The Bacon Brothers have announced bi-coastal tour dates for this summer in support of their new EP Erato, to be released July 8.
The tour includes three performances in New York, with the band stopping in Rochester for the Rochester International Jazz Festival on June 24, New York City at City Winery on the 25th, and Caroga Lake at Sherman’s Park on July 30.
Cover art for Erato by the Bacon Brothers.
Erato, the five song EP, is slated to be the brothers’ 11th studio release. They call their sound “Forosoco – a blend of folk, rock, soul and country influences.” “We’re still exploring the sound we began making 25 years ago; we’ve just gotten a lot better at it,” says Michael Bacon, an Emmy-winning composer whose found success alongside his brother Kevin, an A-list Hollywood actor.
For the EP’s lead single, “In Memory (Of When I Cared),” the brothers collaborated with Desmond Child, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member whose credits include Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Aerosmith’s “Crazy,” and Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself For Loving You.”
The Bacon Brothers also found collaboration from Kevin’s son Travis, who produced the track “Karaoke Town.”
The Bacon Brothers Tourdates
Jun 24—Rochester, NY—Rochester International Jazz Festival Jun 25—New York, NY—City Winery Jun 26—Atlantic City, NJ-–Sound Mind Music Festival July 14—Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz July 30—Caroga Lake, NY – Sherman’s Park July 31—Waterville, ME – Waterville Opera House Aug 2—-Ocean City, NJ – Ocean City Music Pier Aug 5—-Plymouth, NH – The Flying Monkey (Rescheduled) Aug 6—-Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center (Rescheduled) Aug 7—-Beverly, MA – The Cabot (Rescheduled) Aug 24–San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House Aug 25–Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern Aug 26–Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon Aug 27–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa Aug 28–Napa, CA – Blue Note Napa Sep 9—-New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall Sep 10–The Woodlands – Dosey Doe Sep 11—Lubbock, TX – Cactus Theater
Infected Rain is on a month-long US Tour in support of the band’s latest album, Ecdysis and performed at The Montage Music Hall in Rochester on Friday, May 20. With the band being from Moldova, an eastern European country that borders Ukraine and Romania, it is a rare treat to see them in the United States.
The Montage had a good turnout for what ended up being just Infected Rain and supporting act, Gone In April. Three local bands were scheduled to perform, but due to unforeseen circumstances all of these acts dropped off. This made for what turned out to be an intimate, but in your face metal show that fans will surely remember.
Taking the stage at 8:30pm, Infected Rain made their entrance to an energized audience that greeted them with applause and cheers. The band went right into full throttle mode with their hit “Pendulum” and while a smaller crowd, the band performed as if they were playing in front of thousands of people. The energy Lena Scissorhands puts off as she is screaming, and singing is captivating. You can tell she actually really enjoys performing with the constant engagement with the audience and smiled after hearing applause from each song they finish.
I have been waiting awhile to finally see Infected Rain, and it was exciting to see them in a small intimate setting with not an overly crowded venue to really be able to appreciate the performance. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about The Montage, and I have seen several of my favorite artists perform there before they have really blown up in popularity.
Infected Rain put on a fantastic 12 song set which included in my opinion, their best songs they could have chosen. Just about all of their songs are heavy hitting, in your face, make you want to mosh kind of feeling and the only disappointing thing about their set was that it was only 12 songs. This is definitely a band worth seeing, they are fun, energetic, and passionate when they play. Lena Scissorhands is a fantastic frontwoman that definitely gives off Tatiana from Jinjer vibes, and I mean that in the best way possible. Hopefully someday we can get a Jinjer, Infected Rain tour that comes to the US.
Setlist: Pendulum > Mold > Black Gold > Longing > The Earth Mantra > The Realm of Chaos > Postmortem Pt. 1 > Passerby > Fighter > Orphan Soul > Fool the Gravity > Sweet, Sweet Lies
On Sunday May 1st, Beartooth brought their Dark Below tour to Main Street Armory in Rochester and they came with an incredible lineup. Upon arriving at the venue, a long long line of attendees were waiting to get in as this was definitely a show not to miss. If you were looking for Beartooth merchandise, the line was as long as the one outside.
