After a successful first year, Pine Barrens Jam has announced their 2022 return to Blue Point Brewing. On August 20th, festival goers will once again have the opportunity to hear acts from around Long Island.
The new festival will celebrate all of the musical and artistic talent that Long Island has to offer. Add to this, its unique set up and you have a recipe for success. The “Jelly-Jam Stage” and the “Peanut Butter Poetry & Arts Stage” will provide the perfect settings to watch musicians and artists prove their talent. In addition, last year’s acoustic stage will be transformed into a roots and songwriters’ stage, in honor of songwriter and LI native, Travis McKeveny.
Leading up to festival day, Pine Barrens Jam will be hosting several fundraisers, including an Earth Day picnic on 4/24 and a “Start of Summer” Sunday Funday on 6/12 . Local businesses can also get involved in festival activities by emailing festival executive director, Nick Balzano.
“Blind Faith” tickets, as well as more information, are available here. The festival’s first line up and VIP packages will be available starting 4/25. The complete line up for both music stages and the spoken word stage will be released 6/13.
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, Honey Suckle Vine, Patrick Sargent, The Young Love Scene 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.
Honey Suckle VIne – “Painted Nights”
Honey Suckle Vine (HSV) is a high-energy 4-piece blues-rock band based out of the Capital District of New York State. The songwriting team of Joey Jaquez (vocals, harmonica) and Jeremy Silverman (guitar, vocals) have been creating original material for over 20 years across the USA. Joined in 2017 by long time friends Graham Espe (bass, vocals, recording and production) and David Snediker (drums, vocals), Their latest “Painted Nights” is featured on this week’s EQXposure.
The Young Love Scene – “Honey”
The music of The Young Love Scene was born in 2014, a year in which Gordon Goldsmith faced challenges he did not know he could surmount. After releasing the EP Haypenny Hashcandy under his own name,Goldsmith was burned out, jaded, and flat broke. TYLS began as a way for him to work through his feelings of loss and alienation after he moved back home to recuperate. Frustrated with Haypenny’s failure to portray the full range of his emotions, he started over. Listen to their later “Honey” below and on Sunday night between 7-9pm.
Patrick Sargent – “Rebel Yells”
Patrick Sargent was born in Phoenix, AZ and grew up in Concord, NH now resides in Sunderland, VT. An avid lover of music from an early age Patrick started playing music at three years old as well as doing theater and writing novels. After having gone through some ups and downs Patrick dedicated his entire life to music playing original songs and covers. Somewhat of a multi-instrumentalist Patrick plays bass, drums, guitar, and sings. Most known for his guitar skills and unique voice, Patrick is excited to finish up work with the local Old Mill recording studio.
Indie rock band The Stereo release new music for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday. “Kings of No Hope” is the first single from their upcoming album Thirteen, scheduled for release on May 13.
Along with the single and album announcement the band will also release five part podcast series about the band’s history. Also called “Kings of No Hope,” the podcast series details the band’s founding in 1999, it’s multiple dissolutions in 2001 and 2004, and subsequent reassembly in 2011. The podcast features interviews with the band members and notable music industry figures including Chris Carrabba (Dashboard Confessional) and Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy).
The current iteration of The Stereo original members Jamie Woolford and Rory Phillips along with bassist Chris Serafini, and drummer Sam Hardwig.
While never receiving widespread critical or fan acclaim The Stereo was always well respected by other indie rock musicians. “I think that there’s about 600 to 1,000 bands currently that owe their career to The Stereo,” said Jack Antonoff, the lead singer of Bleachers.
As part of the album’s announcement The Stereo launched a Kickstarter campaign to support a vinyl production of both “Thirteen” and “The Kings of No Hope” podcast series.
Annie in the Water has released their third studio album, Sun at Dawn. After Michael Lashomb and Bradley Hester met at Hobart College in Geneva, the band has gone through a plethora of changes. Since its nascency in 2007, founders Michael Lashomb and Bradley Hester have led the band, and their newest album, Sun At Dawn, shows the band in a new light.
Beautiful & Figurative Storytelling
Sun At Dawn is a story that takes place in a tropical setting, yet it provokes much deeper thought than the sound that it embellishes. It tells a story of love and loss, and lust and gluttony, all over surf jam-rock instrumentation. An oxymoronic approach to a concept album is nothing particularly new or innovative to music at all, but it takes a certain level of mastery to execute it in a mature manner. Additionally, over what is essentially a beach playlist, this approach may be hard to execute. One can go the easy route and make an entire album over summer beach jams. However, with only a few minor criticisms to the album, Annie in the Water does an excellent job creating an invigorating piece of art.
