Grafh and 38 Spesh’s “Rocafella Chain” is the latest single in promotion of their joint-album, God’s Timing, which drops on August 2. The new single features a quartet of former Roc-A-Fella Records artists in Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Peedi Crack and Grafh himself in an ode to the legendary record label. Moreover, this is the second single Grafh and 38 Spesh have released ahead of God’s Timing, with this new single following the Talib Kweli assisted, “Right Now.”
Roc-A-Fella records alumni come together for this latest heater
If these two records are anything to go by then the new project will be full of quality. On “Rocafella Chain,” 38 Spesh sets the tone with a hard-hitting horn and drums loop before each artist takes turns trying to steal the show. In like manner, the record brings back memories of a good old posse cut. In turn, each artist brings their distinctive style, creating a dynamic and energetic anthem that pays respect to their roots while pushing the boundaries of contemporary hip-hop.
God’s Timing
God’s Timing will be released on August 2, and is produced in its entirety by 38 Spesh. The album also includes appearances from Jim Jones, Talib Kweli, Method Man, Vado, Freeway, Memphis Bleek and Peedi Crakk. This will be the first joint-project between Grafh and 38 Spesh in a link-up between upstate, New York and the city.
One of England’s most prolific songwriters made a rare stop in Upstate New York on Tuesday, July 16, as Ben Howard performed at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock.
The historic theater provided a rare, intimate performance for Howard’s fans, who ofter have to seek out larger concert halls and amphitheaters to see the singer-songwriter perform.
The evening kicked off with a 30 minute set by Irish musician John Francis Flynn. Flynn took to the stage by himself, and performed a dramatic set of traditional Irish folk tunes. Performing solo, Flynn would create guitar and drum loops to back his vocals. He even took hand at the tin whistle, noting he had recently lost his previous instrument and was lucky to receive a new one in the mail earlier that day.
At promptly 9pm, Howard and his bandmates took to the stage with a roar from the audience. They would open with “Richmond Avenue”, a slow moving ballad off Howard’s 2023 release, Is It? Initially illuminated by a solo spotlight, dramatic lighting would adorn the stage as the song took shape.
Early in the evening Howard would praise the small town of Woodstock. “It seems quite perfect here”, Howard remarked, noting the band had visited a perfect shop, a perfect vegan restaurant, and the perfect concert venue before joking that he hoped to leave before discovering any dark secrets of the town. In truth, Howard is no stranger to the area, having recorded Is It? at Aaron Dessner’s nearby Long Pond Studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAll4IK6Fig
Through out the set, the theater would become engulfed in ethereal and atmospheric sounds, played to near perfection from Howard and his bandmates. While the band would perform early tracks such as “Promise”, “Small Things”, and “Diamonds”, Howard seemed the most proud of his recent work. Much of the night’s setlist featured tracks off of Howard’s two most recent releases and included songs such as “Follies Fixture”, “Far Out”, and “Days of Lantana”. The tracks were met with warm reception from the audience, and Ben Howard would often flash back a modest smile in return.
It was quite the perfect experience for the perfect town.
Fresh off the streets of New York City, newcomer Troy Ramey released his latest single, “Pick Up Truck,” on June 28.
Known for his soulful voice and emotionally driven songs, Troy Ramey celebrates life’s simple pleasures; summer drives, and the joy of music.
Originally hailing from Vermont, Ramey grew up in a household of musicians, turning to music as a way to heal after the tragic loss of his father. Since then, his music has reflected his intense passion, producing authentic, emotionally driven songs and connecting deeply with his audience.
In 2017, Ramey competed on season 12 of NBC’s The Voice, garnering immense praise from audiences and celebrity judges Alicia Keys and Celine Dion alike. After his appearance, he moved to New York City and began to write and produce his own music, including his newest single, “Pick Up Truck.” At first, the song concept was a running joke between Troy and his longtime friend and co-writer Johnny Gates, mostly about the recurring themes within the country music genre. But after his landmark performance on The Voice, Troy continued to work with the concept, developing it into one of his favorite songs he’s recorded thus far.
“But as I messed around on the guitar, the lyrics ‘when you hear my song, turn it up, sounds better in a pickup truck’ came to mind,” Ramey says about the track. “The song immediately was no longer a joke. It really became a song about one of my favorite things to do.”
After the release of his first singles from his debut LP, All I Had, the excitement for the full album only began to grow. With the full album set to release in the fall of 2024, the anticipation only grows stronger with each day. The release of “Pick Up Truck” will certainly have to do in the meantime. If the artistry and creativity behind this one single is only a preview of the full album, there is certainly a bright future ahead of Troy Ramey.
