{"id":2053,"date":"2023-12-13T18:42:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2023\/2023\/12\/13\/lift-concert-series-returns-to-troy-music-hall-in-2024\/"},"modified":"2023-12-13T18:42:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T18:42:00","slug":"lift-concert-series-returns-to-troy-music-hall-in-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2023\/2023\/12\/13\/lift-concert-series-returns-to-troy-music-hall-in-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Lift Concert Series Returns to Troy Music Hall in 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Troy Savings Bank Music Hall <\/a>has announced the return of the popular Lift Concert Series in 2024.\u00a0Curated by Organ Colossal, <\/a>these performances give the audience the unique opportunity to sit on the historic Music Hall stage with the artists while they perform.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Lift Concert Series\u00a0presents performances of new, independent music featuring regional performers, curated by local artists Sam Torres and Sophia Subbayya Vastek. The audience is invited to be seated on stage, with the musicians, creating an intimate concert experience. Concerts are designed to last about an hour and, after the performance, concert-goers are encouraged to enjoy the rest of the evening at one of Troy\u2019s many restaurants or breweries. All concerts begin at 6pm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lift Concert Series Lineup<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

January 24<\/strong> – Sophia Subbayya Vastek<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Described as performing with “passion and profound tenderness\u201d (Second Inversion) and \u201cserene strokes and lyrical beauty\u201d (Brooklyn Rail), pianist and songwriter Sophia Subbayya Vastek moves quietly between musical worlds. Her most recent LP,\u00a0In Our Softening<\/em>\u00a0(2022), features nine of her own piano compositions. The album was called \u201cone of the very best things I’ve heard all year\u201d by longtime music journalist Steve Smith (Night After Night). She released her debut record\u00a0Histories<\/em>\u00a0(Innova Recordings) in 2017, and more recently, an EP of the complete piano works by composer Lili Boulanger, entitled\u00a0Lili<\/em>\u00a0(reissued 2023). In 2022, Sophia was recognized as a NYSCA\/NYFA Fellow in Music\/Sound. She is a co-founder of Organ Colossal, a nonprofit that produces musical projects in her hometown of Troy, NY. She and her husband also run a music series out of their home, a converted church building lovingly called Troy Listening Room. This performance is sponsored by\u00a0Artist Pianos<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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February 14<\/strong> – Connor Armbruster with special guest Ian Cotter Wishlist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After exploring the vast sanctuary of an empty church in 2022\u2019s Masses, Armbruster<\/strong> inhabits a new setting with polar opposite qualities for his sophomore release with Dear Life Records, Can I Sit Here. The music, colored by distortion and cutting rawness befitting its subject matter, was created and recorded live in mono in the small back room of an apartment. Acoustic violin takes a backseat to Armbruster\u2019s heavily distorted electric violin on this record as he improvises over textures simultaneously warm and dissonant. It is a reflection on loss and the feelings that follow a death, the delicate balance between despair, celebration, nostalgia, isolation, and kinship. Armbruster is based in Troy, NY and is behind a multi-faceted body of work exploring performance art, electric violin, Irish fiddle, traditional music, field recording, dance, and theatre. In addition to his solo projects, he plays electric violin and guitar for Blue Ranger, is a member of Hold On Honeys, and performs and records with numerous other artists in the capital region. He was musical director and lead composer for Troy Foundry Theatre\u2019s original musical, City of Myth: Illium Sings. Outside of performance, Armbruster is a cartoonist and music educator, and proud parent of a 4-year-old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thoughtfully eclectic,\u00a0Ian Cotter Wishlist<\/strong>\u00a0draws inspiration from fellow songwriters, composers, authors, visual artists, and the natural world to craft their recordings and live performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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March 27<\/strong> – Aubrey Haddard & MAYSUN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aubrey Haddard<\/strong>\u00a0is a self-proclaimed escape artist. When the tides change and personal growth calls