New York hornsman Lee Hamilton recruited sensational artists to create the group The Super 20. The curation of this group is marked by the January 7 release of their debut single ‘The Good Life.’ Their debut album, Winds of Wareika, is scheduled to come out in the spring on Color Red.
The group consists of performers that have worked along side artists like Chicago Jazz Underground, Debo Band and Jeff Parker. While still having their own sound, inspiration is pulled from greats such as Rico Rodriguez, Tommy McCook and Quantic. Hamilton personally cites literature as another source of inspiration, with Paulo Coelho’s book “The Alchemist.”
The album is a collaborative effort between Hamilton and renowned producer and engineer, Craig Welsch at Rear Window Studio in Boston. Welsch is cited as a “crucial piece of the puzzle” when it came down to exactly how the ideas of this single would come to fruition.
The two started collaborating in the early days of John Brown’s Body with Hamilton forming the horn section and Welsh serving as the band’s sound engineer. The two share a common idea of what “feels good” about creating music.
Lee Hamilton on tenor saxophone
The Good Life’s sound is something that tries to transcend genres. The track’s ideas of optimism and positivity towards the future blend perfectly with the reggae and afrobeat inspiration, as the horns keep you captivated.
Hamilton’s saxophone provides a strong base for the entire song and it’s easy to see just how well his curation of this group worked out.
Brooklyn post-punk band SAVAK release their new single “Cold Ocean,” with hints of a new album on the way.
Savak and “Cold Ocean.”
SAVAK is a two-headed machine led by Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski, and Matt Shulz on drums. Jaworski and Habibion have been sharing the duties of singer and songwriter since the band’s creation in 2015.
All the members of the band played in bands in the 90s-The Obits, Holy Fuck, and The Cops. Their prior experience in 90s rock bands helps reform the sound of SAVAK, as touches of the scene are heard in their music.
SAVAK, photo by Taylor Sesselman.
“Cold Ocean” comes off the A-side digital single with the accompanying B-side “Adolescence Obsolete.” The single is guitar-heavy, and there is a lot of emphasis leading up to the big hook. The song has deep and meaningful lyrics, like the line, “Cold, cold ocean/Gonna break my neck/A wave of deep regret/I know we’ve already met.”
The video itself features SAVAK’s home of Brooklyn, with scenes occurring throughout the city. The video is funny and uses shifting colors from gray to light to emphasize mood shifts. The story follows “Walker Slim” and his hustle to hawk a ring to give to a lover that never shows.
This past Saturday in New York City, Grammy Award-winning artists Anderson .Paak and Maurice “Mobetta” Brown surprised the Blue Note audience with an unannounced special performance at DJ Logic‘s headline show.
.Paak took a seat behind the drum set, showing off his impeccable skills and creating the perfect foundation for Brown to lay down some funky trumpet improvisation.
Julie Greenhouse attended the show, and shared her first hand take on the surprise performance:
Last night’s Blue Note shows were absolutely incredible. The core crew for the first and second set included Logic, Deitch, Karl D, MonoNeon, Fred Wesley, Jay Rodriguez, Marcus Muchado and James Hurt. They tore it up on their own – Fred Wesley is still amazing and all the musicians were so excited to be playing with him.
Jojo Hermann (WSP keys) came out for a song towards the end of the set, which was awesome! But it was really the second set that took it up a notch, with Anderson .Paak and Maurice Brown sitting in for a couple songs, as well as JSwiss and Kosha Dillz. The energy at the Blue Note was fantastic and it just felt like a special NYC moment that we were lucky to be a part of.
Throughout the weekend, the four-night DJ Logic and Friends run featured performances from Karl Denson, MonoNeon, Adam Deitch, Fred Wesley, Marcus Machado, James Hurt, and Angie Swan from David Byrne’s American Utopia.
Upcoming January shows at Blue Note include GZA with Live Band (1/11-1/12), Bobby Rush (1/17), Walter Wolfman Washington & The Roadmasters, Ron Artis II & The Truth (1/18-1/19), Veronica Swift (1/20-1/23), Talib Kweli with Live Band + Special Guests Bob James & Slick Rick (1/24), and Bob James Trio (1/25-1/30).
New York State has some of the finest bands in the U.S. From Clouds Taste Satanic, to Diluted, Wasted Space to Caustic, and Less than Hate, NYS knows how to throw down a heavy riff or three. With that in mind, our focus today is on a band from Troy, the immensely talented The Final Sleep.
