The Syracuse Jazz Festival 2024 lineup has been announced, returning from June 26-30, 2024 with headliners Kenny G, The O’Jays, The Mavericks, and more.
Syracuse Jazz Fest is an annual four-day free admission jazz festival staged outdoors in downtown Syracuse at historic Clinton Square Park and indoors on opening night at various clubs, bars, restaurants, and hotels in Armory Square, Havorver Square, and the Downtown Entertainment District.
The festival kicks off on June 26 from 5-10 p.m. Artists include Marissa Mulder & Jon Weber, Joe Magnarelli Organ Band featuring Akiko Tsuruga, Tish Oney’s Salute to Sarah Vaughan, Wayne Tucker & The Bad Motha’s, Avenue, Sam Wynn’s All-Star Tribute To Donny Hathaway, and so many more.
Thursday, June 27 brings icons to the historic Clinton Square Park, including The Mavericks from 9:30-11 p.m., an Americana music band that originated in the late 1980s in Miami, Florida. The core band today consists of Cuban-American Raul Malo (lead vocals, bass guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards).
Other artists that day include McKinley James, the Catherine Russel Band, Bill O’Connell’s Latin Jazz All-Stars, and The Katz Pajamas Jazz Band.
The Syracuse Jazz Festival 2024 continues on Friday, June 28 with the SU Student Jazz Combo Orange Juice from 4-4:45 p.m. Other acts include Jane Bunnett & Maqueque, Freda Payne Big Band, Gunhild Carling Big Band, and headliner Kenny G from 9:25-11 p.m.
Kenny G is a living legend and iconic American jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer, and one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records. He is making his third headline appearance at the festival, where he delighted audiences with back-to-back performances in 2012 on the OCC Campus, and in 2013 at the 30th Anniversary edition staged at Jamesville Beach State Park.
The final day begins with the SU Faculty Jazz Ensemble starting at 5 p.m. Other artists include the James Carter Quintet, Gino Vanneli, and headliners The O’Jays. They are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in the Summer of 1958 – originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O’Jays made their first chart appearance with the “Lonely Drifter” in 1963, and their greatest level of success once the producers Gamble & Huff signed them to their Philadelphia International label in 1972. In 2024, after 66 years of recording, touring, and performing globally, the O’Jays are making The Last Stop on the Love Train.
For more information about Syracuse Jazz Festival 2024, visit here.
It’s approaching ten years since NYC Irish rock mainstay Black 47 took their final bow at the now-dark BB King’s Blues Club in November 2014, and what an indelible performance that became. For long-time bassist Joe Burcaw, who earned the nickname “Bearclaw,” life in the time since Black 47 has been a rewarding and fruitful respite from life on the road, going from a touring musician to maintaining has passion for music as a small business owner in Connecticut. Then came 2020 when the pandemic changed the world as we know it especially in discourse of social and political issues and garnered explosions in divisiveness.
But for Burcaw this sparked and inspired the need to speak out through his creative outlet as not only a way to release steam but to also invoke thought. This grew into a new studio project, recently releasing a new EP titled Four On The Floor. It is first-class in its talent, production, and writing, and features a distinctive rock and roll voice. Burcaw took a deep dive into the project with NYS Music, along with his music school Bearclaw’s Academy of Music and of course, some reflections on Black 47.
Joe Burcaw with Black 47, 2014
Steve Malinski: Can you tell us how things came to be with Four on the Floor?
Joe Burcaw: The bass player for Living Colour lives up the street from me and I connected with him back in 2017 and took some lessons. I was at a point with my playing where it was it was a bit stagnant and I needed some inspiration. So, Doug’s an incredible inspiration and from Living Colour, one of my favorite bands. So I reached out to his wife actually, who manages him to look into doing some lessons and that led to us working together. He was familiar with Black 47 and he had asked me one session if I would be interested in doing some writing. He produces and writes and I said I would be honored. So we were writing a couple of tunes and were at the point where we need it and felt like it was all instrumental music, very dance oriented, very Euro sounding, with the emphasis on the bass guitars. But we felt like we needed a voice to mix things up a little bit. And he suggested, why don’t I call Corey? I’m thinking to myself in the back of my head, yeah, sure love the world with Corey Glover. So he called Corey, and Corey was totally into it. He came up for a couple sessions and he and I just hit it off. Just had a really nice rapport. And I had said to him at one point and I asked him if he’d be interested in maybe separately doing some songwriting together and he said I would love to. We kept in contact and then came the lockdown. So he and I were always in contact with each other.
Then with the pandemic happening in March of 2020, here we are, everybody’s at home idle, not sure what to do with themselves or their lives, wondering what’s happening with this… this disease. So I thought to myself, first off, I couldn’t get over the amount of discord and the amount of pain that people were going through. And then, you know, I read the New York Times and it made me aware of how there was an uptick in the amount of domestic abuse happening with a lot of women and children who were stuck in situations where they just could not get out and were stuck with their abusive partner. And also with the George Floyd Marches – with him, you know, being killed, the injustices, and the Black Lives Matters uprising. Just like everything was coming to a head and I just felt, I felt the need to call my musician friends and do something about this and get this off my chest – and our chest – and write. So I called up Corey and the mutual friend of ours, Jamie McDonald, and the three of us would have sessions every week bouncing ideas off of each other, lyrical ideas. It was mostly lyrical ideas and just subject matter that we could talk about and put into the lyrics of the songs. And we did that for about two year and a half, two years, and then, you know, it kind of evolved into into this EP. We weren’t sure what we were going to do with it, and then it just kind of evolved naturally into the EP. So that’s a roundabout description of how we got together.
