On August 16, 2021, Lindsey Stirling graced Saratoga Performing Arts Center with an incredible performance. From daredevil aerial spinning to intricate choreography, her show is one for the ages. Sterling said during her set that she always imagined herself becoming what she is today, a badass playing violin and dancing to dubstep, wearing the most fantastical costumes.
Photo by Zach Culver
Lindsey’s Artemis Tour, named after her latest album release, is just as outrageously out of this world as any of her work. Every few songs a video would come up on the massive LED screen behind her playing a fable of sorts, usually incredibly strong and uplifting, inner beauty and strength being a key point in all her messages. She dives deep into each genre of… well, everything she gets into. Her music ranges from heavy dubstep to classical and back to pop, and her stage performances always have incredible themes.
Artemis is very much an album based in ancient fantasy. The videos between songs showed Lindsey Stirling in full costume in the middle of the woods, bow in hand, among her clan of pre/post-apocalyptic hunters. As she dove into her other albums, her costumes and themes changed with them. A Choose Your Own Pirate Adventure got the crowd cheering as the fair maiden and her crew acted out insanely hilarious and amazing choreography.
The Artemis Tour takes Lindsey out west for a handful of shows before a five-month hiatus. In late February 2022, she begins her World Tour of the same name beginning in Sydney, Australia and ending in Kiev, Ukraine.
Setlist: Artemis, Til the Lights Goes Out, Darkside, Shatter Me, Masquerade, Master of Tides, Love Goes On and On, Crystallize, Married Life > Once Upon a Dream > A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes / You’ve Got a Friend in Me, Between Twilight, Sleepwalking, The Arena / Underground, Roundtable Rival / Don’t Let This Feeling Fade, First Light, Mirage
Rescheduled from 2020, Daryl Hall and John Oates had been waiting to get their tour on the road for almost as long as we’ve been waiting to see them again. On Sunday, August 15th, they arrived with some 13,000 fans at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, one of the biggest crowds this venue has seen in some time. English band Squeeze opened the show.
Photo by Zach Culver
The duo came out, clad in their best rocker gear, followed by their band. Starting out with the classic “Maneater” the crowd was in from the start. They ripped through a few of their oldies before Daryl moved over to his grand piano for “Sara’s Smile.” After tearing up the crowd’s heartstrings he moved back over to center stage with his counter-part. The whole band came in strong for “Back Together Again,” surely being a very meaningful track for them after this past year.
30 minutes before their slotted end time they left the stage, leaving the crowd hungry for more. Little did they know what they were in for. Hall and Oates came back on stage for a four song encore, starting with “Rich Girl” and flowing into “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” and lastly, “You Make My Dreams.”
The duo headed west after Saratoga and the next time they will be near New York State will be September 18th at the Merriweather Pavilion in Columbia, MD and Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, CT to close their tour on December 3rd and 4th.
Setlist: Maneater, Out Of Touch, Method of Modern Love, Say It Isn’t So, You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Barry Mann cover), She’s Gone, Sara Smile, Is It a Star, Back Together Again, I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),
Encore: Rich Girl, Kiss On My List, Private Eyes, You Make My Dreams
2001 was a formative year for the relatively new Trey Anastasio Band (TAB). Since sprouting roots a few years earlier, the band had already grown from a three-piece to a six-piece ensemble. Co-founders Tony Markellis (bass) and Russ Lawton (drums), along with Trey, were supplemented with the addition of a horn section consisting of Dave Grippo (saxophone), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet) and Andy Moroz (trombone) for a short tour earlier in the year.
Come summer, the TAB outfit would add two more full-time members, rounding into an official octet. Another Giant Country Horn, Russel Remington (saxophone/flute) was added to the fray along with Ray Paczkowski, who still mans the keyboards for the band today. The addition of Paczkowski and a keyboard rig to the lineup was a clear game changer, bringing an extra layer of sound and funk that would seem irreplaceable today. Summer of 2001 would be the first time the TAB ‘Octet’ would hit the road, one that included a pair of choice NY gigs that helped close out the tour.
August 3, 2001 Jones Beach
Trey wastes no time getting this show up and running, with the wah pedal at the ready for a bouncy “Burlap Sack and Pumps” opener. It also features an extended saxophone solo from Dave “The Truth” Grippo that helps fuel the high intensity start. The crux of the first set is a 20-minute “Last Tube” that gets smoothed out nicely after some early feedback issues. Everyone gets a turn to solo on this one in a jam that slowly but steadily picks up steam throughout. Jennifer Hartswick’s enchanting harmonies shine through on “Flock of Words” before “Cayman Review,” a song that debuted only weeks ago, picks things back up. This early version is played a step or two slower than its contemporary one, but the funk is still very much evident, showing why it’s remained a staple of TAB setlists. A spirited “Moesha” later caps off a first set that, with the exception of “Words,” never comes to a full stop.