The album starts with “Bloom,” leading with an intoxicating synthesizer and warm guitar progression that immediately hypnotize the listener. In a way, the song feels kaleidoscopic. The instruments work off of each other beautifully and transport you to a tropical setting. This is a skill that Annie in the Water demonstrates throughout the whole album, including “In The Sand,” a song about being lost in the desert.
Lyrics read “I’ve arrived it seems, but nothing here is green, no rain just shine, no roads in sight, to lead me to the land, I’ve yet to find.” They continue: “I’m lost in my plan, burning up in the desert sunset, pull the map out of the sand, although there’s nothing written there.” While these lyrics articulate and describe the situation our protagonist is in, the feeling extracted from the song would be nothing without the instrumentation’s ability to complete the story. The key the instruments work in completes the deserted feeling the protagonist feels. The guitar feels sandy and the sporadicalness of the keys adds a layer of confusion. On the other hand, the percussion and bass add the perfect amount of bounce to maintain an oxymoronic element of stoke in such a depressing song. “In The Sand” is a song about feeling lost after losing a partner you care deeply for, and it is a beautiful way to articulate this emotion.
Another song that transports the listener and contemplates an oxymoron is “Water.” Like the previous song, this song is also about losing a partner. The lead singer feels that their ex-partner is omnipresent and they feel an incredible, insatiable lust for them. They know, however, that they can never go back to them, and while this fact is never explicitly stated in the lyrics, the instrumentation communicates an entirely different story.
This song, a step away from the tropic jams on this album, also makes beautiful use of the mark tree. In every verse, the lyrics start off incredibly abstract, drawing metaphors to the rain and the moon when speaking about this person. As the verse progresses though, the lyrics get more and more real, at which point the singer eventually breaks and confesses that their former lover moved to California, a far detour from the Upstate New York-based band. At the end of each verse, however, the mark tree melodically transports both the listener and the protagonist back to a dream-like state, where they can feel free to live in the fantasy with this partner. Sounds of pouring water also play at the end of the song, suggesting this person will always be a part of this person.
Jam Bands Jam
As stated earlier, a major feat of the band is the ability to bounce their instruments off of each other. “Lights Up,” for instance, begins with a feeling of slight dissonance between the instruments. This is totally intentional; the instruments follow the same time signature, there is just a slight air in between them. Without even realizing it though, the instruments were jamming together in perfect unison. Notably, the instrumentalists seem like they are enjoying themselves and that joy is contagious for the listener.
Similarly, “In The Sand” ends in a beautiful cacophony of jam rock. The guitar solo reeks of swagger, sludge, and beautiful vibes. Accompanying it is a beautiful percussive beat and the two instrumentalists work off of each other in an infinitely excellent and masterful way. It is impossible to finish this song without bobbing your head.
Sun at Dawn definitely has a unique sound to it, however, this does not stop the listener from hearing some obvious influences, including the whammy guitar from “Seeds.” It sounds exactly like something Hendrix would have played, but Hendrix would have played better. The guitar of “Bloom,” on the other hand, doesn’t feel like a carbon copy. Instead, it more so pays a nod to Jimmy Page. In the same essence, “Water” draws a striking similarity to Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.”
Now, every artist wears their influence on their sleeves from time to time. My only concern for Annie in the Water is that, even though this album displays incredible personality, whether or not that personality is distinct to the album only and not the band. Additionally, throughout the album, the presence of synthesizers, for the most part, at the very least add something of value, although on a song like “Water,” an incredibly introspective song about long-lost love, can be heavy at times.
Overall, Sun At Dawn is an excellent album with some minor flaws. The band’s contagious and figurative instrumentation alongside introspective lyricism makes for an enjoyable seven-track run. Sun At Dawn is available on Spotify and Apple Music now. For more information, check out their Facebook or Instagram.
Brooklyn-based singer Guy Blue announced his debut EP, Arms Wide, and a new music video/game featuring his new single “No Vision.”
Uniquely, he has a brand new project, titled Bluepoint which is a video game in collaboration with Shea Stadium. The game takes you through the stadium, and you can interact with staff and regulars. While the player is going through the game, Guy Blue’s new single “No Vision” plays.
