What is it about Upstate New York winters that makes musicians bring their multi-colored California concepts here to heat things up? 41 years ago, Jerry Garcia Band came to be an act for the Lake Ontario sound at Laker Hall on the SUNY Oswego campus February 17, 1980. And next week, February 17, 2022, John Mayer opens his Sob Rock Tour at Albany’s MVP Arena.
This marks the fourth time he’s shedded on the Hudson River for a tour opener. Mayer played his first Dead and Company show on Pearl Street in 2015. Matthew Romano spoke with Mayer on an episode of Tales From The Golden Road (Easter 2016) about the journey.
John Mayer Archival Tales From The Golden Road Radio Transcript Sunday March 27th 2016 (8:35 minutes long from Easter 2016 before Dead and Company Summer Tour 2016). The original audio includes Bob Weir calling in to the show “as Biff from Cabo” that’s also featured on the broadcast.
MR: With your notorious blues background are you excited to tackle songs like “Wang Dang Doodle,” “New Speedway Boogie” and “Viola Lee Blues?” To bring your own texture and vibe to them?
John Mayer: Not completely. It’s a great question. So it’s the same blues shape on the guitar neck… but your intentionality is completely different. That was the R&D of it for me. It’s more meditative. It’s a little Hendrixy.
MR: Very fitting that the first notes you and Oteil Burbridge channeled with Dead and Company in Albany was “Playing In The Band.” What a composition you guys continue to improvise the moment with still.
John Mayer: Yea I wrote this very cinematic intro to playing in the band that night. One of the things I’ve realized is so instrumental, no pun intended, in people vibing with the music is the fact that it’s very sequential in the way it moves up and down. So it’s like a flow. You know? It’s very ascending and descending. That’s what allows people to get on it and ride it.
MR: Ride the wave.
John Mayer: Yea. The music got really tense and then just opened up, it was the only time we ever did it but I like how it was the birth of the band.
John Mayer: I was speaking with Eddie Kramer who was famous for engineering the Jimi Hendrix records and still oversees the live records and stuff. I told him that Garcia and Hendrix were similar. They were both able to divorce themselves from consciousness while playing. A song like “Viola Lee Blues” I can really pull the Hendrix thing into it. It’s not that different. It’s a mixolydian thing that’s a different cut of the saw. Straight blues kind of wilts.
Tales From The Golden Road: It’s the blues but it’s also a Grateful Dead song.
John Mayer: It’s blues that’s been put in a different shape by a blacksmith. It’s like a pounded chicken. What do they call that?
Tales From the Golden Road: Spatchcock!
John Mayer: It’s Blues that’s been tenderized.
MR: It still has that grease to it though.
John Mayer: Yea that’s right.
John Mayer: The good part of the first Albany show was kind of spent with arms kind of crossed. Then at some point they came down and it was like ok he’s got it. Now that we have that relationship with the crowd we can just go in from the down beat and get to know each other.
Tales from the Golden Road: It’s like that great line Bobby has about the Grateful Dead Music, “We state a theme and take it for a walk in the woods.” Then while you’re taking a walk in the woods, is this going somewhere?
John Mayer: The quotable Bob Weir. I’ll tell ya, I’ve learned so much from these songs and guitar playing from Jerry and this music.
Tales From The Golden Road: You’re going to school all the time while you’re playing this music.
John Mayer: “Here Comes Sunshine “off the first Dick’s Picks is maybe the greatest guitar playing I have ever heard in my life. There’s two solos and they are the most sustained, genius. They are just up on the wave. It never broke.
The Jerry Garcia Band once held class for Oswego State University on February 17, 1980. The two J’s sounds are a nice hybrid. Mayer’s “Dear Marie” is Garcia’s “Althea.” John Mayer, Pino Palladino, Steve Jordan, and Chick Corea once clocked in “After Midnight.”
Expect some funk with guitarist Isaiah Sharkey of D’Angelo at the Sob Rock tour debut as well. John Mayer and Bob Weir funked out Jerry Band’s music with Lettuce as well. Like Oteil Burbridge told NYS Music in Miami Beach.
Well I mean there’s so much funk in The Grateful Dead’s music. The Jerry Band’s music. It’s just like there for the picking so I just lean in to it
Oteil Burbridge
The Jerry Garcia Band visited Oswego, NY on February 17, 1980 before a Grateful Dead tour. A then 37-year old Garcia had his second touring band outside the Grateful Dead since collaborating with Howard Wales on Hooteroll? His tiger quartet set up on the bandstand was inside a toasty Laker Hall. The comfortable corridor of Route 104 runs alongside it overlooking Lake Ontario. Three hours of music played to around 1,420 heads in a general admission hockey rink. Wild Blue on a bed of grey.
