Corning, NY’s Gaffer District is returning with their “Summer in Downtown” series this summer with a suite of events ranging from music to stories to farmers markets. This year, the program is sponsored by Williams Toyota, enabling free and accessible events to all attendees.
For over 30 years, the Gaffer District has served as a place of community engagement and marketing. Originally built following the reconstruction of Corning’s historic downtown in the wake of a flood in 1972. Today, the district is home to over 250 businesses, galleries, museums, and a full schedule of events throughout the year.
We are thrilled to partner again with Williams Toyota to present the Summer in Downtown event series. Their tremendous passion for this community is evident in the many ways they help us provide free entertainment and wonderful memory-making experiences for area residents and visitors alike.
Coleen Fabrizi, executive director of Corning’s Gaffer District
Summer in Downtown Series Events
Community Nights
Home to vendors, live music, and kid-friendly activities, Gaffer District will be holding two Community Nights. The first, “Crusin’ Community Night” is on July 28 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will feature the bands Chasing Neon as well as Blue Eyed Soul. The second, “Bites on Bridge Community Night” in on Aug. 25 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will include the band Double Barrel.
Storytime in the Square
Every Tuesday from June 13 to Aug. 22 is at 10:00 a.m. at the Centerway Square stage for an hour. Each day has a different theme, from “In the Good ol’ Summertime” to “Christmas in July.”
Corning Farmers Market
At the Riverfront in Corning on every Thursday from June 1 to Oct. 26 is the Corning Farmers Market. From 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., local farmers and vendors will be there to sell their wares. A community favorite, Ella’s Acres food truck, will be there all summer long to serve locally-sourced cuisine.
Northside Music Series
All events for the Northside Music Series are from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. This Corning Summer in Downtown will feature the following artists:
Can’t Count Trio – July 11
Sandra Esparza – July 18
Payton Clark – July 25
Dragonfly Acoustic – Aug. 1
3’s a Crowd – Aug. 8
Pat Comstock – Aug. 15
Jeremy James – Aug. 22
Tremayne Harer- Aug. 29
Music in the Square
All events for the Music in the Square series are from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.. This series will feature the following artists:
A week in advance of the release of their new album, Rhode Island folk-rock stalwarts Deer Tick visited Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua. It was a bit of a weird week in Western New York as smoke from Canadian wildfires filled the air, forcing people indoors and into masks once again. The air cleared enough to safely stage the show, and the show would go on.
But still, for Deer Tick, “it was a weird time to be alive,” according to guitarist and singer John McCauley. Not this era, decade, week, or day, but specifically the current time, 7:47pm. A hard curfew of 9pm, ensured the sun would be out for pretty much the whole show. It was an early set for the band more attuned to the late night bar crowd, even if they’ve outgrown their bar band days.
Weird as it was, Deer Tick stuffed their early-evening time with songs spanning their career, from some of their earliest tunes. like “Easy” and “Twenty Miles,” all the way up to their as-yet released material. It all flowed together seamlessly. The old tunes felt as fresh as ever, while the new ones had a well-worn quality like they had been there all along.
The new record, Emotional Contracts, was actually recorded not all that far away, in the similarly named Cassadaga, NY at Tarbox Road Studios. Kinda weird?
In their own weird way, they worked in some tributes to some of the rockers that helped paved their way. “Me and My Man” got a little bit of ZZ Top’s “La Grange” added at the front, which prompted McCauley to suggest they do that for all of their songs. So on the ensuing, “The Bump,” his band mates jokingly obliged with teases of Tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream,” and The Beatles’ “Day Tripper.” When MCCauley’s monitor needed a battery change, the rest of the band settled into a nice little groove while waiting. This sounded like Santana and Rob Thomas’ hit “Smooth” to McCauley so he of course started singing what he could remember from that. Then on the tail end of “The Dream’s in the Ditch,” McCauley tacked on Santo and Johnny’s “Tear Drop,” with their signature languid slide guitar sound. They weren’t over a more traditional cover either, throwing in a rollicking rendition of Little Feat’s “Rocket in my Pocket” mid-set that featured searing solos from both McCauley and guitarist Ian O’Neill. Even the banter included tributes, with Cheap Trick’s famous line, “This is the first song off our new album!” appropriately introducing the new tune, “If I Try to Leave.”