SM: So it kind of started as a way for you guys just to kind of have this release of all the all the stress from basically the world and the pandemic and then it’s like, hey, we got something going, let’s put it on record.
JB: Yeah, that’s basically what happened. And having Corey be so open minded and into the idea of writing with us and recording with us was, to me, it was an honor. I mean, he’s my favorite by far, my favorite vocalist ever. I think he’s very underrated as a vocalist and feel like he needs way more of a spotlight than he gets. He’s a very humble human being and one of those guys where you sit in the room with him and there’s just this ease. He’s just a real gem to be around and I consider him a friend now. So it for me it’s been mind-blowing to be able to call him a friend and a working peer.
SM: So awesome. And yeah, the the first track “Zig Zag” caught my attention with like the really strong bass funk groove. And then Corey’s voice comes in and I’m just like, holy smokes, this is awesome, his voice was so distinctive.
JB: It’s undeniable that when you hear that voice and you know who it is, that’s for darn sure. And with Corey, he doesn’t have that ostentatious way about him, he’s not trying to show off. He is one of those people that has an incredible register. He never goes out of pitch, which is, for me, incredible to watch and he has so much power. I feel like his voice has gotten stronger now than it was back when Vivid came out or Time’s Up or Stain which were popular back 30 plus years ago.
So, getting back on “Zig Zag,” that song talks about having a conversation and avoiding having the conversation. And what I mean by that is that folks in this country need to really step up and be aware that racism is a is a is a problem. Still, it’s been a problem for hundreds of years.
And we’re creating a platform for people to come and talk about this and see about being able to resolve the issues and problems that the black community has been suffering and going through for all these years. Musically, I had written the music for that about a year prior to showing it to the guys. The impetus of the song really came from The Pretenders, who I’m a fan of. I was listening to…what was the song…, “My City Is Gone,” and heard a really great bass line played by Tony Butler from the band Big Country. He did session work on the Learning to Crawl album and just always that bass line just kind of stuck in my head. So I kind of (no pun intended) based the song kind of around that line; the groove is very similar to that Pretenders song and I showed it to the guys and they were really into it.. So that’s the lead single. It’s the song that we just really feel encapsulates what we’re trying to do with this project. It’s a project of community service and trying to get back to the community through our music and for inviting people to listen to it and join us on the ride.
SM: Getting further into the songs, “Mighty Real” – the thing that stuck out to me is the intro, layering all the the voices with dance type feel and then it jumps from a minor key to the major key where you get to the that classic disco feel. What can you say about that song?
JB: Corey and I are big fans of Sylvester, and that’s a remake. Sylvester had a disco tune that came out in maybe ‘79 in the “disco sucks” era, unfortunately. But Sylvester was a drag performer. He was part of a troupe called The Cockettes. They’re based out of San Francisco and they would travel from coast to coast to New York and San Francisco and other areas around the country. And that was his biggest hit. It was such a great dance track and I just remember when I was a kid hearing it, just loving it, because of the bass and the drums, the interplay between the rhythm section… it just really it really floored me as a kid. When I learned that Corey was into it as well we just discussed, why don’t we do a more modern version of the song and kind of make it our own? And add a guitar solo because on the original track there’s some rhythm guitar but there’s no solo whatsoever on that. I envisioned having this really big thought-out masterpiece outro solo. I had Vernon Reed and Missus Smith in mind. I reached out to Missus Smith first and she was totally into the idea of it.
I love, the idea of having this dance form, dance floor feel and then having this rippin’ guitar solo that lasts for 60+seconds. Just bombastic shredding. I think it really it makes the listeners kind of tilt their head going whoa, wasn’t expecting this! because it starts out really dancey and then it as it continues to the bridge section it gets harder and harder with the guitars being more upfront in the mix. We did that intentionally to have a build-up crescendo towards the end. So that song is the second single.
“Ode to Ustad”: Ustad Sultan Khan was a classical Indian musician and I first got turned on to him through Warren Cuccurullo who’s the guitar player used to play with Frank Zappa, Missing Persons, and Duran Duran. I’m a big fan of his playing and he put a record out with this gentleman, titled The Master. And it was all Indian-fused music with a lot of drones and a lot of chanting in it and just I’ve always loved the music and it just really struck a chord with me and was one of those instances where I was thinking to myself, wow, I know this guy really has influenced me and I haven’t really paid homage to that and I wanted to do so. So that’s why II titled it “Ode to Ustad.” And I wanted to have the music be more focused on Indian ragas and Indian drones and it’s all me playing it on the bass. I played six string synth bass and four string bass on that particular track.
