JazzFest White Plains is back with performances by GRAMMY-winning stars and a food festival from Sept. 11 to 15.
The five-day extravaganza highlights 18 captivating live performances spread throughout downtown White Plains. The artists range from emerging talents to world-renowned artists, including four GRAMMY Award-winners and nominees.
Headlining Friday night of this year’s festival is Nicole Zuraitis, the 2024 GRAMMY Award-winning jazz singer-songwriter and pianist known for her unparalleled expressiveness and lyrical prowess. Headlining on Saturday is the Vijay Iyer Trio featuring Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, hailed by National Public Radio as “truly astonishing” and the New York Times as “the great new jazz piano trio.”
Nicole Zuraitis.
“We’re thrilled to bring such exceptional talent to JazzFest White Plains this year,” said Kathleen Reckling, ArtsWestchester COO. “From soul-stirring vocals to innovative instrumental compositions, this festival promises to be a celebration of jazz in all its forms.” Several performances are free, including all the noon and Sunday shows.
In addition to the stellar performances, the White Plains Jazz & Food Festival closes the weekend on Sept. 15 from 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Mamaroneck Avenue between Main Street and Martine Avenue. The food festival will feature a fusion of delectable cuisines and captivating jazz melodies, creating a sensory experience for all ages.
Tickets for JazzFest White Plains are now available for purchase online. For more information about the festival’s full lineup, visit here.
Legendary musician Graham Nash will be bringing his “Graham Nash – More Evenings of Songs and Stories” tour to the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stageat the historicCarnegie Hall on Tuesday, October 1. Set for an 8:00 p.m. start time, Nash, a founding member of both The Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash, will be performing a body of work spanning over six decades that includes a litany of monumental recordings.
Graham Nash to bring ‘More Evenings of Songs and Stories’ tout to Carnegie Hall
Additionally, the Carnegie Hall audience will be treated to a special guest in Judy Collins, whose own legendary body work spans more than seven decades. In light of his special performance tickets have already gone on sale on the Carnegie Hall official website. Ticket prices range from $69, $89, $99 and $149.
Judy Collins’ legendary career has seen her remain active for over seven decades
Moreover, Nash offered a preview to the midtown-Manhattan venue’s crowd making an unannounced appearance at Crosby, Stills, and Nash tribute concert at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Monday, May 13. Although Nash wasn’t officially on the bill, he came out at the end of the night to perform a moving rendition of “Our House.”
For his part, Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who has seen rock history unfold at some of its seminal moments. After all the Blackpool-bred musician began making history during the launch of the British Invasion with his work with CSN, while perfecting his craft during the birth of the Laurel Canyon movement a year later. An extraordinary Grammy Award winning renaissance artist – and self-described “simple man” – Nash has contributed a wealth of songs to the soundtrack of our lives. Moreover, the “I Used to Be a King” singer is a two-time inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, for his work with CSN and his work as a solo artist.
Similarly, the eternal Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a firm commitment to social activism throughout her extensive career. In the 1960s, she evoked both the idealism and steely determination of a generation united against social and environmental injustices. Five decades later, her luminescent presence continues to shine brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work, and heed inspiration from her spiritual discipline to thrive in the music industry for half a century.
Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Nikita Lev has released her new single “We All Die Anyway” on May 15. This single comes in the leadup to a new EP and her first European tour in the fall.
Lev’s musical instincts began at a young age. Coming from a family of chamber musicians, music surrounded Lev since childhood. As a result, during her youth on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, she quickly picked up piano and flute.
Nikita Lev
By the time her family relocated to Westchester, she had learned guitar and begun writing songs. Lev says “I always know what I’m going to say first and the melody comes later,” using her musical chops to back up her deep lyrical narratives. To date, Lev has written over 200 songs that are “evocative, relatable, universal, yet ambiguous.”
Lev’s music has quickly gained renown from both radio and print media. Her debut single “Elegance” was highlighted by both SiriusXM and MTV’s Spankin’ New. Additionally, publications like the LA Music Review and Earmilk have showcased Lev’s songs.
Her new single “We All Die Anyway” is a highlight of the indie folk genre. Lev is accompanied by gentle fingerpicked guitars, trip-hop influenced drums and eerie synths. This dreamy instrumentation backs up Lev’s soft, emotional vocals and mature lyricism. The song tackles a relationship gone cold, and the feelings that accompany having to leave someone you cared about. Her meaningful and clever songwriting is reminiscent of indie icons like Lana Del Ray, and Phoebe Bridgers.
