NYS Music 202​2

Author: Faith Logue

  • 2nd Annual Rail Rider Jamboree Coming to Ellicottville

    The second annual Rail Rider Jamboree is coming to Ellicottville on March 18, 2023, at Holiday Valley Resort, with a stellar lineup comprised of new and old faces.

    Rail Rider Jamboree

    The Rail Rider Jamboree is a weekend filled with music, skiing, snowboarding competitions,
    brews and so much more. The promoters of Borderland Music + Arts Festival teamed up with the Holiday Valley Resort to bring this weekend to fans. The Jamboree is outdoors with music starting around 1 p.m. on March 18, with doors opening at 12 p.m. at the resort in the field on Rt. 219 across from the SnowPine chair.

    The Jamboree will kick off on March 17 with rail jam contests and live music, slopeside at the base of the mountain at the Rail Park, with some free music by a funk improv band from Buffalo, at the Holiday Valley Cabana Bar from 8 p.m.-10 p.m. The next day will bring some exciting music to the resort, like headliners Dark Star Orchestra. They have performed for over 25 years and at some 3,100 shows, performing a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring.

    Also headlining the Rail Rider Jamboree is Eggy, improv rockers comprised of guitarist and vocalist Jake Brownstein, keyboardist Dani Battat, bassist Michael Goodman and drummer Alex Bailey. Another headliner includes Mike Gantzer, guitarist of groove rock band Aqueous, who is assembling a band just for Rail Rider. Also performing will be local bands Grub from Buffalo and the New Orleans style marching band Brass Machine.

    Lodging with options to add on lift tickets and other resort activities are available to book with
    the resort today, with package Jamboree tickets to be announced. The event is for all ages, and tickets are on sale now.

  • Sophistafunk Announces Show at Stanley Theatre on February 18

    Syracuse natives Sophistafunk have announced a show at the Stanley Theatre on Feb. 18, 2023, starting at 7:30 p.m.

    Sophistafunk

    Sophistafunk is comprised of Adam Gold (keyboardist), Jack Brown (frontman), Tommy Weeks (saxophonist), and Emmanuel Washington (drummer and vocalist). After nearly ten years on the road, the group continues to connect with many audiences, from jazz fans to reggae. Their live shows are packed with passion with cutting-edge lyrics and heavy beats.

    Recently, they became the house band for the new game show hosted by Guy Fieri, Guy’s Ultimate Game Night, which will air on the Food Network on the Discovery+ streaming platform. They met Fieri in 2013 while performing on his show Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives at the restaurant/music venue Funk ‘n Waffles, which Gold owns.

    Sophistafunk will be bringing their high energy to the stage at the Stanley Theatre, an almost 3,000-capacity venue designed by famous architect Thomas Lamb in 1928. It remains one of the three Lamb theatres still in operation, including the Proctors Theatre and The Landmark Theatre. The show is on Feb. 18 and tickets are $30.50 in advance or $40.50 the day of the show. For more information about the band and to purchase tickets, go here.

  • Gov’t Mule Postpones New Year’s Eve run due to Medical Emergency

    Gov’t Mule announced that the group will postpone their Black ‘n’ Blue New Year’s Eve run of shows due to a medical emergency. The show was set to hit Philadelphia and New York City.

    Gov't Mule

    Gov’t Mule was supposed to stop at The Met in Philly on Dec. 29, with two stops then at The Beacon Theatre on Dec. 30-31. Warren Haynes, a former member of The Allman Brothers Band, leads the band and in a statement said “After waiting for so long, we were excited to be together and finally make these shows happen, the last thing we expected was to have to postpone again. Please hold on to those tix.”

    This isn’t the first time the jam band has had to postpone shows due to medical injuries (though in this case, the medical emergency hasn’t been released). At the beginning of the year, they announced their spring tour was postponed due to an injury Haynes sustained while in Costa Rica.

    In 2021, Gov’t Mule released their record Heavy Load Blues, which is nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Blues Album category this year. The group is made up of Haynes, as well as New York native Danny Louis, a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, and keyboard, and does backing vocals for the group. Matt Abts is the drummer, drumming with the soul of jam-rock legends that came before him. Finally, Jorgen Carlsson’s bass guitar matches beautifully with the rest of the group.

    For more information about the postponement, and to check when new dates are announced, go here.