Guy Blue, photo by Alice Plati.
The band is a music project by Jack Ladd. Ladd creates electronic indie dance music, taking inspiration from the visual landscapes of 90s video games, like Zelda and Pokémon. Originally, Ladd fronted an indie rock band called LADD at Wesleyan University, and they gained a big campus following. Now, he is free to explore a new palette of sound and do his own thing.
The new single “No Vision” is sonically textured, with a patchwork of guitars, samples, and drums to create a beat-driven track. Speaking about it, Ladd had a lot to say.
I wrote ‘No Vision’ when I was knowingly making a lot of bad decisions in my life. I was trapped in a self destructive loop, and that spiraling momentum definitely found its way into the track. I think it’s a story a lot of people will relate to. We’re all compelled by destructive urges that have real consequences for those around us. There’s a reference to Tony and Carmela Soprano in the track. In the Sopranos, we see the horrifying consequences of Tony’s impulses, and yet he’s still an incredibly compelling and relatable character. I think it’s because seeing those darkest desires played out allows us to reflect on our own urges and actions. I hope the track accomplishes something similar.
Guy Blue’s new single “No Vision” is available on all streaming services and his new video game can be played here. Also, his debut EP Arms Wide will be released on June 3.
Long Island artist Logan Whaley is releasing his new old-school style single “Funky Tonight” on March 4, and a planned full-length album. NYS Music today premieres the single below.
Best known for performing all over NYC and his work with Vana Liya, Logan Whaley continues to make a name for himself as a solo performer and mesmerizing stage presence and deeply-felt lyrics.
His music refuses to be categorized, as it is a fusion of multiple genres at once, utilizing pop, rock, classical, and R&B.
Logan Whaley’s new single cover “Funky Tonight.”
Whaley’s new single “Funky Tonight” comes a little after a year since his debut album On The Cusp. With a live line-up secured, he was ready to go into the studio. After working on an old project, he decided he was ready for something fresh. Magic was born in the studio with this one, and after performing it live, it became an instant favorite.
NYS Music contributor Nick Codina shared the following thoughts on “Funky Tonight”:
When the music is too loud to exchange words, musicians and their fans exchange facial expressions. A simple smirk or stank face speaks volumes by silently saying, “I dig this, I’m here for it and want more of it.”
While listening to the new single by Logan Whaley I found my self in that stank face expression. From the first note to the last horn, the perfect combination of funky peaks and breakdowns flow seamlessly into eachother and make for a perfect formula of eccentric surprises and delights. From the synthesizer chords to the perfectly placed horn section this new single has the makings of a funk classic. If you’re looking for a groove to make you move and get you into that dancing mood, “Funky Tonight” will not disappoint.
Accompanying the album release, an Indiegogo is launching which will serve as a pre-order for his brand new album, also titled Funky Tonight. The money from the preorder will go towards merch and touring.
Also accompanying the release of the single and new album announcement, the band will be playing three shows in NY.
Logan Whaley’s new single “Funky Tonight” will be released March 4 on all streaming platforms. Listen below now exclusively on NYS Music.
Indie rockers and St. Paul, Minnesota natives Hippo Campus stopped at Brooklyn Steel Tuesday, March 1st, for their first of two concerts in the city. The tour is fresh off the release of the band’s new album LP3, featuring the popular singles “Ride or Die” and “Semi Pro.” The band harnesses a classic indie rock base and adds embellished horns and a cheeky vocal and lyric style.
Hippo Campus at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Hippo Campus made the long trip across the East River for a second gig at Webster Hall on Wednesday night. Support is being provided by San Diego native and rising indie-pop sensation Jelani Aryeh. Providing a perfect complement to Hippo Campus, Jelani Aryeh mixes a breezy R&B vocal style with electro-pop instrumentals. Despite playing with a new band, they perform with the chemistry of a longstanding group. The band is gaining momentum so quickly that Jelani joked on stage that they are “trying out a different band name every night” until they find one that sticks. While unfamiliar with the group prior to the show, the hard hitting jams and outros left a stinging impression on us and the rest of the crowd. Many fans made sure to grab a shirt and record from the surging young artist.
