Category: Media

  • In Focus: Olivia Rodrigo Brings Pop-Rock Star Power to Sold-Out Madison Square Garden Shows

    Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo brought the house down April 9 at Madison Square Garden, marking the last of four sold-out shows at the famed arena for her ongoing world tour. Fans decked out in purple, sequins, and feather-trimmed cowboy hats filled the venue, eager to sing along to Rodrigo’s 2023 angsty pop-rock album GUTS

    olivia rodrigo
    Olivia Rodrigo — Photo by Molly Higgins

    After an opening set from 90s alternative rock favorites The Breeders, Rodrigo’s crowd of young, spirited supporters screamed with excitement as four 3D candles—spelling out GUTS, of course—were projected on stage. When the wax melted, Rodrigo would make her much-anticipated appearance.

    olivia rodrigo

    Electric guitars crashed as a platform lifted Rodrigo to center stage, kicking off the show with her upbeat single “bad idea right?” Decked out in a sparkling silver outfit for the start of the show, Rodrigo worked the full stage from the moment she appeared, sprinting from one catwalk to another, dancing with her musicians, and interacting with fans in the crowd. 

    olivia rodrigo

    Rodrigo’s setlist featured nearly every song from GUTS and her debut album, SOUR, plus a few surprises, including an unexpected duet with special guest Jewel. Backed by eight skilled backup dancers and eye-catching effects—a significant upgrade in production value from her 2022 Sour Tour—Rodrigo put on a dazzling show, radiating confidence throughout. 

    olivia rodrigo

    Whether seated at a grand piano, shredding on the electric guitar, or floating on a giant crescent moon above the crowd, Rodrigo brought an electrifying energy to the MSG stage. Her seamless transitions between heart-wrenching ballads and early 2000s-style pop rock anthems kept the audience on the edge of their seats. As star-shaped confetti rained from the arena ceiling throughout the final notes of “get him back!,” Rodrigo danced her way backstage, triumphantly closing a show that certainly solidified her superstar status.  

    olivia rodrigo

    Olivia Rodrigo – Madison Square Garden – April 9, 2024

    Setlist: bad idea right?; ballad of a homeschooled girl; vampire; traitor; drivers license; teenage dream; pretty isn’t pretty; love is embarrassing; making the bed; logical; enough for you; lacy; jealousy, jealousy; Can’t Catch Me Now; You Were Meant For Me (with Jewel); happier; favorite crime; deja vu; the grudge; brutal; obsessed; all-American bitch; good 4 u; get him back!

    olivia rodrigo
    olivia rodrigo
    olivia rodrigo
  • Kevin Gates brings his allure to Irving Plaza

    On Thursday, April 4, with a spectacular fusion of raw energy, lyrical prowess, and dynamic emotion, Kevin Gates took the stage of Irving Plaza for his “The Ceremony Tour,” leaving the New York City audience amazed. The tour stop was filled with heartfelt yet raw emotion, furthermore solidifying Gates and his status as a rap heavyweight, as he commanded the stage with the same unapologetic attitude that has defined his career. 

    kevin gates

    After a series of DJ playlists to warm up the crowd, the opener of the night was DJ Chose, who has collaborated with Kevin Gates on some of his greatest hits and has a few of his own. DJ Chose lauded his accolades and made sure the crowd had the right energy before Kevin’s arrival. After DJ Chose, Kevin Gates’s DJ executed a final round of musical wind up with some industry favorites ensuring the crowd was ready for Kevin Gates to take the stage. 

    kevin gates
    kevin gates
    kevin gates

    After an astounding ovation upon taking the stage, Kevin Gates opened with “Speed Dial” to which the crowd recited word for word. Kevin went on to perform songs “In God I Trust,” “Free At Last,” “Arm and Hammer” and more. A southern classic that got everyone up off their feet was when Kevin Gates performed “TWMD” which went viral during New Orleans Mardi Gras last year. As the song came on, the entire arena erupted into a frenzy as his fans belted the lyrics, completely losing themselves in the song.

