The Garden of Dreams Talent Show will return to Radio City Music Hall after a two-year hiatus on April 13. The event was previously cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19.
Radio City Music Hall reopened for vaccinated audiences in May of 2021.
Young people from the tri-state area will take the stage and perform a variety of different acts. This year’s show will feature acts from the cancelled shows in 2020 and 2021.
The creative director of the Garden of Dreams Talent Show is rap icon and pioneer Darryl McDaniels of RUN DMC.
“I am thrilled that these exceptional kids will finally get the chance to bring their talents to Radio City Music Hall,” said McDaniels, who is also a member of the foundation’s board. “April 13 will be a night to remember, filled with joy, laughter, tears, and hope in the resiliency and spirit of the next generation – you won’t want to miss it!”
The Garden of Dreams Foundation is the charity foundation of Madison Square Garden Entertainment—the company that owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, and the Westchester Knicks. The Garden of Dreams Foundation provides educational opportunities and mentorship programs for kids in the New York area.
As the Queens community continues its upturn from the effects of the pandemic, various Queens-based arts and culture organizations have gathered to present, Queens Rising. A celebration of arts and culture, the month multi-disciplinary arts celebration was created to highlight the borough’s culture and creative diversity.
As the most diverse place on the planet, Queens is rich with an arts and culture community that reflects that diversity and its unmatched beauty. I’m thrilled Queens Rising will kick-off in the summertime to welcome visitors to the World’s Borough, said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.
Now more than ever, it’s important to showcase the resilience and creativity of our artists and cultural institutions — because even in the darkest days of the pandemic, culture never closed — as we work to rebuild our economy and come back stronger.
The initiative arose from an Arts Advisory Board meeting of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, with Northwell Health signing on as a leading sponsor. Comprised of a volunteer Planning Committee representing Queens arts and cultural institutions and several working Groups that includes over seventy-five artists, arts administrators, and other creatives from throughout the borough.
As such, part of the Queens rising mission will be to unify neighborhoods by providing audiences with easy-to-find event and calendar listings featuring artistic and cultural findings. Amplify venues, performance companies, cultural centers, institutions, while connecting artists, venues and businesses to provide as many opportunities as possible.
As a community hospital that not only serves the health care needs of Queens but also draws the majority of our staff from within the diverse neighborhoods that make up our borough, LIJ Forest Hills is Queens, said Lorraine Chambers Lewis, PA, Executive Director of Long Island Jewish Forest Hills, part of Northwell Health.
We were at the epicenter of COVID and came through it with the help of our community more resilient than ever. That’s why we’re so thrilled to be part of Queens Rising NYC to celebrate the rich tapestry of arts, culinary and creative communities that make our borough so unique.
Queens rising will provide its artists with the opportunity to promote themselves through Queens rising socials and other media, connect with performance and showing opportunities, as well as provide information on grants and funding.
Artists can click here to join the Queens Rising artist database. More information on Queens Rising can be found on their official website.
Just 15 minutes south of Syracuse is the small town of Lafayette, home to the Onondaga Reservation amid rolling hills and valleys. You’ll find a number of apple orchards in this area as well, including Beak and Skiff, whose concert series for Summer 2022 schedule features The Wood Brothers, Death Cab for Cutie, Primus, The War on Drugs and many more.
Beak and Skiff is a family owned orchard for five generations, dating back to 1911 when George Skiff, an onion farmer on the North Side of Syracuse, and Andrew Beak, a dairy farmer, met at the farmers market and decided to join forces and enter the emerging apple business. After finding a hillside area along Route 20 that provided the perfect conditions for growing apples, they started planting that very year.
In the 1920s, Beak and Skiff began selling apples to groceries stores via wholesale, and by the late 1970s, began making apples cider, the same year they opened Apple Hill Country Store. In the last 20 years, they have branched out again by creating the 1911 Established line of Hard Ciders, and created 1911 Spirits, the first Onondaga County brand to hold a distillery license and the first to produce gin.
