Lollapalooza returns to Chicago for four days of fun and music. From July 28-31, festival goers can expect performances from some of today’s biggest and brightest, as well as rising stars and Chicago natives.
Headliners include Doja Cat, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa, Metallica, Machine Gun Kelly and Green Day, among others. Chicago native like 100 Gecs, John Summit and Horsegirl, will also be performing, as well as those who found fame through social media like PinkPanthress, Remi Wolf and Pi’erre Bourne.
This year’s Lollapalooza features more than 170 musical acts, along with nine different stages and the return of Kidzapalooza. The interactive playground includes family friendly performances, activities, workshops, and more. The Bonus Tracks Stage will allow festival goers to practice mindfulness and inclusivity between musical performances.
Behind the scenes, Lollapalooza has worked to contribute to the community by creating a number of programs and initiatives. Fans can help improve sustainability by returning the cups they use during the festival for a chance to win exclusive prizes like VIP ticket upgrades, festival cash and more.
Lolla Cares focuses on providing Chicago’s youth with access to the Arts. Following the creation of the Lollapalooza Arts Education Fund, the festival was able to donate over $2 million to support art programs within Chicago public schools. Lolla Cares has also partnered with After School Matters to support programs that give Chicago teens the chance to learn new artistic skills and display their work at Lollapalooza.
Four day tickets are available now and one day tickets will be available at a later date. Kids 10 and under attend for free.
Each Sunday evening from 7-9pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up and coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from, Planet Kniffen, Hasty Page, Phantom Suns, and many more!
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
Planet Kniffen – “Peace Journey”
An eclectic, forward-thinking jazz ensemble, Planet Kniffen showcases the writing of drummer and bandleader Darryl Kniffen. The band released their debut effort Dreamlandin April 2018, an album that showcased their cross-pollinated blend of post-bop and electric fusion. Prior to forming the group, Kniffen, an Upstate New York native, studied at Crane School of Music, and embarked on a lucrative freelance and teaching career.
Phantom Suns – “Cordeyceps”
Phantom Suns hail from Burlington, VT and are self-described as performing riffy and melodic Alternative Rock, comprised of Seth Gundersen, Chris Mathieu, Chris Knauer, and Tristan Baribeau.
Hasty Page – “No 1”
Hasty Page is a group of talented musicians from Upstate New York that came together to create an exciting, inspirational alternative rock experience for their fans. Their original music paints a theatrical image through the use of creative lyrics and intricate musicianship. With a mix of popular cover tunes and invigorating original music, their live shows are sure to entertain.
“We hold a crazy standard. If every song doesn’t break a benchmark of something we’ve already done, then it’s not there yet. It’s not right.” This is how Nick Reese, lead singer for Joyous Wolf, describes the work ethic behind the writing and recording of the band’s debut full length album due out this year.
Signed to Roadrunner Records in 2018, the Southern California based band quickly put out an EP “Place in Time,” releasing it in early 2019. From the EP came the single “Mother Rebel.” The song made its way to rock stations across the U.S, including SIRIUSXM’s Octane. “That kind of lifted us to where we could be,” Nick shared. “If that didn’t even happen, I don’t know if we would have had this record the way it is.”
Joyous Wolf
Fueled by the momentum from “Mother Rebel,” Joyous Wolf hit the road performing at festivals and booking multiple dates/tours opening for Slash, Buckcherry, and Deep Purple. Then Covid hit. Like many bands, their progression stopped in its tracks.
“The pandemic happened, and a lot happened during the pandemic. It almost tore us to shreds. As it did to a lot of people.” Reese shares. The band reconvened in July of 2020 to assess the health of the foursome and determine their next steps. “We had a lot of time to think about what kind of band we wanted to be, what we wanted to do, what we wanted to say.”