    Notably, Gates’ crowd control and poise was evident, as he purposefully took moments to talk with his supporters over the mic. Moving at a brisk but necessary pace, he took a minute to evangelize his fans. Speaking about his time incarcerated and having to miss his daughter’s birthday, Gates focused on having the work ethic and drive to make his situation right, as he encouraged his fans to keep their head held high even in the darkest of times. Bringing the show to a close with popular tracks such as “Me Too,” “2 Phones,” and “Breakfast”, Kevin went out with a bang amongst a flurry of smoke from CO2 cannons, as he mysteriously disappeared behind the set. Tickets for the rest of the “The Ceremony” tour are available here.

    Kevin Gates Setlist: Speed Dial, Facts, Push It, Yonce Freestyle, Arm and Hammer, TWMD, Wassup With It, In God I Trust, Scars, Imagine That, Free At Last, It Won’t Happen, Healing, Birds Calling, Power, Great Man, Fatal Attraction, Breakfast, Luv Bug, Posed To Be In Love, Heal You, Lil Yea, Me Too, One Thing, All Thee Above, Bad For Me, Time for That, 2 Phones, and Broken Men.

  • Taylor Swift Takes Over the Radio: Channel 13 on SiriusXM

    Calling all Swifties! Plunge into a 17-year journey with Taylor Swift and the launch of Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version), SiriusXM is putting on the red carpet for the pop queen, available from April 7 to May 6.

    Fans can enjoy Taylor’s complete discography on this special channel, offering more than just her hit songs. Channel 13 will be the place to go for everything Swift, from her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Society to her greatest hits.

    SiriusXM Taylor Swift

    Fans of Taylor Swift will have the chance to share their heartfelt stories and connections with Taylor. Together, they’ll create the ultimate Swiftie community on Channel 13.

    “The versatility of Taylor’s music and the phenomenal impact she’s had in her career across so many musical genres will be on full display on Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version). We’re all experiencing a legend at work and are so thrilled to work with Taylor to present a one-of-a-kind channel that connects her fans with her extraordinary body of work.”

    President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM Scott Greenstein

    The icing on the cake? Taylor Swift’s most recent album will make its exclusive debut on the channel on April 19 and be played nonstop all weekend long. For more information, click here.

    Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version) is your golden ticket to the Taylor Swift experience, whether you’re driving or using the SiriusXM app to jam out. Click here to sign up and experience all that SiriusXM has to offer.

  • Step In to The Sphezer: Warming up For the Sphere with Uncle Ebenezer & Walrus at The Williams Center

    Uncle Ebenezer played an incredible set of Phish jams including an unforgettable “Tweezer” featuring a saxophone player. Walrus opened up the night with their psychedelic interpretation of The Beatles, most notably a fully mind melting “Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds”.

    The Williams Center is a phenomenal venue in Rutherford, NJ. It is an old theatre renovated into a truly happening venue featuring hidden gems like a record store with some incredible selections.

    Uncle Ebenezer opened up the night with my personal favorite Phish song “Golgi Apparatus”. This got the crowd going and ready to dance to “Gotta Jibboo” which followed. The set was filled with Phan favorites like “No Me in No Men’s Land”, “Fluffhead”, “The Lizards”, and even included vocal heavy songs like “My Mind’s Got a Mind of It’s Own” and “Tela”. The epic “Tweezer” with a sax player was truly legendary.

    They ended their set with a funky, spacey “2001”. The encore include “Cavern”, “Lonesome Cowboy Bill”, and the return of the sax for an explosive “Tweezer Reprise.”

    Setlist: Golgi Apparatus, Gotta Jibboo, Stash, My Mind’s Got a Mind of Its Own, Tweezer, The Lizards, Tela, No Men in No Man’s Land, Split Open and Melt, Fluffhead, 2001

    Encore: Cavern, Lonesome Cowboy Bill, Tweezer Reprise

  • Ruthie Foster Brings a Packed House to its Feet at Caffe Lena

    Texas singer songwriter Ruthie Foster brought her incredible cross-genre versatility to a standing-room-only house at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, April 4.

    ruthie foster

    Combining a long set of her own songs of contemporary blues, Americana, gospel and country blues, including “Singing The Blues,” “Brand New Day,” and “4am” with her truly unique arrangements of covers like Pete Seeger’s “If I Had A Hammer,” June Carter Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” and Patty Griffin’s “When It Don’t Come Easy,” interspersed with crowd-pleasing stage banter that ranged from where the ideas for some of her songs came from, to family stories, she delivered a truly energetic show to a highly appreciative crowd in an intimate setting.  

    ruthie foster

    With her brilliant flatpicking and fingerpicking on a hollow body electric guitar, which she introduced as “Pearl”, she delivered her well-crafted original songs in a solo performance that matched the legendary intimacy of the room at Caffe Lena, giving the audience a clear understanding of what lies behind her multiple Grammy nominations, Blues Foundation’s Koko Taylor Award, and induction into the Texas Blues Hall of Fame.  

