NYS Music 202​1

Category: Brooklyn

  • Kristen Merritt Releases The Perfect Song For Break Up Playlists

    Brooklyn-based neo-soul singer-songwriter Kristen Merritt is releasing her first single and music video off her debut self produced album Joi. The song, “I’m Done,” is available now on all streaming platforms.

    Marked with a soft, mellow guitar opening, and playful “Check, one, two,” the track sets up a bright instrumental to a sad story. The layered vocals are a refined touch to the full sound of the track. The chorus then also sees the welcoming of a warm, fun drum that pushes the song forward. 

    Merritt doesn’t overload the listener, she simply lets her lyrics tell the story while the music sets a leisurely pace. It’s a great break up song, but it’s also a fantastic song to play in a small COVID safe gathering, or out back by a bonfire. The tempo and vocals are perfect to both belt out in your car on the way to pick up the rest of your belongings and slow dance alone in your room. 

    The music video, with it’s spilt screen style, gives a visual representation to Merritt’s anger and sadness. On one side, a yellow adorned Merritt laments a failed relationship and the other shows a red dressed Merritt divulging all her frustration over a less-than partner.

    “I’m Done” is the beginning of a must-follow new era for the Detroit native that will demonstrate the breadth of her powerful artistry and ability to dissect and interpret our most intimate emotions from a relatable and personal perspective. Heartfelt and soulful, Merritt scorches with her poignant lyricism and passionate delivery. It’s vulnerable and cathartic, with each jazz-tinged inflection and mesmerizing line, she finds her voice and freedom. 

    Kristen Merritt

    Merritt has been inspired by Take 6 and neo-soul greats such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and Jill Scott and their soulful musical compositions and lyrical storytelling ability. Newer inspirations of hers include artists such as Daniel Caesar, Jacob Collier, Hope Tala, and H.E.R. These elements in her own sound have led to music with a nostalgic twist and modern warmth. 

    My hope is that “I’m Done” becomes the anthem of the person who has both feet out the door, and wants to leave their former partner with a memorable goodbye. I want it to serve as the Millennial/Gen Z equivalent of Erykah Badu’s “Tyrone,” where the goodbye is short, direct, and permanent (and also a little humorous at points to cut the mounted tension).

    Since emerging in 2019 with her debut EP, Spectrum, Kristen Merritt’s storytelling has been the clear driving force at the heart of her craft. Last year, Kristen unveiled three singles, “Thyme,” “Never Again,” and “Ending.” Having been featured on Spotify’s playlists, the songs have already accumulating over 32,000 streams, with more on the way, Kristen Merritt is an artist you can’t miss. 

    Starting her musical journey in NYC Merritt scooped up local performance slots and open mics, building her confidence on stage while developing her sound and voice. During which she worked in the background on things that felt more raw, intimate, and worth exploring. the culmination of those efforts will soon be shared. 

    Follow Kristen Merritt on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, and Apple Music.

  • Modest Mouse hit the road this Summer, stopping in Cooperstown and Brooklyn

    Modest Mouse announced their return earlier this month with two new singles off their forthcoming album and an extensive US tour. The tour includes an August 7 show at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, and two stops at Brooklyn Steel on August 11 and 12. Tickets for the tour go on sale Wednesday, May 26 at 10 am local time. 

    Modest Mouse -- Credit James Joiner

    Newly released is “Leave a Light On,” the second single off their anxiously awaited seventh full-length, The Golden Casket, out June 25 via Epic Records. The song finds Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock navigating the existential threat of losing our humanity – and the interconnectedness that comes with it – amidst a constant societal barrage of physical and digital materialism.  “Leave A Light On” can be listened to here.

    Earlier this month, the band shared the first single “We Are Between.” The song explores the faults that make up each person’s character as it pertains to the wider world. With a hook that will get stuck in your head all day, the band made a great first single choice. “We Are Between” can be listened to here.

    Over the past 25 years, Brock has served as indie rock’s resident backwoods philosopher, pondering his infinitesimal place in the world at large and seeking balance in a universe governed by polar opposites. On Modest Mouse’s earliest records, he was surveying the changes in the world’s physical landscape from the windows of the tour van, lamenting the displacement of natural beauty with big-box blights.

    The band’s seventh studio album, The Golden Casket, heralds another new chapter in the band’s unpredictable evolution. The album explores the degradation of America’s psychic landscape through the glass of the smartphone screen and invisible technology. Brock also touches on a new theme in his life, fatherhood. 

