Femme It Forward, a female-led music and entertainment company announced their one-day festival titled Across The Pond at Coney Island Amphitheater. On May 6, stars such as Tiwa Savage, Nao Arya Starr, Elaine and Tyl will take the stage at the single-day event.
Across The Pond, celebrates female R&B and Afrobeat musicians that originate from Africa and the UK. Within the music industry female artists are frequently overshadowed by their male counterparts, Femme It Forward works to change the narrative by honoring these talented musicians. Across The Pond will be a festival unlike others and is sure to inspire people of all nationalities and backgrounds.
Femme It Forward strives to commemorate, educate and empower the industry’s most creative and accomplished female visionaries. The company produces music festivals, concerts, original content, comedy shows, philanthropic endeavors, panels, college engagements and more. For more information, visit here.
VIP and General admission tickets will be available for purchase beginning March 3rd, at 10 am. Tickets can be purchased here.
Along with their recently revealed spring tour, GRAMMY-nominated rock band Gov’t Mule has announced another tour scheduled for this summer. The Dark Side of the Mule Tour will run throughout August and feature a full Gov’t Mule set and very special guest Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening opening. Additionally, the summer tour will feature the return of the band’s renowned and extremely rare Pink Floyd tribute performance.
Warren Haynes [vocals, guitar], Matt Abts [drums], Danny Louis [keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals], and Jorgen Carlsson [bass] make up the talent behind Gov’t Mule, originating in Atlanta, Georgia. The band’s flexible interplay makes them a true living, breathing ensemble. The quartet has been making music for over two decades, solidifying their place in the industry as rock legends. They have released over 12 studio albums in their more than 20-year career, with their self-titled debut record being released in 1995. Their 12th studio album, Heavy Load Blues, was released in 2021.
The band first performed Dark Side of the Mule on Halloween 2008 at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, before it was released as a live album in 2014. Gov’t Mule’s Dark Side of the Mule tour is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
This all started so organically with what we thought would be a one-time Halloween performance. Since then, Dark Side of the Mule has grown into something else. It’s a blast to perform this material but our intent is to do it for one final tour in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Dark Side. Don’t miss it!
Warren Haynes
Presale tickets for the Gov’t Mule summer tour are now available. General on-sale begins this Friday, March 10, starting at 10 a.m. at mule.net. A new date at SPAC has been announced for July 28, with tickets going on sale on April 14 at 10 a.m. Additionally, Gov’t Mule’s New Year’s Run from last year has also been rescheduled for December 29 in Philadelphia and December 30 and 31 in New York City.
GOV’T MULE TOUR DATES
May 5 – New Orleans, LA @ Orpheum Theater ^
May 6 – Memphis, TN @ Beale Street Music Festival ~
May 7 – Evansville, IN @ Victory Theatre
May 9 – Cleveland, OH @ TempleLive Cleveland
May 11 – Ashland, KY @ Paramount Arts Center
May 12 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
May 14 – Birmingham, AL @ Avondale Brewing Company
May 16 – Macon, GA @ Macon City Auditorium
May 18 – Augusta, GA @ Miller Theater
May 19 – Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station – Outdoor Stage
May 20 – Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station – Outdoor Stage
July 22 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena *#
July 23 – Patchogue, NY @ Great South Bay Music Festival ~*
July 28- Saratoga Springs, NY @ SPAC
August 2 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre *
August 3 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center *
August 4 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre *
August 7 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *
August 9 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion *
August 11 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion *
August 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park *
August 15 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheatre *
August 17 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion *
Two Hudson Valley Dark Cabaret bands, Frenchy and the Punk and Dust Bowl Faeries, will be bringing their blissful and maniacal music to Colony Woodstock on Thursday, March 30th. Dancing and magical happenings will kick off at 8pm that evening.
