From Monday, October 24, to Friday, November 4, 2022, A Celebration of Hmong Culture Through the Arts is being presented through the collaboration of The UAlbany Performing Arts Center and New York State Writers Institute. The multi-series event is focusing on Hmong culture and history, with an emphasis on Kao Kalia Yang’s memoir, The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir.
Gaosung Heu in The Latehomecomer
Through the collaboration of the Hmong Museum in Minnesota with UAlbany, there will be a display of Hmong story/flower clothes, known as Paj ntaub, presented throughout the course of the entire event, from 11am to 4pm, during the weekdays. The material of these intricate textiles are a significant aspect of Hmong culture, particularly the variety and quality of the content integrated on the story clothes, which helps provide a broader understanding of Hmong tradition.
‘Crossing the Mekong River’ Story Clothe
The documentary Being Hmong Means Being Free that was screened on Thurs., Oct. 27, at 4:30pm, which frames a lens of modern-day Hmong life in America through the perspective of program host, Lia Vang, centers around a Hmong immigrant community in Wisconsin. The film further examines concepts rooted in ancient Hmong culture and provides a connection to how these traditions have progressively shaped the Hmong community, and also looks at the challenges in Hmong life during contemporary times.
Secondly, a duo-performance of the Literature to Life stage adaptation of The Latehomecomer is set to happen at the Performing Art Center. On Thurs., Nov. 3, a pre-talk show will be presented at 7pm, prior to the public performance starting at 7:30pm, following a second part of the performance on Fri., Nov. 4 at 10am, which is solely for high school students.
Directed by Elise Thoron, The Latehomecomer this theatre work starts as author Kao Kalia Yang is born in the Ban Vinai Refugee camp in Thailand and eventually arrives in the United States. The book and stage presentation follow her journey from a quiet, reticent student struggling to speak English while facing racial discrimination to a self-empowered young woman claiming her voice to tell the untold story of her people. They tell a universal story of immigration through the specific lens of this ancient culture inextricably bound to the history of the war in Vietnam.
Driven to share her family’s history after her grandmother’s death, The Latehomecomer is an eloquent, firsthand account of a people who have worked hard to make their voices heard. In search of a place to call home, thousands of Hmong families made the journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos to the overcrowded refugee camps of Thailand, finally emigrating to America. Winner of a PEN USA Literary Award for Nonfiction and Readers Choice Award, The Latehomecomer is the first memoir written by a Hmong-American to be published with national distribution. A Hmong written language was not taught or used until the 1950s so the author plays a significant role in bringing the culture into the realm of literature.
The Latehomecomer is performed by Gaosong Heu, a performance artist, musician, vocalist, published writer, educator, arts administrator and entrepreneur based in Saint Paul, MN. She received her B.A. in Theater Arts from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and her Master of Arts in Arts Administration from Columbia University. Gaosong has over 15 years of training in Western Classical music, as well as training in traditional styles of Hmong folk music.
There will be a public performance at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 7:30pm, preceded by a pre-show talk beginning at 7pm. A second performance will take place on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 10am exclusively for high school student groups.
Advance tickets for the public performance are $15 for the general public and $10 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff. Tickets purchased on the day of the show (pending availability) are $20 for the general public and $15 for students, seniors and UAlbany faculty-staff. Individual tickets can be purchased on the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s site at www.albany.edu/pac.
Admission to the morning matinee is free for high school student groups. Reservations are required. Educators wishing to bring groups can contact the UAlbany Performing Arts Center office at (518) 442-3995 or PAC@albany.edu. Home school students and parents are also welcome.
Considered by Rolling Stone to be the biggest pop star from Mali, guitarist and composer Habib Koité has been called the biggest pop star in West Africa. He’ll perform at City Winery in Manhattan on Sunday, November 13, presented by World Music Institute.
Hailing from the musically prolific West African nation of Mali, Habib Koité is a modern-day troubadour descended from a noble line of griots, from whom he inherited his passion for music. His grandfather played the kamele n’goni – a traditional string instrument associated with the legendary hunters from the Wassoulou region of Mali.
