NYS Music 2023

Category: Capital Region

  • Saratoga New Year’s Fest Lineup Features Joan Osborne, Robert Randolph, Gibson Brothers and many more

    The city of Saratoga Springs announced the Saratoga New Year’s Fest lineup, including Joan Osborne, Robert Randolph, Gibson Brothers, Dogs In A Pile, and more.

    What used to be called First Night Saratoga, the rebrand to Saratoga New Year’s Fest happened in 2022 as pandemic restrictions loosened. Festivities are planned from December 29, 2023, to January 1, 2024. This year’s events will feature more than 30 performers on nearly two dozen stages. In addition, there will be a 5K run, a fireworks show, a family-friendly pre-fireworks block party, and other events.

    “This is a joint presentation: the city the Chamber, Discover Saratoga, the City Center, and myself,” said producer Robert Millis of the 398Group, during this week’s festival announcement. “We put this idea together last year to bring back First Night – and it worked. We met our milestones. It’s all part of a three-year plan to make this thing get bigger and bigger.”

    For more information about the Saratoga New Year’s Fest and to purchase, visit here.

    Saratoga New Year’s Fest Lineup

    Friday, December 29

    DJ Logic, 10 p.m. at Putnam Place

    Saturday, December 30

    The Nth Power, 7 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    The Weight Band, 8 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    Sunday, December 31

    Afternoon

    Kids Music Show, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Caffe Lena

    TBA Band, 3 p.m. at the City Center “Jazz Room”

    Will Pedicone, 2:30 p.m. at Impressions of Saratoga

    Maurizzio & Kaos, 2:30 p.m. at Franklin Square Market

    Pete Pashoukas, 3 p.m. at Sixth Generation Strings

    Erin Powers, 3 p.m. at Overland on Broadway

    Late Afternoon

    Swing Docs, 4 p.m. at the City Center “Jazz Room”

    Gibson Brothers, 4 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    Toss The Feathers, 4:45 p.m. at The Parting Glass Irish Pub

    Jeff Brisbin, 4:30 p.m. at The Holiday Inn

    Erin Powers, 4:30 p.m. at The Coat Room

    New Year’s Eve

    Halfstep, 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at The City Center “Dead & Groove Room”

    Country Kickers Line Dancing, 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at The City Center “Country Room”

    Chris O’Leary with Tia Comedy Show, 5 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.at The Inn at Saratoga

    Erin Powers, 5 p.m. at The Coat Room

    Kristian Montgomery, 5 p.m. at Tap & Barrel

    Shine On, 5 p.m. at Embassy Suites

    Family Tree, 5 p.m. at Ellsworth Jones Place (outside of the City Center)

    Tracy Bonham, 6:30 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    Triskele, 7 p.m. at The Parting Glass Irish Pub

    Robert Randolph, 7 p.m. at The City Center Main Hall

    Double Barrel, 7 p.m. at Nashville of Saratoga

    Ragged Company, 7 p.m. at Quarters

    Toubab Krewe, 7:30 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    Classic Rock Tent, 8 p.m. at The Ice House

    Patrick Wisdom Stewart, 8 p.m. at Baileys

    Organ Fairchild, 8:30 p.m. at The City Center “Dead/Groove Room”

    Ward Hayden & The Outliers, 8:30 p.m. at The City Center “Country Room”

    GA-20, 8:30 p.m. at Universal Preservation Hall

    Maggie’s Clan, 8:30 p.m. at The Parting Glass Irish Pub

    Joan Osborne & Band, 9 p.m. at The City Center Main Hall

    Dogs in a Pile, 10 p.m. at Putnam Place

  • EMPAC Announces Spring 2024 Programming

    EMPAC / Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced its Spring 2024 programming.

    From January through May, EMPAC 2024 presents a diverse lineup of interdisciplinary programming, including concerts, film screenings, dance performances, artists’ talks, and a two-day symposium. Furthering their mission of gathering artists, thinkers, and audiences together to explore the boundaries of art, science, politics, and technology, EMPAC’s programming will keep people intrigued and entertained.

    EMPAC / the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer is located on the corner of 8th Street and College Avenue in Troy. It is a 220,000-square-foot facility designed expressly for creating and presenting experimental media and performing arts. Since the building’s opening in 2008, the curatorial program has supported more than 600 performances and new works through residencies, commissions, partnerships, premieres, installations, publications, and more.

    EMPAC Spring 2024 Programming

    Barobar Jagtana (January 11) is a screening of Suneil Sanzgiri’s vivid trilogy of short films. He is a recipient of the UOVO Prize and his solo exhibition is currently on display at the Brooklyn Museum through May 2024. The Konkani title of the series roughly translates to “continuously surviving.” The evening screens three of his films: At Home But Not At Home (2019), Letter From Your Far-off Country (2020), and Golden Jubilee (2021), followed by a conversation with curator Vic Brooks.

    Barobar Jagtana connects the childhood experience of Sanzgiri’s father at the tail-end of Portuguese occupation in Goa, India with the broader history of South Asian anti-colonial struggle. The films link past events to contemporary struggles, forging connections between solidarity movements across time with a distinct visual language.

    Poetry & Fairy Tale (January 19) is a piano recital by award-winning pianist and composer Conrad Tao, hailed “the kind of musician who is shaping the future of classical music” by New York Magazine. Tao has performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony, and his original compositions have been performed by orchestras throughout the world.

    This new program combines Western repertoire and provocative contemporary works. Inspired by themes of poetry and fairy tales, Tao’s one-night-only recital tests a line-up that includes music by Johannes Brahms, Tod Moellenberg, David Fulmer, Rebecca Saunders, and Maurice Ravel. 

    In February, EMPAC presents Reembodied Sound 2024 (February 2-3), a two-day festival and symposium on transducer-based music and sonic art, co-presented with the Rensselaer Department of Arts. A famed member of the New York School, David Tudor pioneered transducer-based artworks in the 1960s and 70s, inspired by the work of his frequent collaborator John Cage. Tudor created Rainforest IV in 1973, which used “surface speakers” (electric transducers) to excite the sonic possibilities of such objects.

