Category: Genres

Career Day Release Two Singles From Upcoming Debut Album

NYC-based trio Career Day returns with new music off of their upcoming debut album, Where We’ve Always Been, which is set to release on August 12.

The first single called, “No Problem,” was released earlier this summer and is currently available on all streaming services via Old Press Records. The highly energetic metal track relies on powerful vocals, intense drumming, and electric guitar. The quick tempo and extreme sound bring the song to life.

Career Day consists of members Desmond Zantua (vocals), Jacob Cutler (guitar), and Andrew Grossane on bass. Billy Mannino mixed and mastered the record, contributing to the band’s intense sound. The sonic influences for the trio include Motion City Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids, and Braid, while the lyrics and messages behind the music rely heavily on Zantua’s life as an advocate and a Filipino-American.

Much of this first track, “No Problem,” speaks to Zantua’s experiences and the importance of actual representation and social change. Via Instagram, the band shared, “this song goes out to everyone who has felt tokenized for their identity.” The hard-hitting lyrics, “the anthem of model minorities, Don’t want me heard; just seen” exemplifies this message.

The newest single release after “No Problem,” called “A New Title,” dropped on Friday, July 8. The inspiration for the song came from the process of accepting and building a lasting love in an era where relationships are often fleeting. Many of the songs off the upcoming album, Where We’ve Always Been, discuss inequalities, injustices, and prejudices present in American society but this recent track brings another level of emotion to the EP. “A New Title” reminds listeners that no matter what is occurring in the world, there is something or someone to push us forward.

The writing of both singles and the upcoming record began back at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic. The group spent a lot of time crafting the songs that eventually made up the anticipated 10-track album. Career Day’s previous 2021 work, Pride Was Somewhere Else, touched on some dark and intrusive thinking with strong lyrics and concepts. The band builds upon their strengths with this next release but returns with an even more explosive sound.

Listen to the band’s new music, “No Problem,” below.

July 17, 2022
Lexi Mariah Returns with “Queen of Broken Hearts” this August

NYC-based pop artist Lexi Mariah returns with her upcoming single, “Queen of Broken Hearts,” coming to streaming services on August 3. Her energetic sound and carefully crafted storytelling combine into a catchy track worthy of high praise.

Produced by Kenny Cash and written by Mariah, “Queen of Broken Hearts” explores the ups and downs of relationships – how the people one trusts are not always who they seem. The track opens with an enticing guitar riff and vocal harmonies that pull you in and keep you hooked.

Influenced by artists such as Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift, Mariah explores her pop sound with engaging hooks and an upbeat and captivating chorus. The lyrics tell a story of a manipulative relationship, adding great depth to the underlying rhythm.

Lately I just feel like relationships and even friendships are a gamble and you truly never know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. Sometimes people in your life will ‘play fair’ and sometimes they won’t. They might try to avoid showing their true colors at first, but the truth eventually will always come through.
– Lexi Mariah on “Queen of Broken Hearts”

Over the course of the nearly three-minute track, Mariah builds her message with engaging drums, sassy and ethereal vocals, and the perfect mix of the pop and indie genres. If you are looking for a song to blast in the car with the windows down this summer, “Queen of Broken Hearts” is the perfect addition to your next mix.

To anticipate the release of “Queen of Broken Hearts,” check out Mariah’s recent releases and take a look at her music video for her 2021 track, “Demons,” below. Fans of Mariah’s music can also find her on Instagram.

July 17, 2022
“Tunesday” Live Music Series Begins in Albany at Tricentennial Park

Lunchtime live music returns to Downtown Albany this summer as “Tunesday” in Albany’s Tricentennial Park features free performances every Tuesday in July and August from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. From flamenco guitar to hip-hop turntablism, a wide variety of acclaimed local performers will appear each week.

Tricentennial Park is located at Broadway & Columbia Street with parking available here. All events are weather-dependent. Tunesday is supported by the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District.

Whether you’re looking to slow down with a morning meditation or to dance it out on your lunchbreak, Downtown has you covered this summer. These free events showcase the best of the Capital Region, and add to the lively landscape of restaurants, retailers, and entertainment venues that makes this such an attractive neighborhood to live in, work in, and visit.
Georgette Steffens, Executive Director of the Downtown Albany BID

Tunesday Live Music Series Lineup

July 12: Ryan Leddick
July 19: Dylan Perrillo Trio
July 26: The Graham Tichy Trio featuring Don Young and Chris ‘Gringo Starr’ Sprague
August 2: DJ Mercy!!!
August 9: “Soulist” Garland Nelson, frontman of Soul Session
August 16: Maria Zemantauski
August 23: Erin Harkes
August 30: DJ Trumastr

Please note, alcoholic beverages are not permitted at these events. Please do not attend the event if you have tested positive or display any symptoms of COVID-19, or if you have been in close contact with anyone that has tested positive in the past 14 days. COVID-19 is still a risk and attendees acknowledge that they are responsible for their own safety at the event.

