Category: Folk/Americana

Lumineers Kick Off the Summer Season in Saratoga

The Lumineers kicked off the 2022 Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) season in Saratoga Springs on Sunday, May 29th with their Brightside World Tour. Upwards of 20,000 fans poured into SPAC on a beautiful May evening that felt more like mid-summer. They played songs spanning their entire catalog, including dusting off one that hadn’t been played in almost a decade.

SPAC 5/29/22

After a 2 year delay due to COVID, the Boulder, CO Folk/Rock band made its first stop in Saratoga Springs. While the band hails from Colorado, they are no strangers to upstate New York. Brightside, the new album, was produced by Palenville, NY native and renowned musician Simon Felice, and engineered by David Baron at his Sun Mountain Studios in Ulster County, NY. Currently in the middle of their east coast swing, the group will continue throughout the Northeast and Midwest, before returning to NYC for a two night stand at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.

SPAC 5/29/22

The evening opened up with Ohio based Caamp, an American folk/indie group performing for the eager crowd. After a short break that allowed the audience to mingle and enjoy the picturesque grounds, the Lumineers took stage to thunderous applause. Beginning with “Brightside” from their new album, then followed by well known songs “Cleopatra” and “Ho Hey”.

At times, the audience started their own sing-alongs with some of their most popular songs. Towards the end of the performance front-man Wesley Shultz was assigning parts to the crowd, which they eagerly belted out. “Big Parade” which the band said hadn’t been played in about 9 years, was met with excitement. Another highlight came at the end of the show when they closed with the song “Stubborn Love” which had the crowd chanting along.

As the show ended, I overheard one fan exclaim to her friend “That was so much fun, I can’t wait for the next one” Fans certainly left with their hearts full of excitement, for the next stop on the tour, the next show at SPAC, and the summer season to begin in Saratoga Springs.

The Lumineers – SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY – May 29, 2022

Setlist: Brightside, Cleopatra, Ho Hey, Flowers in Your Hair, Angela, A.M. Radio, Dead Sea, Slow It Down, Charlie Boy, Never Really Mine, Gloria, Sleep on the Floor, Ophelia, Leader of the Landslide, Where We Are, Rollercoaster, Morning Song, Big Parade

Encore: Donna, Submarines, Birthday, Remington / Reprise, Stubborn Love

May 30, 2022
In Focus: Amy Helm and Mavis Staples shine at Dirt Farmer Festival

On Saturday, May 21, the Dirt Farmer Festival returned to the Arrowood Farms. The day was beautifully
clear, hot and picture perfect. This is the second Dirt Farmer Festival to be held at Arrowood Farms.
This festival has deep roots in the Hudson Valley. The first festival was originally held at the Arrowood
Farms on August 19, 2018 and for several years prior, the Levon Helm Band played a series of free fall
concerts at Gill’s Farm, just a few miles up the road, in Stone Ridge, NY.

This concert festival was greatly anticipated and the show was everything anyone could possibly hope it
would be, and then some. This day, this festival belonged to Amy Helm and it also belongs to Levon
Helm and his legacy of supporting the local farming community. Amy made the day special. It’s not easy
to look glamorous when the sun is strong enough that you can overheat just standing in place. How does
Amy Helm do it? She does it with poise, a warm smile, a love of the music and the musicians, her friends
and family and everyone in attendance. From the main stage, introducing Oliver Wood, Amy suggested
that everyone should drink lots of water available at the bar area water station and stay hydrated.

Arrowood Farms is a huge field with several buildings, hops growing on the west side, a brewery with
an excellent locally brewed beer selection, an open air bar area and a relaxed easy going
atmosphere. For this event, there were two concert stages, one is a permanent main stage and the
second stage, a mobile stage wagon brought in for the event. There were nine scheduled performances
alternating between the two adjacent stages.

The performances ranged from full-on electric high energy dancing and boogie music to acoustic relaxed,
let’s sit down, kick-back, enjoy the beautiful day and the live music. The show highlights, and there were
a ton of great musical moments, but if one stood out, it was #1 Mavis Staples and #2 Mavis Staples and
also, make no mistake, it was Mavis Staples. She is loved and adored. Her voice is strong and she played
to her audience knowing she had full command of the stage. For the final song of her set, the crew and
all the musicians in attendance piled into the front of the stage area to share the moment. You could
feel the love, you could see the love. Seeing Mavis perform, everyone knew this was a special moment.