Koité is perhaps best known for his danssa doso, a unique blend of local rhythms with traditional hunter’s music, and often plays his guitar on open strings in the style of a n’goni. His latest studio album Kharifa, released in 2019, was recorded in Bamako and is rich with the musical traditions and instruments of his country.
Founded in 1985 as a not-for-profit, World Music Institute (WMI) has served as one of the leading presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI is committed to presenting the best in traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world with the goal of inspiring wonder for the world’s rich cultural traditions, promoting awareness and appreciation and encouraging cross-cultural dialog and exchange. WMI presents at venues throughout the city and depends on both public and private funding to accomplish its mission.
The show on November 13 starts at 8pm, with doors at 6pm. Tickets are $30-45, available here.
All in-person activities have resumed for the Celebrate Mexico Now festival in New York City for the first time in three years. The inclusive and groundbreaking festival features Mexican and Mexican American innovators and will happen from Nov. 14-22.
Celebrate Mexico Now was founded in 2004 by award-winning curator and producer Claudia Norman of CN Management. It is NYC’s first and only independent arts festival spotlighting contemporary Mexican culture. Norman has brought hundreds of native Mexican artists – sculptors, musicians, poets, chefs, filmmakers, actors, dancers, painters, and directors – to perform and show at venues across the city.
The festival will start on Nov. 14, with a book presentation by American-Mexican writer Jennifer Clement on her book Prayers for the Stolen. She writes about some of the most dangerous states in Mexico, where adolescent girls and young women are abducted from bus stops and schoolyards. This is the horrific truth, and her books talk about these things through the lens of fiction. The event will be on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Center for Fiction.
On Nov. 15 at 6 p.m. there will be an art gallery showcase of Contemporary Mexican Photography with Mexican photographer and visual artist Martha Naranjo Sandova. She will talk about Mexican photography and its impact of it on the art circuit of New York City and the world.
The Celebrate Mexico Now festival will have performance art on Nov. 19 at 9:30 p.m. for $20 a ticket. NYC-based artist Carlos A. Cruz Velazquez will be performing with the group Psychedelic Spectacular. The performance invites the audience into a journey of self-acceptance through music, dance, costume reveals, and dramatic stupidity.
There will be storytelling and musical performances as well. Storyteller Valentina Ortiz will share stories of Quetzalcoatl and the essence of life and wisdom. Storytelling will be followed by Mariachi Angeles de New York, music from the hearts of young people, who from childhood gathered in the community to learn the musical traditions of their ancestors and preserve the art form for future generations. These will happen on Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. and Nov. 20 at 3 p.m.
To celebrate Mexican Revolution Day on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m., there will be a special event at Sobre Masa Tortilleria & Restaurant. Mexican chef Zack Wangeman and his wife Diana Wangerman created a special three-course menu for the occasion.
Celebrate Mexico Now presents a special musical performance by the chamber group Mexamorphosis. Led by Guadalupe Peraza, the group performs cross-cultural concerts with different musical elements with traditional African, Turkish, and Mexican instrumentation. They will perform on Nov. 21 from 7-8 p.m.
On the final day of the festival, there will be a closing cocktail reception and screening of Los Guardianes del Maíz (The Keepers of Corn), directed by Gustavo Vazquez and produced by Jonathan Barbieri. The film tells the story of native corn by the indigenous farmers, artisans, and cooks in Mexico whose ancestors brought life to the seeds since the agricultural revolution. This will take place on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m.
For more information about the Celebrate Mexico Now 2022 festival in NYC, and to buy tickets to select events, go here.
Andrea Bocelli, the Italian pop and opera singer is coming to the US to share his talented and moving 2020 album, Believe. On December 13 and 14, Bocelli will be on tour in New York for the first time ever at the UBS Arena and at Madison Square Garden, respectively.
His performances for the Andrea Bocelli In Concert Tour will feature his last uplifting and powerful album that highlighted the power music has on the masses to enrich our souls. Additionally, this album is full of crossover hits, love songs, as well as music for the Holiday Season.
UBS Arena located at Belmont Park, is New York’s newest venue for entertainment and sports. Although it has just opened in November of 2021, prominent artists have already begun to perform there, including Harry Styles, Sebastian Maniscalco, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Genesis and TWICE.