The latest single, “Once in a Lifetime” was titled like a cover, but it was all original, getting down with Chris Ryan’s groovy bass line. As much fun as the band was having with their little asides, their original material ruled the day, or the early-evening rather. Drummer Dennis Ryan penned the new “Running From Love,” which came to him in a dream. The soul-inflected tune built and built, culminating in a fiery solo from McCauley on his orange guitar, with his matching orange pick, which he also thought was “weird.”
The set closed on “Mange,” tossing the previous 80 minutes together into a rock assault. A long intro set the scene, a grooving bass laid the groundwork, and a big “whoop” set the fuse. Then the band went all in with raging guitars, a big drum solo, and a drifting feedback jam. They put it all out there for a big rock show finish.
But of course there was more. They came back for a two-song encore that pushed right up to that 9pm curfew. The night closed with “the last song on our new album,” the slow oozing rocker “The Real Thing” that surely left everyone in attendance hotly anticipating their first listen to Emotional Contracts.
If you missed out, don’t fret, the band will be back in the area with a show at the Homer Center for the Arts on November 12.
Setlist: Forgiving Ties, If I Try to Leave, Me and My Man, The Bump > Easy, Rocket in My Pocket (Little Feat), If She Could See Me Now, Twenty Miles, Running From Love, Hope is Big > Tripping Up the Stairs (Traditional), Once in a Lifetime, Clownin’ Around, The Dream’s in the Ditch > Tear Drop (Santo & Johnny), Mange Encore: Jumpstarting, The Real Thing
Celebrating 30 years as a band, the original quartet of Schleigho will hit the road for select shows in New York and Pennsylvania in June and August.
Schleigho (pronounced shlay-ho) is a NYC four-piece that came together while attending Boston’s Berklee School of Music in the early 1990s. Drummer Erik Egol, flutist/guitarist Suke Cerulo, jazz pianist Jesse Gibbon, and bassist Drew McCabe became entranced with jazz early on and molded a sound similar to the likes of Bela Fleck and Medeski, Martin, & Wood.
Traveling the Northeast college circuit in the 90s led to them being regulars at the Knitting Factory in NYC and played with jazz aficionados Fleck, Maceo Parker, and Galactic. Schleigho will take you on a musical journey through edgy improv, hypnotic vibey grooves, and intricately composed and heady, progressive originals spanning three decades.
It’s a great feeling to enter a fresh creative cycle as we enter a fourth decade of playing together. We have so much new material and so many new ideas as a result of individual growth as musicians and humans that we can’t work on it all at once. It’s a blessing and we’re really excited about sharing our new Schleigho songs and sounds.
It’s also great to play songs we wrote in a basement in 1993 which makes the whole current Schleigho experience feel like past, present and future all at once. It’s surreal at times and pretty damn cool. We are grateful for our fans and families for the love and support for all these years and we are grateful and excited to share some special nights with you
– Drew McCabe
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see one of the best of the early 90’s jam band scene as they debut new material and reflect on three decades of making music together.
Schleigho 30th Anniversary Tour Dates
Friday, June 9 – Parish Public House, Albany, NY Saturday, June 10 – Upstate Boogie Fest, Hemlock, NY Friday, August 4 – TBA, Buffalo, NY Saturday, August 5 – Erie’s Blues and Jazz Fest, Erie, PA
Historic Hemlock Fairground located in the town of Hemlock, just 40 minutes south of Rochester, will host the annual Upstate Boogie Festival over June 9-11, 2023. The three day and night live music and art festival includes camping, regional and local live bands on two stages, plus vendors from the Finger Lakes and beyond.
Livingston Country’s Hemlock Fairground is a national historic district and fairground, a notable landmark thanks to the racetrack and covered grandstand constructed in 1870. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. Hemlock Fair has been held for over 150 years.
Tent and car camping available to Upstate Boogie ticket-holders, and for family camping, LITTLEVILLE will provide plenty of room for kids to play, right in the center of it all. Re-entry is available for those who are local and purchase a non-camping weekend pass. RV Camping is available at limited electric sites, for an extra charge. Indoor bathrooms are open 24 hours throughout the event with showers open dawn to dusk
Local Artisans & Craftsmen will be selling their wares in the Vending Village, with a Food Court featuring fair and festival favorites.
