NYS Music 202​2

Author: Nick Sanin

  • Lawrence Edelson To Step Down From Opera Saratoga

    Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson has announced that he will step down from Opera Saratoga after the 2022 Summer Season. A member of the company since 2014, Edleson will be taking his talents to The University of Houston as Professor of Practice and Artistic Director of The Moores Opera Center.

    Lawrence Edelson
    Lawrence Edelson

    The Moores Opera Center is considered one of the most prestigious programs for opera training in the country. The institution regularly brings home National Opera Association awards. Lawrence Edelson will also continue in his role as Artistic and General Director of American Lyric Theater in New York City. Here, he mentors emerging opera composers and oversees the development of new works.

    As expected, Opera Saratoga is sad to see Edelson go. That being said, the company wishes him the best of luck in his future endeavors. Edelson’s final remarks are as follows:

    When I first came to Saratoga Springs as a guest director in 2013, I fell in love with this community and when I had the opportunity to join Opera Saratoga as Artistic and General Director the following year, I knew that I was about to embark on a very exciting journey. I truly could not have imagined how rewarding my time at Opera Saratoga would be. I have had some of the most meaningful experiences of my life during my time with the company, and I am deeply grateful to the artists, our entire staff, and our committed and generous supporters who make it possible for Opera Saratoga to contribute so vibrantly to the region year-round.

    Lawrence Edelson

  • DiscOasis Will Open On June 16th In Central Park

    On Thursday, June 16th, DiscOasis, presented by Nile Rodgers, will open at the Wollman Rink in Central Park. The event will offer exciting evening skate times & programs featuring theatrical performances with an array of live DJs, artists, and special guests. It will also be open throughout the day for daytime skating.

    DiscOasis

    Nighttime performances at the DiscOasis will have music curated by the Grammy-award-winning “Groovemaster,” Nile Rodgers. The experience will include unique art, tantalizing lights, exceptional music and dance, and occasional live performances. DiscOasis hopes that its theatrical experience will promote inclusiveness and positivity in the community.

    When DiscOasis was in Los Angeles last year, The Los Angeles Times had this to say:

    The DiscOasis is a pop-up roller-skating experience like no other. The second you step onto the grounds… the energy of the party envelops you

    Siena Giljum

    Tickets are on sale beginning May 10th at 11 AM. Skating sessions will be available from 10 AM to 10 PM on Wednesdays through Sundays from June 16th till October 1st. Skates will cost ten dollars to rent. However, those who already own a pair of skates are welcome to bring them, free of charge. For tickets and more information, visit thediscoasis.com.

  • Elsewhere Brooklyn Announces 2022 Lineup

    Elsewhere, the multi-room live music venue and nightclub in Bushwick, Brooklyn is back this summer and they have announced a huge lineup. Throughout the summer, the venue will be hosting over 40 events ranging from intimate shows with up-and-coming artists to full-blown parties.

    Elsewhere Brooklyn
    Elsewhere, The Hall

    Since 2017, Elsewhere has served as one of Brooklyn’s epicenters for unique indie artists to showcase their talents. For example, in February we covered Magdalena Bay’s performance at the venue. The duo magnificently blends hyperpop and synthwave in their music, and similar sounds will be found when the venue hosts 8485 and blackwinterwell’s hyperpop performance this July.

    Elsewhere’s 5,000-square-foot rooftop venue will open on Thursday, May 26th. The venue has three floors, making the best usage of the city’s necessity for vertical urbanization. The venue has two stages, The Hall and Zone One. The Hall is reserved for larger performances and large DJ sets. Contrarily, Zone One is where those intimate performances radiating hipster that peculiar Brooklyn charm happen.

    Elsewhere Brooklyn
    Elsewhere, Zone One

    In preparation for the summer season, Elsewhere will be opening its rooftop. Here is the perfect place to grab a drink and enjoy an excellent view. Additionally, live entertainment is also performed here occasionally.

    Elsewhere Brooklyn
    Elsewhere, The Rooftop

    Lastly, the venue boasts two lounges, one public and one private. At The Loft, the public lounge nestled into the second floor of the building, you can take a seat, relax, and enjoy a small food menu and drinks. The Skybridge Lounge, on the other hand, is the new private lounge at Elsewhere. Here, private parties can enjoy private table service and sound piped in from performances around the venue.

    The full schedule for Elsewhere’s Summer 2022 lineup is available at elsewherebrooklyn.com.

  • Saratoga Springs Launches “Dance Around Town” Photography Exhibition This June

    This June in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Performing Arts Center has partnered with two other venues, Saratoga Arts and The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, to host Dance Around Town: A Photographic Celebration.

    Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center
    Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center

    The display will be split into three distinct exhibitions and each of these exhibitions will hosted at one of the priorly stated venues. Moreover, These exhibitions will feature world-renowned artists like Mikhail Baryshnikov, Betti Franceschi, and Robert Tracy. All three exhibitions will be available for viewing at no cost. For more information on the exhibitions and artists visit spac.org.

    Saratoga Springs Dance Around Town

    Saratoga Springs “Dance Around Town” Schedule

    Merce My Way

    Location: The Pines at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center

    Viewing Times: June 5 (2pm-5pm); June 6-9 (12pm-5pm); June 17-19 (12pm-5pm)

    The collection will also be available for viewing to all ticket holders of SPAC’s classical programming. Additional viewing times are to be announced.

    Ageless Dancers

    Location: Saratoga Arts

    Dates: June 18 – August 13

    Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5 pm | Saturday 12 pm – 4 pm

    Robert Tracy on Dance

    Location: The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery

    Dates: June 4 – August 21

    Hours: Thursday 12–9 pm, Friday/Saturday/Sunday 12–5 pm

  • Lil Nas X To Perform Back-to-Back Nights At Radio City Music Hall

    Lil Nas X, two-time GRAMMY winner, will be touring his debut self-titled album MONTERO, this year. The acclaimed artist will be performing two back-to-back nights at Radio City Music Hall, on September 20th and 21st.

    Lil Nas X
    (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

    The 23-year-old rapper from Atlanta quickly rose to popularity in 2019, after the release and successful marketing campaign of his country-rap song “Old Town Road.” Critics were quick to judge the song, however, arguing that the song was not country enough to deserve its #16 spot on Billboards Hot Country Songs Chart, and it was quickly moved to the Hot Rap Songs Chart the following week. This controversy shot Lil Nas X to notoriety and the song eventually shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

    This quick fame would even land him a featured remix of the song with country-pop star Billy Ray Cyrus, which would become the longest-running #1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history after 19 weeks atop the chart.

    Lil Nas X Long Live Montero North American Tour Dates:

    Tue Sep 06 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore

    Sat Sep 10 – Chicago, IL – Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom

    Thu Sep 15 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY

    Sun Sep 18 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway

    Tue Sep 20 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall

    Wed Sep 21 – New York, NY – Radio City Music Hall

    Thu Sep 22 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met

    Sun Sep 25 – Washington, DC – The Anthem

    Tue Sep 27 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy

    Sat Oct 01 – Nashville, TN – Nashville Municipal Auditorium

    Mon Oct 03 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live

    Tue Oct 04 – Miami, FL – James L Knight Center

    Tue Oct 18 – Los Angeles, CA – YouTube Theater 

    Fri Oct 21 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre

    Sun Oct 23 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

    Tickets for the Long Live Montero Tour are available at https://www.longlivemontero.com/.

  • Sonia Manzano, “Maria” From Sesame Street, Will Make Two Appearances at UAlbany This Weekend

    Update 4/28: Due to illness, Sonia Manzano will not be appearing at UAlbany on Saturday, April 30, 2022 as previously planned. The 4pm Creative Life Conversation at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center for which Manzano was to be the guest is canceled.The 7:30pm performance of Selected Shorts will take place as planned at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center. Actors Patricia Kalember (The Tick) and Bhavesh Patel (The Good Wife) will be joined by a third actor to be named shortly who will replace Manzano.

    Sonia Manzano who, for almost five decades played Maria on Sesame Street, will make two appearances at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center this week, both on Saturday, April 30th.

    Sonia Manzano

    Manzano’s first appearance will be at 4 PM, where she will be the final guest of The Creative Life: A Conversation Series at UAlbany. Here, Manzano will discuss her creativity, craft, and career with host Joe Donahue from WAMC. This event will be free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations will be required.

    Her second appearance will then be at 7:30 PM. Here, Manzano will be participating in a series called Selected Shorts. Selected Shorts is a series in which prominent creatives read classic and new works of fiction. Manzano will be reading alongside Patricia Kalember, famous for her role in Sisters, and Bhavesh Patel.

    Sonia Manzano
    Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

    Sonia Manzano will read a special selection of brand-new work by authors Carmen Maria Machado, Jess Walter, Jenny Allen, Etgar Keret, and Lauren Groff commissioned for the 35th anniversary of Selected Shorts.

    Tickets are still available and are $10-$15 in advance and $15-$20 on the day of the show through the UAlbany Performing Art Center’s box office at (518) 442-3997 or tickets@albany.edu.

  • With The Punches Return After Nine-Year Hiatus

    With The Punches has dropped a new single “Stoneham Blues.” This single comes following their signing with Mutant League Records, an independent record label based in Chicago. Their new EP, Discontent, is set to drop on May 27th.

