Rick Barton, founding guitarist of the Dropkick Murphys, is still making music with his son Stephen in his current band Continental.
Leaving the Dropkick Murphy’s was no easy decision, with Barton once telling the Fort Wayne Reader why he quit the band in 2000, mid-recording the band’s third album. “Myself and Kenny (Casey, bass player and co-founder) ended up hating each other,” Barton said. “We’ve since made amends, but you know, touring in a band for four straight years… that same old story.
Photo by Jaroslava Barton This is Rick’s band Continental
Now touring with Continental, Barton spoke with Rob Smittix of RadioRadioX on a variety of topics, including his time with Dropkick Murphys.
RRX: Many people may or may not know that you were an original founding member of the Dropkick Murphys, we don’t have to focus on it but certainly we should touch on it.
RB: Especially because it’s the 25th anniversary of the legendary album Do or Die.
RRX: I know you have stories but to briefly sum it up. What would you say about your experience?
RB: It was an incredible time in my life but at the time I didn’t know it was incredible. One of the most interesting stories from that whole record was sitting outside of my garage in Quincy, that was our practice space. Lars Frederiksen from Rancid flew in, he was staying at my place because the practice space was right next to it. We congregated outside of the garage, we were sitting around talking and he recently produced Swingin’ Utters’ The Streets of San Francisco album. We were talking about sales, and he said you’d probably be lucky if you did what Swingin’ Utters did, they’ve sold 10,000 and I just looked at everybody and said we’re going to sell 50,000 easily. I broke all punk rock ethos and cred at that moment by blurting that out! Obviously, the album has gone on to surpass way more than 50,000. I’ll never forget saying that but at the same time I didn’t think that we were that great. I kind of knew, when we pulled into Buffalo and there’d be 500 kids lined up. We’re pulling in with the van and I’m like who are these kids? Are they actually there to see us?
My original band Outlets did very little touring. Bands back then didn’t tour, you only toured if you were on a major label. The band that bypassed that and jump started the rest of the bands was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Around 88′, 89′ or whatever, they got in the van and they toured. They were one of the first ones from Boston. So anyway, we pull up to these places and I was like this is unbelievable. I knew the phenomena, The Outlets became huge in Boston, we would play for 1200 seat rooms within our first year as a band. I understood fans coming to see your band, but I just didn’t think it was possible in another city. You know what I mean?
RRX: Absolutely but I’ve never achieved that.
RB: Not many people have. Compared to the amount of people that start bands it’s astronomically low.
RB: But why are they coming? Are they coming because we have bagpipes? Are they coming because of our name? Did they like a certain song? Keeps you wondering about all of this stuff. We were fairly new at that point. Matt Kelly the drummer had some experience but besides from him and me, we weren’t really that seasoned. Mike and Kenny were both brand new at music.
I go to see the Dropkick Murphys all of the time and I love listening to Kenny talk from the stage. He cracks me up. The things that he says, it’s like the opposite of Paul Stanley at a Kiss concert. I often say that if the old legends came back from the grave and they dropped in on a Murphys show and heard Kenny talking from the stage they’d be like what the hell is this? What did the mayor of Boston form a punk rock band? It’s not typical banter but I love it!
One thing he says a lot from stage is “I don’t know how other people do it but this is the only band I’ve ever had.” That is so rare.
I helped, obviously Mike was instrumental, and Matt Kelly is an incredible drummer but it’s really Kenny’s brain child. It’s just an unbelievable story, it’s fascinating and at the time, sadly, I kind of resented Kenny, not kind of, I did. I was hanging onto the old guard, like all of my old music friends who were so talented and never got anywhere. Even though I was in his band, I was resentful, I was jealous. We’ve made amends with each other, but Kenny and I ended up hating each other after five years in the band. We both stepped it up and talked about the experience. He’s credited me with basically helping him develop his career because he says he couldn’t have done it without me. That’s probably true, not that he couldn’t have done it because I was Rick Barton, he just needed somebody that was just going to make up some chords and show him some songs. It just happened to be me. It wasn’t like Kenny and I were this magical duo, although we did write some pretty good songs together. It’s kind of mind blowing when I look back now 25 years later, it’s pretty incredible that we put that together.
Let’s face it, Mike quit after the first record, Kenny was not easy to deal with, but I didn’t realize why. The reason he was so brutal was because that was the only way to succeed. We needed that person who was going to be worrying and stressing around the clock and that was Kenny’s job. Like I’ve said, I’ve apologized to him for not being a team player. I’m not lamenting the fact that I quit the band. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I had a million dollars or if I became a rock-star if I stayed in the band. Maybe the band would’ve imploded eventually who knows? I also like to think that if we kept the original line-up, we probably could’ve been the next Clash. It would’ve ended up going in a different direction than they ended up going in. Needless to say, I feel somewhat embarrassed that I didn’t realize how much suffering Kenny was doing. I just thought he was a bastard the whole time. The typical thing workers feel about their boss. You know what I mean?
