Harbor Walk, Liberty Hound, and Jeff Miers Music are teaming up to present the Thursday Night Summer Concert Series “Music Matters.” The series takes place on the New Harbor Walk Facility at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo. Concerts take place on Thursdays at 7 pm, so don’t miss the last few weeks of eclectic performers.
Now in its final weeks, the Music Matters concert series features a wide variety of regional artists and organizations for attendees to enjoy. Local businesses set up their booths all over the boardwalk, offering special creations just for the event. Private special events on the boardwalk are held after each concert for fans who wish the night would never end.
“I’m excited to be teaming with my friend Jason Davidson and the Liberty Hound to present this summer concert series at the new Harbor Walk venue,’” says Music Matters Series co-producer Jeff Miers. “There’s a long history of live music on Thursday nights in the Canalside region, and it feels great to be able to assemble this lineup of incredible Buffalo talent to continue that tradition at one of our city’s most breathtakingly beautiful sites.”
Music Matters brings an incredibly diverse and talented batch of musicians to Harbor Walk every year. This year, a lineup of rock, country, and funk artists take the stage. In its home stretch, bands like Critt (joined by special guest Blaised and Confused), Funktional Flow, and The Strictly Hip, along with a special announcement for the show on August 8, are ready to turn up the funk for Buffalo crowds.
Don’t miss the last few performances of Music Matters, every Thursday starting at 7 pm. More information is available here.
The Beacon Sloop Club has announced the musical lineup for the annual Corn Festival. The day-long festival offers visitors fresh snacks (like Hudson Valley fresh picked corn boiled for two minutes), sails on the Sloop Woody Guthrie, and music from 11 artists. The Corn Festival takes place August 11th from 12-5 pm at Pete and Toshi Seeger Memorial Park.
The Beacon Sloop Club traces its origins back to New York folk legend Pete Seeger. In 1966, Pete and Toshi Seeger founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater nonprofit to raise awareness of pollution in the Hudson River. For decades, General Electric had polluted the river with factory runoff, which was toxic to the river’s wildlife and people nearby. At the centerpiece of the nonprofit’s mission was the Sloop Clearwater, which sailed the river as a symbol of the Seegers’ mission.
In 1969, the Clearwater sailed to Beacon where the locals set up a welcome festival. This welcome party evolved into the Beacon Sloop Club, with a mission dedicated to community and environment. The group renovated Beacon’s Ferry Diner to make it a headquarters and community gathering space, alongside newly replaced docks. To top off their facilities, Seeger commissioned the Sloop Woody Guthrie – named for the folk legend – to act as the club’s public education space.
One of the Sloop Club’s most popular events is the annual corn festival. The family-friendly event invites all to enjoy hand-picked corn, fresh watermelon, lemonade, and more local delights. Aiding in the Sloop Club’s environmental mission, a large educational tent will feature exhibits on the ecology of the Hudson River watershed. In addition to these exhibits, visitors can enjoy the Hudson first-hand with free rides on the Sloop Woody Guthrie. Weather permitting, sloop ride sign-up will begin at 12pm.
The Sloop Woody Guthrie, Photo by Pete Becerra Jr., 2017
On top of these activities, the festival will feature live music from local artists throughout the day. The festival facilities include two solar-powered stages, with one dedicated solely for children’s entertainment. Among the local bands playing are Last Minute Soulmates, Trouble Sisters, Offshoots, Soil & Soul Creek, and The Seed Song Family Band.
The festival will also feature a number of local singer-songwriters and individual performers. Hudson-based acoustic duo Laurie Siegel & Patrick Jones will perform a set. Also performing is Cosby Gibson. The Adirondacks-based artist rose to local prominence through her dulcimer and guitar-driven folk. Over the years she has won a Capital District Music Award for Best Folk Album and a Dorn Space Arts Award for Music Outreach.
In terms of children’s entertainment, Bindlestick Bill will perform. The Poughkeepsie-based performer works as an elementary school music teacher by day and local music star by night. Bindlestick Bill takes the form of a comedic hobo character, with songs and performances aimed towards children.
Spook Handy and Pete Seeger
The festival will also feature a number of local folk musicians who played with Pete Seeger throughout his career. Among these musicians is New Jersey’s Spook Handy, who played over 50 shows with Seeger after the two met in 2003. The festival will additionally feature music by Pat Lamanna. Lamanna’s folk stylings tackle issues of peace and environmental ills, receiving praise from Pete Seeger and Phil Ochs. Finally, Lydia Adams Davis will perform. Over the years, Davis performed alongside Seeger and the Hudson River Sloop Singers. The New York Times has heralded her as “One of our finest folk composers” for her legendary folk/country stylings.
