The summer of live music is heating up all around the state as the City of Cohoes has kicked off its Rock The Block Concert Series earlier this month. The 2023 summer performances take place every Thursday evening from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM in Canal Square with the series coming to an end on August 3rd.
The rockin’ eight week concert series started on June 15th with a memorable performance by the impressive Fleetwood Mac tribute band Tusk. The connection between the five band members is close to unheard of as their relationships have spanned more than four decades. Tusk was followed the next week by Steven Adler of Guns N’ Roses who rocked the crowd with all of the band’s greatest hits. In the coming weeks there will be so much more to enjoy, as select groups and performers will take the stage including the Eagle tribute band Eaglemania and the country/rock group Vinny Michaels Band.
Every performance of Rock The Block welcomes individuals from the community with free admission as well as food and drink available for purchase, so bring your lawn chairs and enjoy the summer.
Afropunk Brooklyn will be returning this year for another fun-filled weekend festival of fresh talent and amazing music. The annual cultural staple will be switching up venues this summer as it will be debuting at Greenpoint Terminal Market on Aug. 26 and 27.
Afropunk was first introduced to the Brooklyn area in 2005 and has persisted as an annual arts celebration ever since. The event features diverse music, film, fashion, and art produced by alternative black artists and this year’s lineup will be highlighting two new headliners. R&B singer/songwriter Jazmine Sullivan will be making her Afropunk headliner debut, performing select music from her critically acclaimed 2021 EP Heaux Tales. Producer, Flying Lotus will also take the stage as headliner for the festival, bringing his live show to the city.
Festival goers can also look forward to an even wider range of styles and incredible performances when it comes to the rest of the Afropunk lineup. Brooklyn’s own Joey Bada$$ will make an appearance during the weekend along with acclaimed jazz singer Madison McFerrin, NY rap vets the Beatnuts and multitalented performers such as Sudan Archives and the Brooklyn-born Iniko. These artists are simply skimming the surface of what diverse acts are to be expected throughout the weekend.
As the organizers and founders claim, however, Afropunk is not just about the music. “It’s a community of people who reject societal norms and embrace their true selves, no matter what anyone else thinks. So leave the daily grind behind, let your true self shine, and party like there’s no tomorrow. This is a space where you can let your freak flag fly and be proud of who you are.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.
The Bones of J.R. Jones has recently announced the upcoming release of his first full-length album in more than five years.Slow Lightning, will be dropped on October 13th, and to hold fans over, the announcement comes paired with the release of the album’s debut single “Heaven Help Me.” The New York-based artist, Jonathon Linaberry, won’t stop there, however, as he has also announced a US and European tour to begin in August.
Linaberry first launched the one-man band in 2012 with his track “Wilderness.” Since then, he has worked to expand his blues, folk, and country sound through his talent as a songwriter, storyteller, visual artist, performer, and musician which can easily be seen through his new music and hoped for with the anticipated album. Slow Lightning will feature a total of 12 tracks produced by Linaberry’s frequent collaborator Kiyoshi Matsuyama and will deal with the sensations of doubt and desire in the face of nature and fate. The title, Slow Lightning, as well as the track themes were inspired by the difficulty of its creation. Linaberry claims he was at the hands and power of the music and his surroundings rather than the other way around.
“I felt very lost at the time I was writing these songs,” Linaberry confesses. “It was a moment of deep crisis and anxiety, but I knew the only way out was through, which meant I just had to bring myself to the table every day and put in the work.”
His latest single, “Heaven Help Me,” was created with the intention of constant movement both in rhythm and sound while the lyrics became a mode of expressing the relentlessness and overwhelming quality of the ups and downs of life. Throughout the song, both sound and lyrics work with one another to create an eerie and anxiety building record as Linaberry calls out through a distorted echo, “All my love pouring out of my eyes is drowning me tonight.” He hopes to reach his audience by conveying a shared desire for release which the song delivers at the very end after a constant build of instrumentals and layered voices gives in to wide open space. The Bones of J.R. Jones will take this debut single out on tour in the fall which will include an exclusive album release show in his home state of New York at Mercury Lounge on October 13th.
“Heaven Help Me” is now available on all music streaming services with tickets for Linaberry’s tour going on sale on Friday, June 23rd. As for the highly anticipated album, Slow Lightning will be released via Tone Tree Music!