This single comes just after her May 10 release of the music video for “Now I Think Of You Unspeakably.” The song’s lyrics touch on the pains of being in love with someone who does not feel the same. Driving drums and growing distorted guitars back up the song’s heavy lyricism, adding an edge to the acoustic instrumentation. The video features Lev dancing around a bonfire in a winter scene. Its atmosphere matches with the instrumentals and lyrics that all aid in a simultaneously warm yet icy feeling. Michael Rees directed the video, following collaborations with Charli XCX and The Kid LARoi.
This new single is just the start of a busy Summer and Fall for Lev. Later this year, she will release her first EP, titled Clearly Misunderstood. The EP’s songs will tackle the theme of the conflict between adult responsibilities and youthful independence. In November, Lev will depart for Europe for a tour stopping in Berlin and Vienna.
For more information, visit Nikita Lev’s website here.
This September, author Daniel Rachel will stop in Manhattan and Saugerties to celebrate the US release of his book Too Much Too Young. Akashic Books will release the British best-seller for American audiences on June 4th.
Too Much Too Young: The 2 Tone Records Story is a definitive history of the British Ska scene of the 1970s and 80s. The book discusses Ska’s Caribbean island origins, and how British Youth conquered the airways with it throughout the 1980s. This 2 Tone scene was a multi-racial movement using ska as a vehicle to fight racism, right wing extremism and other social issues of Thatcher-era England.
Rachel’s book is a modern classic of music history, receiving praise from critics and musicians alike. The book features interviews with members of legendary ska groups, like The Beat, Madness, and The Specials, giving it a very grounded, informative and intimate feeling. Additionally, the book features an introduction by Pauline Black, lead singer of the 2 Tone band The Selecter.
A brilliant book and a fitting account of one of British culture’s most epochal moments.
Nothing is left out of this definitive book.”
– The Wire
Before his writing career, Rachel had a fruitful music career. He began as lead singer of the Birmingham Britpop group Rachels Basement, before launching a successful solo folk-pop career. Since 2013, Rachel has focused on his writings, which have covered topics throughout British music history. Whether they are about Ska, Britpop or David Bowie, his books have garnered much critical praise. Too Much Too Young has been especially successful, being named book of the year by The Sunday Times, Louder Than War and many other publications.
To celebrate the release of his book in the US, Rachel is planning a cross-country book tour. The tour is set to begin on August 23 in Los Angeles, featuring an interview with Specials guitarist Lynval Golding. This book tour includes two New York locations, with stops in Saugerties and Manhattan. On Monday, September 9, the tour will stop at Saugerties’s Orpheum Theatre. On Thursday, September 12, the tour will stop at Rough Trade’s NYC store in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center.
For more information on the book’s release and tour dates, visit the Akashic Books website here.
The Blues Society, directed by Dr. Augusta Palmer, will have a week-long run of screenings at Firehouse Cinema in NYC from Friday, May 24 through Thursday, May 30. Dr. Palmer is attending select screenings to introduce the film and conduct a Q&A session afterward.
This feature-length documentary reevaluates the life of the Memphis Country Blues Festival through the lens of race, the counterculture of the ‘60s, and the genre of Memphis blues. It includes interviews with a diverse cast of festival participants and commentators like Dom Flemons, Zandria Robinson, Jamey Hatley, Jim Dickinson, Sid Selvidge, Nancy Jeffries, and the words of Bob Palmer as voiced by Eric Roberts.
The Memphis Country Blues Festival (1966-1969) all started with a $65 check, a ball of hashish, and a bunch of white bohemians who set out to rediscover forgotten bluesmen of the early 20th century.
“I didn’t want to just make a concert film,” said director Augusta Palmer. “I loved the arc of the story. The initial stake was guitarist Bill Barth’s baseball-size chunk of hash and guitarist Jim Dickinson’s sixty-five-dollar check from a Sun Studios session. It was white and black musicians playing together during the height of the civil rights era. The KKK held a rally in that same public park a few days before. I wanted to understand what this moment meant to the people involved.”
The film follows the festival from its start in 1966 as an impromptu happening, through a period of cross-pollinization with New York’s East Village scene, and up to the 1969 festival, which mushroomed into a three-day event. It garnered substantial print and television coverage, including an appearance on Steve Allen’s national PBS show, Sounds of Summer.
Dr. Augusta Palmer. Photo by Paul Reuter.