The landscape helped paint the setlist with classics like “Catfish John” & “Positively 4th Street.” Outside the wooden room cast musical snow angels on the lake’s banks. This heater includes one of Senor Garcia’s sweetest improvisational moments when the “After Midnight” launches into Eleanor Rigby. Only one year of tape has that jam.
In a 1981 TV interview Garcia was asked, “What are the virtues playing with your own band compared to the Grateful Dead?” Jerry responded, “It’s a real resonant consonance experience, it’s harmonious, everybody’s musical taste is similar to my own, ya know? And our concept of what music should be. We have an accord, so my band is playing the kind of music that I think of the way music is constructed, in terms of the roles and the instruments. The Grateful Dead is interesting because everyone has a different concept of what music is about which creates a lot of friction and tension to it.”
Jerry Garcia interview with David Gans & Blair Jackson in A Record 1982 print publication:
Jerry Garcia: When we started working on “The Eleven” back in the late 60’s we’d spend hours playing groups of eleven, to get used to that phrase and musical patterns. Then play them over and over again.
Record Magazine: In an almost academic way?
Jerry Garcia: Oh yea, in a real academic way.
We had to do it. You can’t play confidently and fluidly in those times with really knowing what you’re doing.
Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia Band Set List, Laker Hall, Oswego, NY February 17 1980
Set 1: I’ll Take A Melody, Friend Of The Devil, How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) Catfish John, Deal, Positively 4th Street, That’s All Right, Mama
Set 2: Money Honey, Sitting Here In Limbo, Let It Rock, After Midnight > Eleanor Rigby Jam > After Midnight, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, The Harder They Come
The time has finally come for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame to announce their 2022 nominees. For these artists or bands to be eligible for a nomination they must have released their first commercial recording 25 years ago.
From the 17 nominees, 7 have been nominated for the first time: A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Devo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Fela Kuti, Judas Priest, MC5, The New York Dolls, Dolly Parton, Rage Against the Machine, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and Dionne Warwick.
The New York Dolls are pioneers of punk rock and began a wave of influential punk music introducing punk music to those who weren’t yet in the know. After forming in 1971, the Dolls configured a sound that replicated influences from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and T. Rex, and the Stooges. You might remember “Personality Crisis,” “Looking for a Kiss” or “Trash”. Glitter rock anthems steered the Dolls to glory with the help from the classic lineup of Johnny Thunders and Sylvain on guitar, Arthur Kane on bass, and Jerry Nolan on drums.
Carly Simon rocked us in the 70s emerging as a gifted storyteller born into an affluent New York City family. Winning the Best New Artist Grammy in 1971 for “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be”, Simon garnered gorgeous melodies over matters of anguish and heartbreak. After finding love with James Taylor their duet “Mockingbird” earned them a Number Five hit in 1974. Simon’s influence on today’s artists like Taylor Swift keep her legacy thriving.
Straight out of Queens and right out of high school, A Tribe Called Quest served us all throughout the 90s. They brought abstract philosophy and were not afraid of confronting social issues while carrying a jazz-rap revolution. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Jarobi White, and Ali Shaheed nurtured hip-hop incorporating flavors of jazz and alternative rock. The Native Tongues New York collective heaved a musical movement rooted in Afrocentric ideals. A Tribe Called Quest is a stranger to nobody, Pharrell Williams even claimed himself, J Dilla and Ye as “his sons.”
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo yielded the sonic landscape that was the 1980s. Neil Giraldo’s distorted guitar style with Benatar’s rigorous voice produced “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “Treat Me Right” and “Heart Breaker”. Practically dominating the Grammys in the late 80s Benatar went on to win four consecutive awards and amounted a total of nine nominations. You might recall that Benatar was the first woman while Giraldo was the first guitarist to air on MTV. Their partnership lasts to this day, as their entertainment company Bel Chiasso has kept them performing throughout the years.
The general public can vote (every day) at vote.rockhall.com and can help in selecting the top five artists for the “fan’s ballot”. The “fan’s ballot” will be factored into the selection of the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees.
The New York Youth Symphony have worked throughout the pandemic to create their first studio recording, set to release on April 8th. The recording features four pieces by Florence Price, Valerie Coleman and Jessie Montgomery.
The New York Youth Symphony has achieved something remarkable by creating and releasing their first studio recording. It features a number of member premieres, as well as work from three talented Black women composers. Recorded in the midst of the pandemic at the DiMenna Center in Manhattan, the orchestra had to be socially distanced, with one section recording at a time. The set up was created by Grammy winning producer, Judith Sherman.