Bringing a summer concert series to Beak and Skiff is DSP Shows, based in Ithaca, NY and Northampton, MA, is one of the leading independent concert promoters in America. The company was founded as Dan Smalls Presents in 2008 by Dan Smalls and became DSP Shows in 2015 with the addition of partner John Sanders. With shows throughout Upstate New York and New England – including The State Theatre of Ithaca, Brewery Ommegang, Daryl’s House, Asbury Hall at Babeville and many more, DSP shows presents a packed schedule of shows at Beak and Skiff for summer 2022. Compare to their 2021 season at Beak and Skiff.
Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards 2022 Summer Concert Schedule
Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards (LaFayette):
Tue. 5.24.22 | Sylvan Esso w/ Samia
Fri. 5.27.22 | Lake Street Dive w/ special guest Devon Gilfillian
Sat. 5.28.22 | Primus – A Tribute to Kings w/ special guest Battles
Tue. 5.31.22 | The Head And The Heart – Every Shade of Blue Tour 2022 w/ special guest Jade Bird
Sun. 6.5.22 | Bright Eyes w/ special guest Alex G
Tue. 6.7.22 | Modest Mouse w/ special guest The Cribs
Fri. 6.10.22 | The War On Drugs
Sun. 6.12.22 | The Wood Brothers & Guster
Wed. 6.29.22 | Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats w/ Antibalas
Fri. 7.8.22 | Phil Lesh & Friends
Tue. 7.12.22 | Death Cab for Cutie w/ illuminati hotties
Tue. 8.2.22 | Andrew Bird and Iron & Wine – Outside Problems Tour w/ Meshell Ndegeocello
Fri. 8.6.22 | Gov’t Mule
Tue. 8.9.22 | Dashboard Confessional & Andrew McMahon in The Wilderness w/ Armor for Slee[
Sun. 8.14.22 | Hear and There Festival: Courtney Barnett, Snail Mail, Faye Webster, Hana Vu
Tue. 8.16.22 | The Wild Hearts Tour: Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, and Julien Baker w/ special guest Spencer.
Sat. 8.20.22 | The Decemberists – Arise From The Bunkers! 2022 Tour w/ special guest Brigid Mae Power
Levon Helm Studios is proud to welcome back the Dirt Farmer Festival at Arrowood Farms in Accord, NY on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Artists will perform on two stages in addition to great local food vendors, craft beer, and other activities.
The initial lineup for The Dirt Farmer Festival includes the Midnight Ramble Band and Friends, Mavis Staples (Duo) and Amy Helm. Newly announced artists include Sam Evian, Oliver Wood, Conner Kennedy & The Onestar Band, Glen David Andrews, Owl & Crow, and Rock Academy with special guests Grahame Lesh, Sister Sparrow (Arleigh and Jackson Kinchloe), and Cindy Cashdollar with more to be announced.
Arrowood Farms is the Hudson Valley’s premier farm brewery located at 236 Lower Whitfield Rd, Accord, NY – 20 minutes west of New Paltz and 30 minutes southwest of Kingston.
There will be limited on-site parking available for $10 per car, with carpooling strongly encouraged. Gates open at noon and the evening of music ends at 9:30pm. Empty reusable water bottles are encouraged to refill water, as are low-backed chairs. The Dirt Farmer Festival will be held rain or shine. VIP Tickets will include access to VIP hangout area with exclusive viewing in front of the Main Stage, access to indoor flushable bathroom, complimentary hors d’oeuvres and VIP-only beer specials.
Watch Amy Helm perform “This Too Shall Light” in 2018.
The Great South Bay Music Festival presented by Blue Point Brewing Co. in Long Island has announced its lineup after a two-year hiatus due to COVID. It is set to return at Shorefront Park in Patchogue Village from Thursday, July 7 through Sunday, July 10. The festival is set to feature a lot of familiar bands and highlighting some local NY bands too.
