The Powers Park Concert Series returns to Powers Park in Troy for its 20th Anniversary season. The free events are held every Saturday starting July 8 and ending Aug. 26, with 6:00 p.m. as the start time for most events.
The series kicks off with the Adirondack Muscle Car Show, which later features the bands Beatin’ the Odds and Skeeter Creek. Registration starts at 2:00 p.m. and the show ends at 6:00 p.m.. It costs $20 to register, with spectators able to attend for free. 16 trophies are to be awarded, with the proceeds being donated to H.O.P.E. animal rescue.
Upcoming Dates
Adirondack Muscle Car Show – July 8 at 2:00 p.m.
Beatin’ the Odds – July 8 at 3:00 p.m.
Skeeter Creek – July 8 at 6:00 p.m.
The Beginning – July 15 at 6:00 p.m.
B-Street Band (Fane Family Night) – July 22 at 6:00 p.m.
The Green Island Gazebo (GIG for short) has announced its 2023 Summer lineup, marking the 20th year of the concert series. Located just north of Albany and across the river from Troy, the village’s venue plans to hold concerts from July 5 until August 30.
Set up in River Park on the north end of Hudson Avenue, GIG’s summer concert series has been a free event supporting local artists and the community for years, additionally hosting the Festival of Trees in December.
Through nine different shows including unique themes, food specials, and local talents, the venue’s packed schedule for Wednesday nights will surely entertain those of all ages.
When it comes to available food options, volunteers prepare and serve the meals to attendees, along with a group of bakers who donate their products to the concert-goers.
A lot of the same bands also reappear from last year’s lineup, setting up even more familiar faces for the local crowd.
All concerts take place at the River Park Gazebo on Hudson Ave. In the event of rain, events will continue at a different location under the Collar City Bridge on Hudson Avenue.
GIG Concert Schedule (with Food Specials)
July 5 – The Accents (fried chicken breast and strawberry shortcake)
July 12 – NY Players (mac & cheese and rice pudding)
July 19 – Get Up Jack (corned beef sandwich and mint chocolate chip ice cream)
July 26 – The Oldies Show (pulled pork slider and cookies and cream ice cream)
August 2 – Swing Docs (sausage & peppers and fruit cups)
August 9 – Capt. Squeeze (hot dogs, mac salad, and rice pudding)
August 16 – Lustre Kings (steak sandwich and banana split ambrosia)
August 23 – Big Fez (Hawaiian chicken sandwich and peach pie with ice cream)
Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers have expanded their forthcoming tour into November, adding ten stops to an already jam-packed fall lineup. The group, which features lifelong collaborators and real-life brothers Victor, Joseph, Roy “Futureman,” and Regi Wooten, recently announced its highly anticipated reunion tour, making stops in NY cities including Troy, Buffalo, and Brooklyn.
Lauded by Rolling Stone as one of the “Top 10 Bassists of All Time,” Victor Wooten has captivated audiences for over four decades with his dynamic stage presence and unparalleled technical chops. Wooten’s eclectic repertoire includes collaborations with the likes of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones (of which he is a founding member), Chick Corea, Dave Matthews Band, India Arie, Keb’ Mo’, and more recently, Cory Wong. Widely regarded as one of the greatest living bassists today, Wooten continues to share his passion for music through numerous modalities. The multidisciplinary artist has authored two books and has mentored thousands of students at his own Center for Music and Nature since the year 2000.
Remarkably accomplished in their own right, each of the Wooten brothers bring a unique flavor to the live experience. Joseph Wooten, also known as the “Hands of Soul,” has been the keyboardist/vocalist for the Steve Miller Band since 1993. He is a renowned composer, arranger, author, and motivational speaker whose collaborations include work with Whitney Houston, George Clinton, and Kenny G.
Roy “Futureman” Wooten is also a founding member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and a five-time GRAMMY award winner, famously known for his trademark inventions the “Drumitar” and the “RoyEI” keyboard. A philosopher, researcher, filmmaker, and educator, Roy’s impressive solo career, symphonic works, and “Black Mozart” projects span the genres of classical, jazz, soul, gospel, and spoken word.