What is Dark Cabaret? This unique genre draws on the aesthetics of burlesque, vaudeville and Weimar-era cabaret, with live performances that borrow from the stylings of goth and punk. Frenchy and the Punk are an unorthodox, evocative electro-acoustic Dark Cabaret/post-punk duo based in the Hudson Valley. With exotic melodies and European-inflected percussive textures, they invoke a dark carnival of two that they take on the road across the US, UK and in Europe.
French-born singer Samantha Stephenson sings with a gothy heft and authority that may remind one generation of Siouxsie Sioux and another of Grace Slick. Guitarist, live looper, and former punk bass player, Scott Helland weaves dark riffs and layers of spidery melody in an acoustic/electric tone that is entirely his own.
Dark Carnival/Dream Music group Dust Bowl Faeries, best lauded by Bay Area Reporter in 2020 as “Americana by way of pagan cabaret,” are a faerie-tale fusion of dark cabaret, delirious polka and gothic spaghetti western music. Based in the New York Hudson Valley, the band’s eclectic repertoire of songs draw inspiration from circus songs, murder ballads and Eastern European folk tunes.
Accordion, singing saw and acoustic guitar combine to create the Dust Bowl Faeries otherworldly sound. The band was founded by Ryder Cooley (faerie queen) and her taxidermy spirit animal, Hazel the Ram. Ryder and Hazel are joined by Jon B. Woodin (rocket faerie), Liz LoGiudice (river faerie), Andrew Stein (time faerie) & Rubie LaRue (feisty faerie). American Highways says of them, “You can almost smell the gas lamps in the street & the absinthe being poured.”
Preparations are underway and the list of guest speakers has now been announced for the 2023 David Bowie World Fan Convention. After a wildly successful inaugural event in Liverpool, England earlier this year, the convention is moving across the pond to New York City’s Racket and will take place on June 17 and 18. It will once again be moderated by author and Bowie expert extraordinaire Nicholas Pegg (The Complete David Bowie) and promises to bring together a cornucopia of collaborators from every period of Bowie’s multi-faceted career.
Guest speakers set to be featured include producer Tony Visconti, whose partnership with Bowie spanned five decades and more than a dozen albums, pianist Mike Garson, and guitarist and bandleader Carlos Alomar. Other guest speakers are guitarist Kevin Armstrong, who led Bowie’s band at Live Aid, Carmine Rojas, who played bass on the classic Let’s Dance album and multi-instrumentalist and Earthling co-producer Mark Plati. See below for the full list of confirmed speakers to date with more to be announced in the future.
The 2023 U.S. edition of the convention dedicated to all things David Bowie coincides with both the 40th anniversary of his Let’s Dance album and the 50th anniversary of his iconic Aladdin Sane. The event, taking place at Racket, hosts an informative and exciting array of talks, meet-and-greets, live performances, and, of course, the show-stopping Bowie Ball, the glittering centerpiece to the weekend. Brimming with attendees donning costumes and make-up reflecting their favorite eras from Bowie’s illustrious career, the Bowie Ball is an exhilarating celebration with live music performance, DJs, best-dressed competitions, all topped off with Bowie-themed drinks and dancing that begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday night and extends to midnight.
Deryck Todd’s BowieBall is hosted by renowned Bowie performer Michael T, featuring Bowie tribute group Sons Of The Silent Age, special guest vocalist Ava Cherry and Bowie DJs TheMenWhoFell2Earth. Michael T is known for his memorable shows that combine his distinctive singing style and unique artistic showmanship. His performances take inspiration from his favorite musicians including Prince and Freddie Mercury, but Bowie’s influence takes the reigns. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, he pays homage to his legacy through his mesmerizing musical and artistic performances.
Sons Of The Silent Age was created by Chris Connelly and Matt Walker, 30+ year veterans of the music business. Walker brought his inspiring drumming skills to groups like Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, and Morrissey, and Connelly moved from his native Scotland in the 80s to pursue a career with The Revolting Cocks and Ministry. Since deciding to perform Bowie music, the duo continues to thrive, playing select, prestigious shows including the opening of the “David Bowie Is” exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and collaborating with other musicians.