RRX: Oh, for sure.
RB: Of course, now I realize it was me. I should’ve adapted and helped Kenny. I should’ve been there every step of the way encouraging him. In my defense there were a few times I tried to make peace. I came up to him and I said Kenny I know we just can’t get along, but you know certain songs like “Wheel of Misfortune” we wrote together and it’s really inspirational and it feels like a magical moment. I would occasionally try to get sentimental and patch things up through the art. He’d just go yeah FU let’s go play. He didn’t want any part of that BS sentimentality thing, but it wasn’t really BS it was heartfelt on my part. But it was too little too late at that point. The good news is that even though I didn’t capitalize monetarily, no one knows who the F*** I am, a very few people which is fine with me in a way. I have those moments from like January of 96′ until I was still working on the third album March or April of 2000. It was a short amount of time a little over four years. It was an intense period of time; we made tons of music and did tons of touring. So, no matter how much I didn’t gain, I have that time period in my life that was magical. And as much as I thought Kenny was ruining my time on the planet at that time, I was wrong about that. It doesn’t matter now. I think about the music we made, the people I met and that incredible time in my life. It was a gift to me that was given.
Rick Barton is still making music with his son Stephen Barton in his current band Continental and has recently hit the studio so be on the lookout for new music soon!
Warmer days are on the horizon, and Umphrey’s McGee is heading out for a full spring and summer tour for 2022, including a stop at Paper Mill Island Amphitheatre in Baldwinsville, 20 minutes Northwest of Syracuse.
What’s more, among the swing through the Northeast in June and July – with a pair of Red Rocks shows June 17-18 with Lespecial and Andy Frasco and the U.N. as openers – they’ll team up with the Disco Biscuits for 8 shows in June and August.
Pairing up the Disco Biscuits and Umphrey’s McGee for these shows harkens back to the first ‘D.U.M.B.’ tour since 2007, which featured collaborations between the two bands. They also shared the bill of Trancegression Festival in Colorado that year, and have teamed up as ‘Brain Damaged Eggmen,” where Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger and Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee, perform with Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits perform songs of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.
Tickets for Umphrey’s McGee Summer Tour 2022 shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 18 at 10 a.m. local time. Presales are scheduled to start on Wednesday, March 16 at 10 a.m. ET using BISCOMCGEE as the code and will continue through March 17 at 10 p.m. ET.
A ticket pre-sale will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 16th at 10am ET with a public on sale on Friday, March 18th at 10am ET. Find tickets here.
Jun 04, 2022 – St. Augustine, FL ^ Jun 05, 2022 – St. Augustine, FL ^ Jun 09, 2022 – Bridgeport, CT + Jun 10, 2022 – Baltimore, MD + Jun 11, 2022 – Portland, ME + Jun 12, 2022 – Essex Junction, VT + Jul 08, 2022 – Baldwinsville, NY * Jul 10, 2022 – Selbyville, DE * Jul 14, 2022 – Outer Banks, NC * Jul 15, 2022 – Asbury Park, NJ * Jul 16, 2022 – Thornville, OH Aug 18, 2022 – Indianapolis, IN + Aug 19, 2022 – Maryland Heights, MO + Aug 20, 2022 – Pelham, TN + Aug 21, 2022 – Pelham, TN +
^ – presale code: smallstrides on 3/17 at 10am * – presale code: smallstrides + – presale code: BISCOMCGEE
Pearl Jam, who were the first major artist to pull the plug and postpone their Spring 2020 tour dates due to COVID-19 concerns, has announced they are back on the road with 2020 North American tour dates officially rescheduled for May and September 2022. Pearl Jam will perform at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Sunday, September 11, 2022
Josh Klinghoffer, former guitarist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, will bring his solo project, Pluralone, will open for Pearl Jam on this tour. Klinghoffer will also join Pearl Jam as a touring member on these dates.
A special ticket pre-sale for all tour dates begins today, March 14 for current eligible Pearl Jam Ten Club members. There will be no general public sale and all public tickets will be available through Ticketmaster Verified Fan Registration. Verified Fan ticket registration is open now through Sunday, March 27 at 10 pm PT and the Verified Fan Onsale begins Tuesday, March 29 at 10 am local time. Register here.
Pearl Jam’s 2020 European Tour dates are rescheduled for June and July of 2022. See pearljam.com for full tour routing and any updates.