The Bones of J.R. Jones 2023 Tour
September 2 – Fairmont, WV – Palatine Park
September 7 – Buffalo, NY – Ninth Ward
September 8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
September 9 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
September 10 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
September 12 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
September 13 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
September 14 – Columbus, OH– Basement
September 15 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N’ Waffles
September 16 – Windham, NY – Cave Mountain Catskills Festival
October 12 – Washington, DC – DC9
October 13 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
October 14 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios
October 16 – Richmond, VA – Camel
October 17 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern Cafe and Music Hall
October 18 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop
The Bronx Music Heritage Center has announced the return of their signature Bronx Rising! with the addition of various music performances, a film screening, and moderated conversations exploring Congolese influences in Caribbean music and dance. Bronx Rising!is set to begin on June 24th and will stretch to the end of August with three Congolese events scattered throughout.
Bronx Rising! is an annual series that brings the Bronx’s cultural riches, past and present, to life. The kick-off event on June 24th will begin the Congolese series with ‘The Congo Influence in Puerto Rican Bomba’ at 3:00 PM in the Bronx Music Hall Plaza. This conversation will be open to the public and be presented by musical artist Nkumu Katalay and Alex LaSalle, bandleader of the Afro-Puerto Rican Alma Moyo, followed by a performance of both their ensembles.
The next event in the series will take a different direction in exploring Congolese influence as it will feature a special screening of “Kumina Queen.” The film follows Imogene Queenie Kennedy, a priestess in post-colonial Jamaica, as she shares the African spiritual practices of Kumina with the world. Kumina’s basic elements are song, dance, and trance possession which is a driving force in Jamaica’s culture and identity as the music and rhythms employed during Kumina ceremonies have heavily influenced Jamaican popular music including reggae and dancehall. Today, artists such as Nyasha Laing, the film’s director, producer, and screenplay writer, are reimagining Kumina in part because of the constantly changing mysteries of spirit possession. Taking place on July 22nd at 7:00 PM in the BMHC Lab, the event will continue with a moderated discussion and Q&A with Laing and anthropologist Dr. Kenneth Bilby pertaining to the Congo influence present in popular Jamaican music. Tickets for the event will be sold for $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors.
On August 26th, the series will conclude back at the Bronx Music Hall Plaza with ‘Congo Roots in the Diaspora: “Quien no tiene de Kongo tiene de Karabal픑 which will feature a performance by the Román Díaz Ensemble. Román Díaz himself will remain after the free performance to converse with cultural historian Dr. Ivor Miller and BMHC co-artistic director Bobby Sanabria. The men will examine how Congolese influences have shaped Cuban traditions thus producing some of the most famous performance ensembles of the island.
Despite having such a large impact, Congolese influences and connections have been emphasized less both in the music world and within the Latin American and Caribbean communities in the United States, but their presence pervades many of the music, dance, and artistic traditions. Throughout this summer’s Bronx Rising! Congolese events, the Bronx Music Heritage Center will work to bridge this gap and highlight the connections between cultures, music, religion, and art present in the Bronx.
Bronx Rising! Participating 2023 Artists and Scholars
Nyasha Laing is a documentarian who works to transform our understanding of diverse social and cultural movements and practices. Her independent storytelling—which has appeared in and on the Los Angeles Pan-African Film Festival, BBC World Service, YES Magazine, The Art Museum of the Americas, IMZ International Festival, and European Traveling Showcase—explores loss, regeneration, identity, and freedom.
Dr. Kenneth Bilby is an American anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, and author. His published works include the books Words of Our Mouth, Meditations of Our Heart: Pioneering Musicians of Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae, and Dancehall (2016), Enacting Power: The Criminalization of Obeah in the Anglophone Caribbean, 1760–2011 (2012; with Jerome S. Handler), True-Born Maroons (2005), and Caribbean currents: Caribbean music from rumba to reggae (1995; with Peter Manuel and Michael Largey).