Upstate Boogie Live Music schedule
FRIDAY JUNE 9 DIGGIN’ ROOTS BAND (7pm) HIGH PINES (9pm) HERBAL TONIC (11pm) NICK LEDUC (12:30am)
SATURDAY JUNE 10 THE MIDNIGHT SCONCE (1pm) ADAM BROOKS BAND (3pm) ST. VITH (5pm) DRUM CIRCLE (7pm) GRUB (8pm) SCHLEIGHO (10pm) NIGEL FELONY (12:30am)
SUNDAY JUNE 11 JUDAH (11am) THE KIND BROTHERS BAND (1pm)
Tickets are on sale now. A 3-day weekend pass is $60 in advance, and $80 at the gate, with children 18 & under are FREE with parents also attending. Single day tickets are $50 for Friday, $60 for Saturday, and $10 for Sunday. Cash only is accepted at the gate. Parking costs $20 for the weekend and $10 for a day pass.
Get to know the artists of Upstate Boogies
Schleigho has been a nationally touring jazz-fusion band since the early 1990’s and have released 5 CD’s, playing regularly at clubs and theaters up and down the east-coast, mid- west and west coast over the mid ’90’s and early 2000’s. Instrumental, energetic, raw and at times down-right sinister. Down from roughly 200 shows a year at the turn of the millennium, don’t miss Schleigho if they are in your neck of the woods. This is one of their few scheduled dates so far for their 30th anniversary in 2023.
Herbal Tonic is a WNY feel good jam band, infused with island reggae, blues, and funk, and will surely have you out on the dancefloor craving for more!
St. Vith is a Finger Lakes eclectic indie rock band whose sound is a mural of psychedelic jam, art rock and time honored American styles.
Grub is a Psych Rock group based out of Niagara Falls. This multi-genre trio is capable of delivering funk-driven madness, improvisational bliss, and shoe-gazing glitch-o-matic electronic soundscapes. A live Grub performance showcases their original tunes as well as their improvisational chops, while captivating the crowd by teasing dancable and nostalgic covers from past decades.
High Pines is a union of smooth grooves, contemporary funk, and neo-psychedelic explorations that evolve with each performance. A fusion of jazz appreciation and rock spirit, complimented by enchanting harmonies, creates music for your mind, body and soul.
Diggin Roots Band plays an eclectic mix of music inspired by the various forms of American Roots Music including Blues, Funk, Rock n Roll, Soul, R&B, Bluegrass, and Gospel. Some songs may blend multiple genres together into a coherent sound while others might hang on firmly to a specific style.
Nick LeDuc is an original artist hailing from Ogdensburg NY, playing a unique style of Refined Rock-groove to tantalize your ears and tickle your fancy. Combining classic guitar styles and intoxicating rhthyms, accented by his unique vocal style, Nick is one of the freshest sounds heard on the music scene in a very long time. From funk to blues, and rock to folk there’s a little something in between all of it that comes to make up the sound Nick LeDuc projects live or in studio.
Judah is a four piece rock band from Rochester that has turned heads since their outset as high schoolers a few years back. Blending a soulful mix of rock and blues, Judah has expanded their touring around WNY and the Finger Lakes.
The Midnight Sconce are Rochester’s next jamband that you will soon hear more about. These guys catch the groove and delivery, expect high energy jams and plenty of fun!
For more info email, contact hemlockevents@gmail.com
The Geneva Music Festival was back in full swing on Sunday, May 21, with a performance from the Iris Trio at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. In addition, three more concerts took place in the month of May, as ATLYS will take the stage on the 25th at Ravine’s Wine Cellars and Legends and Fairy Tales on the 26th and 27th at Hobart & William Smith.
For the past several weeks, The Geneva Music Festival has been delighting audiences with concerts performed by world-class talent from the chamber music scene and beyond. The season concludes this coming Sunday, June 11 following daily concerts starting June 8.
June 8 at 7:30pm, come hear the Jason Clayborn Band perform at the Cracker Factory for an ebullient night of R&B and Soul. The Grammy-nominated singer will be joined by soprano Kimberly Salter, alto Tiera Dunn, and tenor Walter Malone III, and band members Gabriel Hatcher II, main keyboard and musical director; Willie Robinson, bass; and Lacy Comer, drums. The band will perform selections from their repertoire of hits, and audience members will be welcomed to sing along.
On June 9 and 10, GMF artists-in-residence will perform “In Concordia”, the final chamber music concert of the season. Clive Greensmith, cello; Anna Petrova, piano; Geoffrey Herd, violin; Hannah Collins, cello; Clara Lyon, violin; and Tanner Menees, viola will perform works by Bach, Haydn, Elgar, and Kodaly. In keeping with this year’s festival theme, the concert will be focused on musical and spiritual harmony, featuring works that showcase transpositions of hymns and chorales. Greensmith shared his interpretation of how the festival theme of “Gods, Myths, and the Divine” connects to the concert experience: “A concert for me is an offering, a communion between composer, performer and the audience. There should be a sense of ritual, a reverence for the music, and a sense of heightened sensitivity as we listen and respond to the voice of the composer. Each performance will be different, but in every case, one is hoping to get as close as possible to the deeper meaning behind each work. In the same way that a religious experience can speak to us, to inspire, provoke or enlighten us, a concert can do something similar. Music can also heal us, it can console us and the act of listening together, focused solely on one idea, this can bring a community together in a very meaningful way.”