Bocelli is a not only an artist, but has been an inspiration to fans internationally for over 20 years. Bocelli has performanced at the Olympic Games, the World Cup and the Global Citizen and has nearly 90 million records sold worldwide, sold out concerts, record-breaking live-streams, a Golden Globe, seven Classical BRITs, seven World Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Stifel, the global investment firm sponsoring Bocelli’s tour, has a pre-sale that begins on Monday, April 4 at 10 a.m. local time. Additionally, Citi cardholders will have access to pre-sale tickets at the same time. Andrea Bocelli Fan Club members will be able to acquire tickets on Wednesday, April 6 at 10 a.m. local time, while access to general sale tickets will begin on April 11. For more information visit Andrea Bocelli’s website.
On Saturday, October 29th, the World Music Institute present Malian musician and GRAMMY Award winner Oumou Sangaré for an incredible one-night-only performance at the world-famous Apollo in Harlem. Being one of West Africa’s most celebrated vocalists, Sangaré infuses her music with traditional African percussion, distinctive vocals, and progressive social criticism. Thus, creating a unique sound that has propelled her onto the international stage.
In her Apollo debut, Oumou Sangaré, “The Songbird of Wassoulou,” will perform music that spans traditional Wassoulou music. She will do this by using contemporary sounds coming out of Africa as well as songs from her recent critically acclaimed album, Timbuktu.
We’re thrilled to have Oumou, make her Apollo debut during our Next Movement season. Over the past eight decades the Apollo has amplified Black voices and used its platforms to create an intersection of art and activism, so having Oumou perform a range of music from Wassoulou music to contemporary sounds is exactly the kind of artistic conversation that we champion.
Kamilah Forbes, Executive Producer at The Apollo
Oumou Sangaré is considered an ambassador of Wassoulou, she is praised for being an activist, businesswoman and global icon. Throughout the world, her music has been inspired by the music and traditional dances of the region. She does this by writing and composing her songs which often include social criticism, especially concerning women’s low status in society.
Similar to legendary performers like Grace Jones, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin, Oumou Sangaré has been praised by stars including Beyoncé and Alicia Keys for her powerful voice and unwavering commitment to the betterment of women. Sangaré infuses her music with traditional African percussion, distinctive vocals, and progressive social criticism, creating a unique sound that has propelled her career.
Ticket will range from $30-$75 per seating arrangement. For more information on Oumou Sangaré and to purchase tickets via the Apollo Theater, click the link here.
Musicians Natalie Merchant, Simi Stone, James Felice and Berkshire Bateria are set to perform at the Save our Democracy Rally at Catskill Point on Monday, October 17, from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.. Located on 1 Main Street, Catskill, NY, this event aims to articulate the vision of the local Democratic candidates who are seeking to support women’s rights, protect voting rights and to create a more diverse and inclusive New York State.
Save Our Democracy Rally serves to protect voting rights and to create a more diverse, inclusive, and just New York State.
Hosted by beloved longtime Hudson Valley radio personality Carmel Holt, the Save Our Democracy Rally is free to attend and will be held indoors at Catskill Point. Presented by the Columbia County and Greene County Democratic Committees in conjunction with Club Helsinki and Melmar Productions, it comes in advance of the November elections and will encourage participation in the upcoming elections.
Speakers for Save our Democracy Rally
Speakers at the Save our Democracy Rally will include New York State Senator Michelle Hinchey, Assembly woman Didi Barrett, Chairman of the Green County Democratic Committee Lori Torgersen, Chairman of the Columbia County Democratic Committee Sam Hodge, Congressional District 19 Candidate Josh Riley, Democratic Candidate for Assembly District 102, Nicholas Chase, and NY Supreme Court Judge Candidates Heidi Cochrane, Meagan Galligan and Sharon Graff.
Performers
Natalie Merchant’s 40-year career has earned her a place among America’s most respected recording artists as well as garnering a reputation for her quality songwriting. She has also been active in promoting a number of non-profit organizations by lending both financial support and raising public awareness, particularly in the Hudson Valley where she resides.
Simi Stone, the former frontwoman of Suffrajett and The New Pornographers, is a musician, songwriter, and visual artist born and raised in Woodstock.
James Felice is a member of the Felice Brothers, an American folk rock/country band originally hailing from Palenville, NY in the Catskills. Berkshire Bateria, a samba band, will provide authentic Brazilian music.