The load-out and load-in between the Connor Kennedy Band and the final performance of the festival,
the Midnight Ramble Band, was like watching organized chaos come together in a massive effort to get it
right and do it on the fly. The musicians and stagehands, the sound crew, were all participating, unwinding cables, plugging-in and checking the sound. When you see Teresa Williams moving her own monitor, you know the division of labor went right out the window and it’s an all hands on deck effort. This was very clearly a local one-off concert and nothing like watching a national tour stage set-up. This one was for friends and family and it all came together for the Midnight Ramble Band’s set.

The day absolutely belonged to Amy, but of course she could have not have done this all by herself. To
all of the Levon Helm Studios staff and to everyone that worked diligently to make the Dirt Farmer
Festival a successful event, thank you. The effort is greatly appreciated. Arrowood Farms,
let’s do it again next year.

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May 26, 2022
Alive at Five Lineup Features State Champs, Spafford, Lita Ford, Talib Kweli and more

Albany’s Alive at Five Summer Concert Series has announced the 2022 summer lineup, with a wide variety of musicians playing at Jennings Landing.

Alive at Five is Albany’s signature free concert series, with eight weeks showcasing various artists, from big names to up-and-coming acts, and artists from the area. The summer concert series started in 1990 with a performance by legendary folk artist Richie Havens and has since grown into a staple of the Capital Region. The shows will be every Thursday from 4:30-8 P.M.

Alive at Five Lineup

June 9- State Champs w/ Young Culture

State Champs is an American Rock band from Albany, New York. Young Culture is also from Albany and is a three-piece alternative rock band. State Champs have been a band since 2010, and have released three EPs and four full-length albums. They have been nominated for many awards at the Alternative Press Music Awards. Young Culture is friends with State Champs and has toured together and worked on music together as well.

State Champs

Young Culture

June 16- Spafford w/ Annie in the Water

Spafford is a four-piece act from Phoenix, Arizona, and their sound can be described as electrofunk therapy, which combines deep sonic exploration and jam-heavy improvisation. Their songs range from 10-30 minutes, taking an interesting view of funk-dance music. Annie in the Water’s music is a groovy combination of Reggae, Funk, Rock, Blues, and Jamstyle. The band is a six-piece and was created out of chance as founding members Michael Lashomb and Bradley Hester met at Hobart College in Geneva in 2007.

Spafford

Annie in the Water

June 23- Lita Ford w/ Candy Ambulance

Known as heavy metal’s original blonde rocker, Lita Ford is a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s and had a successful glam metal solo career in the 80s. Her 1989 single “Close My Eyes Forever” with Ozzy Osbourne is her most successful song, reaching No. 8 on the Billboard 100 charts. Candy Ambulance is an Albany-based grunge-punk trio who are known for its poppy melodies and dynamic vocal changes.

Lita Ford

Candy Ambulance

July 7- Talib Kweli w/ DJ TGIF, DJ SIROC, and JB!! aka Dirty Moses

Talib Kweli stands as one of the worldâs most talented and most accomplished hip-hop artists after nearly 20 years of recordings and performances. He has worked with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and more. He will be joined by DJ TGIF, DJ SIROC, and JB!! aka Dirty Moses.

July 14- Cassadee Pope w/ Sydney Worthley

Cassadee Pope is a Grammy award-nominated pop-punk singer and a country artist, songwriter, & musician. She was the lead singer of the rock band Hey Monday before becoming the winner of the third season of The Voice and the first female winner. Sydney Worthley is an alternative artist from Albany, New York who became an independent artist at 17 and has released a few albums with regular air time on the radio.

Cassadee Pope

Sydney Worthley

July 21- Ballyhoo! w/ Souly Had & The E-Block

Ballyhoo! is an American reggae rock and punk band. The group has sold over 30,000 copies of its five albums and more than 200,000 digital tracks. Souly Had is an artist from Duanesburg, New York, who creates hip-hop and R&B music, with over one million streams on Spotify. The E-Block are an indie band from Albany, New York, named after the street they all grew up on.

Ballyhoo!

Souly Had

The E-Block

July 28- Donavon Frankenreiter w/ Sean Rowe

Donavon Frankenreiter is a musican and surfer, who for nearly four decades has been traveling the world as a surfer and musican. His sound is a unique blend of laid-back grooves, philosophical lyrics and soulful delivery. Sean Rowe is an alternative folk singer-songwriter and musician. He has a recognizable deep and husky voice that brings the sound of country and Americana together.

