Dead & Company played a scorching night of music at the Xfinity Theater in Hartford, CT on Tuesday, July 5. What was looking out to be a wet evening proved to be a most enjoyable experience, with official Dead and Company Hartford posters selling out quickly in all concession stands.
The band opened with a rocking “Music Never Stopped”. Highlights included “Alabama Getaway”, “Iko Iko”, and Bobby’s performance on “Cassidy” to close out the set.
The second set was opened up with “Jack Straw” and included a well played “Scarlet Begonias” > “Viola Lee Blues” > “Fire on the Mountain” section, an electric “The Other One,” a masterful “The Wheel,” a somber “Black Peter” and a sunshine daydream filled “Sugar Magnolia” to close out the show, without an encore.
The Saratoga Springs show was cancelled the following day. Many had already traveled to Saratoga Springs when they found out about the cancellation. Some decided to go home but some stayed and partied at the legendary Lee’s Campground. Music and good times were not far behind.
Dead and Company – Xfinity Center, Hartford, CT – Tuesday, July 6, 2022
Set 1: The Music Never Stopped,Liberty,They Love Each Other,Loser,Alabama Getaway,Iko Iko,High Time,Cassidy Set 2: Jack Straw,Scarlet Begonias > Viola Lee Blues > Fire on the Mountain > The Other One > Drums > Space > The Wheel > The Other One > Black Peter > Sugar Magnolia
Entire show with Jay Lane on drums filling in for Bill Kreutzmann
Only a couple of weeks after releasing their first new song in over a decade, The Mars Volta have given fans a second taste of their forthcoming album with “Graveyard Love”. Check out the new song over on the band’s BandCamp page and watch the accompanying short film below.
“Graveyard Love” short film, by The Mars Volta
Earlier this week, the band unveiled a digital version of L’YTOME HODORXÍ TELESTERION, the immersive cube that first appeared in Los Angeles ahead of the release of lead single “Blacklight Shine”. Aside from experiencing the cube in AR form, fans were guided on a digital scavenger hunt, finding pieces of the “Graveyard Love” cover art.
The song shows The Mars Volta continuing their evolution while providing fans with a diverse look into their new sound. Lead single “Blacklight Shine” fully embraced a Latin-pop fusion with driving bongo percussions and choppy salsa-laced guitars all backed by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s Spanish storytelling. “Graveyard Love” slows it down a touch with eery synths and bass tones shimmering behind a mysterious ballad before the beat picks up and Cedric’s “I don’t want to remember…” mantra battles a swirling retro synth. While describing the story behind the song, Cedric says “They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands, because if they can’t have you, no one can.”
“Graveyard Love” Cover Art
Just like the short film for “Blacklight Shine”, this new film also takes place in Puerto Rico. The video highlights small elements of life and culture on the island, with a focus on the people. A couple minutes into the film, the song plays before fading out and allowing the video to continue to show life on the island. In the description, there is a historical timeline of many of the natural and man-made events that hindered Puerto Rico’s advances toward independence with the final entry reading “2022 STILL A COLONY.” Coupled with this film, the mysterious lyrics of the song try to paint a picture of Puerto Rican life rich in culture, yet dark and oppressed in history.
The Mars Volta have always been a mysteriously complex band with their musical compositions, vocal story-telling, and imagery. Each of their six previous albums are prog-rock odysseys with deeply emotional stories and extremely dense and layered instrumentals. Hailed as a masterpiece by devoted fans and music critics, their 2003 debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium reshaped what progressive, post-hardcore, and art-rock could be in the new millennium.
Omar and Cedric have fronted several bands together (At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, and Antemasque) and Omar has more than 50 albums credited to his various solo projects. Their collective music has evolved and cycled for over 25 years as a parade of extraordinarily talented musicians joined the backing bands for all of these various projects. Not all of these projects were fully realized into albums and tours, but in the 2010s the Omar Rodríguez-López Group was reborn. Several tours with large and small bands occurred and in 2016 Rodríguez-López cleared the backlog by releasing one album a week for months.
