NYS Music 202​2

Author: Christian Hince

  • Johnny Cash Tribute Show Coming to Plattsburgh, Sugarloaf and Albany

    The Man in Black, a Johnny Cash tribute show, has announced a 17-date North American fall tour that includes three stops in New York State.

    The nearly two-month tour begins Sept. 15 at the Strand Center for Arts in Plattsburgh, with later shows at the Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center in Chester on Oct. 6 and the Swyer Theater at the Egg in Albany on the 7.

    man in black
    Shawn Barker as Johnny Cash (photo credit: Ed Gregory)

    Led by Shawn Barker’s portrayal of the American country icon, The Man In Black’s first show was performed in 2004 in a Niagara Falls casino. Since then, the show has seen over 1,000 performances in 12 different countries.

    “With the recent passing of Cash and the biopic film Walk The Line having recently been released around then, our show delivered a new outlook into Johnny Cash’s music and career that people really seemed to want to see,” said Barker of the show’s success early on.

    The Man in Black features Barker in character during the entire show, portraying each stage of Johnny Cash’s life and career. Performance of Cash hits such as “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue,” “Ring of Fire,” and “Hurt” include a full backing band.

    Information regarding tickets and more can be found on The Man In Black website.

    Snippet video of the show in promotion of a 2019 performance.

    Thu. September 15 Strand Theatre for the Arts Plattsburgh, NY

    Fri. September 16            The Cabot                                                                            Beverly, MA

    Sat. September 17           The Flying Monkey                                                           Plymouth, NH

    Thu. October 6                  Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center                             Chester, NY       

    Fri. October 7                    Swyer Theater at the Egg                                             Albany, NY

    Sat. October 8                    Mohegan Sun Arena                                                       Uncasville, CT

    Sun. October 9                  Beacon Theatre                                                                 Hopewell, VA

    Wed. October 12              Rams Head On Stage                                                       Annapolis, MD

    Thu. October 13                Birchmere                                                                           Alexandria, VA

    Fri. October 14                  Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre                       Red Bank, NJ

    at the Count Basie Center for the Arts

    Sat. October 15                 Keswick Theatre                                                                Glenside, PA

    Sun. October 16                American Music Theatre                                               Lancaster, PA

    Wed. October 19              Carnegie of Homestead                                                 Munhall, PA

    Fri. October 21                  Pabst Theatre                                                                    Milwaukee, WI

    Sat. October 22                 Mystic Lake Casino Hotel                                              Prior Lake, MN

    Thu. November 10           Le Capitole                                                                          Quebec, Canada

  • Irish Arts Center Welcomes Weeklong Pillow Queens Residency

    The Irish Arts Center (IAC) will host a weeklong residency for Pillow Queens, an all-female Irish indie rock band from September 13 to 17.

    A NYC-based institute dedicated to Irish & Irish-American art/culture, the IAC’s showcase includes a film presentation, a literary event and two nights of performance by the band.

    pillow queens irish arts center

    Tuesday the 13th offers a presentation of “You Are Not My Mother,” the debut film of writer-director Katie Dolan. Her previous work includes music videos for Pillow Queens tracks “Holy Show,” “Brothers,” and “Gay Girls.”

    The 14th showcases a conversation around “This Woman’s Work: Essays on Music,” a collection edited by writer Sinéad Gleeson and musician Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth fame. Gleeson will be joined in discussion by fellow writers Leslie Jameson and Jenn Pelly with Sarah Corcoran of Pillow Queens moderating.

    Concluding the residency on the 16th and 17th will be two concert performances featuring special guests SOAK, a Mercury Prize nominated singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland, and Toronto-based indie rock artist Deanna Petcoff.

    Having formed in 2016, Pillow Queens have performed with the likes IDLES and Pussy Riot. They have two studio albums to their name and also appeared on CBS’ The Late Late Show in 2021.

    Information on tickets and more regarding the Pillow Queens residency at the Irish Arts Center can be found on the institute’s website.

  • Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion to Perform at Skidmore College

    Skidmore College and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center have announced a concert with violinist Caroline Shaw and NYC quartet Sō Percussion at the school’s Tang Teaching Museum.

    Slated for Friday, September 23 at 7:30 pm, the free-to-the-public show will feature Shaw and the group performing their 2021 collaborative album, Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part. This record marks Shaw’s debut, a Pulitzer Prize winning instrumentalist, singer, and composer. The concert stamps a return to the Tang for the Grammy-winning Sō Percussion, who performed at the Museum in 2014.

    Caroline shaw
    Left to right: Eric Cha-Beach & Jason Treuting of Sō Percussion, Caroline Shaw, Josh Quillen & Adam Sliwinski of Sō Percussion.