The Beacon Sloop Club Corn Festival will take place August 11th from 12-5pm. The festival is a free, all-ages event made possible by the Sloop Club’s volunteers. All proceeds from the festival go towards the Woody Guthrie sailing program and other environmental education programs. For more information, visit the Beacon Sloop Club website here.
Jon ‘The Barber’ Gutwillig (a.k.a. Baba G) of The Disco Biscuits will join forces with Ben Atkind of Elephantproof (formerly Goose) to perform on August 3 at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. The evening will kick off with a set by Capital Region’s own SM INK.
The performance on August 3 marks Barber’s Woodstock debut. Having performed as part of groups and, Barber has garnered a reputation as the guitar player for the band The Disco Biscuits. However, his appearance at the Bearsville Theater marks his first solo set at the theater.
Barber will be stepping out of his comfort zone for Saturday’s show, performing as a DJ named “Baba G,” and bringing house music, trance, and techno, and even remixes of his own songs from The Disco Biscuits.
Baba G will be joined by Ben Atkind of Elephantproof (formerly known as Goose). Atkins will provide drums for the set, while Barber hops in between the guitar and the DJ booth. This marks the second time Barber and Atkind perform together, bringing their dynamic and energetic performances to the Future City Lounge in Brooklyn just two months ago.
“I’m excited to collaborate with Ben again,” says Barber. “Our Brooklyn show was very well received, and I think we’ll deliver an even stronger performance now that we’ve got a show under our belts,” Barber said, referencing the duo’s June 1 performance at Future City Lounge.
Regardless of their past as a duo, Barber and Atkind are gearing up for a performance unlike any other. Their inspirations from disco and electronica music make for an incredibly unique blend of sound, perfect for the early days of the recently reborn Bearsville Theater. The innovative spin on house and disco music will surely be a night that lifelong fans and newcomers alike, whether or their solo or group work, will never forget.
Bearsville Theater is located at 291 Tinker St, Woodstock, NY. This event is 21+, and doors open at 7 PM on August 3. Tickets are available online at the Bearsville Theater’s website, linked here.
The town of Black Brook, NY is in the midst of its weekly summer concert series, Music at the River Park, spanning from July 17 to Aug 21. The concerts take place in Au Sable Forks‘ River Park every Wednesday evening.
The Northern NY concert series, Music at the River Park, is the musical collaboration of the towns of Black Brook and Au Sable Forks. Every Wednesday night from July 17 to Aug. 21 from 6-8 PM, locals can head down to River Park for free live entertainment. Concertgoers can also treat themselves to the town’s renowned food truck, The Dogfather, onsite.
The weekly acts, presented by Black Brook are full of local musicians ranging from country artists to acoustic singer-songwriters. Thus far, July’s acts have included exciting homegrown acts such as Larry Ebere, Tally & Pop, and Bluebird. The music, queued to the picturesque views of the Au Sable River makes an electric combination proved to be loved by the community weekly.
In the upcoming weeks, music lovers can enjoy sets from Midnight Stargazers, Larry Ebere once again, and finally, Sarah Mitchell. Filled with western tunes and harmonic melodies, August at River Park is sure to be plentiful of amazing music and talented artists.
Five-time GRAMMY-Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne will be taking the stage of the MVP Arena in Albany this October. He is joined by special guests The Kid LAROI and Selfish Sons.
Over the last 20 years, Lil Wayne has achieved a career unlike any other. His discography has brought him several accolades and immense critical acclaim. Overall, his career is marked by five #1 debuts, starting with the 6x platinum, 3x GRAMMY® Award-winning opus Tha Carter III in 2008, followed by the 5x platinum Tha Carter IV in 2011.
In 2005, Lil Wayne founded the world-famous record label Young Money Entertainment. As CEO, he discovered and signed countless up-and-coming rappers, some of which would grow to become the biggest stars in the music industry, most notably Drake and Nicki Minaj.
On October 11, Wayne will be taking the stage with Australian rapper The Kid LAROI and rock band Selfish Sons. His Albany stop at the MVP Arena marks his only New York show on his current tour.