Donavon Frankenreiter

Sean Rowe

August 4- Doug E. Fresh w/ Ohzhe & DJ TGIF and DJ Hollyw8d

Doug E. Fresh is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the “Human Beat Box”. Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines and various special effects and is a pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing. He will be joined by Ohzhe & DJ TGIF and DJ Hollyw8d.

Doug E. Fresh.

All Alive at Five performances are free and begin at 4:30pm each Thursday this summer, beginning June 9

May 24, 2022
Hearing Aide: Harry Styles ‘Harry’s House’

Welcome to the fuzzy synth, wet bass and glittery guitar that is Harry’s House. Superstar Harry Styles‘ third album release has some old formulas, new movement, and as always, a lot of falsetto. It shouldn’t surprise any fans that this record is also packed with mushy moments, breakup stories, and rather scandalous dirty talk, as this is Harry’s first record since landing his new lady Olivia Wilde.

Even in the throes of a public relationship, Harry does not fail to bring a variety of influences and ideas into his music to create something that feels truly like home.

Straight away, it is jarring to hear a brass band mixed into Harry’s energetic first track “Music For a Sushi Restaurant”. The masterful blend of disco rhythms and 80s influenced electronic elements creates the whipped cream that tops many songs on the album, including the pop marvel “Daydreaming”. This masterpiece of a track has an engaging hook that samples the Brothers Johnson and earns Quincy Jones a spot on the album’s writing credits. It’s clear that Harry Styles is doing his research into soul music, and songs like the sultry r&b number “Daylight” and the rhythmic “Grapejuice” have a modern, funky foundation to tie the album together seamlessly.

It’s satisfying to see Harry take so many new directions, but what needs trimming are the formulaic songs that round out this album. The acoustic love songs surrounded by waves of harmony or the ambient breakup anthems are very familiar, and it seems the rock and roll energy we’ve seen in Harry’s 2017 title album is missing in Harry’s House. His live shows are a huge affair, and harder rock songs like “Kiwi” and “Only Angel” are the perfect choice for these live performances. As he rightfully progresses into funk, he shouldn’t retire his rock frontman persona just yet. This is a chain of many great albums to come, but let’s hope he dives deeper into the realm of brass funk, leaves behind the old successes, and gives us more of the modern rock and roll we need right now.

Key Tracks: Music For a Sushi Restaurant, Daylight, Daydreaming

May 24, 2022
Bacon Brothers Announce New EP “Erato”, Summer Tour Dates

The Bacon Brothers have announced bi-coastal tour dates for this summer in support of their new EP Erato, to be released July 8.

The tour includes three performances in New York, with the band stopping in Rochester for the Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 24, New York City at City Winery on the 25th, and Caroga Lake at Sherman’s Park on July 30.

Cover art for Erato by the Bacon Brothers.

Erato, the five song EP, is slated to be the brothers’ 11th studio release. They call their sound “Forosoco – a blend of folk, rock, soul and country influences.” “We’re still exploring the sound we began making 25 years ago; we’ve just gotten a lot better at it,” says Michael Bacon, an Emmy-winning composer whose found success alongside his brother Kevin, an A-list Hollywood actor.

For the EP’s lead single, “In Memory (Of When I Cared),” the brothers collaborated with Desmond Child, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member whose credits include Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” and Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You.”

The Bacon Brothers also found collaboration from Kevin’s son Travis, who produced the track “Karaoke Town.”

The Bacon Brothers Tourdates

Jun 24—Rochester, NY—Rochester International Jazz Festival
Jun 25—New York, NY—City Winery
Jun 26—Atlantic City, NJ-–Sound Mind Music Festival
July 14—Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz
July 30—Caroga Lake, NY – Sherman’s Park
July 31—Waterville, ME – Waterville Opera House
Aug 2—-Ocean City, NJ – Ocean City Music Pier
Aug 5—-Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey (Rescheduled)
Aug 6—-Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center (Rescheduled)
Aug 7—-Beverly, MA – The Cabot (Rescheduled)
Aug 24–San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
Aug 25–Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
Aug 26–Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon
Aug 27–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa
Aug 28–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa
Sep 9—-New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall
Sep 10–The Woodlands – Dosey Doe
Sep 11—Lubbock, TX – Cactus Theater

May 23, 2022
Beacon Sloop Club Strawberry Festival Returns on June 12th

An annual Hudson Valley tradition, the Beacon Sloop Club’s legendary Strawberry Festival will take place on Sunday, June 12th at Pete and Toshi Seeger Riverfront Park in Beacon. The all ages event, held rain or shine, lasts from 12-5pm and is found on the Riverside of the Metro North Beacon Station.