And finally, the Festival will conclude with a matinee concert at Geneva on the Lake by Finger Lakes-based trio The Brothers Blue. At 2pm on Sunday June 11, Matthew Sperber, guitar, bass; Benny Haravitch, banjo, bass, guitar; and Charlie Coughlin, fiddle, mandolin will perform original compositions that draw influence and inspiration from country, bluegrass, Cajun, and Irish music. Come join us in celebrating the end of an action-packed season!
The Geneva Music Festival was founded in 2011 by Geneva, New York violinist Geoffrey Herd and fellow local musicians violinist Eliot Heaton and cellist Hannah Collins as a weekend of chamber music in their hometown. Now in its 13th season, the festival has grown to a nearly month-long event that draws thousands of attendees from across the Finger Lakes region. Each year, the Festival continues its mission of inspiring people with world-class chamber music and engaging diverse audiences in its outreach programs. The theme this year is “Gods, Myths and the Divine”. To learn more, and to purchase tickets for the festival concerts, visit: https://genevamusicfestival.com/
Heading into its 13th campaign, the four-week event looks to bring together some of the region’s top musicians and connect the community through musical expression, and from May 21 to June 11, many different groups and artists will come through Upstate New York to do just that.
Every year, the concert series announces its own theme to circulate around it, with this year being titled “God, Myths, and the Divine.” This unique 2023 theme centers around human connection and interaction with the divine, maintaining a diverse set of musical styles and cultures.
With that being said, “God, Myths, and the Divine” hones in on traditions of older classical music. A majority of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schuman’s works are incorporated into ATLYS and other bands performing throughout the festival.
The Performers On The Theme
Exploring the present and past of music is something, violinist Max Geissler, a member of the program, prepares to welcome those who will be in attendance and praises the program’s thematic choices.
“This season really gives us the opportunity to not only learn of these cultural backgrounds, but to experiment with the unique ways in which music can convey narrative and spirituality. These programs contain so many different approaches to expressing a story, and it’s interesting to consider how music as a medium has the ability to make these legends and philosophies much more vivid.”
– Max Geissler
Opening headliner the Iris Trio also looks forward to being a part of the Geneva Music Festival. Their performance for the concert titled “Project Earth” focuses on raising awareness about the environment, an important focal point in today’s society.
“Project Earth” is the Iris Trio’s response to the enormous crisis currently facing our planet,” the Trio said. Through chamber music and poetry, the project strives to illuminate the impact of human behavior on the environment, addressing issues of climate change, pollution, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss.”
The Iris Trio will perform at the Geneva Music Festival Sunday, May 21, 2023
With Iris Trio getting ready to kick things off on May 21, tickets will be selling fast. All tickets to each in-person concert or live stream option are $35 for adults, $10 for college students with IDs, and free for Grade 12 and under. The adult season passes for all eight concerts in the GMF are $240.
As a bonus, ATLYS will also be performing at a free pop-up concert Tuesday, May 23 at 7:00 pm at Geneva LakeFront Gazebo, in addition to their performance on May 25.
Geneva Music Festival May Shows
Iris Trio: Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 5:30 pm – Gearan Center for the Theater Arts click here for tickets
ATLYS: Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 7:00 pm – Geneva LakeFront Gazebo
Legends and Fairy Tales: May 26, 27
Ticket Information
Visit the GMF website to learn more and purchase tickets before they are all gone! If you have already purchased tickets and plan to watch the festival through our Digital Concert Hall, please email zion@genevamusicfestival.com to let them know.
Popular Southern Tier music venue Tags Summer Stage of Big Flats, NY kicked off their exciting 30th season of music with a sold out show featuring Lee Brice and Cole Swindell.
Lee Brice got the night going as the first of two headlining shows for the highly anticipated event. The success of the first show was evident with a sold out venue.
