Jerry Garcia Bobblehead games are once again on the schedule for August at Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium is extending the bobblehead games this year, starting on Garcia’s birthday, and continuing until Aug. 5.
This marks the second series of bobblehead games at the stadium featuring the late Grateful Dead frontman, the first of which was last year for what would’ve been Garcia’s 80th birthday.
The Rex Foundation will receive a portion of every ticket sold for the Jerry Garcia Bobblehead Games. Credit: Herb Greene
Jerry Garcia was an American musician from San Francisco and co-founder of the rock band Grateful Dead, which gained popularity during the counterculture of the 1960s. While he is considered by many to be the leader of the Grateful Dead, Garcia never embraced the title. The band’s career birthed 13 studio albums over nearly 30 years, officially breaking up shortly before Garcia’s death in 1995, although pre-recorded live albums continued to be released following his death. Garcia, along with his Grateful Dead bandmates, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
A portion of every ticket sold will support the Rex Foundation. Special tickets must be purchased for the Jerry Garcia Bobblehead Games at Yankee Stadium. Each Special Event Ticket includes a New York Yankees Jerry Garcia Bobblehead. The New York Yankees will verse the Tampa Bay Rays for the first two games on Aug. 1-2, and the Houston Astros for the next four games, from Aug. 3-6. Prices vary by date and seating selection.
Listen to the “Touch of Grey” music video by Grateful Dead.
San Francisco-based guitarist and composer Bill Orcutt will return to Brooklyn’s Roulette to present his latest project, an all-electric Guitar Quartet, performing the music from his critically-acclaimed 2022 LP, Music for Four Guitars on Monday, March 27 at 8 pm.
One of today’s most innovative guitarists and composers, Orcutt will join forces with three other renowned experimentally-minded players – Wendy Eisenberg, Ava Mendoza and Shane Parish – to present this music in an expanded format combining Orcutt’s intricate compositions with no-holds-barred improvisation.
Orcutt is the former guitarist and founder of the notorious 90’s group Harry Pussy. His sound is a stuttered reimagining of blues guitar, one weaving looping melodic lines and angular attack into a dense, fissured landscape of American primitivism, outsider jazz, and a stripped-down re-envisioning of the possibilities of the guitar. Whether he’s playing his decrepit Kay acoustic or gutted electric Telecaster (both stripped of two of their strings, as has been Orcutt’s custom since 1985), Orcutt’s jagged sound is utterly unique and instantly recognizable, compared with equal frequency to avant-garde composers and rural bluesmen. The New York Times has called him a “powerful musician… a go-for-broke guitar improviser,” and described his sound as “articulated sprays of arpeggiated chords and dissonance.”
With Music for Four Guitars, Orcutt created 14 brief pieces built upon tiny minimalist phrases which expand into dense tapestries of sound and mood. His sound marries the collective guitar punch of the minimalist guitar orchestras work of No Wave pioneers Glenn Branca and Rhys Chatham with the knotty Delta psychedelia of Trout Mask Replica-era Captain Beefheart.
While Orcutt played all four guitars on the album, he is presenting the expanded version at Roulette with the assistance of three of the most talked-about players on the alternative guitar scene – Ava Mendoza, Wendy Eisenberg and Shane Parish
Mendoza is a guitarist, singer/songwriter, composer and bandleader based in Brooklyn who leads the globe-trotting avant-rock trio Unnatural Ways, works in a duo with former Can vocalist Malcolm Mooney, and records and performs in a variety of contexts. She is a first-call session musician who has worked with bandleaders including William Hooker, Nels Cline, Nate Wooley, and William Parker. Her knotty, dynamic, yet intricately melodic playing style mixes rock, jazz, metal, and funk with years of classical and improvisational training.
Wendy Eisenberg is an improviser and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. Their work spans genres, from jazz to noise to avant-rock to delicate songs in performances spanning from international festivals to intimate basements. Though often working solo as both a songwriter and improviser, with acclaimed releases on Tzadik, VDSQ, Out of your Head and Garden Portal, they also perform in the rock band Editrix, and in endless other combinations of their heroes and peers including Allison Miller, Carla Kihlstedt, John Zorn, Billy Martin, and Caroline Davis.
