NYS Music 202​1

Category: Regions

  • The Hold Steady Announce Annual Multi-Night Event, The Weekender

    The Hold Steady will be holding a live-streamed event, The Weekender , from Brooklyn Bowl on Friday, March 5th and Saturday, March 6th primarily for UK and European fans. 

    THE WEEKENDER
    The Hold Steady

    The Hold Steady is performing their annual multi-night Weekender event in an unprecedented way this year, bringing their European fans a virtual version of the recurring concert. Traditionally held in the renowned Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, this year it will be live-streamed from Brooklyn, New York. Both nights will commence at 8pm (20:00) GMT , 3pm EST (US). 

    At The Weekender, The Hold Steady will be performing two completely different sets, including fan favorites and new cuts from their upcoming album Open Door Policy, set for release on Friday, February 19th. Pre-order it here. Exclusive to The Weekender is a march bundle, unveiled in the weeks leading up to the main event. Following the final performance, The Weekender sets will be available on-demand for a limited time on March 6th. 

    Album Art For OPEN DOOR POLICY by The Hold Steady

    OPEN DOOR POLICY arrives on the band’s Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers on Friday, February 19th, 2021. It is currently up for pre-order digitally and physically, and with a pre-order one receives an instant-download of the recently released singles “Spices,” “Heavy Covenant,” and “Family Farm.” Their Bruce Springsteen and Hüsker Dü-influenced sound is something you should not miss!

    Single-show tickets (£15.00/$20.00), two-night passes (£27.50/$35.00) and exclusive soundcheck tickets (£20.00/$25.oo) are on sale now exclusively on FANS.LIVE . The on-demand show, aired after the final performance, is also available on FANS.LIVE.

  • Finnish Singer Petra Jasmiina Releases New Single, “YCHM”

    New York City-based Finnish singer, Petra Jasmiina, releases new love song, “YCHM”, just in time for Valentines Day. The new single follows her debut EP Cyget which released in 2019.

    Jasmiina

    Born in Helsinki, Finland; Jasmiina moved to New York City at the age of 25 after years of travelling to pursue a music career. Jasmiina comments on her risky move to New York City saying:

    Now that I think of it, it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done. I had no job, no apartment and knew no-one in the city.

    Petra Jasmiina, Musician

    Jasmiina has always had a deep love for music, consistently writing songs since the age of nine. After making her way around the local New York City scene and gaining recognition, including a stint at the Writer’s Room Songwriter Series, Jasmiina released her acclaimed debut EP, Cygnet.

    Jasmiina’s is well known for her fresh, unique indie pop sound and witty lyricism. Much of Jasmiina’s music follow in the steps her indie pop idols such as Ellie Goulding, Taylor Swift, and Halsey. Through the success of her debut EP, Jasmiina has since blossomed into a bright new artist in the New York indie scene, and has opened doors to legendary music venues such as Pete’s Candy Store and Pianos.

    Floating over synth heavy production with ease, Jasmiina delivers her beautiful upper register combined with uniquely catchy vocal melodies. The track is a collaboration with Vietnamese-American electropop producer Wind Meets West and tells the story of rising above a bad break-up and learning to love being on your own. The fun, sassy energy of the track warrants it own dance party. The song embodies a message of self love as well as a celebration of being single.

    YCHM is now available for pre-order here.

  • SPAC Dance Residency Unveils “Too Darn Hot” Virtual Performance

    On February 8th, Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) unveiled “Too Darn Hot,” a video featuring performances by 104 fourth grade students who took part in SPAC’s public-school dance residency.

    The popular in-school dance residency has continued this school year despite the pandemic with safe but immersive dance training for students at the Charlton Heights Elementary School and online fourth graders in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district.

    Image result for SPAC dance residency too darn hot
    Charlton Heights Elementary School students practicing “Too Darn Hot”

    Led by SPAC Teaching artists Cristiane Santos, J. Michael Zygo, and Brian Melick as well as Dennis Moench, former Broadway star and Senior Director of Education at SPAC, a total of 104 students (both in person and virtual learners) took part in SPAC’s Dance Residency in October-November 2020.


    The students participated in two in-person or virtual classes and continued with a series of video lessons on the SPAC Learning Library to learn Broadway-style choreography to the show tune “Too Darn Hot” from the musical Kiss Me, Kate.

    The students then performed their dance by filming individual videos for the SPAC team to combine into the virtual performance that premieres today to celebrate the students’ achievements and share their work with their families, peers, and the community.

    This program is a reimagined dance residency – a program that SPAC offers to elementary schools every year. As of last year, there were already eight local schools receiving the 5-10 week in-school dance program with SPAC teaching artists. This spring, SPAC plans to provide this virtual programming to other schools who participated last year to keep dance alive in their classrooms.

