NYS Music 202​2

Tag: universal preservation hall

  • Universal Preservation Hall Announces 2022 Season Shows

    Universal Preservation Hall has announced shows for the 2022 season, including an In the Round series, a silent disco, a few notable names sharing their talent, and holiday classics to bring in December.

    A view of Universal Preservation Hall is seen during the media tour and ribbon cutting of the new concert hall in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Jenn March, Special to the Times Union)

    Universal Preservation Hall, “UPH”, is the performing arts, and community events venue located in Saratoga Springs. It was reconstructed from an 1871 former Methodist church and transformed from 19th century High Victorian Gothic church to state-of-the-art performance facility will be nothing short of amazing.

    Silent Disco — 7 p.m. July 29

    Silent Disco

    A silent disco is in an activity where people dance to music listened to on wireless headphones. Rather than using a traditional speaker system, music is broadcast via a transmitter with the signal being picked up by wireless headphones worn by the participants. Grab your headphones, pick your music and make the Silent Disco your own as you tear up the dance floor.

    An Evening You Can’t Refuse with Gianni Russo — 7:30 p.m. August 5

    Gianni Russo, known for his iconic role in The Godfather, as well as other film and television credits. Join us as Gianni Russo inspires audiences with the legendary journey of his music, storytelling of his life and acting career.

    Country Thunder: Country Legends Tribute — 7:30 p.m. August 20

    Country Legends Tribute Tour is now firmly established as North Americas #1 Country Music Tribute show featuring the music of the biggest names on the American scene including Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and Keith Urban!

    In the Round Series: KAINA and LI & The Little Idea — 7 p.m. October 1

    KAINA has created generational music that surpasses borders, a unified expression of her native Chicago coupled with her Venezuelan and Guatemalan heritage. LI & the Little Idea is a true music lover’s dream band offering listeners an experiential journey across various regions and eras of American music. It’s lyrical, it’s “dancy,” it’s authentic and it’s real.

    Cordâme – Da Vinci Inventions — 8 p.m. October 14

    Composer Jean Félix Mailloux interprets music inspired by the Italian Renaissance. This show of music and jazz will make you experience a whole range of emotions with surprising music, transcending beauty and wonder.

    Issac Mizrahi — 7:30 p.m. October 29

    Isaac Mizrahi, an actor, host, writer, designer, and producer of 30 years, now brings his singing talent to UPH for the first time! A Cabaret style performance you can’t miss.

    Justin Roberts (Not Ready for Naptime) — 6 p.m. November 10 / School Day Performance at 10:30 a.m.

    For nearly 20 years, Justin Roberts has been creating the soundtrack to families’ lives, helping kids navigate the joys and sorrows of growing up while allowing parents to remember their own childhoods.

    It’s a Jazzy Christmas — 7:30 p.m. December 16

    It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and It’s a Jazzy Christmas has all your favorite holiday songs!

    Remembering the Fifties Holiday Show — 7:30 p.m. December 17

    Celebrate the holidays with a salute to The Platters! This four-person tribute group brings their hits like “Only You” and “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” to life with a Motown live band!

    The Queen’s Cartoonist — 7:30 p.m. December 22

    The Queen’s Cartoonists play music from classic cartoons and contemporary animation. Performances are synched to videos of the original films while the band leads the audience through a world of multi-instrumental mayhem and comedy!

    Samara Joy — 8 p.m. December 23

    Samara Joy has dug deep to discover her jazz roots, without losing sight of the innate simplicity that makes her sound shine. With a voice as smooth as velvet, Joy’s star seems to rise with each performance!

    Tickets are available through the Box Office at Proctors or online at proctors.org.

  • Eddies Hall of Fame Celebrates Capital Region’s Music Scene at UPH

    The rich music history of the Capital Region was celebrated on Tuesday, June 7 with the Eddies Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Held at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. The eight honorees included folk, ambient, rock, and acoustic artists, as well as a promoter, writer/musicians, and an independent radio station founder.

