For the past quarter century, a trio of future-forward NYC-based musicians have been deftly navigating the boundaries between King Tubby-style dub, Delta Blues, electronica, 70s-styled jazz fusion, metal, ambient, noise- and progressive-rock to the delight of discerning audiences and delighted critics alike. On Saturday, December 7, this triumvirate, Harriet Tubman, provided a 90-minute set of unparalleled sonic and melodic creativity for the culmination of the latest season of soul-stirring concerts at Poughkeepsie’s Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center curated by Elysium Furnace Works.
Harriet Tubman was formed 25 years ago by some of the most versatile and ferocious players on the scene: guitarist/vocalist Brandon Ross (Cassandra Wilson, Lounge Lizards), bassist Melvin Gibbs (Decoding Society, Henry Rollins), and drummer JT Lewis (Sonny Sharrock, William Parker, Whitney Houston). They take their moniker from Harriet Tubman, an African-American woman born into slavery who was renowned as a liberator of other slaves who, like she, chose to seek freedom by escaping to the North. She accomplished this with the help of a secret network of safe houses, or “stations,” on what was known as “The Underground Railroad.” Together, the trio has waxed five critically acclaimed albums, including I Am A Man (1998), Ascension (2011), and their latest, The Terror End of Beauty (2018).
Many of the original compositions performed commence with tightly structured melodic heads before departing for improvisations that venture into noisy, fierce dissonance. But for all the stylistic departures and daring atmospherics, the underlying melodies and phrasing are a mournful and beautiful blue. Maybe like Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, a favorite comparison often pulled up by critics, Harriet Tubman is a blues band in disguise – a genuinely original one unchained from the 12-bar, 1-4-5 form, one completely abetted rather than undermined by the technology they wield.
In his work with vocalists like Cassandra Wilson and Jewel and his excellent solo discs like Costume (2004), Ross is coveted for his delicate acoustic guitar work. In Tubman, he is unleashed and fully electrified. He’s most often the one creating the backdrop, with washes of gentle chording and loops that serve as the sonic undercurrent for Tubman’s tunes. Then he turns his Fender Twin to 11 and stomps on his numerous distortion pedals, filters and wah-wah to conjure soaring solos that square the root of Hendrix, Sonic Youth, saxman Albert Ayler, and another great avant-garde guitarist of a generation only slightly before, Michael Gregory Jackson.
Once called the “egg in the meatloaf” by his one-time band leader, the late Ronald Shannon Jackson, Gibbs’s bass playing is as solid and rootsy as it comes. He uses his five-string fed through a massive Ampeg speaker cabinet to provide rib-shaking sub-harmonic riffery. These are usually unadorned and repetitive four to five-note lines that anchor the band. However, much of the uniqueness of the Tubman sound comes when Melvin stretches the limits of the bass. His lines are often heavily distorted and looped, and he frequently holds down the harmony for the band with his chording on tunes like “Farther Unknown.” On several, Gibbs was the main texture, laying down his repetitive echoed drenched textures, often with a string generator, over which he laid down furious sheets of sound solos.
Drummer Lewis provided an adept circle of rhythm to keep the trio firing on all cylinders. But what may be most impressive is his restraint. Several times in the set, JT just sat out completely, adding a more intimate dimension for the duet and interplay created by his guitarist and bassist.
Standouts in the set were the aforementioned “Farther Unknown” and “Green Book Blues,” the latter is a nod to the famous travel guide written in the 1930s that helped African-American road trippers get safely from one place to another. This tune included a great deal of melodic tension, with a cool reverse-delay effect on Ross’s guitar during his fuzzy, screamy solo providing a ghostly ambience.
The trio offered up an excellent take on the bluesy ballad, “Where We Stand,” from their acclaimed 1998 debut disc, “I Am A Man.” Ross’ melody evolves slowly, with subtle volume swells, over Lewis’ chattered cymbal work. It was an unhurried purple lament, a sad lullaby with spacey overtones. A higher energy approach came to the fore with “Adapted,” the set opener also from their debut disc, and “The Terror End of Beauty” the title track of their latest album.
After a brief flowing intro, “Adapted” kicked in, driven by a strong, kind of prog-rock, odd meter beat by Lewis and Gibb’s busy percolating bass. Ross’s solo was brisk, leaning on blues and chromatic side-stepping smears. This tune showcased JT’s deft drumming, with his building to numerous crescendos introduced with tight rolls to fire Ross’ soloing. “The Terror End of Beauty” was introduced as a tribute to the late avant-garde guitar pioneer Sonny Sharrock. An evocative climbing and descending minor chordal pattern played by Gibbs devolves into a fierce noise extravaganza, one that was pure Sharrock and made a Sonic Youth rave-up sound like Yacht Rock. Noise and dissonance led to even more furious strumming and, finally more dark, unnerving majesty when Ross, like Sonny, employed a slide and some furious fist bashing and atonal tapping on his guitar.
Seeing a healthy crowd support this kind of exploratory music in the Hudson Valley was heartwarming. Some audience members even traveled up from the Big Apple for this event. James Keepnews and Mike Faloon, the duo behind event curator Elysium Furnace Works, should be commended for their dedication to bringing “vanguard artists” like this immensely talent trio to our area.
Nineteen eighty-seven was undoubtedly “the year of the Anthrax.” The Queens thrash metal band released their third album, Among The Living, which elevated them from underground thrash metal heroes to wider acclaim.