Free parking for the Save our Democracy Rally will be at Dutchman’s Landing. The Catskill Visitor’s Center will provide golf cart rides to and from Catskill Point.
Ha*Ash started out as two sisters singing in their local church in Louisiana, but after professional training and working their way up through local competitions, the sisters have come a long way — to now selling out three shows at Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City’s iconic concert hall during their Mi Salida Contigo tour.
The sister’s last album, aptly named HAASHTAG, debuted at #1 on iTunes Mexico, and hits from the album, such as “Lo Que Un Hombre Debería Saber,” reached #15 on the Billboard Latin Pop chart. Despite their music’s classification as “pop,” the two have said their inspirations and influences come from across many genres, particularly country and rock like The Chicks and Shania Twain.
To celebrate the success of their Mi Salida Contigo tour, Ha*Ash has announced they will be returning to the United States on April 7, 2023, starting in Miami and ending in California, with one night at the Beacon Theatre in NYC.
Mi Salida Contigo US Tour 2023
April 7 — Miami, FL — James L Knight Center
April 8 — Orlando, FL — House of Blues
April 9 — Atlanta, GA — Coca Cola Roxy
April 12 — New York, NY — Beacon Theatre
April 13 — Washington, DC — The Howard
April 15 — Chicago, IL — The Rosemont
April 20 — Houston, TX — Smart Financial Centre
April 21 — Dallas, TX — The Pavilion @ Toyota Music Factory
April 22 — El Paso, TX— Abraham Chavez Theatre
April 23 — Phoenix, AZ — Arizona Financial Theatre
May 11 — Seattle, WA — The Moore
May 12 — Portland, OR — Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
May 14 — Denver, CO — Paramount Theatre
May 18 — Austin, TX — Moody Theatre
May 19 — Laredo, TX — Sames Auto Arena
May 20 — McAllen, TX — Payne Arena
May 21 — San Antonio, TX — Majestic Theatre
May 25 — Las Vegas, NV— Brooklyn Bowl
May 26 — Los Angeles, CA — YouTube Theatre
May 27 —San Francisco, CA — The Masonic
May 28— Stockton, CA — Bob Hope Theatre
Tickets for the Mi Salida Contigo US Tour will be available beginning Friday, October 14 through www.ticketmaster.com and www.ha-ash.com.
It’s not every day you get the opportunity to be a part of Europe’s largest club festival, but over September 22-25, I traveled to Hamburg, Germany and experienced all that Reeperbahn Festival had to offer. Northern Europe’s version of South by Southwest, Reeperbahn has been going strong for 17 years, highlighting a wide variety of artists from across the European continent, and from around the world. Each year, the festival partners with another country, bringing artists from all over and press from the partner country, to see all that Hamburg has to offer.
Partnering with America in the post-pandemic era meant that the ability to travel overseas had more ease and certainty of flight status than anytime in the past three years. Hamburg reached out to NYS Music for coverage of the festival, and it was an opportunity impossible to pass up.
With 24 combined hours of travel planned, and only 60 hours to spend in Hamburg seeing indie and punk bands in small club settings, the stage for the weekend was quickly set. Add in learning a bit about Hamburg and the role the city plays not just geographically, but also in music history, plus seeing performances at truly marvelous once-in-a-lifetime venues, and this whirlwind trip to a gem of a port on the North Sea made for the perfect return trip to Europe.
Roller Disco
Reeperbahn is the area of Hamburg prime for entertainment and nightlife, with musicals, music venues, restaurants and a red light district that, all combined, offer a little something for everyone. ‘Ropewalk’ in English, the Reeperbahn was where rope was made, being just near the Elbe River that brings you well into the European continent or out to the North Sea, The British Isles and Scandinavia. This makes Hamburg “Das Tor zur Welt” – the Gateway to the World.
The Festival Village has its main grounds in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg, with a few stages, a Flatstock poster exhibit, roller skating disco, educational displays including water reclamation efforts and a few pop up band performances. Slightly underwhelming as it was – and intentionally so – the Festival Village is not a single-location music festival, but rather spread out across the Reeperbahn area at dozens of clubs and theaters, as well as outdoor stages in the median of the Reeperbahn. Flanked by the ‘dancing towers’ and the neon lights of the red light district, the nightlife was as vibrant as you’d find in Amsterdam. While not a city-wide festival, Reeperbahn gave a taste of what Hamburg has to offer, and left me wanting to return to see more of the city outside the entertainment center.