Fans can listen to “Pick Up Truck” here, and in anticipation of Troy Ramey’s newest release, Ramey is set to play a few shows in the Northeast, starting with a stop in Patchogue, Long Island, at the 89 North.
July 19, Friday – 89 North – Patchogue, NY.
July 25, Thursday – The Maso Studio at The Huntington Theatre – Boston, MA.
July 26, Friday – Next Stage Arts – Putney, VTets.
July 27, Saturday – Newport Playhouse – Newport, RI.
Following the event’s undeniable success in 2023, the Borscht Belt Museum has announced the return of its now-annual Borscht Belt Festival, a three-day-long celebration of the iconic Borscht Belt Era in the Catskills.
Beginning on the evening of Friday, July 26, and running through Sunday, July 28, the equally informative and entertaining festival will pay homage to the Borscht Belt’s vibrant past while showcasing its legacy and wide-ranging influence on American culture to all who attend in Ellenville, NY.
The Borscht Belt, a term for the region of summer resorts in the Catskills Mountains that thrived from the 1920s to the 1970s, is a pivotal piece of New York history. In its prime, the Borscht Belt had over 500 resorts that filled up with guests every year. The catalyst of the Borscht Belt was that in the early 1900s, certain hotels and resorts openly discriminated against Jewish people, which led to an untapped market that all resorts in the Borscht Belt leaned heavily into. Some of the most iconic aspects of the Borscht Belt’s prime are the historic comedians, delicious and authentic Jewish foods, and a second-to-none communal atmosphere.
Inspired by the fabled Borscht Belt era, the Borscht Belt Festival was created as an outlet to celebrate the region’s lengthy and impactful history. The inaugural Borscht Belt Festival last year was a rousing success, bringing in over 6,000 attendees, which led to all ticketed events selling out. The festival offers food, comedy, live music and scores of other events that will take over much of downtown Ellenville, just ninety minutes from Times Square.
Ellenville was home to the Nevele Grand Hotel, one of the largest and most important resorts in the Borscht Belt’s history, which sadly closed in 2009.
“Amid the backdrop of rising antisemitism, Borscht Belt Fest is a timely celebration of Jewish joy as a response to exclusion,” said Andrew Jacobs, president of the Borscht Belt Museum board. “The resorts may be gone, but we are committed to preserving and celebrating the Borscht Belt and the comedy, food and culture that had lasting impacts on mainstream America.”
This year’s festival is set to one-up everything from the first festival, with organizers claiming to have doubled the size of all offerings from the last year.
Highlights from this year’s lineup include Cousin Brucie, New Yorker writer Patricia Marx, comedian Rachel Feinstein, The Great Babka Bake Off, what will surely be a competitive and raucous Simon Sez competition, an outdoor screening of Dirty Dancing, and more, including cabaret and musical theater. Paying homage to the lifeblood of the Belt, the festival will also feature a multitude of stand-up shows from start to finish. A partnership with the NY Comedy Club has guaranteed that attendees will be getting the best of the best.
The festival’s centerpiece, though, has to be the street fair, which will run Saturday, 11–5 p.m. and Sunday, 10–3 p.m. and will feature local artisans, nostalgic merchandise, and delicious food, including artful interpretations of Jewish classics. The street fair is free to enter for all who come. Most events are free, but tickets are required for the comedy shows, talks, and workshops, with proceeds going to support the Catskills Borscht Belt Museum.
The Borscht Belt Festival is fully organized by the Borscht Belt Museum, a non-for-profit dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Borscht Belt resort era and celebrating its history as a refuge from bigotry, the cradle of stand-up comedy, and a cultural catalyst that left deep imprints on America. The museum’s current exhibition, “And Such Small Portions: Food and Comedy in the Catskills Resort Era,” will be running through November 15.
Find tickets and more information on the Borscht Belt Festival here.
Monobloc, a band emerging from New York City’s DIY scene, has released a new single, “Where is My Garden?”.
Led by vocalist Tommy Waldron and bassist Michael Silverglade, Monobloc effortlessly merges post-punk instrumentation and attitude with pop sensibilities. With Zack Pockrose on drums, and guitarists Ben Scofield and Nina Lüders, Monobloc creates a nostalgic sound reminiscent of Television and The Strokes.
Julia Tarantino
Chronicling the internal battle between materialism and gratitude, Monobloc describes conflict with vivid imagery and refreshing honesty.
Unpublished praised the single for its honesty and timelessness: “with intricate, overlapping rhythms balanced with the straightforward ‘tell it how it is’ type lyrics, Monobloc … [creates] a timeless track that will be accessible through generations.”