Brice was touring in support of his latest album “ Hey World” his fifth album to date from Curb Records. Playing with Brice is his band of many years Travis Bettis on guitar. Micheal Gray on drums, Paul Rippee on bass, and Reginald Bradley Smith on Keyboard. The current tour will take Brice as far west as California and north into Canada. Brice will return to the Empire State on this tour Oct. 19th & 20th in Westbury NY at the NYCB Theatre.
For Tags the excitement for their 30th season continues on July 2nd with Rodney Atkins & Sammy Kershaw, and recently announced, Dustin Lynch & Dylan Scott on Aug. 11th. For more info on all the events for Tags 30th anniversary season go to www.tagstickets.com
For more info on Lee Brice fans can to his website www.leebrice.com loaded with ticket and tour info.
Throughout the summer, the Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) in Canandaigua offers various concerts and events. Beginning in June and lasting until September, the lineup includes something for everybody from country stars to rock festivals.
Located next to the campus of Finger Lakes Community College, the CMAC summer concert series always attracts big crowds enjoying the artists.
Santana- June 22 at 8 PM
Grammy Award winning artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Santana kicks of the CMAC summer series on June 22. Santana will be traveling across North America this summer for his 1001 Rainbows Tour.
Darius Rucker- June 24 at 8 PM
Rucker first rose to fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish. In advance of the release of his forthcoming album Carolyn’s Boy, Rucker began the Starting Fires Tour. Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors are special guests who will also be joining him.
Weezer- July 3 at 7 PM
This summer, popular indie rock band Weezer is joined by special guests on their Indie Rock Roadtrip tour. For their CMAC date, Future Islands and Joyce Manor will also be taking the stage as the guests.
Roc The Lake Music Festival- July 7 at 5 PM
AJR will be headlining the Roc The Lake Music Festival. A band made up of three brothers (Adam, Jack, and Ryan), AJR is constantly re-envisioning pop music with their music. Also joining the group for the festival is Chelsea Cutler, Lawrence, Blake Rose, and Almost Monday.
The Doobie Brothers- July 14 at 8 PM
Four-time Grammy Award winners The Doobie Brothers added a tour stop at CMAC to their 50th Anniversary Tour. For over five decades, The Doobie Brothers have been known for delivering mind-blowing, roots-based, harmony-laden, guitar-driven rock and roll – all of which recently culminated in an induction into the 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Chicks- August 11 at 7:30 PM
Fresh off the heels of their massively successful U.S. tour last summer, The Chicks return to the stage with their 2023 world tour. They will also be joined by special guest singer-songwriter Ben Harper.
Dan + Shay- August 19 at 8 PM
Country duo Dan + Shay will stop at CMAC during their tour promoting their most recent album Good Things. They are best known for their global hits, including “Tequila,” “Speechless,” and “All To Myself.”
Duran Duran- September 3 at 7 PM
Continuing to perform to huge concert audiences around the world since the band first formed in 1980, Duran Duran has seen more than 100 million record sales worldwide. In the past year alone, they performed live at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace, headlined London’s Hyde Park and, in a full circle moment, closed the iconic opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in their hometown of Birmingham.
Tickets and more information on these events can be found on CMAC’s website.
Fusing the sounds of country and rock, Dutchess County-based Raquel & The Wildflowers will embark on a tour of the Midwest and South, bookended by shows in the Northeast and Hudson Valley.
Raquel and the Wildflowers are known for their energetic live performances and the breath of fresh air they bring into the country/rock genre.
Raquel & The Wildflowers have performed alongside country festival artists such as Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Granger Smith. The group has opened for multi-platinum artist Andy Grammer, award winning band The Big E Fair, and performed numerous at Summer Concert series and Music Festivals around the Northeast.
Raquels debut solo artist single “Run Towards the Highway” won a ReverbNation contest that was distributed for airplay. The song charted #32 on DRT Top 50 Country AirPlay charts (2018) alongside global country stars such as Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.
Raquel & The Wildflowers were previously featured on NY’s Country 94.7 FM, Central NY #1 Country station Big Frog, MD Country Station 94.7WDSD, Freedom Park “QuaranTunes” Summer Series and iHeart Radio KISS FM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le8Qx5eQ99M
Shows in New York State for Raquel & The Wildflowers include Hudson Valley cities Redhook, Pawling, New Paltz and Fishkill, as well as shows in the North Country in Akwesasne and Southern Tier in Nichols and Salamanca.
Raquel is currently recording her first album with the band that is scheduled to be released in 2023. For more information, visit Raquelwildflowers.com
The Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) in Canandaigua has announced the 2023 Roc The Lake Festival with the renowned trio AJR as a headliner. On July 17, fans can jam to their favorite songs by AJR, and a lineup including Chelsea Cutler, Lawrence Blake Rose and Almost Monday.