Erra, who hails from Alabama, started off the night right with lots of energy to get the crow moving.
ERRA
After Erra, The Devils Wear Prada, a metalcore band from Ohio, took the stage next, who is probably the heaviest band on the tour.
The Devil Wears Prada
Then followed up by them was Silverstein, who came from just across the border in Canada. They have played many shows, recently in Albany and will be back on tour in September.
Silverstein
As the night couldn’t get any crazier, to finally take the stage, Beartooth. During setup, a white curtain concealed as stage hands worked to prep everything and when the band took the stage, after 20 seconds or so, the whole thing dropped and a roar came from the crowd. They played a good chunk of songs from their newest album Below but of course played many of their older hits like Body Bag which seemed to be a crowd favorite. Later this summer they The Ghost Inside, and Bad Omens support A Day To Remember on the Just Some Shows tour.
Rochester’s Boy Jr. is gearing up to unleash their debut album Pay Attention to Meee next month. In anticipation of the release, they’re giving us a taste of the synthy-pop ear candy to come.
Inspired by Chairlift and Caroline Polachek, the bedroom pop ditty “Hey Sorry” ensconces girl power in the face of heartbreak.
“‘Hey Sorry’ is a sonic showcase of how fucked up I get when I have a crush.”
– Boy Jr.
Boy Jr. is the songwriting/production project of Erica Allen-Lubman (she/they). To celebrate the release of “Hey Sorry” they will be opening for Aryia at The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn tonight (May 18). Follow on Instagram.
Honest Folk, purveyors of, er, honest folk concerts in Rochester, brought The Dead Tongues to town from Asheville, North Carolina on Sunday, May 15. The Dead Tongues, the project of singer-songwriter Ryan Gustafson, is sometimes a solo act, as it was on his previous visit to the area last summer at the Point of the Bluff Vineyard on Keuka Lake. But tonight it was a full band show, and electric at that. Not unheard of for an Honest Folk show, but not the norm either.
To prepare for this, the crowd had the opportunity to stretch their listening muscles. The band’s drummer, Joe Westerlund, started the evening with about 30 minutes of drum and electronics improvisation. Subtly shifting rhythmic electronic loops created a bedrock for Westerlund to explore his well-equipped kit, which featured all the bells, but no whistles. Even the shakes, rattles and clanks emerging from the bar, which can distract from the usual folk fare, added an unintentional surround sound effect. Inner ears and minds stretched and loosened, the previous hours of the day washed away, the crowd was ready to settle in for The Dead Tongues.
After a short break, Westerlund was joined on stage by Gustafson on guitars, harmonicas and vocals, Maddie Schuler on guitar and lap steel and Jeff Ratner on bass. They opened with the title track off of their stellar 2022 release, Dust. The album was written and recorded in a short period, a burst of inspiration for Gustafson. Live, there was no urgency though. Songs could ooze into existence and drift out just as languidly.
Older songs worked seamlessly into the set, some retooled to take advantage of the current band. On “Peaceful Ambassador” Gustafson’s harmonica meshed beautifully with Schuler’s lap steel, creating an almost organ-like effect, a unique mix of sound that would show up throughout the set. Ratner picked up the pace with a popping bass line that opened the song up into a jam featuring a searing slow burn solo from Gustafson. He strapped on the 12-string acoustic as his band continued to fizzle the song into a spacey outro that led right into “Sweet Relief,” another mellow groove that got pulled and stretched by the band.
Each song expanded their sound universe in subtle ways. “Nothingness and Everything” added a bit of reggae, some beautiful 3-part harmonies and featured a crowd-wowing guitar solo from Schuler. Westerlund continued exploring his kit throughout the night, from a softer hand drummed beat for “Pale November Dew,” to a sharp electronic beat on “Little Lies” or just flat out wowing with unique fills on the twanging rocker “Pawnshop Dollar Bills.”
It all remained rooted in Gustafson’s heartfelt and evocative songcraft, which he let speak for itself, keeping the banter to a minimum throughout the night. And these are songs begging to be heard again and again. Time to give that record another spin.
