Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City has announced they will be introducing an alternative ticketing method for fans. This is particularly timely given the recent Ticketmaster Senate hearing regarding the disastrous ticket pricing and inconvenient ways to purchase tickets.
Since 1981, the Blue Note Jazz Club has been a cultural institution in NYC and one of the premiere jazz clubs in the world. It strives to preserve the history of jazz, and the club practices the foundations of jazz on a nightly basis and carries the torch for the genre in the 21st century.
The club has been frequented by celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Colin Jost, Zoe Kravitz, and Jon Hamm, and has featured musicians like Robert Glasper, Ron Carter, Pat Metheny, Ms. Lisa Fischer, Christain McBride, Keyon Harrold, Meshell Ndegeocello, and more.
Blue Note will be partnering with the company Yellowheart for the second year in a row. They look to develop smart tickets to help prevent the most common issues with traditional ticketing, like scalping, fraudulent tickets, expensive resale prices, and more. This is especially timely considering the Ticketmaster Senate hearing, where the site came under fire for mishandling and botching the presale of the latest Taylor Swift tour.
About the new ticketing system, Blue Note marketing director Jennifer Harrington said “By partnering with YellowHeart, we are able to offer exclusive access to shows on our stage and a peak behind the scenes with the artists who perform here. Smart ticketing with blockchain technology has long been on our radar and now we have the ideal partner to bring this moment to life.” There will be a select number of smart tickets available for every show that have added benefits, such as VIP seating, and exclusive media airdropped directly via the tickets, which can include recorded performances to messages from artists in the business.
The first ticketed performance will be STOUT: The Live Avenger Experience on March 6 at the club. To purchase tickets and to see other events happening at the venue, visit here.
The late Gord Downie & Canadian producer Bob Rock have just released their latest single “The Moment Is A Wild Place.” The epic rock duo has also just announced their upcoming album Lustre Parfait, the ninth album to bear Downie’s name outside of The Tragically Hip, and the first to bear Rock’s.
The single is a long-fabled collaboration between Gord Downie, late front man of legendary Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer/musician Bob Rock. Their partnership began in 2006 when Rock produced The Tragically Hip’s acclaimed 10th studio album, World Container, followed in 2009 by the chart-topping We Are The Same.
Robert Jens Rock, record producer, engineer, guitarist, and songwriter has produced and engineer top-selling albums by such timeless artists as Metallica, Bon Jovi, The Tragically Hip, The Cult, Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith, Cher, Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Simple Plan, Michael Bublé and many others. He is known for his robust, radio-friendly production touch and the intuition to play to an artist’s character and strengths, Rock is perhaps best known for his long-standing role as producer for Metallica.
“I’ve always been a fan of long pieces of music,” says Bob Rock. “Setting a mood and going someplace, just taking you somewhere. The music was based on that journey, this rising tide of chords, crescendos in the chorus. Somehow, I stumbled on this magic chord, a simple minor to a major progression, and it moved me. And Gord reacted to it. It’s absolute perfection in terms of songwriting and in terms of what he did. It’s special because of what he talks about. The lyric was written before he was diagnosed with the sickness that he had. They say you gotta live in the moment. It causes you to look back, and I get choked up every time I hear it, still. I think most people will be moved by it. It’s one of his finest moments.”
More than a decade in the making, Lustre Parfait sees Downie’s peerless lyricism and incendiary heart given newfangled energy by his longtime friend and collaborator, famed producer/musician Bob Rock.
Gord Downie is the late lead singer and songwriter of The Tragically Hip, who, over more than 30 years and across fourteen studio albums, built an enduring legacy as perhaps the essential Canadian rock band. With seven solo albums to his name, Downie’s own music refutes definition, renowned for its adventurous poetry, collaboration, elastic composition, and singular vocal wail.
Unfortunately, Downie passed away on October 17th, 2017. Since his passing, The New York Times stated that Downie has “no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique, poet-philosopher, and you’re getting close.”
“First and foremost Gord was my friend,” continues Rock, “and having the opportunity to work with him on these songs was one of the biggest highlights of my professional life. I am grateful that I got to witness his genius in such close proximity.”
To listen to “The Moment Is A Wild Place,” click the link here.
To preorder the upcoming album Lustre Parfait, click the link here.
Formed upon a chance encounter while busking in the subways of New York City, Bandits on the Run have released their newest single, “You Have Changed,” on February 2nd. Thus, marking a new phase of Banditry; this is the first release that they have self-produced, and offers a taste of what’s to come on the follow-up record to 2021’s acclaimed EP, Now Is The Time.