The festival is celebrating its 14 year anniversary, and because of that there will be 55 performers across three stages all supporting a wide array of genres. To kick off the festival on July 7, indie-rockers Grouplove and Manchester Orchestra will co-headline, and Long Island local’s Bayside will support.
On July 8, reggae band Rebelution will be headlining, with supports Steel Pulse and Sublime tribute band Badfish. Other supports include Bumpin Uglies and Long Island band Oogee Wawa. On July 9, which is typically “Jam Day”, performing is one of the Grateful Dead’s most proud and popular tributes: Joe Russo’s Almost Dead. Returning is also rock band moe., and jazz band Galactic. Also joining the main stage is Long Island guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, who has shared the stage with Lady Gaga, Gregg Allman, and more. Also joining the stage is Weight Band and rockers Aqueous.
On the final day, July 10, The Tedeschi Trucks Band and the “Wheels of Soul” Tour will be performing, featuring the full 13pc. Tedeschi Trucks Band who are playing a two-hour set in their only metro NY appearance this summer. Also, appearing on the Main Stage will be Los Lobos and Gabe Dixon and his Band.
The Great South Bay Music Festival 2022 in Long Island will be happening July 7-July 10, and will have a mix of familiar bands and a great deal of light shone on local bands. Tickets to the festival can be found here.
This October, expect to see a whole lot more of Phil Lesh at The Cap. The legendary Grateful Dead bassist has just announced a nine-show residency at the historic Port Chester venue that will take place over the last three weekends, culminating in a Phil-o-Ween show on the 31st. With his “Friends” still yet to be announced, these shows will also commemorate the 100th show for Phil at The Cap since 2012.
A Deadhead destination and a quintessential venue in Phil Lesh history, The Capitol Theatre‘s Phil-o-Ween shows are always filled with musicians who like to push boundaries and create a mind-bending, high-octane, psychedelic experience in the Grateful Dead tradition.
Tickets will go on sale starting Friday, March 25 at 12PM and can be purchased through The Cap’s website here.
The tour will make two stops in New York. The first on August 13 at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater in Syracuse and the second, a day later, on August 14 at Jones Beach Theater.
This will be Alice in Chains’ first tour in over three years. The band will play songs from both its newest releases, “Rainier Fog” and “Black Gives Way To Blue”, and its classic albums “Dirt” and “Facelift”.
“We’re looking forward to finally hitting the road again this summer,” said Sean Kinney, the band’s drummer. “It’s been too long and we can’t wait to get outdoors and share a night of music with our fans again.”
Breaking Benjamin will be touring with Alice in Chains for the first time when they head out this summer.
“We are so extremely excited to be hitting the road with Alice In Chains and Bush,” said, Breaking Benjamin frontman, Ben Burley. It’s such an honor to share the stage with such amazing bands that we grew up listening to and have influenced us so very much! We can’t wait to see you all out there!!”
Welcome to Round 4 – the Elite 8 – of NYS Music’s March Madness 2022. Eight up and coming bands from across New York State have made it this far, as we highlight the next generation of bands on the rise.
Since 2015, New York State Music has crafted a March Madness competition that spans all the musical harbors of the Empire State. As fans and musicians, the NYS Music team aims to spotlight the great talent found across New York in a friendly contest, bringing broader attention to the next generation of artists and bands on the rise. March Madness 2022 highlights 64 bands and artists you might not know, but should know, as these homegrown talents are making waves through the New York State. Check out Round 3 here.
Enter your email address, get to know the bands, and vote for your favorites below!
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Bearsville Theater Region Thanks!vs Fine Grain
Meet Thanks! – Saratoga Springs
Thanks! is a six-piece rock outfit from Saratoga Springs, NY. Their style mixes influences of Blues, Alternative, Rock and Jazz together to create a unique and exciting sound. With melodic bass lines, jazz-infused drums, strong horn lines and roaring saxophone laced with deep, gritty vocals, Thanks! leaves audiences with a performance to remember each and every time they hit the stage. Check out their latest single, “I Choose You” and check out some of their other live performances on their website www.thebandthanks.com. You can also catch Thanks! live at Rockwood Music Hall on 3/24 and at Rare Form Brewing Co. in Troy on 3/26! Thanks! will also be hosting the Martin Family Benefit Concert on 4/3 at Putnam Place in Saratoga Springs!