The Mars Volta was quite consistent with their first four LPs up until Octahedron was released in 2009. Described by Omar as the band’s “acoustic album,” Octahedron is the shortest of the catalog and did see a sharp change in sound, favoring acoustic guitars and ballads while surrounding them with layered prog-rock bangers. Noctourniquet came three years later which also attempted to bring something new to the mix. With shorter and more accessible song structures, the band crafted a futuristic and psychedelic landscape backed by the loosest and most avant-garde drumming style courtesy of Deantoni Parks.
While details for the yet-to-be-named seventh album have not been announced, it is clear from the lead singles that The Mars Volta are about to release the most unique part of their discography. Currently in the music industry, we are being inundated with legacy and long-standing bands putting out new music to mixed results. What has become clear is that bands who try and reinvent their debuts often release mediocre albums that fade away quickly after release. The Mars Volta on the other hand, are trying to write music that reflects where the band is in 2022. Rather than revisiting 15-minute long, mind-numbingly complex prog-rock screamers, Omar and Cedric are embracing their Latin-pop roots and reimagining it with modern flare. While on first listen “Blacklight Shine” and “Graveyard Love” seem alien to Volta die-hards, the more you dig in the more classic Volta elements you hear under the surface. After a decade-plus hiatus The Mars Volta have returned, matured by age but as rooted as ever.
Omar Rodríguez-López (left) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (right). Photo by Fat Bob
The band kicks off their reunion tour in late September, with their first show in 13 years happening in Dallas, Texas at The Factory in Deep Ellum. The Mars Volta will be in New York City for two sold-out shows at Terminal 5 on September 29th and 30th. Head over to the band’s website for full tour details.
The 10th anniversary of Peach Music Festival took place at Montage Mountain in Scranton, PA over July 4th weekend. The festival began in 2012 by the Allman Brothers and Live Nation. Throughout the years, the music of the Allman Brothers has remained a focus with the evolving cast of musicians. The Montage Mountain Ski resort transforms into a water park in the summer months, and the Pavilion hosts concerts. The water park is a unique aspect to a music festival that makes this festival appealing to a wide range of guests.
Day 1: Billy Strings Closes Out the Opening Day
While some people began arriving on Wednesday, most guests arrived on Thursday, June 30. It was a beautiful day to set up camp and get ready for the music to begin in the late afternoon. Billy Strings, Keller Williams, Samantha Fish, Midnight North, Yam-Yam, Consider the Source were among the acts kicking off the festival.
There was a noticeable air of excitement for Billy Strings, with a consistently long line at his merch tent. Keller Williams delivered a late afternoon set full of classics with the aid of an array of pedals, but mostly just his trusty acoustic. Samantha Fish was a delightful surprise. Beginning the day unaware of her music, her set filled with powerful vocals, rocking guitars, and a striking stage presence. I became a fan. The evening headliner, Billy Strings, played to a packed pavilion and lawn. A full day of anticipation exploded into a sea of fans swaying and singing along to his blend of Bluegrass and Jam. Speaking with fans over the course of the weekend, Billy’s set was constantly a fan favorite. Consider the Source, the New York City trio, closed out the Grove Stage for Thursday with their unique blend of Sci-Fi Fusion. Steeped in Middle Eastern influences, their cosmic sound set the perfect tone to bookend a truly great day of music.
Day 2: Weather Doesn’t Dampen Spirits
Friday, day two of the festival, included another full day of music and enjoying the venue. Before the music began, the fans enjoyed the art displays in the lodge and utilized the water park. A sober group of music fans also held their morning meeting at the lodge, making the Peach Festival at Montage Mountain a welcome place for all fans.