The Final Sleep is a five piece that features founding members of Arsis (drummer Mike Van Dyne), Burning Human (bassist Jason Van DerVoort and guitarist Mike Stack), and Withstand (guitarist Kevin Maloney) joined by Jeff Andrews (guitar and vocals). Together they utilize melody, heavy riffs, sizzling lead guitar work, expertly performed vocals, and a ton of power in order to get their message across; they also throw in some progressive elements to bring their music up to new levels. Their upcoming album, Vessels of Grief, is due out February 4th.
I was shocked as I listened to Vessels of Grief for the first time, mainly because The Final Sleep hits upon several different genres, and manages to keep the record cohesive despite that. I can hear influences from viking metal, dark melodic metal like Witherfall, death metal, hardcore, and a bit of black metal; the band specifically states that they take influence from Opeth, Edge of Sanity, Control Denied, Amorphis, and Mercyful Fate/King Diamond.
The first single is called Screaming in Silence, and it’s easy to see why they chose this one to lead off with; it’s heavy, the vocals are incredible, and it has a serious Witherfall vibe thanks to those excellent vocals. A huge selling point for me are the heavy vocals, which ride the line between death metal and your standard metal vocals.
Tracks four and five, Soul in Between and Funeral Seed respectively, are everything that I love about heavy metal. The band utilizes a diverse approach in both tracks by incorporating dark and light, heavy and melodic, and it all hits like a ten ton hammer of awesomeness. There also seems to be a splash of black metal, particularly in Funeral Seed, but only as coloring for an already amazing piece of art; this one also has that Witherfall feel in its slower, clean sections, and in how the vocals are performed during them.
I would highly recommend The Final Sleep to any metalhead out there, without even taking their genre of choice into consideration, because Vessels of Grief hits so many sweet spots, and uses influences that are far ranging. This album will be one of New York’s finest metal releases.
Folk singer Judy Collins is releasing her 29th album titled Spellbound, filled with all her compositions, a first for Collins.
On the 6th she released “When I Was A Girl In Colorado,” a nostalgic slow song about a young Collins living in Colorado. The song is haunting and beautiful, with soft yet vibrant vocals.
Judy Collins photo by Shervin Lainez
Collins began her musical career in the 60s playing folk music in Colorado and Connecticut. She made her break in Greenwich Village and released her first album A Maid of Constant Sorrow in 1961. Over her life, she has played with icons like Stephen Stills, Randy Newman, and Joni Mitchell.
Collins spoke about making Spellbound and said that she created it because of this time of uncertainty.
They say after the plague came the Renaissance. Now felt like the perfect time to make this record because, after all that’s happened in the world, we need something beautiful and inspirational to lift us up.
The album’s name comes from her pure love of the outdoors, and how it lured her to consider being a park ranger. On the record, she also worked with different musicians. These included Alan Silverman and Ari Hest– Hest being nominated along with Collins for a duet record at the GRAMMYs.
Collins has had a busy past couple of years, releasing five albums in five years and recently launching a podcast, Since You’ve Asked, where she talks about her prolific life with a number of her favorite musicians.
Last month, she returned to live to perform at New York’s Town Hall, centered around her album Winter Stories.
Judy Collins is also going on tour to accompany the release of Spellbound and will be stopping at two NY dates, and tickets to purchase can be found here.
Judy Collins 2022 Tour Dates
January 7, 2022 – Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center in The Villages, FL
January 12, 2022 – Key West Theater in Key West, FL
January 14, 2022 – Lillian S. Wells Hall at The Parker in Fort Lauderdale, FL
January 16, 2022 -Bilheimer Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, FL
January 26, 2022 – City Winery Atlanta in Atlanta, GA
February 11, 2022 – Carriage House Theater, Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA
February 12, 2022 – Carriage House Theater, Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA
February 13, 2022 – SOKA PAC in Aliso Viejo, CA
February 15, 2022 – Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA
February 18, 2022 – Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu, HI
February 19, 2022 – Blue Note Hawaii in Honolulu, HI
February 23, 2022 – Edmonds Center for the Arts in Edmonds, WA
February 25, 2022 – Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia, WA
February 26, 2022 – Admiral Theatre in Bremerton, WA
February 28, 2022 – Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR
March 1, 2022 – Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland, OR
March 2, 2022 – Tower Theatre in Bend, OR
March 4, 2022 – One World Theater in Austin, TX
March 7, 2022 – Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, NM
March 8, 2022 – Fox Tucson Theatre in Tucson, AZ
March 10, 2022 – Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ
March 11, 2022 – McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts in Palm Desert, CA
March 13, 2022 – College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, CA
March 18, 2022 – Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, NJ
March 24, 2022 – Fox Theatre in Hutchinson, KS
March 26, 2022 – The Stanley – Estes Park, CO
March 29, 2022 – Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, TN
March 31, 2022 – Grand Theatre in Frankfort, KY
April 22, 2022 – State Theatre in Portland, ME
April 23, 2022 – 1932 Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor, ME
April 28, 2022 – Homer Center For The Arts in Homer, NY
April 29, 2022 – Sugarloaf PAC in Chester, NY
May 18, 2022 – St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids, MI
May 22, 2022 – Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS
July 22, 2022 – Cain Park in Cleveland Heights, OH
July 24, 2022 – Botanical Gardens – Denver, CO
Collins and Hest performing a song off of their album.