Much like “Last Tube” in the first, TAB’s second set at Jones Beach is heavily influenced by one song. “Money, Love and Change,” another new to TAB song only debuted a handful of shows ago, opens the set and doesn’t let up until well after 25 minutes later. The opening composed section sounds a little shaky as one would expect for a new song, but soon another Tony Markellis-led groove heaps fuel onto the improvisational fire and the jam is off and running. After a brief Trey/Ray duel on guitar and keys, the main theme re-emerges briefly but instead of coming to a close, the horn section leads a direct charge into “Plasma,” cementing a powerhouse start to this set. Newcomer Russ Remington shines when given the chance to lead the way on flute for a little while. Afterwards, Trey makes note of the venue’s new upper level of seats that wasn’t there the last time her played Jones Beach before launching into a scorching “Mr. Completely.”
After closing the second set with “Sand,” the tangible Phish vibe only grew stronger as bassist Mike Gordon came out and joined Trey for a three-song acoustic encore. With Phish still in the midst of their first self-imposed hiatus at this time, this helped to quell any unfounded rumors of the band’s early demise. The “internationally acclaimed movie director” (Gordon had recently releasedOutside Out) showed off his versatility and joined Trey on acoustic guitar for “Back on the Train” before switching back to bass and closing out the evening with a “Bathtub Gin” that had large swaths of the Jones Beach crown clapping and/or singing along at various points.
Trey Anastasio Band – Jones Beach Amphitheater – Wantagh, NY 8/3/01
Set 1: Burlap Sack and Pumps, Acting the Devil, Last Tube, Flock of Words, Cayman Review, Sidewalks of San Francisco, Moesha
Set 2: Money, Love and Change -> Plasma, Mr. Completely, At the Gazebo, Sand
Encore: Mountains in the Mist, Back on the Train, Bathtub Gin
Mike Gordon sat in for entire encore.
August 5, 2001 SPAC
After a quick dip into Massachusetts on August 4 for a gig at the Tweeter Center, TAB was back in NY two days later for the tour closer, this time Upstate and visiting another old friend, SPAC. With this still very much being the “early days,” a lot of the song pairings and sequences that were seen in Jones Beach would reappear here as the band’s musical repertoire was nowhere near where it is today. But much like snowflakes, no two TAB shows are completely alike.
The band drops “Last Tube” right away this evening as the opener. While it doesn’t quite reach the range of the Jones Beach version, it serves as more than an apt opener that has the band in peak form early and the Saratoga Springs crowd up and dancing immediately. Another sterling solo from Grippo and a rousing peak led by Anastasio again highlight this one. Then it’s right back into the still fledged “Cayman Review,” with Pazckowski moving nimbly between both the clav and organ. “Burlap Sack and Pumps” rounds out the opening trio, enabled by a pulsating Tony Markellis bass line that doesn’t quit. Although the order differed, the only new song in tonight’s first set from two nights prior is the calypso-infused “Alive Again” that appears later in the set, another (now) classic TAB song that was only first played earlier this summer.
Greg Haymes’ Times Union recap of TAB at SPAC
The second set at SPAC has a familiar start but does finally begin to offer a little variety. At this point of the tour, it’s evident that Trey knows which songs are the heavy hitters. Thus, the second stanza begins with a return to “Money, Love and Change.” Once more, it doesn’t quite reach the depths of the Jones Beach version, but Trey still uses the groove-filled jam that ensues as a vehicle to transition right into “Plasma” again.
The setlist then starts to offer a little variety, starting with an exquisite take on the TAB original “Drifting” where the harmony between Anastasio and Hartswick again reigns supreme. Another familiar tune to the Phish faithful emerges after this as the band doubles up on “tubes” for the evening and drops a pulsating mid-set “First Tube.” One of the gems of the entire show is TAB’s take on the soul classic “Ooh Child,” a rare polished cover that dates all the way back to the days of the original trio.
The show, and tour, is closed out in proper fashion with a set-ending “Push On ‘Til the Day” that follows along in the early TAB tradition of locking into an early groove supplied by the rhythm section of Markellis and Lawton and then expanding from there. With the entire horn section locked in as well, it’s a joyous sendoff and a fitting set closer. The instrumental “Mozambique” serves as as the encore, wrapping up a successful tour and two nights in NY for TAB.
King Crimson will return to the stage this summer, with their influential prog-rock ready in tow. They’ll make four stops across New York State, including Buffalo, Saratoga Springs, Canandaigua and Queens.
