Jeremy Hilliard announced the release of his newest album Going Back To Where It All Began which dropped October 4. The full-length album contains 13 tracks, all of which are originals.
Jeremy is a songwriter and guitarist living in Brooklyn. He tours regularly with his band PEAK, with whom who he has released 2 studio albums. Right off the bat, the title track “Going Back To Where It All Began” sets the tone for the entirety of the album. Hopeful, upbeat, adventurous and homey are words that describe the overall feel and theme of the track.
“Before Your Love” changes the pace a bit with a more somber and low-tempo sound. You can hear lots of influence from indie-country artists as well as a powerful influence from Tom Petty. Moving onto “Sailor’s Warning,” the track opens with a floaty, indie feel. I’d say this track has a mood somewhere in between the previous two tracks – not quite somber, but not as upbeat – somewhere in between.
Going Back To Where It All Began is a very interesting album. Some tracks are more indie-forward while others are certainly folk or country. Some are reminiscent of an indie artist like Tame Impala, others have clear influence from Tom Petty, The Beatles, and others have influence from folk/country artists like Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and more. I find this level of range to be rather impressive and a testament to Jeremy’s talent.
For more information on Jeremy Hilliard and to hear his recent album Going Back To Where It All Began, click here.
Rock legends can never seem to have enough press. From Rolling Stone magazine and personal memoirs to archived concert footage, the rich history of Rock and Roll is well-documented on the surface level.
But it’s on the local level that unsung Rock and Roll veterans of their own right typically go unnoticed. Musician and journalist Michael Rabb didn’t want that to happen in the Hudson Valley.
Michael Raab pictured at a film festival where one of his documentaries was streamed.
In the late 70’s Raab – who grew up in Cornwall, NY – meticulously documented the music scene of the Hudson Valley for the subsequent decades. In 1979 he created the MusicMachine Magazine and started writing articles about bands in the region. He had first noticed a surge of live music and bands in Orange and Dutchess Counties but became frustrated when local papers didn’t cover the local scene. So armed with an IBM Selectric typewriter, he took matters into his own hands and began publishing his own articles.
“The region was ready for media coverage in the trenches where it was all happening,” Raab said. “The time was right for Musicmachine Magazine.”
Raab himself was part of a band called the Jelly Bean Bandits in the 60’s and 70’s. The group worked their way into a record deal with Mainstream Records and recorded an entire album in 12 hours in a studio in Manhattan. (Their 1967 debut self-titled LP still averages a few hundred streams every month on Spotify, Raab informs me.)
The Jelly Bean Bandits self-titled LP
When the band first started out, they played all over the Hudson Valley in places like the Trade Winds nightclub in Newburgh and the Buccaneer in Poughkeepsie. The Bandits would eventually dissolve before releasing any subsequent records but has reunited a few times over the past decades for reunion shows and charity events in the region.
As the 80’s came around, readership continued to grow for MusicMachine and the magazine expanded. The magazine partnered with brands like Budweiser Beer and even grew to interview stars such as Southside Johnny (of the famed Asbury Jukes)
A rare interview with Southside Johnny in a 1983 edition of the magazine – photo via Michael Raab and MusicMachine Magazine Archives Facebook PageA 1983 edition of the magazine detailing concert ticket winners from a recent giveaway – photo via Michael Raab and MusicMachine Magazine Archives Facebook Page
In the 90’s, Raab moved to North Carolina but continued to operate the MusicMachine remotely with the help of a friend and eventually sold the magazine to a company that ended up going bankrupt. In North Carolina, Raab also had an eye for the emerging music scene there and purchased a struggling publication called The Beat and eventually sold that as well.
Later with the advent of the internet, Raab was able to archive video, photos and articles from the MusicMachine and share them with the world. He even made a documentary titled “Hudson Valley Music of the 1980s’, which is now available to watch on his Youtube channel.
As Michael Raab himself puts it, “that’s the condensed version of an exciting 12 years in mid-Hudson music.”
To explore more of the rich history of music in the Hudson Valley in the 80’s, check out the archives of the Musicmachine on Facebook: here
Hudson Valley Music of the 80’s documentary by Michael Raab.
Alternative pop artist UPSAHL brought the party to Bowery Ballroom on October 1 at the New York stop of her Melt Me Down Tour.
UPSAHL. Photo: Sophia Strange
Chances are that UPSAHL’s work has reached your ears in one way or the other. With multiple viral hits to her name and collaborations with some of today’s biggest names under her belt, UPSAHL’s sharp production skills and lyrics that either pull you to the dance floor or inspire a serious bout of self-reflection were on full display in the Ballroom on October 1.
Accompanied by opening acts Zoe Ko and Conor Burns, UPSAHL delivered an electric night of original songs, surprise covers, and even an exciting performance of a new unreleased track that made the Ballroom feel closer to a party only seen in movies.
Photo by: Buscar Photo (www.buscarphoto.com)
Tucked away behind an unassuming facade and a small set of stairs is the iconic Bowery Ballroom, polled as the best club in America by Rolling Stone in 2013. While the outside may be easy to walk past unintentionally, the venue itself creates the perfect atmosphere for a show like UPSAHL’s that cannot be missed- upon descending the stairs, you enter a swanky speakeasy style bar with a pre-show playlist blasting over the speakers. Once you ascend the stairwell into the main event, the venue opens up into a fascinating balance of a larger-than-life yet incredibly intimate theater.
