Twiddle and Frends returned to the Charles R. Woods Park in Lake George for the 2023 edition of Memorial Meltdown for the unofficial start to summer and kickoff of a huge music festival and summer concert series season across New York State.
photo by Derek Java
Also on this year’s lineup were Twiddle, Dogs in a Pile, TAUK, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Mihali and Frends, One Time Weekend, and Annie in The Water. The two-day event as always included a wide variety of craft and food vendors, a short walk from the shores of Lake George.
Memorial Meltdown bookends the summer at Charles R. Wood festival commons, with the Labor Day weekend Adirondack Independence Music Festival. The two fests have grown to nearly the same size, following Meltdown, meaning this September’s ADK Fest will have even more in store that is not to be missed!
photo by Derek Java
Visit Mirth Films for a full recap, videos, interviews and much more from the Memorial Day weekend in Lake George.
Check out photo galleries from Conor McMahon and Derek Java below.
Quarters of Change, an alternative rock band based in New York City, has just announced a headline tour spanning the US. The group will kick off their twenty-city trek in Virginia Beach on September 14th and will come to a close in NYC in December.
The band is no stranger to the title of headliner as earlier this year, Quarters of Change wrapped their first-ever US headline run, TheDeluxe Tour. The inaugural event was largely sold-out and featured the group in historic venues including Los Angeles, CA’s The Roxy Theater, and New York’s Irving Plaza.
Last year, Quarters of Change unveiled a deluxe edition of their debut studio album Into The Rift. Originally released in July of 2022, Into The Rift introduced and solidified Quarters of Change as a standout quartet going beyond the typical conventions and traditional boundaries of genre to take the rock scene by storm. Into The Rift (Deluxe) boasts three new songs, including “To Let Go,” “T Love – Extended,” and “Blue Copper.”
Through the release and re-release of their first album along with shoutouts from celebrity fans such as Joe Jonas, Fred Durst, and Lewis Capaldi, Quarters of Change have worked their way not only into the limelight but into a second headline tour. The band is expected to announce plans for new music in the coming weeks, but until then fans can look forward to the upcoming performances.
The Quarters of Change Show
September 14 – Virginia Beach, VA – Elevation 27
September 16 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
September 18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Thunderbird
September 19 – Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
September 21 – Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
September 22 – Milwaukee, WI – XRay Arcade
September 23 – Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s
September 24 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck
September 26 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada
September 27 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
September 28 – Austin, TX – Antones
September 30 – Orlando, FL – The Social
October 01 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar
October 03 – Columbia, SC – New Brookland Tavern
October 04 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theater
October 06 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theater
October 08 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar
October 13 – Asbury Park, NJ – House of Independents
Brooklyn-based artist Elijah Wolf released a new single “Fading” on May 23. The single previews his upcoming album,Forgiving Season, scheduled for release on June 23 via Mtn Laurel Recording Co. The song was co-written with Wolf’s longtime creative partners Sam Cohen, the album’s producer, and drummer Joshua Jeager.
“Fading” was written “about the experience of meeting someone special while fighting the impulse to self-sabotage. The song deals with the tangled emotions of excitement, fear, and the euphoria of total surrender,” explained Wolf.
Furthermore, Wolf explained that he wrote the song “after meeting someone who made me feel present and in sync. As good as it felt, I couldn’t help but feel the anxiety of allowing someone in. To me this song is about the process I went through to reach acceptance and an openess to new experiences and the happiness it brought me.”
“While recording, I was incredibly inspired by the changing season outside the studio, where I would watch the trees grow greener by the day. The outro is particularly inspired by the sounds of the earth coming back to life—crickets at night, wind through the trees, the hum of frogs, the thawing of the ground all into a spring dance.”
“Fading” follows the release of the official video for other songs on the album, “We Talked About It” and “Care Anymore.“ Elijah Wolf’s childhood friends created the videos using footage of New York City from early 2020.”Care Anymore” was praised by Under the Radar who said, “Wolf has managed to both wrangle the disaffected swirl of emotions he was dealing with when writing the record and crystalize those feelings into vibrant indie rock.”