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Athens, Georgia-based guitarist/songwriter Shane Parish is a self-taught musician who communicates through emotion, unexpected melodicism, technical whimsy, a nuanced sense of form, and rich timbral variety, simultaneously drawing from the guitar’s history and aiming for its future. Avant Music News described Parish as “one of the most consistently innovative finger-picking acoustic guitarists in a generation.” In 2016, he was recognized for his solo acoustic efforts by composer John Zorn, who issued the album Undertaker Please Drive Slow on Tzadik Records, hailing it as “a remarkable and soulful acoustic solo project that digs deep into Appalachian roots… At times reminiscent of John Fahey and Robbie Basho, at times of John Cage and Morton Feldman.” Parish has self-released numerous recordings of folk interpretations in the years since Undertaker.
For tickets and information, visit the event site here.
Back in 2012, Alt-J somewhat quietly released their debut album, An Awesome Wave. The Leeds, UK band officially released the LP (on Infectious Records) in May of that year, just after finishing a run of shows supporting fellow British indie-rockers, Wild Beasts. Alt-J would spend the rest of 2012 on the European festival circuit, supporting bands like Grouplove and Bloc Party, and playing tons of local shows across the UK.
Alt-J’s first US shows also came in 2012, at the incredibly intimate Glasslands and Mercury Lounge venues in New York City. This pattern drastically changed in November of 2012 when Alt-J was awarded the coveted Mercury Prize, given to the best album released in the UK by a British or Irish artist.
Fast forward less than one year from the shows at Glasslands and Mercury Lounge (roughly 200-person capacity local venues), Alt-J found themselves headlining Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan in front of over 3,500 fans. The world tour that spanned much of 2013 catapulted Alt-J into legendary indie rock status, where they remain today over a decade later.
An Awesome Wave album cover.
While the prestige of the Mercury Prize is sure to garnish fresh attention for a new band, it was hardly the only reason Alt-J saw so much success early on. The band spent nearly five years working on the album, after meeting at Leeds University in 2007. The time and dedication the band put into their beloved project culminated in a truly unique and fresh take on indie rock. The genre had already been a little over 10 years old at the time and was in need of an evolution.
The music on An Awesome Wave was a diverse blend of psychedelic rock and melodic storytelling, with deliberately sparse arrangements giving all the different layers wide spacing in the mix. The percussions feel as if a different set of elements were used for each song, cohesively tied together with frontman Joe Newman’s unique voice and vocal delivery. Different parts of the album feel rooted in various past eras of folk and rock music, all crafted with a modern focus on production and presentation. It feels almost “stripped back” in ways, while creating a thunderous atmosphere with very few layers. It is almost impossible to find any band or album that compares to Alt-J on An Awesome Wave; the prime reason the band took off once the world was able to get their hands on the record.
Earlier this month, Alt-J set out on a short run of shows to celebrate a decade of An Awesome Wave. The tour kicked off with two nights at Brooklyn’s historic Kings Theatre in Flatbush, the perfect venue in NYC for such a show. After the renovations, Kings Theatre has become one of the premier concert venues in NYC; boasting pristine audio production in a stunning setting. The songs from An Awesome Wave thrived in the cavernous, sold-out theater backed by a dynamic visual production and an audience singing along to the entire record. Alt-J played An Awesome Wave in order to start the show, followed by a short set of songs from all three of their subsequent releases.
Hearing An Awesome Wave at Kings Theatre transported me right back to when I first saw Alt-J at Hammerstein Ballroom in 2013. I took my Dad to that show, a die hard Yes fan, promising him that this new band was somewhat of a modern Yes with their blend of prog and folk. We were both left stunned after that show. I’ll never forget hearing those thick and evil chords from “Fitzpleasure” live for the first time, dropping into them with a trippy, ascending light pattern in the back of the stage. I had listened to the album a few times by then, but the live presentation of that song in particular elevated how I would hear An Awesome Wave forever. I anticipated this same moment of the show for weeks leading up to Kings Theatre. Joe Newman sang the cryptic lyrics at the top of the song, “In your snatch fitzpleasure, broom-shaped pleasure” and when the synths dropped a chill ran down my spine and my whole body moved along to the rhythm of that song. A decade of listening to that song did nothing to dull the feeling of hearing it live again.
Alt-J have a few more An Awesome Wave anniversary dates this month, with three nights at The Wiltern in LA followed by two nights at the Fox Theater in Oakland. After that, the band heads to Australia for an extensive tour around the country before a final run of shows in Europe and the UK. Head over to their website for the full tour itinerary, and check out the rest of the photo gallery from night two at Kings Theatre last week below.