Regi Wooten’s signature guitar style of chording, slapping, tapping, and virtuosic strumming has earned him worldwide notoriety and comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and Chuck Berry. In recent years, Regi has performed with many artists including the legendary Ginger Baker. Known worldwide as “The Teacha,” Regi currently teaches music in Nashville, TN, and has taught many notable musicians.
Together The Wooten Brothers bring an uncanny level of experience, originality, and expertise to the stage. Playing together since childhood, the formidable group has shared stages with the likes of Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Ramsey Lewis, Stephanie Mills, War, and others. Fans can expect an infectious, colorful, and exuberant production that showcases The Wooten Brothers’ impenetrable creative chemistry. An amalgam of original songs and choice classics, each show offers a one-of-a-kind adventure that defies the bounds of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass.
On the forthcoming tour, Victor shares, “Being in a band with my brothers is the best thing for me. It’s like a family reunion every time we get together to play. They are my teachers and I feel most at home with them.”This will be the brothers’ first tour together as a band since the untimely death of their saxophone-playing brother Rudy a few years ago. In the forthcoming year, The Wooten Brothers will release their first studio album in several decades.
The music we are working on at the moment is a collection of new and old. We have songs that were recorded decades ago that have never been heard by anyone. We also have newer music that was recorded over the last year. It will be a nice collection of old and new. With the older music, we want to introduce the world to Rudy, our saxophone-playing brother who passed away in 2010. Be prepared to have your mind blown.
The Wooten Brothers
The forthcoming Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers tour will kick off on Sept. 28 in Chattanooga, TN. For tour dates, tickets, and info, visit here.
Victor Wooten and The Wooten Brothers Tour Dates
09/28 – Chattanooga, TN – The Barrelhouse Ballroom^
09/29 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre^
09/30 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse^
10/01 – Asheville, NC – The Outpost^
10/03 – Troy, NY – Troy Savings Bank Music Hall^
10/04 – Philadelphia, PA – Brooklyn Bowl^
10/05 – Silver Springs, MD – The Fillmore^
10/06 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live^
10/07 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel^
10/08 – Portland, ME – State Theatre^
10/10 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground^
10/11 – Boston, MA – Citizens House of Blues^
10/12 – Wilkes-Barre, PA – FM Kirby Center^
10/13 – Roanoke, VA – Jefferson Center
10/14 – Buffalo, NY – CMC International Jazz Festival
11/01 – Saint Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
11/02 – Nashville, TN – Riverside Revival
11/03 – Germantown, TN – GPAC
11/04 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue
11/06 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
11/07 – Cincinnati, OH – Hamilton Memorial Hall
11/08 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre
11/09 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
11/10 – Evanston, IL – SPACE
11/11 – Elgin, IL – ECC Arts Center
01/11 – Denver, CO – Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom
01/12 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
01/13 – Hamilton, MT – Bitterroot Performing Arts Council
01/14 – Bozeman, MT – The Elm
01/16 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
01/17 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
01/18 – Eugene, OR – The John G. Shedd Institute For The Arts
01/19 – Chico, CA – The Big Room at Sierra Nevada Brewery
Rockin’ on the River 2023 announced the four-show series will return to its former location of River Front Park in Troy on Wednesday, June 28, July 12, July 26, and Aug. 9.
Photo by Dave DeCrescente.
Each concert at the Rockin’ on the River 2023 series is free to attend, happening from 5:30-9 p.m. and features vendors local to downtown Troy. Free parking is available on-street in designated areas and throughout the district, with several lots and garages all within walking distance of the show.
We are excited for Rockin’ on the River to return with four shows to one of its former original locations River Front Parks. This event brings a lot of buzz and excitement in Downtown Troy. We focus a lot on supporting our local bands as you’ll notice with our line-up, everything about Rockin’ on the River supports local, with this location we are such a short walk from one end of the downtown district to the other, it’s easy to enjoy great shopping before the show, and food and drinks after.
Olivia Clemente, Executive Director, Downtown Troy Business Improvement District.
Rockin’ on the River 2023 Lineup
June 28- Neon Avenue
Based out of Clifton Park, Neon Ave is a Grateful Dead tribute band that brings a different energy to the classic songbook, inviting audiences to jam out all night long. Kristian Montgomery & the Winterkill Band to open.