The Blues Society tells the story of blues masters like Furry Lewis, Nathan Beauregard, and Rev. Robert Wilkins—who had attained fame in the 1920s and 1930s but lived in obscurity by the 1960s. It’s also the story of a group of white artists from the North and the South who created a celebration of African American music in a highly segregated city.
The film’s genesis began as a family affair for director Dr. Augusta Palmer. She grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, went to Rhodes College in Memphis, and Sarah Lawrence College, before settling in Brooklyn. Her father, Robert Palmer, was a founding organizer and player in the festival, and her mother was also there tearing tickets.
“I officially started working on this film in 2016,” she said, “but you could say I’ve been working on it for all my life. When that woman makes a speech at the end, where she’s saying, ‘Why can’t you just pay for your tickets people?’ to people who snuck in. That’s my mom. She was pregnant with me when she made that speech. So, I kind of went to the 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival. I didn’t know my dad very well until I was a teenager, but this festival was a big part of his life.”
Robert Palmer later went on to become a music critic for the New York Times and Rolling Stone and authored the seminal blues history book Deep Blues—which in turn inspired the 1991 documentary Deep Blues: A Musical Pilgrimage to the Crossroads.
Music executive and Memphis Country Blues Fest organizer Nancy Jeffries was approached by Gene Rosenthal with 16mm footage of Memphis Country Blues Festival that he shot and kept in his basement. Jeffries brought Palmer on board after seeing her feature film The Hand of Fatima. They began developing the film in 2013, but the project stagnated due to rights issues and conflicting ideas on what this film should be. A few years later, Fat Possum Records bought the footage and put together the 2019 concert film Memphis ’69: The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival, and were generous enough to offer her access to the footage.
Palmer made it a point to bring in diverse voices to give this film a historical context. Memphis writer and filmmaker Jamie Hatley talked about when she wanted to separate herself from images of poverty in the blues, and that it took her a while to come around to appreciating the genre. Henry Nelson, a black man from West Memphis, Arkansas, hoped he could get a ride to Woodstock, but wound up at the Memphis Country Blues Festival. Don Flemons discussed how the blues lost its appeal for young African Americans as we move into the more radical Black Panther era.
We all love the idea that music conquers all. Everyone can appreciate the blues music in this film, but love for this music didn’t cure white supremacy, and white blues fans were part of a power structure that took advantage of black artists. I love the enthusiasm of that white hippy idealism, but the rules were much more stringent back then. There were segregated bathrooms for employees at the bandshell. Racial inequality has become more and more clear to the nation since the pandemic. We’ve come a long way, but still have a long way to go.
Augusta Palmer
The Blues Society premiered Indie Memphis and won the Audience Award, won best Doc Feature at the Oxford Film Festival, and will have theatrical runs in New York City, Memphis, Columbus, Ohio, and Portland before being released to streaming services this summer.
Tickets for its New York City run are available now.
Union Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has announced the artist lineup for its free Summer Thunder concert series. The 2024 lineup offers concert-goers an amazing variety of shows ranging from punk and psychedelic to Latin and underground hip-hop.
The 12th annual Summer Thunder series will begin on June 2nd with a show by Boston indie-rockers Guerilla Toss. For the rest of the summer until August 28, Union Pool will host daytime concerts each Sunday. Concerts take place at Union Pool’s patio, a chic and manicured yet comfortable outdoor space. In addition to music, concert-goers can purchase a host of drinks inside Union Pool, as well as Mexican food from the patio’s El Diablo Taco Truck.
Union pool has been a staple of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood since it opened in 2000. It started as a quaint corner bar, offering drinks and darts, but quickly grew into one of Brooklyn’s major entertainment hubs. Hidden under the shadow of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the venue offers DJ sets, live shows and a host of other amenities.
2024’s Summer Thunder series offers a wide variety of musical styles, featuring artists from around the country. On top of the aforementioned Guerilla Toss, indie rockers like Rosali, Lifeguard and Mary Timony will perform. On June 9, Chicago’s Bitchin Bajas will craft psychedelic soundscapes with their noisy, Krautrock-influenced sound. For lovers of Latin music, Tucson-based Los Esplifs will perform their signature lo-fi Latin pop. Psychedelic supergroup Winged Wheel will perform, featuring Sonic Youth’s legendary drummer Steve Shelley. Additionally, legendary punk singer-guitarist Kid Congo Powers will grace Union Pool on August 18. His signature style led him to success in The Cramps, The Gun Club and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
The summer series will notably feature both establish and up-and coming New York-based acts. Up-and-coming NYC rap duo Armand Hammer will perform on June 23. The group, consisting of Billy Woods and Elucid, has risen to prominence off the back of their raucous production and deep lyricism. Brooklyn Vegan named their latest album We Buy Diabetic Test Strips as the 2nd best album of 2023.