Ava Cherry was 17 when she met David Bowie in New York City when she was a nightclub waitress and he was touring for The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. She worked with him from 1972 to 1975, inspiring his “Young Americans” ‘blue-eyed soul’ era. Cherry became an influence in the works of a number of pre-eminent artists, as well as a respected musician in her own right, releasing critically acclaimed disco-fused music. For many years, TheMenWhoFell2Earth DJs have been bringing Bowie to the dance floor. From the now infamous indie night Rebel Rebel, which rocked London’s West End in the early naughties, through to their collaboration with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Modern Love at Soho’s Madame Jojo’s.
2022 David Bowie World Fan Convention credit: Sam McMahon
Tickets for the 2023 David Bowie Convention are now on sale here and limited VIP tickets will afford fans the opportunity to visit key New York City locations linked to Bowie’s historic work and the years he spent living there. A Bowie NYC map will also be created so that everyone attending can make their own pilgrimages around the city.
Scheduled Speakers
Carlos Alomar: Carlos Alomar played guitar on eleven Bowie studio albums between 1975 and 2003 – more than any musician other than Mike Garson (also a guest). He formed part of Bowie’s famed DAM trio backing band along with George Murray (also a guest!) and the late Dennis Davis. He has writing credits on a range of Bowie songs including ‘Fame’ (with John Lennon), ‘Never Let Me Down’ and ‘Red Money’ and has worked with Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Scissor Sisters, Alicia Keys, and many others. Joey Arias: As a singer, performance artist and drag artist, Joey Arias has been performing for many years on the stages of America. ‘In 1979, he appeared alongside Klaus Nomi as a dancer and backing vocalist for Bowie’s groundbreaking Saturday Night Live performance in which the songs ‘The Man Who Sold the World’, ‘TVC 15’ and ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ were performed.
Kevin Armstrong: When Kevin received an invitation to record with a ‘Mr. X’ in 1985, it was, he says, a ‘marvelous surprise’ when David Bowie walked in. Over a ten-year period, Kevin recorded ‘Absolute Beginners’, ‘Dancing in the Street’ and the first Tin Machine album with Bowie as well as contributing to the Outside album. He played guitar with Bowie at Live Aid, played on Iggy Pop’s album Blah Blah Blah, produced by Bowie and continues as Iggy’s band leader.
Robin Clark: Robin Clark is a singer who performed beautiful soul vocals on the Young Americans album in 1975. Her vocals also feature prominently on the title song of the album. She is featured notably in the Cracked Actor documentary working on the complicated vocal arrangement for the song ‘Right’. She has toured and recorded with Simple Minds and worked with many legendary artists including Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Dolly Parton, and Michael Jackson.
Mike Garson: A classically trained pianist, Mike Garson joined the Ziggy Stardust tour in 1972, soon going on to play on the Aladdin Sane album and the accompanying 1973 tour. Mike would go on to appear on a total of eleven David Bowie albums, from Pin Ups (1973) to Reality (2003) and played live with Bowie on more occasions than any other individual.
George Murray: A key member of Bowie’s band over five years in the late 1970s, George Murray was the bass player in the famous DAM trio alongside Carlos Alomar and Dennis Davis. He performed on Station to Station, the iconic Berlin trilogy (Low, “Heroes” and Lodger) and Scary Monsters. George left the music industry decades ago and rarely grants interviews. Fans will be clamoring to hear his stories.
2022 David Bowie World Fan Convention credit: Sam McMahon
Nacho: Nacho is a self-taught filmmaker from Britain. He is well-known to Bowie fans for creating, editing, and restoring Bowie videos. In 2020, Nacho produced the documentary David Bowie in New York 1980: The Elephant Man, Scary Monsters and Other Strange People. In March 2021, he released an updated version of his documentary David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth which was praised by the original film’s director, Nic Roeg. It was endorsed by the official David Bowie website and commended by Bowie’s wife, Iman.