For comparison sake, take a psychedelic remix of St. Mark’s Place – multiple blocks worth – and with a paid wristband, you get to hop from club to club, seeing bands from across the country, all with the goal of finding their footing and making it to the next level.
This kind of festival of course does happen in America, with SXSW the inspiration, as co-founder and managing director Alexander Schulz shared during a dinner at Restaurant Nil with press from America, England, Denmark and Germany on Thursday evening. For an hour, Schulz entertained questions that got to the heart of why Reeperbahn is not just a notable festival for Europe, but a destination event that draws an international crowd.
Co-founder and managing director of Reeperbahn Festival, Alexander Schulz, breaks bread with journalists at Restaurant NIL.
Schulz sees Reeperbahn as a way to combine a consumer program with a professional program, with both audiences meeting in the evening. Add in the Reeperbahn ANCHOR awards show on Saturday, showcasing six international finalists, and a strong relationship with the city of Hamburg, and a recipe for success is served up each September.
Navigating the pandemic by partnering in 2020 with Denmark (from which fans could drive) and in 2021 with South Korea (although the festival was mostly virtual), the first year fully back in person brought in the USA and the hope of rekindling the flame that was dimmed for a year or so.
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Minister of Culture and Media for the city of Hamburg, proudly noted that the festival is much bigger than music, and with full capacity allowed and no restrictions, it didn’t take much to get the local and regional governments behind the Reeperbahn Festival. “Whenever something is possible, we do it,” said Brosda. With hundreds working the festival plus more pre and post, the feeling of doing things together has returned, as the culture, concerts and inspiration they provided were not something the city wanted to lose. In 2020, it was the first time seeing artists on a stage all year, following months of lockdown, and some bands didn’t want to leave the stage. Skip ahead to 2021 and a second period of lockdown made it more difficult to hold the 2021 event and was thus virtual.
While global inflation certainly impacted the 2022 event, and the German government maintained a public transportation mask mandate, Reeperbahn Festival served as the gateway to European music, and connected the rest of the world via the United States. This year’s lineup of bands was meant to appeal to the musical tastes of Americans: contemporary, classic rock, techno and electronic, plus German acts that have crossover (including Hamburg duo BOY)
Following dinner, I linked up with Justin and Sam from Aquarium Drunkard, based in Los Angeles. We headed to the Reeperbahn and to Drafthaus to see Afghan-Dutch artist Ferdous, who provided a taste of futuristic R&B, the first music of this 60 hour jaunt. Making the most of the club nature of the festival, we headed over to Molotow where four venues are contained under one roof, including an outdoor ‘Backyard’, the ‘Karatekeller’, the Club and the Skybar, the latter of which we caught the soundcheck and most of the performance of Montreal band Choses Sauvages. Watching the lead singer bust out Ric Ocasek vocals (and fit the look a bit when his sunglasses were on) gave a new wave of new wave, along with animated crowd interaction that commands a second viewing in the near future on this side of the pond.
Choses Sauvages
We headed to the Backyard for a brief taste of HighSchool, a post-punk trio from Melbourne, Australia. An 80s indie vibe resonated, along with a bassist who looked as though he had recently placed second in a Lou Reed look alike contest.
Next stop was Gruenspan – the largest stand-alone venue on the Reeperbahn with a capacity of 850 – for Vancouver-based Destroyer, one of the many recommendations provided to me by Parisian friend Benjo. When I first glanced at the lineup, not a single band was familiar, and this was not the ‘wow I am getting old if I don’t know any of these bands’ first takes. Dozens of unsigned bands and no true headliner of the festival made every band a new discovery, and thankfully some guidance helped line up acts that were well worth venturing to see. Notably, Gruenspan was the first venue that had any third party sponsorship with Rolling Stone banners around the second level, as corporate sponsorship was present at the festival, but not overwhelming as seen at large North American festivals.