Tickets for Lil Wayne at MVP Arena in Albany will be on sale this Friday, August 2, at 10 am local time at ticketmaster.com
Alt-country superstar Jeff Tweedy has announced a cross-country Autumn tour with for New York dates. Beginning on September 8th, the tour will stop in Woodstock and Buffalo before making its way westward.
Jeff Tweedy has distinguished himself as an icon of the alt-country genre. His musical career began in high school, performing alongside friends. This band soon evolved into Tweedy’s first big project, Uncle Tupelo. During their 7 years of existence, Uncle Tupelo emerged as standouts of alt-country. Their 1990 record No Depression has been labeled one of the best albums of the genre, and the 1990s as a whole.
By 1994, Uncle Tupelo had disbanded, leaving Tweedy to start his next musical project. This band – made of leftover Uncle Tupelo members – named themselves Wilco. Their first two records A.M. and Being There continued to build on Uncle Tupelo’s country stylings. By their third album, 1999’s Summerteeth, the band began to incorporate elements from Psychedelic pop and alternative rock, creating their iconic sound. Many consider the peak of their career as 2001’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which paired their genre-bending experimentations with unforgettable pop hooks. The album is often quoted as not only one of the best indie albums of all time, but one of the greatest albums ever.
Jeff Tweedy has been busy with his work throughout 2024 – both as the frontman of Wilco and a solo artist. In terms of Wilco, the band released their 13th studio album Cousin, with its accompanying Hot Sun Cool Shroud EP. June saw the band take to the live stage at the Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, Massachusetts. In addition to this performance, they have made waves through their live recording of Lana Del Rey’s “Margaret” alongside Bleachers.
On top of this musical work, Tweedy has pursued writing. 2024 saw the release of his third book WORLD WITHIN A SONG: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music. The book recounts fifty songs that changed Tweedy’s life and the memories associated with each of them. Upon its release, the book quickly became a New York Times Bestseller.
To kick off Autumn, Tweedy is launching a cross country tour, beginning on Sunday, September 8th. The tour will start in Tweedy’s home of Chicago, with performances at the Evanston Folk Festival and Chicago Live! Following these two performances, Tweedy will continue on to New York, where he has four scheduled shows.
The New York Leg of the tour will begin with a three-night residency at Woodstock’s Bearsville Theater. The legendary venue dates back to 1989, when it was built to house Bearsville Studios. Since its founding, everyone from Patti Smith to REM has recorded there. The renowned 500-person venue has an intimate atmosphere with near perfect acoustics. Tweedy’s residency will last from Friday, October 11th to Sunday, October 13th.
Immediately following his Woodstock residency, Tweedy will travel to Buffalo to perform at the Buffalo State Performing Arts Center. The theater sits at the center of Buffalo State College, housing its stage productions. Since its original opening in 1987, the theater has undergone extensive renovations with state of the art lighting and sound systems and refurbished seating. The 865-person theater hosts over 50,000 people every year across more than 180 events. Tweedy’s concert will take place on Tuesday, October 15th.
Bearsville Theater
Following these New York performances, Tweedy will continue westward throughout October. He will cap off the Autumn tour with a three-day residency at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California. Tickets go on sale August 2nd at 10am local time. For more information on Jeff Tweedy’s solo tour, visit the Wilco website here.
Jeff Tweedy Tour Dates
Sun. Sept 8 – Evanston, IL @ Evanston Folk Festival, In-Conversation Series
Sat. Sept 21 – Chicago, IL @ Navy Pier / Chicago Live!
Fri. Oct. 11 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
Sat. Oct. 12 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
Sun. Oct. 13 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
Tue. Oct. 15 – Buffalo, NY @ Buffalo State PAC
Wed. Oct. 16 – Columbus, OH @ Southern Theatre
Fri. Oct. 18 – Champaign, IL @ Virginia Theatre
Sat. Oct. 19 – Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theatre
Sun. Oct. 20 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral
Tue. Oct. 22 – Jackson, WY @ Center for The Arts
Wed. Oct. 23 – Salt Lake City @ Rose Wagner Theater
Fri. Oct. 25 – Grass Valley, CA @ Center for The Arts
Mon. Oct. 28 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre
Tues. Oct. 29 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre
Wed. Oct. 30 – Menlo Park, CA @ The Guild Theatre
Fri. Feb 28 – Miami, St Croix, USVI & St John’s, Antigua @ Cayamo Cruise
Fresh on the heels of their wildly successful Why We Dance Tour and its ongoing follow up tour, The Disco Biscuits are keeping the momentum going and have announced a run of shows in the Fall.