    Paul Rapp, a musician and entertainment rights lawyer, as well as a 2020 Eddies Hall of Fame inductee knew them all and gave opening remarks noting such. Rapp, drummer for renowned Albany act Blotto, weighed in on each musician, offering heartfelt thoughts and a few laughs as he discussed his connection and the impact each of the eight left on the Capital Region scene.

    Eddies Hall of Fame
    Paul Rapp – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Honorees included Joel Ross, a 7-time Grammy Award winner who engineered songs for Broadway musicals and TV shows, and worked with Ray Charles and Tony Bennett among many others.

    Joel Ross – photo by Joe Putrock

    Brooks Brown, founder of WEQX, an independent radio station, was referred to by Rapp as having “saved the Albany Music scene” by creating a radio station that played local bands that couldn’t be heard elsewhere. Rapp noted that Brown took great joy in telling corporations looking to buy his station to “go fuck themselves.”

    Jason Keller and Mimi Brown – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Super 400 from Troy has had an impact felt as far away as Spain, which led to Spanish band Red Apple sharing via prerecorded video how they were looking for bands that were real and similar to them. In discovering Super 400, they found a band on the same wavelength, as well as future friends. Red Apple then performed “Green Grass End” in tribute to Super 400.

    Eddies Hall of Fame
    Super 400 – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Greg Bell, the promoter who made Albany a jam band mecca and must hit tour stop, has run Guthrie/Bell Productions since the early 1990s. His presence in the Capital District will be profiled in the upcoming documentary from Mirth Films, Grapplin’ Greg. Rapp noted that no one has done more to support local bands than Bell, adding, “Music promoters are like adding kindling to a fire. The good ones make it burn bright.”

    Eddies Hall of Fame
    Greg Bell – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Rich Ortiz, the “fishin’ musician,” comes from a family rich in music history and plays more than 300 gigs a year and has been featured on the cover of numerous fishing magazines.. If night fishing were a thing, we may not have this legend from the Lake George region. Saratoga Springs guitarist from 80’s band The Morons, Steve Candlen, later performed Ortiz’ “I Love You Everyone.”

    Eddies Hall of Fame
    Rich Ortiz – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Michael Eck is many things – a painter, arts writer, Caffe Lena board member, and Ramblin Jug Stompers spoke with great emotion in receiving the Eddies Hall of Fame honor. Candlen later performed an Eck original “You’re a Mountain,” with the fitting lyrics “you’re a mountain, you’re a legend, you’re a king.”

    Michael Eck – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Sara Ayers, with an eclectic career that includes folk, punk, bubblegum, rock, electronica and especially ambient music, was a crowd favorite as she was honored for her contributions to the scene.

    Sara Ayers – photo by Erin Reid Coker

    Greg Haymes, a man who did so much for local bands, venues and aspiring writers and photographers, was the final honoree of the night. The late “Sarge” Blotto has a varied career in multiple genres and styles, and in founding local music website Nippertown, he had a connection to nearly the entire room of musicians, journalists and fans. Rapp pointed to one of the many quirks of Haymes, was his mentions in reviews of a musician’s shoes, considering those with good shoes to have ‘made it’, and with that, Rapp pulled out a ruby slipper. The unofficial Jug Stompers theme song, “Jug Band Music,” by the Memphis Jug Band, and performed by Tom Lindsay to honor Haymes.

    A young Greg Haymes. Photo by Amy Modesti

    While Haymes passed away in 2019, he was fêted by his fellow inductees in a slideshow retrospective. Ayers accepted on behalf of her late husband, noting that he lived an artistic life as a musician, a writer and a website publisher, and it was a life he was proud of. His not too serious approach to preparing himself for a performance on stage (whether with a customized washboard, or a typewriter for a percussion instrument), his experience as a musician made him want to share the passion of local musicians in the Capital District through his writing. In doing so, Haymes gave many writers and photographers a chance to, a tradition we continue at NYS Music.