  • Metropolitan Opera Taps Into Endowment due to Pandemic, Reduces Number of Performances

    The Metropolitan Opera has announced it will withdraw $30 million from its endowment due to a cash shortfall and lackluster ticket sales as they try to bring audiences back after the pandemic.

    Metropolitan Opera

    The Metropolitan Opera did what is considered a last resort for nonprofit organizations, dipping into their endowment funds. The Met’s endowment, valued at $306 million, was already regarded as small for an institution of its size and was meant to grow over time while producing a steady source of investment income. They are turning to this endowment to help with operating expenses due to weak ticket sales and a lack of donors. Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager said that “The challenges are greater than ever. The only path forward is reinvention.”

    This reinvention will be cutting the number of performances. The company is giving 215 performances this season but plans to reduce this amount by ten percent next season. Instead of putting on classic works, the Met will seek to put on more contemporary performances as they sell better, works such as Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” last season and Kevin Puts’s “The Hours” this season drew sellout crowds, while Verdi’s “Don Carlo,” had only 40 percent attendance after this month’s run.

    Gelb went on to say that the Met will open each season with a new production of contemporary work. It will begin next year with the company premiere of Jake Heggie’s “Dead Man Walking” and the season will feature its first performances of Anthony Davis’s “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X”; Daniel Catán’s “Florencia en el Amazonas” and a staged production of John Adams’s “El Niño.” He said there is a big shift with opera singers “embracing new work and understanding that this is the future.”

    Peter Gelb, left.

    The Met is not the only company suffering from this new emergence after the pandemic. According to the New York Times, Portland Opera in Oregon, which is struggling with a decline in ticket sales, has reduced its staff and cut in half the number of operas it has each season to three from six before the pandemic. The Philadelphia Orchestra has seen paid attendance hovering at around 47 percent this fall, down from about 66 percent before the pandemic. Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in Ohio canceled its holiday shows this month because of tepid demand and rising production costs.

    Arts groups like the Metropolitan Opera worry that weak attendance could extend into next season and beyond, as federal assistance which helped many companies survive through the pandemic has dried up. At the Met, subscriptions are expected to fall to 19 percent of total box office revenues this season, compared with 45 percent two decades ago. The company will try to appeal to old and new audiences and get the amount of their endowment back.

    The Met is the premier opera company in the United States, and even so still faces issues from the pandemic, which made a lot of businesses decline or shut down completely. Although the pandemic’s grasp is behind many people now, its effects will remain affecting the visual arts sector for years to come. For more information about events coming up at the Met, go here.

  • Chautauqua Institution Announces 150th Season, Summer Assembly Events Scheduled

    The Chautauqua Institution announced its 150 season, and annual Summer Assembly events, running from June 24 to August 27.

    Chautauqua Institution

    The Chautauqua Institution will be putting on live performances ranging from lectures, orchestras, and concerts with new and old faces. Some lecturers include Stranger Things and The Goonies actor Sean Astin on June 30, NPR puzzle master Will Shortz on July 7, political commentator Bill Kristol on July 10, and Jordan’s Her Majesty Queen Noor on Aug. 25.

    The Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra will have 23 performances in weeks one through nine. The Music School Festival Orchestra will present five concerts in 2023 during its residency weeks one through six. The School of Dance will be in residence weeks one through seven, with performances inclusive of two student dance galas and the beloved Alumni All-Star Dance Gala. The Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory will produce a combined season featuring five productions. The 2023 theater and opera repertoire will be announced in January.  

    The Chautauqua Institution announced some exciting performers set to come to the Amphitheater. On June 30 at 8:15 p.m. a special performance by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons graces the stage. The group has sold over 100 million records worldwide, with Valli having a very successful solo career as well. July 7 at 8:15 p.m. brings Straight No Chaser to the stage, a group with 2 RIAA Gold Certified albums, over 1.5 million concert tickets sold, over 1 billion streams on Pandora, and over 2 million albums sold worldwide. Other artists performing include Natalie Merchant and Girl Named Tom, among others.

    The Chautauqua Institution has an exciting lineup announced for the Summer Assembly programs. Gate passes and single event tickets, as well as parking and docks, will go on sale to the public on Jan. 17, with the season’s best prices from Jan. 17 through Feb. 20.