Setlist: Dust, Ebb and Flow, Through the Glass, Strangers, Graveyard Fields, Peaceful Ambassador, Sweet Relief, Pale November Dew, Nothingness and Everything, Garden Song, Little Lies, Pawnshop Dollar Bills, Won’t Be Long
On March 30th, Attack Attack! brought the East Coast Scuttle to Montage Music Hall in Rochester and what a performance it was. It had everything from mosh pits, to crowd surfers and crab fingers. Although the venue wasn’t sold-out, it was hard to tell on this Wednesday evening as a sea of fans could be seen while entering the venue’s main entrance.
The night began with local act, Armor Alive. While the lightest out of all the bands with their rock sound, they were still was able to pump-up the crowd.
Next up was Across The White Water Tower, who are another local but are part of the tour. They brought a mix of rap and metalcore on top of their high energy stage performance.
Until I Wake followed, who also hail from the state. The Buffalo natives performed with a heavy metalcore influence
Conquer Divide were the penultimate performers. The group, which is made up of 5 very talented women” were the reason for many of the fans in attendance.
With the first 4 performers, the crowd was delivered wild night of raging and uproar and that was before the headliners made their way to the stage. Attack Attack!, who are known for their crab stance as they perform and their unique song titles, rocked the stage. Bringing full-circle a night for the ages at Montage Music Hall.
If you didn’t catch them on this tour, don’t worry, a little birdie said that they may be back in the fall with a new lineup.
When does a band stop being up and coming? When they get signed, when they headline a tour, when they become famous. That’s certainly part of “making it” in the music industry. I would suggest though, that a band stops being up and coming when they understand themselves as artists. That to go from promise to realization happens when you know who you are creatively. CHRMR might still be up and coming in industry terms, but they’re fully established artistically.
CHRMR’s second full length album, Low in the Glow, is hardcore rock that understands where it comes from and where it would like to go. Up and coming artists often only understand one of the two. They’re either so eager to shatter conventions they misunderstand the fundamentals of their genre or they’re ideas are so indebted to their inspirations they fail to deliver originality. CHRMR uses both the dark, occult conventions of doom rock and their own original songwriting to create an LP that elevates the band from aspiring musicians to creative thinkers.
On the classic rock guitar led, Rites, CHRMR offers the tropes of devilry and mysticism associated with doom rock. “The priestess calls the demon/ and the shaman does the dance,” they sing about some dark ritual. It’s not real, though. It’s a fantasy, just some wish fulfilment for fans of the genre. Like rappers with money, or singer songwriters with breakups we rarely interrogate ourselves about why they’re present in our music or even care that they are, but we expect them, which means they have value. To run away from these ideas doesn’t “bust” the genre, it mischaracterizes it.
By incorporating staples of the genre into their album CHRMR allows itself to push up against them as their own voice shines through their songwriting. On the album’s closing track “Grain Ark”, a young boy comes to terms with the solitude of growing up, he’s referred to as a “golden foal”. A deeply poetic line that evokes something fragile but precious, a precocious foal who may become a towering stallion. Its tenderness would be out of place were it not so confidently woven into the rapid guitar riffs and cacophonous energy of the drums on Grain Ark.
Throughout Low in the Glow CHRMR’s artistic intention keep the album cohesive, propelling the listener from one track to the next. It establishes the band as artistically mature because they don’t ask themselves if a certain lyric, or down tempo rhythm might work, they know it will. And when people use the cliché “find your sound” that’s what they mean.
Heading into nearly 35 years as The Australian Pink Floyd Show, the band returns with a new live show with the “All That’s To Come” Tour with 50-dates in North America and will stop in New York on September 16th in Brooklyn at Kings Theatre and September 21st at Kodak Center in Rochester.
The Australian Pink Floyd Show is the first Pink Floyd tribute show that brought their music to life in a worldwide platform. The band is viewed as more than just a tribute band due to three decade run with their note to note perfection and extraordinary audiences.