Jelani Aryeh at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
Hippo Campus released their first two LPs back in 2017 and 2018. After a short turned extended break due to the pandemic, the band returned in February with their third effort. LP3 is the band’s first album on Grand Jury Records and sees the group making strides in their production and album development. The 10-track album spans a concise 33 minutes but packs in indie rock bangers, soulful ballads, and crowd pleasing sing alongs. Fans filled out two sold-out NYC shows and most of the remaining tour is sold out.
Hippo Campus at Brooklyn Steel, 3/1/22. Photo by Buscar Photo
The Hippo Campus tour is in the final phase. Beginning in early February around the release of LP3, shows are scheduled through the middle of March. There is one more New York stop on the run, over at Buffalo’s Town Ballroom with support coming from Boyish. Tickets are still available for this show. Head over to the band’s website for the tour itinerary and see our full photo gallery from the Brooklyn Steel show below.
The Albany based indie band, El Modernist, released a new single, “New Waves” on Friday, February 25. Their release also features an accompanying music video, a first for the band.
El Modernist’s single release arrives as they prepare for NYS Music’s March Madness 2022 Tournament. The competition will begin on March 1.
The new single address a theme common to many musicians: the struggle to fit in.
“New Waves” is a song about never fitting in but loving yourself regardless,” El Modernist said in a press release. “We have all felt alienated at some point in life, but it is important to remember that there is no “right” way to live, and all you can really do is try and be happy as you are.”
Despite its potentially heavy subject matter the music video for “New Waves” is more of a romp than a meditation on individuality.
In the video for “New Waves” a mysterious masked man chases the band’s members. Killing them one by one. The assassin’s goals remain unclear. He might be a symbol for how a boring life can kill you, or for how you’re not really alive unless you’re true to yourself, or it could just be an entertaining narrative spun into a music video. Either way, the light-hearted tone and comical ways the killer takes out the band members make for an enjoyable watch.
El Modernist defines its music as featuring “pulsating hooks and lush melodic waves of psychedelia” combined with “upbeat, catchy garage-rock” that is fused “with a modern alternative hip-hop sound”.
Their website elaborates by explaining “[which] is a fancy way of saying they sing and play guitars and sometimes raps happen and it’s fun”, displaying the sense of humor and self-awareness displayed in the “New Waves” video.
February 26, 2022 is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. The last time I was this excited to see a band for the first time was for Phish in June 2012. Just over two years since the 1/25/20 “Hot Tea” earwormed me and I dove into the Goose rabbit hole, I was finally able to see them live – and not just any show. The eighth annual Goosemas celebration at and their first ever show in an arena, at Mohegan Sun.
Mohegan Sun was absolutely bursting at the seams from the beginning of the day. I spent most of the afternoon at the PhanArt “The Hometown Flodown” show (shoutout to the El Goose Times and GrooveSafe crew) before heading into the venue a little before showtime. I was stationed with one of my Always Almost There co-hosts Neal on the floor Peter side.
Goosemas VIII was not about massive jams. It was about a single statement: this band is built for arena rock.
Three sets with nary a ballad, two debuts, and a distinct shift away from the expected songs (I hit just two of my Fantasy Goose picks that were largely comprised of longtime setlist staples). Percussionist Jeff Arevalo even remarked how he was glad they had to reschedule Goosemas from December – this gave the band the opportunity to incorporate many of their more recent songwriting efforts that had yet to be debuted in 2021.
The lights dropped around 8:15 and thousands of people simultaneously yelled “GOOOOOOOSE!”. The band walked on stage and started into holiday classic “Linus and Lucy,” Peter’s special grand piano shining from the get-go. Ripping a hot “Yeti” next, the energy in the venue seemed to grow with each note as I basked in finally hearing one of my favourite bands live for the first time.
After “Yeti” came a fantastic “Atlas Dogs,” one of the best songs debuted by the band in 2022, Peter yet again shining on piano. The sound in the room was crystal-clear, and Spuds’ tom work especially cut right through and sent vibrations through the room.
The uptempo “Echo of a Rose” arrangement came next and got my feet grooving through another fantastic jam. The big musical focal point of the night, as mentioned earlier, was Peter’s grand piano. Dominating almost every jam with its incredibly deep sound, the ivories were sounding phenomenal.
The first set came to a close with an always-fiery “So Ready” and a new, reworked “Silver Rising.”
