NYS Music 2023

Category: Regions

  • 37th Annual Tibet US House Benefit Concert Returns to Carnegie Hall, Featuring Maggie Rogers, Maya Hawke, and More

    One of the longest-running and most renowned live cultural events in New York City, the Annual Tibet House US Benefit Concert has announced its return to The Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall on February 26, 2024, at 7:30 PM.

    The Tibet House US Benefit Concert, now in its 37 year, delivers an evening full of amazing music, camaraderie, and one-night-only collaborations. Joining esteemed composer and artistic director Philip Glass, who once again curated this year’s line-up, will be: Maggie Rogers, Laurie Anderson, Maya Hawke, The Philip Glass Ensemble, Tenzin Choegyal, Scorchio Quartet, Joan Baez, SNL‘s Bowen Yang, Christian Lee Hutson, and Ukrainian punk rock band Gogol Bordello. Uma Thurman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, and Arden Wohl will serve as the evening’s honorary chairs. Recently added, Joan Baez is a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Recipient, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, and Kennedy Center Honoree.

    This annual event has been a standout for over three-and-a-half decades, consistently selling out and assembling some of the most legendary and exciting names in music and art. Some of these include Alabama Shakes, boygenius, Carly Simon, David Bowie, Stephen Colbert, Lou Reed, Phoebe Bridgers, Sharon Jones, FKA twigs, The Roots, Jim James, Vampire Weekend, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Blood Orange, Sigur Ros, R.E.M, Emmylou Harris, Jon Batiste, Nathaniel Rateliff, Jason Isbell, Iggy Pop, The Flaming Lips, Keanu Reeves, Eddie Vedder, Annie Lennox, Brittany Howard, Black Pumas, Cage The Elephant, Cyndi Lauper, Trey Anastasio and many, many more. 

    The event has garnered praise from many, including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, Billboard, Vogue, and more. All proceeds support the work of Tibet House US, a non-profit educational institution and cultural embassy founded in 1987 at the request of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to ensure the survival of the unique Tibetan civilization.

    Tickets for the concert are on sale now ($35-$200). Also available now are special gala packages starting at $500, including prime concert tickets, an elegant dinner reception with the performers, and a who’s who of New York City society. To purchase these packages, visit here or call Tibet House US at 212.807.0563.  

  • Hudson Valley Band Upstate Announces new Album and Tour

    The band Upstate, Hudson Valley natives, announced the release of their third album You Only Get a Few along with a tour, hitting places like NYC, Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester.

    Upstate
    Upstate, photo by Bridget Badore.

    Members Mary Webster, Melanie Glenn, Harry D’Agostino and Dylan McKinstry navigate the peaks and valleys of transitioning periods in their life. Upstate released their debut record , A Remedy, in 2015, then in 2019 they released their record Healing. Both of these records showcase the group’s abilities to create dynamic compositions centered on vocals, bass, guitar, horns and percussion.

    Their newest album You Only Get a Few will be released on March 31, and the album’s first single “Befriend” is out now. Much of the record is inspired by the band’s real life experiences, from marriages, babies, funerals, and personal awakenings, and also moments of spontaneous fiction. They all take a collective breath on the record, and “simply just wanted to make a record because it felt important to capture the moment we found ourselves in,” shares founding member Mary Webster.

    To support the record, Upstate will be embarking on a tour, hitting places like NYC, Woodstock, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse in April. Tickets are on sale now.

    Upstate 2023 Tour Dates

    03/30 – Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall

    03/31 – Northampton, MA – The Parlor Room

    04/1 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge 

    04/2    Woodstock, NY – Colony

    04/13 – Baltimore, MD – The 8×10

    04/14 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street Warehouse

    04/15 – Wayne, PA – 118 North

    04/21 – South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground

    04/22 – Portland, ME – One Longfellow Square 

    04/27 – Syracuse, NY – 443 Social Club

    04/28 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works

    04/29 – Rochester, NY – Flour City Station

  • Harriman State Park Featured in Sheridan Rúitín Music Video

    Catskills unique Irish folk band Sheridan Rúitín has just released a video filmed on a mountain top for their original song “Rebels of the Night” on January 1st.

    Along with this, the band has also just posted their upcoming tour where you can find all the details for coming shows and events, including 6 shows in NY around February and March. The band is currently busy working on a new song that will come with a music video most likely the first or second week of February as well. 