    “We were concerned that we might see a decline in student engagement in comparison to previous years with this new, primarily virtual format,” says Moench. “But we were pleasantly surprised when we saw all of the students fully commit to the program and give 100% of their energy immediately on day one!”


    “The arts are such an important part of the educational process, and it has been such a pleasure to work with the amazing and talented professionals from SPAC to bring dance to our fourth graders at Charlton Heights,” says Tim Sinnenberg, principal at Charlton Heights Elementary. “Our students have loved their experience, and practiced with all of their hearts for the recording of their moves.”

    Fourth grader Kadynce Dahl summed up the experience this way, “I have a lot of energy and I like horsing around so the dance residency was so awesome because I got to use my energy!”

    SPAC education partner Stewart’s Shops will be showing the video in its stores throughout Saratoga County from February 8-22.

  • theRep Adds Four Distinguished Figures to Associates Artist Program

    Albany’s Capital Repertory Theatre (theRep) welcomes four renowned theatre figures into their Associate Artist Program this month for their 2021 class.

    theRep

    Among the newest Associate Artists are Gordon Greenberg, Barbara Howard, Stephanie Klapper and Jean-Remy Monnay. Each of these members has made major accomplishments throughout their career and has contributed greatly to the theatre world. The recent members join the Associate Artists from 2019, Kevin McGuire, Yvonne Perry, Freddy Ramirez and Josh D. Smith.

    theRep associate Gordon Greenberg

    Gordon Greenberg is a writer and director who is currently based in New York. Some of his directing accolades include Broadway, Off-Broadway, London’s West End and 11 of theRep’s productions. Greenberg writes for television and stage productions and has developed and directed projects for art academies around the nation. He is currently co-writing and directing several works. He also has membership in Stage Directors & Choreographers Society, the Writers Guild of America, the Dramatists Guild and the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab. 

    Albany native Barbara N. Howard has already been working with theRep as the storyteller for their virtual program for elementary students called Story Hour. Howard is also a teaching artist for theRep at Arbor Hill Elementary School and she’s performed on their stage in their production of The Trip to the Bountiful. She’s directed and acted in several plays and achieved several awards for her work. Her most notorious role as Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun gained her the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Theater Association of New York State. Howard also received the “Woman of Distinction” award from the Black Women’s Association of Albany.

    Stephanie Klapper is a casting-director from New York and was theRep’s casting director for almost 30 years. She worked on productions with Broadway, Off-Broadway, nationally, internationally and on small screens and big screens. Klapper has a casting team called Stephanie Klapper Casting and they have been involved with many projects. 

    Finally, Jean-Remy Monnay was born in Haiti and moved to New York in the ’80s. After living in New York for over a decade he moved Upstate and began performing in different theatres. He’s worked with theRep onstage and as a part of their Community Bridge Building Program Neighbors for Neighbors. Monnay founded and is the producing artistic director of the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY, Inc. Monnay produced the collaboration 8:46 which theRep contributed to as well.

    Their duties as Associate Artists consist of acting as ambassadors for theRep and participate in one production per season of their three-year term. They become a part of the artistic leadership team and serves as the spokespersons for theRep to the community and vice versa. Members give their input on playwrights, directors, actors and more to the projects and work with the Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli- Cahill and Associate Artistic Director Margaret E. Hall. The program is meant to help breed more art from the associates.

  • Gov. Cuomo Plans to Bring Back Live Music with Reopening Large Venues and “NY Pops Up”

    Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his plans for reopening large sized venues throughout the state on February 10, 2021. This will help bring live music back to the state in combination with the “NY Pops Up” program which is bringing 300 live performances for free. 

    NY Pops Up MSG
    Empty Madison Square Garden in NYC. Photo by Steve Malinski

    Cuomo plans to use a testing- based program, which was used by the Buffalo Bills, to bring live performances back to any large stadium or arena later this month. How the testing- based program would work is the people who provide a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the live event in question would be able to attend live entertainment like musical events. The program would also be able to be made into person for sport events like baseball, soccer, football and basketball games possible. Arenas can open to the public on February 23, 2021. 

    According to NBC New York though there will be certain rules and restrictions in place to make this possible. Some of the restrictions include a, “strict 10 percent capacity limit in arenas and stadiums with more than 10,000-person total capacity. Venues have to submit their plans to the State Department of Health for approval. Core mitigation efforts like mask-wearing, temperature checks and mandatory assigned seating to ensure social distancing will also be required.”

    cuomo regulations NY Pops Up
    NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo conducts press briefing and makes a presentation at the 3rd Avenue office in New York on July 23, 2020. Governor, announced that President Trump will not send federal agents into New York City. He again pleaded to young people to be responsible, keep social distances and wear masks. (Photo by Lev Radin/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

    On top of this excitement of the prospect of live music in person in venues there is also the announcement of  the “NY Pops Up” program starting on February 20 through Labor Day bringing over 300 live performances. Cuomo announced that the first performance will happen on February 20 in New York City with a free performance especially for healthcare workers featuring big names like  Jon Batiste, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Ayodele Casel. The ‘pop up’ will be traveling across the city’s five boroughs to perform in different parks, on street corners, and outside hospitals. 

