The anticipation had been building for months, and finally, the 2023 Great South Bay Music Festival kicked off its grand celebration of music and culture at Shorefront Park in Patchogue. From July 20 through July 23, this picturesque waterfront location became a haven for music enthusiasts and festival-goers alike, promising four days of pure musical bliss. Day 1, in particular, set the bar high with an impressive lineup that left the crowd yearning for more.
The festivities commenced with a soulful blues performance by Kerry Kearney & the Kings of the Psychedelta. Kearney’s mastery of the guitar and the band’s raw energy created an atmosphere that was both electrifying and calming. Their music served as the perfect opener, drawing people in and setting the tone for a night of unforgettable performances.
Next up was the legendary band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds. Known for their fusion of rock, blues, and soul, the band wasted no time in getting the audience on their feet. Kim Wilson’s dynamic presence and the band’s energy proved why they have been a crowd favorite for decades. With classic hits like “Tuff Enough” and “Rock With Me,” The Fabulous Thunderbirds delighted old fans and won over new ones, turning the festival grounds into one giant dance floor.
As the night progressed, the stage was graced by the presence of the iconic Dave Mason. The audience was taken on a nostalgic journey through Mason’s illustrious career, with hits from his time with Traffic and his successful solo career. His smooth vocals and masterful guitar work on “Can’t Find My Way Home” resonated through the crowd, creating a serene ambiance that had everyone swaying to the music. Dave Mason’s performance was a reminder of the timeless quality of great music and its ability to transcend generations.
The climax of Day 1 was the highly anticipated performance of Hot Tuna, a band renowned for its fusion of blues, rock, and psychedelic sounds. Adding to the significance of the night, it was announced that this would be Electric Hot Tuna’s final performance on Long Island, making it an emotional and bittersweet moment for both the band and their loyal fans.
Throughout the performance, fans were treated to a range of classics that showcased the band’s unparalleled talent and chemistry. Whether it was Jorma Kaukonen’s mesmerizing guitar prowess on “Hesitation Blues” or Jack Casady’s magnetic bass lines on “Trial by Fire,” each moment was a testament to the enduring legacy of Hot Tuna.
As the final chords rang out, the audience erupted into thunderous applause, expressing their gratitude for the band’s many years of musical brilliance. It was an emotional farewell, and both the band and the fans shared in the sentiment of this remarkable final performance at the Great South Bay Music Festival.
Check out more from Day 3 and Day 4 of Great South Bay Music Festival.
Setlists
Dave Mason: Only You and I Know, Pearly Queen, Forty Thousand Headmen, World in Changes, We Just Disagree, The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Can’t Find My Way Home, Look at You Look at Me, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Feelin Alright?
Hot Tuna: Been So Long, Hesitation Blues, Great Divide: Revisited, Ode for Billy Dean, Bowlegged Woman, Knock Kneed Man, Trial By Fire, Sleep Song. Good Shepherd, Come Back Baby, Funky #7
Rock The Bells, AfroFuture, AfroVerse and Sixthman festivals have announced the first-ever AfroCruise which will sail from Miami, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas. The cruise will depart on March 29, 2024 and will arrive on April 1. The multi-day event will feature performances from some of the biggest African artists and will also showcase African and diasporic culture through food and fashion.
Linking together travel, live music, and a cultural celebration, the AfroCruise is one of the first events of its kind. Hosted on the Norwegian Pearl, the celebration still possesses all of the amenities and elements normal to an extravagant cruise ship. Attendees will have access to the boat’s fully stocked bars, dining options, pools, casino, spa, fitness center, and more.
Amongst the hustle and bustle of a standard cruise, the event also boasts an impressive roster of performing artists. Headlined by Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold and Ayra Starr, AfroCruise gives guests the opportunity to experience some of the best music from all over the world. The aim is to fully immerse attendees into the sounds and sensibilities of Afrobeats and Amapiano music.
Ayra Starr
AfroCruise will also feature multiple different cultural events and workshops. In addition to traditional cruise ship tournaments and activities, there will also be an event focused on the African rice dish Jollof, a West African BBQ, and several different themed parties.
Rock The Bells was founded in 2018 by acclaimed rapper LL Cool J and Geoff Yang. The organization creates content and experiences within hip-hop culture. Together, with their partners Afrofuture, AfroVerse and Sixthman festivals, the collective looks to create an event that celebrates and encapsulates contemporary African and Disaporic culture. Click here for reservations and more details
New York City’s soundscape was on full display at the second annual Bronx Summer Jam this past Saturday, July 15. Local Bronx artists encapsulated the Bronx’s vast musical environment, performing everything from rock and hip hop to reggae and soul.