“‘You Have Changed’ is about being torn apart, begrudging acceptance, and lingering love. It’s about the uncontrollable wellspring of grief that comes swooping in when life smacks you in the face, and you’re just not ready for it,” the band reveals. Written at a moment of uncertainty, when their futures seemed tenuous, they say that the creation of the song was a mediation on accepting reality. “It felt like the world was caving in under us and all of a sudden everything we loved and held onto had changed.” It’s evident that those feelings resonate with listeners.
“When we perform this song, people tend to open their hearts to us and share their stories of change and loss. For some people, ‘You Have Changed’ is about a loved one that’s passed, or a lover that’s left, or a storm that’s finally clearing up. We love that it takes on a new meaning with every person who hears it, and is about whatever is changing in their life at the moment.”
“Bandits on the Run capture the urgency of the moment… harmony rich… [with] a rousing atmosphere.”
– Rolling Stone
Comprised of Adrian Blake Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn, the Brooklyn-based indie-pop-Americana trio is anchored by three-part harmonies and eclectic instrumentation. This includes accordion, cello, melodica, and a suitcase-kick-drum.
Their most recent EP, Now Is The Time, was produced by Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers), and surrounding that release, the band produced a short musical film, Band At The End Of The World. They’ve also gone on to compose music for the Netflix children’s animated series, Storybots, score the newest Peter Hedges movie, The Same Storm, and tour the globe with appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Floydfest, Milwaukee Summerfest, Americanafest, and the Singapore Grand Prix.
In addition, they stay in touch with their theatrical roots: Strayhorn is a freelance casting director currently working with The Telsey Office, Shepherd is a Broadway veteran who graced the stage in the world premiere of the musical August Rush, and Enscoe starred opposite Hailee Steinfeldin the AppleTV+ show, Dickinson, and on stage in Swept Away (by The Avett Brothers).
Their next release will be their most collaborative yet: a self-produced EP featuring various and sundry bandit friends that explores the tensions of a world that has been broken open but is putting itself back together.
Coinciding with the release of “You Have Changed,” Bandits on the Run kick off a midwestern tour with several performances at Folk Alliance. A video for the single is coming soon.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES: 2/2 – 2/4: Folk Alliance at Marriot Crown Center (Kansas City, MO) 2/3: Tiny Concert at Effing Candle Co. (Kansas City, MO) 2/6: Bishop Hill Community Commons (Bishop Hill, IL) 2/8: Rhythms & Brews @ Gibson Music Community Center (Appleton, WI) 2/9: Epiphany Center For The Arts (Chicago, IL) 2/10: Rose Bowl (Urbana, IL) 2/11: Bradley University (Peoria, IL)
To purchase tickets and for more details about Bandits on the Run, click the link here.
Heavy Metal band Disturbed has announced their 36-date Take Back Your Life Tour for Summer 2023, supporting their eighth studio album, Divisive, and their first tour in five years.
The tour kicks off on Thursday, April 27, and includes a stop at St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse on Aug. 12, and Northwell Health Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh on Aug. 19.
Cover of Distubed’s latest album, Divisive
Additionally, Disturbed’s latest tour will feature performances by metalcore band Jinjer and rock band Breaking Benjamin. Disturbed will be joined by both groups in Syracuse on Aug. 12, and Jinjer will perform with them at Jones Beach on Aug. 19 as well. On the collaboration, Jinjer said, “We are really looking forward to hitting the road in the US again, alongside Disturbed and Breaking Benjamin. We can not wait to see some old fans and welcome some new ones as well!”
Originally from Chicago, Disturbed first emerged on the music scene in 2000, with the release of their debut album, The Sickness, through Giant and Reprise Records. Nominated for two Grammy Awards Disturbed has achieved five consecutive #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200. Significantly, they are the only rock group other than Metalica to accomplish this feat. Their catalog of hit songs includes the platinum “Stupify,” “Inside The Fire,” and “Land of Confusion, just to name a few. At the 2017 iHeart Radio Music Awards, the band significantly earned the award for “Best Rock Artist.”
Divisive is out now via reprise records. Its 10 tracks were composed with the help of producer Drew Fulk in Nashville over the last year. The album’s first single, “Hey You”, proceeded its release, emerging as their 15th #1 single on Rock Radio. Its newest single, “Bad Man” is in Rock Radio’s top 10.
Tickets for Disturbed’s Take Back Your Life Tour will go on sale Friday, Feb. 10 starting at 10 a.m. Listen to Divisive on all formats here.
