Albany’s The Late Shift have announced “The Last Shift,” a farewell concert celebrating the band’s 15th anniversary, to be held at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen on Saturday, November 27.
The celebration will occur in place of the bands annual Thanksgiving Eve performance at the same venue. 2020 excluded, this year’s concert will mark the group’s seventh consecutive Thanksgiving show at The Hollow Bar + Kitchen. The Late Shift will be performing two sets of music, with the first set a celebration of the group’s 15-year catalog, a greatest hits set, including songs like “Sweetness,” “Drink and Stone” and “Through It All.” This will be followed by a power packed second set, loaded with everyone’s favorite LateShift style covers to usher patrons into the evening. Both sets are sure to be full of surprises and special guests.
In addition to celebrating 15 years of The LateShift, this event will also serve as the official launch of Wooden Duck Entertainment, a brand-new Capital Region based music and events company owned by members of The Late Shift.
Tickets are on-sale now. Presale tickets are available for $12.50 until November 1. After that General Admission tickets will be available for $15. A limited number of VIP Packages are currently available for $30. For updates and additional information RSVP on Facebook.
Cassandra Kubinski announced show at Caffe Lena in celebration of her recently dropped #1MillionHearts EP. The celebration will take place on October 31, 2021 at 7PM at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs.
Cassandra Kubinski is an up and coming singer/songwriter who has hit the billboards multiple times. She has had music on TV, from Lifetime to ESPN to ABC and has collaborated with big names like the Goo Goo Dolls (including their collaborative release of her Autism anthem Not So Different), Chris Botti, 10,000 Maniacs, DJ Taz Rashid, and even her personal music hero, Billy Joel. You may have heard her songs that have supported important causes, such as “Not So Different” for Autism and “You Get Me” for pet rescue. She was also the composer and bandleader of Emmy-winning new media TV Show “The Never Settle Show” hosted by Mario Armstrong, and she serves as the Global Co-Chair of Membership for international non-profit Women in Music.
Her #1MillionHearts EP was officially released to all digital platforms on October 1, 2021. The Caffe Lena show follows up Kubinski’s NYC Release Show at The Cutting Room which took place on October 3, 2021 and the global virtual launch concert featuring multi platinum artists Ryan Cabrera, Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees), and Brad Fischetti (LFO) which took place on October 1, 2021.
Saratoga Springs holds a special place in Kubinski’s heart though which is why she’s going back there for a show at Caffe Lena. Kubinski’s previous Capital Region appearances includes multiple shows at Caffe Lena before she became a full time Saratoga Springs resident in 2020, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation Virtual Holiday Homes Tour, airplay on WEXT and WEQS, and both artist workshops and performances at Wildwood School in Schenectady.
“I’m excited to bring my band back to Saratoga. #1MillionHearts is all about connection, community, and finding freedom after a time of darkness or constriction,” Said Kubinski. “I think many of us can relate to that in society and in ourselves at this time. We’re excited to give the audience an incredible, elevating show, and to support arts education and the upstate community as well.”
Tickets for both in-person seats and online viewing options are available here.
For more information on Cassandra Kubinski and her upcoming shows visit her website.
A few songs into The Dude of Life Band’s first set at Lark Hall, Steve Pollak (aka, The Dude of Life) announced that after the show, they’ll be streaming the Phish show from San Francisco, which started shortly after 11pm ET on Saturday, October 16. “So we’re opening for Phish a few time zones away,” said Pollak, much to the crowd’s delight. And in a way, the band was opening for Phish, a band with whom Pollak has a decades-long connection.
The Dude of Life Band, a genre-bending group led by the Dude of Life, Steve Pollak, includes Pollak on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Fred Scholl on lead guitar, Charlie de Saint Phalle on bass, Doug Schneider on drums, and Jon Liebowitz of God Street Wine on keyboard and organ.
For several decades, The Dude has been writing songs in an ongoing collaboration with Phish, and first teamed up with Trey Anastasio while the two were in high school. The Dude wrote lyrics for a number of Phish’s most beloved songs, including “Fluffhead,” “Run Like an Antelope” and “Suzy Greenberg,” and has also been a mythical sideshow with the band, making random guest appearances often highlighted by the throwing of uniquely-inscripted rubber chickens into the crowd. The Dude’s debut album, Crimes of the Mind, was recorded with Phish for Elektra Records and released in 1994.