Bronx Summer Jam participants and audience members ’23. Photo courtesy of Michael Nickerson.
This wide array of genres not only reflects the Bronx’s sound but the individuals that create it. Take Emelia Vero for example, who performed on the Kings Stage from 1:30-2:30 pm under her stage name Bombii. In between her silky-smooth songs, she explained why her lyrics switched from English to Spanish. She said by singing in both languages, her music was able to fully represent herself. As such, she loves when people call her by her stage name. If they know her music, they know her. The notes bind audience and singer together, creating a family.
Audience member Francesca echoes Bombii’s sentiments. “I remember being a teenager, and a lot of people from different high schools would all go to these concerts. These would be people whose real names I didn’t even know. But when we were there, we were best friends. We were family.”
For some, it truly is family. From 4:30-5:00 pm, DJ F1rst Class performed. His wife Alina and daughter were front and center to watch him. Alina said the reason they are together is because of their passion for music.
Alina was glad she was able to bring her daughter to relish in the music as well. Most of the time, it isn’t easy to bring children to concerts. But the Bronx Summer Jam was outside at a local park, making it easily accessible for everyone.
“Usually they have it at places where there’s alcohol or it’s indoors. I couldn’t always bring my daughter,” Alina said. “But the Bronx Summer Jam is for all ages.”
Wastewood performing for the crowd at Bronx Summer Jam ’23. Photo courtesy of Michael Nickerson.
Bronx Summer Jam was produced by Sirens & Kings, a co-production company made of two Bronx music collectives, Sounds & Sirens and The Fox & King. They hoped that by locating the festival at a park, it would allow everyone to be able to participate. It was a hope that was achieved.
“I live right across the street, and I came out for just a few minutes to sit on the park bench. Then I started hearing the music and walked right over here,” said Ivecte Lopez.
Despite the scorching heat, the crowd grew throughout the day. Those walking through the park stopped by to enjoy the music. Some set up hammocks or chairs under the trees’ shade and within hearing distance of the festival. Others took on the sun’s beating rays, standing within feet from the stage.
With a bigger crowd, the musicians began to engage with the crowd. Bombii did a call-and-answer. Everytime she said “Para,” the audience sang back “Siempre.” Later in the day, artists Ray Pearson, Ki Storii, WIN, Kony Brooks, and July Quinn left the confines of the stage. They moved across the park’s lawn to the beats of their rap and hip-hop songs.
Their performances were contrasted with the full rock sounds of Wastewood and Balcony Talk. The bands’ sounds were then further contrasted by the acoustic sounds of Drew Torres.
Drew Torres performs at Bronx Summer Jam ’23. Photo courtesy of Michael Nickerson.
During his set, Torres sang an original upbeat song titled “Minus 4,” named for his glasses prescription. He later ended his set with tapping, a technique that involves tapping one’s hands on the guitar’s body.
“This is not just a hobby for me,” Torres said. “This is my therapy. This is the way I personally express myself. I just want to inspire others.”
Audience member and devoted member of the Bronx music scene, Mocha said it was concerts like the Bronx Summer Jam that inspired him to play music. “I was inspired to pick up an instrument at a local show back in 2004. I saw bands and immediately was like, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ I was sixteen then. Without that concert, I don’t have any clue who I would have been now.”
Perhaps this festival inspired someone in the audience to learn an instrument or to start singing. The festival’s music definitely reached a number of people ranging from those who knew about the festival to those in the park who happened upon it.
To see more of what Sirens & Kings will produce, click here and here.
The upcoming Zamna Festival on Saturday, August 5th at The Brooklyn Mirage is where the jungle meets lasers, and raves meet paradise. A one-of-a-kind outdoor venue in East Williamsburg, The Brooklyn Mirage will be transformed into an immersive experience, Zamna’s signature oasis of electronic music, art, and culture.
Since its beginnings in 2017, Zamna Festival has since become an epicenter of electronic music. What EDM.com called “Tulum’s premier dance music experience,” Zamna draws tens of thousands of attendees from more than 110 countries around the world every year. Now, Zamna will debut their bears for their very first New York City, bringing the spirit of Tulum to Brooklyn with a complete venue takeover of The Brooklyn Mirage.
The Brooklyn Mirage prominently boasts a state-of-the-art KV2 sound system in addition to stellar three-dimensional video projection mapping technology. Part of the Avant Gardner complex, the multifaceted events space was nominated for ‘Best Club’ in the 2019 International Dance Music Awards. Forbes says “World-renowned venue The Brooklyn Mirage delivers some of the world’s hottest talent such as Kaskade, Zedd, Alesso, Charlotte de Witte, Dillon Francis, Tae of Us, Adam Beyer, Excision and Fisher.”