    With COVID-19 still raging on throughout the world the prospect of some sense of normalcy is extremely intriguing and exciting. People across NY can be attending live events again before the beginning of March with these new programs. 

  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band And All-Star Cast Cover “The Times They Are A-Changin” To Raise Money for Feeding America

    In the fifty-seven years since Bob Dylan released his career-altering folksong, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” the times he sang of did seem to change.

    But now, in another period of national unrest, a President refusing to concede defeat or peacefully transfer power, and a renewed fire for justice in the long-fought battle for civil rights, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has a new version of Dylan’s classic sounds more poignant and insistent than ever before.

    Amidst the compounding, pleading verses of Scottish ballad by way of Greenwich Village, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, with distinguished musical guests—Jason Isbell, Rosanne Cash, The War And Treaty, and Steve Earle—each step to the microphone to contribute a verse, with Isbell also adding slide guitar.

    They carry the same tone and energy in their voices as the song’s writer did almost six decades ago; an unfortunate but earnest reaction to the all too evident parallels between now and then.

    “It moved me deeply then and that hasn’t changed,” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founding member and lead singer Jeff Hanna notes. “The lyrics are as relevant today as they were when Dylan wrote it. Maybe even more so.” 

    The track features NGDB members Jeff Hanna (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Jimmie Fadden (drums), Bob Carpenter (accordion), Jim Photoglo (electric bass), Jaime Hanna (electric guitar), and Ross Holmes (fiddle and mandolin)—as well as Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, The Wallflowers) on additional drums, and Nashville songwriting legend Matraca Berg on harmonica and harmony vocals.

    “The Time’s They Are A-Changin’” was produced by Ray Kennedy and collectively recorded up and down the east coast.

    John Leventhal recorded his wife, Rosanne Cash’s vocals in their New York City home studio and Steve Earle contributed his verse via the world famous Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village. In Nashville, NGDB and guests joined Kennedy in his Room & Board Studio.

    “The Times They Are A-Changin’” is available for “name your price” purchase on NGDB’s Bandcamp page with proceeds going to Feeding America.

    For more information, please visit Nittygritty.com and Feedingamerica.org.

    The Times They Are A-Changin’ by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle, Jason Isbell, The War and Treaty

  • Quintocracy Begins Residence At Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

    Capital Region based quintet Quintocracy has begun their new residency at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Their first project with the Hall is a series of four concerts featuring women composers. All performances will be broadcast live from the Music Hall stage.

    Quintocracy

    Coming together in 2019, Quintocracy was created with the goal of showing the beauty of chamber music to the masses. The group prides themselves on there unique live shows in which they instill a sense of community through their funny audience interactions. Members of Quintocracy have preformed at a wide array of New York based concert halls from the likes of Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center. Quintocracy consists of Melanie Chirignan (Flute), Kelly Lockwood (Oboe), Michael Dee (Clarinet), Kathryn Svatek (Horn), and William Safford (Basoon).

    The Troy Saving Bank Music Hall is a historic classic music hall located in the heart of Downtown Troy. The Hall of built out of what used to be a banking office, hence The Hall’s name, and has since been host to hundreds of music acts from around the world. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic The Hall has pivoted to offering several online concert performances, postposing all live shows until further notice.

    Schedule for Future Quintocracy Shows

    Part 2: Music for Flute and Guitar Sunday, February 14, 2021, at 3 PM, click here for the sign-up link
    Part 3: Music for Flute, Cello, and Piano Sunday, March 14, 2021, at 3 PM, click here for the sign-up link

    Part 4: Music by Katherine Hoover for woodwinds Sunday, April 18, 2021, 3 PM, click here for the sign-up link

  • Genre Bending Body Language Share “Start It Up” Video

    Sensual pop experimentalists Body Language have been developing their genre-blend tone for some years now. Beginning in 2008, the band (Angelica Bess, Grant Wheeler, Matt Young, and Ian Chang) has added a future-shocked mixture of soul and R&B to their sound. These Brooklyn-based musicians have even received praise from NPR, The New York Times, and The Guardian. As a matter of fact, Body Language and their new music video for “Start It Up” doesn’t stray away from this amount of appraisal. 

    Body Language Start it Up
    Photo Credit: Nat Magliore

    With an introduction of glamorous dancers and a pulsating beat, “Start It Up” gives viewers nostalgia of packed dancefloors. The combination of the smooth vocals from the front-woman Bess, the glitzy outfits, and an electric flow makes anyone want to get up off their seat. The video travels through a fisheye lens creating a greater sense of funk to the already bouncy instrumental and harmonic hook.  

