Billy Joel announced his 100th monthly and 146th lifetime show at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, March 28, 2024. This show is part of his record-breaking, sold-out residency, with his final show, and his 150th lifetime show at the venue, slated for July 2024.
Joel also announced two performances at the iconic venue on April 26, 2024, May 9, 2024, and June 8, 2024.
Billy Joel’s history with Madison Square Garden began with his first performance at The World’s Most Famous Arena on December 14, 1978. In 2006, with 12 consecutive performances, Joel set the record for “most consecutive performances by any artist,” commemorated with a banner stating “Joel – 12” in the venue’s rafters, making him the first entertainer in the venue’s history to accomplish this feat.
He is one of the world’s most iconic musicians, having received The Kennedy Center Honors, one of the United States’ top cultural awards, in December 2013. He is also the recipient of six GRAMMY Awards, including the prestigious Grammy Legend Award. He has sold 150 million records over the past 25 years with 33 Top 40 hits.
Joel received both The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song which honors living musical artists’ lifetime achievement in promoting the genre of song as a vehicle of cultural understanding; entertaining and informing audiences; and inspiring new generations, and the once-in-a-century ASCAP Centennial Award, which is presented to American music icons in recognition of their incomparable accomplishments in their respective music genres and beyond.
In December 2013, he was named Madison Square Garden’s first-ever music franchise, joining the ranks of the venue’s other original franchises – the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. The record-breaking residency began in January 2014 with Joel playing one show every month at The Garden for, as Joel said at the time, “as long as the demand continues.” In January 2015, Joel broke his own record of the “most consecutive performances by any artist” with the 13th show of the residency, and a new banner was raised to The Garden’s rafters.
In July 2015, with his 65th lifetime show, he broke another record for the “most lifetime performances by any artist,” for which another banner was raised. Both of Joel’s banners continue to hang at The Garden and are replaced each month with each performance. In July 2018, he performed his 100th lifetime performance at the venue, commemorated as “Billy Joel Day” in the state. His piano was put on display outside of Chase Square, and the performance saw Bruce Springsteen onstage with the Piano Man.
A multitude of other incredible surprise guests have joined him on stage throughout the course of the ten-year run including Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, John Fogerty, Billy Gibbons, Brian Johnson, John Mayer, John Mellencamp, Olivia Rodrigo, Paul Simon, and more. He also sold more than 1.6 million tickets from all 50 states and more than 120 countries.
Billy Joel speaking at his MSG Press Conference, June 2, 2023. Photo by: Lucas Kurzweil for NYS Music.
In addition to his ongoing residency run, Joel has also performed alongside other music greats at two of Madison Square Garden’s most extraordinary benefit concerts – “12-12-12, The Concert For Sandy Relief,” which raised awareness and money for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, and “The Concert for New York City,” which was held to help aid 9/11 victims and heroes.
Tickets for March 28, 2024, Billy Joel show at MSG will be available for purchase by the general public beginning at 10:00 AM (ET) on Friday, October 13. They will also be available at the Madison Square Garden box office on Saturday, October 14.
Tickets for his April 26, 2024, are on sale now. Tickets for the May 9 and June shows go on sale at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27.
Geddy Lee, the iconic Canadian musician and Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Famer, is set to electrify New York City on Monday, November 13 with a one-of-a-kind event, “My Effin’ Life” In Conversation.
This highly anticipated evening will take place at The Beacon Theatre, a legendary venue for music enthusiasts. Geddy Lee’s special appearance is not just a performance, it is a journey into the heart and soul of one of the most legendary figures in rock history.
The event will coincide with the release of Geddy Lee’s eagerly awaited memoir, “My Effin’ Life,” which hits the shelves on November 14, courtesy of Harper Collins. This intimate evening promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fans to connect with Geddy Lee and delve into the stories that have shaped his extraordinary life and career.
As the curtain rises at The Beacon Theatre, Geddy Lee will offer a rare glimpse into the tapestry of his life, from heartfelt reflections on his family and childhood to a deep dive into the history of Rush alongside lifelong friends and bandmates, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
Joining Geddy Lee on stage will be a special guest interviewer who will guide the conversation, providing fans with an intimate and unfiltered look at the man behind the music. Geddy Lee will read select passages from “My Effin’ Life” and share insights and anecdotes from his incredible journey.