July 12- Legacy
Rockin’ on the River 2023 brings the audience back in time with Classic Rock tribute band Legacy dedicated to the “Rock Anthems” and Heartfelt Ballads of Foreigner and Journey. These timeless melodies are performed to perfection, letting the audience groove all night long. Sirsy to open.
July 26- Conehead Buddha
Conehead Buddha is an eight-piece ska-rock-funk-latin-reggae-jam-hop from New York. Josh & Tracy to open.
Aug. 9- Skeeter Creek
Skeeter Creek is a five-piece Americana band blending their own variants of country, folk, bluegrass, and rock, and is ranked among the best of the new and upcoming alternative artists. They have each toured with some of the biggest names in the industry and won several awards. Nick & Liam to open.
Held annually on June 21, the summer solstice, Make Music Day is a daylong, musical free-for-all that celebrates music in all its forms. All across the world, free music events will take place, with a great deal of events held across New York State.
Make Music Day began in France in 1982 as the Fête de la Musique and now spans over 1,000 cities in 120 countries in 2023. Make Music Concerts, unlike conventional music festivals, encourage performances by anyone who wants to participate. In the same way, performances are enjoyed by everyone who wants to attend. Ranging from classical to folk, hip hop to opera, latin jazz to punk rock, live music of all kinds can be enjoyed on Make Music Day.
Make Music Troy
The first annual Make Music Troy, a wonderful mix of free, public musical events, will debut on Wednesday, June 21. This summer, over 100 U.S. cities will join the world’s largest annual music event, with thousands of Make Music performances nationwide. Participating organizations include Troy Public Library, Troy City School District, Oakwood Community Center, The Ruck, Song City, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, and more. Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of musical expertise or age.
Make Music Troy will feature a variety of musical performances and activities throughout the day. Some highlights of Make Music Troy will include:
Year End Celebration at Tenth Street Garden – Children’s Songs & Sing Along – 2:30pm – 3:15pm
Color Run Music Celebration at School 19 – Performances by HEARD – Time TBD
Drum Making Kits at the Troy Public Library – All Day
Under the Mural Community Drum Circle at the Troy Saving Bank Musical Hall Parking Lot – Performance by Zorkie Nelson – 6:00pm-7:00pm
For those interested in participating, you can sign up here. Artists and performers sign up to note their interest. Businesses, buildings, schools, churches, and other institutions interested in hosting performances can visit the website to match with local performers.
A full schedule of events will be available and posted here.
Make Music New York
Returning for its 15th year, Make Music New York will feature an exciting roster of activations. During the week leading up to the 21st, there will be events on June 17 and 18, like Porch Stomp!, the tenth annual edition of NYC’s Americana and folk music festival featuring over one hundred musicians performing on Governors Island. Additionally, the Southeast Queens Gospelfest – an amazing lineup of gospel musicians headlined by award-winning songwriter Rich Tolvert Jr presented in partnership with NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation At Baisley Pond Par, Queens. It will also be the 15th year of the annual DIY Punk Festival, Punk Island, at the American Veterans Memorial Pier in Shore Road Park, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
Highlights for June 21 include:
Pueblo Harlem – the Afro Larin Jazz Alliance’s (ALJA) annual celebration of Hispanic heritage and cluture, which has taken place since 2014, including performances by the multi-Grammy-Award winning Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, the Fat Cats, ALJA’s pre-professional youth ensemble, and special guests from ALJA’s family of performing and traching artists – at Johnny Hartman Plaza in Hamilton Heights. Presented in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation and The Brotherhood Sister Sol.
Street Studios: From 12-4 pm in front of the Harman / JBL store at 19 E Houston Street in Soho. A small mobile recording studio will be set up on the shop’s sidewalk. Gust producers will invite the public and passerby to contribute original audio (by singing, rapping, playing an instrument) which they then record, mix, and loop and play back to create spontaneous, collaborative productions. This season’s producers are The Beatbox House, a NYC-based collective of World Champion Beatboxers comprised of five core members: Gene Shinozaki, Kenny Urban, NaPoM, Amit and Chris Celiz.