    The show marked the start of a six-month tour for Ruthie Foster, covering the US and parts of Canada, immediately followed with an April 5 show at The Folkus Project in Syracuse, with other shows in the region in Massachusetts and New Jersey.  The tour is followed by a multi-day blues cruise out of Florida. 

    Ruthie referred to herself at one point as a country girl who grew up on a farm in Texas where she learned how to drive a car at eight years of age in the fields by sitting on phonebooks on the seat of her dad’s pickup truck, moving it slowly at his direction as farmhands loaded hay bales onto the back of the truck. She then segued into her beautifully fingerpicked rendition of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Richland Woman’s Blues” that brought her audience in for chorus sing-alongs.  

    Throughout the show, Ruthie’s energy fed the crowd and, in turn, was fueled by her audience’s response, both by her playing and singing as well as her eye contact and facial expressions. At the end of her single long set when she said she had only time for one more, she acceded to the the audience request of “Phenomenal Woman” saying  “Okay, but that’ll be the encore,” and gave a stellar and moving performance that brought the crowd to its feet where they stayed and cheered until she returned for an a cappella gospel type tune with her appreciative audience joining in on.

    There is something very special about a talented solo performance of well-crafted songs delivered to an audience in an intimate venue setting and this was just such an experience.

    Ruthie Foster at Caffe Lena setlist:

    ruthie foster
  • In Focus: Disco Biscuits at Town Ballroom in Buffalo

    The Disco Biscuits came to the Town Ballroom in Buffalo over March 30-31 for two nights on their Why We Dance Tour. Just the night before they debuted their new album, Revolution in Motion at Webster Hall in New York City.

    disco biscuits town ballroom

    The Disco Biscuits have a rich history at the Town Ballroom, New York’s most underrated club venue. The room is perfect for the Biscuits as the many levels and circular setup makes a Disco Biscuits show there feel like an mini Bisco coliseum. They’ve played many great shows there and they added another on Saturday, while Sunday’s show was a more laid back affair.

    disco biscuits town ballroom

    On Saturday, the first night of two, you could tell the band was feeling great after a successful and probably pressure filled album release party the night before; as they looked to be in high spirits all night. Even though the previous show was all new songs, they still had enough new material to still have a good mix of old and new. The whole first set was a highlight, and was certainly up there with one of the better sets they’ve played in Buffalo. The room absolutely lost it when Orch Them appeared out of a stellar Buy The Time Jam. As far as second set highlights, Mindless Dribble > Fire Exchange > Confrontation was the meat of the set. It’s pretty hard to top ending a set with Confrontation, the crowd chanted along the words and all was right in Biscoland.

    The Disco Biscuits have been trying their whole careers to blend live instruments and club music together, and it seems like they have finally perfected it in 2024. Besides setbreak, the music on Saturday did not stop once. The whole show was moving and pulsing forward, they didn’t get lost or falter once. Sometimes when bands focus too much on improv it can feel like the band is jamming just to jam, but that was night the case at all. The band played with purpose and direction, something that is hard to do when the majority of the night’s music was improv.

    Sunday night’s show was a little bit of a step back from the previous night’s energy. Maybe the wave of energy crashed the night before, maybe they were in party mode celebrating Jon Gutwillig’s birthday, but they weren’t able to top Saturday. That being said, that’s what you get with improv. They are playing with such consistency nowadays that a show that let off the gas a little bit is still a great night of music. The improv on Sunday oscillated between dark and dirty Biscuits, some throwback trance and some happy Biscuits mixed in. I’m a sucker for happy Biscuits, and after a lot of dark, plodding improv throughout the night, the M1 > Cyclone section really scratched that itch for me.