    As for the video, “Rebels of the Night” was filmed in the desolate wilderness of Harriman State Park, Rockland County. There are many unique trails and hikes around this part of Upstate NY, the video shows some of the unique views between Bear Mountain and Anthony’s Nose in the Hudson Highlands. To film the video, the crew carried a whole drum set up along with all of the other instruments and hiked up the mountain the weekend before Thanksgiving. Producing amazing footage to match the catchy Irish tune of their new song “Rebels of the Night.”

    Sheridan Rúitín New Music Video And Upcoming Tour
    Sheridan Rúitín at Harriman State Park

    In the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, as more pubs and restaurants were shutting their doors, Billy Houlihan became more and more of a regular at his next-door neighbor’s (Sheridan’s) pub. One evening in May of 2020, Billy brought his guitar over to the pub and he and Sheridan sat at the bar, singing rebel songs and drinking beer. Sheridan got quite into the moment while singing “The Kerry Recruit,” leading him to tumble off his barstool ultimately breaking his ankle (Irish: Rúitín) in 2 places. In the words of Sheridan: “Me feckin leg is in bits.”

    Sheridan Rúitín now had an official band name and began recording songs and videos to release on YouTube. As pubs and restaurants were slowly opening back up, the family band began playing many gigs and were joined by old musician friends, John Damiano and Michael Zayas. Towards the end of 2021, the group began creating their own arrangements of traditional songs and writing a few originals to eventually become their debut album, “Rebels in the Night.” The album saw much success in pre-orders from all over the world. “Rebels in the Night” was released on March 6, 2022, and Sheridan Rúitín went on tour the whole month in support of their debut album. 

    The band has since been added to the bills of major Irish festivals in the USA, and is currently working on new music and another album. Sheridan Rúitín takes over the New York suburbia Irish music scene by filling the gap between Celtic rock and traditional Irish folk ballads.

    Sheridan Rúitín New Music Video And Upcoming Tour

    To find more information on Sheridan Rúitín, click the link here to access their home page.

    Sheridan Rúitín 2023 Tour Dates

    2/25/2023 – Nyack, NY
    3/2/2023 – Warwick, NY
    3/3/2023 – Dingman’s Ferry, PA
    3/4/2023 – Stamford, CT
    3/5/2023 – Stony Point, NY
    3/10/2023 – Paramus, NJ
    3/11/2023 – Stamford, CT
    3/12/2023 – New York, NY
    3/14/2023 – Portland, ME
    3/15/2023 – Boston, MA
    3/16/2023 – Providence, RI
    3/17/2023 – Nanuet, NY
    3/18/2023 – Philadelphia, PA
    3/19/2023 – Pearl River, NY

  • Talib Kweli and Bob James Set for February Performances at Blue Note Jazz Club with Special Guests Rakim, DMC and Slick Rick

    Blue Note Jazz Club have announced a set of February shows featuring a quartet of hip hop legends. The historic music lounge will see Talib Kweli headline alongside oft-sampled jazz visionary Bob James from February 7-9. Kicking off the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop celebrations, the performances will feature special guests in the form of hip hop pioneers Rakim, DMC and Slick Rick, who will receive a Lifetime Achieve Award from The Recording Academy next month.

    Talib Kweli is set to headline Blue Note Jazz Club on three consecutive nights.

    The re-joining of forces at Blue Note between icon Bob James and Talib Kweli with legends Rakim, Slick Rick and DMC is an exceptional moment,” said Blue Note Director of Programming Alex Kurland.

    Moreover, Kweli and James first joined forces last year at the storied Greenwich Village club. Alongside special guest Slick Rick, the trio performed a medley of popular records with jazz interpolations to an engaging crowd.

    Blue Note’s Performers

    This time around, the Blue Note audience will receive another historic performance in a landmark year for the genre. Blue Note Jazz Club has hosted legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, George Clinton, and Talib Kweli’s own Black Star groupmate, Yasiin Bey. The line of prestigious performers continues when these legendary acts grace the stage.

    The God MC – Rakim is set to appear at Blue Note Jazz Club

    Brooklyn-based MC Talib Kweli stands as one of the world’s most talented and most accomplished Hip Hop artists. Whether working with Yasiin Bey as one-half of Black Star, or releasing landmark solo material or collaborating with Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Just Blaze, J Dilla, Hi-Tek, or Madlib, Kweli has established his place in the hip hop lore. Slick Rick, Rakim, and DMC are three of the most influential rhymers of all-time. Slick Rick for his inventiveness and creativity with his story-telling, Rakim for raising the bar in lyrical proficiency and DMC as one third of one of hip hop’s most culturally significant groups in Run DMC.