In continuing their ongoing commitment to acknowledge and address the band’s carbon footprint, Pearl Jam will be paying $200 per ton for carbon dioxide mitigation from the Gigaton tour, a ten-fold increase from prior years. This pricing allows the band to pursue a multi-layered strategy of offsets and investments that combined, will allow for a more comprehensive mitigation plan.
We are proud of our prior efforts to mitigate our inevitable carbon footprint from touring over the past 20 years but the time to multiply that effort is clearly right now. By committing to this aggressive pricing, we hope to equally amplify our efforts and gather partners who share our urgency to make the investments and innovations required to move our world to a more conscious, carbon balanced economy.
Stone Gossard
Pearl Jam 2022 North American Tour
May 3 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena Postponed Date
May 6 Los Angeles, CA The Forum Postponed Date
May 7 Los Angeles, CA The Forum Postponed Date
May 9 Glendale, AZ Gila River Arena Postponed Date
May 12 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena Postponed Date
May 13 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena Postponed Date
May 16 Fresno, CA Save Mart Arena New Date
May 18 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center New Date
May 20 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena New Date
September 1 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre Postponed Date
September 3 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre Postponed Date
September 6 Hamilton, ON FirstOntario Centre Postponed Date
September 8 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena Postponed Date
September 11 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Postponed Date
September 14 Camden, NJ Waterfront Music Pavilion New Date
September 16 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena Postponed Date
September 18 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center Postponed Date
September 20 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center Postponed Date
On Thursday, March 10, 2022, The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation is presented the sixth annual Love Rocks NYC benefit concert for God’s Love We Deliver, live from the historic Beacon Theatre. Executive produced by iconic international fashion designer John Varvatos, NYC real estate broker and prominent concert producer Greg Williamson and esteemed concert/events producer Nicole Rechter, the concert was hosted by Mario Cantone, Kiefer Sutherland, Gina Gershon, Steve Schirripa and Michelle Buteau, supporting and honoring the work of the New York-based not-for-profit organization.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R)John Varvatos, Greg Williamson, Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, Jimmy Vivino, and Anders Osborne attend the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
The 2022 edition of Love Rocks NYC This year’s concert event will also celebrate an extraordinary milestone for God’s Love We Deliver with the delivery of their 30 millionth meal this spring. The organization, which was founded during the AIDS pandemic in 1985, has been an essential services provider during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the organization cooked and delivered more than 2.6 million medically tailored meals to nearly 10,000 New Yorkers living with and affected by severe illness, and its staff and volunteers continue to work tirelessly to meet the ever-growing demand for its services.
Building off of the smaller Love Rocks NYC affair in 2021, the announced lineup included Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos, Mavis Staples, Hozier, Warren Haynes, Melissa Etheridge, Allison Russell, Larkin Poe, Tyler Bryant, David Shaw (of The Revivalists), Anders Osborne, Celisse, Jimmy Vivino, Maggie Rose, Connor Kennedy (of Steely Dan), and left many surprises in store for all in attendance.
At 8:15pm, Ben Harper opened the show with an instrumental tribute to his friend and long time bassist Juan Nelson. Then Harper took the crowd from the Hudson River down the Mississippi for Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks” with Danny Clinch on swamp harp.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Danny Clinch and Ben Harper perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Bill Murray took David Letterman’s role 2021 as the surprise MC and introduced the first round of artists and God’s Love We Deliver founder Karen Pearl. He also helped organize a special farewell to the audience members that were seated below the Beacons infamous spike. “That thing is gonna come down mid show tonight and just take out that section, say goodbye to these people.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Murray then introduced Connor Kennedy for a performance of Tom Petty’s “Learning to Fly.” Aside from this song, all other artists performed three song sets over the three hours of music.
Celisse Henderson, who was part of Trey Anastasio’s Beacon Jams, returned to the stage with her guitar in hand to make her voice heard to a fully seated Beacon. She also howled like Robert Plant & wrote a letter to Jimmy Page on guitar for Zeppelin’s “Rock & Roll”.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Celisse performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Mavis Staples’ family has been gracing the world with their music for 74 years and her rendition of David Byrne’s “Slippery People” created a Start Making Sense vibe at Love Rocks.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mavis Staples performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
New York Yankee Bernie Williams traded his bat for a guitar axe at the event, joining Staples on the classic “I’ll Take You There.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mavis Staples and Bernie Williams perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Maggie Rose set a tone for the Upper West Side at Love Rocks for her version of “Lonely Town, Lonely Street,” perhaps a nod to the former unlit Beacon marquee in the past two years.