AJR, is a renowned pop trio of brothers that has garnered an abundance of success since their formation in 2012. Over the past decade AJR has accumulated billions of streams, released a platinum album, double-platinum single, triple-platinum single, and four platinum singles. The band has also been ranked #1 on the Top Alternative Albums and Rock Albums Charts following their biggest first-week debut at the Neotheater in 2019. Apple Music and Spotify showed appreciation for the trio’s electric sound by placing AJR’s “Sober Up” & “Weak” among the Best Rock and Alt Songs of the 2010s. Fans can rock out to songs from the brother’s fourth full-length album, OK ORCHESTRA at the Roc The Lake Festival.
Chelsea Cutler is a singer, songwriter, and the producer of introspective EDM. After signing to Ultra Records in 2017, the vocalist released mixtapes such as Sleeping with Roses I and II and a full-length debut, How to Be Human. Lawrence Blake Rose is an upcoming Australian singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. The gifted musician recently released a new single “Rest Of Us.”
The San Diego based trio, Almost Monday quickly transformed from garage band to an upbeat pop sensation. While only having a few songs released, the boys gained a tremendous amount of fame and millions of streams since the release of their disco-infused track “Broken People” in 2020.
The Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC) was founded by Marvin Sands. The arts center has been on a mission to unite communities through art and culture since 1983.
Tickets to the Roc The Lake Festival can be found here.
Indie artist, composer, and New York native Shayfer James brought his Shipwreck tour to Rochester’s Photo City Music Hall on April 2. Opening the show for the mostly under 30 crowd was Rochester based Bellwether Breaks and Atlanta’s Sarah and The Safe Word.
Bellwether Breaks opened the show right about 7pm and immediately got the crowd into it. Lead singer, Elyse Coughlin was donning a 70s style wardrobe, and had some vocals reminiscent of the era. Her range and smooth sounds were similar to Amy Winehouse, with some early cabaret hints being tossed around. Playing a 9 song set, including newly released The Oracle, the band consists of: drummer Dave Goebel, guitarist Peter Goebel, vocalist Elyse Coughlin, keyboardist Chris Coon, and bassist Eugene Bisdikian. Chris Coon also plays a mean sax, as displayed at this show.
Having only been around for a few years, BB has developed a great following and in 2022 both Elyse and Chris received nominations for local “best of…” competition and the band was nominated for best rock band as well. Pretty damn good for this newly formed quintet.
Setlist: Say it Like it’s True; Headed Home; Peaches; About a Girl; Perfect Universe; The Oracle; I Put a Spell on You; The Prime Directive; Blow the Roof Off.
Following Bellwether Breaks was Sarah and The Safe Word. While not normally the music I gravitate to, this group from Atlanta left it all on the stage, with the crowd looking for more. Sara Rose is the leader and made their presence known. Smooth, clean vocals with a story behind every song, the band had the crowd moving all over the place.
Not normally politically charged performers, the band is strong advocates for the LGBTQ+ community and promotes support groups on their website. While they don’t necessarily put it on the forefront of the show, they are not afraid to slip in the well-placed political jab between songs, which also work as segways for next song.
The band consists of: Sarah Rose (vocals), Kienan Dietrich (guitar, vocals), Susy Reyes (violin, vocals), Beth Ballinger (keys, vocals), Maddox Reksten (bass, vocals), and Carlos Gonzalez (percussion, vocals).
As stated before, this is not normally the music I gravitate towards, but Susy Reyes absolutely blew me away. Jumping around on stage while playing violin, Lindsay Sterling-esque, Reyes stole the show for me. Amazing voice, with the occasional deep scream (think Jinjer), Reyes will leave you in awe every time.
Shayfer James. If you aren’t familiar with him, you need to be. James has released 10 albums, including his newest, Shipwreck.
James is known for his silky piano skills as well his thought out lyrics. Sometimes dark, sometimes sentimental, sometimes cliche. Regardless of how you hear them, James will leave you tapping your feet or bopping your head before you even realize what he is singing about.
The crowd at Photo City Music Hall had dissipated by the time James took the stage, but those who were still there, crowded the front of the stage almost within arm’s reach of this talented composer. They were treated to an amazing, intimate performance, as James played songs from most of his albums, including Welcome Back, Misery; For the Departed; and Weight of the World.
Follow Shayfer James and check out his music: Shayfer James
