Nelson Odeon, a rustic music venue in Cazenovia, is closing after a decade of serving Central New York with live music.
Nelson Odeon
Before it became Nelson Odeon, it was Nelson Grange, until the building was purchased by Linda and Jeff Schoenfeld in 2009. They lived right by the building for about 30 years at the time of the purchase. When they first bought the venue, they weren’t sure about what they would do with the space until 2011. Their friend Colin Nekritz along with their love for music convinced them to get into the live music scene. The building is almost 200 years old and the stage was built decades ago.
Ever since its opening in 2011, the venue became a staple in the community, especially for music lovers. Nelson Odeon was a center to exhibit local, national and international artists right in the Central New York area. Some of the many musicians who performed on the stage include Beaucoup Blue,Stephane Wrembel,The Wiyos, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen and more. They have hosted the Skunk Funk Festival annually since 2012. In the 10 years that the venue was active, shows were consistent and it allowed the community to come together.
Since COVID-19 put a strain on social gatherings and put a pause on live music events, Nelson Odeon’s doors have been closed for a year. The Schoenfeld’s just released a statement on the venue’s website announcing that they have decided to discontinue operations there.
The pandemic’s unpredictability has created financial damage that seems to be irreparable for them to control. The Schoenfeld’s hope that whoever buys the building will continue the venue’s legacy of live music performances.
It is rare to see an arena rock show where the headliner gets completely overshadowed by the opening band. It is even rarer when that headliner is a legendarily mighty live performer like ex-Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, with Metallica opening the show. But on April 27, 1986, 35 years ago tonight, the exalted Ozz was utterly outshined by a youthful, ‘Master of Puppets’-era Metallica at Glens Falls Civic Center.
James Hetfield – photo by Dino Petrocelli
Master of Puppets – hailed by many as the best thrash metal album of all time, along with Slayer’s Reign in Blood, released the same year – had come out around 2 months before this gig. Metallica was the best heavy band in the world in 1986. Period. It is inarguable. I know you might think they suck now, and that there were a ton of great other metal and punk bands then, but I don’t care – in April 1986, Metallica were better.
Cliff Burton – photo by Dino Petrocelli
During Metallica’s “Ecstasy of Gold” intro tape there was a curtain in front of the stage, and this writer remembers a good crush down the front, as about half the crowd – Metallica were relatively new then, and many of those present that night did not know them – surged down towards the front. Legendary Metallica bassist Cliff Burton came out from behind the stage-left curtain to check out the crowd, smoking a cigarette and nodding at the people down front. Then the curtain dropped to reveal a stage-set modeled after the Master album cover, and the band opened with a blasting “Battery,” sounding as ferocious and tight as you’d want. The band utterly crushed for 55 minutes, with James, Cliff and Kirk headbanging madly the whole time – and a good 2/3 of the crowd were right there with them.
James Hetfield – photo by Dino Petrocelli
There was a great song selection for the near-hour they played – a few new songs (“Master of Puppets”, “Sanitarium”), plenty of ‘Ride The Lightning’ stuff (the title track, “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, set-closer “Creeping Death”), “Seek & Destroy” from Kill ‘Em All, and a crushing encore medley of Diamond Head’s classic “Am I Evil?” and the now-immortal thrash god-song “Damage, Inc.” Still one of my favorite shows ever. Sadly, this was the last time I saw Cliff Burton play – I had tix to see them in August in Montreal before Cliff’s untimely death, but James had that skateboard accident and it was cancelled. By the next time I saw them, Thanksgiving ’86 in Poughkeepsie, it was Jason on bass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qcn2wVG9aI
And Ozzy played too. He went down well, naturally, bringing the house down as he descended from the ceiling on a “monster Ozzy” throne. But, as pro and energetic a live performer as Ozzy and his always-professional band is (in those days led by guitarist Jake E. Lee), it was anticlimactic. Of course I mean no disrespect to Ozzy, who after all sang for the greatest band of all time and has always rocked live – I’d seen him before and many times since and this was easily the least awesome, contributed to, no doubt, by having to follow a hungry, young Metallica at their utter peak. To be sure, he didn’t suck – it’s hard to truly fall flat with songs like “Suicide Solution”, “I Don’t Know”, “Flying High Again” or his old band’s “Iron Man” – but it seemed like standard arena-rock after what had come before.