The 10-member band has performed in over 35 countries and has sold over 4 million tickets worldwide since the creation of The Australian Pink Floyd Show in 1988. The band has taken the stage with Rick Wright, performed at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday and interviewed with BBC radio.
One of the most revered and well-reviewed tribute bands in the game brought a powerful performance…With haunting performances of ‘Welcome to the Machine’ and ‘Time,’ the Australian Pink Floyd had the crowd in a dreamlike state of ecstasy.
Rolling Stone
The Australian Pink Floyd Show lineup for the tour consist of Jason Sawford (keyboards), Dave Fowler (guitar, vocals), Steve Mac (guitar, vocals), Paul Bonney (drums), Ricky Howard (bass, vocals), Chris Barnes (vocals), Mike Kidson (saxophone), Lorelei McBroom (backing vocals), Lara Smiles (backing vocals), Emily Lynn (backing vocals).
Tickets for most shows are on sale now; visit https://www.aussiefloyd.comfor ticketing information and more details.
ALL THAT’S TO COME 2022 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
Thursday, August 4: Thousand Oaks, CA @ Fred Kavli Theatre
Friday, August 5: San Diego, CA @ Humphreys Concerts By The Bay
Saturday, August 6: Costa Mesa, CA @ Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Sunday, August 7: Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre
Tuesday, August 9: Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Thursday, August 11: San Francisco, CA @ Orpheum Theatre
Friday, August 12: Lincoln, CA @ Thunder Valley Casino
Sunday, August 14: Airway Heights, WA @ Northern Quest Casino
Tuesday, August 16: Bellingham, WA @ Mt. Baker Theatre
Wednesday, August 17: Woodinville, WA @ Chateau Ste. Michelle
Friday, August 19: Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
Saturday, August 20: Las Vegas, NV @ The Smith Center
Sunday, August 21: Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Arts
Tuesday, August 23: Denver, CO @ Arvada #
Thursday, August 25: Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion ^
Saturday, August 27: Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Sunday, August 28: Dallas, TX @ Music Hall at Fair Park
Thursday, September 1: Kettering, OH @ Fraze Pavilion
Friday, September 2: Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Saturday, September 3: Clearwater, FL @ Ruth Eckerd Hall
Sunday, September 4: Fort Lauderdale, FL @ AuRene Theater at Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Monday, September 5: Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Wednesday, September 7: Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia ~
Thursday, September 8: Minneapolis, MN @ Mystic Lake Casino Showroom
Friday, September 9: New Buffalo, MI @ Four Winds Casino
Saturday, September 10: St. Louis, MO @ The Factory
Sunday, September 11: Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
Monday, September 12: Grand Rapids, MI @ Meijer Gardens +
Wednesday, September 14: North Bethesda, MD @ Strathmore
Thursday, September 15: Youngstown, OH @ Covelli Centre
Friday, September 16: Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
Saturday, September 17: New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl
Sunday, September 18: Red Bank, NJ @ Count Basie Center
Wednesday, September 21: Rochester, NY @ Kodak Center
Thursday, September 22: Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
Friday, September 23: Lancaster, PA @ American Music Theatre
Saturday, September 24: Bensalem, PA @ Parx Casino
Sunday, September 25: Wilkes-Barre, PA @ F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Tuesday, September 27: Kitchener, ON @ Centre in the Square ^
Thursday, September 29: Windsor, ON @ Casino Windsor #
Friday, September 30: Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Saturday, October 1: Laval, QC @ Place Bell
Sunday, October 2: Trois- Rivières, QC @ Amphithéâtre Cogeco
Tuesday, October 4: Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Centre
Thursday, October 6: Alma, QC @ Centre Multisport
Friday, October 7: Quebec City, QC @ Centre Videotron
Saturday, October 8: Riviere-du-Loup, QC @ Centre Premier Tech Arena
Sunday, October 9: Sherbrooke, QC @ Maurice O’Bready
In anticipation of their debut EP, Broken Dance, set to release on May 6th, Gooseberry has dropped the titular track of their forthcoming project. The Brooklyn band, consisting of Asa Daniels, Evin Rossington, Sam Rappaport, and Will Hammond, is slowly building an underground following.