In recent years, The Dude of Life has developed a more refined sound, and a recent burst of creativity has yielded an album’s worth of new material which was recently recorded by acclaimed producer Bryce Goggin.
The Dude of Life Band performed some of these new songs – “Automatic Pilot,” “Dilaudid Nurse” and “In Case You Didn’t Know,” alongside his Phish classics, plus a handful of Grateful Dead covers, “Ruby Tuesday” by The Rolling Stones and “Badge” by Cream. The flow to the show was smooth and the hits kept coming as the evening progressed. Pollak wrapped up the show with an appropriate “Show of Life,” right before turning the mic over to Phish, live from the Chase Center in San Francisco
Setlist: Crazy Too, Althea, Can’t Always Listen, Ain’t No More Caine, Nobody Finer, Mississippi Blues, Automatic Pilot, Franklin’s Tower, Suzy Greenberg, Dilaudid Nurse, Fluffhead, She Belongs to Me, Sugaree, Space -> Lost Moments in Time, In Case You Didn’t Know, Crimes of the Mind, Ruby Tuesday, Badge, Goin Down the Road Feelin Bad -> Show Of Life
Embarking on their first tour since 2019, Dopapod chose a familiar setting in Saratoga Springs’ Putnam Place to kick things off, which they did in remarkable fashion. A mostly packed house was treated to a first set that began, and ended, with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Echoes.”
photo by Pete Mason
In fact, that’s all they played for a full hour, finding room to jam and improvise without any let up. After 25-30 minutes of “Echoes,” fans looked around at each other wondering “Is this still Echoes?” and simultaneously realizing “This is all they’re going to play this set.” There were no complaints, and no one second-guessed the band’s choice here, rocking out for the full 63-minute set with teases of The Beatles and Dopapod originals mix in, the crowd reveling in the awesomeness they witnessed during setbreak on the Putnam patio.
Set 2 found far more songs, nine to be exact, with a range of material from across Dopapod’s catalog. The recent debut “Velcro” kicked things off, followed by “Happy Song” off 2009’s Radar and fan favorite “Braindead” from Redivider, Luke Stratton’s lights silhouetting the band throughout.
“Black and White,” a highlight of Dopapod’s 2017 Halloween show at Putnam Place, featured teases of “I Might Be Wrong” by Radiohead and “Funky Duck” by Vulfpeck. The final segment of “Onionhead” > “Grow” > “Present Ghosts” capped the night perfectly, bolstered by room shaking bass from Charles Jones.
For an encore, while the setlist only showed “French Bowling,” an audible was called with AC/DC’s “T.N.T.,” preceded by Eli Winderman fist pumping and engaging the crowd to add in “OY! OY! OY!” before Eli and Rob Compa led the band through the 70s rocker. “Bowling” did indeed then close out a fun night of music afterwards.
Dopapod, who just released their new single “Think” today, arrives at Buffalo Iron Works on Wednesday, October 27 before heading to the Midwest. Get your tickets here.
Dopapod returned to The Dock in Ithaca, a premier music venue on Cayuga Lakes Inlet, for the first time since 2012. Rob Compa gave the crowd an A+ for their vibe, saying, “This is exactly how we want a Dopapod show to be.”
The four piece crushed their first set with a standout “Trapper Keeper” jam that the fall crowd boogied down on. Whether you had a Jansport or an Eastpak to store it in, you probably had your video game cartridges in there as well. Dopapod fired up their old consoles for the “Donkey Kong Country Theme” -> “Something from Zelda.”
Cornell’s infamous Barton Hall that sits in The Dock’s sightline sent a sonic wave to crash in the set. During their original “Sonic,” Dopepod took the Grateful Dead’s classic “Dark Star” on an uptempo disco vibe that sent people dancing in the boat launch.
The band opened the encore on drummer Neal “Fro” Evans who laid down a tight groove of improvisation before launching the band back into the 1990s. Dopapod rocked the dock with Alanis Morissette’s classic “You Oughta Know” to close the night out. Rob Compa noted told NYS Music after the show “I think Taylor Hawkins (current Foo Fighters drummer) is on the original studio drum beat for that.”
Dopapod – The Dock, Ithaca, NY – October 21, 2021
Set 1: Freight Train > Mucho, STADA, Trapper Keeper, Numbers Need Humans, Vol. 3 #86
Set 2: Bats in the Cave, Donkey Kong Country Theme -> Something from Zelda > Trickery, Nerds -> Sonic¹
Encore: You Oughta Know²
¹ Dark Star (Grateful Dead) tease ² Alanis Morissette cover, Nerds tease
The Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards or more commonly known as the Eddies Music Awards announced their 2021 nominees and ceremony date. The awards ceremony will be held at 7PM on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.
