NYS Music 202​1

Tag: universal preservation hall

  • Universal Preservation Hall Announces 2021-2022 Schedule

    Proctors Collaborative has announced the next block of upcoming shows at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. 

    Universal Preservation Hall

    After a brief opening in Feb. 2020, as with many venues across the country, UPH had to close its doors briefly before opening again during the COVID-19 pandemic as an exhibit hall in July 2020. 

    UPH is incredibly unique and adaptable as a year-round cultural center with multiple spaces. Our main performance space is a 700-seat, state-of-the-art theatre in the round and has been designed so that no audience member will be farther than 60 feet from the performer. There’s not a bad seat in the house!

    Teddy Foster, Director of UPH

    After a couple of very successful exhibits, celebrating local music with the 2021 Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards and welcoming new inductees to the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame, we’re excited to open our doors again for this great line-up of events.

    Max Weinberg’s Jukebox  

    7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21. The Great Hall at UPH, $39.50 – $69.50 

    Storm Large: Holiday Ordeal  

    8:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16. The Great Hall at UPH, $37.00 – $77.00 

    It’s a Jazzy Christmas  

    7:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 18. The Great Hall at UPH, $27.50 

    The Bad Plus  

    8:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13. The Great Hall at UPH, $27.00 – $43.00 

    Hipster Assassins 

    8:00 p.m. Friday, Jan. 28. The Great Hall at UPH, $17.00 – $37.00 

    Bakithi Kumalo & the Graceland Experience  

    7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. The Great Hall at UPH, $17.00 – $37.00 

    Howard Jones Acoustic Trio  

    7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12. The Great Hall at UPH, $27.00 – $67.00 

    The King’s Singers  

    7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17. The Great Hall at UPH, $23.00 – $58.00 

    The Seven Wonders – Fleetwood Mac Tribute  

    7:00 p.m. Friday, March 4. The Great Hall at UPH, $17.50 – $42.50 

    Ladysmith Black Mambazo  

    7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 5. The Great Hall at UPH, $32.50 – $62.50 

    Irish Hooley with The Screaming Orphans  

    7:00 p.m. Saturday, March 12. The Great Hall at UPH, $25.00 

    Spa City Guitar Festival  

    Friday – Sunday, March 18-20. The Great Hall at UPH, $32.50 

    Top of the World – a Carpenter’s Tribute  

    7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26. The Great Hall at UPH, $23.00 – $57.00 

    Brad Mehldau  

    7:00 p.m. Friday, April 15. The Great Hall at UPH, $35.00 – $65.00 

    Journeyman  

    7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 22. The Great Hall at UPH, $17.00 – $37.00 

    All tickets are available on Nov. 15 by phone at 518.346.6204 or online at universalpreservationhall.org. 

  • The 2021 Eddies Music Awards Announces Nominees and Ceremony

    The Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards or more commonly known as the Eddies Music Awards announced their 2021 nominees and ceremony date. The awards ceremony will be held at 7PM on Sunday, November 14, 2021 at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.

    This is the second installment of the Eddies Music Awards in 2021. This group of nominees represents works done by musicians in 2020. The first installment represented works done by musicians done in 2019 and were recognized during a live broadcast from UPH this May after two postponements due to the pandemic made them unable to host the awards ceremony in 2020 as planned.  

    This year’s categories will be a little different than in previous years. Sal Prizio, Eddies co-founder and co-producer explained this saying, “About half of the categories we presented in previous years were scuttled when looking at 2020. We took a poll of judges and there was near unanimous agreement that the genre categories such as best folk artist and best hard rock artist didn’t make sense, as so much of the assessment in those categories was based on live performance.” 

    The categories this year are: Arts Publication of the Year, Arts Journalist of the Year, Radio DJ of the Year, Radio Station of the Year, Music Recording Studio of the Year, Label of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows, and Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist – Show or Series – Covers.  

    Tickets for the Eddies Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on October 27, 2021 and the Eddies Music Awards on November 14, 2021  are now on sale here. 

    For more information the 2021 Eddies Music Awards visit their website. 

    Full list of nominations listed bellow: 

    Arts Publication of the Year 

    NYS Music 

    Preview /Times Union 

    Spot 518 

    The Xperience Monthly 

    Ticket/Daily Gazette 

    Arts Journalist of the Year 

    Steve Barnes  

    Jim Gilbert  

    Michael Hallisey  

    Indiana Nash 

    Jim Shahen Jr. 