Destroyer
Starting promptly at 11:30 pm with strong bass and drums, the groove was no doubt excellent and the performance quite lively, but the catch was the lead singer Dan Bejar. Destroyer itself was a unique offering, with Bejar adding the flair that made this show well worth the recommendation. Performing in the vein of a freak poet, Bejar would take a knee after his portion of the song was complete, the band behind him carrying the tune to completion. Odd for the uninitiated (myself included), the music was at times feedback and a slow grinding for the audience, but they delighted in it nonetheless. Perhaps there is a Western Canadian appeal to the European crowd, or what this westerner presumes to be European influence on a Vancouver export, yet this remained a fantastic band to catch live and an otherwise great discovery.
Friday of Reeperbahn began a little late, as jetlag and exhaustion had finally caught up with me, and the beds at Premier Inn certainly not helping by being so inviting following a long day at school, followed by 12 hours of planes, trains and automobiles, then 6 hours of club-hopping. The German saying ‘Es ist nicht der Alkohol, der den Káter verursacht, sein Aufwachen” (it’s not the alcohol that causes the hangover, its waking up) never rang truer, and one that has always stuck with me since a trip to Bavaria and Austria in 2011. While no one pursues a hangover, travel, time change and revelry were quite the combo to contend with.
Venturing out into the bustling Spielbudenplatz, I found excellent Vietnamese at Com Nieu 21. While pho would have been a good option, a noodle salad and summer rolls with a Vietnamese iced coffee worked nicely to push through the aforementioned Káter. Taking a walk just a few minutes off the main drag, I found the city to be immediately quieter and residential, with kids playing, riding scooters and enjoying the day.
I walked down towards the Elbe River for a boat cruise and tour of the port area along with bloggers from Lithuania, Brazil and England. Drinking Astra beers and eating fried fish sandwiches fresh from the Elbe that day, the boat cruise was accentuated with great music and company amid canals reminiscent of Amsterdam, with twists and turns as we navigated the port. Spectacular views of the city and the Elbphilharmonie, where we would see a live performance that evening, gave a full scope view of the city to all.
The Louisiana Star riverboat and the Elbphilharmonie
Disembarking at the Elbphilharmonie in HafenCity, and part of the Speicherstadt warehouse district (a UNESCO World Heritage site), we could see theaters for Der König Der Löwen (The Lion King) and Eiskönigin (Frozen) across the river, each of which had their own ferry for patrons. Hamburg is, after all, the third largest city in the world for musicals, with Hamilton having opened on October 6.
Located in the Kontorhaus business district with the Chilehaus, the Elbphilharmonie opened on January 11, 2017 and serves as a symbol of the city’s past, present and future. With an old warehouse serving as the foundation, when the Elbphilharmonie was constructed, supports were built into the river to ensure stability for this landmark on the Elbe River.
Mine
More than a concert venue, the building houses a Westin hotel, apartments, restaurants, conference rooms and a spa, plus the original cranes, all at a 866 Million Euro cost; while that price tag was controversial, the venue is a boon to the city and a must visit for anyone seeking acoustically perfect performance spaces. With the full concert hall having seating for 2100 created in a terraced manner so that no seat was more than 30 meters from the stage, the venue itself is decoupled from the rest of the building, ensuring that the sound is pristine with no outside interference.
Acoustics are so acute thanks to 10,000 individually shaped gypsum fiber panels, with a design for classical music in mind that ensures sound is distributed to each and every corner. What’s more, an organ was built inside the walls, and the stage location gives nearly a theater-in-the-round perspective to all in attendance.
Taking a closeup look at the stage before a performance by Mine (Mee-na), I marveled at the arrangement of the seating, the proximity to the stage, and the music that we would be experiencing shortly. Taking a seat alongside Erik, a music critic from Copenhagen, this 75 minute performance, while entirely in German, stands out as one of the most spectacular of the festival, and the calendar year.
Mine
Entering the stage were a 13-piece band, including five strings, three backup singers and Mine, the lead singer who describes her music as “German-language folk with hip hop, jazz and electronic elements” arrived on stage and began a most symphonic performance. Joined by three additional drummers for the second song, not knowing German didn’t help, as Mine spoke to the audience between songs, with laughs and applause at times in a show that got more upbeat as it progressed.