There’s also an ongoing theme of all four songs on the EP. The reason it’s called Four on the Floor is because all the songs are 110 beats per minute or higher. So it’s kind of got that dance, you know, four on the floor kind of kind of feel.
SM: Lastly, “House Arrest” seems to link directly to the pandemic times. What kind of message are you getting to in this song?
JB: Well, it’s strictly about domestic abuse. It’s coming down on, as I said at the top of the conversation, coming down on people who are abusive to their partners and their children and also shedding light that there is hope. And there if somebody needs to get out of a situation you do it. And I know that’s easier said than done. But I’m hoping that people can listen to the track and get some inspiration and maybe make a choice that they weren’t thinking about making before listening to it, to get out of a situation that’s tumultuous, dangerous, something that that could harm the person or their family. I specifically got that idea from a New York Times article that I read. It was probably May of 2020 about when the uptick in abuse since COVID happened and people were blocking down together. That was a reaction to that. I had the first stanza down and then I showed it to the guys and we collaborated on finishing the rest of the lyrics. So, a lot of lyrics on that.
It’s a lengthy one but we just felt like we needed to have all of those words in there to get the point across. We’re happy with the way that came out, that the song has a (as far as the bass line is concerned) more of a chic-meets-Duran Duran kind of feel to it. I wrote it specifically for Corey’s voice, for a lot of the inflections that he adds to music and wanted to not get in the way of the vocal line and create a lot of space for it, especially during the verse sections where he could ad-lib a little more and not have me get in the way of the music.
SM: So who how did the virtual/remote production process go given all the moving parts?
JB: What happened was, as far as the tracking I have a DAW set up at home, I have Logic [production software] and then Corey had Garage Band And our mutual friend Jamie has Pro Tools. So, we were sending files and I was just recording my bass at home and sending it over. Jamie was doing a lot of tweaks. He’s really good with engineering. Then I had another person come in and do some mixing as well to help out with that. And then as far as you know, then I sent it to Disk Makers for mastering, had that mastered and then here we are. So yeah, everything was done on our own.
It was a real DIY instance since we weren’t able to go into the traditional studio to record and track. It was… it was different. I mean it proved to me that it’s possible to make a decent sounding record from home. Would I do it again? I don’t know. I like the idea of getting into a room and bashing out parts with other musicians there to kind of vibe off of each other. So that’s kind of more my preference as opposed to virtually recording.
SM: Yeah, I suppose it’s different if you’re just recording a backing track that somebody else wrote for you but when you’re putting your heart and soul into it, definitely the whole face to face thing is priceless.
JB: It is, yeah. We’re human beings and that’s how you work off each other. You feel what’s coming from the other human, whether that’s good or bad. With us it was great. So, I would love for us to get into the studio and do some more. There’s talk of us doing some more. I think going forward we’d like to make more in the way of singles as opposed to a full length album or EP. It’s just easier by doing it that way. We got lucky just because of lockdown that everybody was around that we were able to do that [full EP]. But now that things have opened up a bit more, I don’t know, Corey’s out on the road a bunch with Living Colour right now.
They’re playing with Extreme and had a success with that. So he’s not home much, but I did talk to him right before he left for his tour and we’re going to get back together once he gets home and work on some more ideas.
SM: I was going to ask if you guys were going to get together again and record, but do you think you might also schedules a line up to maybe do a short live show somewhere.
JB: Yeah, we’re we’re in talk talks of doing that right now [later in 2024]*. I own the music school [Bearclaw’s Academy of Music] and we’re looking to do a fundraiser for kids who can’t afford instruments or lessons, and we want to raise some money for kids that are under-privileged and not able to do so. So it would be maybe a half hour set if if that. It’s not going to be a real long thing because you know again it’s going to be during the afternoon, it’s not going to be at night. But yeah, we’re talking about that if Corey will be around.
So I think we’ll be able to do that with this project. It’s not a touring entity. It’s a studio project built around community service and giving back and writing about topical situations that not everybody talks about, ones that sometimes get thrown under the rug, like with the racism, with gay rights, with immigration oppression, domestic violence. So the idea of doing what I did with Black 47, hitting the road consistently… I just don’t think that would be feasible at this point. But one-offs, definitely. We’ll definitely do one-offs here and there.
SM: So to shift gears a little bit, how are things with your music school? You’ve been running the school for 8 or 9 years now?
JB: Yeah, yeah, it’ll be 8 years. Oh, it’s great. I love it. I really enjoy being able to be a small business owner and to teach and to kind of run the show on my own. I mean, it’s a lot of arduous work. I’m a one-man operation so I have to do everything as far as coordinating all the scheduling of my teachers and financial things as far as taking care of payroll and all that. So it’s a lot on top of teaching since I have a lot of a lot of students that I teach bass guitar and ukulele too. It’s very satisfying. I love that I can wake up and know that I don’t have to go into a nine-to-five because I’ve done that in the past and this way don’t have to listen to anybody barking orders at me. My wife is a small business owner too, she’s a music therapist so she’s taught me a lot as far as just how to run a business properly and has given me a lot of advice and assistance with that end of things.