A majority of the recording centers itself around different aspects of the Black experience. Price’s pieces blend African American folk with the European Romantic tradition she was trained in. Coleman transformed a simple song meant for a women’s chorus into an orchestral piece while maintaining the feel of a traditional drum circle. NYYS alum, Montgomery drew inspiration from MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech to create her piece, ‘Soul Force’.
The symphony is made up of some of the most talented young musicians available, ranging from ages 12 to 22. While focus is on the performance aspect of the orchestra, at its’ core, the NYYS is here to contribute to the musical education of young musicians. Executive Director, Shauna Quill cites the recording process as “an important and invaluable skill” for students to learn.
“We put a lot of thought and energy into creating a special project that NYYS students could accomplish during this difficult time. I couldn’t be prouder to have led this amazing orchestra in these performances, and for the resiliency of the students who always play at such a high level and with incredible spirit.”
Conductor Michael Repper
In addition to the new release, NYYS will be returning to the stage with performances at Dizzy’s Club on 3/7, Carnegie Hall on 3/13, Scandinavia House on 5/4 and the Times Center on 5/9. More information can be found here.
Each year, hundreds of local musicians and members of the Syracuse music community attend the SAMMYS, an annual celebration of the Syracuse music scene, celebrated since 1993. This week, the nominations for the 2022 SAMMY Awards in a variety of categories were announced, along with Hall of Fame nominees who make up the rich history of CNY.
SAMMY awards are given based on the judgement of submissions sent to the SAMMYS Board by musicians in Syracuse and the surrounding area. This year, 161 artists submitted 171 recordings, which were then reviewed by an independent panel of music industry professionals and educators from around the country, led by James Abbott.
The awards show will feature performances by Jon Rogalia & The Swamp Boys, Letizia, The Real RAW Breed, and Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas. In addition to these performances, awards will be presented in 11 recording categories, as well as the People’s Choice awards for Best Artist or Band, Best Event or Music Series, Best Academic or Musical Organization, and Best Venue. The Brian Bourke award sponsored by CNYAlive.com for Best New Artist will also be announced. As in the past, this year’s Best New Artist will receive six hours of recording time from SubCat Studios.
Fans can join the SAMMYs action by participating in the annual People’s Choice vote, in each of four categories: Artist or Band, Event or Music Series, Academic or Musical Organization, and Venue. Voting is free, open to the public and continues through February 28 here.
The 2022 SAMMY Awards nominees are:
BEST JAZZ
• Bob Holz – Live in New York And L.A.
• Chuck Lamb & Peter Mack – Exit 33
• E.S.P. – Ready or Not
• The Pietra Group – People Chain
BEST AMERICANA
• The Dirty Doves – Pure & Simple
• Gegorge Mann – A World Like This
• Harmonic Dirt – Rhode Island Street
• Len Widdekind – Highway of Time
• Nashua Robb – Sunroom Sessions: About Time
• The Ripcords – Unmasked
BEST JAM BAND
• Count Blastula – Strange Mutations
• Ramshki Alley – Ramshki Alley
BEST POP
• AK Kastro – College Rd.
• Coral Blue – Paris is Burning
• The Jess Novak Band – A Thousand Lives
• River Westin – Candy Cigarettes
• Stoyan – Cancel Me
BEST HARD ROCK
• Gainer – Cold Case
• Less Than Hate – Less Than Hate
• Unwanted Ghosts – The End is a Gift
• Void Emperor – Void Emperor
BEST R&B • Anna Shelay – Unlinkable
• Diana Jacobs Band – Love Each Other, Love Our World
• Free Boody Institute – Myths, Legends & The Hard Truth
• Lamar Lamb – Love & Pain
BEST ROCK
• Anna Shelay – Unlinkable
• Diana Jacobs Band – Love Each Other, Love Our World
• Free Boody Institute – Myths, Legends & The Hard Truth
• Lamar Lamb – Love & Pain
BEST ALTERNATIVE
• The Leaps – Spinning the Wheels
• Mike Gibson – Feb6: Grief & Nonsense
• Outside Voices – Grind
• Trauma Cat – Prepare to Apologize
BEST OTHER STYLE
• Alex Seubert – Works from Space
• Asael – Moment
• Fritz’s Polka Band – The Hands of Time
• Jeff Tripoli – Rhythm Cadence for the New Renaissance
• Paul Davie – Half and Half
• Everneau – Revolution
• Jeff Gordon – Local Boy
• McWray – Thunderin
• Not Robots! – Not Robots
• Steve Romer – Slow Demise
• Tommy Gunn – Chulo
BEST HIP-HOP OR RAP
• Christenelle Diroc – In Our Crystal Castle
• Coughlin – Miles
• Exoticz – For the Love of Music
• VinnyVeg – 1104 Vol. 2 The Leader Of Real Shhh
BEST COUNTRY
• Jon Rogalia – Twenty Eight
• Whiskey Hollow Rush – Torn Up from the Corn Up
The SAMMY’s Awards Show will be held on Friday, March 4, 2022 at the Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater at 7:00pm. Tickets are $25 and will be available at ticketmaster.com. Online streaming of the event will also be available for $15.
