NYS Music 202​1

Tag: NYC

  • Irving Plaza Reopens After Multi-Million Dollar Renovation

    Irving Plaza will reopen after a multi-million dollar renovation by Live Nation, with an upcoming series of over 40 concerts. 

    Irving Plaza
    Photo by Monique Sowinski of Irving Plaza.

    Irving Plaza is one of New York City’s most treasured venues, originally opening back on July 14, 1978. It closed in 2019 for renovations by Live Nation which had focused those renovations on enhancing the overall concert experience throughout the venue for both artists and fans while maintaining the venue’s 19th century charm. The venue has hosted performances over the years from big names like Sir Paul McCartney, The Foo Fighters, U2, Green Day, Ariana Grande, The Ramones, Nine Inch Nails, Childish Gambino, Katy Perry, Eminem, Nas, and many others.

    Some of the new renovations include an addition of an upscale VIP Lounge with private bar and balcony level boxes that offer unobstructed views of the stage enabling fans the best seats in the house. To ensure the artist’s experience is just as premium as the fans, two fully renovated balcony level artist dressing rooms feature direct stage access and an adjacent green room with a private bathroom and amenities.

    They also have an expanded lobby and bar area providing a new space for multifunctional use, including artist merchandise, meet and greets, or for individually curated events. The venue will now also host next-generation Cisco Wifi 6 for faster and more reliable social connectivity for fans who want to share their experience with their friends and followers during a performance.

    Irving Plaza
    Irving Plaza

    Irving Plaza can now adjust its configuration from a 1,200 standing-room only experience to an intimate 400-seat theatre to accommodate a wide-variety of performances. It will also feature a colorful array of distinctive private event spaces for hosting corporate events, filmings, product launches, fundraisers, and more. 

    To kick things off right, over 40 shows are confirmed as part of the venue’s grand reopening. Ashley McBryde will be the first artist to perform on Tuesday, August 17. Tickets will start going on sale on May 20 at 10 AM EST. 

    A full list of performers are available on the venue’s website and tickets for all shows will be available at IrvingPlaza.com and LiveNation.com. For more information visit on the renovations and upcoming shows visit Irving Plaza’s website.

    Upcoming shows at Irving Plaza


    Aug. 17 – Ashley McBryde
    Sept. 10 – Guided By Voices
    Sept. 12 – Ben Folds
    Sept. 11 – Colter Wall
    Sept. 16 – J.I.
    Sept. 20 – Middle Kids
    Oct. 3 – Andy Mineo
    Oct. 8 – The Struts
    Oct. 10 – The Black Dahlia Murder
    Oct. 15 – Lotus
    Oct. 17 -Toadies & Rev Horton Heat
    Oct. 19 – Kevin Gates
    Oct. 21 – State Champs
    Oct. 24 – Princess Nokia (Governors Ball Presents)
    Oct. 25 – The Record Company
    Oct. 30 – City Morgue
    Nov. 5 – Armor for Sleep
    Nov. 6 – JP Saxe
    Nov. 10 – Ruston Kelly
    Nov. 11 – Elder Island
    Nov. 13 – Pouya
    Nov. 15 – Jesse McCartney
    Nov. 19 – Jelly Roll
    Nov. 21 – Envy On The Coast
    Nov. 23 – The Lemonheads
    Dec. 1 – lovelytheband & Sir Sly
    Dec. 10 – Juice
    Dec. 18 – The Slackers
    Dec. 19 – Lagwagon
    Dec. 30 and Dec. 31 – Ripe

    2022

    Feb. 2 – Mother Mother
    Feb. 17 – K. Flay
    Feb. 25 – The Jungle Giants
    March 10 – INHALER
    March 11 – Knuckle Puck
    March 18 – Relient K
    April 2 – Moonchild
    May 10 – Haken & Symphony X
    May 21 – The Dead South

  • Neil Diamond Musical will Hit Broadway in 2022

    In 2022, a bio-musical about Brooklyn born singer-songwriter Neil Diamond is coming to Broadway in summer 2022.

    Neil Diamond musical
    Neil Diamond performs onstage during the Songwriters Hall of Fame 49th Annual Induction and Awards Dinner on June 14, 2018. (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame)

    The show, “A Beautiful Noise,” was announced in 2019, but pushed back due to the pandemic. Thanks to things slowly opening up, the show will premiere in Boston at the Emerson Colonial Theater in June 2022 and then move to Broadway after four weeks. It will show audiences Neil Diamond’s life, from growing up to stardom.