    With The Punches was initially formed in 2008 out of Newburgh. The band released two consecutive EPs, one in 2009 and one in 2011. In 2012, the band released their first and only full-length studio album titled, Seams and Stitches. Now, after nine years of silence, the band is ready to make a big return.

    With The Punches

    Their newest release takes the listener back to the height of skater-influenced pop-punk. The opening of the track powerfully draws you in as a bright guitar gloss fully floats over bulldozing percussion. The lyrics, contrarily, take on a more mature theme.

    Capturing the feeling of emptiness may be the hardest emotion to replicate in art. Death, addiction, and everything in between are experiences that everyone has dealt with in their life. With The Punches do not hold back in discussing these feelings and they manage to beautifully capture these emotions through excellently constructed metaphors with a slight Midwest emo twist.

    Pre-order for the vinyl EP is available at withthepunches.presspressmerch.com

  • Patterns of Decay Drop Thrashy Self-Titled Project

    Patterns of Decay, a five-piece heavy metal band from New York has dropped their self-titled, second studio album. Their newest project continues to showcase the thrashy and violent metal they have founded themselves on.

    The band was first formed in 2014. Moreover, in 2014, Patterns of Decay released their debut EP Malicious Intent. Four years later, the band would go on to release their first studio project, Suicide Notes In Comic Sans.

    Patterns of Decay

    The band consists of Christian Contello on vocals, who throughout the album showcases his impressive death metal scream. Moreover, Dan Gold is on guitar and Matthew Stirrat is on guitar and vocals. Lastly, Antonio Romano provides the drumming for the band and Jesse Herman plays the bass guitar. Since 2014, the band has kept its same lineup.

    Notably, some of the best work on this project comes from the lead guitarist. Throughout the album, the tone of the guitar is rather brittle and harsh. However, the speed and precision at which it is played harmonize every song in a thrashy fashion. One such song, “Ru(m)ination,” goes as far as to showcase this excellence in its entirety.

    These skills can also be found on “Of Famine and Plague,” which is easily the best song on this album. Excellent drumming, harsh strings, and demonically screeching vocals all make this track a total moshpit essential.

    This project still comes with many flaws, however. Most notably, for every good song on this album, there is also an equally as bad one. Sometimes the instrumentation is too harsh like on “Reguirtate”, and sometimes there may be displeasing dissonance like on “Ocean Black”. However, that should not deter any metal fan from listening though, because there are definitely some hidden gems amidst the filler.

    Patterns Of Decay is available on streaming platforms now. For more information on the band, visit patternsofdecay.com.

    Key Tracks: Of Famine and Plague, House of Doors

  • Basilica Hudson Announces 2022 Season

    Multidisciplinary arts center Basilica Hudson has announced their 2022 season, and this season is loaded with tons of film, music, art, environmental, and community programs.

    For those unfamiliar, Basilica Hudson is an arts and performance venue built inside an old factory in the city of Hudson, NY. The factory produced railroad car wheels in the 1880s and was later converted into a glue factory. It closed in the 1980s but was rebought to be used as a cultural arts center. It lies alongside the east of the Hudson River and has been serving its community as an epicenter for cultural arts for over twenty years now.

    Basilica Hudson

    Since then, the venue has been renovated and is now solar-powered. An extension of Basilica Hudson, BASILICA GREEN, works hard to develop public programs, push for green initiatives, and promote environmental stewardship in the Hudson Valley community. Notably, on April 24th, BASILICA GREEN will host an Earth Day event on their campus. Here, there will be tons of educational opportunities as well as live music and advocacy letter-writing campaign opportunities.

    Basilica Gallery will open on May 5th. This will be a weekly series, dubbed Jupiter Nights, and will be an opportunity for local creatives to showcase their music, poetry, or other art. Those interested in performing or displaying their work in the gallery should contact info@basilicahudson.org.

    For more information on the 2022 season, visit https://basilicahudson.org.

  • Adequate Phil Drops Psychedelic New Single

    Adequate Phil doesn’t tether themselves to one genre, and their newest single, “Can’t Not,” showcases this. In it, elements of psychedelia, hip-hop, and folk infuse to make one cerebral concoction. This single is the third of many to come from the new “folk-freak” group coming out of Troy, which falls just north of Albany and lies alongside the Hudson River.

    Adequate Phil

    The band consists of three members. Sean McLaughlin provides vocals throughout the track. Moreover, Phil McGrath plays the guitar. Notably, Runey Ghosh provides beautiful bass instrumentation on this project. It is thick, it is beautiful, and it is funky. His instrumental abilities add an essential layer of personality to this song.

    Their previous release, “Baby Leeches/Vessel” was previously covered by EQXposure on WEQX, an independent radio station in the Capital Region of New York.

    The group will be performing at the Troy Speakeasy on April 23rd. For more on Adequate Phil, visit https://linktr.ee/adequatephil.