The 2022 SAMMY Hall of Fame Inductees
The SAMMY Hall of Fame honors esteemed individuals with roots to the Syracuse Community, who have throughout their careers, advanced to the top of their fields.
RUSS TARBY
Russ Tarby has been covering entertainment, music and more in Central New York since the 1970s. Tarby was raised in Liverpool and graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in 1970. He wrote for college newspapers at both SUNY Oswego and at Indiana University. From 1969 to 1999 Tarby worked as a production assistant at WCNY, operating camera on productions such as the “Bluegrass Ramble Barn Dance,” “All-American Jazz” and the annual New York State Marching Band Competition. His reviews and features have appeared in publications such as The Syncopated Times, the Village Voice, Buffalo Beat, Metroland (Albany) and the Ithaca Times. In 2000, he was named music writer of the year for weeklies by the International Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.
In the 1980s, he worked as a freelance contributor for the Post-Standard reviewing concerts. The zenith of each year was covering the New York State Fair, for which he would write two reviews daily – one for the free afternoon show and another for that evening’s Grandstand headliner. He served as music and books editor for the Syracuse New Times for 12 years. While at the New Times, Tarby served on the steering committees that founded the Syracuse Area Music Awards. He also collaborated on the Horns-a-Plenty project, putting instruments into the hands of disadvantaged students, and inner-city music education projects.
Tarby has interviewed and profiled dozens of local and national artists including Benny Mardones, B.B. King, Roosevelt Dean and Joanne Shenandoah. Tarby has also been the recipient of several Syracuse Press Club awards for his reviews and profiles. More recently, Tarby has been writing a weekly column for the Star-Review, “Livin’ in Liverpool.” He has devoted time to booking and emceeing concerts in Liverpool and has acted as program director for the ‘Liverpool is the Place’ Summer Concert Series since 2002.
ROBERT TOUSIGNANT
Robert “Bobby T.” Tousignant, aka Bob Avery, started playing drums at the age of 10 years. He has now been playing for 65 years. As a performer, Bobby T. saw chart success as a member of The Music Explosion, who had a hit in 1967 with “Little Bit O Soul.” The song was originally released by the band The Little Darlings in the UK in 1965. The Music Explosion’s version reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967 and went on to sell 5.5 million copies. The song went on to be covered by The Ramones.
Following his tenure with The Music Explosion, Bobby T joined the New York-based Crazy Elephant in 1969, scoring at number 12 Billboard hit with the song, “Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’.” Bobby T has toured with Gene Pitney, The Easy Beats, The Happenings, and The Buckinghams. He has also performed with Joe Walsh’s James Gang, Graham Nash with The Hollies, The 5th Dimension, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Deep Purple, and the Mysterians and the bubblegum pop groups, the 1910 Fruitgum Company and Ohio Express.
Most recently, Bobby has performed with the Nate Gross Band and has opened for Poppa Chubby, Samantha Fish, Amy Helm, Joe Louis Walker, Elvin Bishop and Walter Trout, Tommy Castro, and Grammy winners Jason Ricci and J.J. Appleton.
LOS BLANCOS
Los Blancos is a barnstorming, roots n blues band from Syracuse, spending the last 26 years creating miles of smiles while careening between genres and styles. The band formed organically in 1996 at an open mic night at The Inn Complete, the SU graduate student bar. Guitarist Colin Aberdeen, bassist Steven T. Winston, guitarist Jose Alvarez and drummer Paul Roehrig, musicians from different backgrounds convened as the first incarnation of Los Blancos.
The band picked up regular work based upon cool grooves, warm vocals and hot playing, culminating in the release of its first record, ‘For Sale By Owner,’ on Dr. K records. Subsequent personnel changes included the addition of keyboardist Mark Nanni; Roehrig’s departure; the addition of drummer Garnett Grimm and Alvarez’s return to Mexico after the band’s second release, ‘Special Blend.’ Los Blancos evolved in response to these changes, in roughly 2003, with the addition of top-tier drummer Mark Tiffault.
Winston is the anchor for the group. His gift for capturing the essence of a multitude of musical styles has been the lynch pin around which Los Blancos has explored. Aberdeen, the emcee since inception, fuels the party with ribald one-liners and a background in early acoustic delta and country blues, giving his electric ensemble playing its unique qualities. In 2017, the band became a three-piece of Aberdeen, Winston and Tiffault, featuring a floating fourth chair, which allowed for the inclusion of many musicians.
