NYS Music 2023

Category: Special

  • Plenty of Jams, Smiles, & Love at The Peach Music Festival 2023

    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!

  • Rochester International Jazz Festival Reaches 20-Year Milestone in Style

    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.”

    Lisa Fischer at Temple Theatre

  • Eastbound Jesus Releases Charming Indie Single “Fly Away”

    Eastbound Jesus has recently released its new single, “Fly Away.” Recorded in Salem, NY, the piece retains a classic indie feel with masterfully combined instrumentals, particularly through its many guitarists (and one banjoist). The single’s release coincides with the announcement of this year’s Eastbound Throwdown in September.

    The band is made up of bassist Dave Wright, electric guitarist Zack Infante, electric guitarist Andrew Lynch, acoustic guitarist, and vocalist Adam Brockway, drummer and vocalist Carl Anderson, as well as banjoist and vocalist Luke Anderson. The song was produced and mixed by Jimi Woodul.

    “Fly Away” starts with a bit of banter and the tuning of various instruments before the drums bring the full force of the song. It’s a classic move with a bit of a cliffside opening, a twist on something like the beginning of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” It adds a bit of indie charm to the introduction and brings the song to earth.

    The switch between the verse and the chorus is often signaled by a switch between the focus on banjo and bass in the verse and the rise of electric guitar in the chorus. The drums are, beyond the bombastic beginning, relegated to the background of the piece, providing a good steady beat for the rest of the song to rely on.

    The chorus in particular is very easy to sing along to, with its rise in everything that had made the verse great in combination with clear and simple lyrics. Wanting to “Fly Away” is something that everyone can get behind, and it’s clear why Eastbound Jesus decided to record it after playing it live for a year.

    Eastbound Throwdown on Sept. 8 and 9, 2023 at the Irwin Family Farm in Salem, NY. Friday, Sept. 8 will feature The A.M.s, The National Reserve, Dirty Blanket, Eastbound Jesus, The Mallett Brothers Band, and Turf n’ Turf. Saturday, Sept. 9 will feature Dan Johnson, Black Mountain Symphony, Brule County Bad Boys, Beg, Steal or Borrow, Kat Wright, Fireside Collective, Eastbound Jesus, as well as Saints & Liars.

    For more information and tickets for Eastbound Throwdown, check out their page on eventbrite.com. For more on Eastbound Jesus, take a look at their website. The “Fly Away” single is available on Spotify.

  • Recording Studios in the Hudson Valley

    In the Hudson Valley, you will find no shortage of recording studios spread throughout the region, including a number in New Paltz, Woodstock and around Ulster County.

    photo by Steve Malinski

    Welterweight Sound Studio in New Paltz, owned by producer/engineer Ryan Dieringer, is an ideal spot for recording, mixing, and mastering music with a 32’x17’ live room and “in the round” control room with 16’ wood-slat, gabled ceilings as well as two isolation booths. Welterweight is also an ideal place for audiobook/podcast/ADR recording or mixing, with a strong Wi-Fi connection.

    A piano set in Welterweight Sound Studio in New Paltz.

    The independent JT Beats LLC Studios in New Paltz is owned by Jake Totilo and offers several recording, mixing, and mastering services. Totilo grew up in Brooklyn and learned how to play piano from his Grandpa at the age of 7 and uses music as an outlet for self-expression, whether it be the piano, singing, production, or DJing. He is now 20 and studied music at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz and even released his album.

    Jake Totilo, owner of JT Beats LLC Studios.

    Discover Recording Studios from across New York State in Western New York, the Capital Region, Long Island, Central New York, and New York City.

    Dreamland Recording Studios in Hurley, a town in Ulster County and west of Kingston, was opened in the ’80s by Joel Bluestein, due to the recording studio climate at the time, which he found to be a mostly hostile working environment. His goal was to create a socially-responsible business that treated its employees like family and was an overall better place to work and record, as well as close the gender gap in the male-dominated recording business, hiring women and bringing in new ideas and ways of working. In 2005, Dreamland closed down due to the economic climate at the time, as many studios were forced to do. In 2008, however, Jerry Marotta came on board and re-opened the studio with Joel. They continued their mission of maintaining the family-oriented, comfortable, creative vibe of Dreamland.

    The best thing about Dreamland is that it offers remote recording services, so artists can achieve their recording needs from the comfort of their own homes. Artists can record tracks at home and send them to Dreamland for re-amping, analog processing, remote mixing, and more. Inside the studio, Dreamland is a residential recording space for artists to nurture their craft, with a fire pit inside surrounded by the upstate mountain breeze.

