MSG Entertainment has announced that two brand new Trey Anastasio solo acoustic performances have been scheduled next month at the artist’s unofficial home away from home, the legendary Beacon Theatre. The two shows will take place on August 19 and 20, with tickets going on sale to the general public on Thursday, July 28 at noon ET via Ticketmaster.com. These two shows are also being used as a dry run of sorts to test out the Beacon’s groundbreaking new sound system called Sphere Immersive Sound that promises to deliver targeted, crystal-clear and uniform audio to every seat in the house.
February 10, 2009; Beacon Theatre in its final days of restoration.
Sphere Immersive is being boasted as the world’s most advanced concert audio system, and was developed for MSG Sphere at The Venetian, which is scheduled to open in Las Vegas sometime in the second half of 2023. It uses uses 3D audio beamforming technology where sound levels remain consistent from point of origin to destination – ensuring every audience member experiences the optimal sound mix, regardless of where they’re seated. Anastasio’s August performances at The Beacon will mark the first time that this innovation is being integrated into a performance venue, as well as the debut of MSG Sphere technology to audiences.
Las Vegas Exosphere Render
I was lucky enough to experience a demo of Sphere Immersive Sound, and it’s truly unbelievable. I am thrilled to be able to debut this cutting-edge technology at the Beacon Theatre, one of my favorite venues in the world.
~ Trey Anastasio
Anastasio, a fellow Upper West Side resident, continues to build his ever-growing relationship with the historic Beacon Theatre, most recently playing there in June 2021 when he performed to the venue’s first full-capacity crowd in more than 450 days. In another first for the venue, Anastasio was tabbed for The Beacon’s first-ever virtual residency in October and November 2020 with “The Beacon Jams” – eight weekly shows that were streamed live to hundreds of thousands of fans over Twitch and raised more than $1 million for The Divided Sky Foundation.
In addition to online sales, tickets will also be available in person beginning on Friday, July 29 at the Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre box offices.
Widespread Panic held their long-awaited 5-night residency at New York City’s Beacon Theatre this from Thursday, July 21st to Monday, July 25th. The Athens, Georgia band had performed in February and March 2020 just before the pandemic set in, and this new run of shows had been long anticipated and originally scheduled for September, 2021. The shows were pushed to January 2022 then again to July. NYS Music was there on opening and closing night – check out photos from Night 1 and show as well as the setlists and video.
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The atmosphere of the historic theater was electric at the start of the residency. The sidewalks were filled with small vendors selling all sorts of fan art, jewelry and merchandise. Fans were walking up to groups of people handing out stickers and fliers. The official merchandise table was as busy as can be, even with all the competition with numerous t-shirt options outside on the street. Fans were piling in, excited to see what songs would be played on night one.
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The setlist for night one was just what you would expect from Widespread Panic: a surprising career spanning set with various covers and extended jams. After playing “Goodpeople”, the band played “Dark Star” with a “Goodpeople” reprise at the end. Set two featured covers from War (Four Cornered Room), The Beatles (You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away), and Bloodkin (Henry Parsons Died).
Widespread Panic, Beacon Theatre, 7/21/2022. Photo by Buscar Photo
The run continued at the Beacon Theatre on Monday, with a compact first set featuring huge versions of ‘Hatfield’ and ‘Tie Your Shoes’ which segued cleanly into the set closing “Blackout Blues.” Set 2 was straight fire from the get-go with a party starting “Disco” that pushed into ‘”Big Wooly Mammoth” and from there things only got hotter. A long sandwich of “Chilly Water” > “Surprise Valley” > “Arleen” > “Surprise Valley” > “Chilly Water” was as fulfilling as it sounds, with the crowd letting loose as the run came closer to the end. A stand alone “Airplane” by Jerry Joseph preceded two more fiery tunes to close the show, “Postcard” > “Conrad.”
What followed was a 5-song encore – only the fourth five-song single encore in Panic’s 36 year history – and the song selection could not have been finer. Paying tribute to old friends, legends and inspirations, they began with Col. Bruce Hampton, and his song “Basically Frightened” (also the name of a great documentary on the Colonel) before shifting into an unexpected “Mountain Jam.” Panic does not cover Allman Brothers Band tunes very often, maybe a tease here and there, but a proper “Mountain Jam” with former ABB guitarist Jimmy Herring leading the charge, is as Georgia as you can get in NYC short of eating a peach at the same time. John Bell picked up his mandolin for Bloodkin’s “End of the Show,” which normally would be the final song of an encore but on this final night of the run, two more surprises were in store. Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots” got a proper southern rock treatment, with David Bowie’s “Heroes” closed the set, a fitting bookend to the run that began with Panic’s own song “Heroes,” a nod to the audience who stuck it out amid a pandemic and three reschedules and brought the love to the Beacon Theatre once again.