The first show of that tour was at a club in Rochester, in May 1987. In Albany they played a half-filled Palace Theatre that same month and then toured both nationally and internationally for the rest of the year. Among the Living garnered wider record sales and great reviews, and they had a surprise hit when b-side hip-hop/metal crossover song “I’m The Man” broke big. By December 1987 Anthrax were headlining large theaters and small arenas – including this packed-out show at Poughkeepsie’s Mid-Hudson Civic Center.
This show had a bulletproof triple-bill, with two fantastic opening acts: Bay Area thrashers Exodus, promoting second album Pleasures Of The Flesh, and the mighty Swiss heavies, Celtic Frost on their Into The Pandemonium tour.
Exodus guitarists Rick Hunholt and Gary Holt – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Exodus and Celtic Frost switched playing first and second throughout this tour, and in Poughkeepsie Exodus opened. They blasted through a quick 6-song set, mostly tracks from the new Pleasures album like “Faster Than You’ll Ever Live to Be,” but some tracks from that classic first album Bonded By Blood (“Piranha,” “And Then There Were None”) and a cover of AC/DC’s “Overdose” dedicated to Celtic Frost drummer Reed St. Mark, for his birthday.
Exodus vocalist Steve Souza – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Celtic Frost played next, and this was their classic Tom Warrior/Martin Ain/Reed St. Mark lineup, and they were amazing. They opened with “The Usurper,” from second album To Mega Therion, an absolute blast of real metal greatness and played a mix from all three of their records. Then-new album, Into The Pandemonium, was different from the guttural early thrash of the first two records, definitely not a sell-out or commercial compromise (they’d do that the next year with the shitty Cold Lake record), but kind of adventurously artsy-fartsy, or “avant garde” as all the reviews called it.
However, the adventurous third record didn’t translate live as well as those earlier songs, so the set had a few new songs (including their cover of Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio,” and the more traditionally thrash “Inner Sanctum”) but relied more on earlier songs like the crushing “Circle of the Tyrants” and the chugging, head-stomping show-closer “Procreation (of the Wicked).”
Celtic Frost drummer Reed St. Mark – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Drummer Reed received a “Happy Birthday” salute-song onstage, with silly string from the other bands, before Frost concluded their set. Great stuff from a band at their peak, but sadly this lineup’s last show was a few days later when this tour ended, after which drummer St. Mark and iconic bassist Martin Ain departed the band, and mainman Tom Warrior assembled a new lineup which would produce the 1988 blunder Cold Lake, an ill-advised foray into hair metal which destroyed the band’s reputation for some time.
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Anthrax then hit the stage to huge mosh pits with new album title track “Among The Living,” and played mostly songs from their second and third records: “Caught in a Mosh,” “Indians,” “Medusa,” “Armed & Dangerous,” etc., with only “Metal Thrashing Mad” from first album, Fistful of Metal. The response was huge, and the set finished with key thrasher “A.I.R.,” which had a mid-song sidetrack into “I’m The Man” (singer Joey Belladonna taking over drums while the other band members took the mic and guitarist Danny Spitz chugged along on guitar), back into “A.I.R.,” followed by an encore cover of the Sex Pistols’ “God Save The Queen” and the total thrash of “Gung-Ho!” to conclude the night. A ripping set, and a legendary thrash metal triple-bill.
Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna – photo by Mark Kurtzner
Anthrax setlist: Among The Living, Caught In A Mosh, Metal Thrashing Mad, I Am The Law, Madhouse, Indians, Medusa, NFL, Armed & Dangerous, A.I.R., I’m The Man, A.I.R. (cont’d), God Save The Queen, Imitation of Life/Gung Ho!
Canadian-born Avril Lavigne is the pop-punk singer-songwriter credited for paving the way for the female-driven pop punk music that became synonymous with the early 2000s.
Ushering in the era with her “Pop-Punk Queen” moniker and skater style with her debut studio album Let Go, Lavigne quickly rose to stardom with hits such as “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi,” charting at the top of the Billboard 200 with her first ever release.
Since then, Lavigne has released six albums, each to critical acclaim. In addition to her traditional successes, Countless artists from punk to indie rock to emo hip hop have named Lavigne as a major inspiration or influence, creating a legacy extending well beyond herself.
Avril also earned a Guinness World Record for being the youngest female solo artist to top the UK chart and saw the success of her hit “Girlfriend” emerge as the first music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube just four years after the website’s creation.
Originally announced at the beginning of the year, Lavigne has spent the majority of 2024 performing her Greatest Hits Tour across the globe.
Supporting the tour will be special guests Fefe Dobson, Simple Plan, and We The Kings- the latter two of which will perform during all New York Dates.
Avril Lavigne will grace the stages of four venues in New York, with shows in Saratoga Springs on May 27, Syracuse on May 28, Manhattan on May 30, and Bethel Woods on June 27. The full list of dates and venues is below.
For more information on the Greatest Hits Tour and all things Avril Lavigne, be sure to visit her official website here.
AVRIL LAVIGNE: THE GREATEST HITS 2025 TOUR DATES:
Sun May 18 – Moncton, NB – Avenir Centre
Tue May 20 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
Sun May 25 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre
Tue May 27 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
Wed May 28 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater
Fri May 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
Tue Jun 03 – London, ON – Canada Life Place
Thu Jun 05 – Niagara Falls, ON – Fallsview Casino Resort
Sat Jun 07 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium
Sun Jun 08 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Tue Jun 10 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Thu Jun 12 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis
Tue Jun 17 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
Wed Jun 18 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium
Fri Jun 20 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat Jun 21 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Mon Jun 23 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place
Thu Jun 26 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Fri Jun 27 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sun Jun 29 – Burls Creek, ON – Burl’s Creek Event Grounds~ (visit AllYourFriendsFestival.com for ticket details)
Sat Oct 18 – Las Vegas, NV – Las Vegas Festival Grounds~ (visit WhenWeWereYoungFestival.com for more info)
moe. is throwing a party to celebrate the release of their next album, Circle of Giants, at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. The party is so big, they’re stretching it over two night – Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18.