The Pleasantville Music Festival 2023 was held on July 8th at Parkway Field, in Pleasantville. This year’s lineup featured many New York State based performers; including headliners, They Might Be Giants.
They Might Be Giants
Curating a one-day event with 18 musical acts, on three stages, is a daunting task. Aiding in the selection process, The Garage at Lucy’s. The Garage, a Pleasantville music club, hosted a series of battle of the band competitions. Victors were given the opportunity to open the day on one of the three stages.
Allison Ponthier
With the lineup complete, the festival was good to go. First up on the Pamnation Party Stage, Hunter Road. This Valhalla based group set the bar high for the following acts, with their rocking opening set. On the Party Line Chill Tent Stage, singer songwriter Ursula Hansberry performed solo, sharing her bluesy jazz style with the early attendees. On the main stage, overall battle of the band winner Summer Fling welcomed everyone with a distinctive funk, rock, pop sound.
Summer Fling
Kudos to the festival for their music traffic management allowing people to move from stage to stage without missing acts they would like to see. From Chill, to Party, to Main, the groove of each stage matched its description. The sequencing of bands was also spot on. When one band finished, the next one picked up where the last one left off, talking it to the next level.
Hunter Road
Mother nature made a special appearance at Pleasentville Music Festival 2023, bringing with her two rounds of pouring rain and lightning. This required the stoppage of music and the need for people to leave the park grounds till the storms passed. Even with two delays, many stayed through the end. In retrospect, instead of being a deterrent, the rain acted like a cleansing of the pallet, as if to prepare oneself for the next musical course.
Allman Betts Band
In addition to some of New York State’s finest musicians, there were notable national acts on the bill. Sophie B. Hawkins took to the Chill tent stage in bare feet, closing out that performance space. People were spilling out beyond the sides of the tent to get an earful of her music. On the main stage The Allman Betts Band shared originals while slipping in a few Allman Brothers tunes, to the crowd’s pleasure. Allison Ponthier was a glow with her indie pop sound, sharing a new unreleased song as part of her set.
Sophie B. Hawkins
Multi Grammy Award winners John Flansburgh and John Linnel, aka They Might Be Giants, brought the night to a close. With forty years of performing under their belt, they did not hold back. Backed by a full band (including The Horns), TMBG bestowed on the crowd their surreal, humorous, experimental style of music, jamming on tunes till it was time to go.
Main Stage
They Might Be GiantsAllman Betts BandAllison PonthierBlac RabbitSmooch w/Matt CrossettSummer Fling
Pamnation Party Stage
The CriticalsStrange NeighborsMoonunittSunDubSocial CreaturesHunter Road
Party Line Chill Tent Stage
Sophie B. HawkinsPete FrancisBrandi & The AlexandersThe Moonrise CartelDave Casale w/Petey HopUrsula Hansberry
The Peach Music Festival returned to Montage Mountain for its 11 year in a row showcasing headlining acts like My Morning Jacket, Ziggy Marley, Les Claypool, Umphrey’s McGee, JRAD, Goose, and many more. Along with music veterans were a large number of newer bands such as Dogs in a Pile, Thumpasaurus, Andy Frasco, Brown Eyed Women, & much more.
The festival takes place on a ski slope/water park. The trek up the mountain to camp or even between stages is physically demanding, but the leisurely vibe of the waterpark provides much needed relaxation.
Security was definitely beefed up this year, probably due to the recent shooting at an EDM festival on the west coast. There were dogs sniffing for explosives and some nonsensical rules enforced by security. The photo pit was entirely too small and quite dangerous. I scraped my legs on metal bars many times trying to maneuver in there around a slew of other photographers. We maintained civility in the pit, everyone was very kind and respectful.
The first day started off with Friends of Brothers followed by Thumpasaurus who played a very energetic set to get the crowd going. Next up was Twiddle, opening up with funky favorite “Jamflowman.” The band also performed the fantastic “Slipping in the Kitchen” and heart-touching “Out in The Cold.” The first night concluded with two monstrous sets of Goose. Their set started with “Feel it Now,” showcasing Rick Mitarotonda’s vocals. Their first set ended with “Butter Rum,” and the set was filled with clever improvisation and classic Goose jams. The second set featured “Fish in the Sea,” a Fat Freddy’s Drop cover, “Red Bird,” “Hollywood Nights,” a Bob Sager cover, and concluded with “Thatch.” “Hollywood Nights” had everyone in the house grooving and “Red Bird” featured some tasteful solos.