Additionally, Downtown Albany hosts State Street Yoga, a free outdoor fitness series on the lawn at the H. Carl McCall State University of New York Administration Building (Broadway & State Street), has returned as of Saturday, July 9. Certified instructor Tiana Taylor of local wellness studio Root3d leads free, 60-minute all-levels yoga classes every Saturday at 10:00 AM through August 27. Pre-registration is optional, but attendees may sign up for State Street Yoga events via Eventbrite for email updates.

July 17, 2022
In Focus: Spoon at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

Spoon opened their second leg of their summer tour at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo on July 7. Touring in support of their recent release Lucifer On the Sofa. Though it was the first show they had played since June, you wouldn’t know it. Opening up the leg with a Smog cover of Held, the show was an eclectic mix of old and new, playing 5 songs from Lucifer on the Sofa, along with an impressive mix of their older catalog. It really highlighted the deep well they can draw from and keep the audience on their toes.

Spoon is a band that serves no bullshit; no stage theatrics, no elaborate light setup or costumes. Britt Daniel (vocals, guitar), Jim Eno (drums), Alex Fischel (keyboards, guitar), Gerardo Larios (guitar, keyboards) and Ben Trokan (bass, keyboards) are just 5 guys on stage who are focused on just playing their music. The band represents their cool Austin roots from the 80’s and 90’s where bands were cool without trying too hard. The show moved along like a locomotive, it didn’t slow and keep chuggin along and gaining momentum. Their 5 song encore started with a cover of John Lennon’s Isolation and ended with their musical nod to The Rolling Stones with 2014’s Rent I Pay. Some people say that rock is dead, but Spoon is proof that it’s alive and well.

Setlist: Held (Smog Cover), The Devil & Mister Jones, Don’t You Eva, Wild, The Beast and Dragon, Adored, The Way We Get By, Don’t Make Me a Target, The Underdog, I Summon You, My Babe, Feels Alright, My Mathematical Mind, Do I Have To Talk You Into It, Inside Out, I Turn My Camera On, Got Nuffin

Encore: Isolation (John Lennon Cover), The Hardest Cut, Do You, Small Stakes, Rent I Pay

July 16, 2022
Chris Botti Announces Performance at Troy Music Hall this October

The Troy Music Hall lately annouced the return performance of legendary American trumpeter Chris Botti on October 15th.

Chris Botti

The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, a National Historic Landmark, has been in use since opening in 1875. World renowned for its incredible acoustics, it has hosted performances by legions of world-renowned artists. With several intervention, the tall ceiling and ideal seat count of 1180 to provide intimacy and sustain an optimal reverberation.

Chris Botti, the largest-selling American instrumental artist who has been renowned since his release of When I Fall In Love. His associated with PBS has led to four #1 jazz albums, as well as multiple Gold, Platinum and Grammy Awards. Most recently, his latest album Impressions won the Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental.

Over the past three decades, Botti has recorded and performed with a great amount of musicians including Sting, Barbra Streisand and so on while hitting the road for as many as 300 days per year worldwide.

Impressions, Botti’s 2012 Columbia Records and Grammy winning release, is the latest in a stellar parade of albums. Featuring artists Andrea Bocelli, Vince Gill, Herbie Hancock, Mark Knopfler, and David Foster, this album included When I Fall In Love (2004), To Love Again: The Duets (2005), Italia (2007), and the CD/DVD Chris Botti in Boston (2009) that has firmly established him as a clarion voice in the American contemporary music scene. These albums established his figures of the contemporary music world.

Tickets are on sale at 10am Monday to Music Hall Members. Single tickets go on sale to the general public Wednesday, July 13, at 10am. More information on Chris Botti and Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and upcoming programs visit www.troymusichall.org.

July 16, 2022
In Focus: Phish Kick Off Summer Tour at Great Woods

Phishâs summer tour opening run at Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts was a heater to get the band on the road again after a month or so off. The former “Great Woods” has seen many Phish shows – 19 as of Friday, July 15 – and drew a New England crowd and many more to get summer started.

On Thursday, Phish dove in right away with “Ghost” and a “Set Your Soul Free” wedged in between before playing “The Wedge.” The second set opened with an unfinished “Chalkdust Torture” that segued into “Plasma” and “Weekpaug Groove,” which made Friday night interesting when they opened the second set with “Mike’s Song.” A deep trio of “Prince Caspian” > “Backwards Down the Number Line” > “Bug” provided quality jams, with a big “Sand” to end the set.

