Each Sunday evening from 7-9 p.m. you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up-and-coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from No More Death Stars.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week the new album .jpg by No More Death Stars will be played on EQXposure. The group comes out of Albany and is the creative brainchild of Kevin Cardinale, and a bunch of collaborators. They self-identify as a pop-punk collective, being compared to indie-punk contemporaries such as Jeff Rosenstock and AJJ.
The group reemerged this year to create their new album, which takes influence from Radiohead and Brian Wilson. It incorporates orchestral instrumentation composed by Cardinale and performed by newcomers Anthime Miller, Ben Burt, and Sam Mark.
The songs off the new album “Halloween 2008,” “Have you ever wondered if Osama Bin Laden has ever fallen in love?” and “Emotional Lint Roller” will be played on EQXposure.
The Syracuse Jazz Festival has announced they are currently searching for private and public sector funding to help fund the 2023 edition of the festival.
The Syracuse Jazz Festival is now in its 37 year and returned last year after a five-year-long hiatus due to financial issues. It is the nation’s 12 longest-running festival and the world’s 12 longest-running jazz festival. It was previously named “The Largest Free Jazz Festival In The Northeast”, winning 30 International, national and regional awards as the Best Music Festival.
Many legendary artists have performed at the festival, including Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, and Sonny Rollins. These performances gave the festival international acclaim.
The festival organizers are currently pursuing private and public sector funding to mount a 2023 edition of the festival in the amount of $650,000. According to festival founder and executive producer Frank Malfitano, “The cost of mounting a world class, non ticketed festival – one that remains free of charge for area residents and visitors – has risen dramatically.” He also went on to say that artists’ fees have doubled and even tripled since the pandemic. In 2022, the festival got $400,000 in funding to bring it back.
This past year, with the help of Amazon, Onondaga County and the City, we achieved our primary goal of bringing the festival back, and we’re extremely proud of that collective accomplishment. We’re also proud of the fact that we were able to showcase many of our region’s finest jazz artists in 2022 at 20 different venues over 3 evenings, providing needed work opportunities for more than 100 Syracuse-based artists who had been negatively impacted by the pandemic. While we were successful in helping revitalize the region’s cultural and music scene by achieving those goals, we simultaneously fell a little short of securing needed and hoped for multi-year funding commitments for Jazz Fest. But, we’re hoping our success in 2022 will lead to even greater success in 2023.
Frank Malfitano
Malfitano concluded by saying that anyone interested in learning more about the 2023 Syracuse Jazz Fest Sponsorship can contact him here.
Radio Woodstock 100.1 WDST has announced the next installment of the “Saturday Night Takeover” series on Saturday, Nov. 19, with Melissa Auf der Maur, who was the famed bassist of American bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Radio Woodstock, tagged as the New York Times’ “favorite thing about driving around the Hudson Valley,” has been the recipient of numerous national, regional, and local awards for its innovative programming. Radio Woodstock is one of the most influential rock music stations in the world and is unique for being both listener and advertiser-supported. It has been locally run and operated for over 40 years.
The DJs and programmers present the best emerging artists alongside the largest rock n’ roll library in the world. Radio Woodstock’s live events division has put on experimental live events and is most known for creating Mountain Jam and Taste of Country, which grew to become the largest music and camping festivals in the Northeast, together drawing over 100,000 attendees each year. Recently, the department has produced CannaStock, the first cannabis festival in the Hudson Valley.
Featured on the “Saturday Night Takeover” segment is Melissa Auf der Maur. She is a musician, photographer, curator, multidisciplinary event producer, and film producer. In 2010 she co-founded the multidisciplinary art venue Basilica Hudson in the Hudson Valley Region. She released two solo albums between 2004-2010.
You can tune into Radio Woodstock on Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. to hear Melissa Auf der Maur on the air here or via the iHeartRADIO app.
Foreigner has announced its Historic Farewell Tour, with stops at Darien Center, Saratoga Springs, Wantagh, and Syracuse.
Foreigner is hailed as one of the most famous rock acts in the world, with sold-out tours and album sales now exceeding 80 million. They are responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero,” “Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Feels Like The First Time,” and worldwide #1 hit, “I Want To Know What Love Is.”