On Friday all three stages were open and the day was packed with music! Trouble No More brought out Daniel Donato to sit in with them, playing a full set of Allman Brothers tunes including an incredible “Blue Sky” and a shred-filled “Whipping Post” to close out the set. Dogs In a Pile are quickly getting popular and they packed the Mushroom Stage with dancing fans. They started and ended with “Wipeout” and played a masterful “Jack Straw.” Umphrey’s McGee played a heavy set that had the main stage raging, with songs like “Remind Me” and “Escape Goat.” Tauk played an incredibly energetic set with the help of the ever-talented Kanika Moore on vocals. Ween was up next with a great set filled with exceptional vocals and guitar solos, spanning 25 songs.
Fans were going crazy for favorites like “Roses Are Free” and “Piss Up a Rope.” LP Giobbi played a two-hour set of Grateful Dead house remixes which was very danceable but left fans with mixed reactions. Due to a food vendor’s propane tank exploding, the pathway to the Mushroom Stage was temporarily blocked off for about an hour. When security finally figured out a path around, I had made it for the last hour of Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Peach which was much more Lotus-like jamtronica rather than the country vibe I was expecting.
Day three was epic. Circles Around the Sun played an incredibly funky, spacey set with Mikaela Davis on the harp. Andy Frasco is quite the entertainer. This year they put him on the main stage, and that wasn’t going to stop him from stage surfing. There was a guy being held up by the crowd on a board while he was throwing jello shots into the crowd via slingshot. Then it was Andy’s turn, he crowd surfed from the stage all the way to the lawn! The set included sit-ins with Dogs in a Pile, Mike Dillon, & Mihali as well as raging covers of “Teenagers” by My Chemical Romance and “Ramble On.” The energy was high and Mike Gordon delivered with his band playing new songs off his album like “Guilty Pleasures,” “Mull,” and crowd favorites “Cities,” as well as a raging “Carini” to close out the set. The place was going wild.
Les Claypool played an epic set including Pink Floyd’s Animals album in its entirety with masterful solos by Sean Lennon. Les wore a pig mask for a song and a disco ball helmet on “Whamola” to close out his set. My Morning Jacket played an absolutely rocking set with incredible vocals by Jim James including a Beatles cover of “The Ballad of John & Yoko” and a Rolling Stones cover of “Happy”. The place was lit up like a giant disco ball and everyone was dancing hard. Australian Pink Floyd put on a spectacle, playing Dark Side in full with three incredible female vocalists doing the vocal parts in “Great Gig in The Sky.” They covered favorites like “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb” as well as digging deep in the archives with “High Hopes” and “See Emily Play.” Their stage antics included a giant teacher monster the size of the stage during “Another Brick In The Wall” as well as a giant inflatable bouncing Kangaroo.
The final day had come but it wasn’t over yet. Ghost Light played a packed set at the Mushroom Stage including the very catchy “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” Tom Hamilton would later return to the Main Stage to play an electric set that had every deadhead grooving on their feet. This featured crowd favorites like “Shakedown Street,” “Hell In a Bucket,” “I Need a Miracle” and a Jack Straw to close out the set that had Tom Hamilton shredding a solo like a madman! Rain delayed Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel since the Mushroom stage is uncovered, but they eventually got around to playing an incredible set featuring a cover of his father Dickey Bett’s “Blue Sky.”
Ziggy Marley was up at the main stage keeping the energy very…high. This included Bob Marley songs like “Jammin” and “War” as well as originals like “Look Who’s Dancing.” There were some rumors going around about Tedeschi Trucks Band not playing that night, but boy did they prove us wrong. The crowd was a bit tired at this last set but still going strong. The combination of Derek’s masterful shredding, Susan’s vocals, and their diversely talented big band proves to be a true powerhouse. Their set included covers like the opener “Woman to Woman” by Joe Cocker and “Dreams” by the Allman Brothers as well as many originals like the epic “Midnight in Harlem.” The band came back out for a massive encore ending with “Space Captain” a Matthew Moore cover that featured a dueling drum solo and a guitar solo by Derek that almost blew the roof off.
This festival is filled with incredible music and loving fans. Both old and young are happy to see music veterans they love and discover new younger bands. With a gathering so big on a ski slope is logistically difficult and there will always be some hiccups, but this year went off rather smoothly aside from maybe one small food vendor explosion and a very long shuttle line on the last day. Other than that everything was more than Peachy and filled with respectful people for the most part. In conclusion, I’ll leave you with a lyric from an Allman Brothers song I recently discovered I love called”Blue Sky.” “You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day. Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way.” Another Peach Fest is in the books, see you on the mountain next time!