So it’s going great. But again, it was difficult during the COVID days of 2020 and even for the last two, two and a half years it’s been kind of a rebuilding because back then virtually everybody, I mean the world, shut down and thank goodness for virtual teaching and for virtual lessons. I was able to continue doing that and it kept my business afloat while we were not able to get into the building. I look forward to branching out and to expanding and to get back to where we were right before COVID, we were doing really well with a lot of lot of students coming in. Now we’re about 75% and we’re picking up. But again, you have to keep in consideration so many people lost their jobs, so many people moved out of the area. You know, there’s so many circumstances and variables that that affect people not coming back.
SM: Yeah, different folks re-prioritizing things…
Larry Kirwan (center) sharing a song with friend Mary Courtney (left) and bandmate Joe “Bearclaw” Burcaw (right)
JB: Yeah it’s true. I’ve been really, really happy with that. It’s my new life. You know, I had an old life as a touring musician with Black 47, and now I’m small business owner. Like what? Really. I mean, I do still perform. I have a Jimi Hendrix tribute band that I play in with some buddies of mine from Boston and we play out every once in a while with that, which is nice. So it keeps me in the game a little bit as far as live performance is concerned because I really don’t get to play live that much. I have a three-year old as well, so I’m a relatively newer dad.
SM: Oh, Congrats!
JB: Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. So got a lot on my plate, that’s for sure.
SM: So do you work with both kids and adults?
JB: We do. I mean primarily kids, but we do have some older adults that are more retired age come in for lessons. I mean we’re “everybody’s welcomed with open arms” but we just find that most it’s mostly kids that do come in for the for the lessons. I do have a couple of students that I teach virtually as well that are overseas that are adults Amsterdam, UK and it’s great. I love being able to do that. It’s so convenient that you can walk down into your studio in your house, get hard wired in, get on Wi-Fi, and boom. You know, it’s fantastic to be able to communicate with somebody that’s thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet.
SM: I’ve had experience taking some group drumming lessons with a teacher in Scotland, so it’s like 5:00 PM there and we’re just having our coffee over here while we’re all in different locations. Definitely it works, but not preferred, I’ll say that.
JB: Yeah, I have to say with at least for me with bass guitar and teaching guitar it’s fine. I can understand for some instruments like drums it might be a little difficult. I mean you can do it. Obviously piano is a little more difficult because of the hand situation where you have to get the camera where it’s looking down on the kids’ hands to see if their positioning is correct and also being able to look at the person and being able to dictate what you want them to do. So it is hard with the with the piano, but I found I’ve had no problem. The only problem I ran into is there’s a bit of latency, so using a metronome is a little dicey. So, I wouldn’t recommend that until we get more software that’s more reliable. But aside from that, I love it. I really enjoy doing that.
Thomas Hamlin, Joe Burcaw, Geoffrey Blythe, Fred Parcells, and Joseph Mulvanerty (l-r) of Black 47, Peekskill September 2014
SM: Before we wrap up… Black 47, obviously that’s been a big part of your life. I see the six albums hanging up there on your wall.
JB: Yes, there they are.
SM: So you recorded six with them?
JB: I did. I did 3 studio and then one of them is the DVD Live at Connolly’s and then the other two are compilation records. So there were three I recorded on – Iraq, Bankers and Gangsters, and Last Call, as far as the studio albums are concerned.
SM: Yikes, it’s been 9, going on 10 years this coming November since Black 47 wrapped up. Having this much time since then, what does the experience feel like now versus, say, like the day after that last show at BB King’s in NYC?
JB: I don’t even feel like it was the same person. I don’t even know who that guy was. My, life has changed so drastically since that last night at BB King’s, just, you know, I got divorced. I got remarried. I had a kid. Both my parents passed away and I opened up my own business. You know, within 10 years all of this stuff happened. So it was very surreal to say the say the least. But I wasn’t despondent, you know, there wasn’t any type of despondency.. But it was a lot, you know, it’s a lot to take in. I mean first off, when you’re in a band and play with the band for just under a decade, these guys were my family. That’s the thing with Black 47 people need to understand as well, is that these guys took me under their wing, accepted me. I was never… I mean the joke was I was always the new guy, Bearclaw, the new guy. But I was never treated that way. And I always felt like I was there from day one, even though I was too young to be a part of the band. Back then, you know, when they started out, I was still a teenager. So that wouldn’t have worked out. But every night that I got on stage with those guys… I never took it for granted. I would look around at these five musicians and just thank, thank whoever the source for putting me there with them because I love the band. I was a fan before I got to play with them. Well, I first got turned on to them on 120 Minutes on MTV and saw them do “40 Shades of Blue” as one of the lead tracks that they were pushing on top of “Funky Ceili.” And I just thought to myself, wow, this is very interesting having the uilleann pipes mixed in with the Irish theme on top of having the sophistication of songwriting like Bruce Springsteen mixed in with The Clash. So then I got to see him at TT the Bears Place in Cambridge, MA when I was up in college in Rhode Island. I was just floored. My jaw hit the hit the ground just in awe at the musicianship and just the power that they exuded. That really struck me, the power of that band. And then almost 10 years later, I’m pinching myself. I’m standing on stage with him.