At the BSC Strawberry Festival, you’ll find the best shortcake you have ever imagined, made with local strawberries and homemade biscuits topped with real whipped cream, all while surrounded by the glorious Hudson River. There are more treats available, including strawberry smoothies, freshly made chocolate covered strawberries and other great foods to enjoy. Local vendors will also be on hand selling food and crafts.

There will also be free sailing on the Sloop Woody Guthrie. Located right in Beacon Harbor, attendees can sign up at the Beacon Sloop Club booth for a free afternoon sail as you experience the beauty, power and grandeur of the Hudson River.

Two solar powered music stages are featured during the BSC Strawberry Festival, with a main stage and one dedicated for young folks and children to enjoy. There are also many other free activities great for children, as well as displays of local Hudson River history and the environment for all to enjoy.

As hosts of Strawberry Festival, The Beacon Sloop Club is an all-volunteer non-profit organization. The BSC Strawberry Festival raises money for the public sailing program on the Woody Guthrie and other environmental education programs. As such, there is never a charge for sailing aboard “The Woody.” The BSC meets the first Friday of each month at the clubhouse in Beacon, right on the river near the Metro-North train station, for a potluck dinner, business meeting and music. Everyone is always welcome.

Musicians performing throughout the Strawberry Festival include Arm of The Sea Theater, Judith Tulloch Band, Lost Ryders of the Waywayanda, Beacon Songsmiths, Eric Person, Lydia Adams Davis, Roger The Jester, Spook Handy, Jonathan Kruk, Bindlestick Bill and The Last Minute Soulmates.

Admission to the Strawberry Festival is free. For more information, visit beaconsloopclub.org

See below for pictures from past BSC Strawberry Festivals below, courtesy of Beacon Sloop Club.

May 21, 2022
Dark Star Orchestra Brilliantly Recreate Lille Fairgrounds in France on 50th Anniversary

The Capitol Theatre was packed on Friday, May 13 with Deadheads young and old as Dark Star Orchestra paid homage to the Grateful Dead at the iconic Deadhead venue at The Capitol Theatre. On this night they recreated one of the Dead’s shows from their great Europe 1972 tour. More specifically the show from May 13, 1972 at Lille Fairgrounds in Lille, France. It was a hell of a set then and it was a hell of a show now.

The first set was played with precision and umph, never getting too noodley. The second set started off with a thunderous “Truckin’” into a jam filled “drums” > “The Other One.” Other highlights of the evening included “Beat It On Down The Line,” “Playing in the Band,” & “GDTRFB.”

Dark Star Orchestra – The Capitol Theatre – May 13, 2022 – recreating May 13, 1972 – Lille Fairgrounds of France

Set 1: Bertha, Black Throated Wind, Chinatown Shuffle, Loser, Beat It On Down The Line, Mister Charlie, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Me And My Uncle, Big Railroad Blues, Next Time You See Me, Playing In The Band, Sugaree, Mexicali Blues, Casey JonesÂ

Set 2: Truckin’ > drums > The Other One > He’s Gone, It Hurts Me Too, Sugar Magnolia, Not Fade Away > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad > Not Fade AwayÂ

Encore: One More Saturday Night

May 17, 2022
The Dead Tongues Let the Music Do the Talking at Restaurant Good Luck

Honest Folk, purveyors of, er, honest folk concerts in Rochester, brought The Dead Tongues to town from Asheville, North Carolina on Sunday, May 15. The Dead Tongues, the project of singer-songwriter Ryan Gustafson, is sometimes a solo act, as it was on his previous visit to the area last summer at the Point of the Bluff Vineyard on Keuka Lake. But tonight it was a full band show, and electric at that. Not unheard of for an Honest Folk show, but not the norm either.

To prepare for this, the crowd had the opportunity to stretch their listening muscles. The band’s drummer, Joe Westerlund, started the evening with about 30 minutes of drum and electronics improvisation. Subtly shifting rhythmic electronic loops created a bedrock for Westerlund to explore his well-equipped kit, which featured all the bells, but no whistles. Even the shakes, rattles and clanks emerging from the bar, which can distract from the usual folk fare, added an unintentional surround sound effect. Inner ears and minds stretched and loosened, the previous hours of the day washed away, the crowd was ready to settle in for The Dead Tongues.

After a short break, Westerlund was joined on stage by Gustafson on guitars, harmonicas and vocals, Maddie Schuler on guitar and lap steel and Jeff Ratner on bass. They opened with the title track off of their stellar 2022 release, Dust. The album was written and recorded in a short period, a burst of inspiration for Gustafson. Live, there was no urgency though. Songs could ooze into existence and drift out just as languidly.