The shows at Bearsville are part of the band’s 35th anniversary tour, which includes intimate concerts around the country. Check out full tour details here.
The upcoming Circle of Giants reiterates the dynamic, genre-defying sound that has contributed to the beloved ensemble’s longevity in the jam world. This album is also the first to feature keyboardist Nate Wilson, who joined the band in 2023–a testament to moe.’s spirit.
For hardcore moe.rons, VIP packages are available for Saturday, which features an intimate pre-show set and Q&A, early entry, first dibs at the merch table, a VIP laminate, and an exclusive merch item.
Circle of Giants is available for pre-order. Tickets for moe. at Bearsville Theater are on sale now – for more info, head to moe.org/tour.
In 1986, Bob Mugge, the foremost documentarian of music giants, decided to make a film about jazz’s greatest living improviser, the “Saxophone Colossus” himself, Sonny Rollins.
Prior to tackling the mighty Rollins, Mugge had created acclaimed documentaries profiling Latin pop star/political activist Ruben Blades, proto-rapper Gil Scott-Heron, soul/gospel legend Al Green, intergalactic jazz visionary Sun Ra and a bevy of reggae’s biggest stars at 1983’s Sunsplash Festival.
To capture Rollins, Mugge would first travel to Tokyo for the world premiere of his “Concerto for Tenor Saxophone and Orchestra” with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony. The director then sought to contrast the pageantry of the symphony hall by documenting Rollins at what he called a “bread and butter gig,” a typical performance by Sonny and his four-man touring band of the time.
In search of a suitably dramatic background, Mugge first attempted to get approval to film Rollins and band on a Circle Line Jazz Cruise on the Hudson River in Manhattan. When this fell through, Mugge lucked into something that proved even more unique. It was a concert already on Rollins’ schedule that would take place upon a rock stage at one of America’s most impressive earthworks, the sculpted rock quarry Opus 40 in Saugerties, New York.
Created by pioneering artist Harvey Fite between 1939 and his death in 1976, Opus 40 is a world-famous sculpture park and museum with 50 acres of meadows, forested paths and bluestone quarries — including 6.5 acres of earthwork sculpture — in the heart of the Hudson Valley in Saugerties, NY. Called “the Stonehenge of North America,” Opus 40 welcomes more than 20,000 visitors yearly. It has also been the site of scores of concerts by artists like Richie Havens, Pete Seeger and Jimmy Cliff, theater stagings ranging from Macbeth to Hair and numerous films and music videos, including Amanda Palmer’s version of Pink Floyd’s “Mother.”
But no event would have the lasting impact of the performance by Rollins on August 16, 1986, one which is cemented forever as the centerpiece of Mugge’s recently re-released and expanded documentary, SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS.
“When it came to planning my next film, I thought what would be more interesting than doing a film on the greatest living jazz improviser,” recalls Mugge. “Sonny’s wife and manager Lucille also wanted to show that Sonny was still playing great, the best of his career perhaps. As a nice coincidence, they were then preparing for the world premiere of Rollins’ concerto taking place in Japan, so we filmed that then the Opus 40 show.
“Opus 40 is a sculpture rock quarry made by another lone genius” Mugge continues. “The monument coming out of it (the 9 ton, 14-foot tall bluestone monolith called “Flame”) proved to be the perfect opening image for the film. It embodied the ‘Saxophone Colossus’ which I knew would be the title of the film, which is also the title of one of Sonny’s most heralded albums.”
“I can’t remember how we originally booked Sonny, but a week before the concert I got a call from Mugge,” says Tad Richards, a writer, visual artist and Fite’s stepson who has run the Opus 40 non-profit with his wife Pat since 1986. “He said they were making a film and that the Circle Line gig fell through and needed to set something up quickly. He had seen us on Sonny’s itinerary and wondered if they could film it. I said we’d be honored.
“Neither of us really knew what we were getting into as holding concerts was still relatively new here and we had no idea what filming would entail,” continues Richards. “To say we were pleasantly surprised, that doesn’t do it justice.”
The film kicks off with the jaw-dropping “G-Man,” a 15-minute plus excursion where Rollins proves he is indeed the world’s greatest jazz improviser.
As the camera pans down from the monolith, we come up from behind to see Sonny Rollins and his band on the rocky stage with a huge audience in the foreground. After the simple four-bar head is repeated a couple of times, Rollins is galloping off, digging deeper and deeper, with rapid-fire chromatic licks and arpeggios alternating with long held notes and basso growls, often powered by cheeks puffed out from circular breathing. Every so often, he returns to the head and you think he is winding down, just to go off again for another few minutes of profoundly melodic and deeply emotional improvisation. With every new chapter and return, Sonny ups the energy and excitement, seeming to spiritually levitate the large and intensely focused crowd seated on Opus 40’s spacious lawn.
“’G-Man’ proved as much as anything else that he was at the peak of his powers,” adds Mugge. “It became the centerpiece of the soundtrack CD and the film.”
The real drama came later, when in the midst of a long solo improvisation in which he prowled the stone stage like a panther, Sonny Rollins decided to leap off it onto another stone outcropping six feet below.