    Produced with Dave Sardy and Jacknife Lee in Los Angeles and in Modest Mouse’s studio in Portland, the album hovers in the liminal space between raw punk power and experimental studio science. Pre-order/Pre-save The Golden Casket here.

    Brewery Ommegang is located on a 136-acre farmstead in Cooperstown, New York and offers tours, tastings, a 100-seat café, a well-stocked brewery store, and a calendar of public events including a summer concert series and a legendary beer festival, Belgium Comes to Cooperstown. For more information visit www.ommegang.com. To stay up to date follow Brewery Ommehang’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

    DSP Shows Presents: Modest Mouse Saturday, August 7, 2021 7:00pm (5:00pm doors). Tickets and a limited number of camping passes go on sale Wednesday, May 26 at 10am and will be available at dspshows.com. To stay up to date follow DSP’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

    To find out more information visit Modest Mouse’s website. To stay up to date follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

    Modest Mouse 2021 Tour Dates:

    07/29 – 08/1 – Chicago, IL – Grant Park – Lollapalooza Music Festival

    07/30 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee

    08/03 – Columbus, OH – EXPRESS LIVE! – Indoor Music Hall

    08/05 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia

    08/06 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion

    08/07 – Cooperstown, NY – Brewery Ommegang

    08/09 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall

    08/11 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel

    08/12 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel

    08/17 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

    08/18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE

    08/20 – Detroit, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheatre

    08/21 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater

    08/22 – Minneapolis, MN – Armory

    08/24 – Missoula, MT – KettleHouse Amphitheater

    08/27 – Portland, OR – McMenamins – Edgefield

    08/29 – Bend, OR – Les Schwab Amphitheater

    09/11 – Seattle, WA – Marymoor Park *

    09/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Masonic

    09/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Life Is Beautiful Festival

    09/19 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre

    09/20 – Tucson, AZ – Rialto Theatre – Tucson

    09/22 – San Diego, CA – Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre

    09/24 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriet’s

    09/25 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theatre at Ace Hotel

    09/27 – Sandy, UT – Sandy City Amphitheater

    09/28 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre *

    09/30 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom *

    10/01-10/03 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits

    10/04 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater *

    10/05 – Cincinnati, OH – Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center *

    10/08-10/10 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits

    10/11 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall

    10/12 – New Orleans, LA – Fillmore New Orleans

    10/14 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live

    10/15 – Miami Beach, FL – Fillmore Miami Beach

    10/16 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live

    10/17 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre

    10/19 – Richmond, VA – The National

    10/21 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater

    10/22 – Asheville, NC – Rabbit Rabbit

    *with Future Islands

  • Vision Festival 25 returns to NYC in July

    Vision Festival 25:  Breaking Free, Coming Home will display hundreds of artists of various disciplines—free jazz, poetry, visual arts, conversations— as one of the first in-person music festivals to return to New York City.

    The Arts for Art sponsored event will take place over seven nights, July 22-23 and 29-30 at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, and July 24-25 and 31 at The Clemente in the Lower East Side, and all events will be in-person, outdoors and livestreamed. 

    Vision Festival Banner

    In 1996 the First Annual Vision Festival took place to bring together luminaries from different avant-garde music scenes and to celebrate the important African American leaders of the music. That first Vision Festival was unique in its multi-arts focus featuring poets in collaboration with the music. Each year since the Vision Festival has brought attention to issues of social justice by curating panel discussions, such as “Decolonizing the Music: Reclaiming the Power of Creative Music in Communities of Color” and “How Funding Affects Creative Choices.”  

    In-person, outdoors and livestream performances will feature William Parker, Amina Claudine Myers Lifetime Achievement, Elder Ones, Jaimie Branch, Fay Victor, Nicole Mitchell, James Blood Ulmer, David Murray, Cooper-moore, James Brandon Lewis, A Tribute To Milford Graves W/ John Zorn, Andrew Cyrille, and many more. Additional programming will be announced in the coming weeks. 

    Pianist, vocalist, poet, and actor Amina Claudine Myers will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award on July 23. Arts For Art will acknowledge Myers work including her achievements as a pianist, organist, composer, and singer. Her mentoring of many young musicians around the globe, especially women, for which she has been a shining and all too rare example. She is an extraordinary artist who has added so much to the important tradition of African American extended musical forms. 

    Myers is a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (A.A.C.M.). She has recorded 11 albums under her leadership. Her recording career combines her gospel and blues inspirations with an improviser’s freedom and includes classic albums like The Circle of Time, Amina Claudine Myers Salutes Bessie Smith and her latest solo piano and voice effort Sama Rou (Songs From My Soul).