Allison Russell acknowledged the moment immediately on how it was full circle for them to be standing where Mavis just performed, performing a special version of “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” with Hozier.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Allison Russell performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Larkin Poe, who performed at the return of the New York State Bluesfest last June at the Syracuse State Fairgrounds, killed “Rock & Roll Hootchie Koo” with Tyler Bryant.
A taste of New Orleans arrived around 10pm with Lafayette’s Anders Osborne with Danny Clinch for Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken.” The Beacon stage took on an old juke joint vibe as Laurence Fishburne came to tell stories about his favorite winos & introduce the band.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Laurence Fishburne speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Fishburne introduced Keith Richards, Ivan Neville, Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel, and CBS Orchestra bassist Will Lee to the stage. The three song set included “999,” “You Got the Silver” & Keith’s killer “Before They Make Me Run.”
Steve Schirripa from The Sopranos kept the fun going on stage after the X-Pensive Winos set, needing to take a minute on the stage as the smoke cleared from the winos set before carrying the show along.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Steve Schirripa performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
The next hour of music was a tribute to artists including David Bowie, John Lennon and Gregg Allman. Hozier sang on “Changes” & Melissa Etheridge performed “Come Together,” while Devon Allman, Warren Haynes and a full horn section performed on “Just Another Rider,” off Gregg’s final solo album. All yet another direct spark of inspiration off the Beacon Theatre’s historic stage.
Jackson Browne returned to the Beacon for the first time since March 2020 and joined Haynes for a special “Running on Empty” to close the show.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Warren Haynes and Jackson Browne perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Prior to the encore, Varvatos, Williamson and Rechter set the date for next years 7th annual Love Rocks NYC for March 9, 2023, and announced that a portion of the proceeds with go to those in need in Ukraine.
For the encore, the entire cast joined in unison for Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” to send everybody with smiles from the theatre to the reception.
Love Rocks was once again a source of light & inspiration for those in the crowd, serving a worthy cause for those in the greater NYC community.
Love Rocks Benefit Concert – Beacon Theatre, NYC – March 10, 2022
Setlist: Inland Empire, When The Levee Breaks, Learning To Fly, Get There. Rock & Roll, In The Midnight Hour, Lonely Town, Lonely Street, Slippery People, I’ll Take You There, Nightflyer, Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around, She’s A Self Made Man, Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo, Dixie Chicken, 999, You Got The Silver, Before They Make Me Run, Work Song, Come Together, I’m The Only One, Ooh La La, Baba O’Riley, Just Another Rider, I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, Running On Empty Encore: Like A Rolling Stone
Photos via Getty Images by Kevin Mazur and Jamie McCarthy
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Bill Murray, Danny Clinch, and Ben Harper speak onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Celisse performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Warren Haynes performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Anders Osborne performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Connor Kennedy performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Jackson Browne performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Maggie Rose performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Allison Russell performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: David Shaw performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Melissa Etheridge performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Tyler Bryant, Rebecca Lovell, and Megan Lovell perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Melissa Etheridge performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Will Lee and Bill Murray perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Celisse performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mario Cantone performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Ivan Neville performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bernie Williams performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Neal Coomer and Mavis Staples perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Melissa Etheridge performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Jimmy Vivino and Bill Murray perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Jackson Browne performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Artists perform “Like A Rolling Stone” onstage for the big group finale of the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Jimmy Vivino performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Monique Ross and Chauntee Ross of SistaStrings and Allison Russell perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Celisse and Hozier perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: A view of the marquee during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Danny Clinch, Connor Kennedy, and Anders Osborne perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Monique Ross and Chauntee Ross of SistaStrings and Allison Russell perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Celisse, Warren Haynes, and Mavis Staples pose backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Greg Williamson, Karen Pearl, Keith Richards, Nicole Rechter, and John Varvatos attend the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bernie Williams and Jimmy Vivino perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Tyler Bryant, Rebecca Lovell, and Megan Lovell perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Warren Haynes and Jackson Browne perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray speaks onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bernie Williams and Jimmy Vivino perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Bill Murray performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mario Cantone and Celisse pose backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mavis Staples performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Artists perform “Like A Rolling Stone” onstage for the big group finale of the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Laurence Fishburne poses backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos perform onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Keith Richards poses backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Steve Jordan of Keith Richards & The X-Pensive Winos performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Melissa Etheridge performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Artists perform “Like A Rolling Stone” onstage for the big group finale of the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Artists perform “Like A Rolling Stone” onstage for the big group finale of the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Mavis Staples performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Artists perform “Like A Rolling Stone” onstage for the big group finale of the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Steve Jordan (L) and Connor Kennedy pose backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: (L-R) Robert “Waddy” Wachtel, Keith Richards, Laurence Fishburne, and Steve Jordan pose backstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Warren Haynes performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 10: Connor Kennedy performs onstage during the Sixth Annual LOVE ROCKS NYC Benefit Concert For God’s Love We Deliver at Beacon Theatre on March 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for LOVE ROCKS NYC/God’s Love We Deliver )
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm 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, Laveda, Architrave, We’re History, and many more!