    Shaw, along with winning the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, has won three Grammy awards in addition to receiving an honorary doctorate from Yale and a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. She’s worked with artists such as Rosalia, Yo-Yo Ma, and Kanye West and has contributed music to movies such as Bombshell and TV shows such as Beyonce’s Homecoming.

    Sō Percussion, having formed in 1999, has over 20 albums to their name in addition to collaboration with artists such as The Dirty Projectors along with score performance for works such as HBO’s The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst, a 2015 documentary mini-series.

    Additional information regarding the event and more can be found on the Tang’s website.

  • Flushing Town Hall Mashup Series Continues With “Jazz Piano Meets Venezuela”

    Flushing Town Hall’s ongoing concert series, Common Ground: Mini-Global Mashups, picks back up Sunday, September 18 with “Jazz Piano Meets Venezuela.”

    Common Ground, which started last October, brings together musicians from different national/artistic backgrounds for never before performed collaborative works. It’s curated by trumpeter and composer Frank London of The Klezmatics, who played in the original, large scale version of the series.

    flushing town hall venezuela
    Amina Claudine Myers (left) and María Fernanda González. (right)

    The two artists on program for this upcoming show at Flushing Town Hall are American jazz artist Amina Claudine Myers and Venezuelan musician María Fernanda González, a player of the bandola llanera, a guitar-like instrument native to Venezuela and Colombia.

    Myers, an Arkansas-born artist, composer, and educator, has had her musicianship recognized on an institutional level, having received multiple grants and awards from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet The Composer, and The New York Foundation for the Arts. She also was inducted as a member of the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame in 2010.

    González, a Northwest Venezuelan artist, composer, educator, and journalist, is one of the only female musicians in the world playing her instrument, becoming the world’s first female electric bandola llanera player in 2016. She’s also participated in and won competitions at Colombia’s Joropo Festival.

    Information regarding tickets, schedule and more can be found on the Flushing Town Hall website.

  • Sugar Hill Music Festival Returns For Year Six in Harlem

    The sixth annual Sugar Hill Music Festival is set to take place Saturday, September 10 in Harlem with a program of concerts and other festivities beginning at 3pm.

    sugar hill music festival

    Taking place at Harlem’s Sugar Hill Luminaries Lawn, the performers include Camille Thurman, a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, performing with the Darrell Green Quartet, Clifton Anderson, a Harlem trombonist who’s been on stage with renowned names such as Stevie Wonder and Dizzy Gillespie who will be playing with his signature sextet, the Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra, a nineteen-piece led by the Washington Heights composer and trumpeter, and the Sugar Hill Quartet, the longest running house band in New York City.

    The festival is run by While We Are Still Here, a Harlem non-profit which aims to “educate, enshrine and preserve the extraordinary legacy of Harlem as an influential incubator that was vital to the intellectual, cultural, social, and political advancements of the Harlem community as well as the African Diaspora.”

    The festival follows a “pay what you will” model, with admissions of any price up to $100 towards While We Are Still Here being accepted. Information about the performing acts and more can be found here.

    One of several educational shorts on the While We Are Still Here YouTube channel.

  • Oobleck Schedules Two October Concert Dates In NY

    Capital region funk band Oobleck has announced three concert dates across the next two months, two of which are taking place in the Capital District.

    Oobleck concert dates
    The members of Oobleck (credit: Kiki Vassilakis)

    The group has over a month of time between their coming show in Shelburne, VT on this Saturday the 10th and the following performance date, with them next performing at the Unihog in Hoosick Falls on Friday, October 21. The 21-and-up event will begin at 8pm.

    Oobleck’s other scheduled show is on Sunday, October 30th is at Schuylerville’s Saratoga Apple. Running from noon to 3pm, the free concert is open to attendance from all ages.

    Formed in 2008, three of the group’s records can be found on Bandcamp where they are available for purchase.

    More information in regards to Oobleck’s Hoosick Falls and Schuylerville concert dates can be found on each show’s respective Facebook event page.

    Oobleck plays “Whiskey Song,” the sixth track from their most recent album released in 2015, Don’t Mistake the Barn for the Basement.

  • Aaron Diehl & Orrin Evans to Perform at Bryant Park

    Bryant Park’s Picnic Performances, a summer series of free-to-the-public concerts will continue Thursday, September 8 with a duo performance by jazz pianists Aaron Diehl and Orrin Evans.

    Both having claim to the famed title of “Steinway Artist,” the two will play a mixture of standards and originals on their signature instruments made by the Steinway & Sons piano company.

    Aaron Diehl.

    Diehl’s career highlights include winning the American Pianist Assocation’s Cole Porter Fellow of 2011 and performances at historic venues such as the Lincoln Center and the Village Vanguard. As for influences, he gives credit to prior pianists Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, and Jelly Roy Morton.