    The lodge inside of Dreamland Recording Studio.

    Gimme That Sound is a recording studio, occupying a refurbished Hudson Valley barn In Upstate New York’s historical hamlet of Stone Ridge in Ulster County. The studio is just a half hour south of Woodstock, and a little less than two hours from Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Owned and operated by Grammy-winning mixer/producer Stephen George, Gimme That Sound offers online Mixing, music production, in-house mixing, mastering, and recording services. The studio has produced music of all genres, from indie, hard-core, pop, rock, r&b, hip-hop, and gospel.

    Before opening Gimme That Sound, George was a local Chicago musician, playing the drums for the band Ministry, and worked as Chief Engineer at Zomba / Jive Record’s “Battery Studios Chicago.” In 1998, George moved to New York City to expand his career. Recently, George relocated from Manhattan to the Hudson Valley, between the Catskill Mountains to the north and Shawangunk Mountains to the east.

    The inside of Gimme That Sound Recording Studio.

    Woodstock’s Levon Helm Studios has been producing music since 1975, and is named after the late Levon Helm, who gained fame as one of the three vocalists of The Band and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Home of Levon’s legendary Midnight Rambles, and situated on 18 acres in historic Woodstock, the barn-style Levon Helm Studios welcomes artists for intimate concerts, recording sessions, rehearsals, writing retreats, and private events. Other artists and bands who have recorded there include Elvis Costello, My Morning Jacket, and many more.

    The outside of Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock.

    New York’s Hudson Valley is home to Long Pond Recording Studios, where Taylor Swift has worked several times. The singer-songwriter has recorded her eighth studio album, Folklore, as well as her re-recorded version of her second studio album Fearless and fourth studio album Red. Long Pond’s incarnation began with musician Aaron Dessner having hope in his heart to move out of New York City with his family and find an oasis for the band The National. The main goal was to create a space that would encourage and inspire creativity for the creation of music. This process culminated with the band creating and recording their Grammy award-winning album Sleep Well Beast, using the Studio as the album cover and becoming the theme focal point of the marketing campaign created by Pentagram.

    Platinum Productions in the Orange County Town of Monroe is a full-service recording studio and video production company serving clients throughout the Greater New York Metropolitan area and nationwide. The studio is located just one hour from New York City and has many musicians from all genres of music, including 2012 The Voice winner Jermaine Paul. Phil Bula, President of Platinum Productions, began as a young boy playing in brass bands with the Salvation Army and was featured on the game show I’ve Got a Secret a the age of nine. Bula grew and progressed into a professional musician before moving from the stage to the studio in 1978 and began working for popular artists including Billy Joel, Michael Bolton, and Whitney Houston. His work may be seen and heard on television shows produced by HBO, ABC, ESPN, USA Network, and Disney. 

    The mics set up in the studio at Platinum Productions.

    These are among the several recording studios throughout the Hudson Valley of New York where aspiring musicians can produce music to make their musical dreams come true. If you know of another we missed, reach out to editors@nysmusic.com!

  • DJibouti and Feinte release debut collaborative project Run Riot

    NYC-based house-meets-indie duo DJibouti and Feinte released their debut collaborative project, Run Riot on June 23. The EP is a vulnerable story of heartbreak that blossomed from an abundance of pent-up angst in Feinte’s world, all layered over pastel dance tracks. DJibouti’s expertise for creating fun, dance-yourself-clean new wave house music gave him the outlet to release that hurt. 

    DJibouti and Feinte

    DJibouti and Feinte met in a college Ottoman History class when they realized their shared love of music. DJibouti, a DJ and producer, is currently taking the New York City house scene by storm. Playing a groovy, eclectic mix of house and funk, he’s established himself as one of the the up-and-coming DJs out of the NYC scene. He burst onto the scene through underground raves and parties, already racking up over a million streams on Spotify alone.

    Feinte has a range of influences. He is based in New York as an indie-tronica singer-songwriter, but grew up in Los Angeles and also spent time living in Berlin, London, and Tel Aviv.

    DJibouti and Feinte

    Inspiration Behind Run Riot

    After Feinte moved to Berlin, the project was put on pause until he returned to NYC. Through those six months, he experienced intense heartbreak. Quickly, he learned that the way they deal with it in Berlin is to dance through it. Run Riot invites everyone to dance through their pain with accessible but never boring four-on-the-floor beats.

    “Every weekend I released all my excess emotions to a soundtrack of Sylvester, Skatebård, and Daphni. The collaborative aspect of the various dance floors gave me the feeling that I had people listening to everything I needed to say,” Feinte said speaking about his time in Berlin. With Run Riot, Feinte and DJibouti aim to recreate that feeling.