To many, the term “hippie” is often associated with counterculture, drug-induced dreamers. Sure, they may have the right societal ideals, but they are often followed by eccentric and unconventional behavior with abstract resolutions instead of anything concrete. Others turn the hippie persona into an identity, becoming a caricature that further discredits a way of life that has many valid ideologies.
As the Hippie persona loses credibility within contemporary culture, up-and-coming duo, dp.thuH and blond.bomber, are looking to revive what it means to be against the grain. Collectively, the Pittsburgh (blond) and Toledo (dp) bred artists are recognized as Hippie Tribe. A fitting name as their blend of rock & roll, hip hop, alternative music along with their live instrumentation and overall mix of musical elements create a magnetic sound that sways further away from popular contemporaries with each listen.
Now, different does not always mean better. Yet, their organic approach to their sound is a direct result of the duo’s realization that some spaces aren’t meant for them and that their niche isn’t any particular sound, but rather an encapsulation of their influences. They don’t occupy a sub-genre of hip hop, or Rock or R&B, they are those genres and whatever else they choose to become.
Operating out of Brooklyn, the duo feel as though they have the world at their fingertips, Assured about what they bring to the table. The duo answered some questions for NYS Music.
NYS Music: What part of Brooklyn are you guys from?
dp.thuH: We stay out in Bedstuy. We aren’t originally from BK. I’m from Toledo, Ohio and Niko’s [blond.bomber] from Pittsburgh.
NYS Music: How did you guys come together?
blond.bomber: We’ve been making music together for about five years now. We met playing ball in college. We spent a lot of time before we decided to make music just talking about it. Freestyling at parties, chatting on why certain albums were better than others. It all happened real organic like.
NYS Music: Your music is very diverse and does not confine itself to any genre. How much do you feel if (any) did your environment play a part in that?
dp.thuH: It played a huge role. And it still does. Growing up in gospel choirs naturally shaped our eclectic ears. You can hear hella genres in gospel music – blues, jazz, funk, rock. Once I got my own headphones and smart phones came around, it was over. So our music is a reflection of the sounds we’ve been hearing our whole lives.
blond.bomber: And playing instruments and producing all of our music gives us an advantage too, we can really manipulate and shape our music so that it’s super palatable to the average listener. But still unique too.
NYS Music: Your LP on Apple Music is labeled as “Alternative Rap” but what would you guys label your style as?
dp.thuH: Honestly, I don’t really know. It fluctuates so much. Hip-Pop&B? Alternative Punk Rap? It’s just different for real. In the best ways, like it’s uniquely refreshing.
NYS Music: You call yourselves “Hippie Tribe,” is that because you guys see yourselves as musical outcasts? Or different from the norm? Even your individual names (dp.thuH & blond.bomber)
dp.thuH: I guess so, we definitely go against the grain with our shit. But I think I felt like an outcast my whole life. And it took me some time to accept it too but I realized I was moving further from my purpose the more I tried to integrate myself into places that were never meant for me. Truthfully, it’s not on purpose. I think we’re different because unfortunately, a lot of this world is made up of bullshitters and people looking for photo ops. People who like to hear themselves talk and say things just to say they said them later. We’re not just being different because it’s the cool thing to do. We got chosen for this shit – that’s why we’re different. And that’s why we take it dead ass serious. It’s our job to push the art further, really push boundaries.