They have played every type of event, primarily as the soundtrack to people’s lives. Their music has been used as bumper music on The Tony Kornheiser show, as advertisement music, and on adult film soundtracks. Los Blancos played on two of Grammy-winner Alvarez’s releases, ‘Diggin In’ and ‘Tomorrow and the Next Day,’ which featured Terrence Simien, the bandleader with whom he received those Grammys.
JEFF STOCKHAM
Multi-instrumentalist Jeff Stockham is well known to Upstate New York music fans. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music and a veteran of the renowned Eastman Jazz Ensemble. His performance credits read like a Who’s Who of the upstate music scene. He has performed with numerous Central New York musicians, including the Central New York Jazz Orchestra, Salt City Jazz Collective, the Stan Colella Orchestra, DeSantis Orchestra, The Fabulous Ripcords, Second Line Syracuse, The Blacklites, The Destination, Little Georgie & the Shufflin’ Hungarians, Larry Arlotta, the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble, and Syracuse Symphony.
He has backed up numerous national artists and has been a member of the orchestra for the national touring company of “Les Miserables.” He has toured Europe and Africa with blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson. Jeff is also one of the few musicians worldwide to play jazz on the French horn. He was a Featured Artist at the 2016 International Horn Symposium at Ithaca College. He is a trumpeter and French hornist in Thelonius Monk Jr.’s “Monk on Monk” big band, which has toured Europe, Israel, and the United States several times.
He is the leader and solo E-flat cornetist of the SAMMY-award-winning the recreated Civil War Excelsior Cornet Band, and is solo E-flat cornetist of the 47th PA Regimental Band, President Lincoln’s Own Band (appearing in the Steven Spielberg film “Lincoln”), the Federal City Brass Band (appearing in the Emmy-winning Netflix series “House of Cards”), and was a historical consultant and performer in several other films. He was formerly Instructor of Jazz Trumpet at Hamilton College, LeMoyne College, and Colgate University, Visiting Lecturer of Trumpet at Cornell University, and was Instructor of French Horn and Jazz Trumpet at Syracuse University. He is an avid collector of antique brass instruments, with over two hundred in his collection.
J. AVERY HEAD – MUSIC EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
J. Avery Head was introduced to bagpiping while in 10th grade. He had already played piano and French horn. His best friend in band, Ron Smallman, also played bagpipes. Ron taught Avery and he joined the Balmoral Highlanders of Syracuse. Ron and the band’s Pipe Major, Tom Hinchey were both excellent and demanding players and taught Avery to play quite well. After graduation, he attended the College of Wooster, in Wooster, OH, where pipers often led the band. There, under the auspices of band director, Stuart Ling, Avery led the group and established a program to teach pipes to students. The band grew from five pipers to 12 by the time he graduated. During one of his summer breaks, Avery joined Tom Hinchey and played with the Clan MacFarlane Pipe Band of St. Catherines, ON, one of Canada’s most prestigious bands.
Avery attended the University of Cincinnati where he earned a Master’s of Science in Chemistry, eventually landing a job with Dow Chemicals in Midland, MI. It was there where he met his wife Beth while playing for a community theater production of “Brigadoon.” After three years of teaching high school chemistry in Cleveland, Avery sought a new position, landing him here at Liverpool High School where he taught for 30 years. Upon arrival, he became involved with the Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band and elected Pipe Major within six weeks. He has been directing the band ever since (1974). Over the years, he has taught a number of noteworthy players and has competed in solo competitions, earning a number of medals.
Avery has always strived for his bands to be competitive. They compete each year in locations throughout the Northeast and Canada, performing in many different venues, including a Rod Stewart concert, hockey games, baseball games, the Empire State Games, the Lockerbie Memorial, graduations, and many parades.
TOM KENNY – LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas are a Los Angeles-based Rock n Roll/ Soul /R&B band that “brings the party” wherever and whenever they perform. They are the embodiment of no-holds-barred, all-in rocknroll. Simply put, their mission statement can be summed up as follows: “Hey, let’s have as much fun as humanly possible!” Drawing on influences ranging from Sam Cooke to The Shangri-Las to The Righteous Brothers, their rockers cause dance floor mayhem and their soulful ballads induce swooning. There’s no doubt that you and your socks will part company once you experience Tom Kenny & The Hi-Seas.