    The Disco Biscuits are playing lights out right now, so get your ass to a show if you can. They are due back in New York State for 4th of July weekend at their own festival Biscoland, just outside Syracuse.

    Setlists via Biscuits Internet Project

    March 30, 2024 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY

    Soundcheck: Wet, Mr. Don
    Set 1: Buy The Time 1 > Orch Theme 2 > Helicopters > Dino Baby > Rock Candy 3
    Set 2: Bombs > Mindless Dribble > Fire Will Exchange > Confrontation 4 > The Deal 5 > Confrontation
    Encore: Rockafella > Helicopters

    1 with ‘Boom’ (Tiesto with Gucci Mane and Sevenn) samples
    2 with ‘Perfect (Exceeder)’ (Mason & Princess Superstar) samples
    3 ending only
    4 Techno version
    5 1st time inverted

    March 31, 2024 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY

    Set 1: We Like To Party > Spacebirdmatingcall > No Recollection 1 > Pilin’ It High 2 3 > We Like To Party
    Set 2: Jam > Voices Insane 4 > Ring the Doorbell Twice > And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night 5 > M1 6 > Cyclone > Spacebirdmatingcall
    Encore: Mulberry’s Dream 7

    1 with ‘Sidewindah’ (Gorgon City feat. Flirta D – Interplanetary Criminal Remix) samples
    2 LTP 7/19/23 (50 shows)
    3 Perfume version
    4 unfinished
    5 inverted
    6 with ‘Watermelon Sugar’ (Harry Styles) samples
    7 LTP 7/12/23 (55 shows)

    3/30/24

    3/31/24

  • Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera Discusses His Half Century in Music & Intriguing Family History in Revolución to Roxy

    He is one of the most underrated guitarists and producers to come out of the ‘70s British music scene.  But now Phil Manzanera, best known as the long-running axe man for glam-cum-art rockers Roxy Music, is telling the story of his globetrotting life, in music and beyond, in a new memoir, Revolución to Roxy  (Wordzworth Publishing)

    Manzanera’s autobiography goes well beyond the usual, dumbed-down VH-1 “Behind the Music” rise-fall-rise template.  As he states in his introduction below, it’s a very personal exploration of his life – one made as much for music fans as it is for his far-flung family.

    “I’ve written this memoir for my English and Colombian family, dear friends and music fans, who have followed my musical twists and turns for over half a century. It spans from my 50’s childhood in Cuba, Hawaii and Venezuela, when everything seemed in the brightest technicolor, to grey but very cool ‘60’s London and the start of a music career that continues to enrich my life, some 50 years later. Roxy Music is an important part of the story and I will be forever thankful to the doors it opened for me to a global world of music and musical collaborations. But I hope you’ll find my family history every bit as fascinating as my music adventures, I’m proud to be related to a Colombian pirate, a spy and an Italian opera musician.”

    On the musical front, Phil is best known for his 50 years with Roxy Music, from its incredible 1972 debut disc to its final 50th Anniversary tour.  In the band’s early days, it was the two Bs – Bryan Ferry and Brian Eno – who sucked up most of the limelight.  But it was Manzanera’s searing, melodic and uniquely treated guitar riffage that brought the fire to Roxy’s post-modern mélange, along with the Bonham-like thump of the equally-underrated drummer Paul Thompson.

    Roxy Music “Ladytron” on BBC 1972

    But outside of Roxy, Manzanera has plied a productive career as a solo artist, producer and collaborator.  He has worked as a sideman, producer and songwriter partner with greats like Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Robert Wyatt, John Cale, Split Enz and David Gilmour, both solo and in the final works of Pink Floyd.  He also became one of the most prominent producers of Rock En Espanol.

    The story of Phil’s much-traveled youth is one of the more engaging parts of the book.  Phillip Targett-Adams was born in England to a British father and Colombian mother whose surname he would take for his life on the stage.  His father’s work for a British airline company (and maybe as a spy?) would take young Phil to Venezuela, Hawaii and, most notably, Cuba where he witnessed the Fidel Castro-led revolution. He would become fascinated with the guitar while living in Cuba and make his first forays into playing while at board school in England, with the purchase of a Hofner Galaxie which he still has.  There, he would form a musical partnership with bassist Bill McCormick which would fully flower in the collaborations with Eno and with an album by his immediate pre-Roxy prog band, Quiet Sun.

