Indie rock favorites, The Strokes, have confirmed a New Year’s Eve show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center along with IDLES and Hinds. This will be their first New Years show in two years with this one coming on the heels of they latest Grammy-award. Tickets will be available and
The concert will be produced by leading touring entityLive Nation, the world’s preeminant live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, and Live Nation Sponsorship.
At this time, under a current New York City mandate, ticket holders are required to have at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose to attend an event at Barclays Center. Concertgoers can visit the arena’s health and safety page for any updates to this mandate, along with a list of other safety measures and protocols.
The Strokes released news of their upcoming NYE concert after recently headlining at Miami music festival, III Points and Atlanta’s Shaky Knees as well as their highly anticipated sold out show at The Forum in Los Angeles. Most recently, they made an appearance this past Halloween weekend at Outside Lands in San Francisco. Those that won’t be able to catch the NYE performance can rest easy, as the group have released numerous dates performing at festivals and select stadium dates along with Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2022.
After releasing, The New Abnormal, their first album in seven years, the anticipation skyrocketed the album to chart topping status in 2020. Their latest Grammy is one in a long list of achievements as 2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of their record-shattering and universally beloved debut album, Is This It.
THE STROKES LIVE
2021
December 31 Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
2022
May 21 Corona Capital Guadalajara, Mexico
June 3 Primavera Sound Sant Adrià de Besòs, Spain
June 10 Primavera Sound Sant Adria de Besos, Spain
June 12 Tempelhof Sounds Berlin, Germany
July 6 NOS Alive Lisbon, Portugal
July 8 Lytham Festival Lytham, U.K.
July 9 TRNSMT Glasgow, Scotland
July 22 Splendour in the Grass Yelgun, Australia
August 3 T-Mobile Park Seattle, WA*
August 6 Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, NV*
August 10 Suntrust Park Atlanta, GA*
August 12 Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN*
August 14 Comerica Park Detroit, MI*
August 17 MetLife Stadium East Rutherford, NJ*
August 19 Soldier Field Chicago, IL*
August 21 Rogers Centre Toronto, ON*
August 30 Hard Rock Stadium Miami, FL*
September 1 Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC*
Jukebox The Ghost brought their HalloQueen special to Bushwick’s Brooklyn Steel on Saturday October 30, 2021 for the bands largest headlining show to date. The show featured a Halloween costume competition, musical standup comedy, a full Jukebox The Ghost set, as well as a full set of 14 Queen cover songs. Jukebox has been around since the college indie boom of the mid 2000s, but vocalist Ben Thornewill thanked the crowd multiple times for making it the bands biggest show of their career.
Jukebox The Ghost at Brooklyn Steel, 10/30/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Opening the show was former SNL cast member Luke Null, who delivered a set of musical stand up comedy dressed as a French Mime, complete with Gene Simmons face paint. Strapped with an acoustic guitar, Null engaged with the crowd while singing and telling mildly inappropriate short stories. He made another appearance after Jukebox’s main set to officiate the costume competition. Members of the band’s crew handed out vouchers to the best dressed fans around the venue, allowing them on stage during the set break. Crowd reaction was the metric for the competition, who settled on the Jurassic Park themed Nedry and dinosaur costume as the winner.
Luke Null, officiating the costume competition. Photo by BuscarPhoto
Jukebox The Ghost took the stage again after the costume competition, all dressed as members of the band Queen. The HalloQueen celebration commenced, and would continue for a 14 song set of Queen cover songs, all performed superbly true to form. Thornewill fully embraced the role of Freddie Mercury, mimicking the body language and posture perfectly, and there was even an handkerchief hanging from the neck of Brian May’s guitar. The crowd fully embraced the moment, belting out a rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” which culminated in an epic balloon drop.
Jukebox The Ghost at Brooklyn Steel, 10/30/2021. Photo by BuscarPhoto
The show at Brooklyn Steel was the last on the tour for Jukebox The Ghost, who have no more dates scheduled at the moment. The band played their latest single “Cheers!” as well as one other new song, so be on the lookout for new music in the future.
Canadian singer-songwriter Frazey Ford brought her calming presence to a sold-out crowd at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on Oct. 28, 2021.
The folk-soul artist beautifully belted hits such as “One More Cup of Coffee” and “Blue Streak Mama” to the gleeful audience. While most of her setlist was relaxing and down-tempo, Ford made sure to intersperse some higher-tempo songs such as “Done” and “September Fields” to get the audience dancing.