Elliott Landy, a legendary Rock and Roll photographer, has launched a campaign to help his second book, The Band Photographs: Volume Two, based on Woodstock based The Band, get published. His first book, The Band Photographs, 1968-1969, was published in 2015. Landy became a rock group photographer in their early days in the late 60s, and much of his work has yet to be seen by the public.
The Band originated in Woodstock, and Elliott Landy was the official photographer for the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Much of his work there on display in his first book. Because of his photographs, audiences now have a glimpse into the time period of 1960s Woodstock. Artists he has photographed include Van Morrison and The Band’s Bob Dylan, pieces that have made the covers of the Nashville Skyline and Moondance, respectively. Having had his work published in major magazines and publications, The Band Photographs, 1968-1969 was published in 2015, with the help of Kickstarter.
Landy said, “I was the only photographer who had access to The Band during that period while living in Woodstock, N.Y. Because we were friends I had the freedom to hang out and take whatever pictures I wanted. I shot more than 10,000 frames of film of The Band during this period. Of these, fewer than 25 had been published prior to my 2015 book, The Band Photographs 1968-1969, which contained 200 photographs—most of which had never been published before.”
Landy hopes his photographs will help audiences understand who The Band is as people and individuals, not just performers.
“These were people who lived with each other, shared on-the-road experiences with each other for over seven years, and they hadn’t lost any of their basic humanity – they were still kind and nice to everyone,” Landy said.
Even years after The Band’s breakup after founding member Rick Danko’s death, the group is still an influential figure in Rock and Roll history. They have been subject to a number of articles, essays, and books. Along with The Band’s music itself, Landy’s photography helps bring the group to life.
Volume Two of The Band Photographs allows Landy to showcase his work that didn’t make it in volume one.
Landy added, “So after this volume two is finished, I’ll see what is left. After all, I did take over 10,000 photographs and I suspect there are other good ones that I just haven’t taken notice of… So we’ll see what comes after this if anything regarding the band photographs.”
I have developed a way of animating these photographs in my own software which will allow users to play them synchronously with any music they chose including the band’s music of course. So perhaps that will be the next iteration of these photographs.
Because of the unfettered access I had as a friend, the photographs bring us into their lives from the mundane chores of grocery shopping to the fun of playing football in the backyard to the sublime moments of creation in the studio and onstage. You will be transported back to their homes in Woodstock and invited to gather on Levon’s bed as they discuss lyrics for who knows, “Rag Mama Rag” or maybe “King Harvest.”
Landy’s campaign went live on Feb. 7, 2023. A little over three weeks are left in the campaign, ending on April 8. Signed editions, limited edition prints, lithos and more are being offered to pledges. The same size as volume one, it will be a great companion to the first book or your favorite vinyl records by The Band.
Just a hop skip and a jump from the historic boat houses of Canandaigua Lake is the Fort Hill Performing Arts Center. A newer venue repurposed from an older one, Fort Hill PAC house about 400 seats, with 40 mezzanine seats that provide amazing views of the stage. Amazing view for acts like Stanley Jordan who brought his solo guitar show the house on March 18.
Rising to notoriety in the mid 80s, Jordan was first artist signed to Blue Note Records by new president, Bruce Lundvall, as they were working to re-establish their label to include contemporary jazz. Subsequently, Jordan’s album Magic Touch was released and hit number 1 on Billboards Jazz chart for nearly a whole year. Jordan has released 13 other albums, with number 15 in the works for release early 2024.
Hitting the stage at Fort Hill PAC, Jordan was welcomed by a blend of younger baby boomers, with a pinch of Gen-X’s and a dash of young Gen-z patrons. Quite a diverse group of ages for Jordan, whose sound is lightly reminiscent of island sounds, perfect chill music after a long days work.
While Jordan didn’t interact with the Fort Hill Performing Arts Center crowd too much, he was definitely aware of everything going, and acknowledged the random “We love you, Stanley” or the unexpected ovation. Just as well, there was issue during set with the center speakers in front the performer, and while he played most of the first half of show with it, he addressed the issue and assured the fans that the show will be so much better when he can actually hear all the sounds. As expected, the crowd laughed and gave short round of applause.
To finish the first set, Stanley, took seat at the piano and did some double duty as he continued playing the guitar, while adding piano to the mix. Truly an amazing arrangement and showcase of his skill set on the stage.