    Although we don’t know the cast yet, Steven Hoggett (Once, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) will choreograph, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Bohemian Rhapsody, The Theory of Everything) will write the book, and Michael Mayer, who won a Tony in 2007 for Spring Awakening will direct.

    Neil Diamond musical
    Neil Diamond (1976). by Danny Gutierrez

    Even though Broadway has seen a lot of jukebox bio-musicals, Tony award-winning producer Ken Davenport says that this new show is different. It is “a biographical musical drama and not a jukebox musical. He’s “excited to show people what separates it from some of the jukebox musicals that have been around.”

    Neil Diamond thinks that “A Beautiful Noise” opening will be “a moment of relief, unity, strength and love” much like when he performed “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway Park in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9P6gLUT86s&ab_channel=MLB

    After performances start “and we’re all able to safely be in the same space together, experiencing the thrill of live theater, I imagine those same emotions will wash over me and the entire audience,” Diamond says. The emotions will be just as high when “A Beautiful Noise” opens on Broadway after over a year of darkness.

    Starting this month, live theatre has come back to New York for the first time since March 2020. The NY PopsUp Festival hosts impromptu shows around the city, and other shows have opened at limited capacity. Broadway theaters will start opening on May 30, but shows will not begin immediately. In an effort to bring live theatre back in the fall, theatre workers can get vaccinated on Broadway.

    Neil Diamond musical
    Credit: NY PopsUp

    It will be a while until Broadway is back to normal. “At this point we’re thinking early fall, perhaps early September. That’s the way things are pointing,” President of the Broadway League Charlotte St. Martin said to NBC. “We believe that some of the longer-running shows may be first to come back, because a lot of the cast has muscle memory.”

    Until then, you can still see live theatre in NYC. Sign up to be able to get tickets to the Neil Diamond musical “A Beautiful Noise” 24 hours before everyone else once they’re available.

  • American Symphony Orchestra Announces Free Chamber Music Series in Bryant Park

    The American Symphony Orchestra announces plans for free nine-concert chamber music series, taking place in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and 34th St. Herald Square Plaza and will run through May 3–19, 2021. 

    The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra that was founded back in 1962. Their mission is to make orchestral music accessible and affordable for everyone. The musical performances and works are curated around ideas drawn from a variety of disciplines such as history, visual arts, science, politics and literature. They often try to revive works that were rarely-performed in their hay day that audiences would otherwise never have a chance to hear performed live. 

    The nine concert series will include five different programs curated by American Symphony Orchestra  musicians. The performances will feature music ranging from 20th century Mexican and all-American jazz composers to Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and classical works for horn quartet and woodwind trio. Some of the featured artists include percussionist and composer Javier Diaz, saxophonist Roxy Coss, and oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz. 

    There will be a limited number of first-come, first-served chairs set up near the Bryant Park Fountain Terrace in front of the stage and at Herald Square for people to watch the live music from American Symphony Orchestra. Artists and audience members will be required to follow current public health guidelines including wearing masks and social distancing. All the concerts will last for at least one hour and will begin at 5:30PM. 

    For more information on the American Symphony Orchestra and their concert series visit their website.

    The full schedule can be read below: 

    Modernism in Mexico – String Quartet

    Monday, May 3 & Tuesday, May 4, at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    Modernism in Mexico explores string quartets by some of Mexico’s most important 20th-century composers: Manuel Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas, and Carlos Chávez. Ponce was Mexico’s leading classical musician, and this performance of his well-known song Estrellita is a new arrangement for string quartet. Carlos Chávez was his student and heir apparent, touring extensively as a conductor and producing an impressive body of compositions. Chávez’s close colleague, violinist Silvestre Revueltas, was a notable conductor/composer whose work includes the score to the 1936 film Redes (The Wave), commissioned by the Mexican government. 

    Cyrus Beroukhim, violin

    Philip Payton, violin

    Will Frampton, viola

    Alberto Parrini, cello

    Manuel Ponce: Estrellita

    Manuel Ponce: Petite suite dans le style ancien

    Silvestre Revueltas: Musica de Feria

    Carlos Chávez: String Quartet No. 3

    Strike Force – Percussion Ensemble

    Wednesday, May 5 & Wednesday, May 12 at 5:30 pm

    34th Street Herald Square Plaza

    This percussion ensemble combines Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and poetry with the sounds of contemporary chamber percussion, featuring Grammy-nominated Imani Winds’ oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz in compositions by percussionist and composer Javier Diaz.