After a successful 2021 album Brighter Lighting, accompanied by notable tour dates and festival performances, including Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, and The End of the Road in England, Wolf returned to New York feeling lost and plagued by self-doubt. Through this, Wolf found himself unable to write or record. Finally, months later, he called producer Sam Cohen who urged him to visit the studio and scrap his previous work, starting fresh.
“At Sam’s direction, we made a decision to take a leap and not recreate anything I had done already. We wanted to get away from the folk-rock band sound of traditional instruments in a room together,” Wolf explains. “In the end, I wrote a record about vulnerability, about the ways that mechanisms of self-protection can make you miss the good around you. It’s about allowing the walls to come down and accepting your own failures and imperfections.”
Forgiving Season follows Wolf’s 2021 album Brighter Lighting, standalone single “Yesterday, With You” featuring Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, and an Aquarium Drunkard Lagniappe Sessions release.
Historic Hemlock Fairground located in the town of Hemlock, just 40 minutes south of Rochester, will host the annual Upstate Boogie Festival over June 9-11, 2023. The three day and night live music and art festival includes camping, regional and local live bands on two stages, plus vendors from the Finger Lakes and beyond.
Livingston Country’s Hemlock Fairground is a national historic district and fairground, a notable landmark thanks to the racetrack and covered grandstand constructed in 1870. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Hemlock Fair has been held for over 150 years.
Tent and car camping available to Upstate Boogie ticket-holders, and for family camping, LITTLEVILLE will provide plenty of room for kids to play, right in the center of it all. Re-entry is available for those who are local and purchase a non-camping weekend pass. RV Camping is available at limited electric sites, for an extra charge. Indoor bathrooms are open 24 hours throughout the event with showers open dawn to dusk
Local Artisans & Craftsmen will be selling their wares in the Vending Village, with a Food Court featuring fair and festival favorites.
Upstate Boogie Live Music schedule
FRIDAY JUNE 9 DIGGIN’ ROOTS BAND (7pm) HIGH PINES (9pm) HERBAL TONIC (11pm) NICK LEDUC (12:30am)
SATURDAY JUNE 10 THE MIDNIGHT SCONCE (1pm) ADAM BROOKS BAND (3pm) ST. VITH (5pm) DRUM CIRCLE (7pm) GRUB (8pm) SCHLEIGHO (10pm) NIGEL FELONY (12:30am)
SUNDAY JUNE 11 JUDAH (11am) THE KIND BROTHERS BAND (1pm)
Tickets are on sale now. A 3-day weekend pass is $60 in advance, and $80 at the gate, with children 18 & under are FREE with parents also attending. Single day tickets are $50 for Friday, $60 for Saturday, and $10 for Sunday. Cash only is accepted at the gate. Parking costs $20 for the weekend and $10 for a day pass.
Get to know the artists of Upstate Boogies
Schleigho has been a nationally touring jazz-fusion band since the early 1990’s and have released 5 CD’s, playing regularly at clubs and theaters up and down the east-coast, mid- west and west coast over the mid ’90’s and early 2000’s. Instrumental, energetic, raw and at times down-right sinister. Down from roughly 200 shows a year at the turn of the millennium, don’t miss Schleigho if they are in your neck of the woods. This is one of their few scheduled dates so far for their 30th anniversary in 2023.
Herbal Tonic is a WNY feel good jam band, infused with island reggae, blues, and funk, and will surely have you out on the dancefloor craving for more!
St. Vith is a Finger Lakes eclectic indie rock band whose sound is a mural of psychedelic jam, art rock and time honored American styles.
Grub is a Psych Rock group based out of Niagara Falls. This multi-genre trio is capable of delivering funk-driven madness, improvisational bliss, and shoe-gazing glitch-o-matic electronic soundscapes. A live Grub performance showcases their original tunes as well as their improvisational chops, while captivating the crowd by teasing dancable and nostalgic covers from past decades.
