NYS Music 2023

Category: Upcoming Shows

  • JazzBuffalo to Host Free Annual International Jazz Day Celebration on April 30

    JazzBuffalo will celebrate this year’s International Jazz Day this Sunday, April 30, from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. International Jazz Day began in 2011 and will be the fifth annual celebration of the event at JazzBuffalo, which has made this year’s International Jazz Day a free event in the spirit of promoting community and global peace at Seneca One in downtown Buffalo.

    The lineup for this year’s International Jazzday Celebration. Credit: JazzBuffalo.

    Scheduled to perform are some of Buffalo’s best jazz trios and jazz artists. JazzBuffalo is presenting a Jazz Trio Festival and then a special closing concert featuring a quintet of our finest next-generation jazz musicians. The schedule is planned as follows:

    1:15 pm – The Andrew Nixon Trio
    2:45 pm – Donny Frauenhofer
    4:00 pm – Livestream of International Jazz Day Global Concert
    5:00 pm – The Cousins Trio
    6:30 pm – The Lindsey Holland Unit

    There will be approximately 20-30 minutes between each performance to allow for changeover and set up.

    jazzbuffalo

    International Jazz Day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011 in honor of jazz music’s ability to promote intercultural dialogue, tolerance, and mutual understanding, aiming to raise awareness about the importance of jazz music as a common medium for peace, unity, and creativity.

    Herbie Hancock will take viewers on an international tour of sights and sounds showcasing jazz in all its diversity featuring performances from China, Lebanon, Morocco, South Africa, Zimbabwe, France, Brazil, Austria, Honolulu, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

    The live-streamed concert event will feature performances by some of the world’s most accomplished jazz artists, such as Cyrille Aimée (France), Thana Alexa (USA), Sérgio Mendes (Brazil), Thandi Ntuli (South Africa), Antonio Sánchez (Mexico), Somi (Rwanda) among others. Renowned Mbira player Musekiwa Chingodza (Zimbabwe) will duet with Oran Etkin (Israel) on baritone clarinet; the Blue Note China Jazz Orchestra joins the Global Concert from Beijing; and JazzWomenAfrica celebrates from Casablanca.

    JazzBuffalo will make every effort to live-stream the annual International Jazz Day Global Concert so fans can see and hear the event on the big screen.

    Visit EventBrite to register and save a spot for what promises to be a memorable time celebrating International Jazz Day. Donations are suggested and will be kindly accepted by JazzBuffalo.

  • Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Comes to SPAC and Forest Hills Stadium this Fall

    The Outlaw Music Festival has added an additional 16 shows to its lineup, including a performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) and Forest Hills Stadium this fall. Additionally, it was previously announced that the festival would have a performance at the Darien Lake Amphitheater and Bethel Woods Center for the Arts this July.

    Presented by Wheatley Vodka, the largest-ever Outlaw tour continues the celebration of Willie’s milestone 90th birthday just as Willie wants it – on the road with his friends, family, and beloved fans.

    Willie Nelson performing in 2004. Credit. willienelson.com

    The Outlaw Music Festival first began in 2016, and the sold-out show was so well received that Blackbird Presents and Nelson have developed it into one of North America’s biggest annual touring franchises. Musicians such as Robert Plant, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, ZZ Top, Eric Church, Bonnie Raitt, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Sturgill Simpson, The Avett Brothers and many more have been a part of the Outlaw Tour.

    “I am so thrilled to announce these additional dates for our 2023 Outlaw Music Festival Tour,” said Willie Nelson. “I can’t wait to keep the celebration of my 90th birthday going into the fall with this great lineup of artists, my friends and family, and of course, the amazing fans.” 

    David Binder, Willie and Wheatley fan and brand director at Sazerac, said “Wheatley Vodka is thrilled to be hitting the road with Outlaw Music Festival this year. Our vodka is made in the heartland of the USA in Frankfort, KY, and is crafted to be the smoothest, most sippable vodka on the market. It’s the perfect spirit to enjoy when rocking out to music from all the talented artists on tour with Outlaw this summer.”

    Tickets to the Outlaw Music Festival, which includes a performance at SPAC and Forest Hills Stadium, go on sale April 28 at 10 a.m.