This is the second installment of the Eddies Music Awards in 2021. This group of nominees represents works done by musicians in 2020. The first installment represented works done by musicians done in 2019 and were recognized during a live broadcast from UPH this May after two postponements due to the pandemic made them unable to host the awards ceremony in 2020 as planned.
This year’s categories will be a little different than in previous years. Sal Prizio, Eddies co-founder and co-producer explained this saying, “About half of the categories we presented in previous years were scuttled when looking at 2020. We took a poll of judges and there was near unanimous agreement that the genre categories such as best folk artist and best hard rock artist didn’t make sense, as so much of the assessment in those categories was based on live performance.”
The categories this year are: Arts Publication of the Year, Arts Journalist of the Year, Radio DJ of the Year, Radio Station of the Year, Music Recording Studio of the Year, Label of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows, and Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist – Show or Series – Covers.
Tickets for the Eddies Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 27, 2021 and the Eddies Music Awards on November 14, 2021 are now on sale here.
For more information the 2021 Eddies Music Awards visit their website.
Full list of nominations listed bellow:
Arts Publication of the Year
NYS Music
Preview /Times Union
Spot 518
The Xperience Monthly
Ticket/Daily Gazette
Arts Journalist of the Year
Steve Barnes
Jim Gilbert
Michael Hallisey
Indiana Nash
Jim Shahen Jr.
Liam Sweeney
Radio DJ of the Year
Wanda Fisher
Art Fredette
Andy Gregory
Bill McCann
Jeff Morad
Sonny Speed
Chris Wienk
Radio Station of the Year
RadioRadioX
WCDB 90.9
WEQX 102.7
WEXT 97.7, 106.1
WSPN 91.1
WVCR 88.3
Music Recording Studio of the Year
Albany Audio Associates (AAA Recording Studio C)
Blue Sky Recording/Mixing Studio
Millstone Recording Studio
NRS Studios Catskill
The Recording Company
Starling Studios
Label of the Year
Albany Records
Cacophone Records
Equal Vision Records
Flipped Out Records
Magnetic Eye Records
Upstate Records
Music Video of the Year
“Everyone’s Gone Home” – Joel Brown
“Moon” – Novus Cantus
“Skin Disease” – Craig Hamilton
“Ain’t Going Anywhere” – Buggy Jive
“Modernist” – El Modernist
“Sellout” – Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band
“415” – Sydney Worthley
“Alone” – Zan & The Winter Folk
Record of the Year
“Hold Me” – Julia Alsarraf
“Everyone’s Gone Home” – Joel Brown
“Moz Disco” – Coupons
“Better off Alone” – Moriah Formica
“Quentin” – Gordon St.
“Roll Over You” – Sean Rowe
“Andy Warhol” – Annie Scherer
“A Thousand Years” – The Sea The Sea
“415” – Sydney Worthley
Album of the Year
“Somethin’ Comes Along” – Bright Dog Red
“Ain’t Going Anywhere” – Buggy Jive
“Back Pocket” – Dominick Campana
“Going Places” – Dylan Canterbury
“Rougher Stuff” – Dark Honey
“Flowers for You” – Sawyer Fredericks
“What Happens After” – Laveda
“Northeast” – Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter
“Stumbling Home” – The Sea The Sea
Songwriter of the Year
Julia Alsarraf
Dan Berggren
Buggy Jive
Jim Gaudet
Girl Blue
Michael Jerling
Kate McDonnell
Kim Cirillio Wickham
Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows
Caffe Lena – “Stay Home Sessions”
Frank Cavone / Mirth Films
Freedom Park Quarantune Series
Mark Gamsjager / The Lustre Kings weekly Saturday night virtual shows
High Peaks Event Productions
The Linda: Open for Take-Out Virtual Concert Series
Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist – Show or Series – Covers
Its not every day an 80 year old bassist stops in Albany to play a club show. Its not every 80 year old bassist who happens to be Phil Lesh, who, while in between shows at The Capitol Theatre, made some stops with his son Grahame’s band, Midnight North as they played in Burlington and Albany this past weekend.
photo by Frankie Cavone
Phil has been no stranger to Midnight North shows recently, having sat in for shows in Washington, D.C., Fairfield, CT and Woodstock, as noted by Jambands.com. Phil joined Midnight North at Nectar’s on Friday night for “I Know You Rider” and “Ripple,” with Twiddle members Mihali and Ryan Dempsey joining in.
