Dan Snaith, a.k.a. Caribou, returned to New York City on Thursday, July 28th for a show at City Parks Foundation SummerStage in Central Park. The show was free, and drew a capacity crowd on a hot and sweaty night in the city. The night filled out with DJ sets from Toribio as well as a performance from experimental electronic artist Ela Minus. Check out the full photo gallery below from Caribou’s set.
Caribou, Central Park SummerStage, 7/28/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Caribou was in NYC last November for a three show run at Brooklyn Steel; those shows being rescheduled from an earlier COVID-induced postponement. For these shows, Caribou is joined by three band members who relentlessly flush out Caribou’s live sound. Dan joins in as a second drummer for various songs, including the lengthy jam during fan-favorite song “Sun”, creating a dense layer of percussions behind the electronic elements.
Caribou, Central Park SummerStage, 7/28/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Caribou’s tour continues through August and September with shows across Europe before returning to California at the end of September, including a show at The Hollywood Bowl in support of Jamie XX. The lengthy tour schedule over the past ten months has all been in support of Caribou’s excellent fifth LP Suddenly; released back in 2020 on Merge Records. The album sees Caribou at his most proficient, especially in the live presentation. Head over to their website to see the full tour details.
Widespread Panic held their long-awaited 5-night residency at New York City’s Beacon Theatre this from Thursday, July 21st to Monday, July 25th. The Athens, Georgia band had performed in February and March 2020 just before the pandemic set in, and this new run of shows had been long anticipated and originally scheduled for September, 2021. The shows were pushed to January 2022 then again to July. NYS Music was there on opening and closing night – check out photos from Night 1 and show as well as the setlists and video.
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The atmosphere of the historic theater was electric at the start of the residency. The sidewalks were filled with small vendors selling all sorts of fan art, jewelry and merchandise. Fans were walking up to groups of people handing out stickers and fliers. The official merchandise table was as busy as can be, even with all the competition with numerous t-shirt options outside on the street. Fans were piling in, excited to see what songs would be played on night one.
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The setlist for night one was just what you would expect from Widespread Panic: a surprising career spanning set with various covers and extended jams. After playing “Goodpeople”, the band played “Dark Star” with a “Goodpeople” reprise at the end. Set two featured covers from War (Four Cornered Room), The Beatles (You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away), and Bloodkin (Henry Parsons Died).
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The run continued at the Beacon Theatre on Monday, with a compact first set featuring huge versions of ‘Hatfield’ and ‘Tie Your Shoes’ which segued cleanly into the set closing “Blackout Blues.” Set 2 was straight fire from the get-go with a party starting “Disco” that pushed into ‘”Big Wooly Mammoth” and from there things only got hotter. A long sandwich of “Chilly Water” > “Surprise Valley” > “Arleen” > “Surprise Valley” > “Chilly Water” was as fulfilling as it sounds, with the crowd letting loose as the run came closer to the end. A stand alone “Airplane” by Jerry Joseph preceded two more fiery tunes to close the show, “Postcard” > “Conrad.”
What followed was a 5-song encore – only the fourth five-song single encore in Panic’s 36 year history – and the song selection could not have been finer. Paying tribute to old friends, legends and inspirations, they began with Col. Bruce Hampton, and his song “Basically Frightened” (also the name of a great documentary on the Colonel) before shifting into an unexpected “Mountain Jam.” Panic does not cover Allman Brothers Band tunes very often, maybe a tease here and there, but a proper “Mountain Jam” with former ABB guitarist Jimmy Herring leading the charge, is as Georgia as you can get in NYC short of eating a peach at the same time. John Bell picked up his mandolin for Bloodkin’s “End of the Show,” which normally would be the final song of an encore but on this final night of the run, two more surprises were in store. Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots” got a proper southern rock treatment, with David Bowie’s “Heroes” closed the set, a fitting bookend to the run that began with Panic’s own song “Heroes,” a nod to the audience who stuck it out amid a pandemic and three reschedules and brought the love to the Beacon Theatre once again.