    Liam Sweeney 

    Radio DJ of the Year 

    Wanda Fisher 

    Art Fredette 

    Andy Gregory 

    Bill McCann 

    Jeff Morad 

    Sonny Speed 

    Chris Wienk 

    Radio Station of the Year 

    RadioRadioX 

    WCDB 90.9 

    WEQX 102.7 

    WEXT 97.7, 106.1 

    WSPN 91.1 

    WVCR 88.3 

    Music Recording Studio of the Year 

    Albany Audio Associates (AAA Recording Studio C) 

    Blue Sky Recording/Mixing Studio 

    Millstone Recording Studio 

    NRS Studios Catskill 

    The Recording Company 

    Starling Studios 

    Label of the Year 

    Albany Records 

    Cacophone Records 

    Equal Vision Records 

    Flipped Out Records 

    Magnetic Eye Records 

    Upstate Records 

    Music Video of the Year 

    “Everyone’s Gone Home” – Joel Brown 

    “Moon” – Novus Cantus 

    “Skin Disease” – Craig Hamilton 

    “Ain’t Going Anywhere” – Buggy Jive 

    “Modernist” – El Modernist 

    “Sellout” – Joe Mansman and The Midnight Revival Band 

    “415” – Sydney Worthley 

    “Alone” – Zan & The Winter Folk 

    Record of the Year 

    “Hold Me” – Julia Alsarraf 

    “Everyone’s Gone Home” – Joel Brown 

    “Moz Disco” – Coupons   

    “Better off Alone” – Moriah Formica 

    “Quentin” – Gordon St. 

    “Roll Over You” – Sean Rowe 

    “Andy Warhol” – Annie Scherer 

    “A Thousand Years” – The Sea The Sea 

     “415” – Sydney Worthley 

    Album of the Year 

    “Somethin’ Comes Along” – Bright Dog Red 

    “Ain’t Going Anywhere” – Buggy Jive 

    “Back Pocket” – Dominick Campana 

    “Going Places” – Dylan Canterbury 

    “Rougher Stuff” – Dark Honey 

    “Flowers for You” – Sawyer Fredericks 

    “What Happens After” – Laveda 

    “Northeast” – Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter 

    “Stumbling Home” – The Sea The Sea 

    Songwriter of the Year 

    Julia Alsarraf 

    Dan Berggren 

    Buggy Jive 

    Jim Gaudet 

    Girl Blue 

    Michael Jerling 

    Kate McDonnell 

    Kim Cirillio Wickham 

    Best Presenter of Virtual Live Music Shows 

    Caffe Lena – “Stay Home Sessions” 

    Frank Cavone / Mirth Films 

    Freedom Park Quarantune Series 

    Mark Gamsjager / The Lustre Kings weekly Saturday night virtual shows  

    High Peaks Event Productions 

    The Linda: Open for Take-Out Virtual Concert Series 

    Best Live Virtual Performance(s) by an Artist – Show or Series – Covers 

    Rick Bedrosian 

    Mark Gamsjager 

    DJ Trumastr 

  • Eddies Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2021 Inductees 

    Eddies Music Hall of Fame announced their class of 2021 inductees and their Induction ceremony which will take Place on October 27, 2021. The ceremony will take place at the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs and will feature live performances. 

    The Eddies Music Hall of Fame was founded back in 2019. Recipients receive a plaque and a short video about their career playing at the Eddies Music Hall of Fame Wall at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. The Hall of Fame is conducted in conjunction with the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards, both of which are parts of the Proctors Collaborative. Universal Preservation Hall is also a part of the Proctors Collaborative.  

    This year’s inductees includes big band vocalists and brothers Bob Eberly and Ray Eberle; country musician Marty Wendell; the rock band the Figgs, radio disc jockey Jim Barrett, jazz band leader Skip Parsons, Cuban and African percussionist and educator Eddie Ade Knowles; Old Songs founders Kay (Andy) and Bill Spence.

    To be considered eligible to be inducted into the Eddies Music Hall of Fame nominees must have been born in the Capital Region and / or have lived here and / or worked professionally in the Capital Region during their lifetime. As a general rule, nominees must have been active in the music industry for a minimum of 20 years. Exceptions are made in the case of a candidate’s premature death or due to outstanding service or special circumstances. 

    Both physical performers who are nominated for the Instrumental and / or vocal work and non-performers who are Songwriters, producers, conductors, engineers, disc jockeys, record company executives, journalists, promoters, and other industry professionals who have had a major influence on music, business, organization and institutional leaders, philanthropists, venue operators are eligible to be nominated for the Hall of Fame. 