Disturbed Take Back Your Life Tour
Apr 27 | Montreal, QC | Bell Centre +
Apr 29 | Quebec City, QC | Videotron Centre +
May 01 | Toronto, ON | Scotiabank Arena +
May 08 | Winnipeg, MB | Canada Life Centre +
May 10 | Edmonton, AB | Rogers Place +
May 12 | Abbotsford, BC | Abbotsford Centre +
Jul 11 | Denver, CO | Ball Arena # ~
Jul 13 | Salt Lake City, UT | USANA Amphitheatre # ~
Jul 15 | Ridgefield, WA | RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater # ~
Jul 16 | Auburn, WA | White River Amphitheatre # ~
Rock trio Le Tigre (Kathleen Hanna, JD Samson, and Johanna Fateman) have announced they will bring their joyous, experimental post-riot girl antics and conceptual multimedia performance to stages across the globe this summer.
For the first time in 18 years, the trio have reunited and will kick off their North American leg at the Mosswood Meltdown Festival followed by appearances in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, NYC, Chicago, Boston and more. Tickets are now on sale.
Bringing Y2K Back
Forming in New York City in 1999, the band abandoned traditional punk instrumentation, pairing drum-machine beats and looped 8-bit samples with the simplest, serrated guitar riffs and call-and-response vocals. The members of Le Tigre shared a vision for multimedia performance, touring with a slide projector in their early days with video later becoming a key component of their live show which fans can still look forward to on the upcoming tour.
The band’s final show—until their reunion performance for the This Ain’t No Picnic festival at the Rose Bowl in August 2022—was on September 24, 2005, at the Operation Ceasefire concert at Washington Monument in Washington DC, where they joined a coalition of artists calling for an end to the U.S. war in Iraq.
Recently, Kathleen has been touring with Bikini Kill, running Tees 4 Togo (which sells artist-designed T-shirts to fund the non-profit organization Peace Sisters), and writing a book. JD has a full-time teaching position as Assistant Arts Professor and Area Head of Performance at The Clive Davis Institute at NYU/Tisch , performs with CRICKETS, and tours with the original live score for the film 32 Sounds, directed by Sam Green. Johanna is an author and art critic who writes regularly for the “Goings on About Town” section of the New Yorker and for 4Columns; she is a contributing editor of Artforum.
5/27: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 6/1: Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 6/3: London, UK @ Troxy 6/5: Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall 6/6: Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland Ballroom 6/8: Madrid, Spain @ Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 6/9: Porto, Portugal @ Nos Primavera Sound Porto 2023 6/11: Paris, France @ Le Trianon 6/14: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 6/16: Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys Neue Welt 6/17: Hamburg, Germany @ Markthalle 7/1: Oakland, CA @ Mosswood Meltdown Festival 7/3: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom 7/6: Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre 7/7: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 7/9: Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre 7/15: Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed 7/17: Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre 7/18: Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre 7/19: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage 7/21: Toronto, ON @ History 7/22: Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia 7/24: Boston, MA @ Royale 7/28: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
NYC‘s mmeadows have shared “When We Are Together We Are Really Free,” the final single from their debut album Light Moves Around You, which was released on Friday, February 3rd. The prog-pop duo will also be performing an album release show May 6th at Baby’s All Right.
Vocalist Kristin Slipp’s (Dirty Projectors) vocals weave seamlessly through Cole Kamen-Green’s production (walls of horns, synths, and piano) for a sound that’s mysterious, mercurial, and fearless. The track cements their trademark style, a permeable mix of sounds both fluid and rhythmic, organic and electronic.
The song is accompanied by a video filmed in an abandoned church, lending a visual atmosphere at once carefree and ominous, a perfect match for the track and the album as a whole.
“[“King of the Castle”] It’s a catchy, unpredictable dose of art pop…”
– BrooklynVegan
The track is accompanied by a bold video directed byHaoyan of America, in which the duo performs the song in an abandoned church. Complete with glow stick dance parties and colorful tarot cards, it creates an atmosphere at once carefree and ominous, a perfect match for the track and the album as a whole: mysterious, mercurial, and fearless.
Their singular alt-pop songcraft is ultimately the synthesis of complementary talents, mutual trust, and years of partnership. Light Moves Around You reflects this connection; a dynamic and deeply-honed collection of pop songs that silence chaos and celebrate the tender acts of making space.
“With community heavy on my mind during early days of the pandemic, but not within physical reach, I set out to write a song that I might play during one of a handful of virtual dance parties we hosted,” Slipp says. “The catharsis of sharing digital space with my friends during such a surreal time was powerful and lasting, and that energy motivated us to make this track super danceable, brimming with feeling, and short enough to demand an immediate repeat listen.”