Goose came out swinging in set two with a “Rockdale” that built to FIVE peaks and rivals the 11/21/21 version for G.O.A.T. status (note: this is a #HastyRank and is subject to change). A song that has become special to me recently, “Red Bird” (written about Peter’s mother), began with soft “Vintage Vibe” work as we all were #StraightBirdn. Continuing the theme of the night, the jam was relatively short, packed some serious energy, and faded nicely into “Rosewood Heart.” The band made the long-awaited live debut of Nina Simone’s “Sinnerman” before blasting into “The Empress of Organos” to close the set.
“Empress” is one of my favourite songs and I was OVER THE MOON to see it live at my first show. From Trevor’s bass solo to the blistering peak, I was dancing my ASS off until the end and was just about to head to the bathroom when Spuds grabbed the mic and called his girlfriend Sam on stage.
What followed was an incredibly heartfelt proposal (somehow not involving potatoes) as the whole arena cheered the two of them on.
Set three consisted of three songs, all 2022 debuts and the first three songs on the upcoming Dripfield album.
“Borne” opened the final frame, and while it lacked the extended groove-based jam of its L.A. and Seattle counterparts, Rick and Peter’s guitar/synth build seemed to stretch out forever as Andrew Goedde’s expanded arena-size light rig washed colours and patterns over the audience.
Moving next into the debut performance of “Hungersite,” the band established it quickly as a top-notch jam vehicle as the energy in the venue continued to climb higher and higher.
The jamming highlight of the show, however, would come in the live debut of “Dripfield.” The title track to the band’s upcoming album and most recent single release, this song showcases the dual-drummer attack of the band in a Peter Gabriel-esque vibe (Thank you Becky Chinman for that fantastic parallel!) that came close to shaking the walls. A jam like the San Francisco “Wysteria” but without some of the evil, Spuds’ incredible tom work pushed Rick and Peter’s dueling guitars into a churning and rhythmic groove that stretched for minutes (#HastyRanking as a top jam of the year so far).
There was only one song that the band could encore with, despite the setlist saying “Tumble.” Mohegan ERUPTED as Rick strummed the familiar opening chords to “Arcadia” and thousands of people sang along to the lyrics of what is arguably the quintessential Goose song. The band drove this jam into a piano-led and bright space before the second-ever “slow ending” (LTP 6/18/21) to the song built into the typical scorching final “Arcadia” solo to end the third set.
Mark my words: this was Goose’s first arena show, but it is far from the last. The band’s sound will continue to evolve and grow, and so too will its fanbase. We are incredibly lucky to witness this growth firsthand and I can’t wait to continue listening to and enjoying every note they play for decades to come.
There was a moment during “Arcadia” where I realized that decades from now, I’ll be taking my children to Goose concerts and passing on the live music gift that my dad has given me my whole life. Thank you to this incredible band for welcoming me (second set “American Woman” and all) and cultivating an environment of positivity and love while producing some truly mind-blowing music.
Shoutout to everybody who came up and said hello at Mohegan as well – such an honour and a pleasure to meet all of you!!
And an extra-HUGE thank you to Jake Silco for bringing me on Goose tour as assistant/driver – having the opportunity to travel and see this band is amazing!!
Tune into a special Always Almost There Goosemas recap episode here.
Goose – Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, CT – Goosemas VIII – February 26, 2022
Set 1: Linus and Lucy, Yeti, Atlas Dogs > Echo of a Rose, So Ready, Silver Rising Set 2: Rockdale, Red Bird > Rosewood Heart, Sinnerman*, Empress of Organos Set 3: Borne, Hungersite* > Dripfield* Encore: Arcadia
After five years, New Orleans musical icon Trombone Shorty has announced a new album Lifted, set to release on April 29th. Alongside this announcement, Trombone Shorty has announced that he will be on tour this summer in support of the album as well. The artist will play the SummerStage in New York City’s Central Park and in Lewiston as a part of Artpark’s Tuesdays in the Park Concert Series.
Trombone Shorty speaks on the album:
[My mother] passed recently, but she continued to inspire me right up until she transitioned, and that’s why I put a picture of her holding me up at a second line on the cover of this album. She lifted me up my whole life.
In this album, Trombone Shorty hopes to mimic the electrifying feel of a live performance.
I think Lifted is the closest we’ve ever gotten to bottling up the live show and putting it on a record. This time around I told everybody to really cut loose, to perform like they were onstage at a festival.
Trombone Shorty
Trombone Shorty’s lead single below exemplifies intoxicating vocals, beautiful instrumentation, and an unfathomable amount of personality.