Chris O’Leary: Chris O’Leary is a writer, editor and journalist based in western Massachusetts. His work has appeared in Pitchfork, Slate, Billboard, LA Review of Books, Mojo, and New York. He is the author of the Bowie website Pushing Ahead of the Dame, a song-by-song chronicle of Bowie’s work. His work on Bowie has been published in two volumes: Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes.
Tim Palmer: Tim is a British record producer now based in Austin, Texas. He was producer of both albums by Bowie’s late 80s/ early 90s band Tin Machine. He has also produced and mixed for other artists including U2, Robert Plant and Tears for Fears. He plays an active part in The Recording Academy/Grammys and has been a board member in Texas since 2012 and is a national trustee.
Mark Plati: In 1996, Mark co-produced David Bowie’s Earthling album, which marked the beginning of a period in which he produced, recorded, mixed, or performed on most of Bowie’s musical output until 2003. He has played guitar, bass and keyboards with Bowie and co-produced the long-unreleased album Toy which finally had an official release in 2021. He also served as Bowie’s musical director for live performances.
Carmine Rojas: Carmine played bass on the Let’s Dance, Tonight and Never Let Me Down albums and toured the world on the Serious Moonlight and Glass Spider tours in 1983 and 1987. He has worked with a host of legendary artists including Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Steve Winwood, Billy Joel, and BB King.
Tony Visconti: Bowie’s 1969 album, David Bowie (Space Oddity) was produced by Tony Visconti. The partnership went on to be one the most enduring of Bowie’s career and generated at least fourteen albums culminating in Bowie’s final masterpiece Blackstar in 2016. His relationship with a backing singer was the inspiration for the classic “Heroes.” Since 2014, he has performed with the Bowie supergroup, Holy Holy. He has produced classic albums by T. Rex, Sparks, Thin Lizzy and many others.
Brooklyn-based ensemble Sammy Rae and The Friends have announced they will embark on a fall headline tour, which includes a stop in Ithaca.
On Sept. 24, the band will perform at the State Theatre of Ithaca, five days after beginning their tour on Sept. 19. After the fall headline tour ends, the band will head back to the UK, where they will have a headline show in London.
More than a band, Sammy and The Friends are a family. The diverse group of performers flourishes in any environment with a combination of all-for-one and one-for-all camaraderie, palpable chemistry, deft virtuosity, and vocal fireworks. Their most recent singles include the soul-infused “Closer To You,” and last summer’s jazzy retro pop single “If It All Goes South.” The latter was accompanied by a music video starring Barbara Lochiatto, who appeared in Netflix’s 2020 documentary Some Kind of Heaven as a widow looking for love. Inspired by Lochiatto’s story, Sammy reached out to her to join the music video.
Prior to the fall tour, Sammy and The Friends are scheduled to perform at Carnegie Hall on March 15, for the 18th annual Music Of fundraising performance, The Music of Paul McCartney. Other musicians scheduled to perform include Nancy Wilson, Lake Street Dive, Natalie Merchant, and more. The upcoming performance marks only the beginning of a jam-packed 2023 for the band.
Summer will keep the group busy, as well. On June 15, they will make their debut appearance at Central Park Summer Stage, shortly followed by another debut at the Bonnaroo on June 18. At the Green River Festival on June 24, the band is scheduled to headline.
If you’re interested in seeing Sammy Rae and Friends perform in Ithaca, tickets go on sale starting March 10.
