42 North Brewing Company and Holiday Valley Resort have announced their partnership to celebrate the third annual Hilltap Festival at Holiday Valley on July 2nd. From 12pm-9pm this outstanding festival fuses music, craft beer, and outdoor adventure atop the mountain at Spruce Lake.
The Hilltap Festival will kick off with Kody & Herren bringing their roots from Springville, NY as the opening act. Following the guitarists will be the Buffalo-based Ten Cent Howl. The folk band is renowned for their up-tempo, Americana sound. Ionic band, The Probables will be giving a special performance at the base of the mountain for the closing act. Fans can expect to hear their bluegrass, rock and contemporary sounds at the festival as part of their 2023 Destination Tour.
“This is one of our favorite events of the year. There is no better place to merge craft beer, roots music, and adventure. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind venue”
-John Cimperman, 42 North Brewery Founder
Festival attendees will park at the Tannenbaum Lodge and take a chair lift ride to the top of the mountain. Once everyone has arrived at the mountain, a full day of music and adventure can be enjoyed along with thrilling activities such as mountain biking, stand up paddleboarding (SUP), and ax throwing. Furthermore, attendees can fill their stomachs at Fat Bob’s BBQ and Villagio.
Presale tickets are $40, same day tickets are $45 and $50 if you want to transport a mountain bike on the chairlift. Admission provides a lift ride to Spruce Lake, a full day of music, and access to the vendors and demos. Children ten and under are admitted for free if they’re accompanied by a paying adult.
More information about about the Hilltap festival and tickets can be found here.
Urbano Street announced their U Street Music Festival, inviting people of all ages with an appreciation for street art, culture, and vinyl to celebrate record store day and the return of live music. The all-day festival will be on April 22 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY on Suydam St. between Irving Ave and Knickerbocker Ave.
The U Street Festival will feature two stages that serve as a discovery platform for multicultural and non-commercial musicians and street artists. Stars such as Rebelmatic, La Sazound, Dubcorps, Spite Fuxxx, Chico Raro, Tambor y Caña, Hecho en Brooklyn, Eclectic Charango Beats, Prince of Queens, Jah Point, Vee Vee, and Wild Roots will take the stage. The festival also emphasizes the long-standing record of street culture and urban art, focusing on BIPOC artists who enrich New York City. U Street is on a mission to support underground and alternative artists in the independent space.
U Street Music Fest is the first street event of its kind, no one has ever attempted to bring subcultural music communities together before. Think of it as a cumbia punky reggae party on the streets of Brooklyn.
– Diana Hernandez, Urbano Street Lead Organizer
The music festival will expose local talent while also celebrating the diversity of its vibrant community which is largely made up of immigrants from Latin America. Although the neighborhood has recently battled gentrification-related tensions, the U Street Music Festival strives to cultivate collaboration uniting its residents with Bushwick’s artistic roots. They also hope to help bridge the generational and socio-economic gap between old and new members of the community.
Urbano Street is a nonprofit organization that relies on volunteers, music lovers, and donors. Whilst focusing on BIPOC artists who enrich New York City. Urbano Street is on a mission to support underground and alternative artists in the independent space, opening doors for underrepresented musicians by bringing them to urban places and shooting music videos, a passport to more gigs, press, and opportunities.
More information about the non-profit organization can be accessed here.
Patricia Cruz, artistic director and CEO of Harlem Stage invites iconic Contemporary Black artists and thinkers to the Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference, to be held from May 18-20 and curated by Harlem Stage Associate Artistic Director/Artist-in-Residence Carl Hancock Rux.
The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference culminates Harlem Stage’s 2022-23 season-long initiative Black Arts Movement: Examined. This is a series of events devoted to escalating the understanding of the historic and cultural relevance of Black Arts Movement and its intersections with the Black Power Movement. The Black Arts Movement: Examined emerged from a conversation between Rux and Cruz about how it might result as a bridge to an exploration of Black art and activism in contemporary America.
The conference will explore areas of tension between the intellectual, ethical, and commercial imperatives of the Black Arts Movement, its scholarship, and the professional demands many of its leaders imposed upon artists, and whether or not the Black Arts Movement’s libertarian, racism-countering goals were ever truly achieved.