Paul’s Pianopalooza: From 3-7 pm at Madison Square Park in the Flatiron District, the New York State Music Teachers Association, District 1 Manhattan-Bronx, will kick off with a piano-based marathon and a 90th birthfay celebration for beloved NYC composer and educator Paul Sheftel. Pianists of all ages and levels will perform a program of Paul’s works, including a visit from the maestro himself, to be followed with “Made in New York,” piano music by NYC composers of all stripes. Presented in partnership with the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
Mass Appeal Guitars: Hosted by NYC Guitar School, from 4:30-7 pm at Union Square Park’s south plaza. You can bring your guitar to the park and join hundreds of guitarists of all levels in Union Square, for a massive guitar strum-along of beginner friendly songs like “Redemption Song” by Bob Marley, “Seven Bridges Road” by The Eagles, and more. Free guitar lessons from twenty guitar teachers from 4:30-6:30pm, the play-along is at 6:30pm, and then stick around at 7 pm for live rock music.
Yonkers
At Riverfront Auditorium, 6pm: Library Jazz Band – Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions – 50th anniversary!
The Library Jazz Band, a new 17-piece jazz orchestra, shares originals of every track of the landmark album.
Auburn, New York, will have live piano music at Café 108 (owned and operated by Auburn Public Theater) from 11:00am to 2:30. They will also have live music in Stage Right at Auburn Public Theater from 4:00pm to 9:00pm.
Albany
The Eggwill celebrate international‘Make Music Day’on Wednesday, June 21st at 12:00 pmwith afree outdoor concert by the group Heard.
Heard is a collective of musicians that brings their skills and passion for world music, jazz and improvising together to create irresistible grooves from West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and beyond, set in a unique sonic tapestry. For this special ‘Make Music Day’ concert, they will invite the audience to sing, stomp and shake along with them, with free egg shakers for the first 100 people who arrive for the show!
In the event of inclement weather, the concert will take place on the South Concourse at the Empire State Plaza. The event is presented in cooperation with the NYS Office of General Services Special Events with support from M&T Bank.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has recently announced the anticipated return of their Summer Square Concert Series. The free concerts will be held in the Music Hall courtyard every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. beginning on July 8 and will run all the way through the summer until August 26.
The Troy Summer Square 2023 lineup presents concert goers with the opportunity to hear all types of genres from Jazz to indie/rock. The concert series’ kick off performance on July 8th will present the unorthodox Dust Bowl Faeries to the Troy community, a circus, post-punk, gypsy and psyche-folk band founded by Ryder Cooley & Hazel, a taxidermy ram who performs with the band as their spirit animal. In addition, The Summer Series will present seven more performers to their outdoor stage.
The Troy Music Hall is known for bringing forth top talent from around the state to the area as well as highlighting old and new performers from their own community. This summer will be no different as the Music Hall is prepared to take Troy on a most memorable musical journey. For more information, visit here.
Troy Summer Square 2023 Lineup
July 8th: DUST BOWL FAERIES:
A faerie-tale fusion of circus, post-punk, gypsy and psyche-folk music.
July 15th: BRONTE ROMAN:
Pop Vocalist performs lush Jazz ballads and delightfully swings to hits from the Great American Songbook.
July 22nd: CAROL DAGGS:
Pianist and vocalist, composer and arranger applying musical Jazz sounds to the auditory apparatus and soul via vocal and instrumental flow.
July 29th: JULIA ALSARRAF:
Singer and multi-instrumentalist whose songwriting ranges from contemporary folk to indie pop/rock. Her music has been described as deep, soulful, and vulnerable.
August 5th: IDA MAE SPECKER:
Fiddler, folk singer and songwriter whose music fuses original, contemporary, and traditional material, bringing heartfelt new life and relevance to the chain of American folk music.
August 12th: TRISKELE:
The Capital Region’s premier all female Irish Band! Stunning harmonies that touch your soul.
August 19th: AIVA & HAYLEY:
Singer songwriters from Latham, NY now attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. Performing covers from different genres and original music as well.
August 26th: JEANNE O’CONNOR QUARTET:
Jeanne O’Connor is a vocalist who brings her clear, expressive alto voice to pop, Latin music, and R&B.