Sammy Rae & The Friends Confirmed Tour Dates
Wed, Mar 15 New York, NY @ Carnegie Hall (The Music of Paul McCartney) Thur, June 15 New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage Sat, Jun 24 Franklin County Fairgrounds (Northampton, MA) @ Green River Festival Sun, Jun 18 Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Tue, Sept 19 South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Wed, Sept 20 Portland, ME @ State Theatre Thur, Sept 21 Boston, MA @ Roadrunner Sun, Sept 24 Ithaca, NY@ State Theatre of Ithaca Tue, Sept 26 Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Wed, Sept 27 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre Thur, Sept 28 Toronto, ON @ HISTORY Sat, Sept 30 Bridgeport, CT @ Sound on Sound Sun, Oct 1 Millavale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre Mon, Oct 2 Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall Wed, Oct 4 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre Thur, Oct 5 St Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre Fri, Oct 6 Kansas City, MO @ Madrid Theatre Sun, Oct 8 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre Tue, Oct 10 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot Wed, Oct 11 Jackson, WY @ Center for the Arts Fri, Oct 13 Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom Sat, Oct 14 Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo Sun, Oct 15 Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Tue, Oct 17 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield Wed, Oct 18 Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo Thur, Oct 19 San Diego, CA @ House of Blues Sat, Oct 21 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre Thur, Nov 16 London, UK @ Eventim Apollo Fri, Nov 17 Bristol, UK @ SWX Sat, Nov 18 Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall Sun, Nov 19 Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union
Watch Sammy and The Friends perform live at Brooklyn Steel.
Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) has named two winners plus a runner-up in its annual Lois Lyman Concerto Competition, who will be performing with the orchestra on April 2 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
The Lois Lyman Concerto Competition has been an ESYO tradition for decades, and encourages ESYO Symphony Orchestra members to perform a concerto of their choice. Each participant performs a ten-minute slice of their piece from memory in front of a panel of judges.
Empire State Youth Orchestra (ESYO) challenges and inspires young people to achieve excellence through music in a progressive learning environment leading to high-level performance opportunities. More than 500 youth from New York’s Capital Region and western New England are selected by audition each year to perform in ESYO. With 13 performing ensembles and orchestras suiting a range of playing levels, members receive training from outstanding conductors and coaches, and tutelage from extraordinary guest artists.
The winners are Yu-Heng Wang, who performed the Bartok Viola Concerto, and William Lauricella, who performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. The runner-up was Liam Sullivan, who performed Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1. Yu-Heng and William now have the honor of performing their concertos with the full ESYO Symphony Orchestra during the ensemble’s concerts in April and October, respectively.
Yu-Heng has been playing viola since he was in fourth grade and has been an ESYO member since seventh grade. “Ever since eighth grade, I told myself that I would win the Lois Lyman Concerto Competition. I was determined to one day play in front of an orchestra”.
“What was most difficult for me was the fact that I had to balance my auditions for various music schools, as well as auditions for various summer programs along with the concerto competition. As deadlines inch closer, I become more and more stressed about whether or not I am going to have it ready by the date of the competition. But thanks to my less busy schedule at school combined with help from my teacher, I was able to greatly increase my efficiency in learning and preparing the concerto. Luckily, I had already been playing the first movement of the concerto for around a year now, which helped a lot, as it is the most difficult portion of the piece. I learned that once you’ve gotten the notes of a piece down in the memory, all you have to do is relax and let the bow and fingers do the work, and everything will turn out fine.”
Yu-Heng will perform Bartok’s Viola Concerto in full on April 2, 2023 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall along with the rest of the ESYO Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra will also perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Li Huanzhi’s Spring Festival Orchestra, as well as a movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, which will serve as a preview of the orchestra’s season-closing concert at Carnegie Hall on June 4.
Tickets to the Empire State Youth Orchestra concerto competition will take place on April 2 at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center has announced its new inaugural fundraiser to kick-off the summer season, “Summer SPACtacular.”
Featuring an expansive celebration across the SPAC grounds “Summer SPACtacular” will include live music, a multi-course “Summerscape Supper,” culinary tastings, cocktails, a whiskey and cigar lounge, fireworks and a dance party on SPAC’s historic stage. Slated for Friday, June 2 from 5:00-11:00 p.m., the event will benefit SPAC’s mission, residencies, and youth education initiatives.