The black and white music video, self-directed by the band, compliments the wiry, insistent guitar work and rousing chorus. Tommy Waldron said of the instrumentation, “Attached to the main riff of the song was this chorus I really wanted to use but could never find a place where it made sense. … It was a great wide theme – a bit Springsteen and better yet, the closest I could legally get to saying “Where are your friends tonight?”
Monobloc shared their first single, “I’m Just Trying to Love You” in early 2024. As Monobloc continues to hone in on their electric live shows, DIY attitude and artistic capabilities, more music is to come.
A full list of Monobloc’s tour dates is available below, along with the official “Where is My Garden?” music video. Tickets are available here.
AUGUST
2 – Pete’s Candy Store – Brooklyn NY
21 – Sebright Arms – London, UK (debut UK performance)
23 – All Points East Festival – London, UK (w/ LCD Soundsystem)
25 – Rock En Seine Festival – Paris, FR (debut EU performance)
The Northwest Jazz Festival in Lewiston, NY will host an exciting celebration tribute of The Great American Songbook Aug. 23-24. The festival will include six performances across the two days of beloved music, taking place on Center St. in Lewiston.
Coming to Lewiston for the upcoming festival is a group of extremely talented musicians, whose work excels in the jazz community.
On Friday, Aug. 23 at 6 PM, Pete Malinverni and his trio will open the festival. The performance will then be followed by Pete Malinverni, Peter Bernstein, and Anaïs Reno performing a selection of jazz standards from the Great American Songbook. The first night of the Northwest Jazz Festival brings a unique collaboration from three significant artists.
The next day, Saturday, Aug. 24, festivities get an earlier start. At 2:15 PM, attendees will witness Elliot Sneider perform the music of George and Ira Gershwin. This delightful start to the day will excite the audience, preparing them for the extraordinary shows ahead of them. Throughout the rest of the day, the Jazz at the Ballroom organization will present three shows with different American Songbook themes.
Starting at 4 PM, Adrian Cunningham, Wyatt Michael, and the Konrad Paszkudzki Trio will present “Get Out of Town.” This show will feature songs like “Route 66” and “Stars Fell On Alabama,” giving attendees a musical tour of the country.
At 6 PM, Champian Fulton along with Olivia Chindamo, and Vanessa Perea will pay homage to the women who paved their way from big bands to becoming household names. “Flying High” features the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day, Billie Holiday, Rosemary Clooney, and many more.
Lastly, at 8:30 PM “Accentuate the Positive” to close the night out and end the enchanting weekend of music. Led by pianist, Konrad Paszkudzki, the performance will include uplifting songs from back in the day such as. Joined by the full Jazz at the Ballroom ensemble, the festival will undoubtedly end on a high note.
To reserve a seat for the Northwest Jazz Festival, visit lewistonjazz.com.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has announced their partnership with Canadian classical music festival, The Festival de Lanaudière, for their mentorship program.
From July 25 to Aug 4, the mentorship program will travel with six talented Canadian musicians to Quebec and SPAC. The program pushes the musicians’ careers forward by allowing them to forge relationships with other musicians, conductors and teachers. These six young artists will spend the first six days of the program in Joliette, Quebec and for the first time in the program’s history, the last four days will be with The Philadelphia Orchestra at SPAC.
The Philadelphia Orchestra has a longstanding summer residency at SPAC and this year, their SPAC performances include 100 years of Rhapsody in Blue on Aug 1, an Evening with John Legend on Aug 7 and a performance with Yo-Yo Ma on Aug 16.
The entire Festival de Lanaudière goes from July 6 and ends with the mentorship program on Aug 4. The festival was founded in 1978 and the famous Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay was constructed in 1988. Most of the performances take place outside in the Amphitheatre, but for some performances the festival moves to offsite venues like the ornate churches of Quebec as well as distilleries and cultural centers.
SPAC is also known for its beautiful open amphitheater where the Philadelphia orchestra shares the stage with other prestigious arts companies like New York City Ballet and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The town of Saratoga Springs is surrounded by hiking trails and geysers, drawing in summer tourists and music fans alike.
To find more information about The Festival de Lanaudière, you can visit their website here.
THE 2024 MENTEES
· Mehdi Ghazi, pianist
· Frédéric-Alexandre Michaud, conductor, violinist and radio cultural commentator
· Elizabeth Polese, soprano
· Antoine Rivard-Landry, pianist
· Catherine St-Arnaud, soprano
· Gabriel Trottier, solo, chamber and orchestral horn player
On July 10, Brooklyn-based art-pop duo Rubblebucket released their newest single, “Rattlesnake,” along with its corresponding music video. Filled with groovy basslines, punchy brass and saxophone riffs, and hard-hitting lyrics in a deceptively cool and catchy tone, “Rattlesnake” is the newest edition to a laundry list of funky tunes sure to make your hips move.