SM: And that was just a lucky chance, too, right? I recall you mentioned last time we spoke that it was an ambiguous newspaper ad?
JB: Advert, yeah. And at that point I was in New York City, just banging the pavement, playing with everybody and answering all these different various adverts. And there happened to be “one touring band looking for a bass player ASAP. Please submit.” So I sent my EPK and didn’t hear from them until, I don’t know. Hammy [drummer] called me a week later, using a pseudonym. He didn’t even lead on to who he was until a couple phone calls later and he got a good feel for me. And then yeah, he invited me. He just asked if I was playing out. I happened to be playing out with a band on a particular weekend that he was available and he came down to the show. I didn’t think he showed up because he didn’t introduce himself.
So I finished performing with this band and nobody was there. But I come to find out that there was a torrential downpour during this gig and he got soaked and wanted to go home before the end. But he did get to see me and was really impressed and asked me to come down for an audition. And yeah, he left me a voicemail and asked if I’d be interested in coming down. And yeah, the rest is history. So awesome. They put me on retainer for about a month after my audition then for 8 to 10 shows to see how it goes. And then after New Year’s, I think going into 2006, they asked me to become a full, full time member. The rest is history.
*Editors’ note: the potential date of the fundraiser event changed since the time of the interview from spring 2024 to fall 2024.
We continue our look back at one of the more influential and memorable series of shows The Grateful Dead have ever played in the State of New York. On this day in 1990, the Dead continued their first ever run of shows at The Knick in Albany, formally known as Knickerbocker Arena. The three-night run sees the band in peak form and contains so many musical highlights that it was rightly crafted into a three-disc 1996 live release entitled Dozin’ At The Knick. After a brilliant first night, the band shows no letup in this second night that features a prime portion of the second set that’s all featured on the album.
The show begins with a succinct but crisp “Greatest Story Ever Told,” with Jerry Garcia’s signature guitar tone present early and often. The vocal harmonies of Bob Weir and Brent Mydland are on point as the band seems fully engaged from the get-go. “Touch of Grey” then follows in the two-spot, the Dead’s “hit” from their 1987 In The Dark release that introduced the band to so many. Garcia nails all of the vocals and phrasing, in addition to the signature ripping guitar solo, and Mydland joining in on harmonies seems to take this “Grey” to another level. It’s a surprise this wasn’t include for Dozin’ At The Knick selection.
Weir then leads the band through a bluesy cover of “Wang Dang Doodle” before Mydland does the same on one of his signature tunes, “Never Trust A Woman.” Brent’s soulful vocals combined with increasingly powerful runs on the organ make this one of the finer versions ever played, sadly also one of the last as well. The Dead then cue up a classic love song for the Knick, one familiar to Jerry Garcia Band setlists, “Jack-a-Roe.” The tune about doing anything in the name of love, which can be traced back as far as the early 1800s, features story tale-like lyrics and a couple of ripping runs by Garcia on guitar on the band’s modern day take on it.
They follow this up with another cover, this time a wonderful take of the Bob Dylan-penned “When I Paint My Masterpiece.” Weir handles the bluesy vocals with aplomb, which rise in intensity from start to finish, wrapping up a fun three-song section of the first set. This grouping of songs is prominently featured on the first disc of Dozin’ At The Knick and it’s no surprise why.
The band then shifts back into “jam” mode and unleash a 13-minute “Bird Song” that’s one of the highlights of the show. It features a jam that takes off immediately and, fittingly, bounces and flutters around in a way only the Dead can manipulate. Garcia goes through a multitude of guitar filters and the resumption of the composed section seems to come out of nowhere. Seizing this momentum, the first set then ends with a triumphant “Let It Grow” that’s highlighted by some nimble bass lines from Phil Lesh and more explosive runs from Garcia up and down the fretboard. It caps off a first set at the Knick bookended with two Dead originals played to perfection with a fun mix of cover songs thrown in between.
To begin the second set, “Eyes of the World” quietly starts up in a much slower, groovier tempo than most of its predecessors. It’s a pristine version with some nice interplay between Garcia and Lesh throughout and with the instrumental sections between verses executed to perfection as the band seems fully engaged right away after the set break.
As the “Eyes” jam dwindles down to drums-only, so starts the beginning of “Samson of Delilah” in a clean segue. Mydland shines on keys in a jam that starts off strong and never lets up as the Dead treat the Knick crowd to another one of their takes of a traditional arrangement, this one with Biblical roots. From this, the opening chords of “Crazy Fingers” emerge and Garcia reassumes the helm. It’s a slow. deliberate take on this Dead classic and Garcia drops another guitar solo in an accompanying fashion.
As the tempo finally begins to pick up at the end, the Dead execute another fairly seamless segue into another live staple, “Truckin’.” Weir leads the band on vocals on a brief, but jubilant take of this classic number that doesn’t stretch out too far. Instead, a blues-heavy riff soon develops and the Dead immediately launch into a cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Spoonful.” This one gets capped off will a full-on, short but sweet “Mind Left Body” outro jam, with Garcia playing through a trumpet-like filter. This was likely a nod to the full-fledged MLB jam that took place just the night before.