Grammy-winning artist, Lil Wayne, has announced the dates for his upcoming spring tour. The Welcome To Tha Carter Tour, presented by Young Money, Rolling Loud and Live Nation, will see the 40-year-old rapper perform countrywide. The 28-city expedition kicks-off on Tuesday, April 4 at The Fillmore in Minneapolis, MN,with stops in Los Angeles and Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater in New York, NY also scheduled.
Lil Wayne will be making a stop at Harlem’s Apollo Theater as part of his ‘Welcome To Tha Carter Tour.’
About Lil Wayne
The tour announcement comes ahead of The Recording Academy’sBlack Music Collective pre-GRAMMY event, where Lil Wayne will receive the prestigious Global Impact Award for his iconic personal and professional achievements in the industry. All in all, Lil Wayne was presented with the award by long-time collaborator and friend DJ Khaled. By the same token, Drake paid tribute to his mentor and friend for this prestigious award.
One of the most prominent hip hop acts of the last two decades, Lil Wayne ran the hip hop-scene in the mid-2000’s. The Young Money founder had a dominant run on the charts and gave endless hip hop cuts to die-hard fans with his run of Dedication and No Ceillings mixtape series. Moreover, he has cemented his legacy as one of the best-selling artists of all-time with over 100 million records sold worldwide.
Not to mention, Lil Wayne has garnered 26 BET Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards, 7 MTV Awards, 4 Soul Train Awards and 8 BMI Awards. Among many milestones, he emerged as “the first artist to surpass Elvis Presley with the most entries on the Billboard Hot 100” and has logged a staggering 183 entries – the 3rd most of all time.
Tickets for Lil Wayne’s “Welcome To Tha Carter” tour go on sale starting on Friday, February 3 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased on Lilwayneofficial.com.
WELCOME TO THA CARTER TOUR 2023 TOUR DATES:
Tue Apr 4 — Minneapolis, MN — The Fillmore Minneapolis
Thu Apr 6 — Fargo, ND — Scheels Arena*
Fri Apr 7 — Omaha, NE — Baxter Arena*
Sat Apr 8 — Madison, WI — The Sylvee
Sun Apr 9 — Chicago, IL — Radius
Tue, Apr 11 — Detroit, MI — The Fillmore Detroit
Wed Apr 12 — Toronto, ON — HISTORY
Thu Apr 13 — Boston, MA — House of Blues
Sun Apr 16 — New York, NY — Apollo Theater
Mon Apr 17 — Philadelphia, PA — The Fillmore Philadelphia
Tue Apr 18 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore Silver Spring
Thu Apr 20 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore Charlotte
Fri Apr 21 — Raleigh, NC — The Ritz
Sat Apr 22 — Atlanta, GA — Tabernacle
Mon Apr 24 — Birmingham, AL — Iron City
Wed Apr 26 — St. Louis, MO — The Factory
Thu Apr 27 — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works
Fri Apr 28 — Cleveland, OH — House of Blues
Sun Apr 30 — Lexington, KY — Rupp Arena*
Tue May 2 — Houston, TX — House of Blues
Wed May 3 — Dallas, TX — House of Blues
Thu May 4 — Austin, TX — Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
In their more than 50-year history, pop-rock duo Sparks have never headlined a tour as big as the one they’re about to embark on this May. The duo will be performing in four North American venues, with the first at the Beacon Theatre in New York on Tuesday, June 27, and the last at a to-be-announced venue in their hometown of Los Angeles, CA on Sunday, July 16.
Sparks members: Ron (left) and Russel Mael (right)
The world tour is in support of Sparks’ 26th studio album, The Girl Crying In Her Latee,arriving Friday, May 26 via Island Records.
Sparks is a pop duo consisting of brothers Ron and Russel Mael. They grew up in Pacific Palisades, an affluent beach neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. The brothers have been performing for over 50 years, since their late teens/early adult years. Prior to The Girl Crying In Her Latee, they were signed with Island Records from 1974-76. Their upcoming 26th studio album is their first release with the label in nearly 50 years.
The Beacon Theatre, located on Broadway between 74th and 75th streets, was built in 1929 and seats 2,600 guests. In 2006, the venue was acquired by Madison Square Garden Entertainment. Other than Sparks, some of the greatest names in music have played at the Beacon Theatre, such as the Rolling Stones, Steely Dan, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Coldplay, Ray LaMontagne, and Eddie Vedder. In October 2014, The Allman Brothers Band performed their final concert there.