The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival finished out another marathon nine days, inviting well over 200,000 music fans into downtown Rochester to enjoy over 300 sets of exceptional music in 19 different venues and outdoor stages. It was, and always is, a glorious slog, tiring, but fruitful and exhilarating. NYS Music was there absorbing as much as we possibly could.
At just about the midway point of the long haul, Christian Sands sat down at the baby grand in the intimate, beautifully wood-paneled and acoustically near perfect Hatch Hall. Seated at the bench ready to launch into his hour set he first addressed the crowd, “What I love about solo piano is, the possibilities are endless.” But that could be said about jazz in general, and this festival certainly exhibited that. Sands would proceed to take that piano for a ride through originals like “My Mother” and deconstructed covers like The Beatles’ “Blackbird,” adding bits of electronics and recordings here and there for an enthralling hour.
The very next night he would sit at the piano in the larger but equally beautiful Kilbourn Hall, this time joined by Marvin Sewell on guitar, Ryan Sands on drums and Isaac Levien bass for a set as a quartet. Possibilities? Still endless, as they frayed the edges of the music, finding gorgeous spaces in the drifting in and out of pieces.
The Rochester International Jazz Festival has run on it’s aphorism, “It’s not who you know, it’s who you don’t know.” But after 20 years of introducing festival-goers to what’s what in the world of jazz and music, they “know” a thing or two these days. Perhaps it’s time to shift the thinking to, “It’s who you know, and how well you know them”? Sands himself was returning from his sets in 2018 and in both cases gave the opportunity to see him both solo and with his band. People, then, through the festival, are able to see artists grow and shift through the years. They can also get unique perspectives difficult to obtain elsewhere, such as seeing Sands play solo and as a quartet in consecutive days.
Appropriately, the 20th Anniversary lineup included some of the festival’s top returning artists. No one in Rochester needed to be introduced to Grammy-winning singer Catherine Russell when she took the Theater at Innovation Square stage in her eighth Rochester International Jazz Fest visit. Nor did anyone have any doubt who Trombone Shorty was when he wrapped up the festival with another packed show at Parcel 5 with his band Orleans Avenue. He was also making his eighth visit, after debuting at the Big Tent in 2010. At the same venue his cousin, Glen David Andrews, introduced himself to Rochester this year and wowed the crowd with a similar formula of nine parts leading a street party and one part blowing his trombone. Another fest favorite on the rise?
Scottish sax man Tommy Smith came back for his ninth festival, appearing through the years solo, in various duos and as a sideman. He returned with fellow Scot pianist Peter Johnstone for some sets of continuous improv at Hatch Hall. Smith’s searing horn weaving through Johnstone’s keys work for some magnificent and endlessly intriguing interplay. They worked the “Happy Birthday” theme into the improv, dedicated to the festival’s anniversary, a message that couldn’t have come from a more appropriate source.
But perhaps no artist has become more embedded in the fabric of the Rochester International Jazz Festival than guitarist Bill Frisell, returning for the tenth time this year. With Frisell, the more you know him, the more you love him. It’s a thrill to bear witness to each and every set, listening to his trio tease apart familiar themes in new and exciting ways each time, his distinctive tone ringing through your head. They fold melodies into an origami, creating dimension where there was none, different points coming together, wrapping atop each other in beautifully unsuspected ways. Their performance of “You Only Live Twice” that closed the early set, brought together all of these elements and then some, a highlight of this year’s visit.
Guitarist Charlie Hunter took a different path, premiering at the festival with his trio in 2006, returning last year as a sideman for vocalist Kurt Elling and again this year as a sideman fostering the young talent in Victoria Victoria, a project from soul singer Tori Elliott. Hunter was more than happy to give Elliott the spotlight though he did carve out some space to show off some of his signature guitar/bass chops.
Lionel Loueke made his third appearance at the festival, appearing with Gretchen Parlato at Kilbourn Hall, to perform material off their latest release, Lean In. They met 22 years ago, the same year the festival began, at their auditions for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. There they performed for a panel of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Terrance Blanchard. And for their festival set, they played their interpretation of Shorter’s “Juju,” an assignment way back when by Blanchard himself. The rest of the set was filled with the joyous, melodic and very rhythmic pieces from their album. Loueke’s unique guitar and rhythmic vocals, Parlato’s beautiful scatting and singing, coming together in a one-of-a-kind enchanting dance. Another special set inside the hallowed Kilbourn Hall for sure.