    As live shows become safer, we’ll gather and share our creative visions to make space for a more compassionate world. Vision’s message this year is about coming home to our strong self.  Our home is within. The past year gave us time to listen to ourselves and now we are home.

    Arts for Art founder, Patricia Nicholson Parker

    ARTS FOR ART PRESENTS

    VISION FESTIVAL 25:  BREAKING FREE, COMING HOME

    JULY 22-31 in NYC

    JULY 22-23, 29-30 @ PIONEER WORKS, BROOKLYN

    JULY 24-25 & 31 @ THE CLEMENTE, LOWER EAST SIDE

    VISION FESTIVAL 25 PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE 

    THURS, JULY 22 @ PIONEER WORKS 

    159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn

    6:00pm Opening Healing Ceremony: William Parker – bass / Patricia Nicholson Parker – text, movement / Jean Carla Rodea – voice / Michael T.A. Thompson – drums

    7:00pm Music for a Free World Septet: Dave Sewelson – baritone sax / Aquiles Navarro – trumpet / Steve Swell – trombone / Dave Hofstra – tuba / Ava Mendoza – guitar / William Parker – bass / Marvin “Bugalu” Smith – drums

    8:00pm Cooper-Moore Solo: Cooper-Moore – piano

    8:45pm Dave Burrell & Darius Jones Duo: Dave Burrell – piano / Darius Jones – alto saxophone

    9:45pm Matthew Shipp String Trio: Matthew Shipp – piano / Mat Maneri – viola / William Parker – bass

    FRI, JULY 23 @ PIONEER WORKS 

    Amina Claudine Myers Lifetime of Achievement Celebration

    6:30pm The Amina Claudine Myers Voice Octet 

    7:30pm Poet Tyehimba Jess

    8:00pm  Generation IV: Amina Claudine Myers – voice, piano / Richarda Abrams – voice / Pyeng Threadgill – voice / Luna Threadgill-Moderbacher – voice 

    9:00pm Reflections: A Portrait of Amina Claudine Myers – Documentary film by Moon Lasso, produced by Arts for Art

    9:30pm The Amina Claudine Myers Trio: Amina Claudine Myers – piano, Hammond B3 / Jerome Harris – bass Reggie Nicholson – drums

    SAT, JULY 24 @ THE CLEMENTE, LA PLAZA OUTDOORS

    107 Suffolk St, New York

    5:00pm Creative Vision Youth Ensemble

    6:00pm Composers Workshop Ensemble: Warren Smith – drums, percussion / Rod Williams – piano / Larry Roland – bass, poetry / James Zollar – trumpet / Patience Higgins – tenor sax / Don Slatoff – baritone sax / Lloyd Haber – drums, percussion

    7:00pm ElectroFLUTTER: Fay Victor – voice, compositions / Nicole Mitchell – flute / Jamaaladeen Tacuma – bass guitar

    8:00pm Morris / Smith Tracie Morris – poetry / Cecilia Smith – vibes

    8:30pm Joe Morris & Tomas Fujiwara: Joe Morris – guitar / Tomas Fujiwara – drums

    9:30pm Tony Malaby’s Sabino Quartet: Tony Malaby – tenor, soprano saxophones / Ben Monder – guitar / Michael Formanek – bass / Tom Rainey – drums

    SUN, JULY 25 @ THE CLEMENTE, LA PLAZA OUTDOORS

    107 Suffolk St, New York

    6:00pm Whit Dickey Trio: Whit Dickey – drums / Rob Brown – alto saxophone / Mat Maneri – viola 

    7:00pm Pheeroan akLaff  Liberation Unit: Pheeroan akLaff – drums / Adegoke Steve Colson – piano / Michael Gregory Jackson – guitar 

    8:00pm Raymond Nat Turner: Raymond Nat Turner – poetry 

    9:00pm Third Landing: Ava Mendoza – guitar / Alexis Marcelo – keyboards / Luke Stewart- bass / Devin Brahja Waldman – horns / Ches Smith – drums / Abiodun Oyewole – spoken word

    9:30pm James Blood Ulmer ODYSSEY: James Blood Ulmer – guitar / Charles Burnham – violin / Warren Benbow – drums