Looking back at the recording of their EP, Nick identifies it as “primordial” with most of the songs written in two weeks. However, for the new album a different approach was taken. “When it came time to writing and recording it was about taking time. Everything now is about time. “
“I think we got the gears turning again. We started this kind of going through all the things we had been kicking around up until that point. We probably went through a hundred audio files on phones and whatever, checking things out saying ‘Oh that’s cool, that ten seconds of that thirty-minute thing was cool, stuff like that’, We got a couple of things from that.”
Nick Reese, Joyous Wolf
“We went out to Joshua Tree. We wrote out there. A couple of songs were yielded from that. We kept chipping away at things. Some songs we re-wrote the entire song except for this thirty seconds that we liked. Re-writing 5, 6, 10 or more times. We took that whole year for writing. We finished recording in around May (2021). It was pretty much about a year’s worth of work.”
“This is the first time we wrote things and trashed them even when we got to pre-production with them. It was like this is not it, but the rest of this is. Then ‘Fearless’ kind of came in the ninth inning, and the way it worked out, everyone seemed to like it, and they said, ‘That’s the first single.’”
We had a lot of time to think about what kind of band we wanted to be, what we wanted to do, what we wanted to say.
In addition to being lead vocalist, Reese is the primary lyricist for the band. “We all have our purpose. Mine is to write and to sing. That’s where it’s been for me. I just want to write the best stuff. Write honestly. Not try to take advantage of things. It’s me. It’s not me trying to pander or something. The key to myself if its edible then the song is good. I just want to write good music. I want to say what I feel.”
When it comes to the new album, “it’s a really naked record for me. It’s a very personal record to me as far as lyrics. I think you can do whatever the hell you want in music. For me it was what I needed to do. If you asked me, why did you do it, it’s because I had to. I really felt like I had to. I just want to make sure that whatever I’m going to put out there is an honest thing about myself so if you want to get to know me as a person, just listen to every song.”
“‘Fearless’ is about when I was a kid, I was just an idiot. I would be the first person to jump off the waterfall cliffs and if there were waves, giant waves on the beach I would sprint right down and right into them. I liked that. To this day, I am still that same way. I hung by my feet upside down at Las Rageous festival and got banned for life. They did not like that. But I did it. There is this thing in my head, ‘Nah, this is not the time you die yet.’ I’ve always been that kind of a dare devil. “
When Covid put the band on hiatus, Nick took the opportunity for some personal growth. “Over the pandemic I had all this free time and after the three months of depression were over, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to relearn how to sing. Top to bottom.’” To achieve this Reese enlisted vocal coach, Melisa Cross. “She broke it down for me scientifically,” Nick notes. “She went and watched every live video of me singing and said, ‘OK here’s the things you are doing right and here’s what you can improve on,’ never using the word wrong. She (shared) your body is your body, and you know your body. There is a lot of gain to that, and it’s been great.”
Joyous Wolf
Having cut their tour teeth opening for some heavy hitters, what did the band take away from those experiences? “I didn’t really learn anything, but I learned about touring, and I watched performances and I obviously picked up some things. I learned a lot watching Myles Kennedy (lead vocalist in Slash’s backing band Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators) perform. Very inspiring especially in the new format of myself. If anything, my tour manager obviously taught me everything about touring. Like, ‘Don’t talk to this person just go straight to your corner.’ I learned how to live on the road, mainly by doing it. There wasn’t a band that said, ‘Hey we’re going to teach you how this goes.’ It was never like that. Usually, it was staying out of the way of the bands and if they welcome you into their circle (great). But we’re pretty good at staying quiet and out of the way.”
As the final touches are being put on the yet to be named album, Joyous Wolf is heading out on the road for a three-month run across the U.S. The band will be opening for Dorothy on her “Gifts from the Holy Ghost” tour. So, what is it like on the road with these up-and-coming rockers? “We never have any issues. People ask us is there problems or turmoil and there is nothing that would be entertaining. Nothing that would be an actual issue. Nothing that would be exciting like Mötley Crüe bullshit, you know what I mean, nothing like that. We are not that way. I think people see how underwhelming we are when they hang around us.”
