Attending festivals can have lasting positive impacts, a new study found, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, University of California Los Angeles, University of Denver, and the University of Bath in the UK.
Post Malone at Gov Ball 2021. Photo by David Reichmann
New York State has a lot of festivals going on throughout the year for people to attend, including The New York State Fair, Gov Ball, ADK Fest, and dozens more. All of these festivals bring in thousands of people each year, and this new study shows that going to these mass gatherings are benefital to a person’s life.
Researchers found that people had higher rates of transformative experiences the longer they were at the festival, and these transformative experiences persisted for at least six months following the event. These transformative experiences let people feel more connected to humanity, and be more willing to help strangers, something called moral expansion.
On average, 63.2 percent of participants reported being at least “somewhat” transformed by an event, and 19.5 percent indicated that they felt “absolutely” transformed.
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Daniel Yudkin, a postdoctoral researcher and first author of the paper spoke about the findings of the study in a statement.
We’ve long known that festivals, pilgrimages, and ceremonies make people feel more bonded with their own group. Here we show that experiences at secular mass gatherings also have the potential to expand the boundaries of moral concern beyond one’s own group.
New York is fortunate enough to have plenty of opportunities to go to festivals and concerts due to the many different cities and the size of the state, therefore people can have more transformative experience going to different mass gatherings around the state.
The Festival celebrates the music of legendary gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt, who teamed up with jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli to create the Quintet of the Hot club de France which went on to become one of the most important jazz partnerships in history. Jimi Hendrix named his “big band of gypsies” in tribute, and Willie Nelson adopted his influence in “country-swing.”
Django Reinhardt.
Described by Downbeat Magazine as “sensational… standout performance… hardest swinging band at the Newport Jazz Festival,” the All Star Band, with top players from Europe combined with America’s great jazz stars, will play swing music as a tribute to Reinhardt.
Sunset at the Stables will be host bands on July 1, 8, 15, and 22 and will feature some of the region’s most talented musicians, with Knox Farms as a backdrop. As well, there will local food and beverages from 42 North Brewing Company. Event producer and 42 North Brewery Founder, John Cimperman, spoke about how excited he is for the festival.
We were thrilled with the response to the music series last summer. It proved to be the ideal venue for a night of music and relaxation. The Stables at Knox Park provides the ideal backdrop to highlight some of the great musical talent from our region.
Folkfaces is a Buffalo-based quartet who are known for their fusion of genres like Americana, folk, blues, and jazz. The band consists of Tyler Westcott (guitar, vocals), Ellen Pieroni (saxophones), Patrick Jackson (upright bass), and Dan Schwach (drums, washboard).
Miller and The Other Sinners is a nationally touring Southern Soul band from Buffalo, NY. Since August of 2015, they have performed over 700 shows across 21 states and Canada from house parties to festivals. They are known for their unforgettable shows and their blend of memphis soul, gospel spirit, and funky rhythm and blues.
Miller and The Other Sinners.
July 15 at 6 P.M- Leroy Townes Band
Leroy Townes Band is an original Buffalo Americana band performing vinyl-era inspired folk-rock with a shot of country.
Farrow is a funk and soul Buffalo-based band led by producer/bass player André Pilette and singer/lyricist Michael Farrow, with Tim Webb on drums, Cory Clancy on guitar, and Michael Ruopoli on percussion. The band features a group of diverse musicians with an old school sound.
Tickets are onsale now for $20, and some may be at the door for $25 as well, and they can be bought here.
The Chelsea Music Festival 2022 in NYC has announced its 13 season and the theme is “Not Without You,” which explores the deep bond between Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn on the 175th anniversary of their passing. It will run from June 23-26. then finally on the 28.
The Chelsea Music Festival celebrates the creativity of one of New York City’s most dynamic neighborhoods and brings together world-renowned performers to celebrate great music. Since 2010, festival has established itself as a critically-acclaimed, accessible and interactive gateway to chamber music in non-traditional concert spaces like art galleries, churches, and more.
The 2022 festival theme reflects on the need to be with and encourage one another, especially due to the forced distance after the pandemic.