    Of Run Riot, Feinte continues, “over the Spring and Summer of 2022, [DJibouti] would send me different beats, and I would smoke a little too much and dance over them. After a few demos, we realized we had a unique sound that the dance music world had never heard; The Indie-loverboy over the jazzy house keys and DJibouti Drums.”

    Listen to the EP here.

  • In Focus: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at Ithaca Reggae Festival 2023

    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.

  • Grey Fox Bluegrass, a Truly Family Friendly Festival

    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.

    grey fox bluegrass
    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!”

    grey fox bluegrass

    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.

    grey fox bluegrass

    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.

  • MIDNIGHTCHOIR Shares “Lovecrimes” Single + Video

    NYC electronic act MIDNIGHTCHOIR has just released the single “Lovecrimes,” along with this, a music video to accompany it. Along with this, they have also confirmed the forthcoming release of their second album, Loverboy Molotov, to be released July 14th. 

    New York-born and raised electronic producer Patrick Bobilin has been producing music as MIDNIGHTCHOIR since 2014. Bobilin’s love for 80s goth rock and pounding electronic beats combined with his political experiences color the tone and tenor of his music. 

    Speaking on this new single, Bobilin wrote, “After 7 years of being in the public eye, the only times I felt I could be myself were at NYC dance bars like Pyramid Club or Saint Vitus. I started traveling to Austin, TX more often to visit a group of friends, free from the political infamy I’d become ensnared in.”

    “I recorded it quickly in one night, with the urgency of having to get out of town and shake loose of those tangles. ‘Lovecrimes’ was inspired by late nights in NYC and dancing at Barbarella in Austin, where they always play INXS on 80’s Night. The cover of ‘Need You Tonight’ was also inspired by those late nights and features guitar from David Simutis who I met at an office job and who I learned was a seasoned indie rock vet, having engineered and played on some of the coolest records of the last 20 years.” 

    The combinations of sex, politics, and gothic imagery explain the lyrical content and the inclusion of three covers: Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” and “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode. 

    Since then, Bobilin ran for public office, led community action organizations during the 2020 social justice uprisings, and has been an active community organizer. He was even arrested twice during the 2020 movement for black lives while organizing protests. That social justice work, which had Bobilin arguing with former-mayor de Blasio about policing on live radio, has found its way into the lyrics of the punk-infused new darkwave album he recorded in the first few weeks of 2023. 

    The new album was made with much of Bobilin’s urgency and energy of his political campaigns in 2017, 2020, and 2022. Having firmly decided to leave politics behind, Bobilin was compelled to write about many of the frustrations that inspired his far-left politics.  

    While Bobilin may lean on 80’s new wave and goth influences, the autobiographical elements of the album reflect his experiences in politics and protest. The politics of the album are far left, with emotional, social, religious, and political concerns peppered throughout. 

    Listen to “Lovecrimes” by clicking the link here. 
    Loverboy Molotov will be available on all streaming services this July. 

  • New York Based Singer KAZIMI Shares Heartfelt Single “Fever Dream”

    NYC’s indie-pop and folk-rock artist KAZIMI shares the single “Fever Dream,” the second track from her debut album River Run out later this year. The layered percussion is the heartbeat of this single, with drums that are both slinky and sexy, a groove comes across your hips effortlessly.

    The singer-songwriter wrote, “’This is a song about pleasure and craving. About wanting something (someone) so bad that the desire seeps into your every moment, coloring everything you see. That obsession, that need, that want. Bodies seeking bodies.” 

    “I never sat down to make a record. I don’t think I would’ve started if I had.” 

    -KAZIMI

    For most of her life, KAZIMI played music alone and in secret. She crafted songs as a way to work through life’s peaks and valleys but they were never meant to be shared. When the world stopped, something in her changed and that change led to the writing and recording of her debut album, River Run. 

    The New York-based singer-songwriter offers up her personal brand of indie-folk with tracks that explore the trials of being a living, breathing human: betrayal and heartbreak, pleasure and resilience, the death of loved ones, and the rebirth of self. With a soundscape that drifts effortlessly between dreamy, seductive, cinematic, and folky, River Run is as evocative in its style as it is in its storytelling. 

    The indie-folk (although very different it’s also somewhat reminiscent of John Grant, don’t you think?) artist deals with the myriad layers of the human condition as a way of wrestling with difficulties. 