In between songs, the mother of two shared stories, engaging with the crowd and making the performance even more intimate. Sharing her experiences from performing in L.A. the day prior and speaking on the cultural differences between Los Angeles and New York City. Most notably, she went on to divulge some information about her “hippie” parents, who named her Frazey Ford and allowed her brothers to choose her middle name. As she laughed off the memories, she continued, revealing that her brothers decided on the name Obadiah, who was their pet cat that had recently run away.
Dumpstaphunk last performed in the Empire State at the 2019 New York State Blues festival in downtown Syracuse. Later that evening, band members Tony Hall and Deven Trusclair kept the groove going at the Funk n Waffles club for a sit in on “Standing on Shaky Ground” by the Temptations that Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel co wrote. A month later they opened for the Rolling Stones to 40,000 people in their hometown at the New Orleans Superdome.
Dumpstaphunk kicked off 2021 by releasing their first record in seven years, Where Do We Go From Here, which was just nominated in four Grammy categories. The band has been on the road promoting its sound this summer leading them up to a Labor Day Weekend of shows with Dave Matthews Band at Heavens Amphitheatre, The Gorge. All members of Dumpstaphunk sat in with DMB for Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falletinme be mice elf again) and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” to close the night.
Tony Hall sat in with the DMB as part of an alternate format the entire weekend on bass and vocals as well. He was reunited with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds on stage for the first time since their infamous Some Devil Tour in 2003. Dumpstaphunk will also be joining Dave Matthews Band at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on November 12 and 13.
Dumpstaphunk @ Brooklyn Bowl, Photo by Russell Mangicaro III
All of this momentum could be felt on stage at Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday, October 23. Rotem Sivan Band opened the show as Dumpstaphunk hit the stage at 9:45 p.m., crushing their entire set for the Williamsburg crowd. Brooklyn Bowl founder, Peter Shapiro, appeared behind the curtain dressed as a pilot while the band took off on stage. Shapiro gave them a quick fist bump of delight after their tune “Itchy Boo.”
Come on lets get at it Brooklyn! Get up, Get down, Keep it stepping, keep it moving. Every band member was fully engaged with the Brooklyn Bowl crowd the whole set. Tim Reynolds told
If there was a clip that examples their on stave vigor, it would be from their performance of “Justice” (that features Trombone Shorty on the new album). Tony Hall took the electric guitar for a ride down the adjacent lanes to end the jam. New Orleans cats Ivan Neville, Ian Neville and Nick Daniels hit hard on Tower of Power’s “Soul Vaccination,” resonating with the New York crowd. I’m talking bout soul (soul vaccination) Everybody get in line (soul vaccination) Horns!
During the final song horn players Alex Wasily and Ashlin Parker made their way through the Brooklyn Bowl crowd for “Street Parade” to close the set like the Saints go marching in.
For the encore, the band paid tribute to legendary drummer and singer Buddy Miles. as his song “United Nation Stomp,” featuring Marcus King was nominated for a Grammy Award for best American roots performance.
In recording a new album, Tony Hall shed some light with NYS Music about the group’s creative process.
We recorded a bunch of these songs and didn’t finish them lyric-wise. Vocal-wise we can always change. It goes kind of like vice versa. We’re all a band that can sing and play too, ya know?
As Ghouls and Goblin Day (Halloween) approaches, Brooklyn punk outfit Surbort has shared a fittingly spooky new track aptly titled, “Happy Happy Halloween.” Released on October 21, the record is accompanied by a music video.
Halloween is our favorite holiday and we celebrate it everyday so we wanted to make an extra spooky song to celebrate the ghouls and ghosts,
front-woman Dani Miller said.
The track, originally imagined as a cover, morphed into a wacky original at manager and album producer Linda Perry’s encouragement.
Linda just started playing spooky Dracula noises on the keys and the rest is history,
Miller said.
The song is also a homage to Surbort’s favorite parts of Halloween. Based around the sinister children’s rhyme from Nightmare on Elm Street, each verse sees Surfbort celebrate pigskins, pumpkins, ghosts, and even “dead Santa Clause.” However, Surfbort also honors the sinister acts that inspire them, name-dropping goth icons like Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Sisters of Mercy.
Perry also directed the video for the track, featuring the band in outlandish, colorful Halloween costumes. With Miller morphing into a Harley-Quinn-meets-Joker character as the band-members appear in a rotation of costumes, with Bassist Nick Arnold as, Bob Ross, serving as a standout lookalike. The video employs every spooky trope in the book in a dramatic, tongue-in-cheek way, from grainy found-footage to severed limbs as drumsticks. Within all of the hooplah, what stands out is how much fun Surfbort is having. It’s not hard to believe Halloween is their favorite holiday.
