NYS Music 202​2

Author: sydney pollack

  • Iconic Folk Music Venue Caffe Lena to Host Free Healthcare Clinic for Musicians

    Most serious music fans know about Bob Dylan’s first show at Cafe Wha? in NYC. He was a 19-year-old college dropout, he had just hitched a ride with friends across the country, but even after his first gig, he hadn’t made it yet. Luckily, through the mutual friend of Dave Van Ronk, Dylan secured a second gig with Lena Spencer, Caffe Lena’s proprietor. He played his first out-of-town gig at the newly established folk music coffee house in Saratoga Springs, according to Andrew Nguyen for the Blackwing Music Foundation. Caffe Leena took on the unknown musician and invested in him, even though Dylan didn’t have much of anything to his name — no money, no fame, and — though we can’t know for sure — likely no health insurance. 

    caffe lena
    Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs

    According to Caffe Lena, 43% of professional musicians in the U.S. have no health insurance, and among full-time musicians, the numbers are even higher. To recognize and address this issue, and to increase accessibility for live performers unilaterally in accordance with their values that put Bob Dylan on over 50 years ago, Caffe Lena will host their first ever Musicians’ Health and Wellness Outreach pop-up clinic for uninsured musicians from the Capital District and Lower Adirondack region. The clinic will be on October 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

    The clinic is funded by Caffe Lena, its (over 1,000) members, and Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center and Hudson Headwaters Health Network are providing funding and staffing. Medical Professionals are volunteering to check in on their local musicians. The clinic will include custom-fitted earplugs for onstage hearing protection, blood pressure screening, HEP-C/HIV screening, insurance navigator consultation, Tai Chi and kits for those aged 45-64 to self-administer a colorectal screening. 

    “Taking care of this community is what we do—and we are proud of it,” said Renee Rodriguez-Goodemote, MD, medical director of Saratoga Community Health Center. “We are delighted to partner with Caffe Lena and Hudson Headwaters to serve local musicians and keep them in good health.”

    If any conditions are diagnosed at the screening that will require follow-up or medicine the Saratoga Community Health Center will provide it for free until the musician can be enrolled in affordable health insurance. 

    This is just the latest of the legendary Caffe Lena’s work to support independent musicianship. Caffe Lena is guided by Lena Spencer’s staunch belief in music appreciation in live, intimate settings, without regard for the fame or station of said musicians. In 2020, Caffe Lena launched their School of Music, for adults and children to study folk music in new and old contexts. The school has a donor-funded scholarship to ensure accessibility. Caffe Lena is a 501 (c) non-profit organization, with music almost every day, live and live-streamed. The former wood shop, turned cafe, turned iconic venue has just undergone renovations to make the space 100% handicap accessible. See the calendar of upcoming events and shows here.

  • Budding NYC Artist Sid Seth’s New Single is ‘Simple Yet True’

    When Sid Seth moved to NYC from Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India five years ago to attend the Manhattan School of Music he shortly found that “the city that never sleeps” seemed to have gone into hibernation. In a new city, at a new school and without friends, Sid Seth turned to art and music, his longtime companions. It was during this time that Seth wrote “Simple Yet True,” his just-released debut single.

    “Simple Yet True,” trickles in with acoustic guitar and Seths clear vocals, before building to a cathartic emotional release. The song is yearning but bright, a song for slow mornings, paired with coffee and cream. 

    sImple yet true Sid Seth

    Seth made the song using his own multi-instrumentalist talents on guitar and piano and with the help of Kris Crawford — who has produced for Ariana Grande and Shawn Mendes — and Alex Psaroudakis — who has won a Grammy for master engineering. In addition to these industry veterans at his back, Seth has experience playing live in NYC at such venues as the Bowery Electric, Feinstein’s 54 Below and the Green Room, and at venues in India as well. 

    But he’s not just a musician. Seth’s inspiration for “Simple yet True” actually came from painting first. In his room during the pandemic, when the city seemed to stand still, Seth felt drawn to the page, he said. He ended up painting a long-forgotten scene from his childhood onto the canvas, and that artful nostalgia translates in clean sweeps off the canvas and into his music. 

    Sid Seth’s next show is at Kobrick Coffee Co. in NYC on October 20 at 7:30. He will be playing with Justin Charles, an 18-year-old song-writer and producer. Tickets are available here. And, on December 8 Seth will play Rockwood Music Hall.

  • Gofundme for Tour Manager Dave Burton Already Raised Over $100,000

    A Gofundme started only ten days ago, on October 6, has already raised over $100,000 for veteran tour manager Dave Burton. After Burton suffered a massive stroke in September while working in Kentucky, his found family of touring musicians immediately rallied behind him — donating, spreading awareness and even creating limited-edition merchandise — in a heartwarming display of solidarity and respect for those members of the music industry that do heavy lifting outside of the spotlight.