    The symposium has three tracks: a remounting of Rainforest IV by students of the Rensselaer Arts Department with John Driscoll and Phil Edelstein in commemoration of its 50th anniversary in 2023, a series of demonstrations and paper presentations, selected from an open call that received 189 project submissions from around the world, with a keynote address by noted sound art scholar and composer Cathy van Eck, and a concert of transducer-based works to be announced. All activities are free and open to the public. 

    Grounds of Coherence #1 / but this is the language we met in (February 9) is a multifaceted evening with filmmaker Shen Xin and performer Ali Van that includes an American premiere film screening, a live performance, and the debut of their collaborative project, AX Archive. Van opens the program in a performance with Shen that aims to mirror the narrative style of Shen’s most recent film. His new short film is from the ongoing series Grounds of Coherence and explores how language can be used to create spaces of belonging. In it, myths are recited in English between two lovers, a story is narrated in Arabic, and protesters chant in regional Mandarin. The duo’s EMPAC appearance concludes with improvisation, incorporating spatialized audio.

    Dancer and choreographer Ligia Lewis is at EMPAC 2024 with the first East Coast presentation of her stage production, A Plot / A Scandal (February 16 & 17). After debuting in Germany in 2022 it was recently awarded the prestigious annual Der Faust prize, citing Lewis as the “master of ceremonies.” This piece explores fantasy, pleasure, and narrative experimentation. Lewis’ prior performances in the U.S. have been called “the most vital new work…beautiful, blistering” by the New York Times.

    Akoma (March 15) previews the new multimedia production from acclaimed electronic musician and Pulitzer Prize for Music finalist Jlin, and visual artist Florence To, in preparation for the upcoming tour of Jlin’s latest album of the same name. Jlin’s music is influenced by “footwork,” a genre of post-house music originating in Chicago, featuring athletic and hyperactive rhythmic drive. For this concert, Florence To designed an interactive landscape of sound and light mapped onto various surfaces and lighting rigs that respond to Jlin’s music.

    EMPAC-commissioned concert Susceptible Chambers (April 5) by composer-performers Antonia Barnett-McIntosh and Jessie Marino is continuing the season’s theme of sonic exploration through everyday objects. It begins with the reconstruction of a simple microphone and expands into technologies from different eras, like pulley systems, pianolas, needlepoint, and sodium vapor lamps. Barnett-McIntosh and Marino create a new performance that draws the audience into an unusual and playful sonic and visual world, experimenting with and challenging accepted practices of today’s electronic music and contemporary music more broadly. They also present an open studio and talk (January 17) at the start of the season. 

    Space Carcasses (April 23) by performing artist and choreographer Onye Ozuzu is a work-in-progress dance performance that explores how architectures haunt the body and impart their histories to us as physical effects. The work includes a virtual, composite space layered with audiovisual data from three different architectural sites. Space Carcasses is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project with an international society of co-commissioners that includes dance centers across the states. At EMPAC, this free presentation offers a window into Ozuzu’s research, development, and production of Space Carcasses, including how the artist and EMPAC production teams are engineering a “sound dancer” using EMPAC’s spatialization sound technology. 

    Iconic Afro-gothic composer and vocalist M. Lamar closes out EMPAC’s Spring 2024 season with Machines and other intergalactic technologies of the spirit (May 3), the third collaboration with experimental music duo The Living Earth Show, as part of their ongoing residency at EMPAC. Lamar gains the production backing to put on his largest-scaled work to date: an evening of psychedelic rock, noise music, opera, and doom metal, drawing conceptually on the “Astro-Black mythology” of the visionary jazz artist Sun Ra.

    Lamar performs in a 15-foot tall rocketship-boat-coffin structure, with images of outer space as popularized by mass media over the years, ancient Egypt, and pre-Atlantic Christianity. The performance is a follow-up to M Lamar and The Living Earth Show’s 2019 Met Cloisters collaboration, Lordship and Bondage: The Birth of The Negro Superman. 

    The EMPAC Spring 2024 season also presents a curated set of lectures, with appearances from composer and artist Marina Rosenfeld, giving a work-in-progress talk that takes her decades-long work with dubplates into new visual and sonic territory (January 24); scholar André Lepecki, on choreographic works that challenge the ideas of time as a technology for policing movement (January 25); Marina Vishmidt, on art, labor, and value, reflecting on projects from EMPAC’s archive (February 22); Ezekiel Dixon-Román, on computation influenced by black radical anti-colonial thought, cybernetics, and critical philosophies of technology (March 21); and Peli Grietzer, on art’s structures concerning architectures of artificial intelligence (April 11). 

    For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.

  • Pauly’s Hotel – Albany’s Oldest Bar – Closes, Up for Sale

    The oldest bar in Albany and a music venue for bands of all genres, Pauly’s Hotel, located at 337 Central Ave, has closed and is up for sale.

    pauly's hotel

    Established in 1862, Pauly’s Hotel has been a staple in Albany for multiple generations, located on the corner of Quail St. and Central Ave, where WAMC’s The Linda is located, and The Low Beat stood until 2020.

    Hate to see this. Pauly’s has always been a big supporter of us, and were the first spot in Albany to ever take a chance on us. It’s safe to say without them, we may not have been able to break into the Capital Region as quickly as we did. Hopefully someone takes over this space and keeps it as a haven for independent, original music in the 518! Thanks so much to Shane and everyone else who made Pauly’s a great place to have an indie show.

    Seize Atlantis

    According to the Times Union, owner Kip Finck noted that the 2020 shutdown was a major factor in closing the venue, as a lack of shows meant Pauly’s Hotel did not qualify for the federal Payroll Protection Program grants, which kept many venues afloat during this time.