    Manzanera’s memories of the early Roxy Music days will provide plenty of juice for glam music fans.  Phil would fail his first audition with the band and get his signature “look” – the bug-eye sunglasses – when the band’s stylist pulled them out of a bag of accessories during the first album photo shoot.  Wearing them while playing guitar would prove a challenge Phil would have to endure through the band’s early rise. 

    Roxy Music fans will enjoy his description of the band’s unique working style.  The detail-oriented control freak leader, Bryan Ferry, would come up with all the music first and, only after it was recorded, would he write lyrics.  After the basic tracks were laid down, Phil would take them home and work out different guitar parts on tape, which would then be assessed and the best recorded.  He also discussed the inevitable parting of Eno from the band, perhaps due to the fact that Brian had much more success with the ladies than Ferry?  We also hear how he purchased his signature guitar, the “Cardinal Red” 1964 Gibson Firebird VII.  And also how he broke his leg falling off the six-inch platform shoes that were required wardrobe in the glam rock days.

    As with all too many musician memoirs, Phil’s demonstrates how an artist’s fortunes can suffer from bad management.  According to Manzanera, Roxy only received 5% of the monies earned from early albums, a sum that would be divided equally amongst the six members.  It would be 12 years before he earned anything meaningful from his recording and touring with Roxy Music.

    Roxy Guitar Solo “Dream Home” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KODD2sjfH0

    There is great context about his collaborations with Brian Eno on his legendary early solo album, their work in the band 801, the Quiet Sun project and Phil’s acclaimed early solo albums, Diamond Head, Primitive Guitars and K-Scope. It’s a tune from the last album than would pay huge and unexpected dividends decades after its release.

    Phil would go on to be the director of Guitar Legends, a 5-day concert extravaganza featuring B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Vai, Joe Walsh, Jack Bruce, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan and many more, produced in tandem with Expo ‘92 in Seville, the birthplace of the guitar.  His Latin roots would make him the choice producer for many of the biggest Rock En Espanol acts including Heroes de Silencio and the later solo work of its leader, Enrique Bunbury.  Also discussed are the many productions created at Gallery Studio at his home in Sussex, St. Ann’s Court. These included latter-day Roxy Music albums like Avalon, their biggest commercial success.

    Manzanera also elaborates on his extensive role as a co-writer, guitarist and producer for the post-Roger Waters era Pink Floyd and the solo work of its guitarist, David Gilmore.  Phil would earn composer credit on tracks like Floyd’s “Learning to Fly” and producer credit on albums like their final work, The Endless River.  He would serve as producer of various David Gilmour solo albums from 2006 – 2015, including On An IslandLive in Gdansk and Rattle That Lock.   During Covid, he would remotely wax three albums with Tim Finn of The Split Enz.

    Roxy Music fans will get Phil’s take on the many fits and starts of their career, including three big breakups and reformations through their final world tour in 2022 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction.  He compares Roxy to one of his vintage cars, a Rolls Royce, saying – It’s beautiful to look at, but very hard to drive.”

    Manzanera’s biggest financial windfall would come not from rock but rap. That would arrive in 2011 when a beat-maker named 88 Keys would sample a guitar riff from a tune on his 1978 album K-Scope for use in a Jay-Z/Kayne West track, “No Church In the Wild” on their album, Watch the Throne. Manzanera was allocated one-third of resulting royalties and publishing revenue for the song, more than either of the rappers. The album went Gold in the UK and Platinum in the US, and the song was used in the film The Great Gatsby and various tv commercials. 

    In his book, Manzanera states that he earned more from “this brief sequence of maybe twenty notes” than he had in his 50 years with Roxy Music.

    Phil on the Jay-Z/Kayne Sample – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A61-wcM9sQo

    Bio: Sal Cataldi is a musician, writer and publicist living in the Hudson Valley and NYC. He is President of Cataldi PR and leader of the band Spaghetti Eastern Music and member of the ensembles Guitars A Go GoVapor Vespers and spaceheater.

  • Kitchen Dwellers Cook Up Two Nights of Jam-Filled Bluegrass at Brooklyn Bowl

    On March 30, the Bozeman, Montana-based Kitchen Dwellers capped off a pair of impressive shows at Brooklyn Bowl, proving that jamgrass is thriving nationwide on their cross-country L.F.G Tour.  