    Dave Burton has been tour manager for hundreds of bands and artists: The Hold Steady, Drive-By Truckers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Shins, Liz Phair, Animal Collective, Primal Scream, Beach House, Best Coast, Franz Ferdinand, Liars and Mercury Rev, just to name a few. He’s been working as a tour manager for over 25 years, traveling across the globe at the drop of a hat with the upmost enthusiasm, his friends said. 

    Dave Burton gofundme

    But, the flip side of the tour manager life style is that Burton, and most touring professionals, have no long-term health care coverage. This reality has left Burton in financial instability after an over three-week-stay at a hospital in Kentucky last month following the stroke. His long-term prognosis is good, Burton is expected to heal fully in time, according to his fundraising page. And thanks to the continuing success to Burton’s Gofundme, the tour manager might be able to get on the road again once he is healed.

    Since 2017, Dave Burton has been Brooklyn-based indie/rock band The Hold Steady’s tour manager. His loyalty and stability during the chaos of touring prompted The Hold Steady to call him “a major, unseen part of The Hold Steady family for over a decade.” To give back, The Hold Steady declared all sales from their Bandcamp will go to Burton’s recovery fund.

    The band also added a new shirt to their merch holdings that reads: “Who the f— is Dave Burton?” The Hold Steady called the shirt “pure Dave,” and it’s a reference to the silent movers behind the scenes, that do it not for the fame, not for the notoriety, but for the pure love of music. 

    Patterson Hood, guitarist for Drive-By Truckers, encapsulated Burton’s personality in his statement on the Gofundme:

    David Burton. Great father, film aficionado (he probably would hate that term), foodie (pretty sure he would hate that one too), excellent writer…  Rocker, par excellence. A man for all seasons. He’s also one of the finest Tour Managers ever to take that horrifically hard and thankless job. He’s grumpy, but we love him. Very much.

    Patterson Hood

  • The Coronas Return to Live Music With New Album and US Tour, Joined by Róisín O

    The Coronas have been releasing music since 2007, but despite streaming numbers in the millions on even their earliest albums, the Irish band has found themselves getting a different kind of name recognition in the past couple years. And instead of shying away from their unintended ties to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Coronas decided to face it head on.

    Their 7th album, Time Stopped, released last week on October 7, focuses heavily on the pandemic and its aftermath. To celebrate its release, The Coronas are heading off on an international tour, with a stop in NYC on November 5, featuring Róisín O.

    The Coronas tour

    The Coronas is a three piece band, with Graham Knox on bass, Conor Egan on drums and Danny O’Reilly as lead singer. The band is extremely passionate about performing live, even going so far as promoting their last album, released during the pandemic, by driving around in an ice cream truck to still bring live, if socially distant, performances to their fans. 

    Irish singer Róisín O, whose solo album Courageous was released in the spring to positive notices, joins The Coronas as their special guest on their tour of North America. Róisín will join as the support act as well as playing keyboards and singing backgrounds on their headlining shows. 

    This summer, The Coronas sold out shows in Cork and Dublin. Before they land in the U.S., the band will play multiple venues in Germany and Switzerland. Lead singer Danny O’Reilly said the return to live audiences will be affecting. 

    “Time Stopped was written to be played live,” O’Reilly said. “We’re ridiculously excited to be on the road again and to play these new songs to full capacity rooms around the world. It’s going to be emotional.”

    2022 North American Tour Dates

    November 2 – Toronto ON, Canada – Axis

    November 4 – Boston, MA – Sinclair

    November 5-  New York, NY – Irving Plaza

    November 6 – Washington, DC – Union Stage

    November 8 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall

    November 10 – Dallas, TX – Cambridge Room-House of Blues

    November 11 – Austin, TX – 3ten

    November 13: Larimer Lounge, Denver, CO Tuesday, 

    November 15 –  Seattle, WA – Crocodile

    November 16 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom

    November 18 – San Francisco, CA –  The Independent

    November 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo

  • Migguel Anggelo’s newest production, ‘English with an Accent,’ comes to Lincoln Center

    In “English with an Accent,” Migguel Anggelo looks critically at the concept of The American Dream from a perspective shaped by his intersecting queer, Latino and immigrant identities. The performance, co-commissioned by the Lincoln Center uses original music, dance and theater to tell the story of an immigrant’s arrival in New York City. Migguel Anggelo will lead, joined by a cast of 10 dancers, for a performance coming to the Lincoln Center’s Clark Studio Theater, December 1 through 3. 