Music began mid-day with Eggy, The Jauntee, Marco Benevento, Eric Krasno, The Kitchen Dwellers, The Motet, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and Pigeons Playing Ping Pong. The late afternoon sets were affected by a severe weather event that had fans sheltering under the spacious pavilion. The house speakers kept fans happy while heavy rains descended on the grounds. The event staff were extremely helpful and efficient about keeping people safe.
Once the all clear was given, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening brought fans to their feet transporting the crowd to another time and place. The blend of voices and instruments was eerily close to the CDs on which I grew up.
Andy Frasco & The U.N. put on one of the most kinetic performances I’ve ever witnessed. Frasco’s shows are legendary for the band’s energy and crowd interaction. Entering the stage with a baby carriage that was home to an opossum, and raising it to the crowd like Raffiki did with Simba set the wheels in motion for his memorable set. Performing a mix of songs from his new album, Wash, Rinse, Repeat, the crowd was singing along with their favorites. One of several highlights from this set was when Andy had the entire crowd doing the Horah dance with the crew quickly adding extensions to his microphone wire as he waded to the center of the whirling crowd.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong closed out the night with a late night set to a packed pavilion. The rollicking set was cut short with another severe weather event that caused the festival to cancel the rest of their set, out of an abundance of caution for everyone’s safety.
Day 3: Trey Anastasio and Goose
Day three of the festival began with some residual rain, which quickly gave way to a perfectly sunny sky. Karina Rykman, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Jaimoe & Friends, Pixie & The Partygrass Boys, Neighbor, Rayland Baxter, Celisse, The Revivalists, Cordovas, Trey Anastasio Band, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer & Friends, and Goose filled the day with music.
A new artist known to those that attended the festival last year was Celisse. She played the festival on the Grove Stage in 2021 and had Trey Anastasio sit in with her. This year she owned the Peach Stage, belting out songs filled with power and emotion.
The Revivalists were up next on the main stage. David Shaw, the lead singer, brought his voice even closer to the crowd venturing off the stage to stand atop the large speakers. Singing directly to those lucky fans at the rail, Shaw sang crowd favorites with those in the pavilion singing along. As darkness descended on the festival grounds, light-up outfits, hula-hoops, and totems could be seen under the pavilion. The Trey Anastasio Band delivered a packed set which included several Phish covers including “Blaze On,” “Everything’s Right,” and “Gotta Jibboo.” One of the many highlights came towards the end when, in a twist of fortunes, Celisse sat in with Trey. Together they performed three songs: “The Moma Dance, “A Life Beyond The Dream,” and “Rise/Come Together.”
Brandon “Taz” Niederauer closed out the Mushroom Stage, while Cycles closed out the Grove Stage. Goose was the final act of the night with a special late night set. Anticipated all day by fans, Goose did not disappoint. With their ever upward trajectory, the band has amassed a following that is staggering when you consider their brief time together.
Day 4: Black Crowes Close Out Peach
Like all good things, even the Peach Music Festival must come to an end. The fourth day represented the last day of the 10th Anniversary of Peach Music Festival at Montage Mountain. The day began with a sense of melancholy, until the music started. Then fans rejoiced in the waning hours together.
Duane Betts, Daniel Donato & Friends, Maggie Rose, Dogs in a Pile, The Wailers, G. Love & The Juice, TAUK, and The Black Crowes were among the acts rounding out the weekend. Daniel Donato Brought a little county to the festival with Allman roots. At the Mushroom Stage, Dogs in a Pile are with fans enjoying their energetic set of psychedelic fusion. G. Love & The Juice, a band put together by Philly-based G. Love, and, as he describes them, the most exceptional musicians he’s played with. The hip-hop and blues influenced music was perfect companion to the jam-centric sets, which got fans to their feet.
Long Island-based TAUK brought their instrumental, EDM influenced beats to the Mushroom Stage. Their unique sound filled in a void of electronic funk music. The wordless instrumental music gave fans an opportunity to shake the cobwebs off of the weekend and become lost in the beats. To fill in your own emotions and experiences to a song is a special trait of instrumental music.