    THURS, JULY 29 @ PIONEER WORKS 

    159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn

    6:00pm Elder Ones: Amirtha Kidambi – voice, harmonium, synthesizer / Matt Nelson – soprano saxophone, effects / Eva Lawitts – bass, effects / Max Jaffe – drums, sensory percussion

    7:00pm James Brandon Lewis Quartet: James Brandon Lewis – tenor saxophone / Aruán Ortiz – piano / Brad Jones – bass / Chad Taylor – drums

    8:00pm Julie Ezelle Patton Rock Paper Twister: Julie Ezelle Patton – poetry / Janice Lowe – piano / Paul Van Curen – guitar / William Parker – bass / Nasheet Waits – drums / Special Guest – Vinie Burrows

    8:45pm Mara Rosenbloom Presents Flyways: Mara Rosenbloom – piano / Anaïs Maviel – voice, surdo / Rashaan Carter – bass

    9:45pm Trio 3 + Special Guest: Oliver Lake – alto saxophone / Reggie Workman – bass / Andrew Cyrille – drums + Special Guest – piano

    FRI, JULY 30 @ PIONEER WORKS

    159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn 

    6:00pm Brandon Lopez Trio: Brandon Lopez – bass / Gerald Cleaver – drums / Steve Baczkowski – woodwinds

    7:00pm Ingrid Laubrock’s Monochromes: Jon Irabagon – saxophones / Ingrid Laubrock – saxophones / Zeena Parkins – harp / Tom Rainey – drums / performing with pre-recorded tapes

    8:00pm fly or die: jaimie branch – trumpet, voice, percussion / Lester St. Louis – cello, voice, percussion / Jason Ajemian- bass / Chad Taylor – drums, mbira, voice

    9:00pm Moten / Lopez / Cleaver: Fred Moten – poetry / Brandon Lopez – bass / Gerald Cleaver – drums

    9:30pm David Murray Octet Revival: David Murray – tenor sax, compositions / Lakecia Benjamin – alto sax / Terry Greene II – trombone / Josh Evans – trumpet / Mingus Murray – guitar / David Bryant – piano / Dezron Douglas – bass / Russell Carter – drums

    SAT, JULY 31 @ THE CLEMENTE, LA PLAZA OUTDOORS

    Tribute to Milford Graves

    6:00pm Andrew Cyrille: Andrew Cyrille – drum set

    7:00pm Joe McPhee Octet Tribute to Milford Graves: Warren Smith – vibes / Jay Rosen – drums/ Brandon Lopez, Michael Bisio– bass / James Keepnews – guitar / Jason Kao Hwang, Rosie Hertlein – violin / Joseph McPhee – reeds, brass

    8:00pm Shahzad Ismaily: Shahzad Ismaily – multiple instruments

    8:15pm John Zorn: John Zorn – alto saxophone

    8:30pm Tribute to Milford Graves: William Parker – bass / Lee Mixashawn Rozie – woodwinds / D.D. Jackson – piano / William Hooker – drums / Francisco Mela – drums9:30pm Drum, Horn, and Dance Tribute to Milford Graves

    In Person Tickets: Daily $65 | Full Pass $300 | VIP Pass $750

    Streaming Tickets: Daily $15 | Full Pass $75 

    More information about Vision Festival 25 can be found on the Arts For Art website. Tickets are available now at Eventbrite.

  • Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog Shares New Song “The Activist”, Woodstock and Brooklyn Tour Stops

    Guitarist and composer Marc Ribot has shared the first single, “The Activist,” off the upcoming album from Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Hope, due out on June 25.

    marc ribot's ceramic dog
    album art for “Hope”

    Described by the Village Voice, Ceramic Dog’s bark is just about equal to its bite. The music snarls and snaps with self-awareness, righteous fury, and, inevitably, cynical detachment. The group also features bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Ches Smith of the avant-garde based group Secret Chiefs 3. With this ferocity in mind, Ribot speaks of the first single, “Hope.”

    I like to rant. Ranting is a kind of semi-involuntary spewing of something that seems to be very urgent. This particular rant came up after going to a lot of Activist meetings. Now, don’t get me wrong: some of my best friends are Activists. I’ve even been accused of being one myself (although after reading Astra Taylor’s  essay “Against Activism” I try to aspire to being an organizer, or at least a radical).

    Anyway— I got frustrated at a couple of meetings because of people trying to posture as the most super rad  instead of getting things done. Later, I was supposed to be working on a reasonable position paper of something: but stuff like this came out instead: “I don’t accept sidewalks, I walk on my hands in heavy traffic, and even that is a compromise. I don’t accept gravity, or teeth! I don’t accept you, or what the mainstream media refers to as your cute little (and I quote) “doggie.”  Shahzad and Ches (my Ceramic Dog comrades) thought it was funny, so we started doing it live/improvised— and eventually came up with this jam. Party!