    Information on individual Outlaw Music Festival tour dates and lineups:

    Friday, September 8, 2023

    Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park @ Walnut Creek

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Tedeschi Trucks Band

    The String Cheese Incident

    Los Lobos

    Particle Kid

    Saturday, September 9, 2023

    Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Tedeschi Trucks Band

    The String Cheese Incident

    Particle Kid

    More TBA

    Sunday, September 10, 2023

    Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    Particle Kid

    More TBA

    Tuesday, September 12, 2023

    Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    Particle Kid

    Friday, September 15, 2023

    Saratoga Springs, NY – SPAC

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    The String Cheese Incident

    Los Lobos

    Particle Kid

    Saturday, September 16, 2023

    Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    The String Cheese Incident

    Los Lobos

    Particle Kid

    Sunday, September 17, 2023

    Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    The String Cheese Incident

    Los Lobos

    Particle Kid

    Wednesday, September 20, 2023

    Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    Particle Kid

    Friday, September 22, 2023

    Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre

    Willie Nelson & Family

    Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. featuring The Wolfpack

    The String Cheese Incident

    Particle Kid

    Friday, October 6, 2023

    West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Gov’t Mule

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

    Saturday, October 7, 2023

    Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Gov’t Mule

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

    Sunday, October 8, 2023

    Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Gov’t Mule

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

    Wednesday, October 11, 2023

    Huntsville, AL – The Orion Amphitheater

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

    Particle Kid

    Friday, October 13, 2023

    Brandon, MS – The Brandon Amphitheater

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

    Saturday, October 14, 2023

    Southaven, MS – BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

    Sunday, October 15, 2023

    Pelham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

    Willie Nelson & Family

    The Avett Brothers

    Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs

    Elizabeth Cook

    Particle Kid

  • Gretsch Drums Announce 140th Celebratory Concert at NYC’s The Cutting Room

    Gretsch Drums have announced “Gretsch Night in New York City,” a special one-night-only event to celebrate 140 years of Gretsch Drums history, featuring performances by revered drummers Mark Guiliana, Will Calhoun, Nate Wood, and Bill Stewart, on May 23 at The Cutting Room.

    Founded in Brooklyn in 1883, Gretsch Drums is an iconic American drum brand manufactured in Ridgeland, South Carolina. For 140 years, this award-winning company has been providing “That Great Gretsch Sound” to drummers around the globe, including Phil Collins, Vinnie Colaiuta, Cindy Blackman, Ash Soan, Steve Ferrone, and Keith Carlock, among others. The 140th celebratory concert will take place on May 23 at The Cutting Room in NYC.

    The Cutting Room sits at its new location on East 32nd Street between Park and Madison, building on a decade of history that includes some of today’s top performers like John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Sting, Sheryl Crow, and David Bowie, all of who have graced the stage at the previous location. “We wanted a place where up-and-coming artists could get seen and established artists felt comfortable playing club gigs. We wanted a place with great sound, creative food, and cocktails where the venue itself was as beautiful as the music,” says Steve Walter, the venue’s owner.

    There are multiple revered drummers performing at the celebratory concert, including Mark Guiliana, who has played on over thirty recordings including David Bowie’s final album Blackstar, and has been described by the New York Times as “a drummer around whom a cult of admiration has formed.” Bill Stewart has played in the John Scofield band since the early ‘90s, although his extensive credits have seen him record with artists including Maceo Parker, Pat Methany, and Lee Kopnitz, as well as solo records.

    Other drummers included in this special event include multiple GRAMMY award winner and longtime drummer for Living Colour Will Calhoun, who has performed and recorded with a diverse array of notable artists such as B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Carly Simon, Public Enemy, and more. The final musician is Grammy-nominated drummer and multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood, founding member of the quintet Kneebody. He has also performed or recorded with many notable artists including Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, Brian May and Roger Taylor (Queen), Sting, and more.

    For more information about this special one-night-only concert celebrating Gretsch Drums 140th anniversary and to buy tickets please visit here.

  • Snug Harbor Cultural Center on Staten Island Announces Heritage Farm Benefit Concert Featuring Gangstagrass

    Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden will present a Heritage Farm Benefit concert featuring Gangstagrass, on Saturday, April 29 from 1:00 PM – 5:30 PM on the South Meadow of Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island.

    gangstagrass snug harbor

    Snug Harbor’s Heritage Farm was established in October of 2011 to help feed, inspire, and educate the local community. The Heritage Farm is a 2.5-acre production farm that uses sustainable, low-till farming practices that focus on building soil health through the use of compost, crop rotation, intercropping, and cover cropping. The goal is to provide the Staten Island and NYC community with hands-on growing experiences, insights into NYC’s food systems, and access to fresh and local produce for years to come.