    English with an Accent

    Anggelo is a Venezuelan-American multidisciplinary performing artist. He has been awarded residencies at Mass MoCA, the Kimmel Center, the Miami Light Project and more to develop his works in song, dance, text and costume. 

    Music in the show is composed by both Migguel Anggelo and his longtime collaborator and music director Jaime Lozano. Lozano collaborated with Anggelo on other songs on “English with an Accent,” Anggelo’s album of the same name, which will be released December 2, during the production period. “So Ironic” from the upcoming album uses animation and dance paired with spoken word to tackle stereotypes about immigrants in American culture. 

    Anggelo said “English with an Accent” is especially meaningful to him now that he has become a naturalized U.S. citizen after 16 years. His naturalization reframes the piece’s themes of safety and home in a country.

    Watch a trailer for the performance below; tickets are available at the Lincoln Center’s site.

  • Ha*Ash will return to NYC from Mexico City in 2023 Tour

    Ha*Ash started out as two sisters singing in their local church in Louisiana, but after professional training and working their way up through local competitions, the sisters have come a long way — to now selling out three shows at Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City’s iconic concert hall during their Mi Salida Contigo tour. 

    Ha*Ash tour

    The sister’s last album, aptly named HAASHTAG, debuted at #1 on iTunes Mexico, and hits from the album, such as “Lo Que Un Hombre Debería Saber,” reached #15 on the Billboard Latin Pop chart. Despite their music’s classification as “pop,” the two have said their inspirations and influences come from across many genres, particularly country and rock like The Chicks and Shania Twain.

    To celebrate the success of their Mi Salida Contigo tour, Ha*Ash has announced they will be returning to the United States on April 7, 2023, starting in Miami and ending in California, with one night at the Beacon Theatre in NYC.

    Mi Salida Contigo US Tour 2023

    April 7 — Miami, FL — James L Knight Center

    April 8 — Orlando, FL — House of Blues

    April 9 — Atlanta, GA — Coca Cola Roxy

    April 12 — New York, NY — Beacon Theatre

    April 13 — Washington, DC — The Howard

    April 15 — Chicago, IL — The Rosemont

    April 20 — Houston, TX — Smart Financial Centre

    April 21 — Dallas, TX — The Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory

    April 22 — El Paso, TX— Abraham Chavez Theatre

    April 23 — Phoenix, AZ — Arizona Financial Theatre

    May 11 — Seattle, WA — The Moore

    May 12 — Portland, OR — Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

    May 14 — Denver, CO — Paramount Theatre

    May 18 — Austin, TX — Moody Theatre

    May 19 — Laredo, TX — Sames Auto Arena

    May 20 — McAllen, TX — Payne Arena

    May 21 — San Antonio, TX — Majestic Theatre

    May 25 — Las Vegas, NV— Brooklyn Bowl

    May 26 — Los Angeles, CA — YouTube Theatre

    May 27 —San Francisco, CA — The Masonic

    May 28— Stockton, CA — Bob Hope Theatre

    Tickets for the Mi Salida Contigo US Tour will be available beginning Friday, October 14 through www.ticketmaster.com and www.ha-ash.com.

  • The Park Theater in Glens Falls announces October Events

    The Park Theater announced its programming for the month of October, kicking off the theater’s 2022/23 season. On the calendar is a broad range of events — from jazz to comedy to film screenings.

    The Park Theater opened in 1911 as the first movie theater in the town of Glens Falls, about 2 hours out of Manhattan. In 1937 the theater was converted into a printing plant for the Glens Falls Post, before returning again to its original purpose as a center for performing arts in 1984, when Dr. Harold Kirkpatrick bought the building. After a renovation in 2014, The Park Theater officially reopened as a theater in 2018. The October programming is as follows:

    October 13

    Caity Gallagher will perform on The Park Theater’s “Live & Local” night. Gallagher will be joined by bassist Ben Woodhul, pianist Dan DeKalb, and percussionist Josh Morris. Gallagher is a folk singer-songwriter with down-to-earth music complemented by acoustic live concert settings. Tickets are $15 and doors open at 6:30 p.m.