Furthermore, fans will have the unique opportunity to participate in a special Q&A session, where they can directly engage with Geddy Lee and have their burning questions answered.
“Being in a band all those years was reassuring because it was an ongoing thing. It felt like it was forever. There was always unfinished business: the next record, the next set design, the next tour. It’s been the theme of my life. But you need a lot more determination to proceed in the world of music without the comfort of your bandmates, and I can only hope that finishing this book will release me to return to what I do and love best.”
Geddy Lee
General ticket sales for this event begin on Friday, October 6, 2023, at 10 am, exclusively on Ticketmaster. Every ticket purchase includes a complimentary copy of Geddy Lee’s “My Effin’ Life,” which will be provided to ticket holders upon entry to the venue. Please note that there is a four-ticket limit per person.
In addition to the excitement surrounding the event, Geddy Lee’s “My Effin’ Life” tour is giving back. $1 from every ticket sold will contribute to the Neil Peart Memorial At Lakeside Park fund. The success of this project and its timeline depends on raising the $1 million fundraising goal set for the project. Fans and supporters can make donations of any size towards the memorial project online at www.stcatharines.ca/neilpeart. Geddy Lee’s “My Effin’ Life” tour will be a 14-city journey, beginning in New York City and spanning the United States and Canada.
Geddy Lee ‘My Effin Life’ Tour Dates:
Mon Nov 13 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
Wed Nov 15 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Philadelphia
Fri Nov 17 – National Harbor, MD – The Theater at MGM National Harbor
Sat Nov 18 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre presented by Citizens
Sun Nov 19 – Cleveland, OH – State Theatre at Playhouse Square
Tue Nov 21 – Montréal, QC – Théâtre Maisonneuve
Thu Nov 23 – Vancouver, BC – The Centre in Vancouver
Tedeschi Trucks Band just headlined two sold-out shows at TD Garden and MSG, and are coming back to the Big Apple for their annual three-night residency at The Beacon Theatre from Feb. 29-March 2.
Tedeschi Trucks Band is a Grammy Award-winning 12-piece rock and soul powerhouse, led by the husband/wife duo of guitarist Derek Trucks and singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi. They are known for their world-class musicianship and contemporary blend of a wide range of American musical influences. The band continues to tour in support of I Am The Moon, their acclaimed fifth studio project which “explodes with joyful, powerful and positive music” (Guitar Player). The album was made off the road during the pandemic and includes four albums released over the summer of 2022.
Since forming in 2010, the band has traveled countless miles to bring their music to fans all over the world, from sold-out multi-night residencies across America to tours through Europe and Japan, and their flagship annual summer amphitheater tours. Their extensive catalog isn’t geared towards one genre, spanning rock, blues, jazz, and even country, and no setlist is ever the same.
To get tickets to the Tedeschi Trucks Band annual Beacon Theatre residency, visit here.
The Zombies, one of the most celebrated bands of the early ‘60s British Invasion and pioneers of the later “orch pop” movement, came to Woodstock to showcase Hung Up On A Dream, an entertaining new documentary about their star-crossed career and ultimate critical resurrection directed by Robert Schwartzman.
The Zombies’ Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone at the Woodstock Film Festival premiere new documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, at the Bearsville Theater.
One of the highlights of the always star-studded 24th annual Woodstock Film Festival, the event took place before a sell-out crowd at the recently renovated Bearsville Theater. Rod Argent, the band’s visionary keyboardist founder and principle songwriter, was joined by the still choir-boy voiced Colin Blunstone for a post-screening Q&A and a rousing five-song duet performance.
Though The Zombies reached the top of the charts in 1964 with their debut single “She’s Not There” and a strong follow-up in 1965, “Tell Her No,” theirs is a story of old school showbiz mismanagement/exploitation followed, years later, by a critical reassessment and successful reunion. Earning countless millions via aggressive touring and recording at the start of their careers, the barely out of their teens bandmembers would each be forced to survive on a paltry 10 British pounds a week. That was until they recorded and broke up before the release of their 1968 psych/pop masterwork, Odessey and Oracle. By the time its single, “Time of the Season,” topped the charts, the band was well over and done with. And three decades would pass before they would make their triumphant return.