Bruce Hornsby returned to the Rochester International Jazz Festival after headlining in 2016, this year opening the Parcel 5 stage that Trombone Shorty would burn down four nights later. Even if it were his first festival, with longtime hits like “Mandolin Rain” and “The Way It Is,” and a stint with the Grateful Dead, this was a man who needed no introduction. Still, he tried to appease the “jazz” crowd with a jazz-aesthetic in songs like “Sneakin’ Up on Boo Radley” and “Spiderfingers.” Hornsby and his band The Noisemakers hit that aesthetic even more so in the way they handled the material, stretching it in new and interesting ways, adding riffs and themes making the familiar, like “End of the Innocence,” feel fresh and new. The “possibilities are endless.”
Drummer Mark Guiliana first made it to the festival in Rochester as a member of Avishai Cohen’s band 20 years ago, and has since returned in various groups. But this year he came for the first time as a leader. His quartet, featuring Jason Lindner on piano, Chris Morrissey on base and Jason Rigby on tenor sax, blasted through their set at a packed Christ Church. Each instrument took on a life of its own, telling its own story. Yet somehow, the sounds magically worked together to create a cogent cacophony, sometimes quietly, sometimes with ferocity. The crowd, generally fleeting at this festival, off to capture other overlapping sets, were glued to the pews, stunned and delighted. The church remained packed to the last notes.
Of course, in the ever burgeoning world of jazz, there is always room for discovery and there were plenty of newcomers to fill in the “it’s who you don’t know” bucket. Matthew Whitaker and his group took the familiar for some unfamiliar rides, adding his spins to everything from Brubeck’s “Take Five,” to Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance,” and Chick Corea’s “Spain.” Whitaker flipped his playing between piano, synthesizer and B3 organ effortlessly, bringing new energy and fresh perspectives to some well-worn material.
Oslo’s Oddgeir Berg Trio provided the yearly Nordic discovery at the festival. A melodic and very tight keys trio, they added elements of rock music to some at-times chaotic and schizophrenic pieces, making for a very intriguing and satisfying set. Guitarist and vocalist, Albino Mbie, from Mozambique, brought an absolute melting pot of a band, representing Brazil, Cuba, Panama and the U.S., single-handedly fulfilling the “International” portion of the festival’s name. Mbie led the band through his sunny African soul music with slick guitar work and excellent vocals, including a fully vocalized drum solo. Guitarist Olli Hirvonen, native of Finland but based in Brooklyn, brought a trio that was more instrumental rock than fitting into any preconceived jazz sect, falling into the “endless possibilities” category. Tough to categorize and tough to describe, their sound combined elements of Explosions in the Sky with Pat Martino, soaring and cinematic with splashes of mind-melting fusion.
South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini made his Rochester International Jazz Festival debut with Francisco Mela on drums and Zwelakhe Duma Bell La Pere on bass. Makhathini gave the piano a full-body workout, slamming his Nike high tops on the sustain pedal with gusto, filling Kilbourn Hall with notes echoing and reverberating long after their intended moment. The pieces found a groove in textures more than in melody, bass, drums and piano equally contributing to the resulting tapestries. Makhathini broke from the music for a couple short lessons on the importance of music in South African history and culture, and his philosophies behind his music, lending an extra layer of importance to an already highly elevated live experience. He doesn’t compose music, rather he “taps into sounds that already exist in the universe.” No wonder then that the “possibilities are endless.”
Ithaca Reggae Festival 2023 took over Stewart Park this over June 23-24, bringing some roots and rhymes to local reggae fans. Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad closed the festival off Saturday evening playing some favorites.
For five years now the Ithaca Reggae Festival has been drawing crowds to the Finger Lakes Region. This years line up included Sundub, New Planets, Scientist, Double Tiger, and the Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. With great food, arts, and activities for youth and adults, the reggae festival helps build community and keeps the music alive.
Rochester Reggae and Jam band Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad finished the festival off Saturday night with high energy felt from both the crowd and the band. Founded in 2001, the band is well known for their reggae roots and dub sounds. Performing old and new songs from their latest release, Love In Time, the crowd was left wanting more.
Looking for a family-friendly music festival this summer with a focus on the family aspect? The Catskills has your answer with Grey Fox Bluegrass Music Festival.
Photo courtesy of the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival press release.
First being held in 1984 (and with roots going back to the 1976 Berkshire Mountain Bluegrass Festival) Grey Fox Bluegrass has been held on the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill, NY, on the banks of the Catskill Creek, since 2008. The festival has enjoyed great longevity with host band Dry Branch Fire Squad welcoming major bluegrass names including Del McCoury, Bela Fleck, Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Peter Rowan, Abigail Washburn, the Gibson Brothers and hundreds more.