The time has come. We have more or less lived our lives on the road for almost eighteen years. We have always strived to give you our best and we intend to finish this the same way. Foreigner has a brilliant and increasingly demanding catalogue of songs to sing and I refuse to give them less than they deserve. So, we’re going to finish strong. I want to make it very clear how grateful and appreciative we are to our audiences all over the world who have supported this band. I’m sure there may be occasions when we’ll do some special appearances, but I think the time is coming for us to live off the road. Thank you all so much!
Lead singer, Kelly Hansen
Leader and founder Mick Jones also wrote in a statement “We will be presenting a show that I know will have the same enthusiasm as our very first appearances. The tour will start this summer in America and we hope to get to every place that we have played over the last several years.”
Foreigner will continue its long-term initiative with the GRAMMY Museum Foundation to invite choirs to open the show with a live a cappella “Pitch Perfect” performance of Classic Rock songs. For more information about how to enter, go here.
Loverboy will be opening for the band. The group has sold more than ten million albums, earning four multi-platinum plaques, including the four-million-selling “Get Lucky,” and a trio of double-platinum releases in their self-titled 1980 debut, 1983’s Keep It Up and 1985’s Lovin’ Every Minute of It.
The group still features the original line-up of vocalist Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, drummer Matt Frenette and keyboardist Doug Johnson with bassist Ken “Spider” Sinnaeve replacing the late Scott Smith.
Tickets to Foreigner’s Historic Farewell Tour are on sale Nov. 18 here.
Foreigner Tour Dates
Thu July 6 Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sat July 8 West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sun July 9 Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue July 11 Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheatre
Fri July 14 Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Tue July 18 Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Wed July 19 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Fri July 21 Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Sat July 22 Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Mon July 24 Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
Tue July 25 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Fri July 28 Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sat July 29 Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Tue August 1 Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Wed August 2 Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach
Fri August 4 Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Sat August 5 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Tue August 8 Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Wed August 9 Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Fri August 11 Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Sat August 12 Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Mon August 14 Austin, TX – Moody Center
Wed August 16 Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Fri August 18 Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater
Sun August 20 Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Mon August 21 Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheater
Wed August 23 Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheater
Thu August 24 Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Weds August 30 Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theater
Fri September 1 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Sat September 2 Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sun September 3 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Hudson Valley-based group The Jed Luckless Band released their newest album Second Lives, their first official release since 2013.
The Jed Luckless Band recorded the record live on their 2018 tour of virtual venues in Second Life and gives the listener the experience of one of their shows. The group is made up of Jed Luckless on guitar and vocals, Kenny Kaufman on bass and vocals, Mark Gutenplan on keys, guitar, and vocals, and Pete Marine on drums. The group usually live streams online or in the metaverse, but has done in-person performances as well.
JLB follows the jam band tradition, with extended improvisation and overall good vibes. The first track is quite lengthy, sitting at about 14 minutes. The title is “Give It Back > Valley Of The Saints” and prominently featured in the song are improvisation techniques, with extended guitar solos, and keyboard jam sesh. The song makes the listener want to get up and groove to the melodies.
The second track, “Road Trip > Sugar Pop” is also a lengthy track, sitting at just over 21 minutes. It is reminiscent of the Grateful Dead, with groovy guitars and stellar vocals. The group repeats the line “Going on a road trip” several times during the song, and it is a great song to listen to driving across the country as it elapses time in such a way that the listener gets so entrapped in the melodies.
Following that track comes “2,000 Pikes > Smile Forever,” featuring more vocals than the past tracks. It features pauses of silence and more of the classic improvisation style. This type of music would be great to have on in the background while you’re cleaning your house, or even studying. They are a group of very talented musicians, and they play together well, following each other’s instruments in a manner that flows very nicely.
The last track “FM Rock > By And Bye” starts out much softer than the other previous songs, with soft keyboard notes and guitar strums. The song speaks about the radio, then goes into a long jam sesh that keeps the listener on their toes.
The Jed Luckless Band’s new record Second Lives is overall a solid album featuring the classic jam band improvisation seshes, with electrifying guitar and keyboard solos, as well as drum beats that keep you swaying and dancing to the music for the whole record.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
This week there will be two songs from each artist played, instead of the usual one.