Joe Bataan, a legendary Latin soul singer from Harlem, will perform on July 7. Garnering hits since the 1960s, Bataan melds Latin Jazz, funk, R&B, and salsa to create his signature sound. In addition to his Latin soul hits, Bataan also helped to spearhead rap, with his song “Rap-O Clap-O” being one of the earliest hip-hop hits.
On August 4, Brooklyn-based singer songwriter, Rahill will play her signature dreamy indie-pop. Originally the founder of Garage Rock band Habibi, Rahill’s solo music has been more pop influenced, reflecting on memories of her family. In 2023, she collaborated with indie legend Beck on her song “Fables.”
All Summer Thunder concerts are free 21+ events. As they are held in an establishment that serves alcohol, physical ID is required for entry. For information on concert RSVPs, visit here. RSVPs are not required, but all concerts will be first come first serve.
Experimental duo Vapor Vespers have released their sophomore album titled, Ghosts Before Breakfast and announced a few upcoming tour dates this May.
Ghosts Before Breakfast is the group’s second long-playing release, the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2020 debut, One Act Sonix. The sophomore album consists of 10 music-driven spoken word tracks. The duo will be supporting the release of their new album with select shows in New York City and the Hudson Valley this May.
Vapor Vespers is the brainchild of NYC-based multi-instrumentalist/producer Sal Cataldi and award-winning playwright, actor, and slam poet Mark Muro. The duo’s latest collection ups the ante on the cool grooves, intense guitar riffage, synth textures and the verbal hijinks and narrative absurdity showcased on their debut. The duo takes performative arts to the next level by blending intense spoken word with progressive and electrifying hypno-funk.
The Vapor Vespers are also holding mini-sets during performance by Cataldi’s Spaghetti Eastern Music at Silvana Harlem on May 23. Further, the duo sees the stage at Pangea in the East Village on May 25. More shows may be added.
Ghosts Before Breakfast was produced, engineered and mastered by Sal Cataldi aboard his houseboat in Port Washington, Long Island. The album covers themes of sex, mystery, art, literature, love, and themselves. The duo expels sound that are everything but standard. Some of their sound includes electro-funk, experimental synth, progressive, jazz and more.
For more information on Vapor Vespers and their album Ghosts Before Breakfast, click here.
This past Saturday, May 11, English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone did not disappoint as she graciously took the stage at the Brooklyn Steel for one of two NY shows.
She is scheduled to tour until the end of May as part of “The Holly Humberstone (This Feels Like the Truman) Show” North American leg. Her tour, which makes lyrical reference to her song, “Ghost Me,” included many tracks off of her latest album, Paint My Bedroom Black.
Holly Humberstone, photographed by Sarah Hyun
The pop-rock artist gained popularity after releasing her debut EP, Falling Asleep at the Wheel. Fans resonated deeply with her heartfelt lyrics, as she sang candidly about the difficulties of navigating familial and romantic relationships, addiction, breakups, and growing up. “Falling Asleep at the Wheel,” one of her most popular songs, includes lyrics like “Oh, you never smoked this much before we / Light up, light up another cigarette / I can tell you’re drinking only to forget / Don’t know how I got you in such a mess.” Holly never fails to cut right to the heart with her words.
Holly Humberstone, photographed by Sarah Hyun
Currently, Humberstone has eighteen tour dates left. She previously played at Webster Hall in 2022, and also toured during Girl in Red’s “Make It Go Quiet” tour and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” tour.
Holly Humberstone, photographed by Sarah Hyun
Holly started the night off strong with her song, “Paint My Bedroom Back,” of which her latest album is named after. Each band member took the stage one at a time, triggering a round of screams from fans who had been camping out hours ahead to make it to the front of the barricade. The energy swelled in the room as Holly’s guitarist, bassist, and drummer built up the opening track seamlessly.
Holly Humberstone, photographed by Sarah Hyun
Upon Holly’s entrance, the crowd made a deafening sound, and she scaled the stage freely, singing her heart out while swishing her hair to the beat. During “Elvis Impersonators,” she recounted her experience in Tokyo, and how she was surrounded by people “dressing up like Michael Jackson.” In the song, she sang lyrics like, “And the Elvis impersonators / Crowding at the elevators / Reminds you of a private joke we had.” The crowd stayed silent during this song, soaking in Humberstone’s beautifully raspy vocals.