Grey Fox has a bright future especially thanks to the welcoming nature of families and children to the festival, as well as with the Grey Fox Bluegrass Academy for Kids introducing children to bluegrass music and bringing everyone together for a final performance on the last day of the festival.
North Carolinian Lynda Dawson shares with NYS Music her experience at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival 2022, with a first-hand account of how her family spent the weekend, Bluegrass Academy for Kids and an attestation at the family-friendlyness of this long running festival in the Catskills.
It’s a 700-mile drive from our home in Raleigh, NC to the Walsh Family Farm in Upstate NY, where the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival takes place every July, yet my husband and I knew it would be worth the trek. We had made this pilgrimage pre-children, and Grey Fox instantly became one of our top favorite music events, so as soon as the youngest of our two daughters turned eight, we booked our Festival + Camping tickets and their spots in the 2022 Grey Fox Bluegrass Academy for Kids (BGA for short).
BGA at Grey Fox is a four-day group lesson environment where children ages 8–17 gather for instruction from top notch musicians each day, spending a couple hours before lunch, a couple hours after lunch, and culminating in a Sunday afternoon performance on the main stage. My 11-year-old daughter was psyched to know she’d get to be part of the final act of the festival. My 8-year-old, prone to hiding rather than play in front of others, wasn’t so sure.
The first evening we walked from our campsite up to the big tent where the Academy would be taking place. We were welcomed by other kids, the instructors and Academy Director, Mark Panfil, who enthusiastically kicked things off by sharing his passion for bluegrass and teaching young musicians, “I especially love working with young people who are willing to work and try new things. These are exceptional kids. Any teacher with experience knows these kids are special!”
The next morning, feeling proud and encouraged, our girls rode their bicycles up Smiley Street towards the Academy tent with fiddles on their backs. The Grey Fox site team builds a pop-up “city” on a farmer’s field every summer, complete with bluegrass-themed street names, and neighborhood camping sections like Picker’s Paradise and Generatorville. Our children quickly figured out the lay of the land and were independently navigating their way between our campsite and the BGA tent. My husband and I smiled, then we opened our own guitar and mandolin cases, relaxed in our camping chairs, and relished in the joy of playing songs together outside on a beautiful summer morning. We hoped our kids were having as much fun as we were.
“Yes!” says our oldest when we picked them up for the lunch break, “The people are awesome, and it is super fun!” Mark Panfil agrees, “The BGA is special to me because of the people involved. From the teachers to the parents to the students. People who believe in the future of Bluegrass music are all around this festival. This experience stands out because this festival stands out, open to innovative programs and maintaining a family friendly space.”
And so the festival fun continued. In the evenings we enjoyed sitting together as a family on the hillside listening to music from the High Meadow main stage, then dancing until the kids were practically falling asleep in the Catskill Stage dance tent. During the day while our girls were playing and learning bluegrass songs with new friends, my husband and I would play music with our neighbors, or shop along vendor row, or discover new bands at the Creekside Stage.
Our youngest was even overcoming her fear of playing in public. When she got back to the campsite late Saturday afternoon she asked if she could join in the jam happening across the street from us. “Sure!” we said, trying not to sound too excited, and watched her walk over, unpack her fiddle, and start playing along with a dozen welcoming musicians.
On Sunday morning the kids met at the BGA tent to run through their songs for the big performance, then they headed backstage as the parents joined the audience. To our delight, Jerry Douglas took the stage with them and kicked off, “Long Journey Home” on his Dobro, grinning ear to ear as he sang along on the chorus, “Lost all my money but a two-dollar bill…” During the set he addressed the audience and said, “Man, I wish I had something like this when I was a kid!” It was joyous.
When the show and festival were over, we met up with the girls amidst families giving hugs and high-fives. As soon as they saw us they both rushed over and asked with excitement, “We’re coming back again next year, right?!?” “Absolutely,” we said. Absolutely.
As Lynda Dawson detailed above, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival is an ideal destination for families looking to get their children a healthy dose of music and the outdoors this summer, with opportunities for fun abounding and a lifetime of memories to be gained.
Check out the daily schedule below and get more info on the weekend here.
Re:SET Concert Series kicked off its three day run at Forest Hill Tennis Stadium this past Friday, June 16th. The traveling mini festival is in their inaugural year, taking a stacked lineup on the road and commandeering local venues for a long weekend of music. The opening night of Re:SET Queens featured legendary NYC natives LCD Soundsystem supported by Jamie XX, IDLES, and fellow New Yorker L’Rain. Each band brings a distinct style of the music to the stage, creating a truly unique night of music you can’t get at a normal concert.