On Saturday, as Midnight North made their way to Albany, Phil Lesh was along for the ride, and sat in with Midnight North for their original “Wine and Roses,” followed by the Grateful Dead classic, “New Speedway Boogie” with Elliot Peck taking lead on vocals. Watch the two songs below, with Video courtesy of Mirth Films
Phil Lesh returns to the Capitol Theatre this week, October 18 – 20 with Stuart Bogie and Amy Helm join Phil on the first and last night of the run, with Eric D. Johnson, Josh Kaufman, Elliot Peck and Phil’s son Grahame set to play on the 19th. This run will also feature Joe Russo on drums and Benmont Tench on keys.
Acclaimed soul-rock trio, The Nth Power has made some exciting additions to their already announced “Fall Back In Love Tour,” further exploring the Midwest with nine additional dates in November. The Nth Power will also be hitting the Northeast for four nights to ring in the New Year, including two night’s in Albany. The tour will be featuring the newly released studio albumReverence.
The full band is filled with musicians you may already know from elsewhere, guitarist and vocalist Nick Cassarino (Jennifer Hartswick Band), bassist Nate Edgar (John Brown’s Body) and drummer and vocalist Nikki Glaspie (Beyonce).
Their origin story started as an impromptu late-night jam during the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The energy that Nth Power taps into is something almost sensual, spiritual, and sexy. They prove that music can be a higher power which might just be relentlessly funky and soulful. While Nth Power does transcend genre audiences hear influences from American rock, soul, funk, rhythm and blues. The latest album, Reverence offers the utmost maturity of the trio’s sound conveying messages of hope, empathy, gratitude, self-forgiveness and, above all, the universal power of love. They tap into an energy that is simultaneously sexy and spiritual, with songs that will inspire audiences to dance, groove, make love or just stand there with goosebumps.
We’re going as far as you can go on planet Earth as musicians. We want to change the world through music – that’s the goal
Nikki Glaspie
Distributed by The Orchard, Reverence features guests like Kofi Burbridgeis who plays on keys and flute throughoutlike, the album itself has been dedicated to the memory of this Grammy-winning keyboardist. You may also hear renowned saxophonist Maceo Parker, vocalists Ivan Neville and Nick Daniels III of Dumpstaphunk, vocalist Cheryl Pepsii Riley and keyboardist Amy Bellamy.
The Nth Power return to the Northeast to ring in 2022 with a trio of shows in Waterbury, VT,; Albany, and Bridgeport, CT.
10.22 – Placerville, CA – Hangtown Festival
10.23 – Placerville, CA – Hangtown Festival
10.30 – Live Oak, FL – Suwannee Hulaween
11.4 – Ferndale, MI – Otus Supply
11.5 – Berwyn, IL – FitzGerald’s
11.6 – Cincinnati, OH – Fretboard Brewing Company
11.7 – Bloomington, IN – Stable Music Hall & Lounge
Earlier this year, as the weather thawed and there were early signs of the coming easement of pandemic restrictions, a small courtyard in the Center Square neighborhood of Albany became the home to intimate sessions from a variety of Capital District artists.
James White. Photo by Frankie Cavone
Produced by Frankie Cavone of Mirth Films, the Courtyard Sessions provided an opportunity for a variety of musicians from across the 518 to step into a private outdoor space and play acoustic renditions of their tunes.
Brad Hester of Annie in the Water. Photo by Frankie Cavone
Starting in May 2021, Cavone started the Courtyard Sessions as a way to help promote solo musicians in a creative form. Combining his video skills and a new courtyard at his recently moved into house, it was a match made in heaven.
For myself this was a way to stay creative learn and try new things. I don’t like being stagnant and after the big live streaming boom that we experienced in 2020 and early 2021, I wanted to try something different something less sterile.
Frankie Cavone, Mirth Films
The lineup was curated by Cavone, working with musicians he had worked with previously, as well as hoped to work with for the first time. The response was strong, with musicians coming to the courtyard for an afternoon or evening session, with enough interest and response from viewers to continue the series this fall and into 2022.
I did not know if this was something that would last as long as a did, but after 14 episodes, it’s something that I want to continue doing. As a creator it definitely helps me learn and build my skills.