Chelsea Music Festival 2022 Lineup
June 23- Exhibition Reception- How To Operate in a Blue Room
Resident artist Jonathan VanDyke created the exhibition How to Operate in a Blue Room, which features the artist’s sewn paintings, a selection of the amaryllis flowers that the artist raises in his studio, sculptures, and scraps from his studio projects.
June 24- Festival Opening Night: Not Without You
The festival’s opening night concert includes music by J.S. Bach, V. Silvestrov, and a New York Premiere of a new work by Misato Mochizuki, as well as music by the people being celebrated in the theme, Fanny & Felix Mendelssohn.
June 25- Das Jahr: Twelve Months Personified at 7 P.M.
The evening features pianists playing “Das Jahr” by Fanny Mendelssohn. It is one of her most sparkling compositions, as it is a twelve-part piano suite based on the months of the year.
Later in the evening, award-winning string duo ARKAI Music will be performing a mix of original and classic songs, as well as a special premiere of their latest single release, “Patchwork.” They are known for their infusion of classical and rock music.
Pianist & composer Carmen Staaf joins the Festival for a matinee jazz performance and will be joined by the Ensemble-in-Residence Ulysses Quartet as they play Staaf’s own compositions and Mary Lou Williams’ Zodiac Suite.
The Ensemble-in-Residence Ulysses Quartet have been described by The Guardian as “emotively and dynamically astounding,” as they perform music that ties into the theme “Not Without You,” and to the artwork of Jonathan VanDyke.
Ulysses Quartet.
June 28- Festival Finale— Siblings & Soulmates
For the final day of the festival, the concert will tie together the Mendelssohn siblings lives through song, as well as through poetry and chamber music.
For more information and to buy tickets to the Chelsea Music Festival, go here.
The Smoke Jazz Club in NYC is one of the cities premier live music venues. It has announced its long awaited return, with modified operations including live streams, sidewalk concerts, and outdoor dining. Created in 1999, the club is internationally recognized for its classic and modern jazz performances. It has survived economic crashes, fires in the building, and more but the pandemic proved to be much more difficult, co-owners Paul Stache and Molly Sparrow Johnson said in a statement.
Smoke Jazz Club has so much history. Despite the struggles of the last few years, we just knew that the music couldn’t stop here. The past couple of years have not been easy for anyone, but having live music back in the club with everyone together, musicians and listeners, seems like a turning point. We are very excited to take this next step. We feel very fortunate that our landlord has been so supportive these last two years.
The Smoke Jazz Club will be hosting a four-night grand reopening concert celebration July 21-24 (also streaming live worldwide). There will also be a number of different jazz concerts until September. Some of the bands performing at the club include the Bobby Watson Quartet, Louis Hayes & The Cannonball Legacy Band, The Heavy Hitters, and more.
Smoke Sessions Records will be holding different album release shows during the rest of the year.
For more information about the album release shows being held at Smoke Sessions Records, go here. For more information on the jazz concerts at the Smoke Jazz Club, go here.
The NY Philharmonic has announced its annual Concert in the Parks, which is back after being canceled for two years because of the pandemic.
The Concert in the Parks series has become an iconic New York summer experience since it began in 1965. It transformed parks across the city into a patchwork of picnickers and allowed them to hear classical music under the stars.
The NY Philharmonic Concert in the Park series will happen from June 14-17, then again on the 19. All performances begin at 8 P.M. There will be fireworks following the performances in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn.
Music Director Jaap van Zweden will conduct the concerts, which take place at Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx (June 14); the Great Lawn in Central Park, Manhattan (June 15); Cunningham Park, Queens (June 16); and Prospect Park, Brooklyn (June 17).
Jaap van Zweden began his tenure as the 26th Music Director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2018. He has also served as Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic since 2012. He has conducted performances on three continents, and at age 19 he became the youngest-ever concertmaster of Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
The program includes Wagner’s Prelude to Act I of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with Bomsori Kim as a soloist, Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7, and works by New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers: 14- year-old Naama Rolnick’s Keep Walking, and 17-year-old Alexander Rothschild Douaihy’s A Human Rhapsody.