High Pines is a union of smooth grooves, contemporary funk, and neo-psychedelic explorations that evolve with each performance. A fusion of jazz appreciation and rock spirit, complimented by enchanting harmonies, creates music for your mind, body and soul.
Diggin Roots Band plays an eclectic mix of music inspired by the various forms of American Roots Music including Blues, Funk, Rock n Roll, Soul, R&B, Bluegrass, and Gospel. Some songs may blend multiple genres together into a coherent sound while others might hang on firmly to a specific style.
Nick LeDuc is an original artist hailing from Ogdensburg NY, playing a unique style of Refined Rock-groove to tantalize your ears and tickle your fancy. Combining classic guitar styles and intoxicating rhthyms, accented by his unique vocal style, Nick is one of the freshest sounds heard on the music scene in a very long time. From funk to blues, and rock to folk there’s a little something in between all of it that comes to make up the sound Nick LeDuc projects live or in studio.
Judah is a four piece rock band from Rochester that has turned heads since their outset as high schoolers a few years back. Blending a soulful mix of rock and blues, Judah has expanded their touring around WNY and the Finger Lakes.
The Midnight Sconce are Rochester’s next jamband that you will soon hear more about. These guys catch the groove and delivery, expect high energy jams and plenty of fun!
For more info email, contact hemlockevents@gmail.com
On Friday, June 2, renowned rock band Styx graced the stage at Artpark in Lewiston, NY, delivering an unforgettable evening of music and nostalgia. The venue was packed to the brim, with an excited crowd eagerly awaiting the start of the show. Despite a brief ten-minute sprinkle of rain, the weather gods smiled upon us as the downpour held off, setting the stage for an extraordinary concert experience.
Jet Black Roses
The night began with an opening act called Jet Black Roses. They set the tone with their high-energy performance. Their melodic tunes and captivating stage presence effectively warmed up the audience, preparing them for the main event.
As the lights dimmed, a palpable sense of anticipation filled the air, and Styx burst onto the stage with a powerful rendition of “To Those”. Immediately capturing the hearts of the crowd. Styx wasted no time in launching into their arsenal of classic hits, delivering a charged and electric performance that showcased their exceptional musicianship and undeniable showmanship.
The setlist for the evening was a carefully curated mix of beloved favorites and hidden gems, each song met with roaring applause and enthusiastic sing-alongs from the captivated audience. Timeless classics like “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” and “The Grand Illusion” transported fans back to an era filled with memories, while still resonating with a fresh and contemporary edge. It was a testament to Styx’s enduring legacy and their ability to connect with fans of all ages.
Frontman Lawrence Gowan effortlessly commanded the stage throughout the night, his vocals soaring with power and emotion. Whether belting out the iconic chorus of “Come Sail Away” or delivering a soul-stirring rendition of “Lady,” Gowan’s performance was nothing short of mesmerizing. He even took a moment to showcase his own repertoire with a solo performance of “A Criminal Mind,” leaving the audience in awe and showering him with well-deserved praise.
The band’s energy remained unwavering during the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle. Guitarist Tommy Shaw unleashed blistering solos and infectious riffs that ignited the crowd, while the rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Ricky Phillips and drummer Todd Sucherman provided a sturdy foundation for Styx’s dynamic sound. The band’s impeccable harmonies and instrumental prowess were on full display during epic tracks like “Crystal Ball” and “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man).”
As the concert reached its crescendo, a thunderous roar of applause filled the air as Styx delved into their final songs. The encore, comprising the iconic “Mr. Roboto” and the timeless anthem “Renegade,” left the audience exhilarated and yearning for more.
In conclusion, Styx’s concert at Artpark was an extraordinary experience. The band’s timeless music, coupled with their exceptional stage presence, created an electric atmosphere that had the crowd on their feet throughout the entire performance. Despite a packed venue and a brief encounter with rain, the night proceeded flawlessly, leaving concertgoers with indelible memories. Styx once again demonstrated why they are revered as one of the greatest rock bands of all time, and their performance in Lewiston, NY, will undoubtedly be remembered as a pinnacle moment in their illustrious career.