Also, Ozzy in 1986 was promoting the flaccid ‘Ultimate Sin’ record and flirting with a glittery, frosted-hair-and-makeup, almost glam image, which didn’t work for him – after 3 songs he was his usual sweaty self and the glittery outfit and frosted hair made him look like some bloated, middle-aged, hysterical, sweaty housewife who’d had too many glasses of wine. He opened with “Bark at the Moon”, closed with “Paranoid”, played lots of first album classics and crappy then-new songs from ‘The Ultimate Din’ and not enough Sabbath. Ozzy Osbourne lost, Metallica won.
All hail METALLICA, 1986-edition.
Metallicasetlist: Battery, Master of Puppets, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Ride The Lightning, Sanitarium, Seek & Destroy, Creeping Death, Am I Evil?, Damage, Inc.
Ozzy Osbournesetlist: Bark at the Moon, Suicide Solution, Never Know Why, Mr. Crowley, Shot in the Dark, I Don’t Know, Killer of Giants, Guitar Solo, Thank God for the Bomb, Flying High Again, Secret Loser, Drum Solo, Iron Man, Crazy Train, Paranoid
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from The Bitter Stars, Modern Fools and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week’s featured artist on EQXposure is The Bitter Stars, from Charlton in Saratoga County. Their release Winters is a side project of the band doOojj, featuring Clarke Hingeford and Kyle Pemrick. The music is very clever, a unique take on what pop rock music can and perhaps should be. Excellent guitar tones, with powerful sonic treatments that rip across the aural spectrum providing a very cool repetitious base for the songs to be built on.
Greg Farley is a modern day renaissance man who also happens to write beautiful songs. While the phrase Alt-Country might be a little inappropriate to describe the music, these roots based songs are personal, suggestive, and enriching. The first cut off the record, “Hoosick Falls” has a hopeful sense while being deliberately truthful. The back up band on the session provides a subtle power to the tune that further leaves an impression on the listener, beckoning another spin or two.
Modern Fools from New Hampshire have some very cool music coming out of lockdown recording sessions. The forthcoming release of their work, Seer, is harmonically rich and steeped with heavy emotional content, aided by truly excellent performance of the songs by the band. While the lyrics and melody are haunting they soar right into the ear and stay awhile.
Lake George’s Charles R. Wood Park will serve as the location for The Memorial Day Meltdown, a multi-day pod style concert series set to take place from May 27-30. The holiday weekend run of concerts will feature Pink Talking Fish, Badfish, Dogs In a Pile and others. Produced by the great minds behind Adirondack Independence Music Festival, the announcement follows yesterday’s news of Lake George Music Festival’s return in August.
Pink Talking Fish
The weekend of music kicks off on Thursday, May 27 with a special celebration featuring two sets from Dogs in a Pile. Pink Talking Fish is set to headline Friday May 28, receiving support from Dogs in a Pile. Music continues into Saturday, May 29 with Badfish, a Tribute to Sublime, with an opener yet to be announced. Performances on Sunday, May 31 will be announced at a later date. The pod style concert will allow each pod to have up to 5 people in an 8×10 foot space.
Upon entering Charles R. Wood Park, all attendees must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 antigen test and will have their temperature checked. With New York State’s new 33% percent capacity rule, the festival space is allowed to have up to 700 concert goers. The safety of the fans will be the most important focus for staff and crew Memorial Day weekend with social distancing guidelines put in place to ensure a complete experience.
Charles R. Wood Park, via Lake George Chamber of Commerce
For those who have never been to Charles R. Wood Park, the commons sit on the south end of Lake George, right in the heart of the Adirondacks. The site is also home to numerous events including the Adirondack Independence Music Festival. The ground has featured national touring acts since its incarnation including Charlie Daniels Band, Blue Oyster Cult, The Spin Doctors, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong and many more.