The documentary begins with a rapid-fire mélange of YouTube videos where new generations of music lovers wax poetic about their love of The Zombies, and especially their orch pop motherlode, Odessey and Oracle.
Thankfully, this documentary has none of the forced drama and cliched stupidity (drug ODs/inter-band incest/ songwriter royalty battles) popularized by VH-1’s “Behind the Music.” Perhaps that’s because The Zombies all seem like remarkably well-adjusted suburbanites with great senses of humor (especially the always hilarious Blunstone).
After the breakup, keyboardist Rod Argent would go on to immediate success with his surname titled band of “Hold Your Head Up” fame. Singer Blunstone would become an insurance agent and then emerge as a solo singer – first with a new name, Neil McArthur, before returning to his own for another classic disc, the orchestra-swaddled One Year, produced by Argent and the Zombies’ other great songwriter, bassist Chris White. Drummer Hugh Grundy and guitarist Paul Atkinson would go on to working in car sales and computers respectively before serving as beloved record company A&R executives responsible for kickstarting the careers of bands like ABBA, Queen and Bruce Hornsby. In the immediate aftermath of the success of “Time of the Season,” the rip-offs continued with two bands of “fake” Zombies touring the U.S., one even including two musicians who would later go on to found ZZ Top.
Filmicly, the documentary benefits from clips from the band’s many early appearances on television shows like Hullabaloo, American Bandstand and BBC’s Juke Boy Jury. The latter is where Beatle George Harrison dubbed their debut single “marvelous” and helped it race up the charts.
Schwartzman does a solid job of covering all the bases on the band’s rise, fall and rebirth. The latter begins to gather steam in the ‘80s and ‘90s as the band’s Odessey and Oracle becomes revered among hipster tastemakers like Beck, who would go on to cover their “Beechwood Park.” It reaches critical mass in 2008 when the band reunites for a 40th Anniversary concert recreating the album, which will be followed by several tours and their ultimate enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019. Tom Petty, Paul Weller, Post Malone, Haim, Harry Styles and Dave Grohl are all featured in the documentary sharing their love of the band, with Foo’s frontman calling Odessey his “favorite all-time album.”
Bearsville Theater owner Lizzie Vann with The Zombies’ Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone
Once again, there is a lot of humor as Argent, White, Grundy and Blunstone tell their story, with the lead singer getting the most laughs. Famously, Argent’s artist roommate Terry Quirk spelled “odyssey” wrong on the album cover painting, but the label was too cheap to re-press it. They were also too cost-conscious to let Blunstone do another take to fix a lyrical flub in “Tell Her No” or to provide money for a stereo mix of Odessey (Argent and White paid the $1,000 from their songwriting royalties). Emotions come to the fore as they recall their final performance with guitarist Paul Atkinson at a 2004 reunion. Suffering from terminal cancer, Atkinson would play with a morphine drip and pass three weeks after the show.
The film concludes with a duet performance of Blunstone’s “Caroline Goodbye” from his Argent/White produced album, One Year, with the obviously music-loving director Schwartzman on acoustic guitar.
Following the screening, Lizzie Vann, the British-born owner/architect of the recently revived Bearsville Theater, took to the stage to introduce Argent and Blunstone and joke about her earlier meeting with the jet-lagged duo over breakfast.
The Zombies’ Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone at the Woodstock Film Festival premiere new documentary, Hung Up On A Dream, at the Bearsville Theater.
Argent and Blunstone performed a rousing four-song set beginning with a super slowed down and extra bluesy “She’s Not There” and concluding with an extended version of “Time of the Season,” with Argent rolling out long legato solos like a rock-n-roll Art Tatum. The second tune, “You Could Be My Love,” is from their wonderful 2023 album, Different Game. In the film, Blunstone discusses his rigorous three-times daily practice regiment. It came to the fore here, as he is truly in better voice than ever, something remarkable for a man in his 70s.