    Jim Murphy who is the co-founder and co-producer of the Eddies Music Hall of Fame spoke on this year’s inductees saying, “This is our biggest class so far and it brings the total number of inductees to 15. Judges have nominated nearly 100 individuals and groups since we started the process so there is no end in sight to celebrating our local music scene as more bands and individuals enter eligibility.” 

    The Eddies Music Hall of Fame Induction ceremony is scheduled to take place on October 27, 2021 at 7 PM. The ceremony will feature performances from artists playing the inductees’ music: Dylan Perillo; Sean Wendell; BROWN LIQUOR SOCIAL CLUB featuring Chris Dollard and J Yager; and Peter Pashoukos and Greg Greene (of the band Perennial). Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the show.

    For more information on Eddies Music Hall of Fame and their 2021 inductees visit their website.

  • Jocelyn and Chris Take the Big Wins at the 2020 Eddies Music Awards

    Jocelyn and Chris took home a pair of big wins at the 2020 Eddies Music Awards as music across the Capital Region was honored at the Thomas Edison Music Awards, more commonly known as the Eddies Music Awards, on May 2, 2021.

    2020 Eddies Awards

    The Eddies Music Awards broadcast from Universal Preservation Hall for its second annual awards show and was presented by KeyBank. The awards show was rescheduled twice during the pandemic and was shot on a closed set in UPH’s Great Hall with four musical performances and four panel discussion on how artists, technicians, venue owners and others pivoted during the pandemic. The panels were hosted by WEQX’s Jeff Morad and WEXT’s Andy Gregory.

    2020 eddies awards

    Jocelyn and Chris ended up sweeping the awards show taking home three big wins in Album of the Year, Video of the Year and Solo / Duo Artist of the Year. Jocelyn and Chris are siblings, who debuted their next single “Sugar and Spice” while performing with a full band during the broadcast. Other notable wins include Record of the Year which went to the Gibson Brothers, who also won Country / Bluegrass Artist of the Year. The other two-time winner was WEXT which won Radio Station of the Year and whose Chris Wienk won Radio DJ of the Year. Awards were announced in a total of 34 categories.

    2020 eddies awards

    There were three other performances at  the awards show. One performance was done by Marty Wendell who is a 2020 Eddies Music Award nominee for Country / Bluegrass Artist of the Year. Another was done by bandleader/ vocalist/ instrumentalist/songwriter Garland Nelson who is a two-time 2019 Eddies Music Awards winner.  Schenectady native Promise The Unbreakable™, who was nominated for Hip Hop/Rap Artist of the Year in 2019 and again in 2020, performed as well. Nelson did double-duty as show emcee. 

    The show, filmed by Chromoscope Pictures of Troy, is available free on demand through Collaborative Studios’ Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV apps, its public access channels in Albany and Schenectady, and on YouTube and Facebook. Collaborative Studios and the Eddies Music Awards are initiatives of Proctors Collaborative.

    2020 eddies awards

    The 2021 Eddies Music Awards Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Thursday, October 28 and the Eddies Music Awards Show on Sunday, November 14. Both events will be staged at Universal Preservation Hall, home of the Eddies Music Hall of Fame.

    For more information on the 2020 Eddies Music Awards visit their website.

    Complete list of winners is below:

    Music Journalist of the Year: Katie Cusack (The Collaborative)
    Arts Publication of the Year: Nippertown
    Radio DJ of the Year: Chris Wienk (WEXT)
    Radio Station of the Year: WEXT
    Photographer of the Year: Kiki Vassilakis 
    Solo or Duo Artist of the Year (Covers): Erin Harkes
    Party Cover Band of the Year: The Refrigerators
    Country Cover Band of the Year: Skeeter Creek 
    DJ of the Year: DJ Trumastr
    Hip Hop/Rap Artist of the Year: JB aka Dirty Moses
    Electronica Artist of the Year : Bare Mattress
    World Music Artist of the Year: Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde 
    Classical Artist of the Year: Albany Pro Musica
    Jazz Artist of the Year: Dylan Perrillo
    On the Verge Presenter of the Year: Super Dark Collective
    Promoter of the Year: Greg Bell (Guthrie Bell Productions
    Live Production Crew of the Year: High Peaks Sound 
    Music Recording Studio of the Year: Overit Studios 
    Record Label of the Year: Five Kill Records
    Best Hang: The Low Beat
    Alt / Indie Artist of the Year : Candy Ambulance
    Punk Artist / Hardcore Artist of the Year: Prince Daddy and the Hyena
    Metal / Hard Rock Artist of the Year: The Clay People 
    Jam Band of the Year nominees: Let’s Be Leonard
    Blues Artist of the Year: Annie and the Hedonists
    Americana Artist of the Year: Eastbound Jesus
    Folk / Traditional Artist of the Year  : The Sea The Sea
    R&B / Soul Artist of the Year: The Age
    Country / Bluegrass Artist of the Year: The Gibson Brothers
    Solo or Duo Artist of the Year: Jocelyn & Chris
    Rock/Pop Artist of the Year : Girl Blue
    Music Video of the Year: Jocelyn & Chris with “Outta My Head”
    Record of the Year: Gibson Brothers with “Cool Drink of Water”
    Album of the Year: Jocelyn and Chris with “The Fun in the Fight”