Featuring bandleader Robert Fripp, Tony Levin (bass), Jakko Jakszyk (vocalist/multi-instrumentalist), Mel Collins (multi-instrumentalist), and the drum trio of Pat Mastelotto, Gavin Harris, and Jeremy Stacey, King Crimson will kick off their summer tour on July 22 in Florida and find their way into New York in late August, before closing the tour in Washington D.C. on Sept. 11.
The Crimson Beast Of Terror has woken from its enforced slumbering and is venturing out to stomp flat the psyches of innocents not yet experienced in the hammering onslaught of King Crimson’s uncompromising pounding – bish! bish! bish! – before turning on a beat to jellify hearts with gut-wrenching passion and soul-squeezing epic unfoldings to remind us that we are all mere subjects in the unfolding drama of the universe’s unfathomable mysteries while simultaneously rocking out and having a great time bopping about with Tony and Bobby and Gavin and Jakko and Mel and Pat and Jezza too.
Robert Fripp
King Crimson formed in London in 1968 and have influenced artists from multiple genres of music since, among them YES and Genesis. Fripp, the band’s remaining founding member, has been a driving force throughout the band’s history. King Crimson has drawn broad inspiration over the years, incorporating elements of classical music, jazz, folk, heavy metal, industrial and experimental music.
On your way to SPAC, don’t forget that Stewart’s Shops is your ice cream shop! With over 345 shops in 31 counties across New York and southern Vermont, the convenience store chain is known for their fresh &local dairy products. With dozens of choices at the cone counter, you’re bound to find something you love! Try a shake, sundae, or cone today, What’s Your Flavor?
King Crimson 2021 Tour Dates
July 22 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall July 23 – Delray Beach, FL – Old School Square July 24 – St. Augustine, FL – St Augustine Amphitheater July 26 – Orlando, FL – Dr. Phillips Walt Disney Theater July 27 – Atlanta, GA – The Fox July 28 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium July 30 – Fort Worth, TX – Will Rogers Memorial Auditorium July 31 – Cedar Park, TX – H-E-B Center Aug. 2 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddlers Green Amphitheater Aug. 3 – Sandy, UT – Sandy Amphitheater Aug. 5 – Concord, CA – Concord Pavilion * Aug. 6 – Los Angeles – The Greek * Aug. 7 – Scottsdale, AZ – Talking Stick Ballroom Aug. 23 – Saratoga Springs, NY – SPAC * Aug. 24 – Northampton, MA – The Pines Theater * Aug. 26 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC * Aug. 27 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark Amphitheater* Aug. 28 – Rochester Hills, MI – Meadow Brook Amphitheater * Aug. 29 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia * Aug. 31 – Milwaukee, WI – Miller High Life Theatre * Sept. 1 – Cleveland, OH – Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica * Sept. 2 – Huber Heights, OH – Rose Music Center – The Heights * Sept. 4 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center * Sept. 5 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl Sept. 7 – Philadelphia, PA – The Mann Center * Sept. 9 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium * Sept. 10 – Boston, MA – Leader Bank Pavilion * Sept. 11 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *
It’s true, the Music Never Stopped, as Dead and Company will head out on the road this summer, their first shows since Playin in the Sand in January 2020. Dead and Company will embark on a 2021 Summer Tour, making four stops in New York State. Citi Field, Bethel Woods, Darien Lake and SPAC will all find multiple generations of Deadheads traversing the state this summer on a mission to get down.
The most recent New York appearance for Dead and Company was their Halloween run at Madison Square Garden in 2019. The Empire State will have an “Easy Wind” blowing across it later this summer, as Dead and Company comes to Citi Field on Friday, August 20, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Monday, August 23, Darien Lake Amphitheater on Wednesday, August 25, and Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Friday, August 27.
The Capital Region served as the foundation for Dead and Company’s start with their first performance at Times Union Center in Albany on October 29, 2015. John Mayer and Oteil Burbridge joined the band beyond description for “Playing in the Band” as the first tune to start their journey.
To ensure fans get tickets in their hands directly, Fan Registration is now available here until Sunday, May 16 at 10PM PDT, through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program. The Verified Fan Presale begins Wednesday, May 19th at 10 AM local through Thursday, May 20 at 10 PM local venue time. Supplies are limited.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, May 21 at Noon local venue time through Ticketmaster.
A rainbow over SPAC, June 2019
Dead & Company will continue their work with longtime sustainability partner REVERB. This summer the band has committed to a comprehensive carbon offset program via Reverb’s unCHANGEit Climate Campaign, covering all projected emissions from this year’s tour – including fan travel to and from shows. These Dead & Company tour offsets will immediately fund important projects around the world and here at home that directly fight climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
Dead and Company Summer 2021 Tour will offer a variety of enhanced experience packages that range in amenities from Loose Lucy’s Lounge access and early venue entry to branded lawn chairs and limited-edition screen-printed posters, paired with premium concert tickets. Travel Packages that bundle concert tickets with local accommodations will also be available. All enhanced offerings and travel packages go on sale May 19 at 10AM local venue time. For full details, visit here.
