NYS Music 202​1

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  • This Week’s EQXposure Features Fenton Hardy, Girl Blue And More

    Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Fenton Hardy, Girl Blue and many more!

    Fenton hardy

    WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.

    Fenton Hardy

    Bookended by organs, Fenton Hardy’s “The Ghost” is a haunting ballad about loneliness. According to Hardy’s Instagram, the laid-back six-minute song ponders “the age-old question: do we feel more alone in isolation or with others?” “The Ghost” is the title track off the Troy-based alternative musician’s debut EP, which includes three other songs.

    Girl Blue

    Girl Blue’s “Strangers” is the third single off her upcoming album due this fall. Recorded at White Lake Studios in Albany, singer-songwriter-producer Arielle O’Keefe channels Alanis Morissette with rambly diary-lifted lyrics. The song’s intimate verses build to a cathartic chorus, where O’Keefe makes peace with a once-close ex becoming a stranger. Unlike many breakup songs, “Strangers” doesn’t feel bitter, and instead serves as an amicable goodbye letter.

    Pencildive

    Pencildive is a trio made up of singer-songwriter Gina De Nardo, bassist Kevin Cardinale and drummer Zach Hirsch. Their new song The Sweats” wastes zero time cutting to the chase, boldly beginning with loud drums and guitar straight out of shoegaze. Pencildive recently signed to Albany’s Paintbox Records, alongside labelmates Senior Living and The Classica. Their album, Grown-Ups is out May 28 on all platforms.

  • Tupper Lake Hosts Summer Sunset Concert Series

    Tupper Lake Village, a few miles west of Lake Placid, has announced this year’s Summer Sunset Concert Series. Guests can enjoy weekly live musical entertainment and scenic sunset vistas at the Tupper Lake Bandshell, located in Flanders Park.

    Tupper Lake Summer Concert
    Flanders Park Bandshell

    Tupper Lake is a village in Franklin County, located within the Adirondack Park. Tupper Lake makes up the Tri-Lakes region along with nearby Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. Settled during the town’s lumber production period in 1844, the village was the top lumber producer in New York State.

    After the area’s Great Fire of 1899, which burned more than 150 structures in the town, a modern Tupper Lake village grew out of the destruction. Having its own department store and sprawling railway yards, Tupper Lake became a hub for the surrounding Adirondack communities.

    Tupper Lake Summer Concert
    Views from the Flanders Municipal Park

    The Tupper Lake Municipal Park is located on Demars Boulevard off Route 3. This park is the center of the Tupper Lake community. The park is home to the best sunset views, a waterfront walkway, picnic table area, two covered fishing overlooks, public boat slips, playground, sports fields, skateboard park, and much more.

    The live music offerings are held weekly on Monday nights from 7 PM at Tupper Lake Municipal Park. All events are free and open to the public, but bring your own lawn chairs, blankets, and snacks. Local Tupper Lake restaurants will be hosting dinner specials during the events as well.

    Tupper Lake Summer Concert
    Tupper Lake

    Tupper Lake’s Summer Sunset Music Series lineup

    Sunday, July 4: Spring Street Band, Fireworks with patriotic music (9 PM)

    Monday, July 12: Blind Owl Band

    Monday, July 19: Geo Beat

    Monday, July 26: Hammerlok

    Monday, August 2: Shakespeare in the Parks – Twelfth Night – a Radio Play, part of the Adirondack Lakes Summer Theatre Festival

    Monday, August 9: Martin and Kelly

    Monday, August 16: Phil Henry & the News Feed

    Monday, August 23: High Peaks Opera

    Monday, August 30: Annie & the Hedonists

  • Watch Live Music and Fireworks at the Empire State Plaza on the Fourth of July

    Albany’s Empire State Plaza Independence Day celebration returns for its 45th annual fireworks display this year. The festivities will include musical performances from local favorites, as well as food and drink vendors on Sunday, July 4.

    Empire State Plaza

    The night begins with a pop up COVID-19 vaccination site, while supplies last, from 5:30 to 8 PM at the Empire State Plaza. Later, attendees can enjoy food and drink vendors from 6-10 PM while watching the sunset around Albany’s cityscape. Alcohol will be served from 6 to 9:15 PM by vendors to adults with proper identification.

    The Fourth of July festivities will also feature two Capital Region bands throughout the night. Classic rock band Graham Tichy and the New Lowdown will take the stage at 6:30 PM, followed by the Powerhouse Funk Band at 8 PM after an official July Fourth Ceremony.

    Powerhouse Funk Band at the Empire State Plaza’s 2019 Fourth of July Celebration

    The official ceremony will begin at 7:45 with a color guard and singing of the national anthem by Air National Guard Master Sargeant Samantha Marquette. Fireworks will close out the night, beginning at 9:15 PM.