“I remember our tour manager (Stripes) when he first signed on to be our tour manager in early 2019. He thought he would be carrying dudes passed out on his shoulder and whatever. Then he realized that after the first show when he was still in the venue after the show was over and he was like where the hell did they go and he walked out to the van and there the four us were playing Mario Kart. I think at that moment he realized this was going to be a boring tour. We are not that type.”
Joyous Wolf
While subdued behind the scenes, the band is anything but when performing live. Electricity flows from the first note. Greg Braccio on base, and Robert Sodaro on drums set a rock-solid foundation for the songs to live on. Blake Allard’s guitar paints the musical canvas with his piercing leads and power chords. And Nick completes the picture, sharing the depth and breath of every song with his vocals.
Nashville needed Upstate New York for the upcoming film Panama before it could arrive in theaters.
Panama is loosely based on a true story of a special operations guy (Cole Hauser, who plays Rip on Yellowstone) getting mixed up in the US invasion of Panama in 1989. Mel Gibson stars as his point man in the military. The film is directed by Mark Neveldine (Crank) with music composed by Central New York native now in Nashville, Mick Fury.
Neveldine, was born and raised in Watertown, and called upon Fury to compose the score in his studio. Stunt coordinator/actor Frank Blake, also from Watertown, organized his team from his home base in Nashville. Fury shares how we connected together with the film crew:
So initially they liked some of my old Rock band (from Syracuse) Silent Fury’s music and asked to license that. A month later when I got officially hired I first got to sit with the director and hear what emotion he was hoping to present in each particular scene. They call this a “spotting session.” After spent a few hours on that, I hopped into my studio with a rough cut of the film and got to work. Most of the score was scenes you would guess, gun fights, drama, chase scenes, military stuff…but there’s a few scenes with some pretty intense love making happening. Certainly never expected my career to take a turn for softcore porn music! Lol. It wasn’t really that graphic, but it is intense and it’s a unique inspiration to compose for.
In Panama, Fury paints a soundscape of 80’s influences from cumbia (the folk music of Panama) to synthesizers to straight up rock n’ roll.
Photo Credit Brett Berwager
I was working on the film as they were editing the video, which is not typically how its done. Usually they would finish the video and then send it to me, but the music is such an integral part of this film they wanted me in on the ground floor. As such, sometimes I’d score a scene, think it was great and send it…only to get an email back with the scene looking and feeling totally different, and a request of “Do you mind looking at this again?” When we’d finished the film, I felt great…until they asked the video team for a few major changes, including the “tone of the film.” That required me to re-score almost the whole thing a second time. Wild and not highly recommended, however I learned so much the first time through that the second time through my compositions were much much better and really helped to nail the mood.
Looking back, Fury says he has blocked the six months of struggle, sweat, blood and tears and only remembers a really fun experience that was artistically rewarding. And he can’t wait to do another.
I have some connections in the movie world, including to the director of this film. It’s Mark Neveldine who did Crank with Jason Statham. I asked if I could get a song in Panama, and he said send something along and they’d see. I did, he and the production company liked it and asked for more. I sent more, and then more again, and again. I was driving across the Golden Gate bridge a few weeks later with my wife on vacation when I got a call asking, “Well, do you think you could score the whole movie?” I had no idea if I could but of course I said yes and here we are lol.
Panama will release on Friday, March 18th on digital and in theaters.
Rick Barton, founding guitarist of the Dropkick Murphys, is still making music with his son Stephen in his current band Continental.
Leaving the Dropkick Murphy’s was no easy decision, with Barton once telling the Fort Wayne Reader why he quit the band in 2000, mid-recording the band’s third album. “Myself and Kenny (Casey, bass player and co-founder) ended up hating each other,” Barton said. “We’ve since made amends, but you know, touring in a band for four straight years… that same old story.
Photo by Jaroslava Barton This is Rick’s band Continental
Now touring with Continental, Barton spoke with Rob Smittix of RadioRadioX on a variety of topics, including his time with Dropkick Murphys.