    Caity & The Gallaghers, the Park Theater

    October 20

     In The Park Theater’s “Third Thursday Jazz” series, a rotating band of regional jazz musicians will be joining Matt Neidbalski on the third Thursday of each month. This month’s Third Thursday Jazz will feature the alto saxophonist Adam Siegel and pianist Galen Pittman. Niedbalski is a drummer born and raised in New York’s Capital District; he’s known for his energetic performances. Tickets are $10 and the show is from 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

    October 21

    The Park Theater Foundation’s inaugural gala will present music, food and a silent auction to benefit educational programming in the Glen Falls community. Funds from the gala will support the Foundation’s goal of reaching around 500 students throughout three school districts and generate interest in the arts within the next generation. The Tyler Giroux Jazz Trio — Tyler Giroux on piano, Dylan Perrillo on Base and Nick Anderson on drums — will perform live. Food is provided by Doc’s Restaurant. RSVP by Oct. 7 to secure tickets to the gala, at $99 per person. The event will run from 6 to 8 p.m.

    October 22

    Award-winning mandolinist, Jacob Jolliff will perform with his band live at “The Park Presents.” Jolliff performed with Joy Kills Sorrow and Yonder Mountain String Band across the world, and now is coming Upstate with the Jacob Jolliff Band to bring singing, original instrumentation and intricate musicianship to The Park Theater. Early Bird tickets are $20; doors at 6:00 p.m.

    October 26

    Rochmon Record Club will present a “Revolver” listening party hosted by The Park Theater. The club hopes the listening party will help attendees deepen their understanding of the personalities and stories behind The Beatles’ iconic 7th album, released in 1966. Tickets are $12 and doors open at 6:30.

    October 27

    The second “Live and Local” night of the month at The Park Theater will feature “The Lonely Road Experience,” by singer-songwriter Kaleb Dingmon. Dingmon will debut new sounds from his upcoming album, which combines genres of pop, R&B, hip hop and rap. UpstateBaby, Jay $way, Billy Floyd and Kolbie G will also be performing. Early Bird tickets are $15; doors open at 7:30 p.m.

    October 28

    New York based comedian Chris Roach will perform at The Park Theater’s “Comedy After Dark.” With experience on stages such as Gotham Comedy Club and Comic Strip Live NYC, as well as in the hit CBS sitcom “Kevin Can Wait,” a night with Chris Roach promises big laughs. Early Bird tickets are $22 and doors open at 7:30.

    October 29

    The Park Theater will host Summerland Music Society’s production of “Silent Halloween – Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922).” This screening will celebrate 100 years since F.W Murnau released his unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” “Nosferatu” became a German expressionist classic, inspiring many vampire films that came after. The film is silent, but pianist Cary Brown will improvise a live soundtrack. Beer, wine and cocktails will be available for purchase from Mean Max Brewery. There is a suggested donation of $13 for the show, which starts at 6:30.

     For the full 2022/23 performance listing and to purchase tickets, visit The Park Theater’s site.

  • Hearing Aide: Say She She, “Prism”

    Take a disco: dark, sweaty, neon pink and electric blue, speakers so loud you can taste it, glitter makeup dripping down your face, sequins scratching your skin, thick air, your platform pumps sticking to the dance floor. Now rip the black-out curtains off windows, knock down the walls — sunlight streams in, grass tickles your ankles, clothes hang loose, you can breathe deeply, clearly. That’s Say She She’s new album Prism. It’s sunlight at the rave, clear vocals over deep funk. Rhythm you want to spread out to, bass that feels like a cool breeze. 

    Prism Say She She

    Say She She, a seven-piece band led by three female leads, is reminding Brooklyn how to dance Le Freak. The band’s name is a nod to Nile Rogers’ “C’est chic!” lyric, with a modern feminine twist. Et aussi chic is the kismet meeting of Piya Malik, Nya Gazelle Brown and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham, the singers at the heart of Say She She. From disparate sides of Brooklyn, the three ran into each other at a house party in Harlem, as one does, and realized their musical chemistry into a full project soon after. 

    Malik, a former backing singer for Chicano Batman, is partisan to Turkish funk and Hindi riffs. Brown’s concentration was in R&B, and she was trained in classical and jazz vocals from childhood. Cunningham is partial to 80s eclectic progressive groups like Rotary Connection and Tom Tom Club. These three distinct backgrounds merged to create the singular sound of Say She She; a sound, though only inaugurated this year with their first single “Forget Me Not,” that already feels assured in their first album, Prism, releasing Oct. 7.

    If there’s a female gaze, such as in the way films like “The Virgin Suicides” and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” depict love, there’s a female sound in how Say She She describes love and loving in Prism. Their voices are tender and earnest, delicate yet serious; in “Don’t Wait,” even a break-up song is full with solace and healing, wondering about and wanting the best for their ex’s next lover. And all this is set to a rhythmic beat on a funky bassline, making the hips shift, the feet move. 