    Snug Harbor is pumped up to bring Gangstagrass to Staten Island to perform on our outdoor South Meadow Stage. In the same way that Snug Harbor offers our visitors a blend of contemporary cultural events inside of classically historic architecture, Gangstagrass fuses together the sounds of bluegrass and hip-hop into an unexpected and energetic sound that creates a fantastically fun experience for concertgoers! And as a bonus: by purchasing a ticket to the concert, you’ll be directly helping our Heritage Farm inspire Staten Island’s community. Concert proceeds will go towards underwriting Heritage Farm hands-on workshops, growing experiences, and healthy eating opportunities.

    Snug Harbor President Jessica Baker Vodoor

    Kicking off the festivities will be MakerPark Radio DJ Tom Ferrie at 1:00 PM and Staten Island’s own Jazztronauts at 2:00 PM, with Gangstagrass taking the stage at 4:00 PM.

    Gangstagrass is a band combining great American traditions of bluegrass, hip-hop, and beyond to create a whole new musical genre that is more than the sum of its parts.  Known for the Emmy-nominated theme song “Long Hard Times to Come” from the FX television show Justified, they’ve developed a whole new genre. Their latest album “No Time for Enemies” climbed to #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart.

    In addition to entertainment, food trucks and vendors will be onsite, including Valducci’s Pizza Truck, Melts & Soups, Egger’s Ice Cream, Celebrate at Snug Harbor, and Pig Island NYC.  Drinks are sponsored by Kills Boro Brewing Company, who will also be pouring their unique signature beers at the event. This program is supported in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. All the proceeds benefit the Heritage Farm at Snug Harbor. 

    The Jazztronauts are Nutone Recording’s funkiest fusion band, hailing from Staten Island. Focusing on improvisational performances that incorporate their love of jazz, funk, hip hop, and electronic music, their sounds have been dubbed future jazz by listeners and their shows have quickly become a gathering place for music lovers and nightlife aficionados.  

    More information, including the schedule of events and tickets, can be found at Snug Harbor’s website.

  • University at Albany Department of Music and Theatre Ends Season with Six Ensembles in Four Concerts

    The University at Albany Department of Music and Theatre will finish the 2022-23 season with four concerts featuring six of its large ensembles at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the university’s uptown campus.

    The first in the series of concerts took place on April 22, with the UAlbany Chamber Singers and UAlbany Community Chorale, The Choral Hour. In the spirit of Earth Day, the program featured music that focuses on the power and beauty of nature, our relationship to our planet, and its place in the greater universe Both led by Michael Pfitzer, the Chamber Singers is a select group of 28 students who offer music of the highest quality, while the Community Chorale consists of 45 singers from across the campus community, representing majors from all schools and programs. 

    The Choral Hour. Credit: Gary Gold.

    On April 24 at 8 p.m., the UAlbany Jazz Band will perform a program of works by Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Paquito D’Rivera, and more. Directed by Keith Pray, the ensemble is open to all students. 

    UAlbany Jazz. Band. Credit: Lawdy Luc.

    The UAlbany Symphony Orchestra will present a program on April 30 at 3 p.m., featuring Dvorak’s Symphony No. 8 in G Major and Faure’s Pavane, Op. 50. Led by conductor Christopher David Neubert, this large ensemble regularly performs works representing outstanding repertoire from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods of the 20th and 21st centuries.

    UAlbany Symphony Orchestra. Credit: UAlbany Performing Arts Center.

    The season culminates on May 1 at 7 p.m. with Sound of the Trumpets, Roar of the Drums, a shared concert by the UAlbany Concert Band, and the UAlbany Percussion Ensemble. Under the direction of Richard Albagli, the percussionists will perform three works with high school student William Lauricella as a special guest. Conductor Kevin Champagne will lead the band in five works including Star Wars Saga by John Williams.

    Sound of the Trumpets, Roar of the Drums. Credit: UAlbany Performing Arts Center.

    Advance tickets for each University at Albany Department of Music and Theatre concert are $5 for the general public and $3 for students, seniors, and UAlbany faculty staff, while same-day tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for students, seniors, and UAlbany faculty staff. All tickets must be purchased online from the UAlbany Performing Arts Center’s website, while information and assistance can be obtained by contacting the main office at (518) 442-3995 or PAC@albany.edu.