    Marc Ribot

    Ribot as born in Newark, NJ and played guitar in various garage bands while studying under mentor, Haitian classical guitarist and composer Frantz Casseus. After moving to New York City in 1978, Ribot was a member of the soul/punk Realtones, and John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards (1984-89). Between 1979 and 1985, Ribot also worked as a side musician with Brother Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Chuck Berry, and many others. Pre-order Hope here.

    marc ribot's ceramic dog

    Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog – Upcoming Shows
    June 6 – Co-presented Burlington Discover Jazz Fest @ The Backyard at Nectar’s, Burlington, VT – 

    June 6 – Co-presented Burlington Discover Jazz Fest @ The Backyard at Nectar’s, Burlington, VT – 

    June 8 @ Bearsville Theater – Woodstock, NY w/ Medeski & Martin –

    June 10 @ Sultan Room  – Brooklyn, NY –

    Watch Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog, Live at St Ann’s Warehouse for Big Ears

  • Jxst J releases low-fi single “Alone” ahead of Fall Debut Album

    Lo-fi artist Jxst J , releases a new single “Alone” with a hilarious and entertaining music video. Teasing his debut album “How to Pronounce Jxst J.” After spending his formative years in. LA playing in bands and making music videos, the multi-talented artist is now. Brooklyn-based, where he continues his synesthetic approach to music.

    Jxst J

    The song “Alone” will have you closing your eyes and bopping your head back and forth as his soothing. voice goes perfectly over his low-fi beats.  Drawing from genres like dream pop, indie, and trip-hop, he seamlessly blends acoustic and. electronic elements for a sound that is as eclectic as it is catchy. He achieves a polychromatic sound that shows off his mix of stretched samples, acoustic instruments, analog synths, and his silky vocals.

    As for the music video somehow just goes perfectly with the song easily putting a smile on your face. Although a simple music video, Jxst J is able to make the most out of it making it seem to go flawless with the song. It is most definitely a video that will have you want to watch it every time you listen to the single “Alone.” Jxst J (aka James Pratley Watson.) is a visual artist just as much as he is a musician. Before Jxst J he was recognized for his lo-fi visuals with his band Pratley. Now he is bringing his visual literacy to Jxst J with a trippy, arthouse aesthetic shot primarily on super 8 film

    He plans to release a music video with each. song over the summer until the album “How to Pronounce Jxst J” full release this fall.

  • Happy Birthday, Busta Rhymes!

    Trevor George Smith Jr., better known by his stage name, Busta Rhymes, celebrates his 49th birthday today.

    Born in Brooklyn in 1972, Busta Rhymes later moved with his family to Uniondale, Long Island where he and fellow MCs’ Charlie Brown, Dinco D, and others formed the hip hop group Leaders of The New School who released their first album,  A Future Without a Past, in 1991.

    busta rhymes

    It wasn’t until 1995 when Busta’s solo career kicked off. With the release of his debut album, The Coming in 1996 which was highly praised by the hip hop community at the time. Lead singles such as “Woo Hah!! Got You all in Check” ( which was later remixed featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard) brought Busta Rhymes into the public eye, securing a #8 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

    Busta’s work carried into the 21st century, collaborating with famed hip hop producer Dr. Dre on his fifth studio album Genesis released in 2001. Instead of making a quiet exit from the scene like other MCs from the golden era of hip hop, Busta stayed relevant by continuing to work and collaborate with trending artists of the 2000s.

    Continuing to keep the music interesting in 2020, Busta Rhymes delivered his 9th studio album Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God which featured the single “Look Over Your Shoulders’ ft. Kendrick Lamar. For hip hop enthusiasts, “Look Over Your Shoulders” might be the perfect balance of old-school meeting new-school, and it never sounded so good.

    2021 marks the 25th anniversary of Busta Rhymes’s debut full-length album, The Coming, which recently received a deluxe reissue.

  • Jeremy Hilliard releases “Long Lives: A Collection of Home Demos”

    Jeremy Hilliard has released Long Lives: A Collection of Home Demos that represent the first incarnation of songs that are later worked out and performed by his band PEAK.

    jeremy hilliard

    Hilliard stresses these are home demos and are very rough around the edges, originally not intended for release. Hilliard recorded them using only an outdated version of Logic Pro X, one 58 mic, one electric and one acoustic guitar, and a little 1.5 octave keyboard. A testament to the raw tracks, he spent no more than a session recording each one.  These demos are released ahead of the new PEAK album, due out this September.