    With nature imagery and dreamy vocals, every song on the album evokes the divine feminine.  But  “Fortune Teller” dives deepest, the layered vocals touching on a host of feminine tropes in the chorus:

    “I’m not a fortune teller, I can’t read your mind / I’m not a healer, can’t stop you from going blind / I’m not a fortress, but I will try to protect you.” 

    Tropes aren’t real life. Sometimes these traditionally feminine roles are aspirations – for people of any genders. Ultimately, we can’t tell the future or heal each others’ wounds.  But by interspersing the chorus with beautiful imagery of “the space between the midnight sky,” and “stars that whisper in the night” it feels like all those capabilities might just be possible for anybody and everybody, if only here on the dance floor. 

    “Better Man,” the album’s closing song, also aims to realize that kind of cosmic love. It’s one of the slower songs on the album, employing strings, muted production and voices layered in complex harmonies. Say She She describes finding a “better man” with the natural imagery of waves rolling in and swimming upstream. Paired with the occasional electronic sparkle, it’s a song Mother Nature would want to dance to.

    Key Tracks: Better Man, Fortune Teller, Don’t Wait

  • Reba McEntire extends tour to include show at Madison Square Garden

    Reba McEntire has 15 American Music awards, 3 Grammys, 16 ACM awards and more. She’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame and a member of the Hollywood Bowl; she’s been honored by the Kennedy Center and has the GMA Dove Award and much more — but she’s never played Madison Square Garden. But after a string of sold out shows on the fall leg of the REBA: Live In Concert Tour, Reba has decided to add 14 more dates for Spring of 2023, with special guests Terri Clark and The Issacs. The tour will conclude at MSG.

    Reba McEntire

    The “Fancy” singer will be joined by Canadian country legend Terri Clark and gospel family band The Isaacs. The tour will kick off on March 9 in Jacksonville, FL and two shows in New England scheduled for April before the MSG show. 

    Tickets for Reba McEntire‘s extended tour go on sale October 14 at 10 a.m., but fans can access the special fan ticket presale that opens October 4 if they register by 11:59 p.m. on October 3.

    Reba McEntire REBA: LIVE IN CONCERT, 2023 Dates

    March 9             Jacksonville, FL                      Jacksonville, FL

    March 10           Columbia, SC                           Colonial Life Arena      

    March 11            Charlottesville, VA                   John Paul Jones Arena

    March 17           Milwaukee, WI                         Fiserv Forum    

    March 18           Moline, IL                                Vibrant Arena at the Mark

    March 23           Reno, NV                                 Reno Events Center      

    March 24           Nampa, ID                               Ford Idaho Center**    

    March 25           Salt Lake City, UT                    Vivint Arena    

    March 30           Phoenix, AZ                             Footprint Center           

    March 31           Palm Desert, CA                       Acrisure Arena

    April 1               Los Angeles, CA                       Hollywood Bowl          

    April 13             Manchester, NH                       SNHU Arena    

    April 14             Hershey, PA                             GIANT Center  

    April 15             New York, NY                         Madison Square Garden

  • Chris Mazuera Releases Fourth Single “Roots” Ahead of Album Release

    Chris Mazuera, a regular in the “Lofi Beats To Study To,” Spotify playlist, is getting a little less late-night cram and a little more late-night kickback in his newest single, “Roots.” Mazuera released four singles in advance of his upcoming album Let’s Take A Trip, with “Roots” as the closer on that album.

    Chris Mazeura

    “I wanted to close out the album in a strong way,” Mazuera said. “So I mixed as many of my influences as I could in this track: rock, jazz, hip-hop, psychedelic, blues, classical.”

    Chris Mazuera calls the sound on the upcoming album a more coherent mixture of all his influences from across genres, and he’s proud that the sound is more identifiable with himself as an artist. It’s uplifting, energetic, and has a funky bassline. The song comes in just over two minutes, but it’s the kind of song you could hit repeat on a couple of times. 

    What sets “Roots” apart from his past hits like “First Snow” and “Abundance,” is his departure from comfortable repetitive and symmetrical rhythms and harmonies to more ambitious beat switches and guitar solos. Mazeura said this is a call back to his “roots” in New York City when he first moved to the city from Miami and would busk in Grand Central Station, playing blues solos for hours and hours. 

    Since moving to NYC he has familiarized himself with the industry through partnerships with local hip-hop and lo-fi producers. In 2018 he released his first album Monstera, since he’s released over seven albums and EPs, composed of both solo projects and collaborations, in addition to several singles. 

    “Roots” is streaming across platforms now and you can pre-save the album, which is coming out on Dec. 2 here. 

    https://youtu.be/XGn4_-ylcaI