  • Django A Gogo Music Festival Comes to Town Hall in New York City for 20th Anniversary

    The 20th Anniversary of the Django A Gogo Music Festival begins early this May and culminates with the main event: an intensive “Guitar and Violin Camp” at The Town Hall in New York City on May 6 at 8:00 p.m.

    Additionally, Django A Gogo includes an enhanced “Guitar and Violin Camp” from May 2-May 7 at The Woodland in New Jersey. The concerts will follow the Django canon and veer into reinterpretation, improvisation, and interplay between artists.

    Poster for the Django a Gogo Music Festival. Credit: Stephane Wrembel Presents.

    Wrembel has produced Django a Gogo since 2003, bringing together some of the finest musicians to celebrate the constant evolution of the Sinti guitar style, commonly referred to as “gypsy jazz.”

    The 3 concerts at The Woodland are as follows:

    On May 3, Stephane Wrembel Band (Stephane Wrembel on guitar, Josh Kaye on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums) presents The Art of the Guitar with special guests Simba Baumgartner (Django Reinhardt’s great-grandson), Paulus Schaefer and more!

    The Art of the Violin follows on May 4, featuring violinist Jason Anick and Trio Dinicu featuring Tommy Davy on guitar and Luann Homzy on violin as well as guitarists Stephane Wrembel, Debi Botos and, and Sam Farthing.

    The Woodland concerts conclude May 5, celebrating the release of Wremble’s new album, Django New Orleans, recorded with his NYC-based supergroup of musicians. Django New Orleans features Stephane Wrembel and Josh Kaye on guitar, Adrien Chevalier on violin, Joe Correia on Tuba, Scott Kettner on drums, David Langlois on percussion, Nick Driscoll on sax/clarinet, Joe Boga on trumpet and Sarah King on vocals.

    The main event on May 6 at The Town Hall opens with Stephane Wrembel Band, Simba Baumgartner (France), Paulus Schaefer (Holland), Debi Botos (Canada), Samy Daussat (France), and Sam Farthing (U.S.) on guitar; and Aurore Voilqué (France) on violin. The second set follows with a short performance by Trio Dinicu featuring Tommy Davy on guitar and Luann Homzy on violin, followed by a set from Django New Orleans. The concert concludes with a grand finale with all performers on stage.

    The concerts for the Django a Gogo Music Festival, both at The Woodland and The Town Hall, are open to patrons of all ages. Tickets for The Woodland Concerts start at $35/show and a limited number of three-day passes for $90 are available. Tickets for The Django A Gogo Music Festival at The Town Hall start at 49.50.

  • American Classical Orchestra Announces Season Finale “Romantic Fantasy”

    The American Classical Orchestra has announced its final concert this season on Thursday, May 18, at Alice Tully Hall: Romantic Fantasy

    American Classic Orchestra’s Romantic Fantasy will be an evening of Romantic music by Rossini, Schumann, Sarasate, and Grieg, played on period instruments. The program features Filipino-American baritone Enrico Lagasca, critically acclaimed for his role as Daedalus in the U.S. premiere of Jonathan Dove’s opera The Monster in the Maze, and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient violinist Rachell Ellen Wong. The program will begin with a brief presentation by orchestra founder and artistic director Thomas Crawford.

    Founded in 1984 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy, the ensemble was renamed the American Classical Orchestra in 1999. Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford established its new and permanent home in New York City in 2005. It is now the City’s only full-scale orchestra dedicated to performing 17th, 18th, and 19th century music on period instruments.

    Romantic Fantasy Program

    Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 8 pm, Alice Tully Hall

    Rachell Ellen Wong, violin

    Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone

    Rossini: William Tell Overture

    Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 “Spring Symphony”     

    Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25

    Grieg: The Mountain Thrall, Op. 32  

    Tickets priced at $35 -$75 are available now at aconyc.org 

  • Moscot Mobileyes and Music Will Present “Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side” at the Mark Miller Gallery

    The Moscot Mobileyes Foundation has announced a partnership with national music education nonprofit, Music Will, for Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side, at the Mark Miller Gallery in New York City.

    Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side is an immersive art experience celebrating the musicians that rose to fame in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The exhibit is free and open to the public, running Wednesday to Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. from April 20th – July 9th.