    Free parking begins at 5:30 PM in the Visitor, “P” Lot, Grand Street, and Elk Street Lots. No tickets are required, entrance to the event as well as firework viewing is free. For a list of ground rules, visit the New York State website.

    For more information about the event, including a list of vendors, see the event webpage or keep up with updates on the Empire State Plaza Facebook page.

    Empire State Plaza’s July Fourth Schedule:

    5:30 PM: Empire State Plaza parking lots open and registration begins at pop-up vaccination site.
    6:00 PM: Start of event and vaccination site opens
    6:30 PM: Performance by Graham Tichy and the New Lowdown
    7:45 PM: Official July 4 ceremony with color guard, national anthem, and remarks.
    8:00 PM: Performance by Powerhouse Funk Band
    9:15 PM: Fireworks
    10:00 PM: Event Ends

    Empire State Plaza
    2018 Empire State Plaza Festivities

  • Palace Theatre Announces Reopening with “Summer In The City”

    “Summer In The City”, a free family-friendly movie series will be the kick off for the official reopening of the Palace Theatre. 

    Summer in the City is one of several free and low-cost arts and educational programs offered by the Palace that positively impacts local children and families each year. For this family-friendly movie series, the Palace targets outreach to low-income and underserved families in the City.

    The Palace Theatre’s Summer in the City Movie Series, presented by SEFCU, will return to offer seven free, family-friendly movies to children and families from neighborhoods around the Palace in downtown Albany, with targeted outreach to low-income and underserved families in the City. The movie series provides children with the opportunity to enjoy the excitement and beauty of the historic Palace Theatre, while offering fun, safe and positive opportunities to become engaged in the arts.

    Palace Theatre Reopening

    “Children and families in the City of Albany have the opportunity to beat the heat while also sparking the imagination as they enjoy fun, family-friendly movies in this Albany landmark,” said SEFCU President and CEO Michael Castellana. “Going to the movies is always a special treat, especially this year as it represents a return to normalcy after the pandemic paused so many of our favorite summer activities.”

    Summer in the City serves thousands from surrounding neighborhoods each year. The mission of the Palace is to bring world-class arts and entertainment to New York’s Capital Region, greatly enhancing the area’s cultural and economic development. Core programming and community initiatives include performing arts entertainment, free arts education, family-friendly performances, free summer movies, and a classic movie program series.

    “It’s a great way for a whole new generation of young people to become more familiar with the beautiful Palace.” said Stephen P. Baboulis, Chairman, PPAC Board of Directors. “We thank SEFCU for sharing our vision about this summer program, and for their generous support!” 

    For each show, doors open at Noon. Movies begin at 1 p.m. Free popcorn is provided to children 12 and under. The first show will be open to 600 patrons with the potential for more later in the summer. Every movie viewing will be paired with a giveaway. One person in the audience will win a new HD Kindle Fire with a SEFCU Kids Plus subscription.

    2021 SUMMER IN THE CITY SCHEDULE

    For all events, doors open at noon; movies begin at 1:00 p.m.

    Tuesday, July 13            Moana

    Tuesday, July 20            Sonic The Hedgehog

    Tuesday, July 27            The Secret Life of Pets 2

    Tuesday, August 3        Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

    Tuesday, August 10     Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

    Tuesday, August 17     Frozen II

    Tuesday, August 24     Sing

    Free tickets may be picked up in advance at the Palace Theatre Box Office at 19 Clinton Ave. during regular business hours or reserved online at palacealbany.org. Individual Groups, Day Care, and Summer Camps looking to reserve a block of tickets may call in advance at 518-465-3335, ext. 111. For more information, call 518-465-4663 or visit www.palacealbany.org.

  • Proctors Theatre Announces the World Premiere of the musical “The Right Girl”

    Proctors Theatre has announced the world premiere of the musical based on true stories, The Right Girl, opening October 13th with performances through Wednesday, November 10th.

    The musical features music by 12-time Academy Award nominee and Grammy®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, lyrics by Ms. Warren, Louisette Geiss and Howard Kagan, and a book by Ms. Geiss and Mr. Kagan, The Right Girl is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award® winner Susan Stroman.

    The cast of The Right Girl includes Alysha Umphress (On The Town, Bring It On, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, American Idiot), Ramin Karimloo (Anastasia, Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera), Paige Faure (Cinderella), Adam Jacobs (Aladdin, Les Mis, The Lion King), J. Elaine Marcos (Annie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, A Chorus Line), Steve Rosen (Guys and Dolls, Spamalot), and Syndee Winters (Hamilton, Pippin, The Lion King).  Additional casting will be announced at a later date. The Right Girl features set design by Mikiko Suzuki MacAdams, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Jason Lyons, sound design by Kai Harada and orchestrations and arrangements by Santino Paladino and Assaf Gleizner.