Radio Woodstock’s amiable Justin Foy then took to the stage to conduct a Q&A. In it, the duo spoke of the importance of Elvis in their decision to live the life of musicians. “He was a creature from another universe and I vowed at my first listen that I would form a band like Elvis” said Argent. When asked how they felt about covers like Santana’s version of “She’s Not There,” Argent commented that he always felt his songs had an “understated Latin feel,” while Blunstone added: “It’s never been a problem for me, it’s a really compliment.” As for the tendency to remix and reissue classic albums by The Beatles and their own Odessey and Oracle, Argent added: “We’re not precious about it at all. Art is a work in progress. We’re always delighted when someone will spend their time to improve it.”
As for the best moment in their career, Blunstone said it was the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event. “I didn’t know all the words but I got to jam ‘All The Young Dudes’ with Def Leppard, Brian May and Ian Hunter.”
Foy closed the evening by twisting another tune out of the sleepy duo, a spirited version of “This Will Be Our Year” from Odessey and Oracle. With a documentary like this hitting streaming platforms and theaters and their new album, this may be another big year for The Zombies.
Foo Fighters have announced the 2024 Everything Or Nothing At All Tour, in support of their 11th full length record But Here We Are. The tour kicks off with two shows at NYC’s Citi Field on July 17 and 19.
With singles “Rescued” and “Under You,” Foo Fighters acclaimed album But Here We Are was released on June 2. It debuted at #1 on UK charts, marking the group’s sixth official #1 album. But Here We Are is the group’s first release since the passing of their longtime beloved drummer, Taylor Hawkins in March 2022.
Foo Fighters’ 2024 tour begins with two shows at New York’s Citi Field on July 17 and 19, and continues with shows at legendary stadiums, such as Boston’s Fenway Park, San Diego’s Petco Park, and Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. The tour will see support from Pretenders, The Hives, Mammoth WVH, Amyl and The Sniffers, Alex G, and L7 on various dates.
General onsale for tickets begins on Friday, October 6 at 10AM. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning on Tuesday, October 3 at 10AM, until Thursday October 5 at 10PM through the Citi Entertainment Program. More information and tickets are available here.
On Friday, September 29, U2 lit up the stage of the Sphere in Las Vegas with the opening night of their highly-anticipated U2:UV Achtung Baby Live series at the world’s most cutting-edge venue.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg performed two sets of Achtung Baby tunes plus a lengthy encore of hits standing on a Brian Eno-inspired turntable stage. U2 utilized every part of Sphere’s LED screen, offering the world’s largest and highest-resolution, with an awe-inspiring gallery of visual art showcasing bespoke art from artists including Es Devlin, John Gerrard, Marco Brambilla, and Industrial Light & Magic.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 30: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 30, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
U2 provided fans a fully immersive experience featuring top of the line technology offered at Sphere, which is reinventing the live music experience with the world’s highest-resolution LED screen on the interior of the Sphere, spanning four acres and surrounding the stage and audience, creating a completely immersive visual environment.
The four-football field long interior screen hovers 240 feet above the stage, with a steel framework supporting the 160,000-square-foot screen and the 160,000-speaker Holoplot multilayered audio system weighs about 730 tons.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Outside of Sphere, the Exosphere is the largest LED screen on Earth consists of approximately 1.2 million LED pucks across 580,000 square feet of surface, with each puck containing 48 individual LED diodes, and each diode capable of displaying 256 million different colors, all combining to create an unmistakably vivid landmark on the Las Vegas skyline.
The Exosphere displays a wide range of custom artistic and branded content, attracting worldwide interest as a result of the venue being photographed and shared widely on social media daily.
The state-of-the-art Sphere Immersive Sound, developed by Holoplot and considered to be the world’s most advanced audio system, provides the world’s largest, fully integrated concert-grade audio system and will revolutionize immersive audio experiences. A system of 1,600 permanently installed and 300 mobile Holoplot X1 Matrix Array loudspeaker modules includes a total of 167,000 individually amplified loudspeaker drivers. Using Holoplot’s next-generation 3D Audio-Beamforming and Wave Field Synthesis technology, the audio is transformed for delivery in large-scale venues such as Sphere.