    “My Love Rains” by artist Hektad, from a previous exhibition at the Mark Miller Gallery. Credit: Hektad

    With support from legendary music producers Perry Margouleff and Steve Rosenthal, Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side will raise funds for the launch and expansion of Music Will’s music programming in public schools, and The Moscot Mobileyes Foundation has kicked off the initiative with a $26,000 donation to open four music programs in local public schools to fund teacher training, instrument donations, curricular resources, and scholarships to attend the Music Will Modern Band Summit. Both organizations hope to continue this initiative annually, building lifelong connections between students and music worldwide.

    I’m delighted to have the opportunity to evolve Moscat Mobileyes from one passion of providing eye care to those in need, to my other great joy in life—music, by providing music education to local public-school kids. I am dedicated to finding ways to give back to the city that has been so good to Moscat.

     Dr. Harvey Moscot

    Designed by Daniel Kershaw, Exhibition Design Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Punk & Beyond: Legends of the Lower East Side will feature artifacts from Johnny Thunders, Lou Reed, Norah Jones, David Peel, and more. 

    “We are so grateful to Moscot Mobileyes for their invaluable support of our mission promoting music education in the Lower East Side, and to Perry Margouleff for his unwavering dedication to our cause,” says Janice Polizzotto, Music Will Interim CEO. “We are so proud to be part of an exhibit that commemorates the rich musical heritage of this historic neighborhood and celebrates its vibrant diversity.”

    Moscot Music originated in 2004 when Harvey Moscot grabbed his guitar and started jamming on a rainy Saturday. Since then, Moscot has added a music element to its repertoire, by connecting fans worldwide with emerging and established musical artists. Presently, their initiative has shifted from solely providing medical eyecare to supporting the needs of the community as a whole.

    The largest nonprofit music program for schools in the United States, Music Will, in the last 20 years, has provided teacher training, curriculum, and instruments to over 6,000 schools across all 50 states – impacting over 1.2 million students to date. The organization strives to restore and transform music education in schools as districts continue to lose funding for music and arts programs. Music Will hopes to reach one million more students in the next five years. 

  • Harlem Stage Announces The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference

    Patricia Cruz, artistic director and CEO of Harlem Stage invites iconic Contemporary Black artists and thinkers to the Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference, to be held from May 18-20 and curated by Harlem Stage Associate Artistic Director/Artist-in-Residence Carl Hancock Rux.

    the black arts movement

    The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference culminates Harlem Stage’s 2022-23 season-long initiative Black Arts Movement: Examined. This is a series of events devoted to escalating the understanding of the historic and cultural relevance of Black Arts Movement and its intersections with the Black Power Movement. The Black Arts Movement: Examined emerged from a conversation between Rux and Cruz about how it might result as a bridge to an exploration of Black art and activism in contemporary America. 

    The conference will explore areas of tension between the intellectual, ethical, and commercial imperatives of the Black Arts Movement, its scholarship, and the professional demands many of its leaders imposed upon artists, and whether or not the Black Arts Movement’s libertarian, racism-countering goals were ever truly achieved.

    – Carl Hancock Rux

    The event will kick off at 5pm with a keynote address by the poet, music critic, and arts administrator A.B. Spellman. He is a Director of The Expansion Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, which funded arts organizations that were in and of inner-city, rural, and tribal communities. Thirty minutes later, Miles Davis, Quincy Troupe, David Henderson, and Margo Crawford will respond to A.B. Spellman’s overview, giving further elucidation to the movement’s aesthetic, development, internal and external tensions. These special guests will also explore the movement’s relationship to the Black Power Movement, the AfriCOBRA movement, and Black cultural expression as resistance, and offer a fundamental re-evaluation of its complicated relationship with political insurgency and the larger Black community.

    On the second day at 10pm there will be a Black Masculinity Discussion moderated by Jonathan McCrory and featuring Felipe Luciano, Stew, Brent Hayes Edwards, and Lois Elaine Griffith. The set will examine the articulation of misogyny and homophobia often deployed by the Black Arts Movement in service to a masculinist vision of Black liberation principles and its constitution of “real” Blackness. Following that talk will be the discussion Music & Struggle with Angela Davis, Nona Hendryx, and Toshi Reagon Nona Hendryx. Next will be conversations with the activist Sonia Sanchez and multi-award-winning poet Carl Hancock Rux. The final celebration for that day will be a concert showcasing Henry Threadgill, Craig Taborn, and Dafnis Prieto.