    View a photo gallery of the evening by photographer Andrzej (Andre) Pilarczyk.

  • Broadway will Return to Proctors in 2021

    Proctors Theatre in Schenectady has announced upcoming dates for Broadway to return to their MainStage, later this year.

    Proctors Broadway

    Proctors Theatre recently released dates for eight postponed shows from the two past Key Bank Broadway Series. Although the shows don’t start until December 2021, this is still exciting news for the return of live theatre.

    This Key Bank series lineup will start late for a usual fall-to-spring theatre cycle, but this is “a good thing” according to Proctors Collaborative CEO Philip Morris. Due to COVID-19 regulations, we can’t have theaters seat audiences at full capacity. “The touring industry can’t come back until we can seat audiences near or at capacity. The economics won’t work otherwise,” explains Morris. “All projections suggest we should be able to return to full capacity by December, and it goes without saying we will be fully compliant with all state and federal safety guidelines to assure patron safety.”

    Proctors Broadway

    Key Private Bank Broadway Series at Proctors schedule:
    SUMMER – The Donna Summer Musical Dec. 7-12, 2021
    Come From Away Jan. 25-30, 2022
    The Prom – March 1-6, 2022
    Dear Evan Hansen – March 22-27, 2022
    CATS – May 3-8, 2022
    My Fair Lady – May 17-22, 2022
    Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – June 14-19, 2022
    Mean Girls – June 28-July 3, 2022
    Hadestown – New dates to be announced soon
    Disney’s The Lion King New dates to be announced soon
    Pretty Woman: The Musical New dates to be announced soon

    Dates for Hadestown, The Lion King, and Pretty Woman: The Musical are not available yet, but are coming. “The collective effort of Broadway producers and local markets working together to reconfigure routes across the country is complicated beyond belief,” Morris notes. “It takes a while for plans to settle out for every show and every market.” Information about when tickets will be available is coming this spring.

    Live shows aren’t just coming back to Schenectady. Other Proctors Collaborative venues are getting ready to welcome back in person audiences soon. Capital Repertory Theatre will open ticket sales this spring for their upcoming shows in Albany. The Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs will likely sell tickets this summer for concerts and events in their third and forth quarter.

    Proctors Broadway the rep


    While we still can’t meet in person, online theatre gives more people access to performances than ever before. theREP is currently showing its April Play Reading series online. The suggested donation to watch is $15, but virtual audience members can give any amount.

    “Our prolonged intermission is nearly over. We can’t wait to welcome audiences back!” Morris says. “And from all reports we are hearing they can’t wait to come back.”

  • Misty Blues Join Universal Preservation Hall for Virtual Concert

    Universal Preservation Hall will present a live-streamed concert of Misty Blues on February 12 at 8 p.m. This serves as a celebration of their 10th album, None More Blue, and over two decades together.

    Misty Blues

    After the performance of their new album, the band will perform the “Queens of the Blues” soundtrack as a Black History Month celebration. The Queens of the Blues movie shows the lives of four African-American female blues artists: Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, Ruth Brown, and Koko Taylor. All four of these women made an undeniable impact on blues, jazz, and popular music throughout the twentieth century and beyond.

    All compositions on None More Blue were written during the pandemic and show the connections the band was able to maintain despite a remote environment. The album release date is February 14.

    misty blues

    Misty Blues, led by lead singer/band founder Gina Coleman, was a 2019 International Blues Challenge finalist. The band has performed original and traditional blues with hints of jazz, soul, funk and tent revival gospel since 1999. They have recorded and shared the stage with Charles Neville and opened for contemporary blues artists like Tab Benoit, John Primer, Albert Cummings and Michael Powers. The band recently earned an Independent Blues Music Award nomination for the best contemporary blues song. The band’s original recordings have wide radio airplay in the U.S. and U.K. 

    Tickets for Misty Blues are $20 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (1/15) at Universal Preservation Hall.