Listen to Monday’s show and all others from the run via Panicstream.com.
Widespread Panic next heads to Atlanta for a four-night run at The Fox Theatre starting August 10th.
Set 1: Heroes, Rebirtha, Papa Johnny Road, Goodpeople, Dark Bar, Goodpeople, Papa’s Home, Shut Up And Drive, Blue Indian, Wondering
Set 2: Cease Fire, Henry Parsons Died, Time Zones, Happy, Jamais Vu (The World Has Changed), Four Cornered Room, Impossible, Worry, Hide Your Love Away, Ain’t Life Grand
Encore: Down, Makes Sense to Me
Friday, July 22nd
Set 1: From The Cradle, Please, One Arm Steve, Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Can’t Get High, I’m Not Alone, There Is A Time, Holden Oversoul, Sleeping Man.
Set 2: Little Kin, Action Man, Better Off, Jack, Love Tractor, Drums, Goin’ Out West, Stop-Go, Walk On, Imitation Leather Shoes.
Encore: Gimme, Give, No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature
Saturday, July 23rd
Set 1: Pigeons, Sharon, Junior, Up All Night, Christmas Katie > Radio Child, Glory, Greta > Cream Puff War
Set 2: Flicker, Tall Boy > Fishwater, A of D, Driving Song > Machine > Barstools and Dreamers > Zambi Jam > Driving Song > Happy Child > Dear Prudence, Climb to Safety
Encore: Time Waits, Travelinâ Man > The Waker
Sunday, July 24
Set 1: Send Your Mind, All Time Low, Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Ride Me High > You Got Yours, Space Wrangler, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Protein Drink / Sewing Machine
Set 2:Rock > Party At Your Mama’s House > Ribs and Whiskey, Halloween Face, Me and the Devil Blues, Bust It Big > Drums > One Kind Favor > Bust It Big, North
Encore: Red Hot Mama
Monday, July 25th
Set 1: Saint Ex > Hatfield, Pilgrims, This Part of Town, Thought Sausage, Honky Red, Tie Your Shoes > Blackout Blues
Set 2: Disco > Big Wooly Mammoth > Chilly Water > Surprise Valley > Arleen > Surprise Valley > Chilly Water, Airplane, Postcard, Conrad
Encore: Basically Frightened, Mountain Jam, End of the Show*, Fairies Wear Boots, Heroes
It’s a busy summer for Runaway Gin, but they keep rolling this Fall 2022 Tour on a journey that takes them on a slightly altered musical direction.
On September 24th at Charleston Pour House, Runaway Gin will debut a new concept dubbed ‘Makisupa Police, Man’. This newest iteration of the project will interweave the music of legendary rock outfit ‘the Police’ as well as some choice ‘Sting‘ cuts with the music of Phish.
Catch ‘Makisupa Police, Man’ at Hill Country in New York City on Friday, October 21, as well as a dozen more shows around the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
The improvisational quartet has also just released a new 26 minute ‘Carini’ from the Radio Room in Greenville, SC – watch below!
Runaway Gin Fall 2022 Tour Dates
September 8th: Gottrocks – Greenville, SC September 9th: Asheville Music Hall – Asheville, NC September 10th : Hop Springs Beer Park – Murfreesboro, TN September 24th: Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC* September 29th: New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC* September 30th: Aisle 5 – Atlanta, GA* October 19th: Ziggy’s Space – High Point, NC* October 20th: the 8×10 – Baltimore, MD* October 21st: Hill Country – New York, NY* October 22nd: Nectar’s – Burlington, VT* November 12th: 5 Points Music Sanctuary – Roanoke, VA December 1st: Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC* December 2nd: the Broadberry – Richmond, VA* December 3rd: Visulite Theatre – Charlotte, NC* *’Makisupa Police, Man’ concept show
For all tour dates, videos and live recordings visit Runaway Gin’s website here complete with videos, posters, photos, and setlists.
The Smoke Jazz Club, one of New York City’s premier live music venues, announced its long-awaited reopening.
Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at the junction of Broadway and 106th Street (aka Duke Ellington Boulevard), the club offers classic and modern jazz performances. Created in 1999, the club is internationally recognized with top-notch programming and rising stars. It has survived economic crashes, fires in the building, and more but the pandemic proved to be much more difficult.