blond.bomber: This is just how our brains work. And it’s beyond the music like Dee said, we’re mad unorthodox without trying. We speak in cursive and dream abstract. I don’t claim to be cool or none of that shit and I don’t try to be. I just know God loves me and my shorties love me and I try to treat every breath like it’s my last. We’re here to leave a legacy and you can’t do that tryna fit in. our homies say it all the time, we’ve just always been different.
blond.bomber
NYS Music: Describe your songwriting process.
dp.thuH: I think I’m like 70/30 when it comes to freestyling versus writing so it doesn’t take us long to make records once we have production, or vice-versa. It isn’t hard to produce once we have lyrics or a melody. We feel like we’re vessels so producing records top to bottom comes naturally. And there’s no ego in this so if one of us is like, ‘yo, I feel like you should change the flow here’ or ‘I think we should find a stronger way to say this bar,’ the other is all ears. It’s all about putting the best product together possible.
NYS Music: Why only 2 songs for Gullah Punk: mod 1?
blond.bomber: Gullah Punk: mod 1, is the first of several capsules we’ll be dropping. We’ve always been pretty eclectic with our sound but over the past couple of years, we’ve been really focused on creating dynamics within minimalistic production. We love to rap and we love to rage so rock and hip-hop tethered naturally. This two-pack is littered with those little moments of perfectly balanced raw emotion, vulnerability and disorderliness. These capsules will be both auditory and visual too, we’re releasing a series of film shorts leading up to a short film. We pitched our film to a few directors and now we’re blessed to have a whole ass incredible production company behind us believing in our vision and mission. Along with the drops, we also put together a few community events in Bed-stuy. So this music project has sort of turned into a living, breathing movement.
dp.thuH: The goal for this particular project rollout and accompanying events is two-fold; We love music and the arts so if our presence and efforts allow kids to discover a new passion or encourage others in the community to pursue theirs, perfect. The second piece is probably most important for us… we want to ignite a new mindset in our people that together, we have the tools necessary to rewrite our fate. The philosophy is simple – “Kill your demons”. But in order for us to get that done, we got to shine a light into the dark.”
dp.thuH
NYS Music: Do you guys consider yourselves abstract artists?
dp.thuH: To us, we’re just doing our thing. I kinda feel like we’re Queen when they first wanted to drop “Bohemian Rhapsody.” They’re banging coffee mugs against chandeliers and shit, singing until their voices can’t crack any more. And all that “abstract” stuff was just their process. It’s exactly the only way they knew how to get out whatever it was they were hearing in their heads. So I don’t know if we’re abstract artists. I don’t know if that’s something we can even say because it looks like 1+1 to us.
NYS Music: Is there any particular artist that influenced you guys’ sound?
blond.bomber: Particularly, no. And that’s not to say that we don’t have influences – it’s actually the opposite. We get influenced everyday by everything. You could be sitting at the park and words come to you or, with your homies or, having sex or, dreaming. We just let things flow as organically as possible. So, sometimes Dee will have a beat that inspires me or someone will come in with some bars they came up with on the random. We really just let the universe decide.
dp.thuH: Yea it’s hard to name particular artists because it’s such a fusion of hella sounds. But lately we’ve been listening to a lot of N.E.R.D, Nirvana, Yves Tumor, and Willow…
blond.bomber: Haley Williams.
dp.thuH: Yup. We’ve been getting some gnarly sounds out of it.
NYS Music: What are your goals in the music industry?
dp.thuH: Because we’re super-producers, we’ll be a powerhouse label soon, with some of the dopest artists under our wing, all while producing and writing songs for the biggest acts in the world. We’re going to have a full-blown production and multimedia company soon too. We’re already writing, directing and scoring our own visual projects so, we feel confident that with the right infrastructure, we’re going to make some serious noise before people can even blink. And we’re going to debunk the whole notion of celebrity. Because, we’re giving it all back to the streets. We’re about to revamp Bedstuy to be the hub for the best art, regardless of medium, in New York. Studios on every block, random installations on the sidewalks and in parks, immersive programs. We’re about to turn it all up.
Michael Lang, Woodstock Music and Arts Festival co-founder, and promoter of the 1994 and 1999 editions, has died at age 77, at Sloan Kettering in New York City. The cause of death was a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to family spokesperson Michael Pagnotta.