Listen to Monday’s show and all others from the run via Panicstream.com.
Widespread Panic next heads to Atlanta for a four-night run at The Fox Theatre starting August 10th.
Set 1: Heroes, Rebirtha, Papa Johnny Road, Goodpeople, Dark Bar, Goodpeople, Papa’s Home, Shut Up And Drive, Blue Indian, Wondering
Set 2: Cease Fire, Henry Parsons Died, Time Zones, Happy, Jamais Vu (The World Has Changed), Four Cornered Room, Impossible, Worry, Hide Your Love Away, Ain’t Life Grand
Encore: Down, Makes Sense to Me
Friday, July 22nd
Set 1: From The Cradle, Please, One Arm Steve, Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Can’t Get High, I’m Not Alone, There Is A Time, Holden Oversoul, Sleeping Man.
Set 2: Little Kin, Action Man, Better Off, Jack, Love Tractor, Drums, Goin’ Out West, Stop-Go, Walk On, Imitation Leather Shoes.
Encore: Gimme, Give, No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
Saturday, July 23rd
Set 1: Pigeons, Sharon, Junior, Up All Night, Christmas Katie > Radio Child, Glory, Greta > Cream Puff War
Set 2: Flicker, Tall Boy > Fishwater, A of D, Driving Song > Machine > Barstools and Dreamers > Zambi Jam > Driving Song > Happy Child > Dear Prudence, Climb to Safety
Encore: Time Waits, Travelinâ Man > The Waker
Sunday, July 24
Set 1: Send Your Mind, All Time Low, Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Ride Me High > You Got Yours, Space Wrangler, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Protein Drink / Sewing Machine
Set 2:Rock > Party At Your Mama’s House > Ribs and Whiskey, Halloween Face, Me and the Devil Blues, Bust It Big > Drums > One Kind Favor > Bust It Big, North
Encore: Red Hot Mama
Monday, July 25th
Set 1: Saint Ex > Hatfield, Pilgrims, This Part of Town, Thought Sausage, Honky Red, Tie Your Shoes > Blackout Blues
Set 2: Disco > Big Wooly Mammoth > Chilly Water > Surprise Valley > Arleen > Surprise Valley > Chilly Water, Airplane, Postcard, Conrad
Encore: Basically Frightened, Mountain Jam, End of the Show*, Fairies Wear Boots, Heroes
The Kronos Quartet have a long history of creating unique and visceral music for a variety of different platforms. Last week, the San Francisco based string quartet came to the Lena Horne Bandshell and performed their live documentary, A Thousand Thoughts for the Celebrate Brooklyn! summer series. Directed by Sam Green, the documentary chronicles the string quartet’s history, various member lineups, and takes a deeper look into the musical theories behind some of the group’s more iconic work.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
The show began with Sam Green introducing the concept of the “live documentary” and how he went about convincing the group to take part. As the band took the stage, they also appeared one-by-one on the screen behind them as part of their interviews for the film. They each joked and seemed confused about the concept of performing music for a documentary live. As the show went on, the uniqueness of the presentation became more apparent. Seeing Dave Harrington and others talk about the music on screen while they were performing on stage in front of you truly gave you new perspective to the music.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Green talked about the persistence of natural music in our every day lives and even had the audience take a full minute to sit in silence and tune into our surroundings at the start of the show. Described as a “meditation on music itself-the act of listening closely to music, the experience of feeling music deeply” the film tends to focus on how the members of the group discovered various musical styles that caught their attention. Hank Dutt told a story about how he discovered throat singing from a CD he packed for a long international flight, becoming fixated on one song for the entire trip, and the urge to find that artist in order to learn more and collaborate.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
The documentary began with a history of recorded music, including the first known audio recording called “The Lost Chord.” The presentation shifted between bits of interviews with the quartet members, anecdotes about the creation of some of their projects, and their perception as a “modern string quartet” that were breaking the rules and revolutionizing what a string quartet could be.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
A Thousand Thoughts is only performed as a live documentary, and the screening for Celebrate Brooklyn! was the last scheduled performance this year. Alongside the interviews of the members quartet, the film also well known collaborators of the group such as Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich, and more. The group has been performing since the premiere of the film in 2018, so keep an eye on their website for future screenings next year.