– Carl Hancock Rux
The event will kick off at 5pm with a keynote address by the poet, music critic, and arts administrator A.B. Spellman. He is a Director of The Expansion Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, which funded arts organizations that were in and of inner-city, rural, and tribal communities. Thirty minutes later, Miles Davis, Quincy Troupe, David Henderson, and Margo Crawford will respond to A.B. Spellman’s overview, giving further elucidation to the movement’s aesthetic, development, internal and external tensions. These special guests will also explore the movement’s relationship to the Black Power Movement, the AfriCOBRA movement, and Black cultural expression as resistance, and offer a fundamental re-evaluation of its complicated relationship with political insurgency and the larger Black community.
On the second day at 10pm there will be a Black Masculinity Discussion moderated by Jonathan McCrory and featuring Felipe Luciano, Stew, Brent Hayes Edwards, and Lois Elaine Griffith. The set will examine the articulation of misogyny and homophobia often deployed by the Black Arts Movement in service to a masculinist vision of Black liberation principles and its constitution of “real” Blackness. Following that talk will be the discussion Music & Struggle with Angela Davis, Nona Hendryx, and Toshi Reagon Nona Hendryx. Next will be conversations with the activist Sonia Sanchez and multi-award-winning poet Carl Hancock Rux. The final celebration for that day will be a concert showcasing Henry Threadgill, Craig Taborn, and Dafnis Prieto.
The last day of The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference will begin with a discussion called Poder Latino with Felipe Luciano, Lois Elaine Griffith, and more. The speakers will explore the Afro-Latinx cross-cultural influence on the intersection of European colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the complexities of the Afro-Latinx relationship to the Black Arts Movement. After an 11:30 lunch, the audience will be treated to a Film Screening titled, “Portrait of Jason by Shirley Clarke” in collaboration with Maysles Documentary Center. The film is an experimental documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Shirley Clarke. Ingmar Bergman referred to the production saying it was “the most fascinating film he had ever seen in his life”
After the documentary will be a discourse called “Crisis of the Negro Intellectual”. This conversation will be moderated by Margo Crawford and features Harmony Holiday, Michael Sawyer & Dominic Taylor, moderated by Margo Crawford. To end the conference the audience will be presented with a Closing Plenary by Carl Hancock Rux and a closing-night, curated by Carl Hancock Rux, Tavia Nyong’o, and Vernon Reid. The closing-night will also showcase contributions by Carrie Mae Weems, Stefanie Batten Bland, and Dianne Smith and co-presented with Park Avenue Armory.
More information about the Harlem Stage can be found here.
Brooklyn’s indie-dance band Underground System announced that the release of their latest EP, “Looking In” will be on April 26. The band also revealed their series of live spring performances stopping in Ridgewood NY, and Kingston.
Underground System is one of the most exuberant bands to emerge from New York City within the past few years. The five-member band is acclaimed for innovating a brand that fuses various genres of music. Listening to “Looking In”, gives fans the opportunity to see how Underground System recreates, redefines, and reconstructs elements of afrobeat, dance punk, disco and electronic music. The band has also received global attention from outlets such as Billboard, NPR, and The Rolling Stones, crediting them for their true New York eclecticism.
“It was a long form exploration of various genres we like to blend within the band, and a pointed lyrical climax that paints a picture of action in the face of inequality.”
– Peter Matson, Songwriter and Producer
Peter Matson revealed that to achieve the right sound, the band dug further into stylistic gestures first explored on their debut LP. The group opened with chopped rhythmic flute layers that featured the flute played by Domenica as reminiscent of minimalist music. The EP also features drums played by Chris Eggan.
In December 2018, following Underground System’s release of ‘What Are You’, the band dominated the stage at the French tastemaking festival Transmusicales. This launched the band into an 18-show European tour in 2019, rocking the stages at Eurockeennes de Belfort, Fusion Festival in Germany, and Laurent Garnier’s Festival Yeah as a headliner.
Additionally, Underground System’s partnership with Brooklyn based label Razor-n-Tape, and French label Heavenly Sweetness in the EU has led the group into their next era. After the release of “Looking In”, Underground System will drop club-ready remixes to further cement their penchant for clever songwriting that causes listeners to make their way to the dancefloor.
More information about Underground System and tickets to their live show can be found here .
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHoF) announced the beginning of acceptances for their 2023 Student Scholarship program. Applications will be accepted until Friday, May 12
Eligibility for the scholarship entails being a U.S citizen, graduating high school senior from Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn (Kings) or Queens counties, having minimum gpa of 2.5, future full time college student, displaying financial needs and an interest in a career of music. The application process includes submitting a 400 to 500-word essay on education and career goals, high school transcript, and letter of recommendation from someone who can attest to the student’s commitment to a music career. After selecting the winners, The LIMEHOF Education Committee will reward them with $500 scholarships.