Michael Lang at Woodstock 1969. Photo by Henry Diltz
Michael Lang was raised in Brooklyn and attended college at New York University and University of Tampa before eventually moved to Coconut Grove, Florida where he opened a head shop, which was, as Lang noted in his autobiography, “the hub of the Miami underground.” Lang would shift into concert promotion in the late 1960s, producing the Miami Pop Festival in 1968, which featured a lineup that included Chuck Berry, The Mothers of Invention, and Jimi Hendrix, among others.
Speaking of Miami Pop Festival, Lang told Ellen Sanders’ for the 1973 book Trips: Rock Life in the Sixties, “The climate is perfect, people are into a stimulating variety of artistic things and there was no place for them to get together.” The seeds of next year’s Woodstock Festival in Bethel, NY can be found in Lang’s mindset.
Miami Pop Festival 1968 Poster
Lang partnered up with Artie Kornfeld, a Bensonhurst, Queens native, who was then East Coast Director of Contemporary Entertainment at Capitol Records. The two hit if off after their initial meeting, one that was set up by Lang playing to Kornfeld’s roots, saying he was ‘from the neighborhood’. Lang would move in with Kornfeld and his wife Linda in New York City, and their all-night conversations would be the genesis of the Woodstock Festival, both the event and the cultural impact still felt today.
Lang and Kornfeld would connect with business partners Joel Rosenman and John Roberts while working with the band Train, and ultimately form Woodstock Ventures Incorporated in March 1969, named for the town Bob Dylan was living in at the time. Lang wrote in The Road to Woodstock “I thought it was time to head to back to New York. Ninety miles north of the city, Woodstock had become a magnet for musicians. I remembered its small-town, artsy vibe from when we used to visit there in the fifties. The town had a history of attracting artists and bohemians. My girlfriend Sonya and I decided to check it out for ourselves.”
Roberts and Rosenman brought the money and financial experience, while Lang and Kornfeld brought their own knowledge of rock music culture and production skills to pull off the event. Lang and Kornfeld had proposed building a recording studio in Woodstock, as a means to encourage local residents Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and The Band to record at, but the idea was scrapped in favor of an outdoor music festival.
Meeting in February 1969, Lang recalled an early interactions with Roberts and Rosenman:
We met with them in their apartment on 83rd Street in a high-rise. They were kind of preppy. Today, I guess they’d be yuppies. They were wearing suits. Artie did most of the talking, because I think they seemed puzzled by me. They were curious about the counterculture, and they were somewhat interested in the project. They wanted a written proposal, which we had but we didn’t bring with us. We told them that we would meet again with a budget for the festival.
Michael Lang
By the second time they met, a budget of $500,000 was discussed, with a potential attendance of 100,000. Ultimately, Woodstock would have a pricetag of more than $2.4 million (nearly $18 million in 2022 dollars), and would be billed as “Three Days of Peace and Music.” But the location for the festival would prove to be a challenge for Lang and company.
When he was younger, Lang spent summers attending camps in Sullivan County, home to Bethel, where he would later produce Woodstock and cement his name in music history. Initially looking into the town of Woodstock, the partners would settle on Wallkill in Orange County, While at first, the town and location were hospitable to the event, soon the residents turned on Woodstock Ventures, essentially pulling the plug for the festival on July 2, 1969.
The news caught the attention of a young Elliot Tiber, who was working at his family’s El Monaco Hotel in White Lake, and he alerted Lang to the location, just outside of Bethel. Lang later told the New York Times, “Elliot was part of the magic of Woodstock. Without his phone call bringing me to Bethel, Woodstock might never have happened, and for that I am eternally grateful.”
While the El Monaco Hotel would not be able to host the event as Tiber envisioned (it did serve as Woodstock Ventures headquarters over the next month), he did offer a suggestion to check out his friend Max Yasgur’s farm, located on Happy Ave in Bethel. Upon meeting Yasgur and securing the property, as well as agreeing to return the farm to its original condition post-festival, Lang made the move with a month to go before Woodstock was set to kick off. Lang was later portrayed by Jonathan Groff in Ang Lee’s 2009 film Taking Woodstock, based on Tiber’s memoir.
Yasgur’s Farm – during Woodstock Music Festival 1969, and today
The Upstate New York festival would draw more than 400,000 people to Yasgur’s farm, becoming a signature moment for the counterculture movement, at the end of one of the most tumultuous decades in American history. Musicians including The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, John Sebastian, Richie Havens, Sly and the Family Stone, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young all performed, among many other music legends.