Meet Fine Grain – Troy
Fine Grain, a shoegazy punk band from Albany took both the red and blue pills with a Genny and got banned from Trader Joe’s. The girthy tones of this gritty group will remind you of late nights on a stoop in September, your first beer after work, weird questions about your parents cephalopods, and of course, the crushing weight of capitalism. Fine Grain is currently in the studio at Brunswick Recording, working on new music, and have been incorporating visual projections that sync up to their music, intensifying the experience for fans.
Funk n Waffles Region Sydney Irving and the Mojovs Gooseberry
Meet Sydney Irving and the Mojo – Syracuse
Sydney Irving and the Mojo, based in Syracuse, features 18 year old Sydney Irving, who has been named the 2020 young adult artist of the year by the International Singer Songwriters Assocation, where she will perform this summer in Atlanta, GA. Her band ‘The Mojo’ includes Evan Tennant on drums, Luke Hart on Lead Guitar and Randy Tennant on Bass. They’ll be performing across New York and three other states this summer. Sydney received the Brian Bourke Award for Best New Artist at the 2022 Syracuse Area Music Awards. Catch the band at Turning Stone Casino “The Gig” on March 26 and Turning Stone Casino “Turquoise Tiger” on April 1. Watch “Seasons Change” below.
Meet Gooseberry – Brooklyn
Gooseberry is a 4-piece band from Brooklyn, born during the Fall of 2019. Their combination of blues, R&B, and indie rock is a recipe for a unique sound that Gooseberry delivers in each song. Listen to their recently released single “Sleep” below.
DSP Shows Region Seize Atlantis vs All Poets & Heroes
Meet Seize Atlantis – Glens Falls
Seize Atlantis has a unique, tight sound fueled by punchy bass, hard-driving percussion, melodic lead guitar, and pronounced moody vocals with meaningful lyrics, a truly dynamic range of soft to heavy Alternative Rock. Formed in 2019 out of Glens Falls, Seize Atlantis is a four-piece band most closely influenced by bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, providing their own spin on a variety of covers from classic rock to modern pop in addition to their own original music. Catch them on Friday, March 18 at Mean Max Brew Works in Glens Falls and on April 22 at Empire Underground with Under the Den, Bad Mothers, and Sydney Worthley. Watch “The Unstoppable Groove” below.
Meet All Poets and Heroes – Syracuse
photo by Nicole Morelli
In the summer of 2015, Rob McCall & Corey Jordan met and founded All Poets & Heroes out of their hometown of Syracuse. That summer, the duo began crafting a sound that explored resonating folk melodies with that of the sensible nostalgia that filled the 90s alternative music scene. Since then, the duo has grown into a full-fledged band developing towards an introspective project that aims to challenge listeners to feel, and to feel deeply. They’ll be at Funk n Waffles on April 15, and you can pre-save their next single, “21,” here, out on March 25. Listen to Occhiolism below.
The Helping Friendly Hemp Company Region HANZOLO vs Big Time Kitty
Meet HANZOLO – Upstate
HANZOLO is a 7-piece band from Upstate New York, toting an explosive and emotional sound that mixes soul, jazz, rock, and funk. Their songs are dance-ably fun with thoughtful lyrics, backed up by a bright horn section. The band’s website contains videos and upcoming tour dates with shows in Albany, Ithaca and the Cooperstown Blues Express. Watch the video for “Not Easy” below.
Meet Big Time Kitty – the Adirondacks
Big Time Kitty (B.T.K.). Is a funky ass two man band based out of the Adirondacks. Catch them this summer at The Hub in Brant Lake NY on May 7, Paradox Brewery in North Hudson on July 16th and in Lake George on July 22. Their SoundCloud page gives you a taste of both their original hits and cover selections like “2001” and “Tubthumping.”