The band’s manic frontman is Tom Kenny. Tom is the highly regarded voice actor behind the immortal “SpongeBob SquarePants”, The Ice King from “Adventure Time”, many voices on “Rick and Morty”, and literally hundreds of other animated characters. He won an Emmy in 2018 for outstanding contributions to an animated program. Tom Kenny began as a standup comedian and on-camera actor where he quickly started to notch up appearances from Late Night with David Letterman to Conan O’Brien, and the Drew Carey Show. He played the evil Binky the Clown in the cult classic Shakes the Clown.
Tom’s has hundreds of voice credits his first VO role was Heffer on the classic Nicktoon Rocko’s Modern Life. A sample of his credits include: Powerpuff girls, Adventure Time, Dexter laboratory, Ultimate Spiderman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Catdog.
Kenny is probably most well known as the voice of an icurably optimistic sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea SpongeBob SquarePants. He has been the recipient of two Annie awards for his voice work on SpongeBob Square Pants and as the Ice King in Adventure Time. Also receiving an Emmy for SpongeBob in 2018.
The Hall of Fame Induction dinner will be Thursday, March 3, Upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que from 7-10pm. The list of inductees and bios are available on pages 5-11 of this packet. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at syracuseareamusic.com/tickets. Free online streaming of the event will also be available.
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, Thom Powers and Friends, Sly Fox & the Hustlers, Thanks!, 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.
Sly Fox and The Hustlers – “ Find Someone”
John Popper of Blues Traveler called Sly Fox and the Hustlers, “one of the best bands I’ve seen in a long time!” The band has shared stages with Popper’s Blues Traveler, SmashMouth, Robin Trower and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, among others. The Hustlers have also been a mainstay at festivals and music events across the Northeast, including Alive @ 5, the Americade Bike Fest, Movefest and the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, to name a few. The band will be releasing their third full-length album on 2-2-22.
Thom Powers & Friends – “RollerCoaster Show”
Thom Powers and Friends was established in the Summer of 2021 and consists of Thom Powers as lead vocals, rhythm guitar, Andy Doonan on bass, Andy Mollica on lead guitar, Tony Califano on keys, and Darryl Kniffen on Drums. These guys love rock and roll and love to play music – original music and their take on cover tunes.
Thanks! – “I choose You”
Thanks! has released “I Choose You,” their second single off their upcoming album, You’re Welcome on February 11th. The upcoming album that will be released in the summer of 2022 is the band’s first full-length album.
“I Choose You” was inspired by the special people in our lives. The ones we want to laugh with, cry with and most importantly, dance with. This is a celebration of how those people make us feel and how in a sea of a billion fish, we would choose them over and over again.
The New Colossus Festival in NYC has announced the final schedule of artists, happening from March 8-12 at various independent music venues across the city.
The New Colossus Festival started in 2018 and has since established itself as the first stop in the US for many emerging international artists. The festival organizers started in New York City because of the city’s long-standing tradition of welcoming artists.
Named after Emma Lazurus’s 1883 sonnet featured on The Statue of Liberty, The New Colossus Festival is a multi-day, multi-venue showcase and conference that takes place on New York City’s Lower East Side. Featured venues include Mercury Lounge, Berlin, Arlene’s Grocery, Bowery Ballroom, Bowery Electric, and more. The festival is also excited to announce a partnership with global music distributor Ditto Music who will bring the Ditto X: NYC23 music conference to the festival at Pianos on March 9 (12-7 p.m.). The event will offer insights and advice for independent artists and labels, covering topics including how to grow your fanbase, land bigger and better shows, build a sustainable career in music, and more. The full line-up of Ditto X speakers and panels will be announced soon here.
The Lumineers have returned with their “BRIGHTSIDE” 2022 World Tour. The extensive tour begins May 18th and features special guests James Bay, Caamp, Gregory Alan Isakov and Daniel Rodriguez.
The tour follows the release of the band’s fourth studio album of the same name, available now on all streaming platforms. The Grammy nominated album was produced by longtime collaborator Simone Felice and engineered by David Baron during winter and spring of 2021 at Sun Mountain Studios.
The band was credited with creating the world’s first climate positive tour back in 2020 and have continued this trend by collaborating with the environmental non profit REVERB to make the BRIGHTSIDE tour climate positive as well. The nonprofit has collaborated with a number of artists and bands to reduce environmental impact including Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Dave Matthews Band and Tame Impala.
General ticket sales start on 2/18 at 10 AM. Advanced ticket purchasing starts 2/14 for select club and Citi card members. Ticket bundles and premium packages are also available. For complete ticket information, visit The Lumineers website.