Lang would later have a hand in the 25th anniversary Woodstock Festival, held in 1994 at Winston Farm in Saugerties, which would bring the Woodstock spirit and history to a new generation, catering to Generation X with artists including Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, Blues Traveler, Sheryl Crow, The Roots, Salt-n-Pepa, as well as bringing back artists from the original Woodstock, among them Country Joe McDonald, Crosby Stills and Nash, Joe Cocker and Santana.
photo by Steve Malinski
The ill-fated Woodstock 99 festival also saw Lang at the helm, this edition being held in Rome, NY on Griffiss Air Force and featuring a lineup that melded genres in a way that was both similar and dissimilar to previous Woodstock festivals. While the lineup provided a little something for everyone, subsequent price gouging, lack of basic infrastructure (water, bathrooms and shade among them) and intense heat culminated in an angst-filled riot that saw fires set as the Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out the festival. Lang would tell Syracuse.com in a 2019 interview:
In the end, it was partially my fault, partially the fault of the fans of Insane Clown Posse who were running amok all weekend. But at the end of the show, the Chili Peppers were on stage closing the festival. They had been given permission to hand out candles, and that was a mistake. [People] started to set things on fire, and it started to grow. It was a very different show, and a very different time musically. But overall, people had an amazing weekend.
Michael Lang on Woodstock 99
Lang made efforts to throw Woodstock 50 in 2019, but could not pull the event off due to local opposition as well as limited ticket sales, despite star-studded lineups and locations that included Watkins Glen International and Vernon Downs in Vernon, NY. The year-long effort to pull off a 50th anniversary event on par with the original was not in the cards, although there was a celebration at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts over the weekend of August 15-16, 2019.
When something pushes back as hard as this did, you have to get the sense that maybe there is a reason behind it.
Life is full of experiences, and not everything works out. But you keep trying or nothing works out… That’s always been my attitude.
Lang, speaking to Pollstar, reflecting on Woodstock 50
Michael Lang at the Long Island Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony 11/7/2018
I think if Mr. Ali were here with us today, he might rhyme that only together and with love, can we change this world for the better. But we have to earn it, we have to show up and fight for the issues we believe in, the way Ali would.
The fight against global warming as we near that point of no return… Sensible gun control, Immigration reform, Whatever your opinions, I know Muhammad Ali would tell you to make your voices heard and encourage everyone to get out and vote this year AND in 2020.
Michael Lang
Michael Lang is survived by his wife Tamara, their sons Harry and Laszlo, and daughters LariAnn, Shala and Molly.
The Palace Theatre in Albany has announced a Black History Step Show featuring HYP3st Dance Competition, for Sunday, February 20 at 5pm. Dates for the recently postponed Dark Star Orchestra shows have also been announced for April.
The Price Chopper Black History Month Step Show features some of the best step teams from the Capital Region and beyond, for an afternoon of high energy dance performances. The Step Show is one of the most anticipated annual events in the area.
Stepping is truly something that needs to be seen to be fully appreciated, the quick moves and split-second changes showcase just how much time and energy is put into the choreography. Beyond entertainment value, the event is also highly educational as it relates to the concepts and themes of identity, culture, environment and society and their role in why these organizations came about and why they still exist today. The entertainment grabs your attention and draws you into wanting to learn more about these organizations and their history. This program and others like it offer participants not only a creative outlet, but also a chance to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and are now on sale via Ticketmaster. Tickets are also available for purchaseat the Palace Theatre Box Office located at 19 Clinton Ave in Albany.
Dark Star Orchestra
Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Star Orchestra have reschedule their postponed December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022 shows at the Palace Theatre for April 1 and 2, 2022. Tickets for the original dates WILL be valid for the new April dates. Tickets for December 31 are valid for April 1 and tickets for January 1 are valid for April 2.
If you are unable to attend the new dates, refunds will be available by request until January 27, 2022. To obtain a refund: If you purchased your tickets through Ticketmaster, contact Ticketmaster through your account to request a refund. If you purchased your tickets at the Palace Theatre Box Office, call the Box Office during regular business hours at 518-465-4663 to request a refund. If you have any questions, feel free to reply directly to this email.
Tickets for Dark Star Orchestra at the Palace Theatre are available here.
Long Island funk band, Baked Shrimp, makes an intriguing return with their third studio album, Pork Etiquette. The January 7 release coincides with the band’s fifth anniversary and it’s obvious just how much experience they’ve gained.