Nkumu Katalay is an artist, orator, multi-instrumentalist, and social activist whose main objective is to promote humanity. Born in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, he lives in New York City. Nkumu’s vision highlights the contribution of Congolese cultures in modern world history. He is the founder of The Life Long Project Band, a musical group and a project which focuses on pushing the positive narrative of the Congolese culture via music and social-cultural and educational initiatives. He is also founder of the Afro Congolese Dance program and company which offers weekly dance activities throughout New York City, in schools, corporations, or cultural centers for all ages from children to adults and seniors.
Alex LaSalle is a high priest (Tata Nkisi) to one of the oldest houses of Kongo-Cuban Palo in Cuba and now New York City—Batalla Sacampeño Mayombe. His teacher and mentor is Florencio Miguel Garzon (“Loanganga”) from Cuba. In addition to serving as a diviner and priest, Alex is also a specialist in hundreds of Afro-Cuban Kongo Mambo songs and rituals. Alex is fluent in the Afro-Cuban Bantu/Kongo language, is an avid researcher and oral historian. He has presented lectures for educators and students at Yale, Columbia, New York University, Long Island University, and others. A teaching artist in New York City public schools, Alex is the founder and director of Alma Moyo Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba group, and member of Grammy Nominated Los Pleneros de la 21 and Grupo Folklorico Experimental Nueva Yorquino. Alex has performed with such groups as Roberto Cepeda’s Bomba Aché, William Cepeda’s Afro-Boricua, Felix Alduén y su Tambores, Pa’lo Monte, Nchila Ngoma Mayombe, and 21 Division.
Román Díaz is a Cuban born master percussionist and a living repository of Afro-Cuban culture. He is a noted scholar of Cuban religious and folkloric music as well as a composer and performer of contemporary Afro-Cuban music and Jazz. He has performed and recorded with Cuban diva Mercedíta Valdes, Canadian Jane Bunnett, Juan Carlos Formell, Paquito D’Rivera, and folkloric artist, Orlando “Puntilla” Rios, and Pianist Danílo Pérez. He has also recorded with the Afro-Cuban folkloric groups; Yoruba Andabo, Raices Profundas and Los Marqueses de Atares. He has also performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and the Smithsonian Museum. As a member of the seminal Rumba ensemble, Yoruba Andabo, Díaz aided in the creation of the sound that has defined contemporary Rumba since the 1980’s in Cuba and around the world. Díaz continues to innovate the song style as well as migrating the conical two-headed Bata drum from religious music into contemporary Jazz.
Dr. Ivor Miller is a cultural historian specializing in the African Diaspora in the Caribbean and the Americas. He was a Senior Fellow at the National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution (2011-2012), a Fulbright Scholar to Nigeria (2009-2011), and teaches in the Bassey Andah Institute for African and Asian Studies at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. His most recent book, “Voice of the Leopard: African Secret Societies and Cuba” (UP of Mississippi 2009/ CBAAC Lagos 2011) was awarded Honorable Mention by the Association for Africanist Anthropology. Based upon fieldwork in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cuba, and the USA, it documents ritual languages and practices that survived the Middle Passage and evolved into a unifying charter for transplanted slaves and their successors.
Bobby Sanabria is Bobby Sanabria is co-artistic director of The Bronx Music Heritage Center and an eight-time Grammy-nominated drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, and bandleader. He has performed and recorded with legends such as Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, Cándido, Henry Threadgill, Larry Harlow, and the Godfather of Afro-Cuban jazz, Mario Bauzá. A South Bronx native of Puerto Rican parents, Sanabria was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2006. He holds a B.M. from the Berklee College of Music and is on the faculty of the New School and the Manhattan School of Music, conducting the Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Bands at both schools.
On the evening of May 27th, the City of New Rochelle launched its first annual “Downtown Summer Sizzle,” a weekly festival that aims to bring fresh energy as well as new and classic sounds to the community through musical acts and performers. The concert series will continue on and feature exciting and memorable talent every Saturday through Sept. 30 in the city’s Ruby Dee Park at Library Green from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The “Downtown Summer Sizzle” Concert Series has over fifty performers in store for the New Rochelle community, selected by the city’s partner for the series, ‘PMG 97.’ Performances will include everything from beloved generational acts performed by exceptional cover bands to original music by diverse local talent. Furthermore, concertgoers can expect an array of tribute acts paying homage to some of music’s biggest names while enjoying globally renowned and recognized hits from salsa legend Tito Puente Jr; top-tier cover acts like Ayanna’s ‘Tribute to Whitney, Aretha, Mariah, Adele’; Roots Foundation’s ‘Tribute to Bob Marley,’ and much more.