The shows will take place predominantly in the Northeast, but feature a Halloween run at The Caverns in Tennessee. The band will play Brooklyn Steel on November 9 with the next show scheduled for Bearsville Theatre in Woodstock on November 13.
The Fall Tour also includes The Disco Biscuits making return appearances to The Palladium in Worcester, MA on November 15 and the State Theatre in Portland, ME on November 16. The tour also rolls through Connecticut twice with shows in both Norwalk (November 14) and Hartford (November 20-21). And New York continues to get plenty of attention as well as the tour concludes with the final three shows here. The band will play Rome Capitol Theatre for the first time on November 22 before concluding the tour with two shows at Buffalo’s Town Ballroom where the band never seems to disappoint.
Both General Admission and VIP tickets for the Fall Tour go on sale tomorrow at 12 pm ET. The VIP package for this set of shows includes early entry to each venue with early access to merch, a pre-show private soundcheck an group photo with the band as well as a commemorative show ticket instead of the usual poster and a laminate. There’s also still one yet to be announced show for this tour on November 7 that falls between ones at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore and the aforementioned Brooklyn Steel show. For tickets and more information on the band’s 2024 plans, visit discobiscuits.com.
Disco Biscuits Fall Tour Schedule
10/30 – Madison Theater – Covington, Ky. 10/31-11/2 – The Caverns – Pelham, Tenn. 11/3 – French Broad River Brewery – Asheville, N.C. 11/6 – Rams Head Live – Baltimore 11/7 – TBA 11/9 – Brooklyn Steel – Brooklyn, N.Y. 11/13 – Bearsville Theatre – Woodstock, N.Y. 11/14 – District Music Hall- Norwalk, Conn. 11/15 – The Palladium – Worcester, Mass. 11/16 – State Theatre – Portland, Maine 11/17 – Paramount Theatre – Rutland, Vt. 11/20-21 – Infinity Hall – Hartford, Conn. 11/22 – Rome Capitol Theatre – Rome, N.Y. 11/23-24 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, N.Y.
The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild will present BIO-SPHERE, a unique sonic collaboration between environmental sculptor Ian Laughlin and renowned composer/percussionist David Van Tieghem. This free performance will take place Sunday, August 4 and 2pm in front of the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s Office Complex located at 34 Tinker Street in Woodstock.
David Van Tieghem is an American composer and sound designer known for his philosophy of utilizing any available object as a percussion instrument. In his long career, Van Tieghem has performed and composed for numerous films and productions as well as collaborating with Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, David Byrne, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, Adrian Belew, Jerry Marotta, John Zorn, Sylvia Bullett and Happy Traum. Along with many other awards, Van Tieghem was the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Music Composition (2007).
Originally from New Zealand, Ian Laughlin is a multi-media eco-artist who first achieved notoriety in New York City’s Lower East Side in the 80s. A resident of the Hudson Valley since 1990, Laughlin has been dedicated to exploring injustices and finding solutions to the many challenges facing the planet through his many notable art installations and acoustic sculptures. His work can be found at his website.
BIO-SPHERE is the latest Laughlin-Van Tieghem collaboration and it’s sounding the alarm about PFOS, the so-called ‘forever chemicals,’ endangering our species and planet.
“My sculpture utilizes tanks and piping to present a model for water purification of carcinogenic ‘forever chemicals’,” says Laughlin. “It is sonically designed for composer/percussionist David Van Tieghem to signal that alarm in a bold musical way.”
Recent Laughlin and Van Tieghem works have included Chilling Effects and Glacial Survival Instincts (2023) and Lunasa and Pitchfork Chamber Music (2021), the former of which also included collaboration with Laughlin’s partner, the singer/songwriter Sylvia Bullett. Laughlin created the cover art for Bullett’s latest album, All Knowledge There Transcending. Videos of these works can be found here.
Founded in 1902, the Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is a regional center for the arts located in Woodstock. From its 250-acre mountainside campus and its arts and performance center in the village of Woodstock, it offers an integrated program of exhibitions, performances, workshops and artists’ residencies. For info, visit here.
The Bell House, a celebrated entertainment venue in Brooklyn’s Gowanus neighborhood, has been bought out by Live Nation. The venue has hosted and supported many independent artists throughout the years, having opened in 2008.