    Despite extensive renovations after purchasing Pauly’s in 2019, which included a state-of-the-art sound system, the bar sat largely dark for most of the next year and a half because of the pandemic. Adding in a capacity maxing out at 120, booking bands and keeping tickets reasonably priced posed a challenge for Finck.

    Finck told the Times Union, “It was really hard financially, and I was handling everything to do with management and money myself.” Finck believes another, younger operator who is eager to reopen a storied music venue could make Pauly’s financially viable.

    pauly's hotel

    Finck also owned Northern Lights in Clifton Park for 18 years, and still owns the Village Tavern in Scotia, which itself is more than 80 years old.

    The property listing notes that Pauly’s features a fully equipped bar area, an updated sound system, spacious seating areas, and a stage for live performances. The entire building is not for sale – only the business – with an asking price of $75,0000 to own Albany’s oldest bar.

    “It would have to be the right person, the right fit,” Finck told the TU. “Once I find that, there would be a conversation about price.” He invites inquiries at kip.finck@gmail.com.

  • Harp on Lark: Mikaela Davis and Southern Star Shine Bright in Albany 

    During a famous MTV Unplugged performance, Kurt Cobain once sarcastically asked, “What are they tuning, a harp?” His tone somewhat mocking of the instrument, as if it had no place in his rock n’ roll world. For a long while, I may have thought the same thing too, but then a funny thing happened to me on Thursday, December 7.

    That was the night I saw Mikaela Davis and Southern Star perform at Lark Hall in Albany for the first time. Armed with a six-foot-tall harp, a bold voice, and a certain element of mystique, the classically trained harp player-turned-folk rocker completely redefined everything I thought I knew about the instrument, simultaneously shattering whatever limitations my mind may have placed on it.  

    Mikaela Davis and Souther Star made their Lark Hall debut on December 7th, 2023.

    Captivating the audience with a dreamy blend of psychedelic pop, driving folk rock, and a healthy dose of sonic improvisation, Mikaela Davis and Southern Star simply dazzled in Albany. A long-time believer in the group, Greg Bell of Guthrie Bell Productions has often said this is one of his favorite acts and has been bringing them to the Capital Region for years now. Regularly making stops at venues like The Hollow and Putnum Place, this night would mark their graduation to the historic room of Lark Hall. Delivering a dynamic, genre-bending performance full of emotion, beauty, and star-making energy, it was easy to see what all the hype over the talented harp-playing singer and her incredible band was all about. 

    Originally formed in Rochester, Mikaela Davis and Southern Star have been playing together for over a decade. Notably sharing the stage with the likes of Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, Bon Iver, and Circles Around the Sun, the group released their first full-length album as a band, And Southern Star, in August of this year and it’s already showing up on many of the “year’s best” lists. Focusing much of the show on its material, the multi-layered improvisation that also came from it was nothing short of a breath of fresh air and a major reason why they’ve been so warmly embraced by the extended jam band community. 

    Home in the Country: Mikaela Davis and Souther Star made themselves at home in Albany on 12/7/23.

    Casually kicking things off with the melodic one-two punch of “Cinderella” and “In My Groove,” Mikaela Davis and Southern Star had Lark Hall’s undivided attention from the very start. Along with Davis, Southern Star also consists of the McCarthy brothers, Cian on guitar and sax and Shane on bass, Alex Cote on drums, and the talented Kurt Johnson on pedal and lap steel.

    Keeping things going, the infectious single called “Home in the Country” was an early set highlight, as was watching Johnson’s incredible dexterity as he employed a litany of effects and knob turning to his pedal steel rig to create all kinds of subtle textures to accent Davis’s delectate harp in the most sophisticated way.   

    Kurt Johnson of Southern Star had his hands full on pedal and lap steel on 12/7/23.

    After a bit of funky plucking on 2018’s “Get Gone”, “Far From You” would cross over into a more euphoric fairytale-type feel before landing on what would ultimately be the centerpiece of the show, an enchanting and transformative take on the Grateful Dead’s “Here Comes Sunshine.” Showcasing their propensity to improvise just as Garcia and company famously did, the stunning arrangement felt right at home at Lark Hall, a venue that recently expanded to include a Dead-inspired wine and coffee bar downstairs dubbed The Eleven. The lengthy rendition commanded your attention and was enough to win over any of the Heads in the audience who still weren’t sure of the greatness happening before our ears and eyes.   

    Here Comes Sunshine: Mikaela Davis and Southern Star wowed the Lark Hall crowd with their Grateful Dead cover on 12/7/23.

    What started as a chilled-out version of “Leave it Alone” soon boiled over into blues-rock territory before seamlessly finding the opening chords of “Promise,” the second single from And Southern Star. With the crowd fully engaged and swaying to the up-tempo vibe and colorful riffs, the band’s synergy and skill were on full display. As the momentum continued to build, perhaps the most “rockin’” song of the night came next with a jammed-out version of “Don’t Stop Now,” featuring one of multi-instrumentalist Cian McCarthy’s best solos of the night.

    Pausing to thank the audience for coming out and commenting on how nice it was to be playing Lark Hall for the first time, Mikaela then broke the news that she’s already looking forward to coming back in a few months with her pals (and fellow 2023 Lark Hall alumni), Circles Around the Sun.

    Talking from the heart about how special it is to play music live, she also mentioned the best way to directly support touring artists is by picking up some of their merch at the gigs. Davis and Southern Star would then bring the main portion of the show to a close with a beautiful rendition of “Pure Divine Love,” before returning for a luscious encore of “Other Lover” from Mikaela’s debut 2018 album, Delivery.  

    After wrapping up their final show of the year with a hometown throwdown in Rochester, Mikaela Davis and Southern Star already have their sights firmly set on 2024. The band has just announced a full slate of new tour dates alongside psychedelic, Dead-inspired prog jammers Circles Around Sun. The collaborative tour is set to feature several New York dates with stops at Brooklyn Bowl, Ithaca’s Deep Dive, and Buffalo Iron Works.   