Based on lead singer Klamia Traver’s own struggles with mental health and anxiety, the lyrics to “Rattlesnake” present a situation that almost everyone can relate to. The band loosely adapted a poem Kalmia wrote called “Time For the Rattlesnake” from her poetry book Year of The Banana. The poem recalls an encounter Traver had with the animal, jokingly saying, “The beauty of it took my breath away. But I later ruminated about how even when I am faced with the most breathtaking of our planet’s offerings, it can still be very hard to be present, focused & relaxed because of the chronic anxiety from which I suffer.”
The song opens with, “I don’t want to analyze you / But it seems you’re stuck in a cage / Let the child inside drive you / You’ve got what it takes.” Rattlesnake, in this instance, acts as a metaphor for someone so coiled and wrapped up in their own worries, fears, and anxieties that they prevent themselves from chasing new opportunities and ideas, even if it is something their “inner child” so desperately craved. The bridge’s lyrics further implement this idea, this time bringing the perspectives of outsiders into it: “Sometimes you gotta kill your idols / Psychedelic cage / In the footsteps of our mothers / We make the same mistakes.”
With such an intense undertone, looking at the lyrics alone makes the tune sound morose and dark. But instead, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the song is almost deceptively catchy. The groovy bassline, provided by the band’s other half, Alex Toth, nearly makes you forget about the unsettling lyrics. Renata Zieguer’s strings certainly add another unique element to the instrumentation, bringing a classic ’70s-style disco charm. Kalmia Traver’s light, soothing vocals almost make you forget about the fears the song forces you to face. The band went full disco-funk with “Rattlesnake”, producing a track that sounds like Bee Gees and Michael Jackson meets Stereolab.
For Rubblebucket, therapy takes the form of a dance party. “Rattlesnake” is a refreshing, funky tune that certainly stands out with its creative sound, and even more creative music video, reminiscent of something we would’ve seen from Talking Heads. The message here is clear: uncoil yourself like a rattlesnake, but dance while you do it.
“Rattlesnake” is out now and available on all streaming platforms and be sure to catch Rubblebucket at their announced live shows for 2024, one in Washington and one in New Hampshire.
NYC based alt-pop artist Rachael Sage will perform alongside her band, The Sequins at the Towne Crier in Beacon, NY on Aug 11.
Anyone with a dinner reservation can hear Sage perform songs off her latest record Another Side. Aside from being a singer-songwriter she is also a visual artist. Her artwork will appear at the Bank Square as part of Beacon Open Studios from July 19 to 21.
Sage is a woman of many hats. Before her musical career she was a dancer with New York City Ballet. Two decades ago, she started her own independent record label MPress records and has toured with Grammy award winning artists Judy Collins and Shawn Colvin. Sage is also a philanthropist and has helped raise money for WHY Hunger, American Refugee Committee, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital and National Network For Youth.
Another Side is the companion album to The Other Side. All the tracks are the acoustic counterparts. The album has a folk-pop sound and the instrumentation breaks down the individual elements to the songs. Her cover of Yazoo’s “Only You” reached #32 on the Mediabase Top 40 radio chart.
Sage and the Sequins will perform on the Salon Stage at the Town Crier. The venue and cafe hosts a number of local Hudson Valley artists and bands like Ryan Lee Crosby on Aug 16 and Boom Kat on Aug 9. To find more information on the show you can visit the Town Crier website here.
Frank Black announced his “Teenager Of The Year” tour Jan 15 through Feb 6, and on Feb 1, Black and his band will perform at Brooklyn Steel.
Black made the announcement through Brooklyn Vegan, a NYC based music blog. Teenager Of The Year is Black’s second studio album and was released 30 years ago under 4AD records. The classic alternative rock album was released a year after Black’s former band, The Pixies split up.
Eric Drew Feldman, who had previously played Keyboard on one of the Pixies tours, co-produced the album. The album also features Joey Santiago on guitar, a founding member of The Pixies. Teenager was originally not well received by fans but is now considered one of the greatest alternative rock albums and made it onto Pitchfork’s top 100 albums of the 1990s.
College roommates, Santiago and Black formed The Pixies in 1986 after dropping out of The University Massachusetts Amherst. After a few years of conflict between the members, the band officially split in 1993. Before Teenager, Black released his first self-titled album in 1992. In 1997 he formed his band, Frank Black and The Catholics and the band recorded music throughout the early 2000’s.
The Teenager Of the Year tour will include Feldman, Lyle Workman and Nick Vincent who originally appeared on the album.
Tickets for the tour go on sale on July 19 and on Black’s Website here.