  • Kings Theatre Announces Premiere of ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Live in Concert

    Kings Theatre has announced the venue will be hosting the world premiere of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Live in Concert on Friday, March 17, 2023, at 8 p.m.

    into the spiderverse kings theatre

    The screening of the Academy Award-winning animated film from Sony Pictures Animation will be accompanied by a live orchestra, band, and turntables playing music from the score and soundtrack. The film follows Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, who after being bitten by a radioactive spider gains Spider-Man-like powers. The film was directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, written by Phil Lord and Rothman, and produced by Lord, Chris Miller, Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, and Christina Steinberg.

    Original music was composed by multiple Golden Globe nominee Daniel Pemberton, who will be on hand for the world premiere concert in Brooklyn. In a statement, he said “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of my favorite score scores I’ve ever written. I always had a dream the first place this would ever be heard would be Miles’ home – Brooklyn. So, I am ridiculously excited we get to perform the world’s very first Spider-Verse concert in the iconic borough where the story begins, bringing together on stage a full orchestra with a band, synths, AND a set of turntables for the world premiere performance this March.” 

    The film received widespread praise and attention for its visual style, characters, story, voice acting, and soundtrack. The highly anticipated sequel, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled for a theatrical debut in June 2023. The Kings Theatre is a live performance theatre in Brooklyn with a seating capacity of 3,200. In 1929 it was opened by Loew’s Theatres as a movie palace. The venue then closed in 1977, sitting empty until a complete renovation began in 2010.

    Tickets for the world premiere of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse on March 17, 2023, are on sale now.

  • SILO, Brooklyn’s Newest Go-To Nightclub Opens to Public February 10

    SILO, a brand new 500-cap nightclub in Brooklyn, is opening on Feb. 10, with an exciting lineup of DJ’s gracing the stage.

    SILO

    NYC promoter duo Alex Neuhausen and Lilly Wolfson created SILO. They are known for making their ‘Secret Loft’ series, an underground party that began in a refurbished Brooklyn auto garage, which has been praised by the New York Times and Timeout. They have been planning and fundraising for the new club for the past three years. According to them, the name SILO “captures the industrial feel of the space and the neighborhood, like a military missile silo. It also feels like a grain silo (big vertical cylinder) turned on its side.”

    The venue will host DJs and producers who represent the spectrum of dance music and the cultures and communities that have grown up around them. There will be special events, and even “vinyl only” nights, where people can take time and appreciate the classic long-play records. They have teased an exciting lineup of DJs, including the sounds of Josh Wink, the grooves of acid techno artist Hiroko Yamamura, and a special all-nighter with Eli Escobar. 

    For the production of SILO, the venue is equipped with high-tech sound and light fixtures, as well as a protein-packed menu and classic drinks. Gender equality is a core principle of the venue, specifically empowering women to become more involved in the nightlife and the music industry.

    SILO

    The venue will open on Feb. 10, with tickets on sale to the shows announced here.

    2023 Dates Announced, More TBA:

    2/10: STUNTSZ Presents: Mike Servito, Kia, + Special Guest
    2/11: CIRCE: Cassy, Tara Brooks
    2/18: Francois K, Toribio
    2/24: Nervous Records Birthday Party: Josh Wink, Sasha Carassi
    2/25: Eli Escobar All Night

    3/3: TNL VZN: Hiroko Yamamura, Justin Cudmore, Wtchcrft

    3/10 Bespoke Musik: Kollektiv Turmstrasse

  • Next Jazz Legacy Announces Performance at City Winery to Kick off Winter Jazzfest

    Next Jazz Legacy announces a celebration of its monumental first year with a performance at the NYC Winter JazzFest at City Winery on Jan. 12.

    Next Jazz Legacy

    Next Jazz Legacy is a program by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice that addresses gender and racial inequities by providing opportunities for mentorship and professional development to those who have been underrepresented in jazz. Within their cohort is a lineup of emerging women and nonbinary musicians. The program is co-founded by NEA Jazz Master and founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice Terri Lyne Carrington and New Music USA President & CEO Vanessa Reed.

    Those involved with the program were able to learn valuable skills, and even had apprenticeships with jazz icons like Esperanza Spalding, Lizz Wright, Marcus Miller, Mary Halvorson, Tia Fuller, Linda May Han Oh, and Chris Potter. Throughout the year, awardees performed on prestigious stages at local and national jazz events throughout the country, including at the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival and as part of a special Livestream Concert produced by WBGO.