For the past two years, the club has had to change the way they did things to make sure it was done safely. These include modified operations like live streams, sidewalk concerts, and outdoor dining. Although indoor performances were closed, Smoke has survived with a newly expanded space.
Smoke Jazz Club has so much history. Despite the struggles of the last few years, we just knew that the music couldn’t stop here. The past couple of years have not been easy for anyone, but having live music back in the club with everyone together, musicians and listeners, seems like a turning point. We are very excited to take this next step.
co- owners Paul Stache and Molly Sparrow Johnson.
The club will add smaller combined spaces to operate safely, serving as an attached lounge featuring the relocated, historic, full-length bar providing more space for audiences and a larger stage for performers in the main listening room.
There was a grand reopening concert to kick off the revamp, and a slew of artists are set to perform in the near future including Charles McPherson, Vijay Iyer, Mary Stallings, Bill Charlap, Bobby Watson, and more. For more information about the Smoke Jazz Club and to buy tickets to the many events happening, go here.
Every Sunday at Cove Lounge in Harlem, promoter Anthony Obas and DJ 500K serve as hosts for ‘Brunch on Sunday,’ bringing together creatives and small business owners to discuss entrepreneurship and innovation.
Cove Lounge is owned by Alyah Horsford Sidberry, who works with Obas and 500K to curate small events at the restaurant around their ideas to fulfill shared and individual goals. Brunch serves as the gathering place, the company each Sunday being the catalyst to help creatives and entreprenuers network with other business-minded peers.
The event itself is free – only pay for the delicious food, found on the menu below. All are invited to Cove Lounge to celebrate and build a better community together.
Bryant Park Picnic Performances continues August 12th with New York City Opera’s condensed version of Verdi’s classic, La traviata. The performance will last two hours with one 15-minute intermission. Bryant Park will continue to monitor and follow updated New York City and New York State COVID-19 guidelines throughout the summer, as necessary.
Photo Credit :Michael Cooper
On Friday, August 12th at 7pm, Bryant Park Picnic Performances presents an abridged adaptation of Verdi’s classic that inspired Moulin Rouge. The show has instantly recognizable tunes famously featured in Pretty Woman. La traviata tells the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta and the romantic Alfredo Germont. Playing out against the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society, Alfredo and Violetta’s love threatens to shame his family.
‘The People’s Opera’ is thrilled to return to our summer home at Bryant Park, where we can continue our mission of free performances for New York audiences.
– Michael Capasso, General Director of New York City Opera
The 2022 Picnic Performances season is possible due to the generous support of Bank of America. “Bank of America is a long-standing supporter of the arts because we believe that a thriving arts and cultural community benefits both society and the economy,” said José Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City. “So we are thrilled to once again sponsor Picnic Performances and combine our commitment to the arts with our partnership with Bryant Park. Together we’re helping New York City’s iconic cultural scene to thrive, while promoting green spaces and providing free access to live New York City music, dance and theater.”
On Friday, September 2nd, the performance Lucia di Lammermoor emerges. The story concerns fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) caught in a feud between her family. The setting takes place in the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th century. Think Romeo and Juliet, but set in Scotland.
Photo Credit: Ryan Muir
Complete Bryant Park Picnic Performances:
July
July 15: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Squirrel Nut Zippers
July 22: Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Broadway Sinfonietta
July 23: Jazzmobile: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
July 28: Ailey II Performance and Ailey Extension Dance Class
July 29: Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Hot Sardines Featuring Nellie McKay
Photo Credit: Ryan Muir
August
August 5: Greenwich House Music School: Mireya Ramos and Alea
August 12: New York City Opera: La traviata
August 19: Asian American Arts Alliance: Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang
August 26: Habibi Festival: Esraa Warda & The Châab Lab, Firas Zreik, Yacine Boularès, and AJOYO
August 29: The Town Hall: Eighth Blackbird Celebrates John Cage
September
September 2: New York City Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
September 8: Steinway Artists Aaron Diehl and Orrin Evans
September 9: Classical Theatre of Harlem
September 16: Accordion Festival: Heart of Afghanistan and More
September 17: American Symphony Orchestra
For the additional information please visit the link here.
The New York City Council approved a measure to name a Lowe East Side Manhattan intersection “Beastie Boys Square” made famous by The Beastie Boys’ album Paul’s Boutique.
The Beastie Boys, pictured in 2009.