Coming back from intermission, Jordan continued to play the guitar in his own way, which consists of very little traditional strumming, and more tapping along the neck to create his own unique sound. He opened up the second set with his rendition of Mozart’s Piano Concerto #21 and Blue Monk (Thelonius Monk), both remarkable in their own rights.
While I was not able to see the end of the show, he finished off with a cover of the classic Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” If like the rest of the show, I am sure the crowd was in awe with this, as I am sure I would have been.
Follow Stanley for up-to-date news including the release of his much anticipated 15th album. US tour dates continue through April, before headed off on his international tour.
The Sembrich in Bolton Landing announced the 2023 Summer Festival Trailblazers, celebrating the singular achievements of outstanding individuals in arts and culture, beginning on June 11 and running through Aug. 30.
The Sembrich Museum.
Those who attend The Sembrich can experience music, history, and nature all at once, with museum exhibitions and an annual summer festival. It was once the teaching studio of Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich, one of the most famous musicians at the turn of the 20th century. Visitors can discover her legacy, which includes over 400 performances at the Metropolitan Opera and faculty positions at both the Juilliard Graduate School and the Curtis Institute of Music. The summer festival includes an exciting mix of world-class musicians, noted musical scholars, and a free film series.
Recently, The Sembrich received a total of $120,400 in grant funding from New York State to support new and ongoing initiatives, awarded through two agencies, the NYS Council on the Arts (NYSCA) and I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism. Director of Institutional Advancement Caleb Eick said “these funds will allow us to continue to grow and expand our programs and presence in our community. We are excited to undertake new initiatives and further solidify The Sembrich and our region as a world-class cultural destination.”
The 2023 Summer Festival Trailblazers showcases singular achievements of outstanding individuals in arts and culture, from David Smith to Marin Alsop and Alma Mahler to Philip Glass, there will be 23 individual events throughout the summer months beginning on June 11 and running through Aug. 30. The Sembrich’s Artistic Director Richard Wargo spoke on the itinerary for the festival, showcasing an exciting series of programming.
The art world has always had trailblazers, those unique individuals who forged a route through the wilderness for others to follow. Our festival this summer is built around a number of these innovators…modernist sculptor David Smith, conductor Marin Alsop, musicians Grigor Piatigorsky and Alma Mahler, composers Franz Liszt, Philip Glass and Lin-Manuel Miranda, to name just a few. A number of our featured performers can be said to be “trailblazers” in their own right: guitar and cello duo Boyd Meets Girl, the all-female horn quartet Genghis Barbie and Hub New Music, whom the Boston Globe praised as ‘contemporary chamber trailblazers.’
The Sembrich’s Artistic Director Richard Wargo
The highlights of the festival begin with “In the Footsteps of Piatigorsky,” a studio talk and performance by cellist Evan Drachman, dedicated to his celebrated grandfather, Gregor Piatigorsky, one of the pre-eminent string players of the twentieth century. The music featured includes Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, and Rubinstein, happening June 17 at 2 p.m. The Sembrich’s lakeside subscription Promenade Series enters its second season with an exciting lineup of groups including the Adirondack Jazz Repertory Ensemble, guitar and cello duo Boyd Meets Girl, and the leading post-feminist all-female horn group Genghis Barbie.
Genghis Barbie.
A staple in The Sembrich’s Summer Festival, World Music Wednesdays brings cultural traditions from across the globe to the shores of Lake George. Featured this year includes tango traditions with the Latin-Grammy artist Pedro Giraudo and his Tango Quartet, Celtic dances with Poor Man’s Gambit, and Georgian polyphonic singing with acclaimed choral group Iberi. The Sembrich’s Film Series this year features CODA (2021), Koyaanisqatsi (1982), The Conductor (2021), tick…tick…BOOM! (2021), and Elvis (2022).
The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing on July 15 is a presentation with vintage photos by Betty Spinell about forbidden love, jealousy, and mental instability that resulted in a shocking, cold-blooded murder. The ensuing “trial of the century” mesmerized the public and helped close the curtains on America’s Gilded Age. Discover the life and inspirations of turn-of-the-century muse and femme fatale, Alma Mahler on July 19 at 2 p.m. featuring quotes from her diary and music by Mahler, Strauss, and Schoenberg performed by Robert Osborne, bass-baritone and Tammy Hensrud, mezzo-soprano.