The result is a controlled, consistent and crystal-clear concert-grade audio for audiences of up to 20,000 people, providing individual audience members with a personalized listening experience, whether sitting in the front or back rows. At Sphere, you may not see the sound system as the entire apparatus is completely hidden behind the 160,000-square-foot interior LED display plane.
So with this ground-breaking audio-visual venue at their disposal, U2 celebrated an historic live music milestone with fans from all over the world and VIP attendees including Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kimmel, John Starks, Paul McCartney, Sheryl Sandberg, Snoop Dogg and many more.
The show was the first in a 25-date run of shows that celebrates the band’s acclaimed album Achtung Baby, as well as its accompanying and industry-defining ZOO TV Tour in 1991. U2 also performed a new song, “Atomic City,” an homage to the magnetic spirit of 70’s post-punk with a nod to Blondie, whose pioneering work with Giorgio Moroder inspired and influenced the band.
The name “Atomic City” is also a 1950s nickname for Las Vegas from a time when nuclear fascination swept the nation and the city promoted itself as a center of atomic tourism due to its proximity to the Nevada Test Site.
U2 – Sphere, Las Vegas, NC – September 29, 2023
Achtung Baby Part 1: Zoo Station, The Fly, Even Better Than the Real Thing, Mysterious Ways, One, Until the End of the World, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World Turntable Set: All I Want Is You, Desire, Angel of Harlem, Love Rescue Me Achtung Baby Part 2: So Cruel, Acrobat, Ultraviolet (Light My Way), Love Is Blindness Encore: Elevation, My Way, Atomic City, Vertigo, Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, Beautiful Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2f5NzAALCA
Sphere has also announced the first movie studio collaboration with Dreamworks Animation for the upcoming Trolls Band Together. A brand campaign specifically designed for the Exosphere – the fully programmable LED exterior of Sphere in Las Vegas – Trolls Band Together, which hits theaters nationwide on November 17.
We’re thrilled to have the innovative and imaginative DreamWorks Animation be the first movie studio to collaborate on a bespoke marketing campaign for the Exosphere. The Exosphere’s larger-than-life canvas has become the premier platform for brands looking to tell their stories on an unparalleled scale, reaching audiences across the globe from the heart of Las Vegas.
David Hopkinson, President and Chief Operating Officer of MSG Sports
DreamWorks collaborated with Sphere Studios, Sphere’s in-house creative studio, to develop custom animated content featuring beloved characters from the movie alongside kaleidoscopic art from the film. The week-long campaign began September 25, and will include a special takeover of the venue on the night of September 28 to countdown to the release of *NSYNC’s new single “Better Place” on September 29, which will be featured in Trolls Band Together.
interior of SpheredefaultLAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 29: (Exclusive Coverage) Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Bram van den Berg of U2 perform during opening night of U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere on September 29, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Each Sunday evening from 7-9 pm you’ll find EQXposure on WEQX, featuring two hours of local music from up-and-coming artists. Tune into WEQX.com this Sunday night to hear new music from Beard & Glasses, Wes Aldrich, and Ciarra Fragale.
WEQX has long been the preeminent independent station in the Capital Region of New York, broadcasting from Southern VT to an ever-expanding listening audience. NYS Music brings you a preview of artists to discover each week, just a taste of the talent waiting to be discovered by fans like you.
Beard & Glasses- “War Without Room For an Argument”
Bears & Glasses is a rock/soul group from Bennington, Vermont. Their song “War Without Room For an Argument” is out now.
Wes Aldrich writes from the heart with haunting melodies and upbeat pop rhythms. He is the lead guitarist, singer, and songwriter for his bands Hug the Dog and Ballroom Sofa.
Ciarra Fragale is an indie pop singer/songwriter, producer, and actor from the Hudson Valley. She blends nostalgia with new-wave songwriting, creating a unique blend. In addition to making her own music, she has also composed many works for theater and film. Watch the video for her single “Country Line” below.
Alex Northrup, a Rochester composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, has released his newest single “What Did I Miss” as part of his bigger album, Turning Point, set for release this January.
You may recognize Alex Northrup from other Rochester-based groups in the past such as Northern Spies, Brindamor, Jon Lewis Band, and the Demos. More recently, he has been touring the keyboardist for Kill Rock Stars artist Sean Barna.