Iconic pop rock band Boys Like Girls have announced their North America “Speaking Our Language Tour,” presented by Emo Nite. The tour kicks of September 17 in North Carolina and will stop in New York City at the Hammerstein Ballroom on October 27.
The 30-date run comes on heels of the release of “Blood and Sugar,” the band’s first new song since 2012. Direct support for the entire tour will be State Champs, while Four Year Strong, 3OH!3, LOLO, The Summer Set, The Ready Set, and Max Bemis will also offer support at different shows.
Boys Like Girls released their self-titled debut album in 2006. They then topped the charts with their sophomore album Love Drunk. What followed was a slew of successful singles including “The Great Escape” and “Love Drunk.” They also released the Platinum-certified, BMI award-winning Hot 100 duet with Taylor Swift, “Two Is Better Than One”. The band further played sold-out shows, international tours, and unforgettable moments from Madison Square Garden to Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. However, by 2012 lead singer and song-writer Martin Johnson was beginning to feel the universe pulling him into a new arena.
Collaboration was nothing new to Johnson, but for the first time he began writing and producing music not intended for his own band. What followed was another string of wild successes with hits from Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Blink-182, Avril Lavigne, and more. This, along with Johnson’s bandmates’ own successful musical endeavors, lead to a years-long hiatus for Boys Like Girls.
In 2016 the band returned to the road for the 10th Anniversary tour of their debut record. While fans across America were ecstatic for the reunion they’d been waiting for, internally it felt more like a farewell. “It was important to us to leave it all out there for the fans,” Johnson says. “To really give them the ‘thank you’ they deserved.”
Boys Like Girls Reunite
While Boys Like Girls played at the Las Vegas When We Were Young festival last year, they had not released new music in over 10 years prior to their recent single.
The Boys Like Girls comeback already sparked excitement among fans and the general public. Prior to the announcement of their comeback song, the band posted a nostalgic post on TikTok, garnering over 500k views in under 24-hours, showcasing the enduring popularity and anticipation surrounding the band’s return.
“Blood and Sugar” is just the beginning of what’s to come from Boys Like Girls. The band also confirmed that they have been working on new music and will be announcing more releases soon.
Cracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic-rock thrown at them. But more than anything Cracker are survivors. Now on the road now for their 2023 Summer Tour, Cracker stopped at City Winery New York, on Saturday, June 3, featured two shows, the first of which was also livestreamed.
The tour features many hits, fan favorites, and deep cuts from Cracker’s 31-year recording career, including material from their last acclaimed double album, Berkeley To Bakersfield – their ode to both northern California’s edgier-rock scene and the country-western music that emanated from further down state.
Cracker City Winery New York 06/03/23
Co-founders David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have been at it for over three decades – amassing nine studio albums, multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs that are still in current radio rotation around the globe – “Low,” “Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now),” “Euro-Trash Girl” and “Get Off This,” to name just a few – and a worldwide fan base that despite the major sea-changes within the music industry continues to grow each year.
Setlist (early show): Disneyland Jail, 1977, Been Around the World, Seven Days, The Good Life, Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now), 100 Flower Power Maximum, Someday, Hey Bret (You Know What Time It Is), El Cerrito, Get Off This, Dr. Bernice, Loser, Low, Another Song About the Rain, Euro-Trash Girl
Setlist (late show): Poor Life Choices, Get on Down the Road, Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now), Show Me How This Thing Works, The World Is Mine, Time Machine, Sweet Thistle Pie, California Country Boy, Get Off This, Pictures of Matchstick Men, Ambiguity Song, Take the Skinheads Bowling, Take Me Down to the Infirmary, Low, Wedding Day, One Fine Day
Watch exclusive video of “Low” from the livestream below.