The final act of the Peach Festival was The Black Crowes. The Rock band fronted by Chris Robinson has been at it for over 30 years. They have continued to be a true rock band that fans flock to. They were a fitting bookend to a truly great weekend of music.
A Grateful Finale
At a special place, like the Peach Festival on Montage Mountain, you can look around at the sea of gyrating bodies, moving together and appreciate the collective experience you’ve just gone through. Smile at the friends that ventured to the festival with you, or the new ones made over the weekend. Having the space to be grateful for the music, the comradery, for all that awaits once we pack up and head home is an incredibly precious gift. As life becomes more entangled and busy, a music festival is truly just what the doctor ordered.
Alt rock band The Wrecks made a local stop on their Better Than Ever Tour tour in Buffalo on June 29. The Rec Room was flooding with people from front of the venue to back for the sold-out show. Openers Girlhouse and Mothe got an already pumped up crowd ready for the night.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The Wrecks are LA-based, however, vocalist and producer Nick Anderson hails from Wellsville, NY, so this show in Buffalo reunited him with friends and family that were alongside him when he first starting building this dream. Nick started this band in the middle of nowhere just making demos on his laptop. He slowly started building an audience and from there connected with others on the internet. It’s from online interactions that Nick connected with future bassist Aaron Kelley. Later he moved out to California where he recruited lead guitarist Nick Schmidt and drummer Billy Nally. A few secret sneak-in sessions into the studio after and the rest is history.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The show in Buffalo showed nothing short of this band’s high energy reputation. The Wrecks opened the night with their hit “Out Of Style,” off of their 2020 album Infinitely Ordinary. Nick’s engagement with the crowd opened up some mosh pits followed by some much needed water breaks. The rest of the band cleared out after a few songs as the lead vocalist shared some acoustic versions. They even brought the openers back out to join in.
The Wrecks latest album release Sonder has been what their fans have been most excited about. The crowd proved this when they screamed the lyrics to “Ugly Side,” and “Normal” from the June 10 release. However, nothing compared to the rage that started when the group closed out the night with their #1 single “Favorite Liar.” With Nick running into the audience, crowd surfers from front to back, and belting fans, it made for a finisher to remember.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Follow up with The Wrecks latest stops on their tour. Also make sure to check out upcoming shows at Rec Room. Nonpoint performs July 10 and The Acacia Strain will be there July 13.
Setlist: Out Of Style, Figure This Out, I Love This Part, Feels So Nice, Freaking Out, Dystopia, This Life I Have, Ugly Side, Normal, Panic Vertigo, Sonder, Fvck Somebody, Where Are You Now, James Dean
Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp has partnered with Relix for inaugural Relix Rock Camp in New York City, to be held October 27-30. Featuring legendary bassist Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), guitarist John Scofield (Miles Davis) and sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph (Robert Randolph and the Family Band), this is a once in a lifetime change to jam and spend four days jamming with these musicians and more.
Relix Rock Camp
Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp was created 25 years ago to provide real people the once-in-a-lifetime experience of connecting and jamming with their musical heroes. The Camp has provided unforgettable memories, advice and feedback for attendees worldwide. Camp events span over four jam packed days where campers join a band mentored by today’s top touring musicians, and work up to final performances with the headliner rockstars at legendary venues from Abbey Road Studios in London, to Hollywood’s Whisky A Go Go, to the Atlantic resort in The Bahamas.
Relix Fantasy Camp is a musical experience for musicians and vocalists to take their skills and confidence to the next level, realize their dreams are possible, and create bonds and friendships for life with fellow aspiring musicians. The camp features four full days of jamming, masterclasses, instruction and exclusive Q&A’s in a private studio to prepare campers to jam. Finally the Camp holds a final showcase performance in front of family, friends, and jamband fans at The Cutting Room in NYC.