Album Cover
They recorded the album during the same sessions as their second studio album, Conscious, and it serves as an elevated part two. The Brothers Nylon assisted in the process from their studio in Patchogue, NY and Anthony Cimino at Mojo Music Studios mixed and mastered the final product.
The group utilizes a variety of sounds as they take listeners through the tales of each song, with jazz, alternative rock and early 2000’s pop rock being heard throughout. However, funk remains a mainstay.
Baked Shrimp performing at LonCon 2021
“Cannabis Bob” showcases just how well two different sonic themes can be meshed together. Fittingly named, the rhythm on this track makes you bob your head before it brings you up high. The song then crescendos in a mash of guitar, drums and bong rips before it brings you back down to the ground.
“The Gopher”’s introduction is one that you won’t forget as the horns come in to prove just why they’re included. The slick instrumental keeps your ears locked as smokey vocals feed you the tale of one bad gopher, ending with a snappy flourish. The drums never let up as they bind everything together. Don’t mess with the gopher.
“Tulu” does not waste its’ track length on fluff as Jared Cowen shows his composition prowess. The tropical beat brings you away from NY’s frigid winter and into an island paradise. The guitar and drums keep things cohesive as the band does their integral sound switching. The track provides a fitting end to the album.
As promotions for Pork Etiquette commence, it’s safe to say that Baked Shrimp has earned their spot in the East Coast music scene. Although the pandemic rages on, fans will have the chance to see their 2022 Winter Tour. They will perform in Ithaca on January 28.
Celebrating David Bowie’s Birthday will be easy this year with remixed and reimagined versions of five of his albums being released by the Bowie Estate and a Giveaway from A Bowie Celebration and Licorice Pizza Records.
David Bowie during David Bowie’s 50th Birthday Celebration Concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Patti Ouderkirk/WireImage)
David Bowie was born on January 8, 1947. There are 26 studio albums released of Bowie’s extensive works. This celebration will be focusing on five of Bowie’s albums in particular Heathen, Reality, A Reality Tour (Live), The Next Day, and★ (pronounced “Blackstar”). These albums have been remixed and reimagined exclusively in 360 Reality Audio by the David Bowie Estate. It features a new immersive music experience driven by Sony’s spatial sound technology. The content is the latest David Bowie music to be mixed in 360 Reality Audio, following Space Oddity, which is currently available on 360 Reality Audio-supported streaming platforms.
These albums are being released in conjunction with the ongoing Bowie 75 – an extended celebration of David Bowie’s 75th birthday featuring two physical pop up locations in NYC and London equipped with 360 Reality Audio listening experiences at each location. Longtime Bowie producer Tony Visconti has crafted 360 Reality Audio mixes of the albums and they will be available for streaming in 360 Reality Audio beginning January 21, 2022 on Amazon Music Unlimited, Deezer, and TIDAL.
A Bowie Celebration and Licorice Pizza Records are partnering to give away the ultimate David Bowie haul, as well as seven additional vinyl prizes, in honor of Saturday’s A Bowie Celebration livestream which will be taking place on January 8, 2021 in celebration of Bowie’s birthday and the 35th anniversary of Labyrinth. The event will be available on Rolling Live Studios website.
The grand prize includes Bowie’s Brilliant Adventure 18-LP box set and the A Bowie Celebration Supreme Bundle, which includes a one-on-one Zoom with Bowie pianist Mike Garson, a streaming ticket to the January 8 event, virtual set list, access to the virtual Q&A with members of the band, show laminate, enamel pin, Bowie’s Piano Man book signed by Garson, the limited edition event t-shirt and a second Bowie t-shirt (total value $772).
All people have to do to enter is follow @bowietour, @licoricepizzarecords or @rollinglivestudios on Instagram, comment on the post about the contest, tagging at least five friends who love Bowie and asking them to follow. Whoever generates the most new follows wins, and will be announced at Noon PST Friday. Seven additional winners selected at random will receive one of the following Bowie albums: self-titled (aka Space Oddity), Station To Station, Aladdin Sane, Scary Monsters, Last Dance, Bowie Pinups and Bowie Glastonbury 2000 (three records).
Between the remixed and reimagined versions of five albums released by the Bowie Estate and a Giveaway from A Bowie Celebration and Licorice Pizza Records there will be many ways to celebrate Bowie’s birthday this year. For more information visit Rolling Live Studios website and 360 Reality Audio’s website.
Updated on 1/13/2022: Access to the A Bowie Celebration livestream has been extended through Sunday, January 16, 2022.