Friday night, the band was on fire out of the gate with “46 Days,” a big “Everything’s Alright” moving into “Rift” and a “Maze” > “Bathtub Gin” > “Rock n Roll” segue that was a powerful end to the first frame. Set 2 started with “Mike’s Song” but when they finished up “I Am Hydrogen,” Trey Anastasio quickly moved into a heavy “Carini” which slowly gave birth to “Blaze On.” The non-stop segues continued with “Golden Age” > “The Howling” > “A Wave of Hope” > “Harry Hood” provided an equally energetic ending as Set 1. A three-song encore of “Bouncing Around the Room,” “NICU” and “Slave to the Traffic Light” closed the night as everyone headed north to Bangor, Maine for the next show.

Setlists via Phish.net

Phish – The Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA – Thursday July 14

Soundcheck: Jam -> Plasma

Set 1: Ghost -> Set Your Soul Free -> Ghost, The Wedge, Mound, Mountains in the Mist, Back on the Train > Ruby Waves, I Been Around, Tube > About to Run

Set 2: Chalk Dust Torture[1] -> Plasma -> Weekapaug Groove -> Saw It Again -> Prince Caspian > Backwards Down the Number Line > Bug > Sand

Encore: Punch You in the Eye > Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S.

[1] Unfinished; Chalk Dust Torture was unfinished. Trey teased Tweezer Reprise in Weekapaug.

Phish – The Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA – Friday, July 15

Soundcheck: Jam

Set 1: 46 Days, Water in the Sky, Everything’s Right -> Rift, Wolfman’s Brother, Maze > Bathtub Gin > Rock and Roll

Set 2: Mike’s Song > I Am Hydrogen > Carini -> Blaze On -> Golden Age > The Howling > A Wave of Hope > Harry Hood

Encore: Bouncing Around the Room, NICU > Slave to the Traffic Light

M

July 16, 2022
The Linda Announces “Summer on Central” Concert Series

Beginning on August 6, The Linda: WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, will hold free outdoor concerts every Saturday in August from 2 pm to 6 pm. The family-friendly “Summer on Central” music series will feature the talents of multiple local artists each day and is open to the public.

On the first Saturday in August, R&B artist Kyla Silk will open the series at 2:30 pm. A Long Island native, Silk hopes her music encourages connection and light. Trio Super 400 will take the spotlight next, followed by Rock Voices Choir at 5:00 pm. Other artists who will join the series over the course of the month include Jordan Taylor Hill, Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys, Girl Blue, North by North, and many more.

Attendees of Summer on Central can also enjoy different foods and non-profit vendors. Guests are also welcome to bring their own lawn chairs to sit back and listen to the live performances. Should the weather not permit an outdoor concert, the rain site will be inside The Linda.

The Linda opened in 2002 in Albany and serves as a performance center and recording studio. The restored 1926 building often holds programs, concerts, films, celebrations, and other activities to those in the Albany area. Thanks to the center’s fantastic acoustics, intimate setting, and commitment to the community, the venue is the perfect spot to hold events.

For updates and more information, visit the Linda website. For the full list of the most current lineup, see below.

August 6

Kyla Silk, Super 400, and Rock Voices Choir

August 13

Grape Juice, Jordan Taylor Hill, Reese Fulmer, and Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys

August 20

Precious Metals, Sydney Worthley, O-Man and the Nite Trippers, and North by North

August 27

Shortwave Radio, Pony in the Pancake, Girl Blue, and Side-B

July 16, 2022
Kirsty Rock Drops Her Debut Solo Album Slow Burn

Kirsty Rock, a member of the internationally renowned reggae super group Easy Star All-Stars, has announced her debut solo album Slow Burn on Easy Star Records.

Bringing a distinctive, soulful, and earthy reggae sound, Slow Burn coincides with an official video release of the title track, which was a collaboration between acrobatic dancer Julia Baccellier, Rock, and Rock’s long standing collaborator D888.

The visuals and movements are an unveiling in which we accentuate the beauty of that journey – vulnerability, a shedding, and in finality, empowerment. It’s a personal journey with a universal message.
Kirsty Rock

Kirsty Rock came up in the Brooklyn music scene of the 1990s. Her first lead vocal with Easy Star All-Stars was on their 2003 album Dub Side of the Moon, performing “The Great Gig In The Sky,” which earned praise from the original vocalist. In 2003, she joined the tour of Easy Star All-Stars in over 30 countries on 6 continents. She was featured on vocals on their studio albums Radiodread, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, and Easy Star’s Thrillah, as well as on First Light. Currently Rock is back with ESA after a COVID hiatus.