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.
Laveda – “bb”
On their 2020 debut album What Happens After, Laveda draw a post-apocolyptic landscape through layers of colorful sound and ethereal melodies. The band fuses polished pop song clarity with a 90’s guitar driven sound reminiscent of groups like The Sundays or my bloody valentine. Founding members “Jacob Brooks and Ali Genevich explore the great yawning unknown. From the freedom and uncertainty that rests at your fingertips or the distant and possibly desolate future, they capture adolescent restlessness with big walls of sound and a dreamy melodious warble” writes Toronto based blog Ohestee. NYC’s Look At My Records! calls Laveda “a young band with a fully realized voice and perspective, and What Happens After couldn’t feel timelier.”
Architrave – “Twitch of the Wing”
Architrave have shared “Twitch of the Wing” which is part of compliation of music to support the Ukrainian people. Order here and listen below.
We’re History -”Punk Rock Roots”
Remember when your favorite punk rock songs were always stuck in your head? It seemed like those days were about to fade into history. But we’ve got some news for ya. We’re History is here to save the day.We’re History is a pop punk band bringing you tight, fast-paced, rage-dance your problems away rock music, rounded out with infectious vocal melodies that force you to sing along. Listen on repeat and you will not be disappointed. Add a song to your punk rock playlist and your friends will be impressed. Take a deep dive into the lyrical inspiration of Tim’s soul and you will end up depressed, but that’s just part of the punk experience
Mayor Eric Adams visited the Blue Note Jazz Club in Greenwich Village on Monday, March 7, to watch Braxton Cook’s live set. Mayor Adams took a moment to deliver remarks on New York City’s suspension of Key to NYC requirements as well.
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Introduced by Steven Bensusan, President and Owner of Blue Note Entertainment Group, the Mayor shared a few inspiring words with the audience to celebrate the end of the city’s indoor vaccine mandates and the suspension of Key to NYC rules. View the video below.
Joined the crew at the @BlueNoteNYC because New Yorkers hit the right notes. You did the work. You got vaccinated and kept our city safe. And thanks to you, #NYCisBack. pic.twitter.com/fdF9FICkBM
Upcoming shows at Blue Note include Keyon Harrold (3/8-3/13), Rex Orange County (3/12), Quincy Jones Presents: Sheléa (3/14), Robert Glasper (3/15-3/20), Ron Carter (3/22-3/27), and An Intimate Evening with GZA and His Live Band (3/29-3/30).
Dead & Company and Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge will be joined by numerous Friends this weekend at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, playing songs from the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band catalogs, and much more.
The pair of shows are scheduled for March 11-12 and will feature Eric Krasno (guitar, Lettuce, Eric Krasno Band), Jason Crosby (keys, Assembly of Dust, Robert Randolph and the Family Band), Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band), Natalie Cressman (trombone/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band), James Casey (saxophone/vocals, Trey Anastasio Band, Lettuce), Tom Guarna (NYC guitarist), and Pete Lavezzoli (drums/percussion, Melvin Seals and JGB).
The show also marks James Casey’s return to the stage after undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
Burbridge, a two-time Grammy winning bassist has been in the music business touring and recording for over three decades. His first step into the national spotlight came in 1991 when he became a founding member of the Aquarium Rescue Unit featuring Col. Bruce Hampton, a cult classic that has stood the test of time. That led to his membership in the classic rock group The Allman Brothers Band. In 2012, Oteil received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his 15 year contribution to the Allman Brothers Band as the longest running bassist in the band’s history.
The Capitol Theatre run will be the first set of shows taking place in 2022 for Oteil & Friends, with more dates to be announced.
A festival staple of the Catskills, Mountain Jam, has recently announced the event will return in 2023. Last held in 2019 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, the festival, presented by Radio Woodstock and Warren Haynes, Mountain Jam will return to Bethel Woods for the 2023 installment.
The 2020 Mountain Jam lineup, which was cancelled due to COVID-19
Despite the 4 year hiatus, the festival looks to return strong, boasting four days of music on three stages, featuring more than 40 artists.
At Bethel Woods, the home of the original 1969 Woodstock Festival, Mountain Jam has embraced a wide array of musicians, with a focus on rock, jam and indie bands over the festival’s history, which started in 2005.