    Mikaela Davis | December 7, 2023 | Lark Hall | Albany, NY 

    Setlist: Cinderella > In My Groove, Home in the Country, Get Gone, Far From You, Here Comes Sunshine, Leave it Alone > Promise, Don’t Stop Now, Pure Divine Love

    Encore: Other Lover

  • Eddies Music Awards Hall of Fame Announces Sixth Class

    The sixth class of inductees for the Capital Region Thomas Edison (Eddies) Music Hall of Fame has been announced. Inductees include artists from a variety of genres like classical, folk, jazz, and electronic music, a pioneering hip-hop songwriter, and two individuals who chronicled the local music scene as journalists.

    The late Jackie Alper, the late Nick Brignola, George Guarino, David Alan Miller, the late Pauline Oliveros, Margie Rosenkranz, Billy Waring, and Don Wilcock will be inducted into the Eddies Music Hall of Fame on Monday, March 25, 2024 at Universal Preservation Hall.

    The Eddies ceremony is open to the public and includes musical performances, a social hour, videos on the musical career of each inductee, and acceptance speeches. This class brings the total number of inductees to 40 since 2019. An aluminum engraved plaque honoring each recipient is permanently hung at UPH. The 2024 slate was chosen by an advisory council made up of professionals in the local music field.

    The induction ceremony precedes the annual Eddies Music Awards, which will be held on Sunday, April 21 at Proctors in Schenectady.

    About the Eddies Inductees

    Jackie Alper sang with the Almanac Singers, which included Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Burl Ives. After, she helped found the Weavers, introducing a 16-year-old Ronnie Gilbert to Pete, Lee, and Freddie Hellerman, taking part in the “Great Folk Music Scare of the 1950s and 60s.” Alper hosted WRPI’s “Mostly Folk for Mostly Folks” radio show for at least 25 years starting in 1971. She also turned her husband Joe Alper’s 30,000 music photographs into one of the folk revival’s most meticulously documented archives. Together, they played a key role in supporting Caffè Lena in its early years, often housing musicians including Bob Dylan at their Schenectady home. She passed away in 2007. 

    Troy native Nick Brignola was a well-respected baritone sax player in jazz, as well as a band leader. During his career, he shared the stage with jazz greats including Phil Woods, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, and Pepper Adams, and recorded 20 albums of his own. His 1981 album L.A. Bound was nominated for a GRAMMY, and has topped many annual DownBeat and JazzTimes critic and reader polls as “Best Baritone Saxophonist.” He taught jazz theory and history at several local colleges and helped start a jazz education program at the College of Saint Rose. He passed away in 2002.

    George Guarino created Albany’s music television show Real George’s Backroom (1981-91) and Buzz magazine (1985-95). He was passionate about spotlighting original music bands of that era while introducing the dance floor to 80’s new wave, punk, industrial, and indie music as a featured DJ at Albany’s infamous 288 Lark (1981-87) and QE2 (1987-90) clubs. He was also a DJ at WRPI. Guarino has developed a reputation since 2005 as one of the area’s prominent clinical hypnosis practitioners.  

    Seven-time GRAMMY nominee David Alan Miller has been music director and conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra since 1992. During his tenure, the ASO has released more than 30 albums, with two winning GRAMMYs. In 1994, he founded Dogs of Desire, an 18-member ensemble that has commissioned over 150 new works from emerging American composers. He has guest conducted with most major U.S orchestras, as well as many in Europe, Australia, and the Far East, and serves as artistic advisor to the Little Orchestra Society (NYC) and the Sarasota Orchestra (Fl.).

    Pauline Oliveros was an American composer, accordionist and central figure in the development of post-World War II experimental and electronic music. A Houston native, she relocated to Upstate NY in 1981 after many years teaching and performing in California. She developed a ground-breaking music theory called “Sonic Meditations” and founded the term Deep Listening, a practice of profound sonic awareness that came from her childhood fascination with sounds. Known for her works in composition, improvisation, and electro-acoustics, she was a Distinguished Professor of Music at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she founded the Center for Deep Listening. She passed away in 2016.

    Margie Rosenkranz has been the executive artistic director of the Eighth Step Coffee House since 1987. Founded in 1967 in the basement of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Albany, the organization is renowned nationally for its presentation of top contemporary singer-songwriters, as well as social justice work, now seen at Proctors. The Schenectady native, born into a musical family, is an accomplished vocalist and has also served as artistic director of the Great Hudson River Revival, a long-standing music and environmental summer festival.  

    An unsung hero of hip-hop, Harlem native William “Billy Bill” Waring began his musical career as a b-boy with longtime friends Kurtis Walker and producer Danny Harris. He got his first taste of hip-hop music at DJ Kool Herc parties and from 1980-84 he penned the classic songs “Hard Times,” “Basketball,” “You Gotta Believe” and “Games People Play,” and co-wrote much of the Fat Boys’ first album. His music has been used in films and television shows such as Krush Groove, Empire, Black Monday, Hip Hop Uncovered, and more. 

    Finally, Don Wilcock has spent a career elevating the New York Capital Region arts scene into international recognition. Founder and president of the Northeast Blues Society, he helped boost the careers of local artists Albert Cummings and Tas Cru to worldwide touring success and produced the Fleet Blues Festival, a three-stage event featuring the world’s hottest blues stars. He founded “Kite,” the area’s first arts weekly, in 1970. His biography of Buddy Guy, Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues, helped propel Guy from a club act to the biggest living star in the genre.

    Tickets for the Eddies Music Awards are on sale now through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., or online.

  • Coming in January to Empire Live in Albany, The Extreme Music Awards

    The inaugural Extreme Music Awards will be held at Empire Live in Albany on Saturday, January 13. The awards show celebrates the most extreme music acts in the 518 Capital Region of Upstate New York.