“Our new Summer SPACtacular is both a summer season kick-off and a celebration of SPAC’s expanded mission and its new campus – from cocktails and a dance party on our historic stage, to exquisite tastings with live music throughout the grounds, and a cigar and whiskey lounge in our Pavilion,” said Elizabeth Sobol, President & CEO. “We are grateful to the SPAC Action Council and Friends of SPAC for their incredible efforts to make this event a reality – all in support of our resident companies and educational programming.”
Featuring two different ticketing options including a “Party Pass” and an “All-Access Pass,” attendees will have the opportunity to experience SPAC like never before with tastings, libations and entertainment throughout the SPAC campus. Guests who purchase a “Party Pass” will enjoy live music by Saratoga Springs native Jes Hudak, tastings from local eateries, distilleries and breweries, and a whiskey and cigar lounge – all culminating with a dazzling fireworks display and a DJ dance party on the stage.
In addition to the “Party Pass” offerings, the “All-Access Pass” also includes a reception with craft cocktails and live jazz on the amphitheater stage, followed by an intimate “Summerscape Supper” featuring three courses that celebrate spring’s culinary bounty with wine pairings produced by CulinaryArts@SPAC with renowned regional chefs Kim Klopstock, Michael Blake, and Kevin London. An exciting paddle raise hosted by emcee and News10ABC’s Lydia Kulbida will also highlight the supper. The “All-Access Pass” also features exclusive admission to post-dinner aperitifs and sweet treats on The Pines Terrace.
“The SPAC Action Council and Friends of SPAC are thrilled to present this inaugural event – one that screams FUN from the minute you enter the grounds. If you’ve never experienced SPAC outside of a performance, this is your chance to do so in a new, intimate way,” says Keeley DeSalvo, Saratoga Performing Arts Center Action Council President.
Ashley Budd, Friends of SPAC President adds, “You won’t want to miss this supercharged evening of food, drink, dancing and more as we celebrate the coming season and raise funds in support of SPAC’s mission. We anticipate this magical night will sell out quickly, and encourage everyone to purchase their tickets early!”
The Summer SPACtacular is the largest fundraiser to support SPAC’s mission, classical residencies and youth educational programming in the community, which has gone from serving 5,000 students to more than 50,000 students.
Tickets to the SPACtacular are available online at spac.org.
Dead & Company have announced they will be continuing the Grateful Dead’s storied legacy at Cornell University and its famed Barton Hall with an intimate show on May 8, the same date and venue as the acclaimed performance in 1977.
Later this year, Dead & Company will embark on a farewell tour, featuring Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Bob Weir, plus John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge, and Jeff Chimenti. It has been exactly 46 years since the Grateful Dead performed at Barton Hall, considered by many fans to be not only the best show of the Spring 1977 tour but quite possibly the best show the group ever played. “Cornell 1977 holds a special place in Grateful Dead lore. That magical night lives forever and will always link Cornell and the Grateful Dead,” said drummer Mickey Hart. Readers of the New York Times voted Barton ’77 the best Dead show of all time in an April 2009 online poll.
According to the Cornell Chronicle, the 1977 show spawned numerous bootlegs, a book, conspiracy theories, and endless debate. The band’s performance that night was 19 songs played over two sets, with some numbers sprawling past the 15-minute mark. They included songs like “Saint Stephen” and “Morning Dew” while skipping classics “Truckin’” and “Dark Star.” Some fans believed the show was a CIA mind-control experiment, and it inspired the book Cornell ’77: The Music, the Myth and the Magnificence of the Grateful Dead Show at Barton Hall. A lot of fans recorded bootlegs of the performance and in 2012 a recording of the performance was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. The original concert was later released as a three-disc CD box set and five-disc LP in May 2017.