“Happy Happy Halloween” is Surfbort’s first release since their latest album, Keep on Truckin, earlier this month. Guitarist Alex Kilgore described the album as encompassing
12 songs for a new world, a call to arms to blast love: a panacea to the corporate hellscape we live in.
Surfbort has two upcoming shows in the New York area, both in December. They will play TV Eye in Brooklyn on December 5th, followed by a show at The Mercury Lounge in NYC on December 6th.
For the better part of three decades Grammy-winning musician, Wyclef Jean, has made it his responsibility to not only promote, but bring aid to his embattled homeland of Haiti. Hence, it came as no surprise that ‘Clef was once again up to bringing awareness to Haiti’s latest misfortunes.
Following his performance at Barlclays Center’s “Trillerverz” concert series — where Big Daddy Kane and Krs-One faced off in a Verzuz battle — the Fugees rapper celebrated with a good luck charm to his homeland. Given his history of wearing his flag on his sleeve, it was only fitting that the “Maria Maria” composer — unknowingly — jumpstarted the chain-of-events towards the current philanthropic efforts for Haiti.
It all began a few months ago when, Diane Jean — cousin of Wyclef – purchased “New York Intense” and “New York 5th Avenue” from luxury perfume house, Fragrance Du Bois, to gift ‘Clef. Unbeknownst to them, the high-priced fragrances were stolen from their South Orange, New Jersey location. On the same day of the theft, Diane Jean promptly hopped on a call with Nicola Parker, VP of Sales at Fragrance Du Bois, to secure another shipment of the luxury fragrance. The conversation led to the two discussing the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which prompted the Fragrance Du Bois team to go into action with a pledge to help Haiti.
They aligned with television personality and philanthropist, Bethenny Frankel, the founder of BStrong — a disaster relief initiative that provides real time emergency assistance to individuals and their families in crisis — and chose to raise funds for her charity because of its stellar reputation as a hands-on charity delivering immediate assistance.
So, from October 15 to November 15, 25% of sales from Fragrance Du Bois’ “New York Intense” and “New York 5thAvenue’s” online purchases will be donated to help Haiti.
We are a globally conscious company- our giving personifies the brand’s identity of being for all people. Real luxury is all about giving.
Nicola Parker, VP of Sales at Fragrance Du Bois
Thus, donning a Haitian flag and top hat, Wyclef Jean doused himself in “New York Intense” in front of a packed Barclays Center as a good luck charm to his beloved Haiti and a show of good faith to Fragrance Du Bois, as they embrace the cause that ‘Clef has held dearly to his heart for so long.
DJ Super Cat then doused the stage with “New York Intense” and yelled to the audience: “help Haiti!”
To purchase “New York Intense” or “New York 5th Avenue” online, click here.
A few days after he takes the Naturalization Oath and becomes an American citizen, Jann Klose will perform at Rockwood Music Hall, alongside singer-songwriter Kris Gruen on Tuesday, October 26 at 7pm.
Jann Klose is an award-winning pop singer-songwriter, born in Mannheim, Germany and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, Johannesburg, South Africa and Hamburg, Germany. Jann first arrived in the United States as an AFS exchange student in Cleveland, Ohio. His single “Love You the Most” is part of the soundtrack for the movie “Married Young” (Amazon) and has been streamed over 3 million times. Jann is an ambassador for Desmond Tutu’s TutuDesk campaign and Brick by Brick Uganda. Klose has performed as an actor and singer in touring companies of Broadway musicals, including “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” and “The Who’s Tommy” as well as made for TV movies, voice overs and commercials.
Becoming American – A Celebration! celebrates Jann Klose and his love of American culture, Jann will be sworn in at City Hall on October 22, and later that week, Klose and his 5-piece band will perform his first concert as an American citizen at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2. Also featured on the bill is Americana singer-songwriter Kris Gruen.
Jann Klose proclaiming his American Citizenship on October 22. Here the Astoria, Queens-based Pop/Singer-songwriter is waving like the famous flag at the Jacob Javits Federal Building in New York City where immigrants take part in their Oath Ceremonies every Friday.