Older songs worked seamlessly into the set, some retooled to take advantage of the current band. On “Peaceful Ambassador” Gustafson’s harmonica meshed beautifully with Schuler’s lap steel, creating an almost organ-like effect, a unique mix of sound that would show up throughout the set. Ratner picked up the pace with a popping bass line that opened the song up into a jam featuring a searing slow burn solo from Gustafson. He strapped on the 12-string acoustic as his band continued to fizzle the song into a spacey outro that led right into “Sweet Relief,” another mellow groove that got pulled and stretched by the band.

Each song expanded their sound universe in subtle ways. “Nothingness and Everything” added a bit of reggae, some beautiful 3-part harmonies and featured a crowd-wowing guitar solo from Schuler. Westerlund continued exploring his kit throughout the night, from a softer hand drummed beat for “Pale November Dew,” to a sharp electronic beat on “Little Lies” or just flat out wowing with unique fills on the twanging rocker “Pawnshop Dollar Bills.”

It all remained rooted in Gustafson’s heartfelt and evocative songcraft, which he let speak for itself, keeping the banter to a minimum throughout the night. And these are songs begging to be heard again and again. Time to give that record another spin.

Setlist: Dust, Ebb and Flow, Through the Glass, Strangers, Graveyard Fields, Peaceful Ambassador, Sweet Relief, Pale November Dew, Nothingness and Everything, Garden Song, Little Lies, Pawnshop Dollar Bills, Won’t Be Long

May 17, 2022
Eastbound Throwdown 2022 Lineup Announced

Eastbound Jesus & Guthrie/Bell Productions have announced the lineup for the 2022 installment of the Eastbound Throwdown, planned for September 9-10 on Irwin Farm in Salem, NY.

Friday’s Lineup includes host-band Eastbound Jesus, The Mallett Brothers Band, Folkfaces, Muddy Ruckus, and Ginger Roots. Saturday features Cabinet, Saints & Liars, Deadgrass & Friends, The Honey Smugglers, Steadman’s Landing, Wild Leek River, Dan Johnson, The Button Men, Turf ‘n’ Turf and two more sets from Eastbound Jesus.

Weekend Passes (include camping) have been on sale since April 1st and are already more than half sold out. Last year’s festival sold out well in advance and organizers anticipate the same this year. Tickets are available here.

Eastbound Throwdown 2022 is an all-ages event with children 15 and under free to enter. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

May 9, 2022
Flyday Music Festival 2022 Lineup Headlined by Ghost-Note, Screaming Headless Torsos

Flyday Music Festival will return this fall, September 29 through October 2, 2022 at Blackthorne Resort in East Durham, NY in the heart of the Catskills.

Flyday Music Festival, in its fifth year at Blackthorne Resort, is a non-corporate, intimate festival put on by two musicians who love great music. A celebration of life and creativity, freedom, spirit, heart and soul, and friends and family through music, art, and movement, Flyday has grown since inception in 2017, and brings together a stellar lineup and community.

The 2022 Flyday Music Festival lineup includes more than 20 bands, with a variety of genres including funk,

The lineup includes Ghost-Note, Black Rock Funk Allstars, Yam Yam, Schleigho, Gnarbot, Space Junk is Forever, Shwizz, Baked Shrimp, Glass Pony, The Magnetic Pull, Screaming Headless Torsos, Honker, Ampevene, Level:Memory, Eugue Tyler Band, Children of the Judge, Laura Leigh and Denise Parent, Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets, Sungazer, Now vs Now, Nigel Felony and K-Weef.

Artists will perform on two side-by-stages at the 100+ acre Blackthorne Resort, with 80+ rooms on site, camping and RV sites, a pool and tiki bar, in addition to a creek, hiking, a bar, a restaurant, a playground and play fields and courts, and a haunted house. Amenities include free showers, flush toilets and charging stations for all campers.

The quality of the music and the coming together of friends and the ever-growing Flyday Family is the main focus of Flyday today. Besides some of the best music the Northeast has to offer, there will be workshops (tie-dye, juggling, and more), vendors (massage, artisan, clothing, food, microbrew) and glass blowing and other artisan demonstrations. There will be live, interactive art exhibits as well as a black-light art gallery/lounge.

More info and tickets for Flyday Music Festival 2022 are available at flydaymusicfestival.com.

May 8, 2022