    Talib Kweli, Bob James and Slick Rick will once again grace the Blue Note Jazz Club stage.

    About Bob James

    18-time Grammy nominee Bob James has also cemented his place in the realm of hip hop. His 1974 album One, specifically the groove-heavy closing track “Nautilus,” featuring James on keyboard, Gary King on bass, and Idris Muhammad on drums, is one of the most sampled and interpolated songs of all time. In 1988, elements of the song found their way into Run DMC’s “Beats To The Rhyme” and Eric B & Rakim’s “Follow The Leader.” Slick Rick then famously used “Nautilus” as the backbone to his groundbreaking single “Children’s Story.” Dozens more hip hop acts have interpolated parts of “Nautilus” leaving Bob James amongst friends on the Blue Note stage.

    Embed from Getty Images

    Bob James’ depth of history and contribution to hip hop and musical culture is remarkable. Our inspiration with these shows is to revisit that history and vibe through the samples originating from Bob James, in collaboration with three of the most prolific, powerhouse and pioneering MCs of all time who have a legendary connection of drawing from Bob’s music.

    – Alex Kurland

    Fans can purchase tickets for Talib Kweli and Bob James at Blue Note Jazz Club here.

  • First Show: The Disco Biscuits and Karina Rykman at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

    On Thursday, January 19, The Disco Biscuits and Karina Rykman took over the Town Ballroom in Buffalo for nearly five hours of incredible and energetic music.

    I have been eagerly awaiting my first opportunity to see both acts and was incredibly excited when Karina was added to the bill at the Buffalo Biscuits show.

    disco biscuits buffalo
    photo by Brian Ferguson

    Taking the stage at 7:30 and performing an unrelenting 45-minute set, Rykman filled the room with her deep and punchy bass tone as drummer Chris Corsico and guitarist Adam November backed her up with tight beats and screaming leads. November in particular has a pedalboard capable of making crazy sounds as he tweaked knobs like a mad scientist throughout their set.

    Rykman also demonstrated her contagious and joyous energy as she bounced around the stage while shredding. Standout tracks included the unreleased “Joyride” and the upbeat and driving “City Kids.” Do NOT miss her shows if she plays in your area!

    When the lights dropped in Buffalo for the first set of the Disco Biscuits and the band jumped into “Bazaar Escape,” I was immediately struck by how cleanly they executed the wild and proggy twists and turns of the song. Very much a newcomer to the band’s material, I had naturally assumed that there were many simpler song structures to act as launchpads for long and dance-y jams, so “Bazaar” was a pleasant surprise as its arpeggios bounced around the packed venue.

    disco biscuits buffalo
    photo by Brian Ferguson

    Moving into “The Bridge” next, the music became incredibly euphoric as guitarist Jon “Barber” Gutwillig’s leads reached for the sky. The fabled “untz” began to set in as the Biscuits smashed through an inverted “Home Again” into “The Wormhole.”

    As a keyboardist, I am naturally very curious and dialed in to Aron Magner on his side of the stage as he bounced from one board to another, looping on the fly and generally having a ball.

    “Spacebirdmatingcall” continued the strong untz jamming and seemed to be closing the set, but bassist Marc Brownstein called for another tune as Gutwillig was in the process of removing his guitar. The funky “Morph Dusseldorf” closed out the set with lots of wah guitar and an anchoring beat from drummer Allen Aucoin.

    The energy in the Town Ballroom did not abate in the slightest during setbreak, and the band was met with raucous cheers as they took the stage for the second set. “Jigsaw Earth” was a huge Magner moment as he continued to loop sounds and show off his dexterity on the keys. Aucoin began laying into a propulsive four-on-the-floor dance beat that would dominate the unrelenting and nonstop second set as the Biscuits drove into “Anthem.”

    While Brownstein had been sticking out to me all night, this was the moment where he truly blew my mind. While I had previously had a difficult time zeroing in on his playing in the videos I had watched of the Biscuits online, his tone carried through loud and clear last night, locking in with Aucoin to form an incredible rhythm section and groove throughout the second set.

    disco biscuits buffalo
    photo by Brian Ferguson

    “Times Square” was tapped next and continued to amp up the crowd even more as smiles on band and audience alike grew wider. Moving into “I-Man,” a clear crowd favourite that elicited loud and energetic singing from those in attendance, Gutwillig shredded the song to pieces as the catchy chorus came around again.

    Dipping into an inverted “Naeba” before finishing the set with “I-Man,” the Biscuits left a thoroughly torched Buffalo venue with a concise “Helicopters” encore, once again bringing energy to new heights.