    Bess characterizes the video as a “Dreamlike mirage of glamour and shimmering movement. It’s a tribute to our favorite videos of the 90’s and early 00’s. An ode to the New Roaring 20’s: a little old and a lot new. ‘Start It Up’ represents the new age of loving yourself, expressing yourself, and having a good f*cking time.”

    “Start It Up” is featured on Body Language’s latest LP Travel Guide. As described as their most collaborative effort yet, Travel Guide consists of ten tracks of genre-bent psychedelic. Check out the LP below for an escapism of the realities of day to day life. Also, look out for Body Language’s remixes for “Start It Up,” coming soon.  

  • Janani Shankar Releases Deeply Personal And Emotional New Single “I Wanna Know”

    Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Janani Shankar is set to release her new single, “I Wanna Know.”

    In this track, Shankar speaks about deeply emotional issues such as abandonment, and pays tribute to her late grandmother Viji Shankar who she never met, and her late great grandmother Lakshmi Shankar.

    Janani’s “I Wanna Know” touches on personal issues she has faced in her life. Shankar attributes these issues, such as loss and estrangement from close family members, to greed, jealousy, and death.

    “I Wanna Know” is written from the perspective of a little girl longing for her family, asking why they left. By the end, the track speaks to a less empathic, more emotional feeling, driven by the accelerated drumbeat.

    A singer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, Shankar started learning classical Indian vocals and violin at the age of three. Later on she picked up guitar, bass, and keys.

    She began gigging in New York at the age of sixteen and went on to play in London, Los Angeles, and other cities around the world. Her style combines the nineties with folk, jazz, and indie influences.

    Janani’s songs “Wanderer,” “Forgettable,” and “Get Up” have been played on BBC Radio: The Asian Network. Her most recent single, “The World is on Fire,” has been featured on radio stations and music blogs worldwide.

    The track features Gingger Shankar on the double violin, Patrick Adams on trumpet, Mike Frazier (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Escarioka) on drums, Nataliya Zaytseva on keys, Trevor Brown on bass, and Michael “Bull” LoBue on electric guitar.

    Janani Shankar released “I Wanna Know” on February 9th, the day her grandmother Viji passed away, in her honor. Visit her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

  • LonCon to be held at Arrowhead Ranch, feat. Mihali, Aqueous, Baked Shrimp and more

    The music is starting to return… LonCon, a two-day music event to be held in the Southern Tier of New York’s scenic Catskills will feature national touring acts at the legendary Arrowhead Ranch over August 27-28, 2021.

    loncon

    Arrowhead Ranch and ElmThree Productions, in association with hosts, Baked Shrimp, will bring artists including Mihali and Aqueous, as well as two Baked Shrimp sets and other rising regional acts to LonCon.

    In 1991, music producer Bill Graham brought a vision to Arrowhead Ranch, making the summer of 199 legendary, with acts including Phish, The Band, Richie Havens, Billy Preston, Hot Tuna, Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic, and many more. 30 years later, LonCon will hold its inaugural weekend at the historic venue over Friday August 27 and Saturday August 28, 2021.

    “The event is going to be so humbling to all three of us in Baked Shrimp. Being younger and going to outdoor music concerts in the mountains has been something we’ve all been doing for much of our lives, and we’ve always dreamed that one day Baked Shrimp would do something similar and keep it going for years to come. Now that we can finally announce that we’re helping put together what will be a beautiful two-day event at such a historic venue, it’s really a dream come true. The lineup is also filled with artists who we have looked up to over the years, so we are unbelievably excited to share the stage with them.”

    Jared Cowen, Baked Shrimp

    Cowen also shared his thoughts on putting the event together in honor of Lon Conscious.

    “The Live for Lon stream was so humbling in it’s own way. Where we’re at in the world is something no one could really prepare for. When Lon left us, we had to think of a way despite these hectic times to honor his incredible legacy and spirit. The stream was the best way we could have thought to do this. The night had a true sense of community, like we were all together, Baked Shrimp, our fans, family, friends, and so many of Lon’s hundreds of friends who he meant so much to. The performers were incredible, and we were able to raise over $2,700 for a really great cause, the White Light Foundation. The stream was our way to honor Lon, to reminisce, to laugh, to cry, and everything in-between. LonCon is our way to continue the Lon Gellman legacy. LonCon is how we will make sure Lon is always remembered, and we’re brainstorming things to include over the course of the two days and hopefully make traditions.”

    Jared Cowen, Baked Shrimp

    Health and safety are the number one priority for attendees at LonCon. Promoters are dedicated to ensuring all proper COVID-19 restrictions in New York State that are in place at the time of the event are followed.