CRACKER SUMMER TOUR
Sunday, June 4 – The World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA
Friday, June 9 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
Saturday, June 10 – Harborfest Norfolk VA
Thursday, June 15 – Space, Evanston IL [Sold Out]
Friday, June 16 – Space, Evanston IL [Sold Out]
Saturday, June 17 – The Acorn Festival, Three Oaks, MI
Sunday, June 18 David Lowery Solo Acoustic – Bur Oak, Madison WI *
Wednesday, June 21 David Lowery Solo Acoustic – Heavy Metal Shop, Salt Lake City, UT *
Friday, June 23 – Live Oak Music Festival San Luis Obispo CA
Saturday, June 24 – Hopmonk Cookout Concert Series, Novato, CA
Sunday, June 25 – Hopmonk Cookout Concert Series, Novato, CA
Thursday, June 29 – David Lowery Solo Acoustic – Lodge Room, Los Angeles, CA *
Friday, June 30 – The Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach CA
Saturday, July 1 – Pappy and Harriets, Pioneertown, CA
Monday, July 3 Toad the Wet Sprocket and Cracker – Arvada Center, Arvada, CO
Tuesday, July 4 – The Orpheum, Flagstaff, AZ
Thursday, July 6 – TBA, New Mexico
Wednesday, July 12 Spin Doctors and Cracker – Empire State Plaza at Capitol, Albany NY
Thursday, July 13 – Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River MA
Friday, July 14 – Double E Performance Center, Essex Junction, VT
Saturday, July 15 – City Winery – Boston, MA
Friday, July 21 – Riverfront Live Cincinnati, OH
Saturday, July 22 – The Shed Concert Series 2023 at Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson, Maryville, TN
Long Island based band Bad Mary released their new EP Trash and Glamour on May 16. Much like Bad Mary’s other work, Trash and Glamour consists of impressive guitar riffs, beating drums, and powerful vocals.
Bad Mary released their first album, Better Days in 2013. They followed it up with three EPs: Killing Dinosaurs (2016), We Could Have Saved the World (2016), and Glitter Bomb (2017). In 2019 Bad Mary released their second full length album, The Return of Space Girl. It was a 33 minute punk rock space opera then followed by an award-winning animated movie of the album.
The band consists of lead vocalist Amanda Mac, Mike Staub on bass, Bill Mac on drums, and David Henderson on guitar. Based in New York, Bad Mary has played classic venues including The Highline Ballroom, The Knitting Factory, Arlene’s Grocery, and the Bowery Electric. On the road, they also played The Vans Warped Tour, The Dewey Beach Music Conference, Launch Music Conference, and Musikfest. In 2019, Bad Mary toured Japan and played to packed-out venues with a motley gang of local punk bands.
Bad Mary Goes Back to Their Roots
On Trash and Glamour, vocalist Amanda Mac said, “With this EP we really wanted to get back to thrashy/trashy rock and roll. In a way we’re back at our roots with simple and fun songs and hit the ground running right away. After a concept album and two cover EPs we felt the need to strip things down a little and get punchy again. We think we were able to achieve this and we’re really proud of these new songs.”
Additionally, assist Mike Staub called Trash and Glamour, “a small celebration of everything we’ve done. We’ve got some straight-up blistery, punky tunes like “Are You With The Band?” and “Light It Up” but also fun and weird songs that really embrace our personality like, “The Floor Is Lava”. We’re never afraid to be ourselves and T&G really shows that. It’s All Trash and we mean that with all the love.”
Bad Mary also hosts livestreams on Twitch every Tuesday at 8 pm EST, which can be found here.
This summer, Brooklyn based rock band, The Hold Steady will be presenting an all-star music festival, Positive Jam. The inaugural event will be held on August 5th at Arrowood Farms, a local festival hot spot in the small town and agricultural hub of Accord, New York.
The Positive Jam festival will serve as another commemoration of the rock band’s 20 year anniversary which passed this January. On top of the band headlining the event themselves, they will be joined by a line up of close friends and idols including, Guided By Voices, The Tallest Man On Earth, Laura Stevenson, I Get Wild (plays Talking Heads), and Oceanator.