RRX: Many people may or may not know that you were an original founding member of the Dropkick Murphys, we don’t have to focus on it but certainly we should touch on it.
RB: Especially because it’s the 25th anniversary of the legendary album Do or Die.
RRX: I know you have stories but to briefly sum it up. What would you say about your experience?
RB: It was an incredible time in my life but at the time I didn’t know it was incredible. One of the most interesting stories from that whole record was sitting outside of my garage in Quincy, that was our practice space. Lars Frederiksen from Rancid flew in, he was staying at my place because the practice space was right next to it. We congregated outside of the garage, we were sitting around talking and he recently produced Swingin’ Utters’ The Streets of San Francisco album. We were talking about sales, and he said you’d probably be lucky if you did what Swingin’ Utters did, they’ve sold 10,000 and I just looked at everybody and said we’re going to sell 50,000 easily. I broke all punk rock ethos and cred at that moment by blurting that out! Obviously, the album has gone on to surpass way more than 50,000. I’ll never forget saying that but at the same time I didn’t think that we were that great. I kind of knew, when we pulled into Buffalo and there’d be 500 kids lined up. We’re pulling in with the van and I’m like who are these kids? Are they actually there to see us?
My original band Outlets did very little touring. Bands back then didn’t tour, you only toured if you were on a major label. The band that bypassed that and jump started the rest of the bands was The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Around 88′, 89′ or whatever, they got in the van and they toured. They were one of the first ones from Boston. So anyway, we pull up to these places and I was like this is unbelievable. I knew the phenomena, The Outlets became huge in Boston, we would play for 1200 seat rooms within our first year as a band. I understood fans coming to see your band, but I just didn’t think it was possible in another city. You know what I mean?
RRX: Absolutely but I’ve never achieved that.
RB: Not many people have. Compared to the amount of people that start bands it’s astronomically low.
RB: But why are they coming? Are they coming because we have bagpipes? Are they coming because of our name? Did they like a certain song? Keeps you wondering about all of this stuff. We were fairly new at that point. Matt Kelly the drummer had some experience but besides from him and me, we weren’t really that seasoned. Mike and Kenny were both brand new at music.
I go to see the Dropkick Murphys all of the time and I love listening to Kenny talk from the stage. He cracks me up. The things that he says, it’s like the opposite of Paul Stanley at a Kiss concert. I often say that if the old legends came back from the grave and they dropped in on a Murphys show and heard Kenny talking from the stage they’d be like what the hell is this? What did the mayor of Boston form a punk rock band? It’s not typical banter but I love it!
One thing he says a lot from stage is “I don’t know how other people do it but this is the only band I’ve ever had.” That is so rare.
I helped, obviously Mike was instrumental, and Matt Kelly is an incredible drummer but it’s really Kenny’s brain child. It’s just an unbelievable story, it’s fascinating and at the time, sadly, I kind of resented Kenny, not kind of, I did. I was hanging onto the old guard, like all of my old music friends who were so talented and never got anywhere. Even though I was in his band, I was resentful, I was jealous. We’ve made amends with each other, but Kenny and I ended up hating each other after five years in the band. We both stepped it up and talked about the experience. He’s credited me with basically helping him develop his career because he says he couldn’t have done it without me. That’s probably true, not that he couldn’t have done it because I was Rick Barton, he just needed somebody that was just going to make up some chords and show him some songs. It just happened to be me. It wasn’t like Kenny and I were this magical duo, although we did write some pretty good songs together. It’s kind of mind blowing when I look back now 25 years later, it’s pretty incredible that we put that together.