Holly Humberstone, photographed by Sarah Hyun
Holly ended the night with “Ghost Me,” before singing “Friendly Fire” and “Scarlett” during the encore. Fans, feeling bittersweet that the show was over, exited the venue with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Setlist: Paint My Bedroom Black, Into Your Room, The Walls Are Way Too Thin, Overkill, Kissing In Swimming Pools, Cocoon, Dive, Deep End, Can You Afford To Lose Me?, Antichrist, Down Swinging, Lauren, Falling Asleep at the Wheel, Elvis Impersonators, Flatlining, Girl, Sleep Tight, Ghost Me
On a crisp April 24 evening at Bowery Ballroom, music enthusiasts gathered to witness Australian singer-songwriter Blake Rose grace the stage on his headline tour for his latest album, Suddenly Okay.
Nashville’s own Max McNown’s stripped-down set, featuring just two guitars and a harmonica, captivated the audience. While McNown’s genre is notably more country than Rose’s sound, this did not stop fans from swaying to the beat – his set quite literally set the perfect tone for the night.
Blake Rose opened his electrifying set with the energetic “Rollerblades”. An electric guitar hung around his neck as Rose went back and forth from the strings to the keys and back to the microphone. Rose’s infectious energy filled the venue, igniting an excitement among fans. The setlist was a blend of old and new, showcasing Rose’s evolution as an artist. “Dizzy”, a track familiar to many from its appearance on The Late Late Show, enraptured the audience and even involved them in clapping along to the kick drum. Transitioning seamlessly between songs, Rose treated fans to a selection of older, well-loved tracks from his 2021 project, A World Gone By, each one eliciting cheers of appreciation from the crowd.
Rose revisited older favorites as well, delighting original fans with a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It was during the latter part of the set that Rose truly connected with his audience, venturing into the heart of the crowd for an unplugged rendition of “Ordinary People”. The crowd parted as the musician adorned in just his acoustic stood on a platform to sing along with only his strings.
As the night at Bowery Ballroom reached its crescendo, Rose performed his up tempo tracks including “Suddenly Okay”, “Never Let Go” and of course the anthemic “Lost”, arguably his most beloved song. Blake Rose’s magnetic stage presence and dynamic energy was enjoyable and authentic. New York would be happy to have him again.
NYC-based punk-rock band The FMs have released their sophomore double LP, PINK + BLACK on May 10.
Duo Matte Namer and Frankie Rex formed the NYC-based punk band The FMs in 2016. United by their shared transgender experience, the duo spent six years performing at underground shows and recording three LPs. The future of the band was shaken in 2022, with Frankie Rex passing away from a fentanyl overdose. After a two-year hiatus, the band has reformed and released this new double LP as a posthumous memorial to Rex.
PINK + BLACK is a rock odyssey propelled by punchy synth hooks and raw punk energy. The album seamlessly shifts between upbeat dance-punk tracks and Brian Eno-influenced synth passages. With instrumentation that is dreamy yet forceful, the FMs discuss issues of gender roles, and transphobia.
The album starts off with a bang with opener “Hit Yourself.” The track has a rhythmic, almost hypnotic industrial beat. The pulsating rhythms and sharp synths are reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails or early LCD Soundsystem. This instrumentation propels lyrics that tell a story of a sado-masochistic romance, with a repeated refrain rallying against the patriarchy.
The standout of the album was the single “Transformation Dreams,” a dreamy and anthemic song. “Transformation Dreams” combines layered synths and ethereal effects-laden guitars to create an atmosphere reminiscent of 1980s post-punk and dream pop. Fans of The Cure or Cocteau Twins are sure to enjoy this track. Its lyrics touch on the feelings of body dysmorphia and hope for the future, using its catchy instrumentation to back up these heavy topics.
The album has great range, with tracks that you can both dance and disassociate to. It impressively weaves together a mix of industrial dance, goth and ambient that is sure to keep listeners intrigued, all while tackling the important themes of identity and politically-motivated hatred. In all, this album is a testament to the FMs musical prowess that any fans of indie and punk should listen to.
In the wake of this album, The FMs have organized Frankie Fest, a memorial to the late Frankie Rex. The event took place May 11 on Coney Island, and featured performances from a host of NYC-based queer performers. The festival included the first performance by the FMs since the passing of Rex. All proceeds went to the Chosen Family Law Center, providing low-income transgender New Yorkers with free legal services.
For more information on The FMs and their release PINK + BLACK, click here.