    One of the dreams of the Proctors Collaborative was that the mix of theatrical and musical facilities and capabilities would attract new and different opportunities within the world of the theater. Howard Kagan and Tom Smedes are first-class producers who found just what they needed as they worked with us: a great building, a welcoming community and an audience based both at Proctors and at the Rep interested and anxious to support new work. We are excited to host this world premiere. We hope to do so well that we can leverage continuing new relationships with the industry’s major players.

    -Phillip Morris, CEO, Proctors Collaborative

    Performances will begin at 7:30pm Tuesdays through Saturdays, 2pm on Sundays. Proctors will follow all C.D.C. and New York State safety guidelines for these performances. Check the Proctors website at proctors.org to subscribe and obtain additional information.

  • Baked Shrimp and Glass Pony team up for Lark Hall show on July 9

    Two of the hottest, up and coming New York bands, and 2021 NYS Music Music Madness finalists, Baked Shrimp and Glass Pony will share the stage at Lark Hall on July 9th. With festival pass giveaways, free ice cream and an incredible night of music on tap, this is one show you won’t want to miss.

    glass pony baked shrimp

    Since forming in January 2017, Long Island’s Baked Shrimp has established a name for themselves across the Northeast region of the United States and beyond.  In just three years the high-energy rock trio has performed multiple extensive tours, released two albums, and is a name being consistently added to the festival circuit.

    Currently in the middle of a massive summer tour which finds the band performing across the East Coast, Midwest and throughout the southern United States, Baked Shrimp is rapidly making new fans outside of their home-base of New York.  The trio keeps it fresh from night to night with a catalogue of over one-hundred songs of mostly original material and deep, inspired improvisational playing.

    Kicking off the evening’s festivities will be Albany’s very own Glass Pony.  Encapsulating influences stretching across decades from psychedelic and jam-focused rock, to funk, post-punk, and even modern indie and post-rock, Glass Pony offer a sound that truly translates through generations, with a stylistic blend built to engage a broad listenership.

    With a focus squarely set on delivering the most captivating live performance possible, the band utilizes infectiously danceable grooves colored with virtuosic individual performances that deftly blend into a cohesive whole. To accentuate their creative songwriting, they place a great value on improvisation and fluid set lists that change from show to show.  

    baked shrimp glass pony

    Baked Shrimp will be giving away a pair of FREE tickets on this special night to their inaugural music festival LonCon, taking place at Arrowhead Ranch on August 27th & 28th in Parksville, NY. The incredible lineup features two nights of Baked Shrimp in addition to Mihali (Twiddle), Aqueous, Dogs in a Pile, and more.  You must be present at the end of the night to claim your tickets if you win the raffle!

    Additionally, Ben and Jerry’s Scoop Shop on Madison Avenue in Albany will be providing free ice cream for all who purchase tickets to the show. Lark Hall will have a dairy and non-dairy option starting shortly after doors open at 7pm on Friday, July 9.

    Tickets are on sale now at via Eventbrite and Lark Hall.

  • Grabbitz Gets Cinematic in New Music Video

    Buffalo-based star Grabbitz just released his artistic, short-film style music video for his newest single, “Pigs in the Sky.”

    The just over 7-minute video shows Grabbitz in a mysterious Buffalo art museum where he finds himself immersed in paintings and scenes from different eras. Grabbitz even faces ruthless attacks from his antagonist (Sarah Santizo) as he tries to snap back into reality.

    The video is an entertaining creative feat. Strong direction by Mac Cappuccino even incorporates sitcom tropes and alternate timelines (à la Wandavision) while “Pigs in the Sky” itself is a catchy, playable track.

    It seems like cinematic music videos are fading out. I grew up watching immersive videos, and there were so many platforms that catered to them. Nowadays, we live in a time of TikTok where videos have to be short, to the point, and hook you in half a second. So we decided to make this video really f’ing long.

    Grabbitz
    Grabbitz
    Photo by Daniel Leahey

    Grabbitz, AKA Nick Chiari, is not only a singer-songwriter but also a producer and musical composer. Spoken like a true 716 native, Chiari recounts that the first song he ever learned was the Buffalo Bills theme. He learned guitar and piano at a young age and began using the Xbox game “MTV Music Generator” to produce songs and beats throughout middle school.

    Chiari, 28, started performing as Grabbitz back in 2014 as a DJ in the EDM world. His song “Here With You Now” gained traction and he even caught the attention of Shaquille O’Neal. In fact, Shaq made an appearance in Grabbitz’s 2018 music video for “My Cloud.” He has also collaborated with big names like One Republic and deadmau5.

    Grabbitz is now back home in Buffalo after previously living in Los Angeles. With “Pigs in the Sky” and a deal with Hopeless Records, Grabbitz is hoping to enter the next phase of his musical career, having pivoted away from EDM.