Jerry Garcia’s words and music get to carry another Summer and Fall Tour across the country. This cast certainly knows how to honor his historic improvisational ability while expressing their own voices on it. They have been given the seal of approval from original crew members and fans a like. Six years later it remains the Dead’s biggest revival. Oteil Burbridge doesn’t feel like a stranger for another tour. “When Bill Walton says you’re good, you quit worrying.”
On your way to SPAC, don’t forget that Stewart’s Shops is your ice cream shop! With over 345 shops in 31 counties across New York and southern Vermont, the convenience store chain is known for their fresh &local dairy products. With dozens of choices at the cone counter, you’re bound to find something you love! Try a shake, sundae, or cone today, What’s Your Flavor?
Dead & Company 2021 Tour
Mon-Aug-16 Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
Wed-Aug-18 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Fri-Aug-20 – New York, NY – Citi Field
Sat-Aug-21 Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park
Mon-Aug-23 Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Wed-Aug-25 Darien, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Fri-Aug-27 Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Sat-Aug-28 Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Thu-Sep-02 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Fri-Sep-03 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Sun-Sep-05 Hartford, CT – The Xfinity Theatre
Tue-Sep-07 Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Fri-Sep-10 Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sat-Sep-11 Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Mon-Sep-13 Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL
Wed-Sep-15 Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Sep 17-18 Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
Wed-Oct-06 West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Thu-Oct-07 Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Mon-Oct-11 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Tue-Oct-12 – Atlanta, GA – Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Live music returns to Saratoga Springs this June, and the concert announcements just keep getting bigger. Trey Anastasio will perform solo at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) for three nights, June 18-20, with tickets pre-sale starting May 5 at noon. Read our review of the weekend of shows here.
Anastasio was originally supposed to play at Tanglewood on June 18 with the Boston Pops, but cancelled the show in March.
Aside from the Beacon Jams this past fall, these shows mark the first live performances for Anastasio since January 2020 at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester. Trey last performed solo shows in the Fall of 2019, closing out the run at Carnegie Hall.
The timing of the shows follows the recent passing of longtime Trey Anastasio Band bassist Tony Markellis, a Saratoga Springs resident for more than 40 years, who passed away last week.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has announced the following guidelines for the three Trey Anastasio shows:
Social Distancing For our upcoming Trey Anastasio events June 18-20, capacity will adhere to state guidance. Currently, all seating will be sold in “pods” and each group of seats must be purchased together.
COVID-19 Testing Or Vaccination Requirements Guests have three options to demonstrate they are eligible to attend an event. Please note the required timeframes associated with each option so you can plan ahead accordingly:
1. Proof of a negative antigen COVID-19 test taken within six hours of the event start time OR 2. Proof of a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of the day of the event OR 3. Proof of vaccination. To ensure you fully vaccinated, the day of the event must be at least 14 days after your second dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or at least 14 days after your single dose of the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
On your way to SPAC, don’t forget that Stewart’s Shops is your ice cream shop! With over 345 shops in 31 counties across New York and southern Vermont, the convenience store chain is known for their fresh &local dairy products. With dozens of choices at the cone counter, you’re bound to find something you love! Try a shake, sundae, or cone today, What’s Your Flavor?
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.
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.
Teachers have been given the enormous and challenging task of teaching their students in person and, or virtually at the ready. Arts education has suffered during the pandemic. Tens of thousands of students would have visited any one of our venues for educational programming during this school year. Opportunities such Black Violin can straddle the disconnect of social distancing, support wellness and foster creative development and critical thinking.
Christine Sheehan, Director of Education at Proctors Collaborative
Black Violin normally consists of Wil Baptiste on viola and Kev Marcus on violin, but for the show DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes will join them. Together, the group describes themselves as a “classical Boom” because of their distinctive sounds of both classical and hip-hop.
Black violin has held strong for 16 years in the music industry. The pair gained notoriety for their mixture of modern tunes and vocals with old school orchestral music. Since their start, they have sold out headline concerts across the country at various notable venues. Performing around 200 shows, many have been for low-income students in urban communities.
“The stereotypes are always there, embedded so deep in our culture. Just by nature of our existence we challenge those ideas. It’s a unique thing that brings people together who aren’t usually in the same room, and in the current climate, it’s good to bring people together,” said Baptiste.
Capital Region teachers are able to register for the virtual event starting Jan. 5 on https://school.proctors.org/blackviolin/. Teachers who do want to participate will be given a study guide, link and access code prior to the show.