    Going into Saturday night, the crowd was eager with anticipation; Friday’s show saw a sit-in from opener Cris Jacobs and encored with a thrilling cover of “The ‘59 Sound” by New Jersey rock band the Gaslight Anthem. 

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    Saturday’s opener, Yam Yam, gave a jazz-funk-infused performance, setting the tone with a high-energy psychedelic kick-off to the night. Jason Mescia’s saxophone playing was a welcome standout surprise, a sound not typical for a night of bluegrass. The Kitchen Dwellers opened with unmistakable bluegrass energy on “Wind Bitten” from their latest album, Seven Devils, before dipping into their back catalog with “Broken Cage.” Shawn Swain showcased impressive talent on the mandolin during the instrumental “Whitewater.” Bassist Joe Funk, banjo player Torrin Daniels, and guitarist Max Davies then shared vocals to harmonize over Willie Nelson’s “Bloody Mary Morning.

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    The band’s rock and roll inspiration showed in Torrin Daniels’ impassioned vocals on “Shadows.” Performed today, the 2019 song’s lyrics and delivery could be seen as an early sign to come of the rising folk-rock resurgence seen in artists like Noah Kahan and Zach Bryan. The band would turn back to a more bluegrass sound with a “Muir Made” sandwich, slotted around “Unwind” which offered a tease of the heavier jamming in the second set. 

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    The first set then closed out, aided by a sit-in from Fruition’s guitarist Kellen Asebroek on piano. With the addition, the group performed Elton John’s Love letter to New York “Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters,” showing off the band’s ability to take a song and transcendence genre. Asebroek stayed on keys to perform Fruition’s 2016 song “The Meaning,” closing out the set.

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    Performing against the carnival-inspired backdrop at Brooklyn Bowl, the Western quintet easily evoked the feeling of a picture-perfect state fair. The Kitchen Dwellers describe their version of jamgrass as “galactic” and the description is fitting for a show that rides from highway tunes to dark looping jams. The second set opened with “Drowning (… Again)” as the band began to take a more exploratory route and opened up to deeper jamming. The group would nod again to the local crowd performing Justin Townes Earle’s “One More Night In Brooklyn.

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    The Kitchen Dwellers continued pulling the audience through the edges of bluegrass jamming with “Phaedrus” and “Their Names Are the Trees.” Through the band’s skillful picking, it was easy to see how the worlds of metal and bluegrass share common bonds through a love of shredding guitar. The playing would bring the crowd to an energetic crescendo, with the whole room dancing during “Sundown.” 

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    Before starting into their recent single, “The Crow and The Raven,” the band would call the crowd’s attention to their guest, New York City-based director Kayla Arend, a college friend of the group who recently directed the song’s music video. 

    The band dipped into a dark rhythmic jam rhythm for the title track on “Seven Devils.” Proving to be anything but it’s namesake, “The Living Dread” injected energy into attendees before the band took a brief respite before an encore. A cover of Emmitt-Nershi Band’s “New Country Blues” gave Torrin Daniels a chance to stretch his rock star bravado for a wild-eyed, chest-pounding performance to close-out the night. 

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    The Kitchen Dwellers are cooking up a show well worth seeing two nights in a row. With a deep repertoire to pull from and a stadium-worthy light show from Matt Allmond, expect to find the Kitchen Dwellers serving up galactic jamgrass across the country. Kitchen Dwellers are on tour now, you can find out more and purchase tickets through their website. Their latest album Seven Devils is available for streaming.

    Photos by Taylor Weinberg

    Kitchen Dwellers – Brooklyn Bowl – March 29, 2024

    Set 1: Comet > Southern Flavor > Paradise Valley Cabin Pressure > Drop Tine Night Rider’s Lament, Meagher’s Reel > Waterford Son, Woods Lake, Daughter, Daughter [1]  > Pretty Daughter [1] 

    Set 2: Pendulum, Here We Go > Can’t Stop Now, Years of My Life > Sit At My Table, Covered Bridges > Ebenezer’s Winter, What the Night Brings > Covered Bridges