Located in an old printing press warehouse, The Bell House has since served the community as an outlet for creatives around the city. Upon its opening, The Bell House was involved in the NYC Comedy scene, drawing the public to the industrialized neighborhood. The venue also racked up its fair share of bands, parties, burlesque, and a variety of other social events.
Because of the opportunities and shameless fun offered to artists and attendees, The Bell House acted as a safe space for people to express themselves. Since 2008, the space has been independently run by the same team responsible for Park Slope’s Union Hall. The two similar, close-by venues, along with other BK establishments gave access to an underground circuit of up-and-coming artists.
Recently, however, The Bell House has experienced a transition as Live Nation quietly purchased it. While the process of it becoming an evident Live Nation venue with mainstream acts is slowly coming into place, the community continues to raise concerns about the future of its beloved sanctuary.
Live Nation, which is in the midst of a federal antitrust suit due to its monopoly over the live entertainment industry, already dominates NYC music venues. Over the years the music industry giant has racked up rooms like the Gramercy Theatre, Irving Plaza, and Brooklyn Paramount.
The new addition of The Bell House has generated a lot of concern and questions from the community. Because the venues immensely support independent artists, people are questioning the risk of Live Nation trading in the smaller artists for bigger names. The possible exclusion of talented yet generally unknown musicians and comics contradicts the venue’s purpose and community. It also risks eliminating the proud diversity and public accessibility the venue has to offer.
The booker and the marketing team do such a great job taking chances on emerging artists and concepts, and giving them the best possible chance to succeed. My big fear is that as it’s engulfed into the bigger Live Nation fold, the venue will lose a little of its cozy Brooklyn familiarity for artists.
Frequent Bell House Performer for The Groove
So far, the lineup has yet to reflect any drastic changes from regular shows. While most people are anticipating mainstream acts, the calendar remains full of smaller, yet still notable acts and bands. They still have classic Bell House-style events such as an ABBA Glitter Disco and a Moulin Rouge Drinking game.
It’s unknown when Live Nation finalized the sale, and therefore, when their booking comes into play. The common fear among the public is how the company will decide to move forward with The Bell House’s trajectory.
On September 20, Wonderland Forest in Lafayette, NY, will be home to LonCon, a two-day music festival featuring numerous rocking jam bands. This year, LonCon will also see the debut of newly formed Big Shrimp, ready to stun crowds with new faces.
Formerly known as Baked Shrimp, the group has decided to take on a new name, and of course, a new style. Hailing from Long Island and originally forming in 2017, Baked Shrimp took on the world as a trio, made up of Jared Cowen (Guitar/Vocals), Scott Reill (Bass/Vocals), and Jager Soss (Drums/Vocals). Their funk style brought them to festivals and shows all over the United States and Canada, and even provided supporting acts for artists like the Disco Biscuits, Pink Talking Fish, Aqueous, Dopapod, and more.
In 2021, Baked Shrimp formed LonCon, a two-day music festival featuring hundreds of artists over the course of three years. Up until recently, they performed as Baked Shrimp, but are now ready to change it up and announce their new and improved act.
Now known as Big Shrimp, the band has taken on not just a new name, but a new sound and even a new member. Joining the Big Shrimp crew is Matt Takesh, their brand new keyboard player.
“I am so amped up to have Matt Takesh with us behind a batch of keyboards, including a real B3!” says guitarist and vocalist Jared Cowen. “He and Max Perrotti have been a pure joy to bring into our world of music, and we can’t wait to see what this lineup looks and sounds like on the stage.”
This year, LonCon has moved to a new location, Wonderland Forest in Lafayette. Surrounded by beautiful scenery and dozens of hiking trails, attendees can choose to camp as close or as far from the festival as they’d like, and take in amazing hiking trails, scenic overlooks, waterfalls, and more.
The full lineup of LonCon is to be released soon, with performances from Mihali, Big Shrimp x2, Aliens Among Us (ft. Ben Atkind (ElephantProof/formerly Goose), Ryan Dempsey (Twiddle), Sam Lucid (Dogs in a Pile), Jared Sage Cowen (Big Shrimp), Gantzer, Sophistafunk, Annie in the Water, and more already announced.
“Having his and our friends and family be with us for what we continue to want to be an annual event, is so special, and inspires us to continue to want to grow our community,” says Cowen. The highly anticipated debut album for Big Shrimp is set to release in the Spring of 2025, following an incredible festival.
For more information on LonCon, visit the festival’s website.