LCD Soundsystem, Re:SET Forest Hills 6/16/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
The atmosphere was electric from the beginning. General admission floor wristbands were given out on a first come first served basis, drawing a large crowd for the early start time. A brief thunderstorm pushed doors back an hour, but those first fans in the door were greeted to the amazing L’Rain welcoming them from the stage. Her uniquely experimental pop and R&B filled the stadium with dense layers of vocal loops and instrumentation. L’Rain finds herself on many bills throughout the city opening for all sorts of artists, keeping it fresh by bringing something new every time.
IDLES were up next, who brought a drastic shift in energy with their classic, in-your-face punk rock. The band boasts an extremely loyal and engaged fan base that made it out to Forest Hills in droves. IDLES have been pretty active since their excellent 2017 debut Brutalism, releasing four LPs in that time span and embarking on countless tours. Over the course of their one hour set, IDLES hit each of their four LPs including crowd favorites “Crawl!” from 2021’s CRAWLER and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm” from their sophomore LP Joy as an Act of Resistance.
The band loves to be engaged with the crowd, crowd surfing while singing and even jumping into the mosh pit and playing guitar while mixing it up with the kids. Before closing the set with “Rottweiler”, vocalist Joe Talbot thanked the fans for coming out, saying “the only reason we exist as a band is because of the love and passion you bring to the shows, so thank you.”
After the punk infused mosh pits cleared off the tennis courts, UK garage and house infusion was up next courtesy of Jamie XX. One half of The XX, Jamie XX blends the classic garage sound with old school house and rhythm and blues beats to create a unique style of dance music. Parked in front of a giant disco ball projecting rays onto the crowd, Jamie XX played a rather deep setlist littered with snippets of some of his bigger hits hidden in the layers. He opened the set with “KILL DEM”, a one-off single from 2022 that features a vibrant, glitchy vocal array over a very tribal garage beat. Jamie XX followed that up with “Idontknow”, another single that mixes scattered percussions with trippy vocal loops.
Jamie XX took a 5-song setlist and fleshed it out for his hour-long set by mixing his songs in and out of curious beats and musical tangents, without skipping a beat or allowing a second of dead space. He rolled on with the fun and vibrant duo of “I’ll Take Care of You” followed by “LET’S DO IT AGAIN” before ending things off with a funky edit of “Gosh”, the opening track from his stellar 2015 LP In Colour. The audience on the floor and in the stadium seats were dancing from the moment he took the stage
LCD Soundsystem always draw quite a bit of hype when they are in town, regardless of the countless residencies they perform in the city. A staple in the city’s thriving music scene since their inception in 2002, the band is beloved in New York and can bring a tiny dive bar or an entire arena to its knees with their infectious dance rock. Forest Hills Stadium was packed to the upper deck before the band took the stage to an enormous reception on a gorgeous night in Queens.
LCD Soundsystem, Re:SET Forest Hills 6/16/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
James Murphy and company started things off with a bang with the driving drum beats of “Get Innocuous!”, the opening track from 2007’s Sound of Silver. The beat sent the audience into a dance groove that did not let up until curfew. The song continued to swell until a sudden transition to “I Can Change” instigated a loud sing along from the 13,000 fans in attendance. The set rolled along with endless crowd favorites, leading up to a climactic three song finale. “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” always comes with a vocal outburst from the crowd, which was followed up by the thunderous jam “Dance Yrself Clean”. The band fleshed this song out a bit for the live show, sending an already amped crowd up into another gear. All good things must come to an end, with LCD Soundsystem ending the night with “All My Friends”. A truly joyous ending to day one Re:SET.
LCD Soundsystem, Re:SET Forest Hills 6/16/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Re:SET has certainly established itself as one of the more unique traveling festivals in only its first year. Each day features a bill of four bands that could all headline shows on their own; many who just completed or are in the middle of their own tours. Each band brings something new to the stage when it’s their turn to play, drawing the interest of the fans who came out, and the other bands themselves. During the earlier acts for Re:SET, James Murphy and others from LCD Soundsystem were in VIP checking out the music, rocking along to IDLES and dancing to Jamie XX. During the headline set, many of the band members from the earlier acts made their way into the crowd to witness the legends themselves. It’s truly a great festival for fans who enjoy a wide array of music.
LCD Soundsystem, Re:SET Forest Hills 6/16/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