    Kory Grossman, Javier Diaz, and Charles Descarfino, percussion

    Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe

    All-Javier Diaz Program:

    “Chandani”

    “Canciones del Idalgo”

    “Maleza”

    “Son Montuno Sinfonia”

    “Sakpata”

    “Lucumi Cycle”

    ASO Salutes NYC/USA – Jazz Ensemble

    Monday, May 10 & Tuesday, May 11 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    A truly American genre, the ASO presents this jazz ensemble as a salute to U.S. healthcare workers who have made it possible for New Yorkers to experience live music once again. The program, including works by Gershwin, Bernstein, Ellington, and Chick Corea, among others, celebrates composers who have defined the sound of this vibrant city.

    Lee Musiker, piano

    Lou Bruno, bass 

    Kory Grossman, drums

    Eugene Moye, cello

    Roxy Coss, tenor saxophone and flute

    Harry Warren: “42nd Street”

    George Gershwin: “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess

    Duke Ellington: “Take the A Train”

    Leonard Bernstein: “Some Other Time”

    Leonard Bernstein: “Cool” from West Side Story

    Gustav Holst: I. Mars, the Bringer of War, from The Planets, Op. 32

    Chick Corea: Children’s Songs

    Charles Mingus: “Nostalgia in Times Square”

    Woodwind Trio

    Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    Woodwind chamber music had something of a renaissance in the 1920s; at the same time, works for reed trio—oboe, clarinet, and bassoon—were coming together with the formation of the Trio d’Anches de Paris, a collaboration of three virtuosi reed players. This program offers music from some of the greatest composers of wind music in the 20th century.

    Alexandra Knoll, oboe

    Shari Hoffman, clarinet

    Marc Goldberg, bassoon

    Charles Koechlin: Trio d’anches Op. 206

    Jean Françaix: Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon

    Alexandre Tansman: Suite for Wind Trio

    Claude Arrieu: Suite en trio

    Albert Roussel: Andante from an Unfinished Wind Trio: Adagio

    Joseph Canteloube: Rustiques – I. Pastorale

    Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32a

    Gilles Silvestrini: Oboe Etude No. 1: Hôtel des Roches Noires à Trouville

    Horn Quartet

    Monday, May 17 & Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace & 34th Street Herald Square Plaza

    Perfectly at home in the outdoors, the horn quartet has enjoyed a rich history from the forest to the concert hall. This program features composers highlighted by Bard Music Festivals of the past with a few modern classics that will inspire.

    Chad Yarbrough, David Smith, Lawrence DiBello, and David Peel, French horns

    Nikolai Tcherepnin: Horn Quartet Op. 35

    Carlos Chávez: Sonata for Four Horns

    Richard Strauss: Fünf Volksliedsätze

    Selections of Austrian hunting music

  • Broadway Workers Eligible for Vaccination in Hopes of Broadway Fall Season

    Broadway workers will be able to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in hopes of opening Broadway by Fall for in-person performances, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. There will be mobile vaccination sights set up specifically for Broadway theater workers. 

    Broadway Workers
    Photo by Kate Glicksberg

    Broadway is a staple of New York City and has been unfortunately shut down since mid-March 2020. Mayor Bill de Blasio “We have to get the theater community ready for the fall,” de Blasio said. “By the time we get there, the world will be better.”

    Current guidelines allow theaters to be technically allowed to be open at 33% capacity, with a maximum of 150 people who’ve tested negative for COVID-19 before the performance. The mayor plans to set up testing sites near the theaters to help facilitate and promote the testing. They will also set more detailed guidelines for handling crowds before and after performances. 

    According to the Office of the New York State Comptroller back in 2019, “New York City’s arts, entertainment and recreation sector employed 93,500 people in 6,250 establishments. These jobs had an average salary of $79,300 and generated $7.4 billion in total wages.” This type of revenue hasn’t been present in the last year due to the closers of the entertainment industry in the wake of COVID. Broadway reopening would bring back part of this revenue.

    Broadway Workers
    Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Employment by Subsector graph.

    Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA),  spoke on this new development supporting theaters by vaccinating it’s workers in a press conference saying,  “Mayor de Blasio clearly understands that we cannot socially distance in our work, making the availability of vaccines and testing critical for maintaining a safe workplace.” 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybIzM_XKos4

    Reopening Broadway is still in the planning stages but the access to vaccines for Broadway works would start the ball rolling. The reopening process would involve rehearsals but also costume fittings, marketing campaigns, ticket promotions, and so on that in reality aren’t possible without vaccinations being available to Broadways workers. 