Only a couple of weeks after releasing their first new song in over a decade, The Mars Volta have given fans a second taste of their forthcoming album with “Graveyard Love”. Check out the new song over on the band’s BandCamp page and watch the accompanying short film below.
“Graveyard Love” short film, by The Mars Volta
Earlier this week, the band unveiled a digital version of L’YTOME HODORXÍ TELESTERION, the immersive cube that first appeared in Los Angeles ahead of the release of lead single “Blacklight Shine”. Aside from experiencing the cube in AR form, fans were guided on a digital scavenger hunt, finding pieces of the “Graveyard Love” cover art.
The song shows The Mars Volta continuing their evolution while providing fans with a diverse look into their new sound. Lead single “Blacklight Shine” fully embraced a Latin-pop fusion with driving bongo percussions and choppy salsa-laced guitars all backed by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s Spanish storytelling. “Graveyard Love” slows it down a touch with eery synths and bass tones shimmering behind a mysterious ballad before the beat picks up and Cedric’s “I don’t want to remember…” mantra battles a swirling retro synth. While describing the story behind the song, Cedric says “They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands, because if they can’t have you, no one can.”
“Graveyard Love” Cover Art
Just like the short film for “Blacklight Shine”, this new film also takes place in Puerto Rico. The video highlights small elements of life and culture on the island, with a focus on the people. A couple minutes into the film, the song plays before fading out and allowing the video to continue to show life on the island. In the description, there is a historical timeline of many of the natural and man-made events that hindered Puerto Rico’s advances toward independence with the final entry reading “2022 STILL A COLONY.” Coupled with this film, the mysterious lyrics of the song try to paint a picture of Puerto Rican life rich in culture, yet dark and oppressed in history.
The Mars Volta have always been a mysteriously complex band with their musical compositions, vocal story-telling, and imagery. Each of their six previous albums are prog-rock odysseys with deeply emotional stories and extremely dense and layered instrumentals. Hailed as a masterpiece by devoted fans and music critics, their 2003 debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium reshaped what progressive, post-hardcore, and art-rock could be in the new millennium.
Omar and Cedric have fronted several bands together (At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, and Antemasque) and Omar has more than 50 albums credited to his various solo projects. Their collective music has evolved and cycled for over 25 years as a parade of extraordinarily talented musicians joined the backing bands for all of these various projects. Not all of these projects were fully realized into albums and tours, but in the 2010s the Omar Rodríguez-López Group was reborn. Several tours with large and small bands occurred and in 2016 Rodríguez-López cleared the backlog by releasing one album a week for months.
The Mars Volta was quite consistent with their first four LPs up until Octahedron was released in 2009. Described by Omar as the band’s “acoustic album,” Octahedron is the shortest of the catalog and did see a sharp change in sound, favoring acoustic guitars and ballads while surrounding them with layered prog-rock bangers. Noctourniquet came three years later which also attempted to bring something new to the mix. With shorter and more accessible song structures, the band crafted a futuristic and psychedelic landscape backed by the loosest and most avant-garde drumming style courtesy of Deantoni Parks.
While details for the yet-to-be-named seventh album have not been announced, it is clear from the lead singles that The Mars Volta are about to release the most unique part of their discography. Currently in the music industry, we are being inundated with legacy and long-standing bands putting out new music to mixed results. What has become clear is that bands who try and reinvent their debuts often release mediocre albums that fade away quickly after release. The Mars Volta on the other hand, are trying to write music that reflects where the band is in 2022. Rather than revisiting 15-minute long, mind-numbingly complex prog-rock screamers, Omar and Cedric are embracing their Latin-pop roots and reimagining it with modern flare. While on first listen “Blacklight Shine” and “Graveyard Love” seem alien to Volta die-hards, the more you dig in the more classic Volta elements you hear under the surface. After a decade-plus hiatus The Mars Volta have returned, matured by age but as rooted as ever.
