Festival saying the band “takes the best parts of roots music and weaves them into a tapestry of rock and Americana. They’ve opened for such acts as Phil Lesh, The Infamous Stringudusters, Twiddle and Jackie Greene. And they’ve They’ve also welcomed the likes of Bob Weir, Luther Dickinson, Karl Denson, Eric Krasno, and Nicki Bluhm to join them onstage.
In the nearly 9 years since their origins in early 2012, Midnight North has established itself as a mainstay on stages in both the Bay Area roots music scene and on the nationwide touring circuit.
The eventful festival dedicated to Bluegrass music, DelFest, has announced the lineup for their 14th annual festival taking place later on this year.
DelFest usually takes place over Memorial Day weekend but this year it takes place from September 23-26 to ensure safety from COVID-19. While the dates have changed, the location remains the same in the city of Cumberland, Maryland along the Potomac River. The venue is at the Allegany County Fairgrounds, personally chosen by Del McCoury, leader of the Del McCoury band and legendary bluegrass musician.
DelFest organizers are working with both local and state health officials to adhere to safety mandates for attendees, staff and musicians. COVID-19 protocols will be made known closer to the festival. More information about DelFest can be found on the website.
Gayle’s Broadway Rose is known for their singing Broadway servers and their extravagant milkshakes. On June 19, the restaurant is having a grand reopening featuring Broadway stars Kimberly Marable and Haley Swindal. The two will perform alongside the Singing Servers.
Kimberly Marable currently stars in the Broadway production Hadestown. Additionally, she has been in productions of The Lion King and Sister Act. Haley Swindal is presently in the Broadway production of Chicago and has also previously starred in Jekyll & Hyde.
Gayle’s Broadway Rose partnered with the Broadway and West End Community in order to keep the Broadway spirit alive with theaters closed. The talented Singing Servers and Broadway and West End show cast members have teamed up to produce a Virtual Celebrity Duet Video Series.
Come on out to Times Square on June 19 to help support the Arts and Broadway’s Theater District. All tickets for the grand reopening are available by advance purchase only here. Check out the Gayle’s website for additional information.
Gayle’s shares: Our video below featuring Broadway Celebrity performer Laurel Harris accompanied by Marc Christopher from Gayle’s Broadway Rose… the song is Beauty and the Beast from Beauty and the Beast! Laurel Harris currently stars in the Broadway production of Jagged Little Pill, and has played the roles of Jill and Mary Jane Healy! Laurel also starred as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked! Previous Broadway credits include Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, In Transit, and Evita! Viewers can make a donation to a special charity that Laurel has chosen: stopaapihate. Thanks to Michael Aaronfor his fabulous audio/video production services!
From New York, NY, Backline will host “Set Break” on April 10th. This will be their first-ever livestream fundraiser on The Relix Channel, exclusively on Twitch. The event will feature live performances worldwide, public service announcements from music professionals, and immersive wellness experiences also.
Backline dedicates their time to connecting music industry professionals and their families with mental health and wellness resources as a nonprofit organization. Backline seeks to provide a safe, private, and immediate place to go for help with the difficulties that life in this industry brings.
Set Break intends to bring the music industry together to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the community. During the event, money will be raised to expand Backline’s programs and services in a time when they are needed most. In addition, Set Break will incorporate wellness experiences from Wanderlust, Breathwrk, The Big Quiet, and Meditation Studio by Muse to promote collective healing for those greatly affected by the closures within the last year.
Backline has provided a safe place to land for industry workers during this time, and the event will bring together fans, artists, and organizations who all believe in the cause and want to create a safer and more supported environment for music to thrive.
Backline’s Executive Director Hilary Gleason
The lineup for Set Break expands across an array of genres. The event will have performances by Alanis Morissette, Leon Bridges, Dawes, Black Pumas, Sara Bareilles, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros, Ben Folds, Oteil Burbridge, Los Lobos, Michael Franti, K. Flay, Galactic, American Authors, Larkin Poe, Deer Tick, DJ Millie, and more. Many musicians are coming together to raise mental health awareness and show support.
Join this Movement Through Livestream
Set Break will feature conversations with the Black Mental Health Alliance to represent the music industry’s diverse experiences. Also, there will debut findings conducted by the Tour Health Research Initiative (THRIV). The free event will have opportunities to donate and support the mental health of the music industry. In addition to supporting Backline, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Crew Nation and Sweet Relief’s Mental Health Fund. Fans even have the opportunity to turn their physical activity into charitable donations by signing up for the wellness app Sweatcoin before the event. Make sure to tune in to Set Break on April 10th to support the cause!
Jazz at Lincoln Center announces their 2021 gala concert: Innovation + Soul. The gala concert will take place virtually on April 15, 2021 at 7:30 PM EST.
Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.
The summer concert series at Lincoln Center started in 1987, later fully orchestrating the achievement of opening the world’s first venue designed specifically for jazz in 2004. Their mission is carried out through four elements—educational, curatorial, archival, and ceremonial—capturing, in unparalleled scope, the full spectrum of the jazz experience.
The gala concert will feature the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis who is known as the heartbeat of the organization. The performance will be pre-recorded at Rose Theater in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York, New York. The concert is being put on because of National Jazz Appreciation Month. It will attempt to not only honor the music but the artists and figures who have made outstanding contributions to jazz.
https://youtu.be/qQ__lmCOSeg
Some of the line up for the performance include Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez, percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martinez, and trumpeter Michael Rodriguez. It will also feature appearances by President Bill Clinton, actor Anna Deavere Smith, jook dancer Lil Buck, vocalist Veronica Swift, and pianist Sean Mason throughout the evening.
The group will perform Henriquez’ composition, “2/3’s Adventure,” a piece that travels between mambo, swing, and guajira, and demonstrates Henriquez’ absolute mastery in orchestration and grooves. This song has been a hit for the group for over a decade. It has been featured in the Orchestra’s songbook in shows and the band’s recording of it remains one of Blue Engine Records’ most popular downloads.
https://youtu.be/YhikjvXpQ7g
Innovation + Soul performance-only passes are $30.00. Following the premiere on April 15, ticket holders will have on-demand access to the performance portion of the event through April 25. For virtual gala tickets and packages, and information on ways to contribute to the Center in a meaningful way, visit their website here.
Memorial Day Weekend 2021 in Central New York will be much more music filled than last year. Creative Concerts has announced four nights of Twiddle, May 27-30, at the new Apple Valley Park in Lafayette, just 10 minutes south of Syracuse. And they’ll be bringing some Frends with them.
Dopapod will join Twiddle on May 27 and 28, while Buffalo’s Aqueous arrive for the shows on May 29 and 30. The four nights of Twiddle and Frends kick off a season of outdoor live music from Creative Concerts, providing a safe and enjoyable concert experience for music fans both local and beyond.
All events at Apple Valley Park will be socially distanced, with roped-off PODS (Personal Outdoor Dance Space) available for parties of 2, 4 or 6. A thorough site plan has been developed allowing for temperature screenings and surveys to be conducted upon entering the event grounds. PODS are spaced a minimum of six feet apart, and fans will have a variety of food and beverage options available for purchase. Site map and FAQ for Apple Valley Park venue can be found here.
Apple Valley Park is located in beautiful LaFayette, NY. With its rural atmosphere, rolling hills, and expansive fall foliage, it has proven to be a wonderful home to the annual LaFayette Apple Festival since 1973. More recently it has expanded to host other live entertainment events, including a few successful drive-in concerts in the fall of 2020.
Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, April 2 at 10 AM on the Apple Valley Park website.