    Extreme Music Awards lineup

    The Extreme Music Awards is the conception of Mike Valente of Upstate Black N Blue Productions who then assembled the team of RadioRadioX, Capital Underground, That Fuzzing Rock Show and 518Scene.com. All five of these entertainment media forces joined together to bring the inaugural event to Albany.

    Attendees will be able to enjoy a full concert experience by house band, Uncle SAMM, in addition to watching the awards ceremony. In between presenters, fans can also look forward to a raffle for a chance to win prizes like signed drum heads, guitars, gift certificates, and more.

    Check out the nominees and categories below and get your tickets for the Extreme Music Awards here.

    The Extreme Music Awards will be held on Saturday January 13 at Empire Live on N. Pearl St. in Albany, starting at 6:00pm.

    Tickets to this event are limited and expected to sell out, with general on sale here:

    CATEGORIES & PRESENTERS

    Best Death Metal Band: Chris Pervelis/Kyle Eddy (Internal Bleeding)

    Best Black Metal Band: Mike Score (All Out War)

    Best Doom/Goth/Stoner Band: Matt Byrne (Hatebreed)

    Best Power Metal Band: Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus)

    Best Progressive/Math Metal Band: Marc Rizzo (Soulfly/Ill Nino)

    Best Hair/Glam/Sleaze Metal Band: Nick Miller (Lethal Lipstick)

    Best Thrash Metal Band: Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus)

    Best Grindcore Band: Sal Lococo (Sworn Enemy)

    Best Metalcore Band: Danny Schuler (Biohazard)

    Best Punk Band: Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) (Video Presenter)

    Best Hardcore Band: Mike Gallo/Vinnie Stigma (Agnostic Front)

    Best Beatdown Hardcore Band: Ray Mazzola/Mike Valente (Brick by Brick)

    Best Hardcore Punk Band: Jimmy Gestapo (Murphy’s Law)

    Best Metal Video: Drew Stone (Stone Films/The NYHC Chronicles)

    Best Live Performance: Art Fredette/Rob Smittix (RadioRadioX)

    Most Brutal Mosh Pit: Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste)(Video Presenter)

    Best Merch: Michael “Fuzz” Kebabjian (That Fuzzing Rock Show)

    Album of the Year: Ralph Renna (Capital Underground)

    Lifetime Achievement Award (25+ Years in the Scene): Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (Overkill)

    Best New Band (Less Than 2 Years in the Scene): Mario & Kim Cangemi (Upstate Records)

    Best Veteran Band (10+ Years in the Scene): Brendan Manley (518scene.com)

    THE NOMINEES

    Best Death Metal Band: Tyranize, Skinless, Invoke Thy Wrath, Intrusive

    Best Black Metal Band: Malefic, Blackbraid, Morticide, Vile Tyrant

    Best Doom/Goth/Stoner Band: Gozer, Ike’s Wasted World, Gunther Weezul, Carnwennan

    Best Power Metal Band: Deveria, Alloy Reign, Frozen Sun, The Antarctican

    Best Progressive/Math Metal Band: Deveria, Psychomanteum, The Phoenix and the Raven, MIRA

    Best Hair/Glam/Sleaze Metal Band: The Erotics, Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band, Untaymed, Mystery Girl

    Best Thrash Metal Band: Hate The Adversary, FACED, Concrete, Ice Queen

    Best Grindcore Band: Escuela Grind, URINE, Horse Grave, Vaginal Fungus

    Best Metalcore Band: Concrete, Oakheart, Faded Line, Downswing

    Best Punk Band: The Hauntings, VinTri Hill, Nick Rossi, Lurking Class

    Best Hardcore Band: Violent By Design, Confinement 413, Halo Bite, Cold Kiss

    Best Beatdown Hardcore Band: Wrong Move, Torn Out, From Within, Adhara

    Best Hardcore Punk Band: Halo Bite, Murderer’s Row, Gusto, Wet Specimens

    Best Metal Video: Alloy Reign – “Blood Demon”, Downswing – “Bound to Misery”, The Antarctican – “I is the Lie”, Freya – “Nothingness or God”

    Best Live Performance: Alloy Reign, Tyranize, Joe Mansman and the Midnight Revival Band, Flatwounds

    Most Brutal Mosh Pit: Invoke Thy Wrath, Concrete, Assault on the Living, Downswing

    Best Merch: Alloy Reign, The Erotics, Malefic, Concrete

    Album of the Year: Psychomanteum – Full Fathom Five, Blackbraid – Blackbraid II, Adhara – Abandoned Future, Urine – Excreta Lotium Miasma

    Lifetime Achievement Award (25+ Years in the Scene): Paul Rukwid, Jeff Caro, John Glassbrenner, Bob Riley

    Best New Band (Less Than 2 Years in the Scene): Alloy Reign, Flatwounds, Confinement 413, Outta My Head

    Best Veteran Band (10+ Years in the Scene): Tyranize, The Erotics, Murderer’s Row, Concrete

  • 47th Annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival Announces 2024 Lineup

    The 47th Annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival will return for a full two-day and two-stage exhilarating festival experience this summer at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

    Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival
    Saratoga.com

    Founded in 1978 by jazz impresario George Wein, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is the fifth longest-consecutive-running jazz festival in North America. Initially founded as “the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga,” the weekend event was renamed Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in 1998. With an inside seating capacity of 5,200, and lawn seating of 20,000, the two-day, two-stage festival continues to be one of the largest jazz music events in North America, beloved by audiences for both the remarkable annual line-up of international jazz talent and the spectacular setting at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in the idyllic Saratoga Spa State Park.