Recently, the band placed in the Final Four in NYSMusic’s March Madness 2022 bracket, and their newest release continues to highlight their talent.
Gooseberry
Gooseberry’s music is a magnificent blend of soulful R&B and indie-pop. Their newest release continues to showcase this amalgamation. The titularly titled track, “Broken Dance,” features a happy yet inquisitive piano roll. Accompanied by a melancholic violin and intimate lyricism, the track wonderfully captures the antonymic feelings of intimacy and loss.
The four-piece talent will also be touring the American Northeast. In New York, they will return to the Bowery Electric on April 14th and to Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory on May 21st. Additionally, the band will also pass through the Finger Lakes region and will play at Grist Iron Brewing on June 11th.
TOUR DATES
04/13 – O’Brien’s – Boston, MA
04/14 – Bowery Electric – New York, NY
04/16 – Transparent Clinch Gallery – Asbury Park, NJ
05/21 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY
06/11 – Grist Iron Brewing – Burdett, NY
Gooseberry is set to have an exceptional 2022, for more information on the band and to pre-order Broken Dance, visit gooseberryband.com.
The position of the Earth relative to the Sun indicated it was Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. But unsurprisingly in Rochester, Winter was hanging on for one last (we hope) gasp before ceding the floor. On an absolutely frigid and snowy late March Sunday, a duo of duos, Honeysuckle from New York via Boston, and Tough Old Bird from nearby Buffalo, shared the stage at the Club at Water Street for an intimate evening of folk music.
Honeysuckle, Holly McGarry on guitar and vocals, and Chris Bloniarz on mandolin and vocals, were closing out the first week of their first tour since the big live music pause. They released a new album in 2021 but when they were ready to tour behind it COVID reared its ugly head once again. So, they were promoting their “new” year-old album finally, though their set covered the breadth of their full catalog.
McGarry, donned in a flowery dress more fit for the season than the actual weather, tethered the duo to a more traditional folk anchor. Her beautiful singing brought life to reflective, darkened material, floating along her strummed and picked acoustic guitar work. Bloniarz contrasted that with mandolin playing that veered into jamgrass territory, weaving interesting and exhilarating threads in, out, over and through McGarry’s songs. He filtered his instrument through a large bank of pedals, though it never lost it’s mandolin-ity. He set up an occasional loop to increase the duo’s reach, a grooving bass-line or nice vamp to solo over for a few bars.
Their songs often looked into the past. “Shadow Dance” was inspired by an episode of the British show “Repair Shop,” which McGarry binged over the pandemic, in which an old violin was meticulously restored. The tune had an appropriately timeless quality. “Two Stone Birds,” about a stressful trip transporting delicate family heirlooms cross country on a small airplane, was fittingly jaunty and folksily funky. A cautionary tale about exploring your genealogy, “To the Grave” teetered between bright and dark. A rarely played “Crossbow” emerged from obscurity to fulfill a birthday request (as if having the band sing you “Happy Birthday” isn’t enough of a gift!), and proved to be one of the set’s highlights.
Tough Old Bird, brothers Matthew and Nathan Corrigan, opened the show with a set of their gorgeous folk duets. Matthew handled most of the vocal duties while Nathan took care of most of the flashier guitar work. But there was no exclusivity to this setup, these are brothers that know how to share. They are also brothers who knew how to harmonize, like only kin can, beautifully singing about both winter and spring, even if neither or both were appropriate, and songs inspired by their home’s proximity to the Great Lakes. The duo filled out and diversified their sound; Matthew with deft harmonica playing and Nathan switching it up with a banjo and electric guitar, all the while banging out rhythms on a foot tambourine.
Water Street served up a double shot of double folk that warmed the chilled audience up like a double shot of whiskey, from the inside out.
Honeysuckle Setlist: Miss You, Gaslight, Untouchable, Shadow Dance, Two Stone Birds, Little Less Alone, It’s Getting Late, Something Worth Having, Windstorm, Greenline, Firestarter, To the Grave, Darkness Knows, Crossbow, Deep Blue Eyes, Canary