Featuring some of the finest concert artists in the classical music scene, the Alfred Z. Solomon Masterwork Series celebrates monumental figures in arts and culture including sculptor David Smith, Jean Francaix, Franz Liszt, and more. Artists performing include 25-year-old virtuoso pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner, the trailblazing quartet HUB New Music, and members of The Philadelphia Orchestra.
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner
On Aug. 16 at 2 p.m. The Sembrich brings “Hamilton: The Man, The Musical, The Cultural Phenomenon,” to the venue, featuring musical theater historian John Kenrick and a lively studio talk that explores New York native Lin-Manuel Miranda’s trailblazing blend of hip-hop and Broadway styles in the revolutionary musical Hamilton. Finally on Aug. 26 at 6 p.m., there will be an elegant cantina-style gala performance on the lakeshore featuring rising operatic star, tenor Leonardo Sánchez, titled “Mi México Querido” (“My Beloved Mexico”). The performance includes the color, tradition, and passion of his beloved Mexico, featuring instruments like the guitar, guitarrón, vihuela, and accordion – pillars of traditional Mexican music.
For a full listing of events, or to purchase tickets visit here.
My Morning Jacket have announced an upcoming North American headline tour that begins this spring, which includes a stop at the Artpark Amphitheatre in Lewiston. The band is scheduled to have a performance at the venue on June 26.
My Morning Jacket Band Members. Credit: IMDB
My Morning Jacket, originating in Louisville, Kentucky, comprises five members, Jim James (lead vocal, guitar,) Tom Blankenship (bass guitar,) Patrick Hallahan (drums, percussion,) Bo Koster (keyboards percussion, backing vocals,) and Carl Broemer ( guitars, pedal steel, saxophone, backing vocals.) The band has a more than 20-year-long career, with their debut album, The Tennesse Fire, being released in 1999. They have since released over nine albums, most recently the self-titled My Morning Jacket in 2021. The band’s sound is a mixture of rock and country and has been described as experimental and psychedelic. In partnership with Reverb for three years, My Morning Jacket will be supporting the environmental non-profit’s climate portfolio which funds projects that measurably reduce greenhouse gas pollution, address climate justice, and directly decarbonize the music industry.
Tickets for the My Morning Jacket headline tour, which includes a stop at the Artpark Amphitheatre, go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. My Morning Jacket’s One Big Family members will have access to presale tickets until Monday, March 20 at 10 a.m. Spotify and local presales begin Thursday, March 23 at 10 a.m. and continue through 10 p.m. VIP tickets will also be available. For complete details and ticket availability, please see www.mymorningjacket.com/events.
This will be the third consecutive year that My Morning Jacket is partnering with the non-profit Reverb to reduce the environmental footprint of their tour.
MY MORNING JACKET – TOUR 2023
MAY
14 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre
15 – Jackson, MS – Thalia Mara Hall
20 – Guadalajara, Mexico – Corona Capital Guadalajara ^
30 – London, UK – O2 Kentish Town Forum
31 – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz Manchester
JUNE
3 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound ^
5 – Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma
6 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg
9 – Porto, Portugal – Primavera Sound ^
10 – Madrid, Spain – Primavera Sound ^
15 – St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre
16 – Charleston, SC – Firefly Distillery
17 – Manchester, TN – Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival ^
20 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
21 – Milwaukee, WI – The Riverside Theater
23 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
24 – Newport, KY – MegaCorp Pavilion
26 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark Amphitheater
28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
30 – New Haven, CT – Westville Music Bowl
JULY
1 – Scranton, PA – Peach Music Festival ^
29 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
30 – Floyd, VA – FloydFest ^
AUGUST
15 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield
16 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
18 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre †
19 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre †
20 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl †
22 – San Diego, CA – CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
23 – Mesa, AZ – Mesa Amphitheatre
25 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
26 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
^ Festival Appearance
† w/ Fleet Foxes
Watch the music video for My Morning Jacket’s single, “Love Love Love,” from their recent album.
On the evening of Wednesday, March 15, New York City’s Carnegie Hall served as a gathering place to pay tribute to Sir Paul McCartney. Produced by Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Michael Dorf, The Music Of Paul McCartney was the 18th annual Music Of benefit concert to grace Carnegie Hall.