for emotional upheaval, Aubrey seeks refuge in her creative discipline. Carving out a boundary-less space to explore the mysteries of the human experience and the vastness of the physical world, she creates a sonic landscape that is both epic and deeply personal. Dreamy synthscapes, overdriven guitars and pulsing electronic drums lay the foundation for Haddard\u2019s vocals, heralded by critics as \u201charrowingly beautiful\u201d (Clash Magazine) and \u201cherculean\u201d (The Line of Best Fit). Calling upon the inspirations of powerhouse PJ Harvey and dance music giant LCD Soundsystem alike, Haddard blends the analog and the digital with eccentricity. Themes of Greek mythology and Japanese literature weave their way through her stories, inviting listeners to peek into her subconscious and share in the escape.\u00a0Haddard only leaves a few breadcrumbs and shoots for a surprise with each release. Moving on from her acoustic and minimalist debut EP Adult Lullabies, \u00a0her knotty and soulful full length album Blue Part received widespread critical acclaim and earned her the title of Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year at the 2018 Boston Music Awards before she left to pursue her a career in New York City. Leaning into new, pop-driven inspirations and the chaos of the NYC scene, Awake And Talking proved Haddard\u2019s ability to dive head first into new sounds and set the stage for her current project. Splitting her time between the far corners of New York state, you might find her in a library, at a Yankee game or jumping into a swimming hole. Aubrey Haddard may be a rising star in the indie scene, and one to watch for those interested in the future of experimental electronic music but \u201cabove all, it\u2019s humanity that drives Haddard\u2019s art\u201d (Under The Radar).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MAYSUN<\/strong> is a composer and sound artist known for his unique blend of drumming expertise and sound design, creating immersive atmospheric soundscapes. With a focus on the use of physical space to shape and manipulate sounds, he crafts compositions that serve as soundtracks to his life events. MAYSUN’s work is characterized by an innovative approach that transforms real-life sounds into musical tones, skillfully interweaving the dimensions of time and space within its compositions. His artistic journey is driven by a deep passion for exploring spatial audio and a desire to create meaningful emotional connections through his music. MAYSUN\u2019s latest release, ‘Timelines,’ represents his ongoing commitment to the craft of sound artistry, inviting listeners on a deep ambient introspective journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 1<\/strong> – Rafiq Bhatia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times proclaims “Rafiq Bhatia is writing his own musical language,” describing him as “a guitarist who refuses to be pinned to one genre, culture or instrument.” “His transient approach, combined with his obsession of assiduously studying the past in order to break cleanly from it, makes him one of the most intriguing figures in music today.”\u00a0 Bhatia’s 2018 album Breaking English (Anti- Records) finds a visceral common ground between ecstatic avant-jazz, mournful soul, tangled strings and building-shaking electronics, resulting in a “stunningly-focused new sound” (Chicago Reader) that \u201cresemble[s] science fiction on a blockbuster scale\u201d (Washington Post). His 2020 EP, Standards Vol. 1 (Anti-) renders repertoire from the American songbook “completely deconstructed, infused with brand new textures and electronic effects, dreamlike and beautiful” (BBC).\u00a0 Since 2014, Bhatia has been a member of the trio Son Lux; together, they have released several critically-acclaimed albums and given hundreds of performances internationally. A voracious collaborator, Bhatia has also worked with a multitude of artists across generations and musical communities, including Arooj Aftab, Holland Andrews, Hanna Benn, Ian Chang, Sam Dew, Dave Douglas, Marcus Gilmore, Mary Halvorson, Billy Hart, Shahzad Ismaily, Vijay Iyer, Kassa Overall, Kronos Quartet, Okkyung Lee, Nina Moffitt, Qasim Naqvi, Kassa Overall, Chris Pattishall, C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant, Valgeir Sigur\u00f0sson, Alex Somers, Moses Sumney, Anjna Swaminathan, Rajna Swaminathan, and David Virelles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tickets are available now at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office, 30 Second Street, Troy, Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.\u00a0via phone, (518) 273-0038, or online at\u00a0www.troymusichall.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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