The Beastie Boys were an American rap group from New York City, formed in 1981. The group was composed of Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz. Beastie Boys have sold 20 million records in the United States and had seven platinum-selling albums from 1986 to 2004. They are the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard began recording sales in 1991.
The corner of Ludlow and Rivington streets is seen on the cover of their 1989 masterpiece, and the vote on Thursday marked an end to a nearly decade-long grassroots campaign by fans. In 2014, the city council voted against “Beastie Boys Square” by a vote of 24-to-1.
Cultural advocate LeRoy McCartney spearheaded similar landmark-naming campaigns, like the Wu-Tang Clan (Wu-Tang District in Staten Island) and The Notorious B.I.G. (Brooklyn’s Christopher Wallace Way), and credits Council Member Chris Marte with helping to push the renaming.
As many of us know, once the Beastie Boys hit the scene, it really changed the hip-hop game. I see it as a celebration. A celebration for the Lower East Side, a celebration for hip-hop and especially a celebration for our community who has been organizing for a really long time to make this happen.
Chris Marte
Marte also gave credit to the group themselves for paving the way in the genre of hip-hop and thanked the local residents, businesses, politicians, and more who supported the fight for the street name.
McCarthy also spoke about the decision in a statement.
It has been a long road to get Beastie Boys Square accomplished, but I am happy to see New York government formally embracing the indigenous arts and culture of hip hop, and the street sign is very appropriate because hip hop is from the NYC streets.
LeRoy McCarthy
Mayor Eric Adams will have to sign off on the measure before it can be scheduled to get dedicated.
An upcoming Grateful Dead live release is set to feature six previously unreleased shows from the early ’80s at The World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. In And Out Of The Garden will contain two shows each from Dead runs at MSG in 1981, 1982 and 1983, totaling 17 CDs in all. It captures a period of time after the band’s 1980 release Go To Heaven, while songs for 1987’s In The Dark like “Hell In A Bucket” and “West L.A. Fadeaway” were very much still works in progress.
In addition to six classic Dead shows from MSG, the box set will also feature customized art work by Dave Van Patten on the cover and detailed liner notes from award-winning music journalist David Fricke who explores the band’s storied connection to the city.
The Dead’s affinity for New York City…was instant and arguably their most profound with any city aside from San Francisco
– David Fricke
The early ’80s period of Grateful Dead history is such a vibrant one, with the recent introduction of Brent Mydland as the new keyboardist into the mix. Mydland’s vocals and effervescent energy behind the piano energized the band at this point their storied career, invigorating older material like “The Wheel,” and “Eyes of The World.” He also gave the band more musical flexibility, which encouraged them to dust off treasures like “Dupree’s Diamond Blues” and “Crazy Fingers” from the proverbial shelves.
This vintage celebration of Dead history at MSG is numbered and limited to an edition of 12,500. The release is set to drop on September 23, but is available for pre-order right now from Dead.net for a price of $179.98.
A digital download option for In And Out Of The Garden is also available.
The Dead didn’t play the Garden until 1979, almost the midpoint of their performing career. but once they got rolling, they made it a home away from home, playing 10 shows in the next 15 years. These performances from 1981, 1982, and 1983 are six of the best the Dead played at the Garden, any of which could have been released on their own
– Grateful Dead Archivist David Lemieux
The six Grateful Dead MSG shows that are featured on this release include:
1981: Madison Square Garden March 9th & 10th
1982: Madison Square Garden September 20th & 21st
1983: Madison Square Garden October 11th & 12th
If the near 30-minute “Help” > “Slipknot” >”Franklin’s” sequence from the 10/12/83 show as seen below is any indication, this is one Deadheads and beyond are going to love.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will begin their 2023 US tour with 31 shows across the country including 6 shows in New York.
The long-awaited tour marks the first time Springsteen and The E Street Band have toured together in the U.S. since 2016. This newest tour will launch in Florida on Feb. 1 and continue through April 14 with the finale in Newark, NJ.
The NY part of the tour includes one-night stops at MVP Arena, Keybank Center, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, and two nights at UBS Arena in Belmont Park. UBS Arena is the only venue across the entire tour to host two nights on April 9 and 11. The state-of-the-art arena is designed to accommodate 19,000 people and previously showcased the talents of international stars such as Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, John Mayer, Eagles, and more.
The most recent release from Springsteen and the E Street Band, Letter to You, debuted at No. 1 in eleven countries. The album also was the first time in decades that the group recorded live in decades. At almost an hour-long, Letter to You was recorded in 2019 at Springsteen’s NJ home studio.