Photograph by Bobby Banks
In front of a sold-out house, Will Lee, Alexis Morrast, Peter Asher, Lyle Lovett, Patti Smith, Sammy Rae, Shovels & Rope, Christopher Cross, Danny Laine, Allison Russel, The Cactus Bottoms, Jennifer Nettles, Resistance Revival Chorus, Music Will Kids Group, Lake Street Drive, Bruce Hornsby, Graham Nash, Ingrid Michaelson, Glen Hasard, Jonathan Russel, Hamilton Leithauser, Betty Lavette, and Nancy Wilson sang their praises. Each artist performed one song from Paul McCartney’s vast catalog and celebrated his musical career.
The evening was marked by golden moments. Patti Smith, who was not originally on the line-up, surprised the crowd with a rendition of The Beatles, “She’s Leaving Home.” She added her own lyrical twists throughout the song, reaffirming her already widely known and beloved creative prose.
Patti Smith at Carnegie Hall on March 15, 2023 in New York City. Photo by Bobby Banks.
The New York City Chapter of The Resistance Revival Chorus then took the stage. The chorus is “a collective of more than 60 women, and non-binary singers, who join together to breathe song and joy into the resistance and to uplift and center women’s voices,” according to the Resistance Revival Chorus. The group performed The Beatles’ “Let It Be.” In doing so, they transformed the event into an interactive experience between the performer and the audience. They radically broke down all barriers between performer and viewer; between stage and seat.
They put their arms up to the sky, and audience members did the same. They danced, and the audience danced. The grand, wide-open room that is Carnegie Hall suddenly became one. They walked tall off the stage to a symphony of cheers, snaps, and the sudden shuffling of a standing ovation – The first of the night.
Photo by Bobby Banks
The stage also welcomed Music Will Kids Group to perform The Beatles’ “Get Back.” The group consisted of four students from a New York City-based high school. Before strumming a note or singing a tune, the lead singer shouted a thank-you into the microphone for their music teacher, Mr. Paris.
To close out the evening, all 23 performers joined on stage to perform their group finale, “Hey Jude.” Performers clapped, hugged, smiled, and filled the stage with joy. Fans stood, swayed, and joined in on the music. Carnegie Hall’s choir of 3,000+ voices reverberated through the city and solidified an already unshakable legacy of one of history’s greatest, Sir Paul McCartney.
The Music Of tribute series has donated collectively over $1.5M in proceeds to organizations that provide music education programs and opportunities to underserved youths. Paul McCartney’s tribute was preceded by tributes to other greats, such as Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, David Byrne, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and more.
Group encore performs “Hey Jude” for the final song of The Music Of Paul McCartney at Carnegie Hall on March 15, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Bobby Bank/Getty Images)
Music Of Paul McCartney Setlist: “Ooh You” performed by Will Lee, “My Love” performed by Alexis Morrast, “A World Without Love” performed by Peter Asher & Lyle Lovett, “Things We Said Today” performed by Patti Smith, “Heart of the Country” performed by Sammy Rae, “Helter Skelter” performed by Shovels & Rope, “Mother Nature’s Son” performed by Christopher Cross, “Mull of Kintyre” performed by Denny Laine & Christopher Cross, “Blackbird” performed by Allison Russell, “And I Love Her” performed by The Cactus Blossoms, “Silly Love Song” performed by Jennifer Nettles, “Let it Be” performed by Resistance Revival Chorus, “Get Back” performed by Music Will Kids Group, “Let Me Roll It” performed by Lake Street Drive, “I’ve Just Seen a Face” performed by Bruce Hornsby, “For No One” performed by Graham Nash, “I Will” & “Calico Skies” performed by Ingrid Michaelson, “We Can Work It Out” performed by Glen Hansard, “Let Em In” performed by Jonathan Russell, “With a Little Help from My Friends” performed by Hamilton Leithauser, “Maybe I’m Amazed” performed by Betty LaVette, “Yesterday” performed by Lyle Lovett, “Band On the Run” performed by Nancy Wilson, “Hey Jude” performed by entire line-up.
Move over Oscars, the Female Voices Rock Film Festival will return to Brooklyn May 5-7, to showcase this year’s most visionary independent films from women creators. Priority for this year’s festival is to shed light on films created by storytellers long marginalized in Hollywood, especially women of color and LGBTQ+ voices. The festival maintains that these stories make for some of the most important and enlightening films, and strives to use the Female Voices Rock festival’s platform to uplift these filmmakers.