Tad Richards recalls: “I was sitting with Lucille Rollins on the lawn, stage right, when Sonny suddenly disappeared, stage left. The audience gasped, Lucille especially, and everything stopped. And then, still out of sight, Sonny started playing again, so powerfully and beautifully that everyone in the place assumed it was part of the show, even the musicians. You can see them in the movie; first shocked, then laughing as he starts playing again.
“After a few minutes, Sonny is still playing, still out of sight and Lucille says – ‘I’m a little worried, can you go and check on him?’ So I did and I found Sonny lying on his back, playing with the cameraman standing over him. We waited until he finished his solo and then helped him to his feet.
“Sonny asked how long we wanted him to play and I said I would stop the concert right then, if he needed medical attention. ‘No man,’ he growled, “I’m going to finish the gig’ which he did standing, propped up on one foot. Afterwards, two of our volunteers who were EMTs took him over to Northern Dutchess Hospital where they confirmed he had broken his heel.”
Another witness that day was local saxophonist Gus Mancini.
“What happened was that Sonny was doing one of his long solos, quoting every song there is between these incredible improvised riffs,” remembers Mancini. “Suddenly, he leaps from the flat stone stage to one below and disappears. After a slight pause, he starts playing again, for a long time, still out of sight. Everyone kept wondering where he was. Turns out he broke his heel and was taken off in a golf cart. I actually saw him the next day on TV in a cast and was amazed at how much longer he played at the concert, with his foot in that condition.”
Mugge concludes: “It was a very surreal moment that became famous in the jazz community even before the film was finished.”
The film soundtrack CD, “G-Man,” includes other remarkable performances from that day at Opus 40. These include lengthy outings on two Rollins’ classics, “Don’t Stop the Carnival” and “Tenor Madness,” but none as fiery as the concert and film opener.
I have had the pleasure of seeing Rollins a half dozen times over the years. These included shows at NYC’s The Bottom Line, the Village Gate and his legendary 80th birthday show at Carnegie Hall, where he played for the first time on stage with Ornette Coleman. I also saw the discussed Circle Line Cruise show, a week after his outing at Opus 40.
The Circle Line concert was, with little doubt, one of the three best shows I’ve ever seen. At it, Rollins played with his casted foot elevated, laying back in a Lazy Boy Lounger! It was typical of the Sonny shows I saw. He started off with an equally exciting and lengthy version of “G-Man,” building and digging deeper with each passing minute, without ever being boring or repetitious. He did an even more amazing and lengthy exploration on Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” the encore of this boat show. I saw him do the same thing on his opening number shortly thereafter at The Bottom Line show.
After these first numbers, I always asked myself if I should just leave. What more could he possibly do to impress, entertain, enlighten? I had certainly gotten my money’s worth. It was always pure musical gladiator stuff – creativity, craft and soulsmanship of the highest order from a lone genius. A performance checkmate in one move.
Today, 90-year old Sonny Rollins lives the quiet life in Woodstock, N.Y., retired from playing due to respiratory issues linked to his being in downtown NYC on 9/11. You can enjoy him speaking about his life and craft, and at the height of his improvisational powers with his Opus 40 performance and footage from his never-released concerto with Mugge’s new expanded Blu-Ray version of the documentary.
For more jazz goodness, check out Tad Richards’ Listening to Prestige, a multipart book series and blog that is chronicling all the releases from this great independent jazz label of 50s and 60s (530 and counting to date). For the past 22 years, Gus Mancini has been performing live every Sunday morning on WDST/Radio Woodstock’s “Woodstock Roundtable with Doug Grunther,” as well as gigging with numerous outfits including his rotating cast of improv warriors, The Sonic Soul Band. And for another spirited but definitely less awe-inspiring musical chapter from Opus 40 past, catch this writer performing “Divine Nonchalance” with his Spaghetti Eastern Music under the monolith at a show on Labor Day 2018.
The nominations for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards have been announced and a host of New York artists are among the nominees. Today we take a look at the nominees hailing from across New York State.
One of the most prestigious music awards in the industry, The GRAMMY Awards are held annually to recognize the best of the best in music each year, both on stage and behind the scenes. Now in its 67th year, the Recording Academy has released its nominees ahead of this year’s presentation of awards on February 2, 2025.
To little surprise, several nominees on this year’s ballot hail from the state of New York. With some of the industry’s biggest names rooted in the state and rising stars cropping up each and every day, you can check out our list of this year’s GRAMMY nominees who call New York home below.
A$AP Rocky
Most recognized as A$AP Rocky, Rakin Mayers returns for his third GRAMMY nomination to date with Best Music Video for “Tailor Swif”. Born and raised in Harlem, Rocky’s career was launched within the hip hop collective ASAP Mob- hence his stage name- and has since skyrocketed into the limelight with a BET Award, two BET Hip Hop Awards, an MTVU Woodie Award, and an MTV Video Music Award Japan, among several nominations.
The Baylor Project
Husband and wife and musical duo Marcus and Jean Baylor are nominated for Best Jazz Performance for their track as The Baylor Project “Walk With Me, Lord (SOUND | SPIRIT)”. Based in New Jersey, the two will add this nomination to their roster of seven previous nominations, including two for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
With an astounding five nominations for this year’s awards added to his collection of eight wins thus far, banjo virtuoso and New York City native Béla Fleck has an impressive list of accolades and accomplishments under his belt already. Having won in an array of categories already, Fleck’s nominations for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards are Best Jazz Performance, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Arrangement.