In 2011, Pollstar recognized Mountain Jam with a nomination for Music Festival of the Year. The Festival offers 3-day festival tickets with and without camping, premium Jammer (VIP), Super Jammer (Super VIP) and Ultimate Jammer Passes, and single day tickets. On-site camping and condos, and a variety of nearby hotels, lodges and ski chalets offer attendees a wide variety of accommodations.
Over the years, Mountain Jam has hosted some of the top names in live music, including Gov’t Mule, The Allman Brothers Band, Phil Lesh & Friends, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Widespread Panic, My Morning Jacket, Dispatch, The Lumineers, Steve Winwood, The Avett Brothers Alison Krauss & Union Station, Ray LaMontagne, Ben Folds Five, Primus, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Tedeschi Trucks Band, The Roots, Umphrey’s McGee, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem), Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Mavis Staples, Girl Talk, The Hold Steady, Coheed & Cambria, Drive-By Truckers Yonder Mountain String Band, Les Claypool, Matisyahu, Dave Mason, Gary Clark Jr., Medeski Martin & Wood, Mike Gordon, G. Love & Special Sauce, Richie Havens, Martin Sexton, Ozomatli, Galactic, Brett Dennen, Gomez, New Orleans Social Club, Jackie Greene, Ingrid Michaelson, and The Felice Brothers, among many others. In 2010, the festival presented Levon Helm‘s 70th Birthday Jubilee with very special guests Warren Haynes, Donald Fagen, Ray LaMontagne, Sam Bush, Steve Earle, Patterson & David Hood, Jackie Greene and Allison Moorer.
Trey Anastasio has released his first-ever solo acoustic album, Mercy, on Friday, March 11. The album, produced Bryce Goggin and Robert “rAab” Stevenson was engineered and mixed by Mike Fahey.
Trey Anastasio “Mercy” album cover
Music journalist David Fricke shared in the album’s liner notes, “Mercy is a genuine and surprising first for Trey Anastasio: his studio debut as a solo, acoustic singer-songwriter. The nine songs were all written in the emotional ricochet of recent, pandemic life, then recorded with the absolute purity of one man with a guitar and a microphone. There is nothing like it in Anastasio’s lifetime of albums, even after nearly four decades as the singer, guitarist, and primary composer in Phish, numerous side projects, collaborations, and the long-running Trey Anastasio Band.”
Anastasio shared “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
The past two years of fear, loss, and, at times, devastating quiet have been unlike anything many have ever known. Mercy is Anastasio’s account of that confusion and isolation in unresolved questions and conflicted passions, in a music of quietly gripping force.
Mercy also arrives just weeks after Anastasio recorded it and two years, nearly to the day, since New York City went into lockdown. Anastasio adds, “Mercy is like a bookend. It’s two years since we went into hiding. This is still going on, and it’s an even lonelier trip.” Even with the release of the Phish studio album Sigma Oasis in April 2020; Anastasio’s ‘Beacon Jams’ charity concerts later than fall, and Phish’s return to the road in the summer of 2021, Anastastio still looked inward as he wrote these songs. “Here I was, still at home, playing acoustic guitar. I thought, ‘These songs just want to be one guy with a guitar, singing.’”
The roots of Mercy go back further, to Anastasio’s first tours as a solo, acoustic performer, starting with three shows in 2017, followed by longer runs in 2018 and 2019, highlighted by a sold-out two-night stand at New York’s legendary Carnegie Hall. The setlists were largely made up of Phish songs stripped to their chord progressions, signature licks, and vocal melodies.
But I found this weird thing happening, where “Maze” worked on acoustic guitar. Who would have thought that? It’s about the jam, the organ solo. Turns out it wasn’t. It was about the lyrics and the music.
Trey Anastasio
In June 2021, Anastasio played his first shows for live fans in more than a year, with a week of solo, acoustic gigs in Saratoga Springs, and a pair of shows at the Beacon Theatre. The songs again were mostly from the Phish catalog, but the emotional exchange was, per Anastasio, “like a direct path from my heart to the audience. The honesty and simplicity of those shows – without it, this album would not have happened.”
As noted in the press release, Anastasio plays on Mercy a custom-designed guitar, hand-crafted from century-old wood by a luthier in Burlington, Vermont. McConnell commissioned the instrument as a birthday gift, presenting it to Anastasio last fall during a Phish rehearsal at the Barn. “That was the turning point,” Anastasio declares. Back in New York, “I’d get up early every day, make coffee and write these songs on that guitar.” Then while recording Mercy, “The decision was made very quickly: ‘Let me double the guitar.’ I was listening to the first take on headphones and playing off it. It was like jamming with myself.”