Omar Rodríguez-López (left) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (right). Photo by Fat Bob
The band kicks off their reunion tour in late September, with their first show in 13 years happening in Dallas, Texas at The Factory in Deep Ellum. The Mars Volta will be in New York City for two sold-out shows at Terminal 5 on September 29th and 30th. Head over to the band’s website for full tour details.
Mayan Warrior brought their immersive and otherworldly Art Car to The Brooklyn Navy Yard for two shows this past weekend on Friday June 24th and 25th. The legendary music collective has been a part of Burning Man for ten years now and has a long history of bringing the spectacle outside of The Playa for shows in cities across the United States.
These shows are the only chance to see the Art Car this year outside of the festival and also serve as a fundraiser for the collective’s ability to travel to Black Rock Desert and fund their charitable work. June saw the collective stop in Austin, TX as well as New York City and there are two more events in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the months following Burning Man.
Mayan Warrior at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, 6/24/2022. Photo by Tyler Alixx
The Mayan Warrior Art Car is one of the most unique music and art installations in the country. “The mutant sound system has attracted hundreds of thousands, blazing a trail of sonic creativity that celebrates the burgeoning underground Mexican electronic scene and pairs ancient art with modern technology.” The car itself is a large bus that has been stripped down and rebuilt with the goal of portraying ancient Mexican art and culture. The front of the bus adorns a large Mayan head and the entire production is laced with vivid lighting, pyro, and laser features. Even in such a large room, the production is mesmerizing no matter your perspective.
Mayan Warrior at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, 6/24/2022. Photo by Tyler Alixx
The music for the night came from the Mayan Warrior community and musical curators including Mandrake, Perel, Jenia Tarsol, Dramian, Asaf Samuel, Chaim Avital, Moscoman, Robin Scott, and Lovecraft. While you can not pin down the music to a particular genre, there is a strong deep house background but all of the performers brought unique and interesting elements to their sets. From live guitars, to vocalists, and deeply experimental tangents the music never stopped evolving throughout the weekend.
Mayan Warrior at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, 6/24/2022. Photo by Tyler Alixx
Stranger Than partners with Mayan Warrior to design a truly immersive experience around these shows. The Art Car itself is a dominant presence in the room, but there are also art installations, vendors selling jewelry and art, food vendors, and advocates. While the music is certainly a major proponent of the experience, it is far from the whole story. Fully costumed dancers and acrobats are seen dancing and engaging with the crowd. Two dancers on stilts put on a spectacle on the dance floor while fire breathers were seen blowing flames from the Art Car. The fans that Mayan Warrior attracts also contribute with costumes and wearable art of their own. Combined with the Pride celebration in NYC over the same weekend, the energy and atmosphere of these shows was unmatched.
Mayan Warrior at The Brooklyn Navy Yard, 6/24/2022. Photo by Tyler Alixx
Next up for Mayan Warrior is The Playa at Burning Man. After that, you can see the Art Car in Los Angeles in October and San Francisco in November. Check out a photo gallery below for more photos from Night 1 at The Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The Mars Volta have broken their 10 year hiatus today with the release of their new single and short film, “Blacklight Shine.” Over the weekend, the band began teasing this release with coordinates to Grand Park in Los Angeles, hinting at some kind of “pop-up” for June 19th-21st. This came in the form of a cube you can enter and experience the new song with an audio-visual experience. Today, June 21st, the single is officially released along with the bands first tour since 2012.
The Mars Volta, Photo by Fat Bob
“Blacklight Shine” highlights The Mars Volta’s fundamental strengths in their most accessible and Latin-rooted form. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala sings mostly in Spanish with his signature tones soaring over a mix of traditional drums and Caribbean bongos and percussions. Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-López presents a sunshine-laced psychedelic groove perfect for a release date on the summer solstice. When talking about the story of the song, Cedric says he is trying to shine a light on “a wave of rolling blackouts washing memories onto shore, a heartbeat that still remembers everything.” Watch the short film below, which takes place on a Caribbean beach and features a multi-generational dance sequence backed by driving percussions.