Dan Deacon brought his colorful glitch pop to No Fun in Troy on Thursday, June 8th. This is his first tour since the pandemic, he had a huge tour planned in support (he was scheduled to play Ithaca) of his studio album from 2020, Mystic Familar, and it was just about to kick off as everything shut down.
During the downtime, Dan turned his energy towards writing numerous film scores, including the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Ascension”, and the Adam Sandler Netflix film “Hustle.” The Troy show was almost at end of a scattered tour that started in March, and even though he was pulling double duty (there was an early and a late show) the passion of his performance had not faltered or aged from years past, once the music started, he still had the charm of a mad man possessed.
Joining Dan Deacon on the tour was drummer Jeremy Hyman. Hyman has played for Ponytail, Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks and also toured with Animal Collective when Panda Bear decided to sit out on drums during the Painting With tour. You know that if Panda Bear turned over the drumsticks to Jeremy for a tour, that he is an absolute monster behind the drum kit.
Starting out the night was Jeremy Hyman with a DJ set of some lovely ambient/house music that was the perfect appetizer for the night. His set entranced the crowd with some tripped out soundscapes, while occasionally locking into a deep house beat that would get the crowd moving. After his set he came back out with Dan to play drums, and since there were two shows and he played both sets, that made for an impressive 4 sets over the course of the night for Jeremy Hyman, a monster indeed.
Seeing a Dan Deacon show isn’t an average electronic music dance party, it is that, but it’s also an interactive slumber party with some like-minded strangers. It’s like going to a concert and all of a sudden that day in gym class breaks out where you didn’t have to play sports, and you just got to play silly games with a parachute. There is a lot of focus on the crowd and their dancing, which makes everyone feel silly and goofy, which is perfect mood for the kind of insane pitched up, ADHD-riddled, electronic pop music providing the soundtrack to all of this. Dan Deacon has really built up a nice catalogue of tunes to play live, and when you really distill down all of those earcandy electronic pop songs into a single show it’s a very impressive concert, musically, along with everything else going on. With the tour wrapped up and all of those scores under his belt, I think it’s a safe bet that Dan will be returning to the studio at some point in the near future for his next full length album.
Setlist: Become a Mountain, The Crystal Cat, Change Your Life (You Can Do It), Learning to Relax, Arp I: Wide Eyed, Arp II: Float Away, Arp III: Far From Shore, Arp IV: Any Moment, Wham City, Snookered, Sat By A Tree, Paddling Ghost, When I was Done Dying, Feel the Lightning
Nine bands will be playing as a part of “Rock the Locks,” a rock and roll showcase with six shows near three Upstate NY cities: Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester. The shows will take place on July 7, July 8, Aug. 4, and Aug. 5.
Rock the Locks events are being presented by Rockin’ Rochester Productions, Hey Greasy! and Yace Booking. Each of the three cities has three bands playing, and each has two events. The three groups of bands switch between cities for the different dates, excluding the city that they are native to.
The name is a callback to the Erie Canal, which passes by all three cities. Locks 1 and 2 are near one end in Albany, locks 65 and 66 near Rochester, and locks 67-71 near Buffalo in Lockport. Locks were used to raise and lower boats traveling through the canal, and were a key part of the system’s infrastructure. Mules were often used to pull boats along, with mules and canal boats pictured in the Rock the Locks promotional material.
Albany
Taking place across the river in Troy at No Fun, the two concerts here will be on July 8 and Aug. 5, with doors opening at 7:00 p.m.. The first show will feature Thee Isolators, The Evil Things, and The Burkharts, with the second show featuring Aweful Kanawful, Low Spirits, and Jazz Goons.
The tickets are $10 for advanced payment and $13 at the door. More information can be found on No Fun’s website.
Buffalo
At Nietzsche’s in Buffalo, the concerts will be on Friday, July 7 and Saturday, Aug. 5. For the Friday show, doors will open at 9:00 p.m., with the show starting at 10:00 p.m.. Bands on that day will include Aweful Kanawful, Low Spirits, and Jazz Goons. For the Saturday show, doors will open at 8:00 p.m., with the show starting at 9:00 p.m.. Bands on that day will include Flavour, Abysmals, and Safety Meeting.
For both dates, tickets are $10. More information can be found on Nietzsche’s website.