Jade Relics: “Leave us Alone” and “Mandarine”
Jade Relics is a collective of Vermont Musicians featuring, Elder Orange, Rico James, IamE. Their music is danceable and infectious, with excellent production and instrumentation. Their songs “Leave us Alone” and “Mandarine” will be played on EQXposure.
Blur Beside You: “Stumble more than anything” and “Nothing Feels Real”
Blur Beside You is a shoegaze indie rock trio from New York and Florida. It features 3 founding members of the South Florida band, Mindlikewater, Jim Wells, Joseph Butera & Joseph Beaty. Their songs “Stumble more than anything” and “Nothing Feels Real” will be played on EQXposure.
Fine Grain: “Missing Adult” and “Calculate”
Fine Grain floats in between shoegaze haze and punk posturing. They are from Albany and stitch old punk with new to create their unique sound. Their songs “Missing Adult” and “Calculate” will be played on EQXposure.
Dave Chappelle hosted his third post-election Saturday Night Live show on November 12, with musical guest Black Star, who has worked with and performed alongside Chappelle over the years.
Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
The cold open started with a spoof on Fox News with Fox & Friends, featuring news anchors played by Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, and Bowen Yang. They interviewed Republican candidate Kari Lake (Cecily Strong) about the election fraud, and how when Lake was winning, she was happy, and when she was losing, she was saying it was fraudulent, much like a lot of Republican candidates. The cold open also had an interview with Trump (James Austin Johnson) about his endorsements of candidates that lost.
In his opening monologue, Dave Chappelle spoke against Kanye West’s antisemitic tweets and West’s hatred of Jewish people. He joked about Jewish culture as well but did it in a tasteful and non-offensive matter. Chappelle also spoke about the midterm elections, and how “ominous” they were and called Herschel Walker “observably stupid.” He also spoke about the ongoing Russia and Ukraine conflict.
https://youtu.be/_m-gO0HSCYk
The next sketch featured the show “P.M. in the Afternoon” with Dave Chapelle as Willy T. Hawkins, talking about his new album My Potato Hole. The rest of the anchors made cringy jokes about the potato hole, and the meaning of the word was revealed as a food hole slaves had, making it very awkward.
Chappelle came back out to talk about House of the Dragon and the black characters on the show, and also showed a parody video of the show, with Chappelle featured in the sketch as characters from Chappelle Show. The next sketch featured Chappelle in a barber shop, with Kenan Thompson, Ego Nwodim, Punkie Johnson, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, poking fun at Kanye West, and the election, featuring the awkwardness of a white barber (Longfellow) trying to comment on race issues.
New York-based hip-hop duo Black Star (Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey) were the musical guest tonight, making their SNL debut. They just released their highly-anticipated album No Fear of Time – their first in nearly 24 years. Chappelle introduced them as “Brooklyn’s finest.” The group was confident, rapping about the issues facing the black community today in the song “So be it.” Behind the group was a photo with lyrics so people can understand what they are rapping about. Madlib, who produced all the beats on the new record, was DJing behind the group.
https://youtu.be/rCIJrpcpWdg
Weekend Update with Colin Jost and Michael Che focused on the midterm elections. Jost joked about how polling places are run by old people. Che joked about Biden running for President in the 2024 election despite his old age and also joked about the new female governors. Candidate Jose Suarez (Marcello Hernández) spoke about his campaign and that “everything is basically fine.” He also joked about how people complain about too much today despite the hard issues in other countries. Cast member Sarah Sherman was featured on the show as well, joking about herself in a sketch called “Sarah News.”
Dave Chappelle came back out to introduce the next sketch, saying he was too old to do it and needed to rest. The sketch was called “Black Heaven” and the God figure, who was supposed to be Chappelle, is comedically played by a white actor. Chappelle was off-screen smoking, and laughing with other people. The sketch focused on stereotypes in the black community.
The second performance by Black Star was much chiller, with a different photo in the background and no lyrics. The song, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing,” speaks about white supremacy and guns. The group will be playing a special show at Sony Hall in NYC on Nov. 15, with tickets on sale here.
https://youtu.be/UKY8J8z0mlo
There was another sketch about Election Night, with newcomer Molly Kearney becoming Ohio’s Attorney General after a drunk tweet. Chappelle ended the show by mentioning Migos rapper Takeoff (Kirshnik Khari Ball), who had performed on SNL in 2018 and was tragically shot and killed on Nov. 1.