    My first Disco Biscuits experience was an absolutely incredible night – two sets of nonstop dance party and energy from a very talented band. I look forward to seeing them again soon!

    Biscuits tour continues tonight with a two-night stand at Penn’s Peak in Jim Thorpe, PA. Webcasts are available via Couchtour.TV. Karina Rykman joins them again next week for a two nights at Higher Ground in Burlington. Don’t miss it!

    This review was initially featured on Storm Sound

    Setlist via Discobiscuits.net

    Disco Biscuits – The Town Ballroom, Buffalo – Thursday, January 19, 2023

    Set 1: Bazaar Escape, The Bridge > Home Again^ > The Wormhole > Spacebirdmatingcall, Morph Dusseldorf
    Set 2: Jigsaw Earth > Anthem > Times Square > I-Man > Naeba* > I-Man
    Encore: Helicopters

    ^ first time inverted
    * inverted

    Photos by Brian Ferguson

  • Zach Bryan Announces North American Tour, 2 Stops in NY

    2022 was a particularly prolific year for rising country star Zach Bryan and he’s set on riding that wave into the new year with his biggest tour yet. Bryan’s Burn Burn Burn North American Tour tour kicks off in April at the Two Step Inn Festival in Texas, and will include two shows in New York, in Albany at MVP Arena and Queens at Forest Hills Stadium.

    Bryan released 2 full length albums and multiple EPs and singles, amounting to around 12 projects overall last year. His album American Heartbreak was the number one most streamed album on Spotify last year; it consists of a stunning 34 songs. But despite his impressive quantity, Zach Bryan has not abandoned quality. “From Austin” on American Heartbreak combines intense imagery and devastating lyricism. “Something In The Orange” went double platinum and scored Bryan a Grammy Award for Best Solo Country Performance. 

    Zach Bryan tour

    Last year, Bryan’s tour sold out in minutes. Zach Bryan, self-proclaimed enemy of Ticketmaster — his most recent live show recording is called All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks) — is using Fair AXS to sell tickets to avoid catastrophes like those that plagued Taylor Swift’s last tour. To purchase tickets, fans should register on the site beginning January 29. Registered fans will then be chosen at random starting on February 13 to access the tour site and purchase tickets on a first-come, first-served basis. 

    See the full tour schedule below and register to buy tickets here. 

    Zach Bryan 2023 Tour

    *April 15                     Georgetown, TX        Two Step Inn Festival

    May 10                     Charlottesville, VA     John Paul Jones Arena

    May 12                     Worcester, MA          DCU Center

    May 13                     Wilkes-Barre, PA       Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

    May 15                     Duluth, GA                Gas South Arena

    May 19                     Houston, TX               Toyota Center

    May 20                     New Orleans, LA       Smoothie King Center

    May 23                     Jacksonville, FL        VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena

    May 24                     N Charleston, SC      North Charleston Coliseum

    May 26                     Albany, NY                MVP Arena

    May 28                     London, ON              Budweiser Gardens

    May 31                     Philadelphia, PA        Wells Fargo Center

    June 02                    Cleveland, OH           Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

    *June 03                   Lexington, KY           Railbird Festival

    June 23                    New York, NY           Forest Hills Stadium

    June 26                    Denver, CO                   Red Rocks Amphitheatre

    June 27                    Denver, CO                   Red Rocks Amphitheatre

    *July 07                    Milwaukee, WI           Summerfest

    *July 13                    Chicago, IL                Windy City Smokeout 

    *July 14-16           Whitefish, MT            Under The Big Sky Festival

    *July 20-July 22         Cullman, AL              Rock The South

    *August 05                    St. Charles, IA           Hinterland Music Festival

    August 07                      Grand Rapids, MI      Van Andel Arena

    August 09                      Minneapolis, MN        Target Center

    August 11                      Tulsa, OK                 BOK Center

    August 14                      Sioux Falls, SD         Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

    August 17                      Nampa, ID                Ford Idaho Center

    August 19                      Las Vegas, NV          T-Mobile Arena

    August 20                      Bakersfield, CA         Mechanics Bank Arena

    August 21                      Oakland, CA             Oakland Arena

    August 23                      Los Angeles, CA       Crypto.com Arena

    August 25                      Glendale, AZ             Desert Diamond Arena

    August 27                      Wichita, KS                   INTRUST Bank Arena

    August 29                      Lincoln, NE               Pinnacle Bank Arena

    August 30                      Kansas City, MO       T-Mobile Center

    * Indicates Festival Dates – on sale now

  • moe. Kicks Off Winter Tour With The Return Of Chuck Garvey

    moe. kicked off their Winter 2023 tour on Thursday, January 19th at The Paramount in Huntington. Fresh off guitarist Chuck Garvey’s triumphant, yet limited return to the stage on New Year’s Eve in Philadelphia, the tour marks the first time Chuck will be back in the lineup full-time since suffering a stroke in November 2021.