    About half of the songs on here I’ve been carrying with me for ten years or more, and the other half is from recent writing. These are songs that are super chill and Americana in style, falling outside the usual material I end up presenting to the band.  They also seem to be a bit more personal in nature. In fact, I realized recently there’s a full song cycle here, and I engaged Beth to sing the harmony vocals on a lot of these to help finish them, especially as we have lived them all together.

    Jeremy Hilliard, PEAK

    Enjoy this 35 minute collection of demos from Hilliard, with “extremely homemade” video slideshows. Follow Jeremy Hilliard on Facebook.

    Tracklist: Shot In The Dark, Long Lives, While The Days Go On Back Home, Pahrumpadise, Low-Down Fahrenheit Frostburg Blues, The Wind and the Rain, Soulard Wedding, Four Forces, Morning In Brooklyn, Blue Parkway

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVUmq-B0ePs&list=PLD2TExZyuvccpOAI7k5vFjC2ggkVtMZqM

  • Cory and The Wongnotes Announce Live Tour

    Guitarist and producer Cory Wong will head out on the road this summer with his new band, Cory and The Wongnotes. This will be their first live tour as a band.

    cory wong and the wongnotes
    Corey Wong

    On stage, Wong will be accompanied by an 11-piece band that includes members from Hornheads, Stay Human, and featured vocalist Antwaun Stanley. This tour will be a follow-up from a YouTube series on Cory Wong’s YouTube called Cory and The Wongnotes.

    The eight episode Youtube series is a fun mix of a talk show, comedy sketches, and of course live music from their album Cory and The Wongnotes. They also have played live on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert alongside Eddie Barbash performing “Bluebird” from their new album.

    This will be a national tour and they will be playing in Brooklyn February 4, 2022 at Brooklyn Steel. For more details and tickets, check out www.corywongmusic.com/tour

    Cory Wong and the Wongnotes 2021-2022 Tour Dates:

    NOVEMBER 2021

    3 – Kansas City, MO

    5 – Denver, CO

    6 – Salt Lake City, UT

    8 – Vancouver, BC

    9 – Portland, OR

    10 – Seattle, WA

    12 – San Francisco, CA

    13 – Los Angeles, CA

    14 – San Diego, Ca

    16 – Phoenix, AZ

    19 – Dallas, TX

    20 – Austin, TX

    JANUARY 2022

    26 – Columbus, OH

    27 – Detroit, MI

    28 – Toronto, ON

    29 – Pittsburgh, PA

    30 – Rochester, NY

    FEBRUARY 2022

    1 – Burlington, VT

    2 – Boston, MA

    3 – Philadelphia, PA

    4 – New York, NY

    5 – Washington, DC

    7 – Charlottesville, VA

    8 – Raleigh, NC

    10 – Asheville, NC

    11 – Atlanta, GA

    12 – Nashville, TN

    13 – Indianapolis, IN

    15 – St. Louis, MO

    16 – Des Moines, IA

    17 – Madison, WI

    18 – Chicago, IL

    19 -Minneapolis, MN

  • Lineup Announced for 24th Brooklyn Film Festival

    The Brooklyn Film Festival (BFF) has announced the film lineup for its 24th edition, titled “The Clearing.” Over the course of the 10-day festival, BFF will present 37 film programs online, and a partial line up of 22 programs in-person at Windmill Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

    brooklyn film festival 2021

    Brooklyn Film Festival’s organizers have been staging International, competitive film events since 1998. BFF’s mission is to provide a public forum in Brooklyn in order to advance public interest in films and the independent production of films. They seek to draw worldwide attention to Brooklyn as a center for cinema and to encourage the rights of all Brooklyn residents to access and experience the power of independent filmmaking. BFF, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit group that promotes artistic excellence and the creative freedom of artists without censure.

    The 2021 edition will feature 36 World Premieres, 28 USA bows, 34 east coast debuts, and 25 first-time screenings in NY. In total, BFF will show in competition 147 features and shorts from 35 countries. The full lineup includes 13 narrative features and 9 documentary features highlighted in this release. The festival will also present 39 narrative shorts, 23 documentary shorts, 25 animation and 21 experimental films.