Levitt AMP 2022 in Utica, NY has announced the lineup for the summer music series. The artists will perform at Kopernik Park this summer. Concerts will take place on Monday nights from 6-9 P.M. from June 20 to August 29.
The 2022 season will feature headlining artists from New Orleans, Nashville, Chicago, Iowa, Virginia, Rhode Island, Canada, and New York State. The concerts also feature opening local and regional acts and youth intermission acts.
The series brings in the most diverse audience in the city in a family-friendly, non-alcoholic, joyful, welcoming environment. The music series also helps add to the economy in Utica and promotes communal bonding.
The New Respects were named the Levitt Foundation’s National Touring Band for 2022. They are a mix of pop, soul, and rock and deliver a high energy and funky music. Through their music, you hear their inspirations like The Rolling Stones and Lenny Kravitz.
Roberta Lea is a rising artist, described as having “a voice like cinnamon and a pen-like butter.” She plays a mix of classic country, country soul, country rock, and pop country, and has no limits to expressing herself through her songs.
Walter and Wagner Caldas, are 31-year-old identical twins better known as the Brazilian 2wins or “B2wins.” Their instrumental music ranges from pop to hip hop and iconic classics reimagined. Each song drips originality and youthful exuberance. Their mission is to make the world smile after growing up very poor in Rio de Janeiro.
Argonaut & Wasp are a blend of indie, alternative, edge, and funk grooves described as the perfect soundtrack to NYC. They formed over a love for house/dance music and bring in 70s fashion, 80s synths, and 90s culture to their band.
Curley Taylor and his band, Zydeco Trouble use soulful, bluesy vocals along with zydeco beats to create their unique musical style. Curley began his music career at 16 playing drums in his father’s band, and since then has always had a passion for music.
Bassel & the Supernaturals tells the story of Bassel Almadani’s experience as a first-generation Syrian-American using funk-inspired rhythms, soulful melodies, and lyrics regarding love, loss, and the war in Syria. They have performed at major festivals, performance halls, and more while also working closely with organizations on events and residencies that build awareness and empathy for Syrian refugees.
The Big Takeover Band is a seven-piece New York band that plays original music that is rooted in the genres of Jamaican pop, reggae, rocksteady, and ska. They also cross lines between genres and blend traditions. They connect the spirit of Motown and the sophistication of the 21st-century retro-soul scene.
New York hip-hop artist Miranda Writes is known for her modern sound with strong lyrics and diversified beats. She is not signed to a major label, however, her 2018 single “Too Blessed” rose to No. 5 in the Digital DJ Pool charting alongside Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, and Ciara. She is the first biracial female hip-hop artist to cross over into the snowboarding market.
Ariel Posen is “one of the most exciting guitar players around” with show-stopping extended solos. His influences are electrified Americana, R&B, Beatles-inspired pop, and rock and roll. He has spent his childhood on the road with his musical parents, and found himself doing his own gigs traveling the world.
Shawnee Taveras is a Dominican-American singer-songwriter who brings heat to the stage with high-energy salsa accompied by a band creating music that is impossible not to dance to. In 2019, Taveras was awarded the Premio Conga de la Salsa in the Dominican Republic for best new musical act. She has had top ten singles in the Dominican Republic and has toured extensively in that country.
The Levitt AMP 2022 summer concert series is free to all those who attend and is happening from June 20 to August 29.
New York has passed new ticket regulations that state that ticket sellers must include fee costs upfront and resellers must disclose how much they spent on the original ticket. It will also be illegal to resell tickets if they were originally free.
New York’s assembly passed the ticket regulation bill on Friday, and now it awaits New York Governor Kathy Hochul to sign it into law. The ticket market, notably sites like Ticketmaster, are notorious for their hidden fees, and as John Oliver said “one of the most hated companies on Earth.”
NY’s ticket regulations will allow for better transparency so customers can make informed decisions on if they want to buy the ticket, and if they are being taken advantage of. New York State Senator James Skoufis, who sponsored the bill, spoke in a statement about it.