    The band made the announcement at the end of their three night run in Colorado to the amazement of the fans that Chuck would indeed be a “special guest” on New Year’s. Fan’s welcomed Chuck to the stage in Huntington chanting “Chuck! Chuck! Chuck…” as he casually took his place on stage as if it was business as usual.

    moe. paramount
    Chuck Garvey, moe., The Paramount. Photo by Joseph Buscarello

    Ever since Chuck left the band after his stroke, moe. kept the wheels turning with additional personnel Nate Wilson (keyboards) and Michael ‘Suke’ Cerulo (guitar). Nate and Michael filled the void left by Chuck and allowed the band to keep playing shows. On Thursday at the Paramount, Nate Wilson was still playing keys for the entire show and the band sounded as if they never missed a step. moe. cruised through their 10-song opening set in about an hour, with chants and cheers for Chuck between every song break.

    moe. paramount
    moe. at The Paramount, 1/19/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello

    Chuck was stoic throughout the show, seemingly trying not to bring the focus on his return, but rather celebrate his virility and founding place in the band without fanfare. Fans were well aware of the gravity of the show they were a part of, squeezing out a few smirks and waves from Chuck between song to audible delight.

    moe. paramount
    moe. at The Paramount, 1/19/23. Photo by Joseph Buscarello

    moe.’s short winter tour is focused in the Northeast and rolls through February with two legs. This first stretch wraps up at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on Saturday, January 21st. The band has two shows in Maine in mid-February before closing the tour with two shows in Albany beginning on “moe. Day” February 24th. Tickets for the Albany shows at Palace Theater HERE.

    moe. at The Paramount – Huntington, Long Island – January 19th 2023

    Set 1: Stranger Than Fiction, The Road, Z0Z, Not Coming Down, Wormwood, Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith cover), Okayalright, Tailspin, Moth

    Set 2: Timmy Tucker, Puebla, Sensory Deprivation Bank, Captain America, She’s A Woman, Recreational Chemistry

    Encore: New York City

  • Commemorate Black History Month With “The Black Version” NYC Debut at Midnight Theatre

    On January 13, The Black Version will make its New York City debut for Black History Month at Manhattan West’s Midnight Theatre. You can witness this comedic improv on February 24 at 7pm and February 25 at 9pm. 

    The 90 minute show will commence when the audience is asked to select a popular movie. After their suggestion, the cast must improvise the “Black version” of that film, in addition with its improvised soundtrack, dance numbers, DVD extras, audition reels, and much more. The entirely improvised show performs once a month at The Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles.

    After its 2010 summer opening, The Black Version has performed completely sold-out houses at The Groundlings Theatre. Despite also performing at The Kennedy Center, the show has been enjoyed at numerous festivals. This would include the Netflix is a Joke Festival, the San Francisco SketchFest, Outside Lands Music Festival, and the Louisville Improv Festival. 

    The all black cast features show creator, Jordan Black, Nyima Funk, Daniele Gaither, Phil LaMarr, Gary Anthony Williams, and Cedric Yarbrough. Karen Maruyama is responsible for direction and presented by Zach Laks Productions. You’ve seen this animated cast in shows like Community, Wild N’ Out, Mad TV, The Boondocks and Reno 911. Tickets are on sale here.

    Midnight Theatre’s marvelous 160-seat venue provides a diverse range of programming that showcases talent from the Broadway stage, comedy, music, DJs and other unique special events. While attending the show, obtaining food will be no problem. Midnight Theatre contains a pan-Asian restaurant and bar, known as The Hidden Leaf. The flavorsome restaurant was created by Josh Cohen, with a kitchen helmed by Chef Chai Trivedi. Midnight Cafe, Midnight Theatre’s street level cocktail bar will also be open to guests. Another great place to grab a bite is Essex Pearl, offering a variety of seafood rolls, lobster, crab, shrimp and more from 12pm-7pm. A nightly Oyster Happy Hour will be available from 4pm – 7pm.