The show will feature brand new songs, including “Sugar My,” “Flesh & Blood,” “All The Way Down,” and “Surrender” all co-written with hit songwriter Alex Forbes (Taylor Dayne, Nile Rodgers, South African artist Elvis Blue). Jann’s seventh studio album is slated for an early 2022 release. Favorites from Jann’s prior releases will also be represented in the set, including songs from his most recent album, In Tandem, released on South Africa’s legendary Gallo Records/Sheer Sound, featuring duets with a wide range of stars from three continents, including singers Karen Zoid (coach on The Voice SA) and Annie Haslam of Renaissance. Jann’s two recent singles,
October 26 – Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2, New York, NY November 26 – Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, Brookville, NY November 27 – Elsewhere w/ Gary Lucas, Brooklyn, NY
Indie rock sensation Japanese Breakfast played four sold out shows at Brooklyn Steel last week (October 14-17, 2021), continuing their North American Fall 2021 Tour.
Japanese Breakfast at Brooklyn Steel, photography by David Reichmann
Luna Li opened for Japanese Breakfast the first three nights, her last involvement after having also opened for them throughout the first leg of the tour. Bringing a lot of warmth and enthusiasm, Li performed several of her biggest hits including “Alone But Not Lonely“, “Cherry Pit“, and a few energizing instrumentals from her Jams EP.
Luna Li remarked on how deeply thankful she was for the fans and for the huge opportunity to go on tour. She also mentioned how seeing Japanese Breakfast in concert several years ago had inspired her, stating,
as a Korean . . . seeing Michelle, another Korean, on stage meant so much to me.
Luna Li
Japanese Breakfast started their set with “Paprika,” the opening track from their latest album, Jubilee. Each time Michelle smashed the gong, the crowd screamed and cheered. They went immediately into the second track of the album “Be Sweet,” which lifted the crowd to an even louder chorus of cheers.
Apart from their successful run of performances, Japanese Breakfast front-woman and songwriter, Michelle Zauner, not only released an all-new soundtrack to accompany the video-game,Sable, last month, but had also launched her memoir Crying in H-Mart earlier this year as well.
You can listen to their music and follow the rest of their North American Tour here.
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
On Sunday, October 10th, HR (who is best known as the frontman for the iconic punk band Bad Brains) performed at The Kingsland in Brooklyn. Opening acts included local punk bands Aliens and Public Nature.
Bad Brains formed in Washington D.C. in 1977. They are regarded as the pioneers of harcore punk although the bands members have objected to the term to describe their music. They also feature elements of other genres of music like reggae, funk, heavy metal, hip hop and soul. The band has had several members over the years, but the classic line up includes singer HR, guitarist Dr Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson.
In more recent years, HR’s performances have become more mellow focusing on primarily reggae and rasta. His current backing band includes guitarist Ezekiel Zagar, bassist jfreshi and drummer Adam Williams. HR’s distinct voice still sounded the same as he performed songs from his solo career as well as some new ones that will be featured on his new album coming soon.
Public Nature opened the show on Sunday night. The band consists of lead singer/guitarist and founder Oscar Canas, bass player Robbie Harrison and drummer Scott Lehman. They sounded terrific as they ripped through songs from their catalogue such as “Old Bus”, “My Friend”, “Find My Baby” and “Summer Rain.” The band has a very Nirvana esque sound with heavy rips and melodic melodies. Oscar came to New York via MedellÃn, Colombia in 2014 with songs he had written over the years and released his first single under the band name Tender Beats. You can check out more of his music here.
Next was New York hardcore punk band Aliens. The band consists of frontman Blake Sandberg on guitar/vocals, Kevin Jones on bass and Miguel Vela on drums. They also put on a tremendous performance with songs from their inventory such as “Committed to Wind”, “Neversleep”, “Reflex Motor” and “The In Side. This band has played historic NYC venues such as CBGB, The Knitting Factory, Bowery Electric and has toured the US. Blake has also recorded with Hunt Sales (Iggy Pop/David Bowie) and The Rammellzee. You can find Alien’s music here.
Setlists:
Public Nature: Old Bus, My Friend, Play Love, Elephant Man, Find My Baby, Every Day Saturday, Summer Rain, Sentimental, Boo, She Said, Hey You
Aliens: Committed to Wind, Moving Parts, Neversleep, Shape Shifter, Guinea Pig, Enjoy Killing Time, Stow Away, Reflex Motor, Leave Luck To Heaven, Storage Space, Watch and Learn, The In Side
HR: Psalm 100, Easy, Attitude, Everything You Do, Peace and Love II, Let Luv Lead the Way, Married Again, Mighty Comforter, Sovereignty Prayer, I And I Survive, I Luv I Jah, Shame In Dem Game, Rasta