Mercy comes with long, deep echoes: Laurel Canyon’s golden age of woodsmoke and introspection; the confessional streak running through Britain’s folk revival in the late Sixties; the slow-dance spell and modal-guitar inventions of Joni Mitchell. A future waits in here too. “Definitely,” Anastasio replies right away when asked if he can imagine playing these songs with Phish or TAB, improvising in the psychedelic glow of “6 and 1/2 Minutes” or building on the eccentric guitar ride at the end of “Arc.” “Songs are like children,” he says. “They will tell you what to do. But when I was writing these songs, I thought, ‘I have to go direct to the finish line’ – to be able to play these songs on acoustic guitar first.”
He mentions a favorite quote that goes back to Leonardo da Vinci: “Art lives by constraint.” Mercy “is a perfect example,” Anastasio says. “One mic, one stool, one guitar. It’s a new outlet. And I love it.”
During a break from Dead & Company tour in June of 2018 John Mayer started to build “Sob Rock” on your Instagram in portrait mode from Electric Lady studios in New York City. The IGTV episode compartmentalizes the ideas behind the albums first single “New Light”. Mayer said on a Tales from the Golden Road broadcast that Dead & Company is a little “Hendrixy.” Well Sob Rock is a little “Princey.” Mayer takes you on the ride from the songs original sample to one of Prince’s guitars making it’s way on the album. It was unplanned that it showed up during the recording.
He even put a compressor on the studio sound like the Purple one used to do. Mayer tells IGTV during the making of “New Light”… There’s this moment at the end of the solo going in to the last chorus…that’s cool. When you got a guy like Pino Palladino for a turn around like that, you set the dude free and go let him just feel it out.
Bassist Pino Palladino joins guitarist Isaiah Sharkey, drummer Steve Farrone, percussionist Lenny Castro, keyboardists Gregg Phillinganes & Jamie Muhoberac, guitarist and vocalist David Ryan Harris, Carlos Ricketts, Tiffany Palmer, and John Mayer for the “Sob Rock” 2022 tour. It hits 20 cities this year. Mayer debuted “New Light” in the encore live with a Phish like confetti curation during his last solo world tour opener in Albany in July of 2019.
video by saving memory
Mayer welcomed everyone at Albany’s old Knickerbocker Arena to “The Sob Rock Era” on the February 17 2022 debut show. The former “Dozin at the Knick” room holds the same stage Mayer birthed his Dead & Company role for transportation in October of 2015. Oteil Burbridge told NYS music about his perception in Dead & Co. “When Bill Walton says you’re good you stop worrying.” In fact the next venue the new group played that tour was MSG.
Let me tell you something this blows my mind. I’m up here playing these songs and I look out to see you & the dream is complete. Thank you.
John Mayer
The Albany audience responded with the same pieces of 80’s flair as Mayer on stage. The crowd sported radio walkmans with dead tape in deck, vintage commercials, faded sport jackets, tie dyes, scrunchies, wayfarers, Sob Rock newspapers, Stealie fleeces and Fast Times at Ridgemont High piano scarfs in motion. John Mayer thanked Lee Chris Art mid show for her vibe in the crowd.
The last train home carried the act down the Hudson River to Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden for two sold out evenings of John Mayer on February 20 and 21. Mayer’s last two night run at the Garden was with the Dead & Company for Halloween 2019.
video by saving memory
It should come as no surprise that the only artists work weaved in the tour’s set list so far is “The Beautiful Ones” by Prince sung by “Sob Rock” guitarist David Ryan Harris. John saw David Ryan Harris from the crowd during his sit in with the Leroi Moore era Dave Matthews Band at Jones Beach in 1995. Mayer and his new band also played material off “Room for Squares”, “Heavier Things”, “Continuum”, “Battle Studies”, “Born and Raised”, “Paradise Valley”, and “The Search for Everything”.
Mayer encouraged everyone in Albany to dance in unison to “Moving on and Getting Over”. John sings to “Rosie” at the Garden… Don’t Leave me here under the January rain, come let me in, take my heart by the hand. “I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You)” was played in Albany and New York City for those suspicious minds in each town.
I will beg my way in to your garden and then I’ll break my way out when it rains. Monday night at Madison Square Garden had the show turn split screen for a special presentation. For the first time ever the “Sob Rock” catalog was performed live stripped down acoustic along side many other classics on the fourth night of the tour. It felt vert reminiscent of The Grateful Dead’s 1980 Radio City Halloween shows that split the bill acoustic & electric.