Let’s face it, Mike quit after the first record, Kenny was not easy to deal with, but I didn’t realize why. The reason he was so brutal was because that was the only way to succeed. We needed that person who was going to be worrying and stressing around the clock and that was Kenny’s job. Like I’ve said, I’ve apologized to him for not being a team player. I’m not lamenting the fact that I quit the band. I don’t know what would’ve happened if I had a million dollars or if I became a rock-star if I stayed in the band. Maybe the band would’ve imploded eventually who knows? I also like to think that if we kept the original line-up, we probably could’ve been the next Clash. It would’ve ended up going in a different direction than they ended up going in. Needless to say, I feel somewhat embarrassed that I didn’t realize how much suffering Kenny was doing. I just thought he was a bastard the whole time. The typical thing workers feel about their boss. You know what I mean?
RRX: Oh, for sure.
RB: Of course, now I realize it was me. I should’ve adapted and helped Kenny. I should’ve been there every step of the way encouraging him. In my defense there were a few times I tried to make peace. I came up to him and I said Kenny I know we just can’t get along, but you know certain songs like “Wheel of Misfortune” we wrote together and it’s really inspirational and it feels like a magical moment. I would occasionally try to get sentimental and patch things up through the art. He’d just go yeah FU let’s go play. He didn’t want any part of that BS sentimentality thing, but it wasn’t really BS it was heartfelt on my part. But it was too little too late at that point. The good news is that even though I didn’t capitalize monetarily, no one knows who the F*** I am, a very few people which is fine with me in a way. I have those moments from like January of 96′ until I was still working on the third album March or April of 2000. It was a short amount of time a little over four years. It was an intense period of time; we made tons of music and did tons of touring. So, no matter how much I didn’t gain, I have that time period in my life that was magical. And as much as I thought Kenny was ruining my time on the planet at that time, I was wrong about that. It doesn’t matter now. I think about the music we made, the people I met and that incredible time in my life. It was a gift to me that was given.
Rick Barton is still making music with his son Stephen Barton in his current band Continental and has recently hit the studio so be on the lookout for new music soon!
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
Warmer days are on the horizon, and Umphrey’s McGee is heading out for a full spring and summer tour for 2022, including a stop at Paper Mill Island Amphitheatre in Baldwinsville, 20 minutes Northwest of Syracuse.
What’s more, among the swing through the Northeast in June and July – with a pair of Red Rocks shows June 17-18 with Lespecial and Andy Frasco and the U.N. as openers – they’ll team up with the Disco Biscuits for 8 shows in June and August.
Pairing up the Disco Biscuits and Umphrey’s McGee for these shows harkens back to the first ‘D.U.M.B.’ tour since 2007, which featured collaborations between the two bands. They also shared the bill of Trancegression Festival in Colorado that year, and have teamed up as ‘Brain Damaged Eggmen,” where Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger and Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee, perform with Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits perform songs of The Beatles and Pink Floyd.
Tickets for Umphrey’s McGee Summer Tour 2022 shows go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 18 at 10 a.m. local time. Presales are scheduled to start on Wednesday, March 16 at 10 a.m. ET using BISCOMCGEE as the code and will continue through March 17 at 10 p.m. ET.
A ticket pre-sale will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 16th at 10am ET with a public on sale on Friday, March 18th at 10am ET. Find tickets here.
Jun 04, 2022 – St. Augustine, FL ^ Jun 05, 2022 – St. Augustine, FL ^ Jun 09, 2022 – Bridgeport, CT + Jun 10, 2022 – Baltimore, MD + Jun 11, 2022 – Portland, ME + Jun 12, 2022 – Essex Junction, VT + Jul 08, 2022 – Baldwinsville, NY * Jul 10, 2022 – Selbyville, DE * Jul 14, 2022 – Outer Banks, NC * Jul 15, 2022 – Asbury Park, NJ * Jul 16, 2022 – Thornville, OH Aug 18, 2022 – Indianapolis, IN + Aug 19, 2022 – Maryland Heights, MO + Aug 20, 2022 – Pelham, TN + Aug 21, 2022 – Pelham, TN +
^ – presale code: smallstrides on 3/17 at 10am * – presale code: smallstrides + – presale code: BISCOMCGEE
Connecticut jam band Goose came to Cleveland and played to a packed house at the Agora Theater on Thursday, March 9th. They wasted little time before venturing deep into improvisational territory as the opening “Tumble” stretched out to nearly 30 minutes. Three well placed covers kept the audience on their toes including Father John Misty’s “Writing a Novel.” While the second set featured “Use Me” by Bill Withers and finally they encored with Devo’s “Whip It,” which included Jon ‘Coach’ Lombardi on rainstick.