    For more articles on Broadway during COVID-19 by NYS Music click here.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGMt7H6e164

  • Madison Square Garden May be Opening for Live Audiences Sooner than You Think

    Madison Square Garden may be opening for live audiences sooner than one might think, according to President Andy Lustgarten. Their first in-person event will take place on February 23, 2021 for the Knicks game. 

    Madison Square Garden

    Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that arenas could open up to 10 percent capacity on February 10, 2021 using a testing- based program.  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 according to the testing- based program.

    At Madison Square Garden 10 percent capacity is about 2,000 people. Which means at the upcoming Knicks game against the Golden State Warriors 2,000 people can be cheering from the crowd. Although 2,000 isn’t that many, Madison Square Garden hopes that they “are on a path to continue to increase capacity,” according to Lustgarten. They hope that in time  attendance will be able to increase beyond 10 percent before the basketball and hockey seasons end.

     “This was earlier than we had expected,” Lustgarten told analysts on a Friday at the New York Post. And because of the fact reopening to live audiences was unexpected there are some things that are still up in the air. Like the fact there will be limited types of food for sale, but it’s unclear what types of food will be available in the upcoming events. Madison Square Garden says details will be coming soon on what options will be available. 

    Madison Square Garden

    This MSG reopening is coming just in the knick of time for the arena with its second fiscal quarter, ending in December of 2020, was down $23.1 million which is 94.1 percent from the previous year’s $394.1 million according to Billboard. The live entertainment industry has been harder than most industries by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that live shows are slowly but surely coming back is the light at the end of the tunnel the industry has been searching for. 

    For more information on Madison Square Garden visit their website.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BlGnzGICNQ

  • NYC Announces Curtains Up NYC Program For the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant

    New York City announced it’s Curtains Up NYC government program which will work with the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant process on February 8, 2021. This grant and program are available to help venues suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic with services provided by the city for free. The program will provide application assistance to live-performance venues, organizations and workers applying for federal relief. 

    Curtains Up NYC

    The program and grant was announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), Commissioner Anne del Castillo, and NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Jonnel Doris. The Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is made for businesses or nonprofits who are connected to live performances. These organizations could get a grant up to, or equal to, 45 percent of their 2019 gross earned revenue, capping out at $10 million. Shuttered Venue Operators Grant bloomed from the Save Our Stages initiative. 

    The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant is available to operators or promoters of live performance venues including, but not limited to: theater, music, arts organizations, movie theaters, talent representatives, museums, zoos and aquariums. In addition, they must meet certain guidelines including active operation as of February 29, 2020, and they must not have applied for a PPP loan on or after December 27, 2020. 

    The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant isn’t accepting applications yet, but people interested in applying are urged to start organizing their application. To prepare for the application process people should register for the federal System for Award Management (SAM), which will be a required part of the application. People need to know their D-U-N-S number to register in SAM. You can get a D-U-N-S number on the Dun & Bradstreet website. You should check the federal government’s website for the most recent updates on when and how to apply and for frequently asked questions. Watch the federal government’s webinar on YouTube and Register for email alerts from the federal government about the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant so you will be the first to know when applications open.

    In the meantime, you should check out the Curtains Up NYC program. Curtains Up NYC provides free application assistance for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Curtains Up NYC offers free webinars and one-on-one counseling for people interested in applying for the grant. The Services are free starting on February 10, 2021. 

    For more information on the Curtains Up NYC program and the Federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Process visit their website here.

  • Governors Ball Music Festival Announces 2021 Dates

    Governors Ball Music Festival announced it’s 2021 dates tentatively scheduling its 2021 edition for September 24-26. The festival generally takes place in June but is optimistically hoping by September that COVID-19 will be under wraps enough for the festival to take place. 

    The Governors Ball is a widely known and loved festival that takes place in Randall’s Island in New York City. Usually it has an attendance of sound 150,000 people and takes across four stages and over 70 acts. There is also a food program that is part of the festivities and it features the City’s best eats and highlights its incredible culinary diversity. It also hosts visual art, beverages, art installations, statues, high flying inflatables, and pop up performances.

    Organizers of the festival released a statement saying that, “We’ve decided to move the 2021 show to a time of year that is both more realistic and safer for all and while there are still question marks and unknowns in the World, rest assured that we are working closely with City and State authorities to ensure that the next Gov Ball will be a safe and amazing experience. We’ll be back to our regular June dates starting in 2022.”