The Long Island Music Hall of Fame was founded in 2004 and is a 501(c) (3) organization. LIMEHoF is devoted to preserving Long Island’s musical heritage for future generations. It encompasses New York State’s Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Kings (Brooklyn) Counties and is considered as a place of community that inspires and explores all forms of Long Island music. The program has inducted over 120 musicians and offers education programs, scholarships, and awards to Long Island students and educators.
To apply for the 2023 Student Scholarship program students must download the application here. More information about the application and The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame can be accessed here.
New York City’s annual Dance Party returns to Bryant Park for its ninth year of celebration. The prized series offers park goers in-person dance events in a variety of styles every Wednesday and Thursday from May 3 to May 18. The party can be enjoyed on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.
This year’s Dance Party highlights New York City’s signature brand of salsa dura with La Excelencia on May 3. La Excelencia is a multi-hit band that combines traditional salsa elements with a modern and unapologetic sound. Futhermore, audience members can also look forward to traditional Argentinian tango with Latin Grammy-winning bassist Pedro Giraudo on May 4. In the following days participants can also Andean Afro-cumbia with Afro-Andean Funk Ft. Araceli Poma and Matt Geraghty, Harlem-style Swing dance with Charenée Wade’s Band of Swing, bachata tradicional with Valerio, and salsa with Santiago y la Orquesta.
The party also commemorates the premiere of Charenée Wade, the Jazz at Lincoln Center vocalist, debuting her new Band of Swing on May 11. Additionally, Santiago “Sachy” Moyano, the son of the Columbian icon Luis Moyano, Jr., debuts his new orchestra on May 18.
Each Dance Party Event gives attendees the opportunity to meet with expert instructors to learn basic steps from 6 to 7pm. After classes, participants can test their new moves to live music performed by a diverse selection of bands from 7 to 8:30pm.
Communities of color in NYC that have taken the biggest hit from COVID are in real need of opportunity for spaces to meet and celebrate where everyone is invited, and anyone can join in. That’s exactly what the Bryant Park Dance Party was designed to offer. In curating this program, I have taken a great deal of effort to intentionally show the diversity of the city’s sound and motion with representatives of Andean Afro-cumbia, Argentinian tango, traditional old school salsa dura, contemporary salsa, modern bachata, and Harlem swing.
– Talia Castro-Pozo, Bryant Park Dance Party producer and host
Dance Party makes the art of dance fun and simple for all ages and skill levels through hands-on instruction. Audiences can learn basic moves in cultural dances like salsa and swing, bachata, salsa dura, and more. Bryant Park’s stellar cast of instructors incorporates their deep understanding of the traditions and innovations of their chosen specialties in their lessons. All are welcome, just walk up and join the party.
More information about other upcoming cultural events at Bryant Park can be accessed here.
The Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) in Canandaigua has announced the 2023 Roc The Lake Festival with the renowned trio AJR as a headliner. On July 17, fans can jam to their favorite songs by AJR, and a lineup including Chelsea Cutler, Lawrence Blake Rose and Almost Monday.
AJR, is a renowned pop trio of brothers that has garnered an abundance of success since their formation in 2012. Over the past decade AJR has accumulated billions of streams, released a platinum album, double-platinum single, triple-platinum single, and four platinum singles. The band has also been ranked #1 on the Top Alternative Albums and Rock Albums Charts following their biggest first-week debut at the Neotheater in 2019. Apple Music and Spotify showed appreciation for the trio’s electric sound by placing AJR’s “Sober Up” & “Weak” among the Best Rock and Alt Songs of the 2010s. Fans can rock out to songs from the brother’s fourth full-length album, OK ORCHESTRA at the Roc The Lake Festival.
Chelsea Cutler is a singer, songwriter, and the producer of introspective EDM. After signing to Ultra Records in 2017, the vocalist released mixtapes such as Sleeping with Roses I and II and a full-length debut, How to Be Human. Lawrence Blake Rose is an upcoming Australian singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. The gifted musician recently released a new single “Rest Of Us.”
The San Diego based trio, Almost Monday quickly transformed from garage band to an upbeat pop sensation. While only having a few songs released, the boys gained a tremendous amount of fame and millions of streams since the release of their disco-infused track “Broken People” in 2020.
The Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) was founded by Marvin Sands. The arts center has been on a mission to unite communities through art and culture since 1983.
Tickets to the Roc The Lake Festival can be found here.
Flushing Town Hall has announced their monthly series of Mini-Global Mashup concerts fusing Brazilian and Chinese culture. On April 16, Brazilian artists Rogério Boccato and Vitor Gonçalves will perform alongside the Chinese guzheng artist Wei Sun. Fans can enjoy the series at Northern Boulevard at Linden Place in Queens.
The Mini-Global Mashup was curated by acclaimed klezmer trumpeter Frank London. The concert series will showcase various types of cultural music and unexpected collaborations that create new and spontaneous sounds.
“Our mini–Global Mashups are unique every time – they bring together artists from different parts of the globe who have never played together before with an intimate experience for the audience.”
-Ellen Kodadek, Flushing Town Hall Executive & Artistic Director
Rogério Boccato has been featured on three Grammy-award-winning albums including Kurt Elling & Danilo Perez‘s “Secrets Are The Best Stories,” “The Thompson Fields,” with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Billy Childs’ “Rebirth.” He has also contributed to projects led by stellar jazz artists known as Maria Schneider, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Brian Blade, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, and Renee Rosnes. Boccato is a longtime member of the “Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo”and has played with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti, João Bosco, Joe Zawinul, etc. Apart from his spectacular performances, Boccato teaches Brazilian Music and Ritmica at the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and the University of Hartford.
Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, and composer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2012, Gonçalves moved to New York City following a prominent career in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, etc. Since his arrival to the city, Gonçalves has added more success to his resume by performing at Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, the Jazz Gallery, the Newport Jazz Festival, NPR’s Jazz Night in America, and The New York Times. Gonçalves also frequently collaborated with members of New York’s jazz scene, such as Anat Cohen, Vinícius Cantuária, Anthony Wilson, Cyro Baptista, and Yotam Silberstein.
Wei Sun is a young guzheng artist who began her journey at the age of six in China. It was no surprise that Sun was quickly drawn to the music industry due to being born into a family of musicians. In China she was a certified senior teacher of guzheng and a member of the China National Instrumental Association and the International Guzheng Association. In 2016, Sun moved to the United States as a guzheng performer and teacher at the CBA Cultural and Arts Center. Sun is now the principal performer of guzheng of the Chinese National Orchestra in New York. She’s also performed at the Lincoln Center, United Nations, Columbia University, Flushing Town Hall, Queens College Art Center, and more. Sun has also cultivated success by cofounding the trio bands, StringsW and Miss, holding a concert at Carnegie Hall in 2017, and performing on the Broadway musical show “Noble Family” in 2022.
Flushing Town Hall presents multi-disciplinary global arts that engage and educate the global communities of Queens, New York. As advocates of arts equity since 1979, they are on a mission to inspire an appreciation for art and culture by supporting local, immigrant, national, and international artists. Flushing Town Hall is also a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG). The Town Hall celebrates the history of Queens as the home of Jazz by showcasing the finest in jazz performances.
For the more information about Flushing Town Hall’s 2023 Spring events, visit here.
The World Music Institute (WMI) announced its partnership with the New York Arab Festival (NYAF) in celebration of Arab-American Heritage Month.
New York City’s first Arab and Arab-American art and culture festival, celebrating the song, dance, fashion, performance, ideas, and cuisine that have made Arab heritage part of American heritage.
The festival can be enjoyed at Nublu (151 Avenue C) from 8pm-10pm and encompasses an evening of music by Arab artists, Felukah, DJ Nadia, and DJ meëraj.
The World Music Institute was founded in 1985 and is recognized as one of the most remarkable presenters of world music and dance within the United States. WMI strives to educate communities on traditional and contemporary music and dance from around the world. They hope to promote awareness, appreciation and encouragement for cross-cultural dialog and exchange. The institute performs at venues throughout the city and depends on both public and private funding to accomplish its mission.
With DJs and live bands playing music from countries including Ghana, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Morocco, Colombia, Botswana and more, we celebrate the diversity of locally based international artists, and welcome everyone to energize the dance floor. In any language, we say ‘let’s dance!’