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Nominated for the second year in a row for Best Orchestral Performance is the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra alongside conductor and fellow nominee JoAnn Falletta. Founded in 1935, the Orchestra has presented live symphonic music and other adjacent events to the folks of Buffalo and beyond for nearly a century now. With more than 120 classical, rock, pop, kids and youth concerts each year, this nomination marks another major recognition for the already GRAMMY Award-winning Philharmonic.
Cardi B
Born in Manhattan, Cardi B- or Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar- is up for Best Rap Performance with her track “Enough (Miami)”. Cardi was raised in the South Bronx but spent much of her time in her grandmother’s home in Washington Heights, the region she accredits her accent to. She also attended Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & Technology, a vocational high school on the Herbert H. Lehman High School campus.
Catherine Russell
Catherine Russell
Native New Yorker and graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Catherine Russell is in the running for Best Jazz Vocal Album for My Ideal with Sean Mason. Born into musical royalty, Russell’s father Luis Russell was a lifelong pianist, composer, bandleader, and musical director for Louis Armstrong, and her mother Carline Ray performed with International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Mary Lou Williams, and Sy Oliver as a pioneering vocalist, guitarist, and bassist.
After graduation, Russell toured and recorded alongside the likes of Carrie Smith, Steely Dan, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Michael Feinstein, and more, with a total of over 200 appearances on various albums made thus far in her career.
Cory Henry
A jazz organist, pianist, gospel artist, producer, and musical prodigy, Cory Henry began his musical career at just two years old when he was introduced to the piano and the B3 organ. Performing an astonishing show at the Apollo Theater at just six years old, the Brooklyn-Born artist was first a member of the unit Snarky Puppy before launching into his solo career in 2018. Henry has been nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album for his collection Church.
Photo: Shervin Lainez
Daniel Nigro
Long Island local Daniel Nigro is nominated for Producer Of The Year and Best Song Written For Visual Media, and if you’re a fan of today’s pop princesses it’s likely you have Nigro to thank. With credits in Olivia Rodrigo’s “girl i’ve always been”, “so american”, “stranger”, and “Can’t Catch Me Now” as featured in the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes soundtrack, as well as the entirety of breakout star and fellow GRAMMY nominee Chappell Roan’s debut album The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess, Nigro’s impact on the past year’s most popular music cannot be understated.
Raised in Massapequa Park, Daniel took piano, guitar, and voice lessons in his youth and attended Fordham University for philosophy during his college years. Nigro has accrued a total of 16 GRAMMY nominations across his career thus far in addition to winning Best Pop Vocal Album with Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour in 2021.
Photo: Monhand Mathurin
Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II
Hailing from Brooklyn, Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II is up for a Producer Of The Year for his work on tracks like Usher’s “I Love U” and “One Of Them Ones”, Lucky Daye’s Algorithm and “That’s You,” “Power of Two” from Star Wars: The Acolyte featuring the voice of VIctoria Monét, and song of the year nominee “Die With A Smile” with Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
Elaine Martone
Born in Rochester, raised in Long Island, and graduating from Ithaca College with a Bachelors in Music, Elaine Martone is a New Yorker through and through. With a background in the oboe, editing, and recording, Martone has been nominated for Producer Of The Year in the Classical category.
The Harlem Gospel Travelers
Formed with members hailing from throughout the five boroughs of New York City, The Harlem Gospel Travelers gathered originally as members of the Gospel For Teens music education program before launching their own collective rooted in their shared passion for gospel music. The group has been nominated for Best Roots Gospel Album for their album Rhapsody.
JoAnn Falletta
A decorated musician and conductor, JoAnn Falletta was raised in Queens and spent her college years at Mannes College of Music and Juilliard. Beginning her career as a guitar and mandolin student, Falletta began conducting the Mannes student orchestra in her freshman year despite administrative doubts concerning women in music directorship. JoAnn rose above and beyond these doubts, however, going on to Queens College for her Masters and Juilliard once again for her Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting.
JoAnn’s nominations for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Compendium this year stem from her work as conductor for fellow nominee, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Joe Bonamassa
Blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa has been nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album with his release Blues Deluxe Vol. 2. Born in New Hartford and raised in Utica, Bonamassa began playing the guitar at just age four.
First influenced and taught by his father, Joe would go on to be mentored and trained by American guitar legend Danny Gatton at just 11 years old, and by age 12 he was touring around western New York with his band named Smokin’ Joe Bonamassa and even opened for the likes of B.B. King. Since then, Bonamassa has released a total of fifteen solo albums, with eleven charting number one on the Billboard Blues chart. This year’s GRAMMY nomination will be Joe’s fourth.
Photo: Danielle Neu
Kim Gordon
Rochester native Kim Gordon has earned nominations for both Best Alternative Music Performance and Best Alternative Music Album, for “BYE BYE” and The Collective respectively. Returning to New York after her college years to pursue the arts, Gordon discovered her love for no-wave music and the artistic freedom it offered.
Lady Gaga
Needing little introduction, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta- better known as Lady Gaga– is nominated for Song Of The Year for her collaboration with fellow pop superstar Bruno Mars, “Die With A Smile”. Born in Manhattan and raised on the Upper West Side, Gaga famously spent her college years at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, playing gigs with her band in the Lower East Side’s club scene as she honed her skill.
Once her solo career as the famed Lady Gaga began to take shape, she played iconic Manhattan venues such as Mercury Lounge, the Bitter End, and the Rockwood Music Hall, slowly developing a following- and the rest is history.