This sets the stage for the traditional mid-second set “Drums” -> “Space” section and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann proceed to go through every percussive tool at their disposal. The “Space” section is highlighted by Garcia and Mydland both noodling maniacally on their respective instruments before Garcia unleashes a trombone-like guitar effect to change the mood and Mydland slowly starts up another one of his signature tunes, “I Will Take You Home,” in a very silky transition.
Once “Home” finishes up, the mood shifts from sentimental to joyous once more as the Dead treat the Knick to their ripping cover of “Goin’ Down The Feeling Bad.” This yields a brief but jubilant jam with Garcia singing the verses energetically, but as it quickly descends in pace, he quickly slides into the opening licks of the always contemplative “Black Peter” and the Dead deliver a poignant version.
To close out the set, they then launch into a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Around and Around” a song they’ve mastered and made their own by now. Weir belts out the vocals that rise in intensity with each passing verse and the Dead give the Knick crowd one last dose of pure rock and roll as only they can. The entire sequence from “Space” to “Around and Around” is seamless and near flawless and prominently featured for all to enjoy on Disc 3 of Dozin’ at the Knick.
To close out night two of the run, the band shows their love for American-based rock once more with a second Dylan cover, this time it’s “Quinn the Eskimo.” This shuts the door on night two at the Knick, with one left to play.
Check out Archive.org for a great recording of the entire show.
Grateful Dead Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, NY 3/25/90
Set 1: Greatest Strory Ever Told > Touch of Grey, Wang Dang Doodle, Never Trust A Woman, Jack-a-Roe, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Let It Grow
Set 2: Eyes of the World > Samson and Delilah, Crazy Fingers > Truckin’ > Spoonful > Drums > Space > I Will Take You Home > Goin; Down The Road Feeling Bad > Black Peter > Around and Around
E: The Might Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
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Beyond the perspective of traditional theater, one might fix their gaze upon the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater.
As the story goes, Peekskill opened its doors in 1930 to serve as a 1,100 seat subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. George and Charles Rapp designed quite the structural feat given the resources and materials available within that era.
Completely decked out to the nines, this Art Deco style theater hosted so many wondrous artistic elements. For nearly a generation, the Wurtlizer organ ascended from the pit of the stage to provide simply spectacular symphonies.
Some of the greats like Banks Kennedy provided plenty of tuneage to those in attendance of the 1,500 person capacity limit. More times than not, standing room only seemed to be the status quo.
Paid in Full had been “picturized” by Paramount in 1919. The producers, with their unerring instinct for a good play, were being judicious in their re-entering the game. Change was in the air. Motion pictures were making headway all across the country with most small towns now having converted their stages into motion picture theatres.
Other interesting facets of the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater were the industrial sized accouterments that helped the Peekskill facilities run smoothly. To stand the true test of time, any building must be designed with innovation and longevity in mind.
One of those incredibly interesting features was the industrial sized A/C plant on the premises.
As time went on, the rise of shopping malls and cable television led to the theater’s demise.
Gone but not forgotten, the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater saw a resurgence via revitalization in 2013. Relaunched as a multidisciplinary center, the space became essential for cultural and educational experiences such as theater, dance, music, storytelling and poetry readings.
Local playwrights continue to emerge upon the flourishing arts scene in this nonprofit multidisciplinary center for the arts. Thanks in part to a grant from ArtsAlive [ArtsWestchester], many rambunctious actors and actresses have continued to thrive.
“The arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they may change human beings who might change the world.” [CH] Maxine Greene, an American author, teacher, philosopher
Notably, the theater’s re-emergence led to the inception of a “Dramatist Guild” by the name of DG Footlights. All in the name of developing your craft, these witty dramatists contribute to a vibrant, valued and phenomenal art scene.
This soundscape, including the previously mentioned rendition of “Ol’ Man River,” accompanied by the fear and anger portrayed by Aluko in his performance, illuminated the Peekskill Riots as an eruption of emotion charged by vehemently differing philosophies and feelings and further hindered by institutional (in)action.
Of late, Paramount Hudson Valley Theater was pinned upon the list of Westchester County Landmarks, as well as the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
The Dad of dubstep himself, Excision, kicked off his two night event in Buffalo on March 19. Buffalo Riverworks got two shows on the famous Nexus tour which has steam-rolled not only the EDM world, but the mainstream music scene as well due the innovative production quality.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Openers Bring the Heat
When Excision stops into town he is a master when it comes to putting on a performance. He brings out the best of the best openers that help curate that energetic environment he is known for. Night one started off high intensity sets from Jkyl & Hyde followed by LAYZ. LAYZ has been a continuing growing force in the bass music scene with her heavy hitting beats and new age sound.
LAYZ, Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Ray Volpe followed up with his set that only continued to fill Riverworks with more energy. Ray Volpe’s highly sought after ID “Laserbeam” is one that immediately gets the crowd raging. Bass music icon Eptic wrapped up the line of openers with his cutting edge baselines and masterwork song structures.