“Blacklight Shine” by The Mars Volta, via YouTube
The announcement is also coming with a short tour; a New York show is happening at NYC’s Terminal 5 on September 29th. Presale starts this Wednesday, June 22nd with a full general sale on Friday, June 24th. See the official tour poster below and head to the band’s website for ticket links. The Mars Volta has not yet announced any details on what would be their seventh LP, but stay tuned for more announcements to come.
Tune-Yards made their way to Bushwick’s Brooklyn Steel last Wednesday, June 15th, in support of their excellent fifth LP, Sketchy. The album was released back in March of 2021 and like most bands today, this is the first opportunity for Tune-Yards to tour behind the record.
The band has released all five of their albums on 4AD records dating back to 2009. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Merrill Garbus took time at the end of the show to personally thank the label for being the backbone of their career.
Tune-Yards is the musical project of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner and is an eclectic mix of art-pop, worldbeat, lo-fi, and vocal play. Garbus has a history as a puppeteer, and this method of visceral expression comes out in her performance style. Most of the songs have intricate vocal loops and patterns, all of which are recorded and performed live while Garbus bounces around the stage, engaging the fans. She also paraded various signs around stage, serving as introductions for her banter between songs.
Tune-Yards made it a point early in the show at Brooklyn Steel to remind the audience that we are all living on Native American land and that fact must be constantly acknowledged. There was also a long interlude later in the show (noted on the setlist as “extinction memorial”) where Garbus instructed the audience on the plight of the Bramble Cay melomys. The rodent, native to islands off the coast of Australia, is confirmed to be the first mammal to go extinct due to climate change. The rising sea level surrounding the low-lying islands destroyed their habitat and led to the rodent’s extinction.
The music of Tune-Yards is impossibly difficult to categorize. The band performs live as a trio, but with all the vocal and synth looping, once the songs are structured live they feel larger than life. Garbus’ vocal abilities are captivating and have always been a fundamental component of the music. Sketchy track “Hypnotized” is a prime example and has been a mainstay in this tour’s setlists. Garbus delivers a bit of vocal play over a sparse, but deliberate drum beat to open the track, before an array of art-pop synths and a chunky bass line fill in the groove. The band also featured the track “Gangsta” from their second LP, Whokill. The song has been one of Tune-Yards’ most succesful, appearing in TV shows Letterkenny, Orange Is The New Black, Weeds, and The Good Wife.
Tune-Yards’ tour concluded over the weekend, with a final show on Saturday, June 18th, at Union Transfer in Philadelphia. The band spent a lot of time throughout the show thanking the people that have been supporting and enabling them to create their music. Garbus is also a new mother, and she relished in that as her baby was off-stage sharing in the moment. Garbus lamented that she felt that Tune-Yards would never be able to tour again after the pandemic, admitting that these shows were also a celebration of their miniature victory over COVID. Head over to the band’s website to see a handful of one-off shows they have scheduled, and see NYS Music’s full photo gallery from Brooklyn Steel below.
Governors Ball Music Festival wrapped up its third and final day on Sunday, June 12. Narrowly avoiding passing thunderstorms, the weekend was punctuated by a headlining performance from J. Cole, who performed a career-spanning set, including songs off his 2021 LP The Off-Season.
J. Cole has lived much of his life in New York, and reminisced about writing some of his most influential music in the city. “It’s so crazy to be here, with the train going by…I used to live right down the street, writing songs as the trains go by.” J. Cole opened his set with a fiery performance of “95.South” and also brought out J.I.D. and Kenny Mason for “Stick.” J.I.D. broke his hand moshing during his set earlier in the day, and pleaded to the crowd: “Don’t be like me; safety first!”