Frankie Cavone, Mirth Films
Cavone’s end goal with Courtyard Sessions, now that it is established, is to have not only local musicians but national touring musicians as well who are coming through the Capital Region step into the courtyard.
An official Mirth Films series, Courtyard Sessions is one of a handful of new series that will be coming out before the end of 2021,
The Fall season will end later this month, with local singer/songwriter Caity Gallagher, who has a voice comparable to Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, as the penultimate guest, premiering Wednesday, October 20 on the Mirth Films YouTube Channel.
Watch all episodes of Courtyard Sessions from Mirth Films below.
Henry Rollins has lived many lives to say the least. His “Good To See You” 2022 Tour will recount the events of his life in the brief pre-COVID-19 period since the last tour as well as the reality of living through a pandemic. It’s been an interesting time to say the least and he’s got some great stories to tell.
Lived many lives is completely an understatement. You may have seen his face in perhaps his own show, The Henry Rollins show which aired in 2006-2007. Or maybe his featuring on shows like Portlandia, Dreamland, or Sons of Anarchy. Or maybe you’ve heard him on TV shows like American Dad, Legend of Korra, or Adventure. Or maybe you heard his music from Black Flag or Rollins Band. It’s also possible you’ve read one of his many books that won a GRAMMY or heard his spoken word. Whatever the case may be, Henry is a well versed man.
Punk Rock icon. Spoken word poet. Actor. DJ. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
Entertainment Weekly
Rollins likes to keep his schedule packed. Perhaps this is how his autobiography won a GRAMMY because he’s just all around an interesting guy. On top of a relentless schedule full of work, with gigs as an actor, author, DJ, voice-over artist and TV show host he likes to travel too. After touring the globe with Rollins Band and Black Flag, he’s traveled alone to places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Siberia, North Korea, South Sudan and Iran.
Henry Rollins 2022 World Tour Dates
1/9/22 Berlin, DE Huxleys Neue Welt 8:00 PM BUY TICKETS
1/10/22 Hamburg, DE Friedrich-Ebert-Halle 8:00 PM BUY TICKETS
1/11/22 Copenhagen, DK Studie 2, DR House 8:00 PM BUY TICKETS
1/12/22 Stockholm, SE Gota Lejon 7:30 PM BUY TICKETS
1/13/22 Oslo, NO Kulturkirken Jakob 8:00 PM BUY TICKETS
1/15/22 Helsinki, FI Kultuuritalo 7:00 PM BUY TICKETS
Tucked away in the hills of Coeyman’s Hollow, NY at Magic Forest Farm, artists, vendors, and fans alike came together for the first ever Diggin’ Roots Festival. Sugar Productions, Lyons Den Productions, and co-founder Koryn Shear put in countless hours, days, and months making this cozy little farm with a name to match a haven for the few hundred fans who would descend upon it.
The two-day festival started Friday evening with solo artist Matt Cosgrove covering plenty of 90’s rock hits and some amazing originals. Local Favorites, Raisinhead, were the first to grace the main stage with a few sit-ins from harmonica extraordinaire, Junebug. Ted Grey of Raisinhead stayed on stage for the next set as Quantum Cosmic came on, comprised of him and members of Annie in the Water, The Switch and the Reflexions. Last but surely not least, the Deadbeats rounded out the night with two hour long sets.
Saturday, music began at the crack of noon with the Token Locals. And no, not the heads just waking up from the night before. The wonderful Laura Leigh Band was on next. Laura and companions put on and amazingly whimsical and beautiful performance, setting a light mood for the remainder of the afternoon for Hilltop and the Lousy Slaughters.
As the day grew dark, local legends, the Wheel rolled out a classic set of Grateful Dead tunes before stepping aside for Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets. These two Captiol Region favorites have been playing here for many years, Dr. Jah looking at close to 30 years of incredible Reggae.
Hailing all the way from Harrisburg, PA, you might remember Yam Yam from their recent set at Alive at Five, Albany’s free summer concert series. Shane Spillinger of Sugar Productions noted how well they were received that night, making sure to bring them back for this festival. As the band came on stage the crowd chanted “Yam Yam! Yam Yam!” continuing, whether they liked it or not, after every song.
Long Island’s Baked Shrimp was the last band of the night, playing a quick hour set before giving way to Danish DJ David Maros who played deep into the night.
Their inaugural year was an absolute success and we at NYS Music hope there will be plenty more in the years to come as the new festival continues Diggin’ Roots.