Locally, he has made appearances in the bands of Katie Morey and Overhand Sam. Recently, he’s been performing around Rochester both solo and with his latest backing group of the Darlingtones– anchored by Ryan Yarmrel on bass and Sam Hirsh on drums, with a revolving cast of guests.
A follow-up to his album, Popular Songs That Will Live Forever, Alex Northrup’s Turning Point follows in the same home-made vein, with more guest appearances and a more soothing vibe. Popular Songs That Will Live Forever featured 10 songs, including the single “The Only Thought I Need,” released in June of 2020, with a quirky and whimsical tone via an upbeat tambourine from beginning to end.
“What Did I Miss” follows that same psychedelic rock genre, but with a more relaxing feeling from an upbeat guitar and soothing vocals. “What Did I Miss” is a single that reminds me of the COVID shut down, where everyone was encouraged to take breaks from social media when it became “too much.” I love the sound but I, as always, am drawn to the lyrics: “What did I miss? // Don’t tell me – I don’t want to know // What did I miss? // This absence was to help me grow // What did I miss?” It’s like when you take a break from social media, but part of you– the addicted part of you– wants to know what is going on despite knowing it’s for the best that you don’t.
“…I was distracted by things such as life and contributing to other people’s bands and recording projects. Actual songwriting was the furthest from my mind – I thought I had totally lost that part of me, and with the way things were going with the world, I wondered what the point even was. But after a couple years of that, the fog started to lift and the words started to come again. And soon enough, out of the mess of unfinished tracks and jams, a dozen actual songs emerged! Nearly half were written fresh at that point, and one 11 year old song that had never been properly recorded was revived. So now I’m back to writing and playing again (with my live band the Darlingtones) and there are definitely more songs that will be coming out! So Turning Point is hopefully the start of something bigger.”
Alex Northrup
Turning Point’s lead single “What Did I Miss” is available now to preview what’s to come from Northrup’s album set for release come January, which has been nearly three years in the making.
To find out where Alex will perform next, or for any other info, check out his Instagram.
For his single, “What Did I Miss,” click this link.
It was a full night of earnest Southern Americana when Water Street Music Hall in Rochester hosted the Drive-By Truckers and American Aquarium on Tuesday, September 26.
American Aquarium got things rolling with a tight workman-like set, punching in right at the listed 8pm start time and finishing up at 9pm on the button. With little to no chitchat and little to no breaks, they muscled through 14 songs in their hour. They weren’t in a rush though, and each tune was given it’s proper due, with room to breath. BJ Barnham’s voice carried his words with the weight and passion they deserved.
A vision of his life as a singer/songwriter on the road, and the people and places he’s encountered along the way, unfolded song by song. And he usually wasn’t singing alone. The early-arriving crowd appeared to be as familiar and interested in the opening band as they were the headliner, singing, fist-bumping and genuinely hanging on the band’s every note. It was their first visit to town since 2014, but with that kind of welcome hopefully it won’t be another decade before their next return.
The Drive-By Truckers wasted no time laying their cards on the table. Set opener “Maria’s Awful Disclosures” introduced the first of many characters to make an appearance, and erupted into triple guitar shredding reminiscent of Crazy Horse. Lead singers Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley swapped songs for most of their two-hour set, each getting ample opportunity to tell their own modern-day allegories. Messages delivered on waves of searing guitars hit like a fist through the chest. Cooley’s “Maria” and her distorted guitar tangle gave way to Hood’s “Charlie” (“Drag the Lake Charlie”) and it’s more anthemic rock sound.
Later we’d hear about “Uncle Frank,” “Heathens,” “Women Without Whiskey” and “Rosemary With a Bible and a Gun.” Each song also took on a character of it’s own, spanning multiple flavors of rock: the deep dark blues of “The Driver,” the barroom banger “Surrender Under Protest,” the heavy rocking “Lookout Mountain.”
“Hell No, I Ain’t Happy” had a more traditional classic rock feel with its sing-along chorus, fist-pumping beat and dense hooks. Then they took Prince’s “Sign of the Times” and crashed it right into the end, turning it into an Allman Brothers Band southern rock gem, with syncopated guitars exploding into the biggest jam of the night.