The event, presented in association with Impact Concerts and Ground Control Touring, will kick off at 5 PM on August 4th with THS Positive Jam Prelims Pool Party. The welcome gathering will be located at the INNESS Luxury Hotel and Resort and will feature DJ sets from The Hold Steady along with a collection of fun activities for festival goers to participate in.
On the 5th, the star-studded lineup will be accompanied by Arrowood Farms locally inspired craft beers and comfort food, along with diverse Hudson Valley-based food trucks, clothing, and arts vendors.
Positive Jam is just one event of a multitude of planned appearances by the rock band for the summer and autumn of 2023. The Hold Steady will play their live show at various locations across the country and will appear in their home-base of Brooklyn four times.
Their landmark 20th anniversary will further be commemorated by the upcoming publication of The Gospel of The Hold Steady: How a Resurrection Really Feels, a new oral history by Michael Hann and The Hold Steady, which will be available to the public on July 25.
“We’ve talked about our ideal festival for many years, and we’re excited to make it a reality to celebrate our 20th year as a band,” says The Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn. “We are thrilled to have some of our favorite artists joining us to make an incredible day of music and community in a beautiful location.”
Ticket pre-sales for Positive Jam are now open for purchase with the password: PROGRESS. General sales will be available Friday, June 2nd at 10 AM. You can find further details about the festival and ticket options here.
The Hold Steady – LIVE 2023
June 3 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater
June 28 – Louisville, KY – WFPK Waterfront Wednesday (FREE SHOW)
June 30 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed (SOLD OUT)
July 1 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed (SOLD OUT)
July 2 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle (SOLD OUT)
July 29 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
August 4 – Accord, NY – Positive Jam Prelims Pool Party @ INNESS Luxury Hotel and Resort
August 5 – Accord, NY – The Hold Steady Presents Positive Jam
September 2 – St. Paul, MN – Minnesota State Fair
September 22 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Hall
September 23 – Philadelphia, PA – XPoNential Music Festival
October 7 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
October 8 – Las Vegas, NV – Bowling/Football Watch Party @ Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
Beginning in the afternoon on Friday, May 26 through the late evening on Sunday, May 28, the 12th installment of the beloved Boston Calling music festival returned to its home at Harvard University in Boston (Allston), Massachusetts this past Memorial Day weekend.
For three straight days, more than 40,000 fans of all ages passed through the gates into the Harvard Athletic Complex where they were welcomed daily to engaging activities such as a ride on a 100-foot Ferris wheel, delicious food served up by 29 local vendors, and of course, great music performed by 51 artists (17 each day) across four outdoor stages dubbed the Green Stage, the Happy Valley Red Stage, the Blue Stage and the Tivoli Audio Orange Stage, which championed acts with local ties to New England.
Paramore | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
Inaugurated in 2013, the acclaimed Boston Calling festival is produced by Boston Calling Events, owned in part by Boston-based Crash Line Productions, whose hallmark of bringing new sounds each and every year was on full display again. In step with the festival’s commitment to securing an iconic mix of musical performances, headlining the festival on Day 1 (Friday) wereRock & Roll Hall of Famers Foo Fighters. Having played in New Hampshire two days prior, this would only betheir second official concert following drummer Taylor Hawkins’ tragic death in March 2022. The Lumineers, soulful alternative-folk rockers from Denver, Colorado, headlined Day 2 (Saturday) of the festival. Day 3 (Sunday) of the festival was headlined by indie rock darlings Paramore, formed in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004. Paramore, having already performed at the festival back in 2018, made their triumphant return on the heels of releasing their sixth studio album, This is Why.
Foo Fighters | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
Boston Calling also featured renowned co-headliners on each day, including The National and Boston natives Dropkick Murphys on Day 1, the latter who quickly stepped in for the art-punk trio YeahYeahYeahs due to an undisclosed illness announced the day prior. The Celtic punk band’s frontman, Ken Casey, would announce to the crowd during their blistering set, “The Yeah Yeah Yeahs said ‘no no no,’ but we never say no!” Day 2 saw seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette take the Red Stage, playing her first show in Boston since 2012. Queens of the Stone Age, alternative metal rockers from Seattle, Washington, brought their hard-pounding musicianship toDay 3 of the festival. Having recently announced their long-awaited eighth studio album, In Times New Roman, they thrilled their die-hard fans with two new tracks from this forthcoming release (June 16), including “Emotion Sickness” and “Negative Space.”