Lakecia Benjamin armed with her saxaphone. Courtesy of ropeadope.com
Lakecia Benjamin
Nominated for Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Instrumental Album is Lakecia Benjamin with Phoenix Reimagined (Live). Born and raised in New York City, Benjamin has been writing and performing music since grade school. After winning admission to the Fiorello LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, Lakecia attended the New School for its renowned jazz programming.
At The New School Benjamin studied with veterans of the genre including Billy Harper, Workman, Buster Williams, and Gary Bartz, who proved to be a key mentor in her studies and musical touch. Her deep roots in jazz and reputation for innovation landed her performance opportunities of all kinds, including a touring gig with Anita Baker.
Marc Anthony
The top selling salsa artist of all time, New York City native Marc Anthony has returned to the GRAMMY docket once more with a nomination in Best Tropical Latin Album for MUEVENSE. Raised in East Harlem, Anthony’s career is nothing short of admirable with over 12 million album sales recorded to date. This year’s nomination will sit on the shelf beside his eight Latin GRAMMY Awards, 29 Lo Nuestro Awards, and four GRAMMYs.
Madison Beer
Up for Best Dance Pop Recording is Madison Beer with “Make You Mine”. Born in Jericho, Beer saw a rise to fame after a cover she posted to YouTube was reposted by Justin Bieber. Debuting in 2013 with “Melodies”, Beer has since released two studio albums, the second Silence Between Songs earning her a nomination for Best Immersive Audio Album at the 66th GRAMMY Awards.
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is nominated for Best Orchestral Performance for her work with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and it’s little wonder why. As the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting, the first conductor to earn a MacArthur Fellowship, a musical director and chief conductor for several orchestras, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, Alsop has achieved quite a lot in her career thus far.
Born in New York City and raised on the Upper West Side, Alsop attended The Masters School and studied violin at Juilliard’s Pre-College Division, eventually graduating from the school with a Bachelor of Music and Master in violin. While studying, Alsop also played in the New York Philharmonic and the New York City Ballet.
Norah Jones
Awarded singer-songwriter and Manhattan-born musician Norah Jones has been nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for her release Visions. Music is practically in Jones’ blood, having been raised by her mother, the concert producer Sue Jones, and father, the Indian Bengali musician Ravi Shankar.
With nine GRAMMY wins already under her belt, over 50 million record sales recorded to date, and the title of Billboard’s top jazz artist of the 2000s decade, this nomination adds to her already impressive collection of accolades.
Pete Rock
Born in The Bronx and raised in Mount Vernon, Pete Rock is nominated for Best Rap Performance alongside Common on their track “When The Sun Shines Again” featuring Posdnuos. Having grown up in an environment of live music, Rock was influenced by his father’s part-time DJ gig and extensive record collection, often accompanying him to watch his father perform. His passion was sparked at age seven after his parents bought him a Fisher-Price record player toy.
Post Malone performs onstage during the Global Citizen Festival.(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
Post Malone
Known professionally as Post Malone, Austin Richard Post is up for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen and Best Country Album for F-1 Trillion. Born in Syracuse, Malone was heavily influenced by his father who had been a DJ in his youth, subsequently introducing his son to a myriad of genres including rock, country, and hip hop, all of which make appearances in his professional work.
This year’s nomination will add to his collection of other GRAMMY nominations in addition to a whopping ten Billboard Music Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards, and three American Music Awards.
Run DMC
The three-member hip hop group RUN DMC has been nominated for Best Music Film for their piece “Kings From Queens”. Fittingly titled, Run DMC hails from Hollis. Formed in 1983, the trio is recognized as one of the most influential hip hop acts in history for pioneering the new-school sound and ushering in what many consider to be the golden age of the genre.
Samara Joy
Rising jazz star SamaraJoy is nominated for Best Jazz Performance for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” with Sullivan Fortner and Best Jazz Vocal Album for A Joyful Holiday. A native of Castle Hill in the Bronx, Joy’s life has been entwined with music since the very beginning. Her grandparents led the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father Antonio McLendon has produced, composed, and arranged his own astounding original works.
Beginning her jazz journey during her studies at SUNY Purchase, Samara won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition which put her name on the map for those within the scene. Debuting in 2021 with a self-titled album, her career quickly took shape and her second release Linger Awhile garnered her first GRAMMY win with Best Jazz Vocal Album in addition to the headline-making Best New Artist.
Shemekia Copeland
Born in Harlem, Shemekia Copeland is up for two nominations in Best American Roots Performance for “Blame It On Eve” and Best Contemporary Blues Album for her release of the same name. The daughter of blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland, Shemekia began singing at an early age and made her first public performance at just ten years old at the Cotton Club on 125th street. Copeland has released 12 albums and received eight Blues Music Awards to date.
Tony Trischka
Born in Syracuse and raised in a household that was almost overflowing with music, Tony Trischka has been nominated for Best Bluegrass Album with his release Earl Jam. Recognized as one of the most influential banjo players of today, Trishka is credited with the inspiration of a generation’s worth of progressive bluegrass artists.
Theatre on the Road has announced the dates of their 25th annual interactive dinner production of A Christmas Carol touring throughout the Hudson Valley.
Founded by Frank and Kristen Marquette, Theatre on the Road has been putting on a wide variety of traveling live theater productions for 25 years now.
With a range of titles from Dracula to Whiskey Women, Theatre on the Road can bring any show anywhere- whether that be a traditional performance space, theater, restaurant, cafe, or school. Now in their 25th year active, Theatre on the Road has entertained nearly 100,000 people across seven states and two countries.