The rest of the truckers helped flesh out the characters, stories and messages. Jay Gonzales was the swiss army knife everyman, filling in as needed when needed, with some perfectly placed Hammond B3 swells, electric piano sparkles and some of the best guitar playing of the night. Matt Patton kept the low end fresh and bouncing, smiling broadly the whole night long, no one was having more fun. Brad Morgan was as workman as anyone, providing the backbone for it all, helping the Drive-By Truckers deliver.
American Aquariumsetlist: Me & Mine (Lamentations), All I Needed, The Long Haul, Casualties, St. Mary’s, Six Years Come September, Losing Side of 25, Saturday Nights, Abe Lincoln (Backsliders Cover), Harmless Sparks, Katherine Belle, The Luckier You Get, Wichita Falls, Burn.Flicker.Die
Drive-By Truckers setlist: Maria’s Awful Disclosures, Drag the Lake Charlie, Every Single Storied Flameout, Sink Hole, Uncle Frank, Heathens, Shit Shots Count, Why Henry Drinks, Women Without Whiskey, Pizza Deliverance, Panties in Your Purse, The Driver, Made Up English Oceans, Rosemary With a Bible and a Gun, 3 Dimes Down, Hell No, I Ain’t Happy > Sign of the Times (Prince Cover), Surrender Under Protest, The New OK, Gravity’s Gone, Lookout Mountain, When the Pin Hits the Shell, Shut Up and Get Off the Plane, Let There Be Rock
There is something about the village of Lake George that has made this Southern Adirondack town a destination for music festivals and concert series from late spring until mid-fall. Memorial Meltdown, Adirondack Independence Music Festival, Lake George Music Festival, nightly music during the week at the Shepard Park Weekly Concerts (including Fridays at the Lake), Rock the Dock, Jazz at the Lake, Adirondack Bluegrass Festival, Lake George DJ Takeover Music Festival, Rock the Lake Music Festival, and the Lake George Jazz Weekend are just some of the events found on the southern end of Lake George. Now add to this incredible roster of summer music festivals and concerts series a new music festival with a Merlin twist, Wild in the Trees.
A skateboard/music festival hybrid, Wild in the Trees is a most unique event, held October 7-8, 2023, on the grounds of the Lake George Skate Plaza, adjacent to Charles R. Wood Park. A full two days of music, skateboarding and various competitions will be on hand, with 50% of net proceeds benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of the Capital Region.
The logo you see above is an homage to skateboard company Spitfire, an evil looking logo worked into the tree, making it wild. The name of the festival derives from the song “Wild in the Streets” by the Circle Jerks, featured in Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. The first event was held in 2022, and year two looks to be even better with a stellar lineup, highlighted by Mike Gantzer’s Pro Skater, Candy Ambulance, FUNGKSHUI, Victory Soul Orchestra, Hilltop and many more.
But the festival would not be here without the dedication and perseverance of some local skaters more than 15 years ago.
photo by Frank Cavone
Frankie Cavone, promoter of Wild in the Trees and owner of Mirth Films, has been an avid skater his whole life, but the Village of Lake George did not have a skatepark in his formative years. In 2008, Cavone and Doug Quimby, among others, began a campaign to raise money to carve out a skatepark on the grounds of the former Gaslight Village, a small amusement park that was on the site until 1989 and demolished in 2010.
It would take eight years for the dream to become a reality, with the park opening in 2016, with a competition at the grand opening, the first of many such competitions. Shortly after, in 2018, Cavone would begin Mirth Films, a company that creates original video content, winning awards and gaining acclaim and positive reviews across the Capital Region.
Videography and skateboarding are intertwined in Cavone’s life, as his love of skateboarding led to him bringing video camera to film tricks and flips, and would lead to beginning to shoot jam band shows in 2015. Getting his friends involved on the video end would be the formation for Mirth Films, which has grown steadily over the past five years.
With support from local promoter Dave Ehmann – who supported the skate park fundraising efforts as far back as 2010 – inspiration came to Cavone with Ehmann’s ADK Fest being a standard bearer for events in Lake George. This long relationship would spur something the genesis of what would become Wild in the Trees.