The Lumineers 2022 Tour Dates
5/18 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
5/20 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheater
5/21 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
5/24 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
5/25 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
5/27 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
5/28 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
5/29 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
6/1 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
6/3 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
6/4 – Camden, NJ – Waterfront Music Pavilion
6/7 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
6/8 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
6/10 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
6/11 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
6/14 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
6/15 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Kristian Montgomery is a regular guy. Except, the more you fill in the details of his life what should be ordinary starts to become extraordinary. Like a cubist painting, that starts to look less recognizable the more you identify the individual pieces in it, Kristian’s life is at once familiar and wholly his own.
His career has ups and downs, he goes on trips with his friends. All relatable experiences unless you’re Kristian Montgomery. His job isn’t a boring, nine-to-five. He’s a former metal vocalist turned country singer; whose career highs included being nominated for a Boston Music Award for Country Artist of the Year in 2021. But who’s lows included having to write an album in jail after contacting the judge in his child support case outside of court. And that trip he took with a friend? It was with his bassist and “blood brother,” Roberto Talleria, to his homeland of Managua, Nicaragua to perform on the local version of MTV.
Montgomery in Managua, Nicaragua.
Montgomery’s own origins have taken him beyond the Boston music scene he came up in. His father is from Denmark which he now considers “home.” His time in Boston was tumultuous, if successful. It was a milieu in which he often felt, if not, overtly excluded, at least, like an odd man out in what he considered “a very upper-class music scene.” Even though he received critical success, in the form of his Boston Music Award nomination, he felt his peers never reciprocated. Which while not the raison d’etre for his art; stung, nonetheless.
The unique word choice he regularly employs hints at a sensitive person with an affinity for dramatic, verbal pictures. He uses turns of phrase that only an artistic spirit would consider. His relatives from Denmark are “across the sea.” When detailing the emotions of a song dedicated to his wife, he explains that he “throws his love at her.” He finds everyday experiences inspiring and “has made a living painting those stories into his songs.”
Ordinarily, such ornamental language, if used in casual conversation, would seem overwrought were it not for the fact that Montgomery is such a poised and deep thinker about art and, specifically, his art. He seems to be constantly reflecting on who his music represents. About the people it will connect with. It is music that is, as he says, “made for people on the Periphery.”
Now that he’s released a new album, he can say he did just that. Montgomery’s unpretentious, new album, “Heaven for Heretics”, released under the moniker Kristian Montgomery and the Winterkill Band, is a vintage singer-songwriter effort. It’s apparent the music comes from a single creative source, giving the album an unmistakable cohesion. Of course, as with all singer-songwriters if the message doesn’t resonate or the music is flat then listening becomes tedious, repetitive. That isn’t the case here. Montgomery is able to stretch himself to the limits of artistic expanse. He’s able to provide enough variety, both sonic and thematic, to keep the album propulsive.
From the contemplatively existentialist “Come Carry Weight with Me” to the bouncy country bop “Peach” Montgomery’s unorthodox, appealing voice and trademark mix of country music clichés mixed with profound turns of phrase, all showcase a musician who, if nothing else, cared about making something personal. And that counts for a lot.
Blending funk, soul, and indie, Brooklyn band Pimps of Joytime showcases their unique artistry on their new single, “Are You Gonna?” The release comes in anticipation of their new album Reachin’ Up, set to release Friday, April 15th. Accompanying this release, the band will be performing at Brooklyn Made with additional shows throughout the country.
Pimps of Joytime
Forming in 2005, Pimps of Joytime embellished the unique Brooklyn culture of the 2000s. After four studio albums, the band has found a unique sound encompassing a multitude of genres. They are unique, and their next album release is set to demonstrate the magnitude of this talent.
The Brooklyn band is no stranger to the soul and funk scenes, and “Are You Gonna?” showcases their experience. Combining Cuban blue rhythms, blues guitar progressions, and a vocal delivery akin to Bob Marley, the band beautifully demonstrates their ability to encompass multiple genres with grace and poise.
Their prior release, “Lesson,” also set to be on the album, further highlights their unique artistry. Pulsating drums and hypnotizing blues guitar capture the immediate attention of the listener. Most prominently, however, Brian Jay displays masterful and unique vocals that give the band its respective personality and flavor. His voice sensationally bounces over the instrumentation in a way that exhibits experience and confidence.
The latest single “Reachin’ Up” features Antibalas‘ shekere player and vocalist Marcus Farrar and singer Carol C (Si*Sé) for a funk and soul track sure to put smiles on people’s faces all spring long. Brian J comments, “‘Reachin’ Up’ originated from a batch of instrumentals I created in a two-week studio bender in 2019. I hit up old friend and early PJT collaborator Marcus Farrar to come work on one of the tracks. Marcus pretty quickly came up with great melody and lyric ideas. I had the lyric ‘Reachin’ Up’ kickin’ around for a few years and it fit perfectly. I hit record and Marcus did his thing with a stellar vocal performance. Carol C of Si*Sé and Pete Shand of New Mastersounds were the missing puzzle pieces who graced this track with an incredible vibe.”