Dropkick Murphys | Photo Credit: Michael DingerQueens of the Stone Age | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
Joining these headlining and co-headlining acts were well-established artists such as Noah Kahan, Bleachers, The Flaming Lips (who celebrated the release of Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by performing the 2002 album in its entirety), King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (the psychedelic rock band from Australia who were forced to bow out of last year’s festival due to COVID-19), Mt. Joy, Maren Morrisand many more.
Bleachers | Photo Credit: Michael DingerMt. Joy | Photo Credit: Michael DingerThe Flaming Lips | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
The holiday weekend also offered its patrons plenty of performances from up-and-coming talent, including Razor Braids, The Beaches, The Aces and The Linda Lindas (an all-girl quartet ranging in age from 13 to 19 who easily won over the crowd after a personal introduction to their set by the Mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu), to name just a few.
The Beaches | Photo Credit: Michael DingerThe Linda Lindas | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
Although the temperature each day of the festival was not as hot as it could have been for this time of the year, the sun did take its toll on some of the audience members who were not adequately hydrated. I witnessed firsthand at least five people who appeared to faint due to heat stroke, all of whom required to be quickly pulled out of the crowd by security and whisked away for treatment by EMT personnel.
The only critique that I have for this year’s festival is also the same as 2022’s festival, the merchandise tent line was long, exceedingly long. As I talked to fans who were proudly wearing their new t-shirt or hat, I learned that time spent in line (and away from the stages) was a minimum of two hours! Often, the sought after merch had already been sold-out. However, fans were at least able to complete an order form for the requested item to be shipped at a later date.
Fans soaking in the action at the Red Stage (Day 2) | Photo Credit: Michael Dinger
No festival experience is considered complete without first meeting and interacting with fellow fans. My own personal encounters included talking to Paul from Toronto, Canada in front of the Green Stage for most of Friday afternoon. I learned that he and his 16-year old son drove for eight hours Thursday night and into the wee morning hours to see the Foo Fighters for the first time. Paul emotionally shared with me that his son “will always remember this, so it was well worth it.” On Friday, I also met Kirby from Danbury, Connecticut, an avid fan of all music genres, as well as a talented drummer and guitarist. He revealed to me that he was dealing with painful plantar fasciitis in both feet, so when I saw him again on both Saturday and Sunday along the rail of the Red Stage, I was glad he was able to still see the artists he loves up close and personal. Being a graduate of the University of Connecticut (UCONN), it was also a pleasure to spend time speaking with Seth for a few hours, a UCONN professor for nearly 20 years and an amateur live music photographer.
Shane Hawkins Joins Foo Fighters Onstage | Video Credit: Michael Dinger
During a festival filled with three days and nights of highlights, it’s easy for me to pick out my favorite one. Throughout the Foo Fighters’ two hour set, Dave Grohl’s devastation by the loss of his friend and bandmate was palpable – on his face and in his speeches to the audience. So, when Grohl welcomed to the stage “one of [his] favorite drummers in the world,” 17-year old Shane Hawkins, it was truly a goosebumps moment. With Shane taking a couple of minutes at the drum kit to adjust the stool height left for him by the Foo Fighters newest member, Josh Freese, Grohl stalled for time. “Hello Boston, how’s it going over there? Earlier, I was in my dressing room and I heard the audience going absolutely fucking bonkers for someone. And I was like, who the fuck is playing that someone is going [this crazy]? It was Niall Horan [of One Direction fame], is that his name? How’s it going there Shane? Oh my God, there is a curfew Shane. This is an old song from our first record and when we play it . . .” Abruptly, in came Shane with a thunderous drum roll to launch “I’ll Stick Around.”