The “Downtown Summer Sizzle” Concert Series is part of New Rochelle’s mission to enhance cultural experiences throughout downtown, a series of signature events litter the summer schedule in addition to the musical performances. On June 10, the city celebrated and represented Pride with its first annual New Rochelle Pride Festival that brought Philadelphia Freedom: A Tribute to Elton John to the concert series. The Summer Sizzle will even commemorate Bastille Day in July and each event will offer afternoon festivities where concert attendees can enjoy local food trucks, and craft tents, and participate in activities for the whole family. Additional dates for exciting community events intertwined with the concert series include a Hispanic Heritage celebration on Sept. 23 and a spirited, fun Jazz Festival on Sept. 30.
The Mayor of New Rochelle, Noam Bramson, commented on the new event, encouraging the community to gather for a music-filled summer saying, “We invite our entire community to enjoy outstanding musical performances, delicious food from local vendors, and a range of family-friendly activities at New Rochelle’s “Summer Sizzle” concert series. This is yet another example of how our growing downtown is becoming a magnet for talent, creativity, and cultural energy.”
Summer Sizzle Lineup
May 26: THE FULL COUNT BIG BAND – Opening Ceremony
May 27: AYANNA – Tribute to Whitney, Aretha, Mariah, Adele
June 3: ALBERT CUMMINGS – Blues
June 10: PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM – A Tribute to Elton John
June 10: PRIDE EVENT (LGBTQ) – Various Performers and Celebrity DJ
June 17: POPA CHUBBY – Part l – Opening: SWAY
June 24: LUIS GOMEZ & CALLE107 – Salsa party with Latin Grammy Award recipient
July 1: CONJUNTO GUANTANAMO – Afro-Cuban, Salsa
July 8: YACHT LOBSTERS – Opening: Twist of Fate
July 15: BASTILLE DAY – New Rochelle Jazz Festival
July 15: UNFORGETTABLE FIRE – U2 Tribute
July 22: SOULSHINE – Allman Brothers Tribute Band. Opening: Bill Steely & Rockin’ Country
July 29: TITO PUENTE JR. – Salsa, mambo. Opening: Downstate Darlings
August 5: B STREET BAND – Tribute to the Boss. The original Springsteen Band. Opening: Dircks & Kemp
August 12: ROOTS FOUNDATION – Tribute to Bob Marley
August 19: DECADE OF SOUL – Motown & Soul Tribute
August 26: Festival de México – Mariachi, Tejano, Rock en Español
September 2: POPA CHUBBY – Part ll – Opening: SWAY
September 3: MEET THE FUTURE STARS – Performances by School of Rock students
September 9: COLD STARES – Alt. Rock.
September 16: JIMMY KENNY & Pirate Beach Band – Opening: Bill Steely & Rockin’ Country
September 23: HISPANIC HERITAGE CELEBRATION – Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra and Conjunto Guantanamo
Partnering organizations, the Shubert Foundation and Music Theatre International have recently announced the return of their annual Broadway Junior Student Finale. The 18th celebration will commence on June 22 at 11:15 a.m. at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre located in Midtown Manhattan.
Throughout the past four years, since the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on human normality, the Broadway Student Finale has looked much different than previous years as schools all across the world and Broadway itself was shut down. Now, the students have returned to the stage to bask in the blinding spotlights provided by a real theater and not a computer screen.
The Shubert Foundation and MTI Broadway Junior partnership founded the musical theatre mentorship program to help public schools create change in their community’s social culture through building sustainable theatre education programs. The Shubert Foundation is the largest institutional funder of theatre education programs throughout NYC public schools and has provided nearly $8 million for Theatre and Arts programs in NYC.
Its partner in Broadway Junior, Music Theatre International, is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world, including schools, the right to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. The organization’s initiative has had substantial widespread involvement as 167 schools and more than 24,500 students have participated in Broadway Junior while over 100 schools are currently in the program.