    The last day of The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference will begin with a discussion called Poder Latino with Felipe Luciano, Lois Elaine Griffith, and more. The speakers will explore the Afro-Latinx cross-cultural influence on the intersection of European colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the complexities of the Afro-Latinx relationship to the Black Arts Movement. After an 11:30 lunch, the audience will be treated to a Film Screening titled, “Portrait of Jason by Shirley Clarke” in collaboration with Maysles Documentary Center.  The film is an experimental documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Shirley Clarke. Ingmar Bergman referred to the production saying it was “the most fascinating film he had ever seen in his life”

    After the documentary will be a discourse called “Crisis of the Negro Intellectual”. This conversation will be moderated by Margo Crawford and features Harmony Holiday, Michael Sawyer & Dominic Taylor, moderated by Margo Crawford. To end the conference the audience will be presented with a Closing Plenary by Carl Hancock Rux and a closing-night, curated by Carl Hancock Rux, Tavia Nyong’o, and Vernon Reid. The closing-night will also showcase contributions by Carrie Mae Weems, Stefanie Batten Bland, and Dianne Smith and co-presented with Park Avenue Armory.

    More information about the Harlem Stage can be found here.

  • Punk-rock Musical Good Vibrations opens June 14 at the Irish Arts Center

    Acclaimed punk-rock musical Good Vibrations is coming to the Irish Arts Center starting June 14. Written by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson based on their BAFTA-Nominated Film and directed by Des Kennedy, Good Vibrations at the Irish Arts Center closes July 9.

    The opening of the musical marks the first musical and largest-scale theatrical offering ever presented by the Irish Arts Center.

    Good Vibrations Irish Arts Center
    A scene from Good Vibrations. Credit: Irish Arts Center.

    Good Vibrations initially made its world premiere at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast in 2018 to rave reviews and sold-out performances. The Irish Times said, “The full-throated spirit of punk is alive and roaring” in this “glorious” production, and The Irish News described audiences “losing their hearts to [the] fascinating character” of Terri Hooley. Good Vibrations at the Irish Arts Center is sure to be a musical you won’t want to miss.

    Since 1968, the Lyric Theatre has been a creative hub for theatre-making, a safe space for nurturing talent, and embodies an unwavering passion for creating meaningful connections through theatre and the arts. The theatre has been a stepping stone for internationally acclaimed playwrights, poets, and actors, and is the only full-time theatre in Northern Ireland to produce its own productions from page to stage. The Lyric Theatre is committed to maintaining a high-quality, diverse, and inclusive program.

    Produced by Lyric Theatre, Belfast, Good Vibrations is led by a large ensemble cast that includes Cat Barter as Marilyn Hyndman, Connor Burnside as Billy Doherty, Darren Franklin as Dave, Marty Maguire as George Hooley, Odhrán McNulty as Ronnie Matthews, Chris Mohan as Graham ‘Getty’ Marshall, Christina Nelson as Mrs. Hooley and Mrs. Sharkey, Jolene O’Hara as Polly, Gavin Peden as Brian Young, Dylan Reid as Feargal Sharkey/Greg Cowan, Glen Wallace as Terri Hooley, and Jayne Wisener as Ruth Carr. Good Vibrations chronicles the story of the beloved titular record store/label, through the songs of punk rock legends like The Undertones, the Outcasts, and Stiff Little Fingers (including, respectively, “Teenage Kicks,” “Just Another Teenage Rebel,” and “Alternative Ulster”). The central character is Terri Hooley, who when the Troubles shut down his city and his friends take sides, opens a record shop.

    Rounding out the creative team is Katie Richardson (Musical Director), Jennifer Rooney (Choreographer), Grace Smart (Set Designer), Gillian Lennox (Costume Designer), Jack Knowles (Lighting Designer), Megan Joyce (Audio Engineer), Barry McCusker (Live Sound Engineer), Aidan Payne (Set Carpenter), Ian Vennard (Production Technician: Sound/Lighting), Simon Bird (Production Manager), and Stephen Dix (Deputy Stage Manager/Props).

    Founded in 1972 and based in Hell’s Kitchen, the Irish Arts Center is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. Additionally, IAC provides community education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Through a historic partnership between the people of Ireland and New York, the Irish Arts Center recently opened a state-of-the-art new facility to support its mission for the 21st century.

    Tickets and more information are available on the Irish Arts Center’s website.