The Female Voices Rock festival was launched in 2019. In 2018, the festival’s data showed women comprised only 20% of all directors, writers, producers, editors and cinematographers working on the top 250 US domestic grossing films. While the representation of women in film has grown and adapted exponentially in the past couple of years, the Female Voices Rock film festival strives to have those same standards reflected behind the scenes as well.
Creating a safe and inspiring space for women to express themselves, share visionary stories and meet future collaborators is what Female Voices Rock is all about. Each year we thrive to do better and to increase diversity and inclusion by making sure women’s voices continue to be championed
Catherine Delaloye, founder and executive director
Premiering at the festival this year are Erica Eng’s “Americanized,” a story of Eng struggling with finding her place in Oakland’s hip-hop culture as a Chinese American; Abbey George’s “Jesus Would Have Loved Punk Rock,” about two girls taking on their corrupt Catholic high school’s administration; Kayla Arend’s “Leaving YellowStone,” a horror about a woman who finds herself amidst a crumbling relationship in the isolated wood; and many more, see the full list below.
This year, producer Kira Leinonen is recruiting industry professionals for the festival’s industry panels to bring invaluable information to participants in developing short films into features, steps in producing your first film, budgeting, editing and more. Past festivals have procured panelists from films so varied as The 1619 Project, Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Manchurian Candidate and The Woman King, to name a few. This year’s panelists and film line-up are to be announced.
Americanized – directed by Erica Eng
Anniversary – directed by Lain Kienzle
Bienvenidos a Los Angeles – directed by Lisa Cole
Birth Rights – directed by Maria Rosales
Call Button – directed by Rhona Rees
Choices – directed by Kameishia D Wooten
Counting – directed by Sarah Young
Daddy – directed by Jo Steinhart
Firecracker – directed by Caroline Guo
Five Star Review – directed by Vivien Vitolo
Girls Night In – directed Alison Roberto
Her and I – directed by Stephanie Marin
Hummingbird – directed by Lindsey E. Gary
I’m Sorry, I Tried, I Love You – directed by Goldie Jones
In Sickness & In Health – directed by Sarah Smick
Incurable – directed by Bahare Nikjoo
Jesus Would Have Loved Punk Rock – directed by Abbey George
Leaving Yellowstone – directed by Kayla Arend
Mama Retreat – directed by Eileen Álarez
Mary Meet Grace – directed by Faryl Amadeus
Matka/Polka (Mother/Pole) – directed by Joanna Suchomska
No Man’s Land – directed by Kristen Buckels
Punch Line – directed by Becky Cheatle
Rearranging Skin: A Love Letter to the World
Resurrection – directed by Luiza Budejko
Ro & the Stardust – directed by Eunice Levis
SAM – directed by Ryan Thielen, Jen Stafford
The Blue Dream – directed by Angelita Mendoza
Tooth – directed by Jillian Corsie
Unattached – directed by Fanny Texier
Wannabe – directed by Josie AndrewsWho? How? and Where? – directed by Victoria Garza
Festival attendees can expect, in addition to screenings, workshops, parties, talks with industry professionals, networking opportunities, with more to be announced. The festival, held at the Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, will begin on Friday, May 5 with an opening night party from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. A single day pass for Saturday is $40 and $50 for Sunday. The all access pass, $125, ensures access to the Opening Night Party, awards ceremony and closing party, filmmaker brunch, all screening blocks and industry panels, red carpet access and one drink ticket for the opening and closing parties. Tickets and more information can be found here.
One music that never fails to soothe me is Celtic music. I can just feel the stress and the tension of the day wash off, and something crisp and green take its place. It is always welcome, and in turn always welcoming, and there’s a heaviness and a frivolity that can dance with each other. But Kilashandra is not a strictly Celtic band.
They are a Celtic-inspired jam band, and while my questions center around the Celtic part, I hope you will see the band as they will show you below. Maybe we can get them to jam.
I sit with Mark Emanatian, Eileen Markland, Chris Gil and Tom Dolan of Kilashandra and we discuss the rarity of four-leaf clovers.
Liam Sweeny: Celtic music is instantly recognizable, and it makes people feel a certain way, like a gentle breeze on a hilltop of rolling grass, or the bow of a ship destined for the promise of the New World. So the sound is unmistakable. Do you think Celtic lyrics, if read without the music, would be unmistakable as Celtic? Why or why not?