The Broadway Junior process is vast as it spans multiple years of involvement with students, teachers, and public schools. In the first year of the program, teachers and students are guided step-by-step through the process of producing a first-ever musical in their schools. In the second year, teachers and students continue to receive support and encouragement on their second musical but take ownership of their productions. In the third year and beyond, schools present a musical independently and serve as inspiration for other schools involved in earlier cycles of the program. The program utilizes master teachers and expert production advisers from educational theatre organizations, iTheatrics, Broadway Bound Kids, and ArtsConnection.
Hundreds of these participating students from Brooklyn to Staten Island will share musical numbers from their fully produced school shows at the Finale. The Broadway shows being represented include Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR., Disney’s Aladdin JR., Into the Woods JR., Dear Edwina JR., Disney’s High School Musical JR., Legally Blonde The Musical JR., Disney’s The Lion King JR., Once on This Island JR., Shrek The Musical JR., and Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka JR.
Not only will students get the chance to perform on such an iconic stage at the 18th Broadway Junior Finale, but various Broadway professionals will be in attendance including the two hosts Jeanna de Waal and Uma Paranjpe. Also in attendance will be The Shubert Foundation President Diana Philips along with prominent members of the event’s other sponsors.
“The success of the program since 2005 has demonstrated that theater enhances young performers’ ability to collaborate, follow directions, practice self-discipline and work ethics, and use their imaginations while honing their verbal communication skills and developing social skills which will serve them well in navigating life,” said Drew Cohen, President, and CEO of Music Theatre International. “We are grateful to the students, of course, and also to the teachers, teaching artists, and parents who make this opportunity a reality for the students.”
The 18th Broadway Junior Student Finale performances from middle school groups participating in the second year of the program:
Brooklyn Environmental Exploration School
The Emerson School (Queens)
I.S. 136 Charles O. Dewey (Brooklyn)
Isaac Newton Middle School for Math and Science (Manhattan)
Manhattan School for Career Development
Marsh Avenue Expeditionary Learning School (Staten Island)
M.S. 935 (Brooklyn)
M.S. 158Q Marie Curie Middle School (Queens)
Pelham Gardens Middle School (Bronx)
P.S. 177Q The Robin Sue Ward School of Excellence (Queens)
Pugsley Preparatory Academy (Bronx)
Stephen Decatur Middle School 35 (Brooklyn)
The William W. Niles School – JHS 118 (Bronx)
Year Three and Graduated Schools participating in the Shubert/ MTI Musical Ensembles:
Accion Academy (Bronx)
Collaborative Arts Middle School (Queens)
Corona Arts and Sciences Academy (Queens)
Evergreen Middle School (Brooklyn)
I.S. 96 Seth Low (Brooklyn)
I.S. 131 The Albert Einstein Intermediate School (Bronx)
I.S. 217 School of Performing Arts (Bronx)
I.S. 392 (Brooklyn)
JHS 185 Edward Bleeker (Queens)
Lafayette Academy (Manhattan)
M. S. 101 The Edward R. Byrne School (Bronx)
M.S. 129 Academy for Independent Learning & Leadership(Bronx)
M.S. 331 Bronx School of Young Leaders (Bronx)
M.S. 915 (Brooklyn)
New Preparatory Middle School (Queens)
P.S./M.S. 4 Crotona Park West (Bronx)
P.S./I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington School (Brooklyn)
The 2023 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is set to be held from July 12th to the 16th on the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, NY. The celebration is known to bring together the Who’s Who of Bluegrass, Newgrass, and Roots Music.
Acoustic music lovers from every corner of the US, Canada, and beyond travel to Grey Fox to see and hear Grammy, AMA, CMA, and IBMA award winners, discover new artists, camp, dance, and create a memorable weekend with family, friends, and new acquaintances.
This year, nearly forty bands will perform on the festival’s six stages. The setlist includes everyone from The Infamous Stringdusters and Sam Bush to Sierra Hull and the Newgrass All-Stars. The Jerry Douglas Band will perform Friday with the 14x Grammy winner and Dobro master, Jerry Douglas, who also returns as Artist-in-Residence to sit in with select groups and even contribute to the Bluegrass Academy for Kids. Saturday’s show will culminate with the Late Night All-Star Super Jam directed by fiddler/composer/producer, Darol Anger of Mr. Sun.
Photo by Jay Strausser.