Pimps of Joytime Winter 2022 Tour Dates:
Saturday, February 19 – The Fillmore – Denver, CO
Thursday, March 24 – Starline Social Club – Oakland, CA
Friday, March 25 – The Venice West – Venice, CA
Saturday, March 26 – Mustache Bash – San Diego, CA
Friday, April 15 – Brooklyn Made – Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, April 16 – Park City Music Hall – Bridgeport, CT
Saturday, Apr 30 – The Parish – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
Saturday, May 28 – Denver Day of Rock – Denver, CO
Saturday, June 11 – Hog Farm Hideaway – Laytonville, CA
This month, just in time for Valentine’s Day, Albany Symphony pianists return for a verity of concerts. Wei Lou, piano soloist, will perform a Valentine’s concert on February 12th. Later in the month, Gershwin virtuoso and Kevin Cole will play Rhapsody in Blue in Troy. The Valentine’s Weekend program also includes Tchaikovsky’s expert Symphony No. 6, “Pathétique,” and New York City-based British composer Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers.
Albany Symphony Orchestra
Music Director David Alan Miller and the Albany Symphony welcome back two favorite virtuoso pianists for weekends of thrilling music sure to make for a perfect Valentine’s romance.
Albany Symphony Orchestra’s conductor, David Alan Miller
At the Palace Theatre and streaming live online, Wei Luo performs Serge Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Luo made her acclaimed premiere with the Symphony in 2017.
“I am beyond excited to be back with Albany Symphony to perform this masterpiece,” said Luo. “The Prokofiev Third Piano Concerto is one of the most powerful yet beautiful concertos of all time with touching melodies, percussive sounds, and electrifying rhythms. It will be a blast!”
Albany Symphony Pianist, Wei Lou
“I’m thrilled to welcome Wei Luo back to play one of my all-time favorite piano concertos, Prokofiev’s glorious Third, along with the most romantic, passionate, life-affirming Russian symphony in the repertoire, Tchaikovsky’s Sixth, the ‘Pathétique,’ Miller said. “We’re also delighted to feature a brilliant recent work by composer Hannah Kendall. All the music on this program crackles with warmth and love; it is the perfect antidote for a cold winter’s night, and a musical Valentine you won’t want to miss.”
Albany Symphony Pianist, Wei Lou
Gershwin in the Roaring 20s, Saturday, Feb. 26 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Feb. 27 at 3pm at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
Kevin Cole, the foremost interpreter of the music of George Gershwin, makes his long-awaited return for a special program including a rare presentation of an iconic favorite.
Albany Symphony Pianist, Kevin Cole
“We’re delighted to welcome Kevin Cole back for a gorgeous evening of Gershwin classics from the 1920s, including ‘Rhapsody in Blue,’ performed in its seldom heard original jazz band version, and some of Kevin’s own dazzling Gershwin improvisations,” Miller said. “Don’t miss this concert; it will be unforgettable!”
Albany Symphony Pianist, Kevin Cole
The original event was one scheduled as a one-night-only performance, but a Sunday afternoon matinee was recently added to Gershwin Weekend and a virtual livestream has also been added for the Saturday night performance by popular demand. According to Cole, the appreciation is mutual:
“Every time I perform with Conductor David Alan Miller and Albany Symphony it’s an electrifying event! We have always been in syncopated synchronization with Gershwin. After more than 20 years of David and I performing together we’ve found a beautiful balance of lush romanticism layered with roller coaster thrills!”
Albany Symphony Orchestra’s conductor, David Alan Miller
Albany Symphony Orchestra presents a classical series throughout the region. Throughout leading Albany Symphony to its success, David Alan Miller has established a reputation as one of the leading American conductors of his generation. Often recognized as one of the American’s most innovative and creative orchestras, the two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning Albany Symphony is renowned for accomplished performances featuring classic orchestral favorites, lesser-heard masterworks, and an array of contemporary music from emerging voices of today.
Albany Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1930 in New York’s Capital Region, the Albany Symphony serves a diverse regional in the creation, performance, and recording of new orchestral music. The Albany Symphony is constantly reshaping the nation’s musical legacy. The Albany Symphony celebrates our living musical heritage through its adventurous programming, commissioning, and recording of new work, and broad community engagement beyond the concert hall.
Albany Symphony Orchestra
Tickets range from $20 to $62; livestream tickets are on sale now for $37 at (518) 694-3300 and albanysymphony.com. Saturday night Gershwin availability is limited.