Projections on the stage from overhead were mixed with lighting, with a South Asian flair added to each song via percussion, guitar and theremin. Joined by a New York letter jacket sporting Fatoni, whom Mine dueted with on “ROMCOM” in 2017, this James Corden lookalike (and thankfully not Corden) stayed for a few tunes to freestyle rap, eliciting approval from the audience.
Then the bagpipes began, with a piper coming in from the wings to crush the one song he was there to play. Mine continued into the performance, alternating between melodic solo songs and heavier full band engagements, bringing out a pink-haired vocalist for a song that drew huge applause, and establishing herself as the perfect artist to perform tonight in this monumental venue. A total of 21 musicians performed with Mine over the course of the show, and the audience gave a standing ovation the likes of which are rarely seen at American live music performances. Mine was a highlight of the weekend in a venue that is just as incredible as photos and videos show.
The CannaStock 2022 festival in Woodstock has been announced for Oct. 22 at the Colony Beer Garden from 1-6 p.m.
CannaStock is a 21+ consumer-friendly festival and an immersive cannabis experience with local and national cannabis brands. At the festival, there will be like-minded consumers and large amounts of exhibitors, also educational panels on topics such as how legalization will change our society. People can also learn about jobs within the cannabis industry too.
The festival is also featuring live music acts, including reggae music from Royal Khaoz and Live DJ sets with Max Glazer from Federation Sound. The CannaStock festival will also have free samples, so people can dance and have fun.
GA and VIP tickets are available here, and VIP tickets include early entry, access to the VIP Lounge, goodie bags, and complimentary snacks and beverages.
With THE ISLANDER: My Life in Music and Beyond (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books), Island Records’ founder Chris Blackwell secures his status as one of the most insightful, ballsy and successful label owners in the history of the rough-and-tumble record business. The swashbuckling, swing-for-the-fences Blackwell’s M.O. was finding and patiently nurturing musicians of true originality, artists who were often overlooked by larger labels due to their distinctive edge. This was the very thing that Island tirelessly exploited to turn them into stars, ones who both delighted critics and sometimes moved tens of millions of albums. Bob Marley, U2, Steve Winwood, Traffic, Cat Stevens, The B-52s, Nick Drake, Free, King Crimson, Roxy Music, Tom Waits, Robert Palmer, The Tom Tom Club, Brian Eno, Sparks, Grace Jones and The Cranberries are just the tip of Blackwell and Island’s roster of finds. The man would not only go on to create an indelible mark over six decades of modern music but extend it into the worlds of films, technology and high-end hospitality.
Blackwell’s story begins and ends in Jamaica. He is the son of rich Brits who came to the island shortly after his birth, the fortunate heirs to a 300-year-old food concern, Crosse & Blackwell. His wealthy family was at the center of a star-studded expat community in Jamaica at that time. It included Hollywood actor Errol Flynn, songwriter Noel Coward and, most notably, Ian Fleming. Fleming wrote all of his James Bond novels at his famed home GoldenEye, one that Blackwell now owns and runs as an exclusive resort. His mother Blanche was a muse for Fleming and the basis for two of his most memorable Bond paramours, Pussy Galore and Honeychilde Ryder. Blackwell would head back to England for school in his teens. It was there that he would become fascinated with the burgeoning popular music scene.
It is in Jamaica, however, where Blackwell begins to enter the music business. His first job is as a “selector” who would supply R&B records he bought in his international travels to Britain and New York City to the island’s far-flung jukeboxes and mobile “Sound System” djs like the legendary Coxsone Dodd and Tom the Great Sebastian. After a few misses in record production in Jamaica, Blackwell’s first big success come with the signing of 15-year-old singer Millie Smalls. Blackwell would become her guardian and take her to England where she would score a huge international hit with the ska-flavored “My Boy Lollipop.”
Blackwell’s long foray into rock would begin with the discovery of teenage Steve Winwood and the string of hits with his first band, The Spencer Davis Group. Island would then go on to champion Winwood’s next venture, Traffic. It was Blackwell who came up with the idea of getting them away from the city and up to a country cottage to create the music for their first album. Bands have been doing the “going to the country” thing ever since, thanks to Blackwell and Traffic.