The traditional-style bluegrass band, Dry Branch Fire Squad is the long-time host of the festival led by mandolinist and storyteller, Ron Thomason. They will kick off the festival that Thursday afternoon with their music and tales. Other performers over the course of the days include Bush, Del McCoury Band, Sierra Hull, Keller Williams featuring The HillBenders, Dan Tyminski, Della Mae, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, John Cowan and the Newgrass All-Stars.
In addition to its internationally acclaimed roster of music, Grey Fox is particularly proud of introducing hot, new talent to thousands of avid fans. Making their debut at this year’s festival are AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Jake Blount, Henhouse Prowlers, Tray Wellington Band, Chicken Wire Empire, Armchair Boogie, and more. Meanwhile, this year’s official Emerging Artists will include Fog Holler from Oregon, Pictrola from Virginia, and others including graduates of the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Berklee grads will be accompanied by renowned old-time fiddler and Berklee instructor, Bruce Molsky.
In addition to more performers, Festival goers can also get involved in hands-on workshops, join in morning yoga, and meditation as well as enjoy festive and ethnic foods. The venue will also set up a Family Stage for kids to enjoy as well as provide the opportunity to sign up for the 24th annual Bluegrass Academy for Kids.
The weekend in Oak Hill seems to provide something for everyone in which Bluegrass lovers will not want to miss.
Ticket prices for the 2023 Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival range from $90-$300. Kids 12 and under get in for free. Get your tickets and more information here.
The close knit alternative rock band from Glens Falls, Seize Atlantis, just released their newest EP on Saturday, June 17th, titled Ruins Rebuilt. These winners of NYS Music’s March Madness earlier this year created their EP to feature a total of five tracks which showcase the band’s growth in production and lyricism since their founding in 2019.
Ruins Rebuilt is the band’s second EP with their first having been released during the summer of 2022. Since their first release, Seize Atlantis has been performing and creating music consistently, thrusting their sound into the limelight and solidifying them a loyal fanbase. Three of the five tracks on Ruins Rebuilt are singles that have already been released including “Crawl,” “I Need It,” and “Monster” with two new tracks “Hide” and “Cosmos.” Their latest release, just two weeks before the EP dropped, was an acoustic version of “Hide” which takes on a new life and form in the EP’s production. Together, the tracks give off a message and tone of eeriness, worldly unknowns that lay in the future, and memories and scars of the past that one wishes to be forgotten. This theme takes form in context of individuals’ relationships with each other as well as one’s toxic and increasingly complicated relationship with themselves. Every message is highlighted through the sound of hard rock, powerful vocals, and at times overbearing yet incredible instrumental backing.
Each song on the EP takes the band and listeners into a striking direction while staying consistent in theme and tone. The beginning moments of “Crawl” work to immediately grasp listeners with an intoxicating beat that builds in each measure as the band adds in one instrument after another. This rise in sound and intensity is similarly followed by James Mullen’s consistent and powerful vocals which go through multiple flips and key changes. The lyrics express an internal battle while simultaneously instilling the idea that personal demons can enter from the outside as well. In this manner, it calls attention to the parasitical characteristics of fraudulent personalities threatening to take over the social public. “Cosmos” is a track that is more laid back and eerie than the previous, yet this is where the lyric talent of the band truly shines. It follows an individual calling out into an endless void asking if they can be heard and receiving no reply. As the song is a solo, the singer is vocally alone, knowing there will be no answer to come, yet recognizes that everyone is similar in this sense taking away the intensity of that feeling. Halfway through the song, however, production takes over as different voices are blending together and fighting against each other, not giving the audience the ability to understand what they are saying – this is where music is used as a guiding light as everyone is able to comprehend the solemn, invigorating, and sometimes hopeful energy of the rest of the band.
Seize Atlantis has been on a wicked run which has given them various things to celebrate. Not only will the band have new singles to rock out to and share with their fans, but the members are coming off of winning “Favorite Rock/Hard Rock Artist,” and “Favorite Progressive Rock Artist,” at the 2023 ListenUp Awards. To keep the party going, “Ruins Rebuilt” will be debuted on the evening of June 17th at Glens Falls’ Mean Max Brew Works and will also be performed on the road to GEM FEST 2023. You can listen to Ruins Rebuilt and more by Seize Atlantis on any streaming service including Spotify, iTunes, and Apple Music.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has recently announced the anticipated return of their Summer Square Concert Series. The free concerts will be held in the Music Hall courtyard every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. beginning on July 8 and will run all the way through the summer until August 26.