    Encore: The ‘59 Sound

    [1] With Cris Jacobs  and Bryan McDowell

    Kitchen Dwellers – Brooklyn Bowl – March 30, 2024

    Set 1: Wind Bitten > Broken Cage Whitewater > Bloody Mary Morning, Shadows, Muir Maid > Unwind > Muir Maid, Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters [1] The Meaning  [1] 

    Set 2: Drowning (… Again) > One More Night In Brooklyn > Drowning (… Again), Phaedrus, Their Names Are the Trees > E.M.D. > Sundown, The Crow and the Raven, Prelude > Seven Devils > The Living Dread

    Encore: Driftwood > New Country Blues

     [1]  With Kellen Asebroek 

  • In Focus: Couch Brings Sunshine, Dynamic Sounds to Westcott Theater

    Dynamic jazz-pop band Couch brought their Sunshine, Part 2 Tour to the Westcott Theater in Syracuse on Friday, March 29.  It was a fittingly beautiful, sunshine-filled spring day in Central New York. The show was the second stop on a lengthy, cross country tour for the band, which features Sophia James as the opener.

    Hailing from Boston, Couch have been turning heads since their formation in 2021. Described as a blend of jazz, rock, pop and R&B, the band has performed at major festivals like Boston Calling, and toured in support of Lake Street Dive. The seven-piece band is currently touring in support of the recently released Sunshower EP (October 2023).

    Opener Sophia James rewarded those who arrived to the theater early this evening. James performed on stage solo, but brilliantly mixed in drum and vocal loops to build dramatic layers to her songs. She excitedly touted her upcoming release, Clockwork, due April 19, an EP that is sure to garner lots of listens from those who were in attendance tonight.

    An excited energy filled the theater as Couch made their way to the stage. Opening with the energetic “Saturday,” all of the hallmark staples of a Couch show were immediately on display:  the dramatic horn section of Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith (Trumpet) and  Eric Tarlin (saxophone) which blended with singer Tema Siegel’s dynamic vocals. Throughout the set, each of the band members were given ample time at the center of the stage. Guitarist Zach Blankstein delivered a fierce guitar solo during the interactive “Poems,” while Jared Gozinsky (drums) and Will Griffin each took turns showcasing their talents. Keyboardist Danny Silverston added layers of synths and also took his turn at the mic, leading the audience in a three-piece layer of sing along harmony during “Poems.”

    While much of the evening showcased the band’s high energy tracks, the band brilliantly weaved several slower ballads in to the mix. Siegel told the tale of finding love before performing “Autumn,” while later in the set the band performed the beautiful “Let Me Hold You.”  In between their own songs, they worked in several cover songs, including Billy Joel’s “Vienna” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain,” the latter of which saw opener Sophia James returning to the stage to share vocals.

    After a brief encore break, the band triumphantly returned to the stage to perform the upbeat “Easy To Love.” Clearly a fan favorite, the song offered fans one last opportunity to sing and dance before the spilling out in to the streets. The sunshine of earlier in the day was gone, but it was not lost in the mood of those who attended this evening.

  • Sleepy Hallow Shuts Down Palladium Times Square

    Over the Easter Weekend, Sleepy Hallow’s Boy Meets World Tour arrived in New York City. Prior to Sleepy coming on stage and bringing down the Palladium, fellow New York artists such as Rah Swish, Rowdy Rebel and others graced the stage for the warmup.

    After a roaring ovation upon taking the stage, Sleepy performed some of his more introspective tracks including “Anxiety,” featuring Doechii, where he’s opened up about his mental health, the hardship he has faced in the past year crafting and releasing his latest album, Boy Meets World. The crowd joined in singing word for word while Sleepy Hallow performed other hits such as “Die Young,” featuring 347AIDAN, “Pain Talk” featuring Lil TJAY, and more.

    During the show, Sleepy Hallow invited label mate Eli Fross to perform alongside him.

    Sleepy Hallow decided to surprise the New York crowd by inviting some of their own on stage. He brought out Bronx artists: Cash Cobain and Bay Swag who bought the Slizzy Experience to the Palldium in performing viral hit “Fisherrr.” 

    Sleepy Hallow ended the night with some of his classic hits, “2055,” “Deep End Freestyle,” “Basketball Dreams,” and “1999.” Tickets for the rest of the Boy Meets World Tour are available here.