    There isn’t a lot of information on the 2021 version of Governors Ball but there is some on their website. The lineup will not be the same lineup as the cancelled 2020 festival lineup. They haven’t announced who is on the lineup yet but have dropped a hint saying, “The lineup will be brand new! (Note: this is not a hint).” They are also saying the festival will return to it;s normal June dates in 2022. People who I held onto their tickets from the 2020 festival, but I can no longer make the new 2021 dates. Can I get a refund by requesting a refund for their ticket purchase but they must do so by Wednesday, January 27th at 11:59:59pm EST. If the festival doesn’t end up being feasible because of COVID-19 all tickets will be available for a refund. 

    The hope is with vaccines rolling out and many experts predicting a return to live music events in the Fall the festival will be able to take place in September. For more information on the Governors Ball and it’s new dates visit their website.

  • Harlem Gospel Choir Announces Performance at Sony Hall

    Harlem Gospel Choir is known for their contemporary gospel sound with a touch of jazz and blues They announced their upcoming performance at Sony Hall in New York City, right around the corner from Times Square. The show will broadcast via live-stream from Sony Hall on January 18, 2021 at 3PM. 

    Harlem Gospel Choir

    The Harlem Gospel Choir has been performing for over two decades and are known for being one of America’s premier gospel choirs. They are deeply rooted in the history of the African-American slave trade. It’s widely known that black gospel music can be traced back to the 1700’s, when African slaves were brought to America against their will. Eventually their unique African musical heritage was combined with Christianity to create the gospel sound that is widely known today. The Harlem Gospel Choir presents the modern gospel classics as performed in the black churches of Harlem today.

    Sony Hall is a multi-genre live venue located in the heart of New York City. It’s known as a one-of-a-kind concert hall which is enhanced by Sony technology to provide people with an one of a kind entertainment experience. The venue was established in 2018 and is owned and operated by Blue Note Entertainment Group. It has standing room for 1,000 people or seating capacity for 500 people and a full service restaurant and bar. Sony technology 360 Reality Audio, 4K Remote Cameras, and Headphones that support the 360 Reality Audio.

    This special performance is being done in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. and according to the Choir, “It will be a very special show with new material, and a few surprises.” The performance will take place live on January 18, 2021 at 3PM and will be available with the access code until January  25, 2021 at 11:59PM EST. Access to the virtual stream code is $25. People interested in purchasing a ticket can do so here.

    For more information the Harlem Gospel Choir and their Sony Hall performance, visit their website.

  • “Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online” Receives $33K Grant to Extend the Series

    “Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online” received a $33K grant to extend the series through the Spring of 2021. The series is presented by the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD) and it highlights the artistry of New York City’s leading immigrant performers from around the world. The grant came from the Howard Gilman Foundation. 

    The 33K grant will allow CTMD to spotlight 100 New York City-based immigrant and folk artists with their series with the help of the previous funding CTMD received from the Scherman Foundation and the NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund. 

    The Howard Gilman Foundation supports a cross-section of New York City-based performing arts organizations of varying structure, style, and budget size. The organization is committed to serving geographically and culturally diverse organizations devoted to excellence in both artistic achievement and audience experience.

    The artists being featured in the “Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online” include several National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award winners—represent the strength and diversity of the cultural sector in the City’s five boroughs, with traditions hailing from Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Gambia, Haiti, Iraq, Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, and West Africa, among other areas. 

    Immigrant artists have suffered hardships due to COVID- 19, particularly in New York City, with many unable to support themselves due to venues shutting down, the lack of endowments, and government aid. A recent report by the Center for an Urban Future found that many immigrant-led and immigrant-serving arts organizations are facing fiscal catastrophe, reporting revenue losses amounting to 50 percent or more of their annu­al budgets. This grant to showcase immigrant performances could make a huge difference for these severely impacted performers. 

    Peter Rushefsky, Executive Director of CTMD spoke on the pandemic and its effects on CTMD saying, “New York City’s traditional and folk artists have been particularly impacted by both the pandemic and the anti-immigrant political climate in our country. Amid the pandemic, many of these artists have structural impediments including the digital divide and language barriers to access federal relief funds or private sources of funding. Now more than ever we need to support these artists, who have suffered losses because of canceled concerts, performances, exhibitions, and other events. It is imperative that we come together as a city to support and celebrate our immigrant communities.”

    For more information on the Center for Traditional Music and Dance and their “Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online” visit their website.