    Featuring a roster of twenty-two musical groups and ten festival debuts, the 47th Annual Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival line-up is co-headlined by four premier contemporary artists: Lake Street Dive, Norah Jones, Laufey, and Samara Joy; alongside jazz and blues legends Stanley Clarke with his band N*4Ever, Terence Blanchard Sextet and Coco Montoya. Also highlighting the line-up is the next generation of jazz stars Yussef Dayes, Joey Alexander, Miguel Zenon, Tia Fuller, Theo Crocker, Helen Sung and Sara Caswell, and today’s most electrifying Afro-Cuban and funk bands Cory Henry, Cimafunk, The New Orleans Groove Masters and Pedrito Martinez Group. 

    From jazz to roots, funk, blues, pop, indie and beyond, the festival will bring its signature blend of world-class artists and ensembles, solidifying its place as an international destination and a ‘must-stop’ on the 2024 festival trail.

    Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival
    Fantasy

    Headliner Lake Street Dive will make their highly anticipated festival debut on Saturday with their spirited eclecticism and joyously soulful music. As heard on their critically acclaimed album Obviously, the Boston-bred band possesses a keen talent for combining sociopolitical commentary with immediately catchy pop gems. 

    Returning following her triumphant festival debut in 2023 is “Silky-voiced rising jazz star” (New York Times) Samara Joy, a two-time GRAMMY winner and the second jazz performer in history to win the award for best new artist.

    Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival
    WAMU

    Returning by popular demand to headline the festival on Sunday is multi-GRAMMY winning singer and pianist Norah Jones, who played the festival in 2019. Named the top jazz artist of the 2000-2009 decade by Billboard, Norah has won nine GRAMMY Awards, including five for her 2002 solo debut, Away with Me. “The one to watch” on Sunday’s line-up for her festival debut is Laufey, a 24-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter whose modern jazz sound has won her both a GRAMMY nomination and millions of fans on TikTok. Her new album Bewitched reached more than 5.7 million streams on its first day and set a Spotify record as the biggest debut for a jazz album. Most recently, Norah and Laufey collaborated on a new two-track single Christmas With You, which was released on November 10.

    Stanley Clarke’s website

    Music icons returning to the festival include jazz and blues legends Stanley Clarke with his exciting new band N*4Ever, which is a celebration of his long-time collaborator Chick Corea and their time together in Return to Forever; seven-time GRAMMY winner, two-time Oscar nominee and Opera composer Terence Blanchard with his Sextet, performing the music from his 2005 GRAMMY nominated album Flow, and blues guitar virtuoso and vocalist Coco Montoya. Representing the next generation of jazz talent on the stage is captivating composer and drummer Yussef Dayes, fan-favorite jazz pianist Joey Alexander who will celebrate his 21st birthday at the festival, 2021 Guggenheim Fellow and jazz pianist and composer Helen Sung, and GRAMMY-nominated jazz violinist Sara Caswell.

    Cory Henry’s website

    Highlighting the weekend is also today’s most electrifying Afro-Cuban and funk bands including progressive R&B artist Cory Henry, GRAMMY-nominated Afro-Cuban rockstar Cimafunk for his festival debut, The New Orleans Groove Masters featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis & Shannon Powell, GRAMMY-nominated Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martinez with his band for his fifth festival appearance,and hard-grooving, soulful crowd-pleaser Olatuja!, which reunites Alicia and Michael Olatuja in music.

    2024 FREIHOFER’S SARATOGA JAZZ FESTIVAL LINE-UP

    SATURDAY, JUNE 29

    Amphitheater:

    Lake Street Dive*

    Samara Joy

    Yussef Dayes*

    Joey Alexander Trio with special guest Theo Croker

    Cimafunk* with special guest Pedrito Martinez

    The New Orleans Groove Masters* featuring Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis &

    Shannon Powell

    Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage:

    Tia Fuller

    Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra*

    Theo Croker

    Coco Montoya*

    Harold Lopez-Nussa*

    Sara Caswell Quartet*

    SUNDAY, JUNE 30

    Amphitheater:

    Norah Jones

    Laufey*

    Stanley Clarke N*4Ever

    Terence Blanchard Sextet

    Cory Henry

    Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage:

    Pedrito Martinez Group

    Miguel Zenon Quartet

    Olatuja!

    Helen Sung presents Quartet+*

    Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Centennial Celebration of Max Roach, Bud Powell & J.J. Johnson featuring Clay Jenkins, Steve Wilson, Steve Davis, Mike Moreno, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel

    In addition to two non-stop days of great music on two stages, fans can also enjoy a host of amenities including a new craft beer tasting village, in partnership with New York State Brewers Association, new and diverse food offerings, a fine arts and crafts fair, and artist CD signings. Guests are welcome to bring in their own food and beverages, as well as blankets, tents and lawn umbrellas. Parking for the event is free. Performances will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 29 and at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 30. 

    Tickets for the festival start at $80 and will be available online here beginning January 5 at 10am to the general public and starting on December 14 at 10am to SPAC members (tiered by level). Members will also receive a discount of 15-20% (depending on level) on their ticket purchase. Two-day passes are also available for a savings of $20 off per pass (offer ends 6/15 and can’t be combined with other discounts). Children 12 and under receive 50% off tickets in the amphitheater and are free on the lawn. Full-time students with a school issued ID receive 25% off tickets in the amphitheater, or $28 on the lawn (student ID must be presented at will call).

    For more information, visit this website.