    On June 5th, BFF will begin in-person screenings at Windmill Studios in Brooklyn at 3pm, with the feature documentary film Queens of Pain. At 6pm, there will be a short narrative program, led by the world premiere of Until, by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, and at 9pm, BFF will present the world premiere of the feature narrative, American Desert.

    Along with the film screenings, BFF will offer parallel events, such as pre-recorded filmmaker introductions and Q&A sessions on the festival website. Live interviews and get-togethers will be staged on Facebook and other social media.

    Tickets are available on the BFF website. Tickets for indoor screenings must be purchased in advance, online. All tickets and passes purchased online for BFF indoor programs can be picked up at Windmill Studios. Online, BFF will sell each film category for $10 and a Full Festival Pass for $24. All passes will be valid 24/7 from June 4-13.

    The online lineup will be available 24/7 for the entire 10 days, and the indoor event will feature three programs a day on weekends, and two on weekdays. Each program is two-hours long. To find out both the online and indoor schedule, check BFF’s website.

    Below is a partial line up of feature films playing in competition this year listed in alphabetical order. For further info on all the films, passes, and tickets, please check the BFF website.

    FEATURE NARRATIVES:

    AMERICAN DESERT
    Dir: Adrian Bartol, United States, 82 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, World Premiere
    It’s 2010, US Army veteran Matt Benning has returned from Afghanistan to a wrecked economy. Demons of war haunt him, a romance blossoms.

    BONE CAGE
    Dir: Taylor Olson, Canada, 89 min, 2019, Narrative Feature, NY Premiere
    Jamie works operating a wood processor, clear-cutting for pulp. At the end of each shift, he walks through the destruction he has created.

    CORRAL
    Dir: Marcelo Brennand, Brazil, 84 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, US Premiere
    Corral is a political drama that takes place in rural Brazil, in the city of Gravatá, where during the mayoral elections.

    GOSSAMER FOLDS
    Dir: Lisa Donato, United States, 95 min, 2019, Narrative Feature, NY Premiere
    In 1986, nine-year-old Tate Millikin is uprooted and unwillingly moved to the suburbs of Kansas City. As his parent’s marriage unravels.

    HELL IS EMPTY
    Dir: Jo Shaffer, United States, 98 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, World Premiere
    A self-styled messiah initiates a teenage runaway into his cult of sister-wives. Her rebellious nature upends the community.

    KALOKHACHYA PARAMBYA [PROP SHOOTS OF DARKNESS]
    Dir: Makarand Anaspure, India, 98 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, East Coat Premiere
    Prop shoots of Darkness is conflict of young orphan Alif about spirituality and material world. Industrious and helping everyone in the village.

    KRINGLE TIME
    Dir: Matthew Lucas, United States, 103 min, 2021, Narrative Feature, World Premiere
    After becoming the unlikely star of a children’s show, a public access TV station manager grapples with the problematic legacy of his predecessor.

    MOVING IN 2008
    Dir: Calogero Carucci, United States, 78 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, East Coast Premiere
    A family tragedy during the recession of 2008, catalyzed by unemployment, personal crisis, and illness.

    ONE NIGHT IN KATHMANDU
    Dir: Mohan Rai, Nepal, 70 min, 2019, Narrative Feature, US Premiere
    A GIRL, 26—together with a BOY, 33, who is a stranger to her– take an injured man to a hospital when an accident take places near them.

    TANGO SHALOM
    Dir: Gabriel Bologna, United States, 116 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, NY Premiere
    “TANGO SHALOM”: Moshe Yehuda (Jos Laniado), a Hasidic Rabbi and amateur Hora dancer, enters a big televised Tango competition to save his Hebrew school.

    TWO IS A MAGIC NUMBER
    Dir: Holger Borggrefe, Stefan Hering, Germany, 85 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, US Premiere
    A day at the lake. Andrejs ex-girlfriend Nadia pays him a visit. Nadia and Andrej’s former best mate Claudius are a couple now.

    UNDER THE LANTERN LIT SKY
    Dir: Michelle Bossy, United States, 75 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, World Premiere
    The story of Blanche DuBois and her husband, who in different ways are coming to terms with their sexuality in 1920s Mississippi.

    WALK WITH ME
    Dir: Isabel del Rosal, United States, 112 min, 2020, Narrative Feature, NY Premiere
    As she braves life after divorce, a young mother must challenge herself to take some personal risks after finding love in an unexpected place.

    FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES:

    AND SO I STAYED
    Dir: Natalie Pattillo, Daniel Nelson, United States, 90 min, 2020, Documentary Feature, World Premiere
    And So I Stayed is an intimate story of domestic violence survivors who killed their abusers in self-defense.