Brice Rosenbloom, WMI Artistic Director
The Egyptian Neo-soul singer Felukah is known for “bringing the Nile to New York.” Felukah’s voice is distinct and versatile in her contemporary genre-bending rap. The singer moved to New York City in 2017 to study creative writing and later dropped her first bilingual independent project, Citadel in 2019. Felukah also signed to the indie label, Abu Recordings and together they produced and distributed her debut album Dream 23 in 2020. Lastly, the Neo-soul singer released the Kawkab EP on 2021. The EP featured her indie rock debut Love on the Comedown.
DJ Nadia is an Egyptian-American DJ with sets showcasing percussive and experimental music across various genres such as techno, rap, downtempo, and more. She currently plays at The Bar at Cafe Kitsuné and has performed at The Lot Radio, Eavesdrop, Mood Ring, etc.
DJ meëraj is acclaimed for honoring his heritage by combining music from North Africa and the Middle East with international instruments in sets. He has played SXM, Burning Man, Soho House, and other clubs across New York City, gathering an eclectic crowd of serious partygoers.
More information about The World Music Institute can be found here and more info on the New York Arab Festival can be found here.
Big Time Rush became an overnight boy band sensation in November 2009 during the launching of a scripted TV show of the same name on Nickelodeon. The show highlighted the Hollywood escapades of four hockey players from Minnesota after they were chosen to form a pop band. Throughout the show’s success Carlos, Kendall, James, and Logan came to life as a band off the screen releasing three full length albums and performing worldwide. Big Time Rush concluded in July 2013 and after four years of touring as a band, the guys went their separate ways but remained close friends through the years.
The band is also being honored with a celebratory day known as Big Time Rush Day on April 4. Emily Larson, the Mayor of Duluth, Minnesota will make an official pronouncement from the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center making BTR day a national holiday. Duluth holds special significance for Big Time Rush since it is the hometown of the four band members. Duluth will also have a ceremonial street renamed as tribute to Big Time Rush.
In addition to the celebratory day and international tour, BTR announced a highly anticipated new album that will be released on June 9. The album will be Big Time Rush’s first new studio album in a decade. The guys have begun working on the album in 2022 and are thrilled to share it with their Rushers worldwide.
In attempts to bring joy to their fans during quarantine, the members of Big Time Rush gathered to send a message of love and togetherness. Following the announcement was a socially distant performance of an acoustic version of their smash hit, “Worldwide.” The band received 10+ million streams because of hysteria amongst their fans and in the media. Furthermore, four seasons of the television series were added to Netflix in March 2021. BTR ended 2021 with a release of their first single in 8 years, “Call It Like I See It.” They also performed at iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in Philadelphia and had two sold out shows in Chicago and NYC.
The sensational band kicked off 2022 with the launch of their wildly successful Forever Tour. with over 300,000 tickets across North America. They also released new music, with hit singles “Honey,” “Fall,” and “Not Giving You Up.” BTR also performed live at the Latin Kids Choice Awards, iHeart Music Festival, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the premiere of their first pay-per-view event, “The City Is Ours.” It was a concert film that captured the band’s sold-out show at Madison Square Garden.
BTR fans can purchase tickets to “Can’t Get Enough Tour” here. Additionally, Big Time Rush will offer special sharable content and GIFs that fans can share.
Full details of the “Can’t Get Enough Tour” can be found here.
Big Time Rush | CAN’T GET ENOUGH TOUR 2023
6/22/2023 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena
6/24/2023 Durant, OK Choctaw Casino & Resort
6/25/2023 Southaven, MS BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
6/27/2023 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
6/28/2023 Burgettstown, PA The Pavilion at Star Lake
6/30/2023 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
7/1/2023 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
7/2/2023 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
7/3/2023 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
7/5/2023 Toronto, ON History* ^
7/7/2023 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
7/8/2023 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
7/9/2023 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
7/11/2023 Bangor, ME Maine Savings Amphitheater
7/12/2023 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
7/14/2023 Columbia, MD Merriweather Post Pavilion
7/15/2023 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
7/16/2023 Tinley Park, IL Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7/17/2023 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
7/19/2023 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
7/21/2023 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
7/22/2023 Milwaukee, WI American Family Insurance Amphitheater
7/23/2023 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
7/24/2023 Nashville, TN Ascend Amphitheater
7/26/2023 Alpharetta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
7/28/2023 Simpsonville, SC CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
7/29/2023 Charleston, SC Credit One Stadium
7/30/2023 Orlando, FL Amway Center
8/1/2023 Pelham, AL Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
8/3/2023 The Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/5/2023 Phoenix, AZ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