Voting for Round 4 has closed. Stay tuned for The Final 4 starting on Monday, March 21 at 10am!
NYS Music has partnered with businesses across New York State to highlight these 64 up and coming bands. Regional sponsors include Funk n Waffles, a premiere music venue in Syracuse established in 2007 with a unique take on the culinary and entertainment industries, offering a wide variety of gourmet waffles and breakfast food, as well as offering live music every night! Bearsville Theater in Woodstock is where Americana was born – where Dylan took folk music and married it to Rock & Roll. where folk went electric, and where Janis took a breath and recuperated, before launching her hurricane energy and heart stopping songs out into the world. Renovated in 2019-2020, Bearsville Theater has an impressive calendar of shows for Hudson Valley music lovers.
DSP Showsbased in Ithaca, NY and Northampton, MA, is one of the leading independent concert promoters in America, with shows at venues including State Theatre of Ithaca, Hangar Theatre, The Haunt, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, Brewery Ommegang, Asbury Hall, The 9th Ward at Babeville, and Daryl’s House among others. The Helping Friendly Hemp Companyoffers a wide variety of industry leading products including tinctures, soft chews, and hemp flower, using only USA grown hemp extract.
The winners of each region will be rewarded with a collection of prizes worth $3000. Partners for NYS Music’s March Madness 2022 include Mirth Filmsfrom Albany, a music news/entertainment outlet that specializes in original video content and live streaming, with news coverage ranging across the whole country, who will provide a professional multi-camera recording session at a prestigious venue in Albany for the winning band, premiering exclusively on Mirth Films.
The XPerience Monthly is the greater Capital Region’s alt-monthly newspaper, bringing independent music and thought provoking articles to the area. The XPerience Monthly will feature the winning band in a newspaper profile and interview this summer.
The Canadian Celtic-Folk Rock Band, The Town Pants have announced their final tour as a band with their 25th Anniversary Tour. In March, the band will perform a pair of St. Patrick’s Day shows – on March 17 in Ottawa, Ontario at the Hard Rock Casino on March 17th, and in Buffalo at Buffalo Iron Works on March 18th.
The Town Pants were created in 1997 in Vancouver by brothers Duane and Dave Keogh. For the last 25 years the Celtic-Rock Band released eight full length albums, toured Europe five times, headlined major music festivals throughout North America, led three tours of Ireland and Scotland with fans along and now finishing with their 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour for 2022.
Throughout 2022, the band will return to the regions that have shown tremendous support to the band over the years with their final shows. The band will finish their Anniversary Celebration with a bus tour of Scotland which fans are welcomed to join them on.
The Town Pants are hosting their online event of the month on March 13th through the platform Side Door Access. Event tickets for all March shows are available by visiting thetownpants.com
Chenango Blues Fest returns to the Chenango County Fairgrounds for its 29th anniversary in August 2022. Headlined by Jimmie Vaughan, the two day event will run from August 19th to the 20th.
While the line up has yet to be announced, festival-goers can expect a wide range of blues entertainment. Legendary acts will join the genre’s newest members to create two days of fun and musical memories. The Infield Stage will host Jimmie Vaughan, as well as a number of award winning artists, while the Tent Stage will host acts hailing from California, Chicago, Texas and beyond.
The NBT Thursday Concert Series will also be making its return to Norwich’s East Park. The entire concert series will have free attendance and feature artists from a variety of genres, from Bluegrass and Jam Bands to Zydeco and Jazz. In addition to the wide musical selection, there will be food trucks and a beer garden. Shows will be held every Thursday, starting 7/7 at 7 PM and continuing into August.
The Chenango Blues Fest is organized by the Chenango Blues Association, in collaboration with NBT Bank and other local donors. More information on both the Chenango Blues Fest and NBT concert series can be found here.