    Orrin Evans.

    Evans has supported a career of nearly thirty years without support from a major label, with his last six projects being released with Smoke Sessions, an independent record company based in New York City. Achievements to Evans’ name include placing #1 in the 2018 Downbeat Critics Poll for “Rising Star Pianist” in addition to Grammy nominations for two albums made with his Captain Black Big Band.

    Orrin Evans and members of the Captain Black Big Band talk about the group’s 2020 album “The Intangible Between.”

    Food and beverages will be available from on-site vendors near the lawn. Information about the Manhattan park’s final three concerts of the summer following Diehl & Evans’ performance can be found on the Bryant Park website.

  • The Ed Sullivan Show Gets Own Channel on Pluto TV

    This past week the Ed Sullivan Show channel launched on Pluto TV, bringing an array of content which includes over 75 hours worth of on-air performances.

    These can be found all in one collection, which includes Ed Sullivan’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Classics (Rock `N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Rock Legends, The British Invasion, Psychedelic Sixties, Top Hits Of 1965, Top Hits Of 1970, West Coast Rock, Lennon & McCartney Songbook, Sounds Of The Cities, Gone Too Soon, Motortown Review and First Women Of Rock).

    Ed Sullivan.

    Having run nearly every Sunday from 1948 to 1971, The Ed Sullivan Show featured celebrity musicians such as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, The Temptations, and the Jackson 5 along with comedians such as Joan Rivers, Flip Wilson, and Rodney Dangerfield over the course of the program’s run.

    As well as showcasing those listed above, the 24/7 channel will also include the appearances of variety figures such as children’s puppeteer Topo Gigio, plate spinner Erich Brenn, and the Muppets.

    In addition, the channel run TV specials and documentaries such as The Best Of The Ed Sullivan Show which comprises 80 edited episodes of original episodes featuring highlight moments of performances on air.

  • Virgin Islands Shakedown Announced Featuring Members of moe., Lotus, Umphrey’s McGee and More

    The date and lineup for this year’s Virgin Islands Shakedown have been set. Running from November 17 to 20, the festival will take place at The Fred, a beachside resort in St. Croix.

    The lineup includes appearances from the Dire Wolves featuring Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico of moe., Jason Hann of String Cheese Incident, Mark Joseph of The Big Wu, and Steve Molitz of Particle along with Phil Lesh, all of whom will perform four sets across the festival’s run.

    Promotional poster for the Virgin Islands Shakedown.

    Other four set acts of the event include Blue Star Radiation featuring Rob Derhak and Vinnie Amico of moe., Tim Palmieri of Lotus, and Nate Wilson of Percy Hill. Special guests of the festival include Joel Cummins of Umphrey’s McGee, Ashish “Hash” Vyas of Thievery Corporation, and Janis Wallin of Family Groove Company. VIP attendees will also be privy to late night DJ sets by Jason Hann.

    Footage from last year’s Virgin Islands Shakedown.

    The Virgin Islands Shakedown first ran in December 2020, featuring a socially distanced version of what was seen last year and is programmed for this November.

    Information regarding ticket/hotel room packages and more can be found on the festival’s website.

  • Locations Drop Bouncy Single “Moves”

    Brooklyn alt-rock duo Locations has dropped “Moves,” a jovial dance rock track which is the band’s first release in over two years.

    The track is centered around a bright, melodic guitar rhythm and the band’s falsetto vocal harmonies in this ode to optimism and getting up to dance. “Dance if you wanna dance, move if you wanna move, you have got to do it for you,” they sing on the chorus.

    (left to right) Niko Rummell (lead guitarist/vocalist) and Thomas Whidden (drummer/vocalist) of Locations. (photo by Hannah Turner Harts)

    While simple, the hook is catchy and succinctly expresses the song’s straightforward ideas. It provides a solid contrast from the track’s verses, which build towards something a little more hyper in the chorus. This is especially the case in the song’s final minute, as muted guitar creates a light tension which is released in satisfying fashion for the outro.

    The song is also part of an impassioned campaign from the band, with them using the single to promote universal healthcare. Looking to raise funds for Campaign for NY Health, Locations is selling limited edition t-shirts to support the organization which seeks to pass a single payer healthcare system in New York State.

    Also as part of this campaign, the group will be performing at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan on Monday, September 5 along with ALIENS, Witch Slap, Nuclear Family Fantasy, and Lumberob. Tickets can be found here.

    Not only is “Moves” the band’s first single in over two years, but it was also the first written after a “major medical event” involving one of the members put activities on hold for several months.

    “Moves” by Locations is a vibrantly optimistic song that looks to build optimism for a cause of passion, and it does so in an easily listenable way.