Returning for their final performances of the year, Theatre on the Road presents an exciting 13 performances of A Christmas Carol throughout the Hudson Valley, with some Victorian caroling in the mix to boot. Venues for this holiday classic span locations in Rhinebeck, New Windsor, Kingston, Broadalbin, Hopewell Junction, Milton, Kerhonkson, West Park, and Eldred.
Guests in attendance will be transported into the wondrous winter world of the Dickens classic while enjoying a delicious three-course dinner included in the ticket price and Victorian holiday caroling before the show and during the dinner break.
“This annual event has grown to become a Hudson Valley holiday tradition for many of our audience members, and we’re thrilled to share the joy that this classic story brings.”
– Frank Marquette
The script for Theatre on the Road’s production of A Christmas Carol was written by its founders Frank and Kristen Marquette. In addition, Kristen is responsible for the show’s handmade wardrobing and Frank has taken on the mantle of producer, co-director, and one of two Narrators alongside Ellen Pavloff. Also co-directing is 20-year veteran of musical theater and Victorian caroling Marisa Gorsline.
Names that will grace the various stages of the Hudson Valley include Griffin Stanger, Bob Greffrath, Dennis Wakeman, Steven Giammettei, Erin Herbert, Heather Roland Franco, Joe Maxwell, John Thayer, Scarlett Gorsline, and Georgie Berman.
Tickets for Theatre on the Road’s 25th annual traveling performances of A Christmas Carol are on sale now- check out their official website for purchasing opportunities here.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL DATES
Sun, December 1 at 1pm & 5pm: The Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck
Sun, December 8 at 5pm: The Meadowbrook, New Windsor
Mon, December 9 at 6pm: VFW, Kingston
Wed, December 11 at 7pm: The Beekman Arms, Rhinebeck
Fri, December 13 at 6pm: Historic Hotel Broadalbin, Broadalbin
Sun, December 15 at 4pm: Restaurant Six at Curry Estate, Hopewell Junction
Wed, December 18 at 7pm: The Venue Uptown at the Best Western, Kingston
Thurs & Fri, December 19 & 20 at 6pm: Buttermilk Falls Inn, Milton
Sat, December 21 at 12pm: Soyuzivka Heritage Center, Kerhonkson
Sat, December 21 at 7pm: Hudson House Distillery, West Park
Sun, December 22 at 7pm: The Eldred Preserve, Eldred
After the original Woodstock Music Festival in 1969, there were many people who wanted to replicate the magic of peace, love and rock n roll. But not all future endeavors were destined for success. Two music festivals in particular, the Bach to Rock Festival in 1970 and the Hamlet of Hurleyville Music Festival in 1979, were both little-known festivals in small New York State towns that ultimately failed and were mostly forgotten with the passage of time. Today we look back on these festivals that were doomed from the start.
The “Bach To Rock” Fiasco
The Bach To Rock Festival was set to take place near the Catskills in Sullivan County in the hamlet of Mountaindale. This was only about 25 miles away from Bethel, NY where Woodstock was first held. It was envisioned as a summer long cultural series with a mixture of opera, broadway music, dance and rock. The promoters hoped to attract 50,000 patrons and host events six days a week from July through August.
The small hamlet of Mountaindale – Photo from Wikimedia Commons
The ambitious festival was contentious from the start. After last year’s wild festivities at Woodstock, many locals in Mountaindale were opposed to the sex, drugs and other “unsavory” activities that would likely occur during the event. The disaster at the infamous Altamont festival back in December was still fresh in many minds as well.
Nevertheless, the festival site continued to be developed as a land deal was struck and $250,000 was put into the groundwork. The bill originally boasted acts like Joe Cocker, Grand Funk Railroad, Jethro Tull. However a concert on Randall’s Island that was occurring that same summer left many of the bands legally tied up and unable to perform again in such close proximity.
A flyer from the festival – Photo via Reddit
New bands were booked including the Grateful Dead, Van Morrison and The Band.
Then in early July, days before the start of the festival, a restraining order was issued against the Mountaindale Music Festival, prohibiting large public gatherings. The decision was later upheld on by the Sullivan County Supreme Court, one day before the concert was set to take place.
Promoter Budd Filippo pictured on the festival grounds in Mountaindale. (Photo originally appeared in NY Daily News).
On that day, July 7, the New York Times covered the ruling with an article titled “Court Order Delays Mountaindale Rock Festival.” The Times said the following:
“A borscht circuit of rock musicals that seemed to be developing in the Catskills after last August’s Woodstock Festival suffered a new setback yesterday,” the Times reported, alluding as well to a 54-hour long rock festival that had just concluded, drawing 2,000 people to Saugerties. “A temporary restraining order against the Mountaindale Music and Arts Festival, scheduled to open tonight on its own 700-acre tract in eastern Sullivan County, was upheld by Appellate Justice Michael E. Sweeney.”
But by then over 10,000 people were already on the way to to the small town of Mountaindale. The train was already in motion.
Hippies gather in Mountaindale – Photo from the New York Daily News
The New York Daily News reported, “Bands of hip mountaineers roamed the Catskills today in a nomadic search for a rock festival that was canceled at the 11th hour by a politician on the other side of the generation gap.”
While the festival was officially canceled, the masses of people threw together a free concert at hotel in South Fallsburg about ten miles from Mountaindale. There were rumors that the Grateful Dead would make an appearance, but besides some local bands the only major act who showed was Richie Havens. Havens had famously been the opener at the original Woodstock festival the year prior.