  • Lift Concert Series Returns to Troy Music Hall in 2024

    Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has announced the return of the popular Lift Concert Series in 2024. Curated by Organ Colossal, these performances give the audience the unique opportunity to sit on the historic Music Hall stage with the artists while they perform. 

    lift series troy music hall

    The Lift Concert Series presents performances of new, independent music featuring regional performers, curated by local artists Sam Torres and Sophia Subbayya Vastek. The audience is invited to be seated on stage, with the musicians, creating an intimate concert experience. Concerts are designed to last about an hour and, after the performance, concert-goers are encouraged to enjoy the rest of the evening at one of Troy’s many restaurants or breweries. All concerts begin at 6pm

    lift series troy music hall

    Lift Concert Series Lineup

    January 24 – Sophia Subbayya Vastek

    Described as performing with “passion and profound tenderness” (Second Inversion) and “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail), pianist and songwriter Sophia Subbayya Vastek moves quietly between musical worlds. Her most recent LP, In Our Softening (2022), features nine of her own piano compositions. The album was called “one of the very best things I’ve heard all year” by longtime music journalist Steve Smith (Night After Night). She released her debut record Histories (Innova Recordings) in 2017, and more recently, an EP of the complete piano works by composer Lili Boulanger, entitled Lili (reissued 2023). In 2022, Sophia was recognized as a NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Music/Sound. She is a co-founder of Organ Colossal, a nonprofit that produces musical projects in her hometown of Troy, NY. She and her husband also run a music series out of their home, a converted church building lovingly called Troy Listening Room. This performance is sponsored by Artist Pianos.

    February 14 – Connor Armbruster with special guest Ian Cotter Wishlist

    After exploring the vast sanctuary of an empty church in 2022’s Masses, Armbruster inhabits a new setting with polar opposite qualities for his sophomore release with Dear Life Records, Can I Sit Here. The music, colored by distortion and cutting rawness befitting its subject matter, was created and recorded live in mono in the small back room of an apartment. Acoustic violin takes a backseat to Armbruster’s heavily distorted electric violin on this record as he improvises over textures simultaneously warm and dissonant. It is a reflection on loss and the feelings that follow a death, the delicate balance between despair, celebration, nostalgia, isolation, and kinship. Armbruster is based in Troy, NY and is behind a multi-faceted body of work exploring performance art, electric violin, Irish fiddle, traditional music, field recording, dance, and theatre. In addition to his solo projects, he plays electric violin and guitar for Blue Ranger, is a member of Hold On Honeys, and performs and records with numerous other artists in the capital region. He was musical director and lead composer for Troy Foundry Theatre’s original musical, City of Myth: Illium Sings. Outside of performance, Armbruster is a cartoonist and music educator, and proud parent of a 4-year-old.

    Thoughtfully eclectic, Ian Cotter Wishlist draws inspiration from fellow songwriters, composers, authors, visual artists, and the natural world to craft their recordings and live performances.

    March 27 – Aubrey Haddard & MAYSUN

    Aubrey Haddard is a self-proclaimed escape artist. When the tides change and personal growth calls for emotional upheaval, Aubrey seeks refuge in her creative discipline. Carving out a boundary-less space to explore the mysteries of the human experience and the vastness of the physical world, she creates a sonic landscape that is both epic and deeply personal. Dreamy synthscapes, overdriven guitars and pulsing electronic drums lay the foundation for Haddard’s vocals, heralded by critics as “harrowingly beautiful” (Clash Magazine) and “herculean” (The Line of Best Fit). Calling upon the inspirations of powerhouse PJ Harvey and dance music giant LCD Soundsystem alike, Haddard blends the analog and the digital with eccentricity. Themes of Greek mythology and Japanese literature weave their way through her stories, inviting listeners to peek into her subconscious and share in the escape. Haddard only leaves a few breadcrumbs and shoots for a surprise with each release. Moving on from her acoustic and minimalist debut EP Adult Lullabies,  her knotty and soulful full length album Blue Part received widespread critical acclaim and earned her the title of Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year at the 2018 Boston Music Awards before she left to pursue her a career in New York City. Leaning into new, pop-driven inspirations and the chaos of the NYC scene, Awake And Talking proved Haddard’s ability to dive head first into new sounds and set the stage for her current project. Splitting her time between the far corners of New York state, you might find her in a library, at a Yankee game or jumping into a swimming hole. Aubrey Haddard may be a rising star in the indie scene, and one to watch for those interested in the future of experimental electronic music but “above all, it’s humanity that drives Haddard’s art” (Under The Radar).

    MAYSUN is a composer and sound artist known for his unique blend of drumming expertise and sound design, creating immersive atmospheric soundscapes. With a focus on the use of physical space to shape and manipulate sounds, he crafts compositions that serve as soundtracks to his life events. MAYSUN’s work is characterized by an innovative approach that transforms real-life sounds into musical tones, skillfully interweaving the dimensions of time and space within its compositions. His artistic journey is driven by a deep passion for exploring spatial audio and a desire to create meaningful emotional connections through his music. MAYSUN’s latest release, ‘Timelines,’ represents his ongoing commitment to the craft of sound artistry, inviting listeners on a deep ambient introspective journey.

    May 1 – Rafiq Bhatia

    The New York Times proclaims “Rafiq Bhatia is writing his own musical language,” describing him as “a guitarist who refuses to be pinned to one genre, culture or instrument.” “His transient approach, combined with his obsession of assiduously studying the past in order to break cleanly from it, makes him one of the most intriguing figures in music today.”  Bhatia’s 2018 album Breaking English (Anti- Records) finds a visceral common ground between ecstatic avant-jazz, mournful soul, tangled strings and building-shaking electronics, resulting in a “stunningly-focused new sound” (Chicago Reader) that “resemble[s] science fiction on a blockbuster scale” (Washington Post). His 2020 EP, Standards Vol. 1 (Anti-) renders repertoire from the American songbook “completely deconstructed, infused with brand new textures and electronic effects, dreamlike and beautiful” (BBC).  Since 2014, Bhatia has been a member of the trio Son Lux; together, they have released several critically-acclaimed albums and given hundreds of performances internationally. A voracious collaborator, Bhatia has also worked with a multitude of artists across generations and musical communities, including Arooj Aftab, Holland Andrews, Hanna Benn, Ian Chang, Sam Dew, Dave Douglas, Marcus Gilmore, Mary Halvorson, Billy Hart, Shahzad Ismaily, Vijay Iyer, Kassa Overall, Kronos Quartet, Okkyung Lee, Nina Moffitt, Qasim Naqvi, Kassa Overall, Chris Pattishall, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Alex Somers, Moses Sumney, Anjna Swaminathan, Rajna Swaminathan, and David Virelles.