Eptic, Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
This stacked line-up of openers paved the way for yet again another undeniably jaw-dropping performance from Excision. Of course this festival creator is no stranger when it comes to wowing the crowd. His booming success at Lost Lands each year goes to show his mastery at not only producing music, but producing a high quality show. It’s the reason Excision, also known as Jeff Abel, resides in the epicenter of an ever-expanding realm of bass music.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
This DJ legend opened up his set with visuals that outlined his famous “X” symbol as fans signaled out to him in the crowd. The suspense filled the room as the music intensified and Jeff took over the stage.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
The bass was booming that night as Excision played his numerous hits including “Name Drop” and “Titans.” He invited humor into his sets for those who are able to catch the memes he cuts into segments of different songs. One famous meme this producer always has in his set is “my name’s Jeff” from the movie 21 Jump Street.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
A New Age for Production
Countless people were head banging, opening up huge mosh pits, and grooving with flow toys. The insane energy at an Excision show can’t be replicated anywhere else. His visuals are are so advanced that even mainstream artists like Kanye are trying to figure out how to replicate the quality.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Excision has implemented 3D visuals into his Nexus tour. This has taken the rave experience to a whole new level and is a must see. On night two he had one segment during his show where Shrek was seen dancing from a distance. Then as the beat dropped Shrek appeared to be popping out of the screen towards the crowd. This had fans wide-eyed and looking towards each other in shock. No one could believe how immersive the projections was.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
This made it even more so with Buffalo Riverworks assistance by allowing Excision to use the side screens so more people could relish in this renowned production quality. No other artists at Riverworks utilizes the side screens so it’s safe to say Buffalo holds a special spot for Excision.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Excision may be the king when it comes to dubstep, but he also knows how to get people right in their feels. Every time he performs his collaboration with Illenium titled, “Feel Something,” it does just that. People were seen embracing each other and teary eyed as it played.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Trying to describe an Excision show will never do it justice. So northeast music lovers take that drive to go see a stop on this tour. The Nexus tour has stops at Boston on March 24 and Cincinnati on March 27. Get your tickets here.
Midwest jam band mavens Umphrey’s McGee has recently announced some additional dates for this year’s summer tour. Included among these is a stop at Lincoln Hill Farms in Canandaigua, NY on July 7. The tour will also see the band finally “check off” and play in South Dakota for the first time ever.
It will also be the first time Umphrey’s McGee plays at Lincoln Hill Farms, the family-owned and operated farm and venue situated on almost 100 acres of in the Canandaigua countryside. In addition to their Western New York stop, the summer tour will also feature stops in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Umphrey’s then heads back out west for rare Pacific Coast summer dates with a handful of co-bills with Blues Traveler starting July 16. Pre-sale (for most dates) is Wednesday, March 20 at 10:00 am local time using code firstpitch.
Tickets are now on sale for all dates. Visit Umphrey’s website for more info.
Umphrey’s McGee Summer Tour June 13 — TBA — Salt Lake City* June 14 — Gerald R. Ford Amphitheate — Vail, Colo. June 15 — Red Rocks Amphitheatre — Morrison, Colo.* June 20 — the District — Sioux Falls, S.D. June 21 — Big Top Chautauqua — Bayfield, Wisc. June 22 — TBA — Milwaukee June 23 — Relctric Forest — Rothbury, Mich. July 4 — Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts — Westport, Conn. July 5 — Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom — Hampton Beach, N.H. July 6 — State Theatre — Portland, Maine July 7 — Lincoln Hill Farms — Canandaigua, N.Y. July 16 — Hayden Homes Amphitheatre — Bend, Ore.+ July 17 — Britt Pavilion — Jacksonville, Ore. July 18 — Redding Civic Auditorium Lawn — Redding, Calif.+ July 19 — Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions at Meritage Resort — Napa, Calif.+
* w/ Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country + w/ Blues Traveler
Barry Entertainment & Three Chord Bourbon proudly present the 3rd Annual Buffalo Blues & Roots Festival Saturday, April 20, at Buffalo RiverWorks.
This all-day event features the best in national, regional and local blues and roots acts, as well as over 20 local vendors and artisans, food/drinks and more. Some of the acts include Victor Wainwright & The Train, Tas Cru, Miller & The Other Sinners, and more.
The Buffalo Blues & Roots Festival returns for its 3rd year this April. The lineup is hefty with names like Patti Parks, Tonemah, The Growlers, Dave Thurman and more. GRAMMY-nominated Victor Wainwright & The Train see the stage to dazzle and move the audience with their immense soul, and creative fire.
Victor Wainwright & The Train
VIP tickets run for $60, while general admission tickets are selling for $30. For more information on the Blues & Roots Festival and to purchase tickets, click here.
On Tuesday, March 19, Gary Clark Jr. performed at The Soho Sessions, an exclusive music-driven community known for curating exceptional live experiences in NYC. Clark Jr. was celebrating the release of his new album released this week, titled JPEG RAW.