The first single “The Feeling” may appear to be the most lighthearted song on the album. It was the most difficult and cathartic to write for Rock since it’s a reminder of love and joy that when we release grief, sorrow, pain, and anger.

Her next single, “L.E.O.” is filled with a steady bass groove and slapping drums. Rock wrote and sings the lyrics: “The space between us pulls me in with thoughts darker than your skin. It’s incredible. Burn my solar wings and carry me towards L.E.O.”

Many of the songs on Slow Burn were started on the road with Easy Star All-Stars and with her own long-running band Trumystic. Without the stress and expectations of rushing out products, she just let the songs evolve. Observing diverse relationships and changes in political agendas, Slow Burn had been inspired. After the bones of the songs were recorded in her home in Vermont, Rock began reaching out to her friends to add more into the album.

The first few tracks completed were co-produced and mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Matt Stein while the rest of the album brought in collaborators in Easy Star All-Stars. These fantastic artists including guitarist/vocalist Shelton Garner Jr., keyboardist/vocalist Elenna Canlas, drummers Ivan Katz and Cliff Simpson, and the horn section of Jennifer Hill, Buford O’Sullivan, and Matt Bauder, and other musicians.

Slow Burn is a stunning “debut” for Kirsty Rock. She is already at work on new songs and looking forward to bringing this music on the road with both ESA and on her own in the coming year.

July 15, 2022
Upstate Shares New Single “Lovers & Friends”

Hudson Valley-emerged band Upstate shared their new single “Lovers & Friends” after a time of profound exploration and self-discovery in the last few years. They are returning with tours in New York State in July, August and October.

Upstate is a band guided by clear ambitions: to write honest songs, play rich music, and “leave it all” on the stage and in the studio. Melanie Glenn, Mary Kenney lead as singers and guitarists, while Harry D’Agostino plays bass with percussionist/drummer Dylan Mckinstry. The band weaves traces of Americana, Jazz, Gospel, and R&B with their eyes towards music that tells the truth above all.

Great changes happened to Upstate since the last new music in summer 2020. There’s been babies, marriages, engagements, relocations, new career paths, band members changed. Upstate has been writing and recording a fresh collection of songs and lately shared the first single, “Lovers & Friends”, a delicate yet soaring indie folk gem that explores the subtle intricacies of cherished relationships.

Photography by Genesis Baez

This is a tune that reflects on the different kinds of stakes wrapped up in our romances and intimate friendships, the ways that we know each other, and the ways that we don’t. The kind of honesty that can flourish in a genuine friendship, and the kinds of lies that romance often begets.
Harry D’Agostino

“Lovers & Friends” hints at Upstate’s creative rebirth which may arrive with their forthcoming album in Spring 2023. In the meantime, Upstate scheduled dates for tour in the remainder of this summer as followed with additional Autumn shows to be added shortly.

Upstate Tour Dates

7/16 – Sherman, NY – Heron Farm & Event Center
7/29 – Cortland, NY – Main Street Music Series
8/17 – Katonah, NY – Caramoor Center for Music & Arts
10/15 – Geneva, NY – Smith Center for the Arts

July 15, 2022
The Great South Bay Music Festival Shines Bright

Returning in 2022 to the south shore of Long Island was the Great South Bay Music Festival, featuring four days of artists on multiple stages. Attending on Saturday, July 9, artists included Aqueous, Galactic, Joe Russoâs Almost Dead, Tedeschi Trucks Band, moe. and Escaper, among many others over the long weekend.

Saturday kicked off with Aqueous on the main stage, who are taking a light 2022 to focus on family time, something well deserved for the Buffalo band. Brooklyn’s Escaper played an incredible set at the Clamshell Bandshell featuring Lespecial bassist Luke Bemand. With boats around the shore and some making their way to hear the music via kayak, the New Orleans sound of Galactic proved to be funky as always.

moe. played an outstanding set of music giving way to an evening sunset, on the heels of shows in Albany, Buffalo and at Levitate Music Festival. Joined by Suke Cerulo on guitar and Nate Wilson on keys (both in place of a recovering Chuck Garvey), the band shared their honed sound, including an ode to the Allman Brothers in a set closing “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” Listen to the show here.

moe. Setlist: Plane Crash, LL3, Mar De Ma-> Jam->Tailspin, NYC, Skrunk > In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed

JRAD closed up the night with a firey, jam filled set. Russo and his bandmates are back in New York in late August at SPAC, with many more fall tour dates planned in the Northeast.

Great South Bay Music Festival has become a staple of summers in Long Island for the past decade. We look forward to the 2023 installment and all the music in store.

July 15, 2022

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