Rochester
The two concerts in Rochester will be held at Lux on July 7 and on Aug. 4, starting at 10:00 p.m.. For the first show, Flavour, Abysmals, and Safety Meeting will be featured. For the second show, Thee Isolators, The Evil Things, and The Burkharts will be featured.
Tickets are $5 for both dates. More information can be found on Lux’s website.
The New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) has awarded Troy Savings Bank Music Hall a $3.4 million grant. The venue, which is located on 2nd Street in Downtown Troy, received the money to support renovations that aim to make the building more accessible and preserve its historical elements.
Most of the money from the grant will go towards the renovation of the first floor of the venue. The Troy Savings Bank was commissioned in 1875 with the first level originally designed to be used for banking and businesses, while the top level was composed of a music hall. The new renovations look to transform the first floor, which has been vacant since 2012, into a vibrant multi-purpose space. The goal is to create an affordable and accessible place for musical and cultural education.
“We have long hoped and planned to make improvements and offer more programming and a broader spectrum of experiences to our community. This grant sets us on the path toward accomplishing our dream”
Jon Elbaum, Executive Director of the Music Hall
The new “Music Hub” will feature a community space, classrooms, a community board room, a recording studio, and rehearsal rooms. The money from the grant is a small part of a massive funding plan constructed by the NYSCA. There are 19 projects across the state that will divide up the $90 million plan.
Initially, Governor Nelson Rockefeller created NYSCA back in 1960. The goal of the organization is to preserve and advance the arts and culture of New York. The Music Hall’s renovation is a piece of NYSCA’s “Large Capital Improvement Grants for Arts and Cultures” program. The project looks to support institutions and organizations that are “undertaking impactful, large-scale capital improvements”.
Artwork by Kelly Garrett
“Capital projects for the arts are an investment in our communities, our health, and our prosperity for decades to come. On behalf of the Council and staff, I congratulate Troy Savings Bank Music Hall on its vision and dedication to serving the residents and visitors of New York and we look forward to seeing all that will flourish from this initiative,” NYSCA Chair Katherine Nicholls said.
Once the updates finish, the building looks to serve as a year-round venue. The Musical Hall celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025. Throughout the years it has established itself as a historical and cultural pillar in and around Albany.
Here you can find more information on the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
2023 marks EMPAC’s (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)15th year of commissions, artist residencies, and public programs at the Center for Arts and Technology. The renowned institute commissions resident artists to create ambitious works, bridging artistic disciplines and the realms of art and technology. From September to December, the curatorial team and resident artists present a diverse program including exhibitions, concerts, dance, film, and talks.
This year, EMPAC’s pioneering 220,000 sq. ft. building, offering artists access to state-of-the-art technology, marks its 15th anniversary. Pre-dating the 2008 opening, this year marks fifteen years of uniting artists, researchers, and audiences to push boundaries at EMPAC. Additionally, for the first time in over a decade, EMPAC turns its concert hall, stages, and studios into a series of exhibition spaces for Shifting Center (October 2023). Finally, EMPAC announces the appointment of Katherine C.M. Adams as Assistant Curator.
Exhibitions
Salon Mondialité(September 22) is Miho Hatori’s artistic exploration of memory, identity, and colonization, influenced by philosopher Edouard Glissant’s ideas. Presented as an experimental talk-show, the work blends sound stories, composed and improvised music, and guest performances within a video installation.
Hatori, a Japanese-born vocalist and electronic musician based in NYC, gained fame in the 1990s with Cibo Matto. Most recently, she released her album Between Isekai and Slice of Life. She recorded music as New Optimism and Miss Information, and collaborated on the first Gorillaz album and Beastie Boys’ songs. She has performed at Kitchen NYC, AGO museum, The Broad, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Pioneer Works, Canal 47, and other venues.
Evidence of Labor: State of the Kitchen (September 29) is an EMPAC-commissioned dance work by artists Michelle Ellsworthand Satchel Spencerthat considers different forms of labor. The work features three dancers interacting with wooden kitchens and a choreographic Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) on stage. It aims to replicate ChatGPT’s labor, delving into the ethics of outsourcing writing and meaning-making. It serves as a Reverse Turing Test, an After-AI (AA) prototype, and a metaphorical birth canal. Inspired by a water slide accident in the 80s involving two boys, the work focuses on what T.S. Elliot described as “birth and copulation and death.” It goes on to premiere at the Chocolate Factory in Long Island City in November.