Information is power in this space as it is in any other marketplace. When we pass regulations like this, people will be able to know ‘am I getting a good deal or a bad deal.’ If they’re getting a bad deal and if they get marked up three, four, 10 times and they still want to buy the ticket, God bless them. But they deserve to know the answer to that fundamental question: Am I getting ripped off here or not?
New York State Senator James Skoufis
However, NY’s ticket regulations won’t stop predatory scalping and high fees prevalent in the industry. Skoufis says he wanted other improvements towards joint ticketing issues, like adjusting the high fees and preventing holdback (tickets a promoter holds on to that aren’t made publicly available for purchase).
AXS CEO Bryan Perez praised the new policy and said he is happy NY is implementing it in a statement.
We are very much a part of the official ticketing ecosystem, and we are always trying to do things that benefit the fan on behalf of performers, athletes and teams. The challenge in our industry is the fragmentation that if everyone who plays doesn’t play by the same rules, it creates a bad situation for all of us. The fact that New York can apply it to all ticketing sites that operate in New York we think is a good thing, and it’s exactly what needs to happen to create an even and fair playing field for the consumer.
AXS CEO Bryan Perez
New York’s new ticket regulations are a step in the right direction to help prevent common problems in the ticket industry. Be sure to use CashorTrade for face value tickets.
The Robert Randolph Foundation announces Juneteenth Unityfest 2022, a national experience uniting diverse voices in commemoration and celebration of Juneteenth and Black culture.
Juneteenth is an important holiday to celebrate in the black community because it is the day when the last enslaved people were made aware of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The celebration will have many different entertainment, education, and activism events featuring performances by some of the world’s leading gospel artists, including Tye Tribbett, Deborah Cox, Israel Houghton, Mali Music, and more. It will celebrate black artists and provide a platform to unite a coalition of charitable grassroots organizations.
Grammy-nominated African-American artist Robert Randolph, founder of the Robert Randolph Foundation spoke about the importance of celebrating Juneteenth in a statement.
Juneteenth is a day to remember America’s past, recognize the resilience and strength of Black people, and celebrate the progress we have made. This year, given that Juneteenth falls on Sunday and on Father’s Day, we also wanted to celebrate the role that gospel music and the church have had in uplifting the Black community over the years, and celebrate the stories of Black fathers who are working to uplift their own communities and families at home.
Juneteenth Unityfest Schedule
JUNETEENTH UNITYFEST Block Party Location: Under the K Bridge, Greenpoint, Brooklyn Time: 2pm-7pm EST Partnership: In partnership with Heal America, KeiStar Productions, NAACBurners, and House of Yes
JUNETEENTH UNITYFEST Concert at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Location: Lena Horne Bandshell at Prospect Park – Brooklyn Time: 7:30pm-10pm EST Partnership: In partnership with BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn and Heal America
JUNETEENTH After Party Experience Location: Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn) Time: 10:30-12am EST
Reeperbahn Festival New York hosts a showcase with a diverse line-up of European artists and a panel addressing gender equality at the A2IM Indie Week on June 14.
The festival is the biggest club festival in Europe and the largest international European platform for pop culture and the music industry. For four days in September every year since 2006, all eyes in the international music scene have been on Hamburg’s Reeperbahn for the Festival
Reeperbahn Festival New York is committed to offering a forum at A2IM to address current socio-political and music-relevant topics that affect underrepresented groups of people including female, trans, and non-binary writers, artists, and producers.
On June 14, the Reeperbahn Festival New York will hold discussion panels and showcases. At 6 P.M. participants including representatives from UN Women, Shesaid.so and Keychange will have an interactive discussion with the audience on gender equality in music. At 8:30 P.M. there will be a showcase of many European artists, including ÄTNA from Germany, BILLIE MARTEN, (UK), and SOAK from Ireland.
It will also host two key music industry panels at A2IM Indie Week. On June 13 they will discuss monetizing music and maneuvering European royalties, and on June 14 they will discuss how EU and U.S. executives are implementing transformational leadership and diversity to build an inclusive and diverse work environment.