Mark Emanatian: I think the deep rivers of Irish literature, poetry, storytelling and history would make Celtic lyrics unmistakably Irish.
LS: The music of Ireland is a tradition that goes back centuries, and listening to Celtic music, you can hear themes that, though timeless, did originate in a time. But it wasn’t just Ireland, was it? How much of Celtic music comes from Ireland, and how much from Irish immigration to America? MARK: All music is transformed as it intersects with new places and new experiences.
ME: Vocalist Chris Gil has an interesting story. I’m all about those, stories. But his was an impromptu chance to sing at the Pepsi Arena, and a standing ovation. If that doesn’t tell a person they got something, right? So something started shit right there, something inside, a switch from a private thing to a public pursuit. Tell us about it, will
Chris Gil: It was an honor and a thrill to sing the National Anthem at the Pepsi Arena and receive a standing ovation. I put the same energy into my singing whether it’s to a full crowd or 1 person in the back of a pub. It’s all about connecting with the audience.
But I really like singing and playing with this band Kilashandra. Mark Emanatian writes some great songs and is a master guitar player. Eileen Markland is a force of nature. Tom Dolan holds us together. We really connect with each other and we let the audience in on it too.
I’m looking to forward to some big gigs we have coming up: opening for the Young Dubliners at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield and the Watertown Irish Festival. And of course, we’ll be hitting the pubs from the Berkshires to the Catskills to the Adirondacks.
Come see us at a big show or a pub, I love singing to people
LS: Eileen Markland is a Berklee trained composer and arranger, with a universe of talent with different instruments, having played with more folks than can fit in a small club with the tables removed. One thing I read was that you work with music for visual media. How does playing for visual media differ from playing for the crowd?
Eileen Markland: Harmony is the reason I wake up each morning and endless melodies accompany every activity and quiet moment throughout my day. Composition is the only place in life where I experience true freedom. I can create and mix any scenario I’m craving or feeling by crafting a series of chords, melodies and vocal/ instrumental combinations which then have the potential to perfectly express what I need, if I get it right. Yes, I can tell you what I’m feeling in words, but a musical description is three dimensional, even four dimensional! Composition (and improvisation), for me, is the deep exploration and expression of the state of my soul.
Live performance is a unifying, raw experience that creates a shared sense of community and, really, nothing less than pure love between the people performing and those watching and listening. It’s a social experience with both tangible qualities, such as dollars earned and new friends made, and intangible qualities such as relieved anxiety and the lessening of feelings of loneliness. I deeply believe that live music has been and always will be one of the staples to a peaceful society on a worldwide scale. For me, personally, my best friends are the musicians in my life. The music we create together and the real bonds that come with this ride keep me happy and sane in all corners of my life.
LS: Mark Emanatian, you come from a background I’m very aware of; the blues. Coming to Celtic from blues, and going back again, must be an interesting experience. It seems that they are very different music with different conventions and origins, different historical contexts, so on. What is the common thread that unites them?
ME: First off, they come from a deeply emotional story…and tough histories of people oppressed…the music arises from that…and the music has several similar qualities based around major and minor pentatonics…you can hear a lot of the crossover in bluegrass music that was influenced by both of these musical rivers.
LS: Improvisation is my favorite quality in music. If my brain wasn’t so blues-soaked, I would’ve hopped on to the jazz train and would still be a passenger. Tom Dolan, you are an improviser. In Celtic music, is improvisation the same as it is in jazz, or is it more structured? Is there phrasing that you have in Celtic music that you base on?
ME: There is not a lot of bass in traditional Irish music. Often uilleann pipes are used for drone or acoustic guitar or bouzouki are used in place of the bass to add harmony and movement to songs and tunes. Irish music does not generally use chromaticism or altered and extended chords. So, there is not much similarity between improvising in Irish music and jazz. However, there is modal playing, and the use of pedal tones in common and that is useful for improvising in both genres. And listening to each other. Listening helps. It is using intensity, volume, rhythmic variations to push the tempo to move the song along, hopefully to greater heights, or down to support the lyrics. I have been playing in bands with Mark for 50 years. We have a good understanding of what each other might play. Mark and I have played with Eileen in various groupings for over ten years. Chris is an inventive rhythm guitar, acting as a catalyst, often playing bodhran rhythms, propelling the songs forward. We have a shared vocabulary that allows us to have a conversation on stage. Sometimes full group improvisation can break out. But above all the playing must support the song.