  • Pink Talking Fish Announce NYC And Buffalo Shows

    Hybrid/fusion act Pink Talking Fish have announced their 2023 spring tour, celebrating the 50 Year Anniversary of Pink Floyd’s album Dark Side Of The Moon. 

    Picture of Pink Talking Fish
    Pink Talking Fish

    A musical tribute fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish, the band will celebrate by performing the album in its entirety for every show of the tour. The incredible two set show will be dedicated to first to Dark Side Of The Moon, while the second set will be classic Pink Talking Fish combinations of their namesakes.

    New York City’s stop will be held March 24, 2023 at Manhattan’s Sony Hall, located in Times Square. Known as Midtown’s Premier event hall, Sony Hall is equipped with Sony’s latest technologies throughout to provide an enhanced experience.

    Pink Talking Fish will also be making a stop in Buffalo on April 13. The show will take place at Buffalo Iron Works, a live music venue & bar built into an early 1900s factory space.

    Pink Talking Fish will have 2 sets

    The tour begins with an epic concept show on March 11 in Beverly MA which is being called “The Anniversary Show”. This performance will not only include Dark Side Of The Moon, but also have a full rendition of the Talking Heads album Stop Making Sense.

    Tickets are available now at www.pinktalkingfish.com/tour

  • Timing to hold Debut Album Listening Party at The Hangar on January 28

    The debut recording from timing – featuring members of punk rock bands Public Access and The Slaughterhouse Chorus – will be premiered on Saturday, January 28 at The Hanger in Troy.

    timing
    photo by Yuliya Peshkova.

    The album, Storm’s Coming, is more of a recording project and one that cannot be performed live. However on this night at The Hanger, the album will be played in its entirety, set to a 30 minute video that follows the flow of the album. On Storm’s Coming, the weather seems fine -but it could change at any time.

    timing’s formation was a reaction to an ever-changing forecast and the debut recording a song cycle about the storms of uncertainty that was borne on the winds of most uncertain times. In the strange, scary summer of 2020, four lifelong musical comrades – Chris Jordan (vocals, resonator, keys), Jason Bonafide (pedal steel guitar), Bob Watson (bass) and Mark McKenna (drums) -reconvened after their first extended break in nearly 20 years of weekly rehearsals for their reasonably regionally successful punk rock bands, Public Access and The Slaughterhouse Chorus. With the doors wide open and plenty of room to breathe, the four dragged some instruments into an old horse barn in rural Rensselaer County to start again.

    timing
    art by Mavis McKinley

    A handful of fingerpicked resonator riffs and bits of melodies collecting dust were finally given a place in the sun as the band developed a series of Jordan’s instrumental ideas into the basis of “Storm’s Coming” over that eerily quiet summer in the barn. Jordan and Bonafide traded their distorted guitars for plucked acoustics and steel guitar swells, learning to play as they went, while Watson and McKenna locked into backcountry rhythms that occasionally spiraled into chaos. Inspired by Radiohead’s approach to Kid A, the band forced itself to embrace the uncertainty of the times by substantiating those early demos with unusual instrumentations, unconventional songwriting, and unfamiliar production techniques.

    Live recordings from the barn were brought back to Bonafide’s basement studio, unraveled, ripped apart, and reassembled, with the traditional sounds forming the dirt floor for an off-kilter skyscraper of strings, synthesizers, drones, and impressionistic lyrics delivered in rich harmonies. Built up brick by brick over the course of the next two years into a multifarious musical collage, the EP attempts to interface Nine Inch Nails‘ industrial dread with the organic warmth of Crosby, Stills, & Nash without losing course.

    timing
    art by Mavis McKinley

    Mixed by Scoops Dardaris (Prince Daddy & The Hyena, Undeath) and mastered by Nick Sebastiano (Another Michael), timing’s Storm’s Coming is a concept album where meteorology is the metaphor for life’s everyday anxiety and unease, where the thunderheads are always lurking somewhere on the horizon, where the river is always threatening to flood its banks. The alt-country heart of the record skips into arrhythmias of crashing doom, swirling post-rock, pastoral indie-folk, and glitching electronics. Tossed around somewhere in the trailing wakes of The Band and The Books, Aphex Twin and Aaron Copeland, the resulting mini-album is an amalgamation of the new and the old, the familiar and the unknown, blurring the lines between acoustic and electronic and riding the fence dividing tradition and experimentation.

    Doors open at The Hanger on January 28, with music starting at 8pm. Admission is free. 

    Listen to “The King” below or on various streaming services here. The rest of Storm’s Coming will be released on Friday, February 3rd on Bandcamp.