    – Americana UK

    For KAZIMI, the project was an opportunity to dethrone the internal demons that lurked in the shadows of her mind. “Part of making music is letting go so there can be space for magic to enter the room, but giving up control is not something that comes easily to me. I had to constantly recenter the importance of making something true over the temptation to chase perfection.”

    The title track was written in an empty hotel lobby in Nashville at the height of quarantine in 2020, “I was driving from Texas to New York. Passing through Memphis, I crossed the Wolf River and something about the name stuck in my mind. That evening I went downstairs and sat at the keys. I hadn’t had a piano to play in 4 months. Over the course of the time I wrote the song, I never saw another person. No other guests, no staff. Just me alone in a hotel, singing to the walls,” she says.

    Swimming in the depths and then soaring through the clouds, the record traces the journey of a path unknown. The very act of making it, says KAZIMI, is a victory. “I am following what makes me feel most alive, even though I don’t know where it will lead. I found an ember and I held it close. I blew on it until a fire burst forth.” 

    For more music by KAZIMI, click here. 

  • Recording Studios in the Capital Region

    In the Capital Region of New York State, there are numerous recording studios that provide aspiring musicians with a space to record their music and help artists in their efforts to one day make it big in the music industry. Across Albany, Saratoga Springs, and Schenectady, you’ll find a great selection of studios to support musicians, artists, and bands from all genres and scenes.

    In Albany, you can find North Albany Studios in the village of Menands, where the handicapped-accessible Studio A comes equipped with a five-piece drum kit, bass amp, guitar amp, lounge facilities, natural light, high ceilings, and green-screen capabilities, and more for making music, film, photography, and theater.

    Studio A of North Albany Studios.

    The SAG-AFTRA-approved Overit Studios in the city of Albany offers film/tv/games, commercial, music, podcast, and audiobook services. The former church is a 2000-square-foot space with 28-foot ceilings, a spacious live room, three isolation booths, and an oversized control room to can accommodate anything from a singer-songwriter to a full band and even a choir.

    Discover Recording Studios from across New York State in Western New York, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Central New York, and New York City.

    Capital Mixers Recording Studios in Albany County offers professional recording, mixing, mastering, and more services to recording artists, Musicians, DJs, bands, and record labels worldwide. It has three studios, A, B, and C, and a podcast and film studio.

    DJ mixing at Capital Mixers Recording Studios.

    Albany’s AAA Recording Studio C offers recording services for all kinds of musical acts solo artists, small combos, acoustic acts, acapella groups, rock bands, and full-on Big Band groups.

    A drum set in AAA Recording Studio C.

    White Lake Music and Post in Albany offers four studios for singers to produce music in. The studio has produced, recorded, and mixed multiple Billboard Top 40 singles and provided audio services for clients including Netflix, Discovery, Lifetime, Universal, Disney, Nickelodeon, HBO, and numerous others.

    For over 20 years, the hamlet of Delmar, in the Albany County of Bethlehem, is home to Blue Sky Recording/Music Studios, equipped with a full-service recording studio, private music lessons, music classes, music camps, instrument rentals, and a music store all under one roof for professional musicians, music teachers and students of music in the Capital Region. Its recording facility is the premier studio in the Albany area, offering audio recording, mixing, CD mastering, audio transfers & restoration, music editing, music production, commercials, custom jingles, on-location recording, and much more. Blue Sky also offers music lessons for all ages, levels, and styles on most instruments, music therapy classes, ‘Make the Band’ summer rock band camp, audio engineering classes, and Romper Rhythms classes for babies/toddlers and parents.

    Blue Sky Recording/Music Studio in Albany,

    Don Fury Studio in Troy records music “New York style,” with real drums, real guitars, and real vocals, unedited as if you were right in front, or even on, the stage. “When you hear a record produced at DFS – everything you hear is real.”

    Don Fury Studio in Troy.

    First opened in 2001, Classical Recording Service in Albany County is a popular choice for recording among musicians in Upstate New York. The studio has made thousands of recordings all over the Capital District, including concerts, recitals, and recording sessions. In the capital region, Classical Recording Services has work locations at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, the Palace Theatre in Albany, and the Proctors Theater in Schenectady.

    The stage at Classical Recording Services in Albany County.

    The full-service Soundcheck Republic in the Rensselaer County of East Greenbush features state-of-the-art digital and analog recording equipment, providing all the features of a larger studio, acclaimed engineers, and producers.

    A typical studio space in Soundcheck Republic.

    There are among the many recording studios in the Capital Region where aspiring musicians can make their music, on their journey of one day making it big in the music industry. If we missed a recording studio from the greater Albany area, please email editors@nysmusic.com.