    Photos by Erin Reid Coker

  • Universal Preservation Hall announces Fleetwood Mac Tribute and Ladysmith Black Mambazo Pperformances

    The Seven Wonders – Fleetwood Mac Tribute and Ladysmith Black Mambazo take the stage in Saratoga Springs at the Universal Preservation Hall the first week of March. On Friday, March 4th at 7pm, the The Seven Wonders will perform and Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Saturday, March 5th at 7pm.

    The seven premier musicians from Western New York make up the Fleetwood Mac Tribute band, the Seven Wonders who play homage to Fleetwood Mac’s music. The Seven Wonders shows are packed full with liveliness that creates energetic energy and passion into the renditions of the timeless tunes performed by the band.

    The Seven Wonders – Fleetwood Mac Tribute draws fans from all over the region as they continue to have numerous sold out shows with packed venues from now and back to when the band was established in 2017.

    For over 60 years, the uplifting harmonies, the signature dance moves, and the onstage teasing remarks from Ladysmith Black Mambazo has touched the hearts of their audiences tremendously with their message of peace, love, and harmony.

    The group caught the public eye after the late former South African President, Nelson Mandela named the group “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world.”

    The young farm boy, Joseph from Ladysmith Black Mambazo assembled the group in the early 1960s where he constructed the groups name from familiar things he surrounded himself with. Joseph’s hometown where he grew up was Ladysmith, Black is a reference to the farms strongest animal that was an Oxen and Mambazo being the Zulu word for chopping axe.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfoyYKUM20

    The Seven Wonders – Fleetwood Mac Tribute, UPH at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 4; $20-45 and Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be at UPH at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 5; $35-65. 

    For tickets and information, call the Box Office at Proctors 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday-Friday at
    518-346-6204 or visit https://universalpreservationhall.org

  • Spa City Guitar Festival Takes Over Universal Preservation Hall this March

    The first Spa City Guitar Festival will be held Friday, March 18 to Sunday, March 20 at Universal Preservation Hall. This debut will become an annual event in Saratoga Springs and will provide audiences with a three day guitar extravaganza full of concerts, masterclasses, workshops, guitar displays and vendors. 

    Due to unforeseen circumstances, this event has been cancelled.

    Spa City Guitar Festival

    The Performers

    Badi Assad

    The first in line to perform is none other than Brazilian guitarist Badi Assad, whose specialty is to mix her culture’s music with ethnic sounds from across the world. Therefore, she defies the idea of sticking to one genre of music. Her singing is known to be vibrant, while as a guitarist she is known to be innovative, inspiring, and breathtaking. Assad has moved the masses not only with her unique voice, but her fingers as well. She will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 18.

    Germán López

    Next up on the itinerary is Germán López, who is known internationally as one of the most notable and outstanding guitarists. He adheres to Canary folk music traditions, Spanish Flamenco, West African rhythms, the flourishing spirit of jazz, as well as his own original approach to “island music.” Having performed nearly 100 times while on tours globally, the Spa City Guitar Festival will only elevate his career. He will take part in a Spanish folk performance featuring Antonio Toledo at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

    Mark Lettieri

    The festivals third performance is by Grammy-nominated guitarist Mark Lettieri. He has experience not only professionally playing the guitar, but as a composer, producer, and instructor as well. Unlike many, Lettieri does not stick to one style of music, but rather a multitude of them, whether he works with an independent or a major label artist. As a composer and producer, he creates original music of his own. Additionally, he is highly known to play in Snarky Puppy since 2008, a music group that combines jazz, rock, world and funk. His work with the group has resulted in four Grammy Awards. Lettieri will perform at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 19.

    Gary Hoey

    Last but not least, is 21 album and chart-topping guitarist Gary Hoey, who will perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 20. With his hit for hit catalog, Hoey secured himself a spot as one of the top 100 guitarists of all time. He is known for his fiery vibe and amazing connection with his audience. Hoey was first discovered by Ozzy Osbourne in 1987 and has excelled ever since. He is known to perform thrilling solos that are comparable to Clapton or Stevie Ray at their peak.

    Passes available consists of the $35 single day pass, $45 single day pass and masterclass, $75 festival pass, and the $150 VIP Pass. For more information about the passes, as well as to purchase them visit the Universal Preservation Hall website.