Mayer started the night solo to light the room with “Neon”. He led the pack from his seated chair on the psychedelic piece “If I Ever Get Around To Living” that explored the Garden’s room. Tom Petty’s Drummer Steve Farrone is also a part of Sob Rock University. David Ryan Harris and John Mayer did an acoustic duo cover of “Free Falling” for extra credit.
The only other artist work besides Mayer to be featured on the acoustic set was Paul Simon. Mayer sang Simon’s “Homeward Bound” as the outro to his original track “Stop this Train” at Penn Station. The set closed with a “Sob Rock” & “Graceland” album hybrid debut. Mayer and the entire Garden sang “You Can Call Me Al” in between his new original “Til the Right One Comes”.
video by saving memory
Monday nights special guest in place of Steve Farrone was Philadelphia’s Questlove fresh off his January birthday. Sob Rock guitarist Isaiah Sharkey is a fan of the Philadelphonic sound in Manhattan. Sharkey told NYS music in July that his most influential show from a NY crowd was Pennsylvania’s Joey DeFrancesco at the legendary Blue Note in the village. Philli’ born Saxophonist Vanessa Collier told NYS Music about Questlove’s knowledge and love of music.
It’s not a surface level thing with Questlove. It’s all life. He knows every groove from every single song he’s heard. From a DJ perspective and drummer angle is great.
Vanessa Collier
Questlove was on his way to attend “Sob Rock” at the Garden when he found out he would be sitting in for one of his favorite drummers. Quest’s stop at Penn Station from Rockefeller was immediately felt during “Vultures” to open the second set. He sat on the throne for the six song electric change up & encore. Quest, who laid studio drums to Mayer’s 2004 cut ”Clarity”, loved playing it live to a sold out Garden. The Sob Rock cast saved Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” snippet for Quest’s set as well. “Something like Olivia” hit like “Lay Down Sally” at MSG.
video by saving memory
All the Sallys swaying next to the wrong Harrys in the audience at the Garden caught a vibe during “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” to end the show. John Mayer & Isaiah Sharkey pick’s light the same fire Eric Clapton & Robert Cray’s “Old Love” burned in 1989 when he debuted “Journeyman”. In similar fashion Keith Richards & Ivan Neville are headlining the Love Rocks NYC benefit at the Beacon Theater in March to recast his 1989 X-Pensive Winos to the stage with Steve Jordan.
Truth be told I coulda played the whole show. I texted Jimmy (Fallon) earlier I felt like Don Henley in 1988 when last minute he played drums for Guns N’ Roses at the AMA’s. It was hella fun tonight.
Questlove
Pino Palladino certainly saw a dead head sticker on a Cadillac on the way to the Garden. He plays bass on Don Henley’s big apple island ballad “New York Minute.” Jimmy Fallon had a head full of roses and calavera art on his face in the crowd during Dead & Company’s Halloween show at MSG in 2019. John Mayer took a solo during “Standing on the Moon” that night which permeated through the worlds most famous arena in to “Gravity” for his own band’s 2022 encores. In a New York minute everything can change.
Mayer is truly channeling the same solo paths that Petty & Garcia once trailed. Sob Rock’s vibe is very Traveling Wilburys though. Drummer Steve Farrone has backed George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Eric Clapton. George Harrison once reflected about Eric Clapton’s stage presence from the crowd during his legendary Rainbow Theatre Concert from London in January of 1973.
While dressed in an all white suit with his foot tapping on the stage Harrison said he took on the glow of an angel playing a long to the music. At 44, Mayer keeps his gravity where the same light Leroi shines on him. Except the New Light is Purple.
John Mayer, Madison Square Garden – February 20, 2022
Setlist: Last Train Home, Shot in the Dark, Belief, Something like Olivia, I Guess I Just Feel Like, Who Says, Rosie, Shouldn’t Matter but it Does, Helpless, Your Body is a Wonderland, I Don’t Trust Myself (With Loving You), Wild Blue, Edge of Desire, Til’ The Right One Comes, The Beautiful Ones*, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, New Light, Waiting on the World to Change, All I Want Is To Be With You Encore: Gravity *Prince Piece sang by David Ryan Harris
John Mayer, Madison Square Garden – February 21, 2022
Acoustic Set: Neon, Last Train Home, Shot in the Dark, Belief, In the Blood, If I Ever Get Around to Living, New Light, Wild Blue, Your Body is a Wonderland, In Your Atmosphere, Somethings Missing, Daughters, Free Fallin’. Carry Me Away, Who Says, Stop This Train*(Homeward Bound), Til’ The Right One Comes *(You Can Call Me Al)
Encore: Gravity
*Paul Simon verse
Questlove Set: Vultures, Clarity, Something Like Olivia, The Beautiful Ones**, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