Between skateboarding, live music and videography, Cavone would take his knowledge of these, imbued with a deeper curiosity, led to forming a bond with Mayor Bob Blais of Lake George (the longest serving mayor in U.S. history, at 52 years). Cavone wanted to keep holding skating competitions each year, but also wanted to incorporate music into the event, making for a hybrid music festival concept. Utilizing ‘Bed Tax’ money that hotels in the Lake George region pay (funding events from Americade to Oktoberfest) Mayor Blais assisted Cavone in acquiring a grant for the music festival. With approval, Wild in the Trees was christened in October 2022 and returns for its sophomore grind October 7-8.
The lineup for this year’s Wild in the Trees builds on the skateboarding aspect of the festival, bringing in a band that is both familiar and has many familiar names and faces included. Mike Gantzer’s Pro Skater is a project led by Aqueous/Death Kings’ guitarist Gantzer and serves as a tribute to the iconic soundtracks featured throughout the TonyHawk’sProSkater video game collection. Joining Mike are Evan McPhaden (Aqueous) Ryan Nogle (Funktional Flow, Aqueous, Dirty Work Steely Dan tribute) Jonny Evans (rapper) Billy Bratek (Maufrey) and DJ Fiorella.
Ripping through songs that underscored an entire generation’s experience growing up, Mike is a uniquely qualified musician to lead the charge given his longtime passion for skateboarding, his high ranking scores in TonyHawk’sProSkater online, and his metal/rock/punk trio Death Kings.
It’s almost hard for me to overstate my connection to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games! I was 10 years old when the first one came out and I was already totally obsessed with skateboarding, and the game just solidified what would become a lifelong love of all things skating (and gaming for that matter).
The soundtrack was iconic and was an early introduction to punk, hip hop, ska, and all kinds of really amazing music and culture. Between skate tapes on VHS and the THPS series, I was getting a fast education, and this timeline happened to be when I connected with guitar playing, too. What was beautiful about some of the punk stuff was that it was accessible enough to approach as a beginner, but also represented a lot of frustration I felt with growing up in an unstable and tumultuous home setting that I could get out in a healthy way.
Fast forward twenty years, and music and skateboarding are still two of my biggest passions in life, and I’m grateful everyday for both of them, so you can imagine my joy at getting the chance to do an entire tribute set to the games’ music AT a skate event for Wild In the Trees ’23. Pretty much my ideal situation! I’m also pretty skilled at THPS, and at one point was ranked top 150 in the world on the online leaderboards, I even made a video of one of my runs, because as it is in skating, if you didn’t capture it, did it really even happen?
Mike Gantzer
Cavone adds in the viewpoint of a skater, saying “When people in other countries think of skateboarding, they think Tony Hawk – he got millions of people into skateboarding.” The synonymous nature of Tony Hawk, Skateboarding, Mike Gantzer and the overall music festival mesh together in a ripper of an event.
Cavone first learned of Mike Gantzer’s Pro Skater within the last 12 months, as he was looking to get an artist to headline the festival that would draw in fans of live music and skateboarding, and would be unique to Wild in the Trees specifically. Cavone would end up asking Gantzer about having The Death Kings (a punk/metal trio that pays homage to all things heavy, including Gantzer, Ryan Stasik from Umphrey’s McGee and Michaelangelo Carubba), but the better fit that Gantzer suggested would be his own ‘Pro Skater’ group.
The roots of the skate plaza effort are never lost on Cavone. Filling a community need with his team endeavor is the origin of Wild in the Trees, an event for which the promoter is stoked.
“If it wasn’t for the skaters, we would never have access to do this. If it wasn’t for the stuff that we did when we were kids, we would never have been able to make that bond with the town and the skaters, and seeing people skate the park as we drive by – something we dreamed of when we were younger – is really a blessing.”
Frankie Cavone
With half the profits from ticket sales going to Ronald McDonald House of the Capital Region, a full two days of skateboarding competitions and live music, and an idyllic setting in the Village of Lake George, the team behind the festival is ready for year two of their experimental music festival, one that caters to a broad audience with a rad sesh planned out over the weekend.