In attendance were Actor Richard Kind, Jane Rose, Promoter Peter Shapiro, Elle Fanning, Fran DeFeo, David Fricke, Gus Wenner, Steve Schirripa among others. photo by Kim Mancuso Photography.
In addition to celebrating Clark’s new album, this edition of The Soho Sessions also celebrated music through raising awareness and funds for Music Will, the organization that has provided music teacher training, curriculum, and instruments to over 6,000 schools across all 50 states – impacting over 1.6 million students to date.
photo by Kim Mancuso Photography.
The nonprofit strives to reach a million more students by 2027 while making music education accessible to all students regardless of their socio-economic circumstances. Music Will runs the largest nonprofit music program in the U.S. public school system.
Music Will believes that music education is a right, not a privilege, and it should reflect the cultures of the students it serves. That’s why, for two decades now, their programs have taught students such popular American genres as rock, pop, R&B, Latin, rap and country—alongside styles already taught in schools, such as classical and jazz.
Chief Relationship Officer, Janice Polizzotto (right) pictured sitting with Soho Sessions executives. photo by Kim Mancuso Photography.
Additionally, more than 70 colleges and universities now use their approach to music education majors. Several state departments of education have partnered with Music Will to grow music education in the schools they serve. Its mission of transforming lives by transforming music education has grown into a movement.
In the Round Series will return to Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs with three new concerts on April 19, May 17 and June 14.
A view of Universal Preservation Hall is seen during the media tour and ribbon cutting of the new concert hall in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. (Jenn March, Special to the Times Union)
In the Round Series has partnered with WEXT for the these three concerts with the main mission to uplift and highlight the work of various singer/songwriting artists on the rise to stardom.
The first show in this new round of concerts is New Zealand-based pop star Kimbra on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Great Hall. Kimbra’s 2011 debut albumVows, which was certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand. Kimbra exploded that same year with “Somebody That I Used To Know,” a duet with Gotye that earned her two Grammys for “Record of the Year” and “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.” In 2014 she released her highly acclaimed album, The Golden Echo, recruiting artists as diverse as Thundercat, Omar-Rodriguez Lopez of The Mars Volta, Bilal and John Legend to highlight her eclectic musical style.
Next, UPH will welcome homegrown artists Jocelyn and Chris with special guest Sydney Worthley on May 17 at 7:30 p.m. Jocelyn and Chris, along with their band, charted five consecutive commercial radio singles in the Billboard AAA Top 40, took two records to number one on the Relix Jambands top 30, and appeared nationally on NBC’s Today Show. The siblings, both recent graduates of Harvard University, have recorded eight albums and toured coast to coast.
Phoebe Bridgers and Taylor Swift are two singer-songwriters who inspire Sydney Worthley. In her debut single,”How Soon Is Now?”, the singer talks about heartbreak, losing all emotion, grieving for a departed loved one, and the fallout from modifying who you are to suit the requirements of another person. In 2020, Sydney released her EP project Rose Colored Glasses, which features different themes like learning from past mistakes, coming of age, and long-lost friendships.
Also announced is Shayna Steele and Buggy Jive on June 14. Steele, claimed to be one of the greatest singing sensations of our time, will be featuring her third album Watch Me Fly, offering six self-penned originals and four select classics ranging from soul, blues and gospel and easily crossing over to retro R&B and jazz. Joining her is Buggy Jive, a soul rock singer-songwriter from Upstate New York.
Buggy was recently honored as a 2023 “Top Shelf” Tiny Desk Contest finalist and his latest release The Ghost of Alexander, was named Album of the Year at Upstate New York’s 2023 “Eddie” Awards as well as recently opening for Macy Gray’s recent tour stop in Troy.
Tickets for the In the Round Series at the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga are on sale now through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online visit atuph.org.
Drive-By Truckers will be stopping at Irving Plaza on October 17, as part of their Southern Rock OperaRevisited2024 Tour. With a selection of fan favorites from their vast discography, this tour will be an exciting celebration of their legendary 2001 album.
Drive By Truckers at Water Street Music Hall – photo by Brian Ferguson
Drive-By Truckersput love and effort into Southern Rock Opera, which they first self-released on September 11, 2001. They raised money from fans who later became investors to press 5,000 copies, and they independently sold 10,000 copies while going on a huge tour that they organized. The band moved from dive bars to larger venues and theaters due to the album’s success, which also led to proper management and a record deal.
Drive-By Truckers began their journey with Southern Rock Opera, and for 23 years, this trajectory helped them thrive. Acclaimed for their enthusiastic performances and insightful political views, the group’s varied take on rock ‘n’ roll has connected with listeners all over the world.
Beginning on June 7, the tour will travel throughout North America until the beginning of July. Not only that, but the tour will return in October. On October 17, New Yorkers can catch them at Irving Plaza.
With a special soundcheck party and limited-edition merchandise, the VIP Experience gives fans an opportunity to dig deeper into the music. Get your VIP tickets now for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness history.
The band sums it up nicely when they say, “It ain’t about the past.” This tour is meant to spark conversations about our past, present, and future. Thus, get your tickets, mark your calendars, and get ready to rock out when Drive-By Truckers hit the road for their Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour.