I’m so excited to offer campers the opportunity to jam with the legendary original bass player of the Grateful Dead Phil Lesh and so many other incredible musicians. On top of it, to partner with Peter Shapiro and the entire Relix team for this camp is an honor. In the past we have had the pleasure of having Mickey Hart, Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson, Roger Daltrey, Bill Wyman, Alice Cooper and more at our Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camps, and we are excited to welcome these new first time artists joining us at this camp.
Rock Camp founder David Fishof
Rockstar mentors include Gary Hoey, Derek St. Holmes, Scott Sharrard (Little Feat / Gregg Allman Band), Alex Koford & Ross James (Terrapin Family Band), Tony Leone (Little Feat), Tash Neal (London Souls), Steve Leisman (Stella Blues Band), Lo Faber (God Street Wine), Leslie Mendelson, Michael Falzarano (Hot Tuna), Fuzz (Deep Banana Blackout) and more. For more information, visit Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp.
The Jazz at Chandlerville Series will return to Chandler Street every Thursday this summer from 6 pm to 8:30 pm. The series is hosted by JazzBuffalo and produced by Tappo Events.
Jazz at Chandlerville
JazzBuffalo is the Greater Buffalo Jazz Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to building jazz awareness and jazz appreciation in the WNY area. Founded in 2011, the purpose of JazzBuffalo and the Greater Buffalo Jazz Society is to enhance the recognized value of arts to the individual and society, to use music and events to bring people together and to help build a stronger, more vibrant community.
Based on the success of last year, the JazzBuffalo scheduled diverse music, a variety of performers, something new each week, and showcasing some of the best talents in WNY who incorporate jazz into their performances for the fourth season.
Performers this year included Maria Sebastian, Alex McArthur Quintet, Original River Dogs, My Cousin Toné, Mary Ramsey and Friends, Hanna PK, Trigger & the Serman, GirlCrush+, Tim Clarke Soul-tet, Elliot Scozzaro Quintet, Kevin Hall Quartet, and the Banjo Juice Jazz Band.
All performances will be supported by an upgraded stage and full sound production by Tappo Event to maintain the JazzBuffalo quality. The lineup is listed as followed.
Jazz at Chandlerville Lineup
7/7 – My Cousin Toné 7/14 – Maria Sebastian American Songbook 7/21 – Trigger & The Sermon 7/28 – GirlCrush+ 8/4 – Mary Ramsey and Friends 8/11 – Elliot Scozzaro 8/18 – Dave Hill Group 8/25 – Banjo Juice Band 9/1 – Hanna PK 9/8 – Kevin Hall Quartet
Tonight’s Dead and Company show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center has been cancelled. Reportedly, guitarist John Mayer’s father suffered a medical emergency that resulted in him being rushed to a New York City hospital. Mayer is tending to his father there after the cancellation of tonight’s show at SPAC.
“He is now fairly stable and will continue to undergo some procedures, but as you can understand, I have to stay in (New York City) and can’t play tonight’s show in Saratoga Springs,”
John Mayer on Instagram
Dead and Company at Hershey Stadium, August 28, 2021 – photo by Filip Zalewski
The band had previously posted a message to social media noting “due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s Dead & Company concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is canceled.”
Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s Dead & Company concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is canceled. Tickets will be refunded automatically at the original point of purchase. The remaining Dead & Company tour dates are unaffected.
Fans can be refunded from the point of purchase. No word was given on why the band was forced to cancel less than 4 hours before showtime. Other shows this tour will not be affected.
Two veteran Hudson Valley-based music promoters have teamed up to create Hudson Valley Live, a venture designed to bring critically-acclaimed world music, edgy jazz, experimental sounds and much more to the region beginning with seven events this summer at Colony Woodstock and White Feather Farm.
Hudson Valley Live is the brainchild of Danny Melnick and Isabel Soffer. The Saugerties-based Melnick has produced hundreds of festivals, tours, concerts and special events in more than 30 countries since 1989, efforts accelerated with the 2007 formation of his company, Absolutely Live Entertainment (ALE). A sample of these currently include: The Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival; tours by the all-star ensemble Artemis and The Joyce and George T. Wein Shape of Jazz Series at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. Danny also is curating concerts for a criminal justice fundraising organization called JusticeAid and will produce the “Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour” in 2023, among many other projects.