    Grabbitz
    Photo by Margaryta Bushkin

    It’s got rapping and an interesting chord structure in the chorus. This is not a song I would have attempted a few years ago, but it feels right and I feel good about doing it now. It has a weird, driving, heavy beat that will blow your speakers if you play it too loud, and the lyrics are reflective because I wrote it during the pandemic when I had nothing but time to think. I wanted something that was serious but had comedic relief, and I think I got there. I’m proud of it and see it as a stepping stone to the next permutation of what I do.

    Grabbitz on “Pigs in the Sky”

    You can connect with Grabbitz on his website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

  • Call To Action: Warren County Musician Frank Palangi loses Home Studio and Equipment to Fire

    A GoFundMe page challengers community members to help Frank Palangi, who despite losing virtually everything when home recording studio was struck by lightning, has “no plan B on backing down on [his] dreams.”

    Frank Palagani
    Frank Palangi, Musician, NYS Music Music In Motion Host


    Most have been fortunate enough to never know what it felt like to decide what stayed and what burned. On June 29, Warren County raised Frank Palangi was home when lightning struck his home and ignited a fire that claimed the musician’s “home studio equipment, clothes, personal items, [and] some things [he] can never get back.”

    Click Here to Help Frank
    Frank’s former hub for writing, recording, film production, teaching… and much more via Go Fund Me Page

    Frank has been a proponent for participation in community for New York as a recording artist himself, hosting interview series NYS Music In Motion. Until the fire, Frank has consistently and frequently captivated YouTube audiences with polished music videos and out of the box collaborations.

    Frank collaborates with 13 year old UK drummer on unique cover of “Purple Haze”

    Go Fund Me Organizer Lindsay R, Organizer writes that Frank “happens to be one of the most humble, kind, and appreciative people there is. When the pandemic forced the closures of live music venues across the country, Frank began performing live shows online, from the very studio that we are now trying to help him rebuild. He freely gave of his time, energy, and talent because of his belief in the healing and transformative power of music, and fostered a sense of community amongst his fans during a time when we needed it the most.”

    Frank Rocks. Let’s help him.

    For now, Frank has lost his ability to do what he loves, but the community possesses the power to help him get it back, come together and put a little kindness back into this world. According to lightningsafety.com there is a 1 : 280,000 chance of lightning striking a home. Hopefully, the chances for our music-supporting community helping are better than that.

    Click Here to Help Frank

    Our thoughts are with Frank and his family during this difficult time. You rock. “To rock” is something about who you are, and what lives inside of you, regardless of your ability to manifest creative endeavors at this moment. Some say that the best music comes out of the most difficult times, so sit tight. We’ve got you.

    To learn more about Frank Palangi, visit his website, YouTube, Spotify and Music In Motion Archives.

  • Twiddle’s Frendsgiving returns to the Capitol Theatre November 2021

    Vermont-based jam quartet Twiddle has announced its annual “Frendsgiving” celebration for 2021. This year’s shows will occur on Friday November 26th, and Saturday November 27th at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.

    Friday night will feature an opening set from guitar virtuoso Keller Williams. Saturday will see an opening set from Connecticut rock outfit Eggy, who make their Capitol Theatre debut.

    Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit twiddlemusic.com 

  • Merged Pop-Punk Band RODERIK Release “You’ll Never Know”

    RODERIK, the Long Island pop-punk/post-hardcore band, debuted a new single titled “You’ll Never Know.” This is the band’s second single and the latest in a series of new tunes the band will be releasing this year.

    RODERIK

    The band name, RODERIK, derived from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, and fittingly formed during the early stages of a global pandemic, is comprised of remnants and fragments of bands that once reverberated through the vibrant Long Island music scene. Members include Alternative Press recognized band Approaching Troy, singer/songwriter Jake Anthony Salazar & guitarist Jay T. Sutherland set out with bassist David P. K., and drummer Danny Nugent, to rebuild and reformulate.

    After years of writing and playing shows together, these four members have finally come together to not only make music, but build visual experiences that would mirror that of its dark origins. The band aims to combine musical elements with visual representation, showcasing the dark and honest truth of Salazar’s dark lyrics, which stem from his life experiences and ongoing battle with depression.

    Of the new track, singer/songwriter Jake Anthony Salazar said, “In many ways, “You’ll Never Know” is a sequential follow up to our first single, “Save Me. Save Me” which was about my internal monologue during one of the most difficult times in my life. Whereas “You’ll Never Know” is about realizing I had to save myself, and reconciling with that. Only I could make the changes that were needed for me to be happy, but with change comes loss. “You’ll Never Know” is more focused on coming to the reality of my situation, and the grief that came with escaping it. Things that are good for us, in the long run, don’t always feel that great in the now, and this song is me trying to come to terms with that.”

    To stay up to date with RODERIK follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

    Stream “You’ll Never Know” below, and on Spotify and Apple Music.