There will be a follow-up announcement about additional weekends of music that will be taking place at the Charles R. Wood Park over the summer. Tickets for Memorial Day Meltdown are on sale now. To purchase tickets and for more information, click here.
Lake George Music Festival has announced a new venue for their 2021 season at the Carriage House on the grounds of Fort William Henry. The season will follow state and local COVID-19 guidelines while bringing back some much needed live music to the Lake George area.
The Carriage House on the grounds of Fort William Henry was a popular venue for years ago for the Lake George Music Festival and its resurgence into the spotlight recently. A big part of this resurgence has been part of a broader effort between the music festival, the Village of Lake George, and a small group of community minded individuals who wish to see Lake George become a cultural tourism destination.
Alexander Lombard who is the festival’s founder spoke about this decision in the venue in the festival’s official press release saying,
The Carriage House is absolutely the perfect indoor performance space for us. It boasts a large floor plan, easy parking, climate control, and a multitude of other amenities in a prime Lake George location; not to mention the best view of Lake George! It has a beautiful hotel, restaurants, and attractions a short walk away. I truly hope other arts groups will take advantage of this venue in the coming years, making Lake George a year-round cultural tourism destination.
One of the big reasons the festival is so excited for this venue is the venue’s capacity to handle COVID-19 safety precautions. The venue’s spacious interior allows for significant audience distancing and because of that it gives the festival the confidence it needs to rehearse and perform safety and at the highest levels. The festival will meticulously comply with required New York State mandates including limited capacity, distancing, and face coverings. They learned a great deal from hosting our live Drive-In Series last September and will use this acquired knowledge to help the Lake George Music Festival be as safe as possible.
The ten year anniversary season will be celebrated from August 18-25, 2021. The season tickets go on sale on May 1, 2021 and the single tickets will go on sale on July 1, 2021.
For more information on the Festival visit their website here.
Proctors Theatre in Schenectady has announced upcoming dates for Broadway to return to their MainStage, later this year.
Proctors Theatre recently released dates for eight postponed shows from the two past Key Bank Broadway Series. Although the shows don’t start until December 2021, this is still exciting news for the return of live theatre.
This Key Bank series lineup will start late for a usual fall-to-spring theatre cycle, but this is “a good thing” according to Proctors Collaborative CEO Philip Morris. Due to COVID-19 regulations, we can’t have theaters seat audiences at full capacity. “The touring industry can’t come back until we can seat audiences near or at capacity. The economics won’t work otherwise,” explains Morris. “All projections suggest we should be able to return to full capacity by December, and it goes without saying we will be fully compliant with all state and federal safety guidelines to assure patron safety.”
Key Private Bank Broadway Series at Proctors schedule: SUMMER – The Donna Summer Musical Dec. 7-12, 2021 Come From Away Jan. 25-30, 2022 The Prom – March 1-6, 2022 Dear Evan Hansen – March 22-27, 2022 CATS – May 3-8, 2022 My Fair Lady – May 17-22, 2022 Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – June 14-19, 2022 Mean Girls – June 28-July 3, 2022 Hadestown – New dates to be announced soon Disney’s The Lion King New dates to be announced soon Pretty Woman: The Musical New dates to be announced soon
Dates for Hadestown, The Lion King, and Pretty Woman: The Musical are not available yet, but are coming. “The collective effort of Broadway producers and local markets working together to reconfigure routes across the country is complicated beyond belief,” Morris notes. “It takes a while for plans to settle out for every show and every market.” Information about when tickets will be available is coming this spring.
Live shows aren’t just coming back to Schenectady. Other Proctors Collaborative venues are getting ready to welcome back in person audiences soon. Capital Repertory Theatre will open ticket sales this spring for their upcoming shows in Albany. The Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs will likely sell tickets this summer for concerts and events in their third and forth quarter.
While we still can’t meet in person, online theatre gives more people access to performances than ever before. theREP is currently showing its April Play Reading series online. The suggested donation to watch is $15, but virtual audience members can give any amount.