While he didn’t sign them, it is Blackwell, through his then number-two Guy Stevens, who we have to thank for connecting aspiring poet/lyricist named Keith Reid with composer/singer/pianist Gary Brooker. Together, they who would go on to create Procol Harum and “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” perhaps the greatest orch-pop anthem of the Summer of Love. A great section of Blackwell’s memoir deals with the some now immortal names in British folk – Nick Drake, Fairport Convention and John Martyn – artists Blackwell inherited when he purchased Joe Boyd’s Witchseason label. His description of the powder keg when the alcohol-loving Martyn and eccentric Jamaica dub master/producer Lee “Scratch” Perry worked together are worth the price of the book alone. So, too, are the stories from his long-running relationship with Cat Stevens. It was Blackwell who helped turn this failing lightweight pop idol into one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the ‘70s. He also dealt with the artist’s unexpected retirement and named change spurred by his new found devotion to Islam in the early ‘80s.
Through the two recording studios he founded, London’s Basing Street Studios and Compass Point in Nassau, Chris Blackwell was a party to a huge cache of hits that didn’t, unfortunately, come out on his label, from the Talking Heads “Remain in Light” to AC/DC’s “Back In Black.”
Of course, the heart of this book is the story of his two most successful artists, Bob Marley and U2.
Blackwell would go on to give the former the cash to make his first album with a simple handshake. The label owner was with Marley every step of the way on his long climb to stardom, something which was only cemented with the release of Marley’s 1975 live album. Blackwell also dishes the sad facts of Marley’s death and his belief that the reggae great could’ve lived if he promptly dealt with his cancer at diagnosis. And, naturally, one of the true joys of his life is witnessing the impact Marley continues to have as a symbol of freedom to oppressed people throughout the world.
And just like The Beatles, U2 were pretty much turned down by every record company when Blackwell was finally strongarmed by his staff to sign the Irish rockers. As with many of his artists, Blackwell’s hands-off approach in the studio helped the band find and refine its voice, until it became the biggest in the world with the release of its 25-million selling 1987 album, “The Joshua Tree.”
Some of the best parts of the book are about the less-known scenes, such as his partnership with NYC-based ZE Records. This was the label behind early ‘80s “No Wave” bands/artists like James White and the Blacks, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Suicide, Mars, Was (Not Was) and Kid Creole and the Coconuts. With his label Mango Records, Blackwell was perhaps the most important catalyst for the global spread of reggae by artists like Burning Spear, Max Romeo, Sly & Robbie and Lee Perry. And with the Bill Laswell-led Axiom Records, Blackwell played a part in unleashing some of the most adventurous and uncompromising music coming out of Greenpoint Studios in Brooklyn. Axiom was the label behind albums by Praxis and Material and the noise guitar great Sonny Sharrock’s classic, “Ask The Ages.”
Blackwell’s memoir also provides the details on his move into films with the release of the reggae classic, The Harder They Come and his founding of Palm Pictures, which gave the world acclaimed films like The Basketball Diaries and Sex and Lucia. Also detailed is his early move into technology with the ultimately failed webcasting service, Sputnik 7. In 1989, Blackwell would sell his stake in Island to Polygram and leave the record business for good in 1997. He would go on to make savvy investments in Miami Beach real estate, which he would have to sell in one of his inevitable cash crunches (due to Sputnik 7’s flop). He would ultimately settle on running a collection of distinctive hotels and villas in Jamaica which he continues to operate today under the banner Island Outpost. Fun fact: Sting wrote “Every Breath You Take” while staying at Blackwell’s GoldenEye, the same place Apple founder Steve Jobs celebrated his 29th birthday.
Unlike some record company founder bios, Chris Blackwell humbly shares the credit for much of his success with his associates, chief among them producer and A&R man Guy Stevens. Blackwell also gives unvarnished views of his failures, like Sputnik 7, some promising singings that went south and his missed singing opportunities like Procol Harum and much of the early British punk scene.
For all the amazing achievements packed into its pages, Blackwell’s memoir is eminently readable, a tale imparted with the casual flow of a first-rate raconteur. It’s an absorbing recounting of one of the most remarkable lives, and longest winning streaks, in the fickle and constantly evolving world of popular music.