Plasmatic Music (October 6) is a concert in two parts, with pieces by the late iconoclastic Romanian-French composer Horațiu Rădulescu. Rădulescu, a “spectral music” pioneer, creates unexpected, provocative, and visceral experiences through the exploration of sound’s volatility and mysticism. The program features performer/composers Sam Dunscombe (clarinet and electronics), James Rushford(organ), and Rebecca Lane(flute).
This concert is presented in collaboration with Blank Forms, a NYC-based organization. Blank Forms supports emerging and significant artists across disciplines, rooted in traditions of experimental and creative music. While Rădulescu’s music is rarely performed in the U.S., the composer enjoys a dedicated following within the experimental music scene.
Elemental View (October 24) is a work in six movements by composer Ellen Fullman for her Long String Instrument and The Living Earth Show.The instrument installation, consisting of 136 precisely tuned and configured strings, maximizes EMPAC’s Concert Hall acoustics. It envelops the space in a shimmering atmosphere, immersing the audience in its expansive and resonant sound. This performance continues The Living Earth Show’s multi-season residency at EMPAC.
TLES, an electroacoustic duo, stretches technical and artistic boundaries while amplifying excluded voices, perspectives, and bodies in classical music. The organization employs experimental and contemporary chamber music as tools to highlight BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists. It enables the realization of their ambitious musical visions and promotes work that reflects and responds to our world.
The Shifting Center exhibition, spanning offsite (October 28-29) and onsite (November 3-18), represents the culmination of EMPAC’s multi-year curatorial project. Focused on architecture, acoustics, and the politics of sound, it opens to the public in Fall.
The exhibition commences with artist Beatriz Cortez’s monumental sculpture, Ilopango, the Volcano that Left (October 28-29). The sculpture embarks on a captivating journey up the Hudson River to EMPAC, accompanied by late October foliage, aboard an open-air boat. The volcano sculpture sets sail at the end of Cortez’s exhibition at Storm King Art Center and makes stops along the Hudson in Kingston and Troy. Visitors are able to get on board to view the artwork, to arrive at EMPAC before Shifting Center’sopening day event (November 3).
Cortez’s sculpture, presented in partnership with Storm King and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School, captures our focus. It prompts contemplation of the enduring geological and ecological consequences of a previous eruption. Cortez describes “the volcano that left” as an act of migration and considers what it would mean for it to return.
EMPAC’s fall 2023 season also includes public tours, screenings, and conversations with future artists in residence. This includes composers/performers Jesse Marino and Antonia McIntosh-Barnett;choreographer Alexis Blake; and artist and preeminent scholar on disability studies Petra Kuppers.The season closes with a film screening In Pursuit: Short Films curated by EMPAC’s newly appointed assistant curator Katherine Adams. The series of short films centers on forms of furtive mobility–chase, exilic evasion, urgent travel, and outlawed movement–such as Miko Revereza’s Distancing.
Katherine C.M. Adams
EMPAC announces that Katherine C.M. Adams has been appointed to the role of Assistant Curator. Adams is a curator and writer working with artists across moving image, performance, and the visual arts to realize projects spanning commissions, exhibitions, and event-based programs. Before EMPAC, she curated and wrote independently while studying at Bard College’s Center for Curatorial Studies and earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University. She has curated programs and events at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), Hessel Museum of Art (New York), Miriam Gallery (New York), and other venues.
At EMPAC, Katherine Adams will lead and support curatorial projects across the time-based arts. She is supporting the curatorial team of Shifting Center. Upcoming projects include a Spring 2024 collaboration with filmmaker Shen Xin, a screening of Miko Revereza’s work, and a conversation with choreographer Alexis Blake. Adams will also initiate talks, screenings, podcasts, and publications, and build out other aspects of EMPAC’s programming.
Ticketing and event info will be available at empac.rpi.edu in August. More details and event info for the Shifting Center exhibition to be released in summer 2023. Additionally, learn more about Katherine Adams and her appointment here.