    Tickets are available now at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office, 30 Second Street, Troy, Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. via phone, (518) 273-0038, or online at www.troymusichall.org.

  • The College of Saint Rose Announces Closing, Music Industry Programs in Limbo

    The College of Saint Rose in Albany has announced the institution will not operate beyond the Spring 2024 semester, citing enormous financial debt and insufficient resources to continue. The loss is significant for the area’s economy, with many wondering what will happen to the pristine academic buildings and equipment. One of the biggest losses is the valuable Music Industry program.

    The College of Saint Rose was cited by Billboard as having one of the best music business programs in North America, setting students up for success in the fast-paced environment that is the music industry. Those in the program were instructed in three areas of study: songwriting and composition, audio recording and music production, and music business and entrepreneurship. Those interested in the business side of the industry could also enroll in the Music Business program, learning more about music management, publishing, entertainment law, marketing and sales, and more.

    The Music Industry Program allowed students to learn many different and important skills. Featuring state-of-the-art recording studios, students could learn to engineer, mix, and compose music, as well as use the college’s audio post-production rooms, television and radio studios, computer labs, and the showcase studio. Students could even learn how to press vinyl in the analog recording and record-cutting station.

    One of the most interesting parts of the program was the in-house record label Rose Record, which celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. The label allowed students to work in different departments, from engineering entire records or singles, radio promotion and distribution, voting on potential clients, or as the potential artist working with the company. The website for the label states its mission is to “develop an elite catalog and promote original music by creating and collaborating through the innovations of rising talent,” something of critical importance that is now lost with the decision to close the institution.

    The music program required internships, setting students up in some of the top cities in the industry, including Nashville, New York City, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, and more. Another interesting about the Music Industry program was the senior Capstone, where students create a full-length CD written, produced, engineered, performed, and recorded in the Saints and Sinners Recording Studio. Alumni of the State Rose program went on to work at various places, including Equal Vision Records, Hopeless Records, SONY, ASCAP, Universal, and more.

    The past few years took a toll on the program, with several cuts and faculty changes. News 10 in Albany reported that alumni and adjunct professor at the college, Kelly Bird, is looking into trying to save the Hearst Communications Center, turning it into an independent center.

    One of the biggest losses, besides the music program itself, is the loss of the beautiful and acoustically superior Massry Center for the Arts. It was a creative showcase not only for the Saint Rose community, but for distinguished artists, musicians, vocalists, and orchestras from around the world, featuring 46,000 square feet. Picotte Recital Hall featured geothermal heating and cooling helping to make it more energy-efficient than a comparable, conventionally constructed building. Unfortunately, the venue hadn’t had performances since COVID, leaving the venue now to collect dust until people buy it.

    The College of Saint Rose’s Music Business and Music Industry programs set up many for success, teaching students valuable production, songwriting, management, and business skills to help them in the difficult music industry. Unfortunately, such an outstanding program is being lost with the closure of the institution, and hopefully, those in the program can find another equally good institution to finish their studies.

  • Disco Biscuits “Why We Dance Tour” stops in Albany and Buffalo in March

    Trancefusion pioneers the Disco Biscuits will embark on a lengthy winter/spring tour to start 2024, with shows at Empire Live in Albany and Town Ballroom in Buffalo, named the “Why We Dance Tour.”

    Disco Biscuits to stop in Albany and Buffalo in March
    photo by Brian Ferguson

    With an impressive touring schedule in 2023 – more than 70 shows, with three more lined up for late December – and the return of a Disco Biscuits festival, BISCOLAND, the band is not slowing down in the coming new year.

    The “Why We Dance Tour” includes 13 previously announced dates, and adds 20 more shows, with a few more still to be announced.

    photo by Conor McMahon

    Bassist Marc Brownstein shares the excitement for the band looking ahead to 2024:

    We are so excited for these late winter and spring dates! 2024 starts off with a bang and is filled with amazing venues, some of which are new to us like Stage AE, College Street, and the Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville, while some are old faves like the Kirby, the HOBs in Boston and New Orleans, and ultimately the Tabernacle. We are looking forward to heating up the country from west to east this winter and spring!

    Marc Brownstein

    The Disco Biscuits last performed in Buffalo and Albany in January and February 2023, respectively.

    VIP Packages will be available for all Why We Dance Tour dates as part of this week’s pre-sale and on-sale, and will include early entry to each venue and early access to merch, pre-show soundcheck, group photo with the band, limited edition show poster, and a commemorative laminate & lanyard.

    Tickers are now on sale here.

    Disco Biscuits to stop in Albany and Buffalo in March

    Disco Biscuits “Why We Dance” 2023-2024 Tour Dates

    12/28 – New York, NY – Palladium Times Square (Late Show)
    12/30 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall !
    12/31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
    1/25 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Casino Ballroom
    1/26 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Casino Ballroom
    1/27 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
    1/28 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
    2/1 – Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre
    2/2 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park
    2/3 – Tucson, AZ – Gem & Jam Festival
    2/5 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
    2/6 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
    2/7 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
    2/9 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater *
    2/10 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater *
    2/11 – TBA
    3/7 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
    3/8 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore
    3/9 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
    3/10 – Charlottesville, VA – Jefferson Theater
    3/13 – Albany, NY – Empire Live
    3/14 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall
    3/15 – Portland, ME – State Theatre
    3/16 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
    3/28 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center
    3/29 – TBA
    3/30 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
    3/31 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
    4/2 – Louisville, KY – Mercury Ballroom
    4/4 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
    4/5 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
    4/6 – Dallas, TX – Longhorn Ballroom
    4/7 – Burnet, TX – Texas Eclipse Festival
    4/11 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
    4/12 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl
    4/13 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
    4/14 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre
    6/20-23 – Rothbury, MI – Electric Forest Festival