During the episode, it was announced that Keke Palmer will be hosting the Dec. 3 show, with musical guest SZA.
Hip-hop duo Black Star (Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey) announced a last-minute show at Sony Hall on Nov. 15, coming off the heels of their SNL debut on Nov. 12.
Black Star is a rap group from NYC, that changed music forever in 1998 with their album Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. yasiin bey and Talib Kweli first united to form what they penned “the best alliance in hip-hop,” and continue to make history with their highly-anticipated album No Fear of Time – their first in nearly 24 years.
Madlib produced all of the beats for the album’s nine songs and according to Pitchfork “the people need Black Star now more than ever,” saying the songs “So be it,” “Sweetheart. Sweethard. Sweetodd.,” and “Supreme alchemy” are the “best performances across the album.”
Earlier this year, they performed alongside Robert Glasper, Dave Chapelle, Thundercat, Flying, and Lotus, at the debut Blue Note Napa Festival.
The group will be going to Sony Hall, an NYC venue that opened its doors in 2018. It presents world-renowned performing artists across all music genres at capacities of 1,000 standing and 500 seated, with a full-service restaurant and bar. Sony Hall is equipped with Sony’s technologies which provide enhanced experiences for the audience.
Tickets to see their performance at Sony Hall on Nov. 15 are on sale here. Black Star will also be performing on SNL on Nov. 12, with host Dave Chapelle.
The Grammy-nominated Western Wind Ensemble is celebrating nearly 54 years of music with a five-part concert series called Grief: a Necessary Journey in NYC on Nov. 19.
The Western Wind Ensemble is a New York-based, internationally acclaimed a cappella sextet with a rich history in the music industry. The New York Times has called them “A kaleidoscopic tapestry of vocal hues.” They perform a variety of music, including Renaissance motets to Fifties rock’n’roll, medieval carols to Duke Ellington, and more.
Band members include William Zukof, the founding member, Eric S. Brenner (countertenor), Paul Greene-Dennis (bass), Linda Lee Jones (soprano), Christina Kay (soprano), Bradley King (tenor), David Vanderwal (tenor).
Notable performances in the United States include Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, ArtPark, Ordway Theater, the Metropolitan Museum, and more. Internationally, they have appeared at the Geneva Opera, and have toured Italy, East Asia, Australia, and more. In addition to their many live performances, The Western Wind Ensemble frequently appears on radio, television, film, and CD.
On Nov. 19 they will be performing at the Church of St. John’s in the Village in Grief: a Necessary Journey, a program featuring music by Dowland, Purcell, McFerrin, Rorem, Howells, Sondheim, Rodgers & Hammerstein, spirituals, and more. The concert program guides listeners along a journey through the five stages of grief, ultimately resulting in a place of acceptance and healing.
NYC-based artist Alexa Dark released her new Old Hollywood-inspired indie rock single “Cool For You” from her upcoming debut EP.
Photo by West Webb.
Alexa Dark is a Spanish/American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter raised between Barcelona, Munich, London, and NYC. Her music takes inspiration from her multi-background upbringing. She started writing music and poetry at a young age. Dark began performing live in London, then moved to NYC and released her first song “Fade to Black and Blue” in 2021.
Her upcoming EP will focus on her villain origin story through the lens of a â60s, Bondlike, French new wave film, where the singer goes from heartbroken starlet to a dark feminine, mysterious siren. Through this new era, Dark comments on the nature of feminity and the shadows of oneself, where the enemy is someone’s life is actually them.
“Cool For You” is a dark indie rock anthem, with Dark’s haunting vocals shining through. The song is produced by Matt Chiaravalle, who has worked with the likes of Warren Zevon and Debbie Harry. The lyrics are vampy and set the tone of the Old Hollywood scene. The lyrics “You’re nostalgia/In a black velvet suit/I pick my persona/Like you pick your shoes,” help create a scene in your mind as you listen. Dark tries to be an interesting person to the other person she is describing as she sings “I try to be cool for you/I try not to break in two/But I do.”
Alexa Dark is making a name for herself coming up on her new EP, as she is creating a cult following on apps like TikTok and Instagram, and she doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