Richie Havens, famed musician who opened at Woodstock and was the only performer at the failed Mountaindale festival -Photo: Gunter Zint/K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns
After the fact, the county’s rulings were upheld in the higher courts establishing a precedent for future mass gatherings, which greatly affected proposals for other music festivals to come.
The Hamlet of Hurleyville Music Festival
Ten years after the original Woodstock, and 9 years after the failed “Bach To Rock”, Sullivan County was once again abuzz with the hopes of music. A three-day festival was set in the Hamlet of Hurleyville with a lineup that included Joni Mitchell, Hall & Oats, Cheap Trick and REO Speedwagon, among others. Promoters expected to sell around 250,000 tickets. Tickets were priced at $37.50 for all three days. There were also plans to make an album and documentary film of the festival.
The Hamlet of Hurleyville – Photo from Visithurleyville.org
The hopes with this festival was to kick off a new permanent music venue in the area with the hopes of improving the local economy. The festival was envisioned by a local promoter Leon Greenberg who had previously managed to revitalize the Monticello Raceway.
A photo of Leon Greenberg in the 70’s – Photo via New York Almanac
A brief snippet in the New York Times described plans for the Hamlet of Hurleyville Music Festival – Photo from New York Times TimesMachine Archive
Previous laws against mass gatherings established in Bach to Rock made a large number of hurdles and many locals were opposed to the festivities. A public relations campaign was launched to turn people’s sentiment, with the tagline “Success is a Traffic Jam,” which appeared on buttons and bumperstickers around town.
Ultimately, Greenberg was unable to sway the tides and the town board voted unanimously to deny a permit. The envisioned music venue which was meant to repurpose the site of the old Columbia Farm Hotel remains unused to this day.
The Columbia Farm Hotel circa 1940. It closed in 1969 and burned in a massive fire on Christmas Eve, 1971. – Photo via New York Almanac
On a positive note, the Hamlet of Hurleyville now hosts an annual Hurleyville Music Festival through the Hurleyville Performing Arts Center which engages local artists and the community in a weekend of arts, music and culture.
A biography of The Band’s Richard Manuel is slated to release this spring for the 50th anniversary of the group’s 1974 tour.
The biography is titled, Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Band (Schiffer Publishing, on sale May 28, 2025) celebrates Manuel’s immeasurable contributions to music, ensuring his soulful voice and profound artistry endure in the annals of rock. Richard Manuel sang and played piano for The Band, which originated in Toronto, Canada and Woodstock.
The Band began as a backing group for the legendary Bob Dylan. The Band is often credited with helping to define the sound of roots rock and Americana, blending rock, country, blues, and folk into a cohesive and groundbreaking style. Their music was characterized by a raw, earthy quality that bridged the gap between traditional American folk music and modern rock.
Richard Manuel was sweetly soulful and creatively multifaceted, leaving his mark on rock history that is still celebrated today. Through insightful analysis and interviews, his troubled yet inspired spirit is contextualized within music history. From his role in forming the Band to his iconic vocals and songwriting, Manuel’s influence resonates deeply.
Author Stephen Lewis is a rock-and-roll archivist, collector, and storyteller. He owns and operates the Talk from the Rock Room website and podcast and has been writing about music for over 20 years, including contributing articles on Summer Jam and Little Feat for NYS Music. He delves into Manuel’s influence on the history of rock, along with discussing some of Manuel’s life as told through his forth coming book.
The Band in London, June 1971. From left: Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson.
For more information on the biography Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, from the Hawks and Bob Dylan to The Bandclick here.
Grateful Dead cover band Dark Star Orchestra (DSO) has announced their Fall 2024 tour which sees 11 dates in the northeast including 7 dates in NY.
Performing to critical acclaim for over 25 years and over 3100 shows, Dark Star Orchestra continues the Grateful Dead live concert experience. Their shows are built off the Dead’s extensive catalog and the talent of these seven fine musicians.
On any given night, the band will perform a show based on a set list from the Grateful Dead’s 30 years of extensive touring or use their catalog to program a unique set list for the show. This allows fans both young and old to share in the experience. By recreating set lists from the past, and by developing their own sets of Dead songs, DSO offers a continually evolving artistic outlet within this musical canon.
Honoring both the band and the fans, Dark Star Orchestra’s members seek out the unique style and sound of each era while simultaneously offering their own informed improvisations. DSO offers much more than the sound of the Grateful Dead; they truly encapsulate the energy and the experience. It’s about a sense of familiarity. It’s about a feeling that grabs listeners and takes over. It’s about that contagious energy…in short, it’s about the complete experience and consistent quality show that the fan receives when attending a DSO show.
Dark Star Orchestra Fall 2024 Tour Dates:
Nov 15, 2024 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
Nov 16, 2024 – The Capitol Theatre – Port Chester, NY
Nov 17, 2024 – MJN Convention Center – Poughkeepsie, NY
Nov 20, 2024 – Rome Capitol Theatre – Rome, NY
Nov 21, 2024 – Broome County Forum Theatre – Binghamton, NY
Nov 22, 2024 – House of Blues Boston – Boston, MA
Nov 23, 2024 – College Street Music Hall – New Haven, CT
Nov 26, 2024 – Stage AE – Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 27, 2024 – Penn’s Peak – Jim Thorpe, PA
Nov 29, 2024 – The Paramount – Huntington, NY
Nov 30, 2024 – The Paramount – Huntington, NY
For more information on Dark Star Orchestra’s upcoming Fall 2024 tour and to purchase tickets, click here.