    INTO THE LIGHT
    Dir: Benjamin Schwartz, United States, 74 min, 2020, Documentary Feature, NY Premiere
    In the 1980’s Chuck Connelly was recognized as a key figure among the New York-based Neo-expressionist painters.

    LIFE & LIFE
    Dir: NC Heikin, United States, 80 min, 2020, Documentary Feature, East Coast Premiere
    Life & Life focuses on pressing criminal justice issues in America as seen through the life of recent parolee Reggie Austin.

    LITTLE PAKISTAN – FUTURE HISTORIES
    Dir: Sana Akram, United States, 120 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, US Premiere
    Little Pakistan – Future Histories is a dérive—a drifting in an online environment illustrating an immigrant neighborhood of Pakistani-Americans.

    MAYOR MOHAMED
    Dir: Jeffrey M., United States, Syria, Turkey, 86 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, World Premiere
    In this quintessential film about the Muslim-American immigrant experience, Mayor Mohamed Khairullah risks his life to bring humanitarian relief into Syria.

    ORGAN STOPS – SAVING THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS
    Dir: James Dawson, United Kingdom, 70 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, US Premiere
    Martin has spent his life playing and building pipe organs; nowadays he dedicates all his time to rescuing them – “It’s a real crisis.”

    QUEENS OF PAIN
    Dir: Cassie Hay, Amy Winston, United States, 75 min, 2020, Documentary Feature, NY Premiere
    One of the most successful teams in New York sports history, Gotham Girls Roller Derby is a feminist powerhouse of elite athletes, misfits, and renegades.

    TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
    Dir: Hannah Jayanti, United States, 103 min, 2020, Documentary Feature
    Truth or Consequences is a speculative documentary about time and how we weave the past into the present and our possible future.

    THE WISDOM OF TRAUMA
    Dir: Zaya Benazzo, Maurizio Benazzo, US, Canada, 88 min, 2021, Documentary Feature, World Premiere
    Trauma is the invisible force that shapes our lives. It shapes the way we live, the way we love and the way we make sense of the world.

  • Hearing Aide: FRANK ‘Dreams and Fears of the Outside’

    FRANK, a Brooklyn based group made up of Christian Linsey (drums and percussion, vocals), Billy Ziff (bass) and Scott Porter (guitar, vocals). On April 23, FRANK released their most recent piece of their already great discography. The title, Dreams and Fears of the Outside, is a perfect reflection of where we are now.

    frank

    With the opening lyrics, “Things will never be the same now, somehow everything’s the same” FRANK puts forth their most eclectic album to date by changing everything while keeping their unique style intact. With a collection of folksy, lyrically driven tunes and funky dance numbers, this latest release offers something that everyone can enjoy. For that matter, this album is loaded with really unique songs that flow nicely into one another.

    The album opens with “The Confusion”. This acoustic track builds brilliantly throughout and transitions into an incredibly danceable song, “New York (How I Feel)”. The group finds their groove here before moving on to a song that sounds like it could be right from The Big Pink. Big credit to the band for being able to span such a vast gamut of styles through the first half of the album. Though each song is so different, there is a cohesiveness to the atmosphere of the record.

    The bass goes wild on “Namaste” as the drums groove with a spry pep. The energy picks as the anthemic “Can You Hear Me Now?” injects a bit of a Neil Young with guitarist Scott Porter’s dirty yet wonderfully melodic vocals. “Big Sur” is a great downtempo song with lush harmonies and a really harrowing guitar part that hovers like a cloud above the song. “Have a Good Time” is a beautifully written song. It has everything you want from a Rolling Stones influenced vibe. It still maintains the characteristic heavy drums and renegade guitar that FRANK has been putting on display throughout the record.

    The last couple songs are a nice come down from the meaty middle of this release. “Today” is a perfect bookend for the album to pair with the opening track. This whole work is a pleasure to listen to, and as guitarist Scott Porter puts it, “The record is like calling a friend.” While each song oozes influence from past artists, FRANK does a spectacular job of making each tune their own. From top to bottom, there is not a song that you should skip. There is plenty of replay value. Keep on the lookout for more from this group. While they are split between the Catskills and NYC area currently, they are still able to release gems like this while apart. Stream the album and access all streaming platforms here. Check out their YouTube, Instagram and Facebook for more info.

    Key Tracks: New York (How I Feel), Have a Good Time, Today