Kaytranada, Governors Ball, 6/12/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
As with all three headliners over the weekend, a majority of the bands on the lineup are celebrating releases dating back to 2020. With a complete year and a half hiatus in the live music industry as a result of the pandemic, 2022 is jam packed with artists touring off releases a couple years old as well as albums that are hot out of the studio. Soccer Mommy is only two weeks away from her highly anticipated fourth LP Sometimes, Forever while Coin are only a few months into the life of their fifth LP Uncanny Valley. Clairo is also still touring behind her strong sophomore LP Sling, released last year.
Stay tuned later in the week for our full coverage of the entire Governors Ball weekend. In the meantime, check out more photos from Sunday from NYS Music photographers David Reichmann and Joseph Buscarello in the gallery below.
KaytranadaKaytranadaJazmine SullivanJapanese BreakfastJapanese BreakfastJapanese BreakfastJapanese BreakfastClairoJ. ColeJ. Cole and J.I.D.J. Cole and J.I.D.100 GecsCoinGlass AnimalsGlass AnimalsGlass AnimalsJ.I.D.Soccer Mommy
Governors Ball Music Festival continued on Saturday, June 11th, outside of Flushing Meadows in Queens. Saturday featured a triumphant headlining set from Edison, New Jersey native Halsey who is still running strong off her fourth LP If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power released in 2021.
Halsey had a setback earlier this week when her show on June 8th at Merriweather Post Pavillion had to be abruptly cancelled due to severe flooding at the venue. Unfazed by the heartbreak, Halsey delivered a powerful performance for the Flushing crowd. Governors Ball will always be a special occasion for Halsey; she attended the festival in 2014 (the day she signed her record deal), played an early evening set in 2018, and headlined on Saturday.
Halsey, Governors Ball, 6/11/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
During Halsey’s set, she admitted she “couldn’t resist” playing a cover of Kate Bush’s timeless classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and also treated fans to the live debut of her just-released new single, “So Good.” Other performers included Flume, Denzel Curry, DJ Diesel (Shaq), Tove Lo, and Dehd. Photos from day two of Governors Ball by David Reichmann and Joseph Buscarello are below.
Denzel Curry, Governors Ball, 6/11/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Day two was not without it’s hiccups. With a packed main stage waiting for Roddy Rich, the festival announced halfway through his set-time that Roddy Rich would not be performing. The disappointed crowd flooded over to the other stages and packed in for Joji and Denzel Curry.
Flume, Governors Ball, 6/11/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
The third and final day of the festival is today and features a headline performance from J. Cole. Other bands NYS Music are excited to see include Kaytranada, Japanese Breakfast, 100 Gecs, Soccer Mommy, and J.I.D.. Check back tomorrow for photos from the Governors Ball finale.
The 2022 edition of the Governors Ball Music Festival got underway on Day One, June 10th, outside of Citi Field in Flushing, Queens. The festival has revamped itself in the new location with greater accessibility via mass transit, a dive bar area featuring intimate acoustic sets from artists on the bill, and more of a focus on local food vendors.
Kid Cudi, Governors Ball, 6/10/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Friday was headlined by Grammy Award winning recording artist Kid Cudi who released Man On The Moon III: Chosen back in 2020 and is set to release his eighth LP later this year. Kid Cudi previewed the new record with “Do What I Want” as well as playing the all-time hit “Memories.”
NYS Music photographers David Reichmann and Joseph Buscarello are on site all weekend covering Governors Ball. Other artists on Friday included Channel Tres, Black Pumas, JPEGMAFIA, and Jack Harlow. Lil’ Wayne was booked as a last minute replacement for Migos who dropped off the lineup earlier in the week. However, only a couple of hours before his set, the festival announced that due to “flight delays” Weezy would be replaced by Harlem native A$AP Ferg.
Black Pumas, Governors Ball, 6/10/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Saturday is going to be a packed day with sets from Denzel Curry, DJ Diesel (Shaq), Dehd, Tove Lo, and Flume. Halsey headlines the Governors Ball Stage, making her return to the festival after last playing in 2018. Tune back in tomorrow for photos from those sets and more.