A Brooklyn native who has lived and worked in Malden for five years, Isabel Soffer has been at the forefront of globally-centric cultural programming for nearly three decades. She was instrumental in the development of the American global music and dance scene as Director of the World Music Institute in the ’80s. But Isabel may be better known as Co-founder and Director of the globalFEST, a non-profit that produces this much-anticipated and acclaimed annual music festival and conference in New York City now marking its 20th year. Soffer is also the founder of Live Sounds, a company that curates and produces multi-genre initiatives that connect artists with cultural opportunities. Live Sounds has been responsible for producing scores of historic concerts and tours by the likes of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and The Masked Dancers of Kerela, as well as the founding of The New York Flamenco Festival, The New York Fado Festival, a Sufi poetry fest and much more. All totaled, she has orchestrated well over 1,500 concerts, with artists from more than 100 countries.
“Our goal is to produce an eclectic music series for curious and serious music listeners, with the kind of global sounds that have not been readily available in the region,” says Soffer. “While the Hudson Valley has a wonderfully rich and lively music scene, the greatest and latest in global music has been kind of hard to come by.”
“This series at the Colony and White Feather Far will fill that gap,” adds Melnick. “We’re bringing our decades of experience and contacts with world music’s best to bring more of the best to the Hudson Valley. We’re delighted to partner with these two forward-thinking venues to do events will be truly unique and ear-opening for the Hudson Valley’s discerning music-lovers.”
The artists featured at the seven forthcoming events span from cutting edge jazz to Afropop, Gypsy, Flamenco and Brazil, Latinx sounds plus regional American traditions. Following are the events scheduled at Saugerties’ White Feather Farm, curated in partnership with Barbes, and The Colony in Woodstock. More info can be found at http://hudsonvalleylive.co/:
Friday, July 15 – Fela Kuti Tribute with Nikhil P. Yerawadekar Living Language
Denver, Colorado’s Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats took the stage during Beak & Skiff’s Summer Concert Series in Lafayette on June 29, 2022, to a sold out crowd in support of their latest album, The Future, an 11-track record released in November 2021. Opening for Rateliff was the Brooklyn based band, Antibalas.
The evening started with Rateliff commenting, “I can’t believe you all came” and from there, the night was filled with numerous hits from the bands ever growing catalog which spans back to 2015 when The Night Sweats were formed and the thousands in attendance were captivated from start to finish.
As Nathaniel and his bandmates took the stage for the encore, those in attendance were treated to the end of the a fantastic evening with “I’ll Be Damned” and “S.O.B.”, the hit that launched them from the clubs of Denver to the national stage, and finishing the night with “Love Don’t.”
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – Beak and Skiff, Lafayette, NY – June 29, 2022
Setlist: The Future Falling (Fast), Look It Here, You Worry Me, I’m On Your Side, Say It Louder, Survivor, Baby I Lost My Way (But I’m Going Home) So Put Out, A Little Honey, Love Me Till I’m Gone. Face Down in the Moment, And It’s All Alright, Oh, I, Hey Mama, Coolin’ Out, I Need Never Get Old
The Disco Biscuits will make a few stops in the Northeast this September, including a pair of shows at Saranac Brewery in Utica. The shows will now take place a week later than originally planned, on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1. The shows mark the Disco Biscuits first ever time performing in the Empire State’s ‘Sin City.’
Additional shows earlier that month include a show at Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE on September 8, and two shows at South Side Stage at XL Live in Harrisburg, PA on September 9 and 10.
A fanclub presale for these shows is now open through Wednesday, July 6 at 5pm ET, with all September shows on sale Friday, July 8 at 10am ET. Disco Biscuits social media included a note to fans, “Plenty more tDB to come this fall! “