See Plus, an indie-pop band from Rutherford, NJ, shines through on their new release, “The Sun.” For some people, despite the warm days, sunny skies, and perfect beach days, summer can be a depressing time filled with heartache and desolation.
See Plus highlights this feeling with immaculate precision. Containing sunny vibrant chords, intimate lyrics on heartbreak, and charming percussion, the four-piece band shows that they can create indie bangers on the level of their contemporaries. “The Sun” is a must-have for any indie beach playlist this summer.
The band is no stranger to the New York scene. Before the pandemic, the band played in city venues like Arlene’s Grocery, The Bitter End, and The Knitting Factory. With live music returning, they will be playing two shows in New Jersey. The first of these shows will be Debonair Music Hall on March 13th and the second of which will be at Ramapo College of New Jersey on March 22nd.
With over 150,000 streams on Spotify, 2500 followers on Instagram, and a growing discography, See Plus is an indie quartet to keep an eye on. “The Sun” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube. For more information on the band, visit the band’s website.
Ukrainian band BlazerJacket is quite literally living with explosions and Russian armed forces nearby. Despite the hardships they are facing, they have released their new single and video for “Get Out.”
BlazerJacket’s cover art for “Get Out.”
According to the NYTimes, NYC is home to over 150,000 Ukrainian Americans, the largest community of its kind in the country. The situation in Ukraine might cause this number to rise, with an influx of refugees. NYC is a melting pot of different music and musical influences as cultures have come together over the past four centuries.
As one would imagine, “Get Out” has taken on a new meaning as of late. Originally, the song was about being drawn into Stockholm Syndrome and its effects, about trying to get out of an abusive and parasitic society. Now, it could be interpreted of having Ukraine be peaceful again, and how the events are affecting the band.
BlazerJacket was formed in Kyiv by Denis Cherryman (The Cherry Men / Dirty Bird 13) and Hybri Mod. Their aesthetic is based on their love for science fiction novels. They combine different elements of rock and electronics to transform their sound.
The song and video are dark and loud with a lot of electronic beats happening as the singer screams “get out!” It is a song you can dance to and really absorb its message. The video is unique in that it was first performed at the Comic Con Ukraine music stage in 2021. They captured the moments of that performance and inserted them into the video.
BlazerJacket’s new song “Get Out” is out now, and is both important and influential considering current events in Ukraine right now.
On Thursday, March 10 at 8pm, The City Winery in New York City will put on a benefit concert for Ukraine through the Come Back Alive foundation, the largest foundation providing support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The benefit concert will be hosted by Ukrainian singer Eugene Hütz his band Gogol Bordello. There will also be performances by The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn & Franz Nicolay, Jesse Malin, Lady Lamb, Marc Roberge from O.A.R., Matisyahu, Patti Smith, The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, Suzanne Vega, and more.
Ukraine belongs to Ukrainians! We are an ancient independent nation distinctly and forever different from this criminally insane neighbor. The proof you all see now in the fierce mind-blowing battle that the world is witnessing, a battle of Ukrainian people’s choice of freedom and democracy against psychotic totalitarian regime next door. Please help us to win this battle, help us to end this catastrophe immediately and bring the intruder to justice. Please stand with Ukraine in the battle for its democracy and freedom. Please Donate and Fundraise with us. Ukraine needs all of you. All your support counts.
Eugene Hütz
Tickets are sold out but there is a waitlist. Additional donations may be made here. Additionally, City Winery will produce a limited edition, custom labeled wine which will be available at the benefit concert and online.