For Sparks Fan Club members, presales began Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m.; Mailing List presales followed at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1. General on-sale starts at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, and tickets can be purchased via allsparks.com/#tour.
SPARKS TOUR 2023
MAY
23 – Oxford, UK – New Theatre
24 – Liverpool, UK – Philharmonic Hall
26 – Glasgow, UK – Clyde Auditorium
27 – Manchester, UK – Bridgewater Hall
29 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
30 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall (SOLD OUT)
JUNE
2 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound Barcelona *
8 – Madrid, Spain – Primavera Sound Madrid *
10 – Porto, Portugal – Primavera Sound Porto *
13 – Paris, France – Le Grand Rex
14 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Grote Zaal
16 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Store Vega
18 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom
20 – Brussels, Belgium – Cirque Royal
27 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre
28 – Philadelphia, PA – Keswick Theatre
30 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
JULY
1 – Boston, MA – The Wilbur Theatre
3 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
5 – Chicago, IL – Copernicus Center
6 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
8 – Kansas City, MO – Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland
The American Classical Orchestra (ACO) is announcing the “Healing Bach” performance including much-loved Bach cantatas at the Gothic-style Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 8 pm. This wonderful concert is featuring notable soloists including Sherezade Panithaki, Daniel Moody, Brian Giebler, and Joseph Parrish.
Founded in 1984 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy and renamed in 1999, the American Classical Orchestra (ACO) is the New York City’s foremost period instrument orchestra. It is now the City’s only full-scale orchestra dedicated to performing 17th, 18th, and 19th century music on period instruments. By playing music on original instruments and using historic performance techniques, ACO strives to recreate the sounds that audiences would have heard when the music was first written and performed.
The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is a Roman Catholic parish in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Bertram Goodhue and completed in 1918 and made a New York City designated landmark in 1967.
Before the concert, Artistic Director Thomas Crawford will give a brief talk to illuminate the program at 7:15 pm. The concert featuring soloists including soprano Sherezade Panthaki, head of Mount Holyoke College’s vocal program; countertenor and Metropolitan Opera singer Daniel Moody, tenor Brian Giebler, the 2020 Best Classical Solo Vocal Album Grammy winner; and bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, winner of the 2022 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. Especially, this concert will highlight J.S Bach’s Am Abend aber desselbigen Sabbats, BWV 42; Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt, BWV 18; Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36.
The following performance will close the ACO season with an evening of Romantic music by Schumann, Sarasate, and Grieg. It will feature baritone William Meinert, praised for his “rich vibrant bass” (Opera Today) and award-winning violinist Rachell Ellen Wong, on May 18 at Alice Tully Hall.
American Classical Orchestra will be conducted by Thomas Crawford, consisted of soprano Corrine Byrne and Sherezade Panthaki; mezzo-soprano Sylvia Leith; countertenor Daniel Moody; tenor Lawrence Jones and Brian Giebler; bass-baritone Joseph Parrish and Edmund Milly; and Marc Schachman on oboe and oboe d’amore.
Tickets, priced at $75, $55, and $35 are available at American Classical Orchestra website. For more information, visit aconyc.org.
On Saturday, February 25, pop icon Judy Collins is heading to the Town Hall to bring her signature blend of folk and pop to NYC as she performs her 1967 album, Wildflowers — to this day, her highest-charting album — front to back with the Harlem Chamber Players.
Judy Collins, performing Wildflowers on February 25 at The Town Hall
Judy Collins came to NYC from the west coast at the start of the sixties. She landed in Greenwich Village, singing songs written by contemporaries such as Tom Paxton, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. With Cohen, Collins was a veritable salonnière of the Greenwich Village scene; she brought together Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman and many more, so the artists could share inspirations and audiences. Her background working with protest singers has stayed with Collins, she works with multiple social justice organizations and represents UNICEF.
While she came on the scene as an interpretive cover artist — she won the Grammy for Best Folk Recording in 1969 for her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now — Collins soon established herself as an adept songwriter as well, starting with “Since You Asked” in 1967. This year, Collins has been nominated for a Grammy again, this time for her folk album Spellbound, her first complete album of all original, self-penned songs in her career.
At the Town Hall on February 25, fans will hear Collins’ famous rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” live, as well as other hits from that album: “Albatross,” “Since You Asked,” and “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” Joining Collins is the Harlem Chamber Players, an acclaimed chamber band that works to increase access to high-caliber classical music in Harlem and the greater city. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