“Our prolonged intermission is nearly over. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back!” Morris says. “And from all reports we are hearing they can’t wait to come back.”
Safe & Soundz festival will take place June 11-13, 2021 at Magic Forest Farm in Coeymans Hollow, outside of Albany, NY.
The festival lineup includes Space Bacon, Wax Future, Escaper, Leon Trout, Pheel, Pi Wrecks, Weird Phishes, Ampevene, Baked Shrimp, Boogie knights, Chyld, Bobby Ganache, Father Figure, The Business, and Saturday morning yoga with Ilas.
Held at Magic Forest Farm and produced by Shepheard Productions, the festival is a small event with only 150 tickets sold and 9 campsites. Each campsite came with their own fire-pit and 2 Car-side parking spots and is good for up to 8 campers maximum. They also offer 3 rental options: Tipi (4 people), Yurt (3 people) and Cabin (6 people), each with its own charm and amenities. Attendees are also encouraged to find a nice secluded spot away from others to pitch their tent, hang their hammock and relax on any of the beautiful 230 acres in the Catskill mountains.
The Safe & Soundz festival will be taking many COVID-19 safety precautions. The stage will have socially distanced viewing pods. These pods will be on a first come, first served basis throughout the day/night and capacity will not exceed 1 group per pod (8 people max). People are also expected to wear a face mask anytime they leave their campsite or their viewing pod. In addition to following all state and local safety guidelines the festival will also be checking attendees temperatures upon admission, supplying sanitation sites throughout the grounds, masks will also be required when moving around campsites. These rules are subject to change come mid-June, but for right now, they’re taking the most precaution to ensure everyone’s safety.
Although the festival is sold out, Safe & Soundz festival tickets may be available on resale sites and groups. For more information visit Shepheard Production’s Facebook Page.
The City of Albany announced a Virtual Tulip Festival celebration for 2021, which will occur throughout the entire month of May. The series will feature musical performances, tulip garden tours, prizes, and more.
While I join so many of you that are looking forward to getting back to celebrating the annual Tulip Fest the way we are accustom to, I am excited to participate in the month-long celebration of virtual Tulip Fest. I want to thank the Office of Cultural Affairs for their commitment to reinventing this and many other traditional Albany events in light of the COVID-19 outbreak and hope you and your family and friends will virtually join us for a full month of great programming.
In addition to the local musical performances, the Virtual Tulip Festival will present fun videos for kids to enjoy. Plus, the City of Albany Gardeners will provide a tour of the tulip beds and much more! Videos will premiere on the Albany Events YouTube page, on Facebook, and also on Public Access Channel Albany 1302. Make sure to stay tuned for schedule updates.
The 2021 Albany Tulip Queen, Court, and Mother of the Year will be presented later on with their own celebrations.
Albany-based artist Gavin Preller excitedly announced his debut album: There is Wonder. The project is being mastered by Kramer and is set to be released on May 21st via Shimmy-Disc/Joyful Noise Recordings.
There Is Wonder was written and recorded between the months of October 2020 and February 2021 in Preller’s home town of Bethlehem, New York. Preller wrote, arranged, and performed every song from a basic basement setup in his parent’s home – except for drums on two tracks, which were recorded by Leor Manelis. Initially, Preller wrote and recorded the first six tracks before sending it to his iconic producer Kramer for mastering, Preller was them unexpectedly signed to the Shimmy-Disc label and encouraged to expand the six songs into a full record.
It’s hard not to hear flares of the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Jeff Buckley, proof of just how much Preller’s vocals are truly captivating.
Variance
Gavin Preller began studying classical piano at the age of 3, later picking up guitar at ten years old. In 2019 he attended Berklee College of Music before dropping out after one year to live in an agricultural community in Southern France. Back in the States in February, 2020, Preller took his backpack and acoustic guitar on a cross-country train to Portland, OR. He was living by himself in a used van, without a job, using a nearby Planet Fitness for showers, when Covid hit. That March, he sold the van and returned to his parent’s home in Upstate New York where he has been working on new music ever since.
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.