The Troy Summer Square 2023 lineup presents concert goers with the opportunity to hear all types of genres from Jazz to indie/rock. The concert series’ kick off performance on July 8th will present the unorthodox Dust Bowl Faeries to the Troy community, a circus, post-punk, gypsy and psyche-folk band founded by Ryder Cooley & Hazel, a taxidermy ram who performs with the band as their spirit animal. In addition, The Summer Series will present seven more performers to their outdoor stage.
The Troy Music Hall is known for bringing forth top talent from around the state to the area as well as highlighting old and new performers from their own community. This summer will be no different as the Music Hall is prepared to take Troy on a most memorable musical journey. For more information, visit here.
Troy Summer Square 2023 Lineup
July 8th: DUST BOWL FAERIES:
A faerie-tale fusion of circus, post-punk, gypsy and psyche-folk music.
July 15th: BRONTE ROMAN:
Pop Vocalist performs lush Jazz ballads and delightfully swings to hits from the Great American Songbook.
July 22nd: CAROL DAGGS:
Pianist and vocalist, composer and arranger applying musical Jazz sounds to the auditory apparatus and soul via vocal and instrumental flow.
July 29th: JULIA ALSARRAF:
Singer and multi-instrumentalist whose songwriting ranges from contemporary folk to indie pop/rock. Her music has been described as deep, soulful, and vulnerable.
August 5th: IDA MAE SPECKER:
Fiddler, folk singer and songwriter whose music fuses original, contemporary, and traditional material, bringing heartfelt new life and relevance to the chain of American folk music.
August 12th: TRISKELE:
The Capital Region’s premier all female Irish Band! Stunning harmonies that touch your soul.
August 19th: AIVA & HAYLEY:
Singer songwriters from Latham, NY now attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. Performing covers from different genres and original music as well.
August 26th: JEANNE O’CONNOR QUARTET:
Jeanne O’Connor is a vocalist who brings her clear, expressive alto voice to pop, Latin music, and R&B.
The Park Theater Foundation has recently wrapped its 2022/23 season and is headed towards a music filled summer with their annual Summer Series Concerts Live at the Crandall Park Bandshell beginning on June 30th. Before the kick off, however, the foundation is adding an extra ‘Third Thursday Jazz’ performance into their schedule on June 15th for the Glens Falls area to enjoy.
The performance scheduled for the 15th is a special edition of The Park Theater Foundation’s ‘Third Thursday Jazz’ performances that run on the third Thursday of each month. This performance will feature The Matt Niedbalski Trio featuring Rob Lindquist on piano and bassist Jason Emmonds. Throughout the spring, Niedbalski and various other local Jazz musicians performed and taught students from the Glens Falls City School District about the history of jazz music and the importance of sound and lighting technology. Not only will this event present incredible jazz to the community but is free-of-charge to students from the Glens Falls City School District and their families as a part of the foundation’s Music & Technology Program.
Just two weeks following the final ‘Third Thursday Jazz’ performance of the season, the foundation’s Summer Series Concerts Live at the Crandall Park Bandshell will begin. The third annual series is free and open to the public as it welcomes music lovers from all around to enjoy talent new and old every Friday evening from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM lasting until July 28th. The concerts will feature the harmony power house The Ladles, gypsy swing ensemble Hot Club of Saratoga, the top tier regional musicians of Reese Fulmer & The Carriage House Band, the uniquely blended voice and enthralling vision of The Clements Brothers, and the songwriting powerhouse Girl Blue.
As The Park Theater Foundation has a knack for packing as much music into their events as possible, the summer series will also have an additional free performance on June 16th. The concert will be held at The Barn at French Mountain of Lake George from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM and will feature Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band. This will be a jam-packed musical event featuring members of Chestnut Grove, Let’s Be Leonard and Wild Adriatic, with additional special guests.
With the countless incredible shows highlighting impressive NY talent, The Park Theater Foundation stays true to their mission of enhancing the accessibility of the arts within the local Glens Falls and Lake George community.