    On Jan 12. Next Jazz Legacy will be partaking in the Winter Jazzfest at City Winery. Doors open at 5 p.m., and a special panel at 5:30 titled “Why the Jazz World Needs Gender Equity” will occur. The panel will discuss the importance of initiatives like NJL for women and non-binary jazz artists, and how those artists are shaping the music’s future. At 7 p.m., NJL will perform, featuring all seven of the inaugural awardees, who are Ivanna Cuesta (Drums), Lexi Hamner (Vocals Trombone), Keyanna Hutchinson (Guitar), Alexis Lombre (Piano/Keys), Anastassiya Petrova (Keys/Piano), Loke Risberg (Guitar) and Kalia Vandever (Trombone).

    The last event of the evening starts at 8 p.m., and it is New Standards live. Curated by Terri Lyne Carrington and featuring an astounding lineup of musicians, this debut performance will celebrate the recent publication of New Standards, a songbook featuring lead sheets by 101 women composers, the first of its kind. Tickets to see the Winter Jazzfest are on sale now.

  • Long Island Music Hall of Fame Announces 1st Annual Holiday Concert

    The Long Island Music Hall of Fame has announced its first annual holiday concert at the brand new facility in Stony Brook on Dec. 23 from 12:30-4 p.m.

    Long Island Music Hall of Fame

    The Long Island Music Hall of Fame recently moved into its brand new Stony Brook location that is dedicated to the recognition, honor, and preservation of Long Island’s music and entertainment heritage. Since 2004, the museum has inducted over 120 music artists and related professionals, and now they are put on display.

    The museum features displays of original musical instruments, famous awards, apparel, and other memorabilia from many of Long Island’s favorite artists. People represented here include Billy Joel, Blue Oyster Cult, KISS, LL Cool J, and more. Since the opening of the new facility, LIMEHOF has featured live performances from Stanton Anderson Acoustic Trio, the Smithtown High School East Chamber Choir, Quarter Horse, Jack’s Waterfall American Roots, Richie Cannata and Mark Newman, and Kerry Kearney.

    On Dec. 23, there will be the first annual holiday concert put on by the museum, with music from 12:30-4 p.m. The artists featured on the bill include Gene Casey, a Long Island native whose songs have been used in A Prairie Home Companion and on the soundtracks to television and feature films, including Justified and Sons of Anarchy. Other artists on the bill include Pete Mancini & The Hillside Airmen from NYC. Mancini has released two records that have earned praise from NPR, and also landed him an appearance on the AMA radio charts.

    Long Island Music Hall of Fame

    Finally, Rorie Kelly performs, an award-winning singer/songwriter from Long Island. Her music has been featured in film and TV shows and received radio airplay around the world which led her to perform at the Obama White House in 2016. The Long Island Music Hall of Fame’s first annual holiday concert will be held on Dec. 23, and tickets are free when purchasing admission to the museum. For more information about the museum and the event, go here.

  • The 2023 Scarsdale Music Festival Announced for June

    The 2023 Scarsdale Music Festival will take place on June 3, 2023, at the Scarsdale Village. This is the third annual event, and they are excited to announce another edition of the beloved festival.

    Scarsdale Music Festival

    The Scarsdale Music Festival is a family-friendly event that brings together people of all ages to celebrate their love of music, food, and community. Bands from Scarsdale as well as from the greater Westchester County and New York metropolitan areas will perform throughout the day on one of two main stages. They are also beginning an expanded regional talent search to welcome new sounds and new followers to the downtown area. Bands who are interested in performing at the festival can fill out this form to be considered.

    Restaurants in the downtown area will open their doors, and a variety of food trucks and other food vendors will line the streets. For those 21 and over, there will be a ZACHYS wine-tasting experience in addition to craft beer and spirits tastings. There will be an expanded family fun zone, with balloon artists, face painters, arts and crafts, games, musical demonstrations, family activities, and much more!

    A portion of the Scarsdale Music Festival ticket proceeds will go to the Center for Cancer Care at White
    Plains Hospital, which will assist the center with funding third-party transportation for better access to appointments and provide specialized staff as “patient navigators” to assist in understanding the cancer treatment process. For more information about the festival, go here.