The concert will be a fundraiser for Cornell’s 2030 Project, to develop tangible solutions to climate change, and MusiCares, a nonprofit established in 1989 by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to support the health and welfare of music industry professionals. A variety of Dead & Company Cornell ’23 ticket offerings, including multiple levels of VIP and General Admission tickets, are available via Ticketstoday’s lottery system. Those interested in attending the event may register before 11:59 p.m. on March 10 via this link. The event will also be available for a live pay-per-view video, a live free audio stream, and a SiriusXM broadcast via the Grateful Dead Channel.
The Musicians of Ma’alwyck announce their first live concert since 2020 with Celestial Melodies, celebrating the music of William & Catherine Herschel and their contemporaries, taking place March 11 and 12 in Schenectady and Albany.
The Musicians of Ma’alwyck are a flexible-size chamber ensemble in residence at the Schuyler Mansion New York State Historic Site and Schenectady County Community College. Founded in 1999 by violinist and director Ann-Marie Barker Schwartz, the group specializes in music performed in America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They were named the best chamber music ensemble of the Capital Region for both 2008 and 2009 by Metroland and were nominated for the Eddies Music Award.
The ensemble released its first commercial CD in 2016, Music in the Schuyler Mansion, which the Times Union called “elegant and charming,” and their second in 2021, Hyde Hall & the Silver Goddess: Operatic Brilliance of Auber, Bellini, Meyerbeer, and Rossini from the Drawing Room.
The Celestial Melodies program will feature the music of composers and astronomers William and Catherine Herschel, as well as others. The concert will include not only the music of the Herschels and their contemporaries but a visual component as well, a specially developed sky show, with dazzling images and unique looks at the constellations as they appeared in Herschel’s lifetime. The program also features the world premiere of a new work Invocation by Max Caplan, inspired by the NASA data sonification project.
William Herschel was born into a musical family, with his father being a professional oboist and himself a fine violinist, harpsichordist, and organist. He came to England in the 1750s as a member of the Hanover Band and worked as the Bath Church’s organist and director of the orchestra and concert series. He is known for his incredible astronomical discoveries, which include the discovery of infrared radiation, astronomical spectrophotometry, the planet Uranus and far-seeing telescopes. Herschel’s younger sister Caroline was also an outstanding musician and astronomer, she was the first female astronomer to receive a salary and in 1828 she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Their first performance of Celestial Melodies will take place in Schenectady on March 11 at the Museum of Innovation and Science, and tickets are $35. The second performance will be at Schuyler Mansion New York State Historic Site in Albany, and tickets are $40 for general admission and $10 for students. Reservations are strongly suggested as seating is limited. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.
Oteil and Friends will headline this year’s Rye Bread Music and Arts Festival, taking place from July 27 through July 29 in Schaghticoke, NY. Also scheduled to appear are Cool Cool Cool, Lespecial, Dogs In A Pile, Couch, DJ Logic & Friends, and many more. Additionally, guests can expect various collaborations between artists throughout the festival, making for a truly memorable weekend of live music.
Oteil and Friends will headline the Rye Bread Music Festival with a two-set performance. The band is an ensemble led by Oteil Burbridge (Dead & Company, The Allman Brothers Band) on bass. He is joined by longtime Jerry Garcia Band organist Melvin Seals, guitarists Steve Kimock and Tom Guarna, multi-instrumentalist Jason Crosby, drummer Johnny Kimock and vocalist Lamar Williams, Jr.
Grammy-nominated rock band North Mississippi Allstars is also scheduled to perform at the festival this summer. On top of this year’s lineup of live music, the festival will feature food and craft vendors on site. Located at the spacious Schaghticoke Fairgrounds, guests will have plenty of space to stretch and walk around at the festival.
In its 47th year, the Rye Bread Music and Arts Festival originated as a block party and has become a staple in Upstate New York. In addition to providing audiences with live music, the festival brings people together in a spirit of community and charity. To purchase tickets, please visit www.ryebreadfest.com.
Watch Oteil and Friends perform live at the Capital Theatre on March 12, 2022.