Photo Credit: Danny Clinch
Springsteen and the E Street Band will tour across Europe from April to July 2023, after which more North American tour dates are expected to be announced for August. The U.S. tour is set to be a great success, as the 2016 River Tour was in the past.
The members of the E Street Band include Roy Bittan (piano, synthesizer), Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocals), Patti Scialfa (guitar, vocals), Garry Tallent (bass guitar), Stevie Van Zandt (guitar, vocals), and Max Weinberg (drums), Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals), Jake Clemons (saxophone), and Charlie Giordano on keyboards.
The first of the ticket sales will begin on July 20, at 10 am local time, through Ticketmaster. The Springsteen and the E Street Band tour will also be utilizing Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, and fans can register now for the program through July 17 with more information available here.
For the full list of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band tour dates, see below.
Electric Zoo 2022 has announced their theme and lineup for their annual three-day electric dance music festival. NYC continues to be the most popular, selling out year after year. Each time, this event turns the lush green Randall’s Island Park into every festival-goers dream. This unforgettable electric festival will take place on Labor Day weekend 2022, September 2-4.
NYC’s iconic EDM festival today shines the spotlight on new bass artist, CloZee, who is not only making her debut at Electric Zoo, but also is featuring some of the best bass-infused electronic acts at her Odyzey stage. She will be taking over the Riverside stage on Sunday, September 4th. CloZee has made a name for herself throughout the electronic music industry over the last few years. By cementing herself as a modern champion of genre-bending bass, Forbes praised her as creating her own “true CloZee style.”
Established in 2009 by Made Event, Electric Zoo Festival is one of New York City’s largest music festivals. This event features the most popular names in electronic music, bringing a wide variety of acts from around the world and across the spectrum of electronic music’s various sub-genres. Additionally, international editions of the infamous Electric Zoo have taken place in Mexico City, Tokyo, Shanghai and São Paulo.
I support the music I love in so many ways. Whether that be in my sets, with my label (Odyzey Music), at shows, or on social media. When I have input on the lineup, I feel a high level of responsibility for curating a full experience. It’s very meaningful to me.
– CloZee
On September 4, EZoo attendees will get to witness the debut of the Odyzey stage, which is packed with immense talent. Other artists will join such as Mersiv, whose music has a way of transmitting therapeutic and healing energy to listeners. Portland-based artist Redrum also joins the lineup with her bewitching magical music.
I have looked up to CloZee for years so having the opportunity to play Electric Zoo as a part of her takeover is such a dream! I love New York and I can’t wait to play there again, the lineup is insane I’m honored to be a part of it
Redrum
Joining the lineup as well are artists like INZO, Canvas, Tripp St., Wreckno, Rome In Silver, and more. All of these new elm artists have worked hard to make an exciting addition to the dm community, their mission is to make something beautiful for others to listen to.
Electric Zoo 3.0 will be a unforgettable Labor Day weekend at Randall’s Island Park. NYC’s premiere music festival today shines the another spotlight on one of the most iconic DJ’s around right now, Tchami, who will be making his return to Electric Zoo while also curating his very own stage in the name of his imprint, Confession. The Confession stage will feature some of house music’s most profound heavy hitters taking over the Hilltop Arena on Friday, September 2nd.
One look at this stage’s lineup is enough to get any fan of dance music excited. More unique edm artists will be featured at the Confession stage like Malaa, Matroda, Capozzi, Wax Motif and more. Tchami’s Confession parties have a history of selling out The Brooklyn Mirage in the past, making it all the more special that they will make their mark on the Hilltop Arena this year.
Fans can expect a stacked lineup featuring the most prominent names in electronic music. Each year, a crowd of 100,000 gathers in Randall’s Island Park annually with a record-breaking 107,500 attending in 2019. This year, EZOO 2022 will be another ambitious undertaking destined to transport its fans beyond musical boundaries.
This year, Electric Zoo 2022 will take EDM fans on a cosmic musical journey beyond their wildest imaginations with 3.0. For example, this new and improved version of EZOO features unexplainable phenomena and will open music fans’ minds to new sounds and experiences. Likewise, with a more convenient and suitable experience.
Digital wallets are becoming more practical and EZOO is entirely here for it. The trends of dance music are also changing and EZOO is determined to create their lineup to satisfy their community. Therefore, they have read wish lists and created a lineup based on the feedback and choices in the EZOO Artist List surveys.
Tickets go on sale soon, register for pre-sale access here.