This personal-yet-sparkling energy would be capitalized upon and matched perfectly throughout the evening, with UPSAHL and both opening acts looking almost untouchable upon the stage until they were right there at the closest corner of the stage or weaving through the audience mingling between sets.
The night’s performances opened with Zoe Ko who delivered unapologetically gritty, girly, alternative pop rock tracks like “DIRT,” her song that caught the internet’s attention by asserting that the most fun a girl can have is donning a fur jacket, putting some mud in her purse, unapologetically offering no explanation, and absolutely jamming out.
Zoe Ko. Photo: Sophia Strange
Supporting act number two of the evening came in the form of alternative artist Conor Burns, whose musical career seems to be exponentially growing with over 70 live shows and several single and EP releases under his belt so far with no signs of stopping. His guttural lyrics paired with the power of live instrumentals and a larger-than-life stage presence brought even more energy into the room.
Conor Burns. Photo: Sophia Strange
Starting her set with her newest single “Tears on The dancefloor”, the excitement when UPSAHL came on stage alongside touring drummer Jake Richardson and guitarist Sal Suriano was beyond electric- it’s no doubt the stage was hers from the moment she stepped out in a stunning chrome-and-teal outfit that caught the light with every move.
UPSAHL. Photo: Sophia Strange
Balancing high energy tracks like “NO HANDS” and “Last Supper” that had the audience dancing and songs like “Antsy” where it felt as though it was just her and her microphone, UPSAHL brought the audience to her level with an invitation to not care about anything but experiencing the moment, letting go, and having fun throughout the first half of her set.
After beginning her track “SLAYYYYY,” UPSAHL and her band stepped off of the stage and let the audience carry on singing- which they did word for word- before returning in a bright red latex costume change and her second most recent single, “SUMMER SO HOT”.
UPSAHL. Photo: Sophia Strange
Impossibly enough, the powerful set only got more exciting as UPSAHL continued into a remix of her track “Sunny D” and the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll,” bringing both opening acts out to party.
Photo: Sophia Strange
From there, UPSAHL delivered an incredibly intimate performance of “0 OR 100” sat at the edge of the stage, a preview of the unreleased track “CUT EM OFF” that playfully complains about having to cut off other guys when one gets serious, and sang alongside her younger sister who was brought on stage for “Arizona,” named after their home state, and “Good In Bed,” a track off of Dua Lipa’s Grammy Award winning album Future Nostalgia that UPSAHL co wrote.
UPSAHL and sister Ryan. Photo: Sophia Strange
UPSAHL closed the set out with “WET WHITE TEE SHIRT” and the viral track that put her on the map for most titled “DRUGS,” appropriately donning a white t-shirt with “I <3 NY” drawn out in sharpie- promptly before dousing herself and the audience with a water bottle.
UPSAHL. Photo: Sophia Strange
UPSAHL’s Melt Me Down Tour may be wrapping in the United States in a matter of days in San Francisco, but the party doesn’t stop there- she’ll be continuing the tour in Europe through November, starting with Academy 2 in Dublin on November 7. An electrifying evening of letting go of inhibitions and letting yourself be whatever you need to be that night- whether that be dancing, crying, or somewhere in between- UPSAHL’s shows bring the party and the personality without apology.
UPSAHL | October 1, 2024 | Bowery Ballroom | Manhattan, NY
Setlist: Tears on the dancefloor, NO HANDS, Monika Lewinsky, IDFWFEELINGS, Toast, Wish You’d Make Me Cry X SMARTY, All My Friends Are Rich X Time of my Life, MoneyOnMyMind, Into My Body, Antsy, Condoms, Last Supper, SLAYYYYY, Summer So Hot, Sunny D X Heads Will Roll*, SICK PRETTY MIND, 12345SEX, CUT EM OFF, 0 OR 100, Arizona, Good In Bed, GOOD GIRL ERA X That’s Not My Name*, Thriving, Lunatic, WET WHITE TEE SHIRT, Drugs Encore: People I Don’t Like, Sad Sorry After Party
The Hudson Valley’s Catskill Mountains are known as the powerhouse of folk music. The land’s rich history is a testament to its iconic music scene. No matter where you wander through the Catskills, you’ll pick up the musical culture that these small communities have. But what brought folk music to the Catskills in the first place?
To start, the history of colonial Catskills is right there in the name. Dutch settlers in the 1600s brought many of their traditions and their language to the Catskills. The old Dutch word “kill” translates to river or stream in English. The word “kaats” translates to cat, referring to the bobcats and mountain lions. So the region was coined “Kaatskill,” later anglicized to Catskill.
In pre-colonial times the Catskills was made up of the Mohican, Munsee and Lenape nations, that is until Henry Hudson sailed up the river now named after him in 1609. Robert Juet, one of Hudson’s crew members, was said to be the first European to take note of the Catskills specifically.
In 1667 the Anglo-Dutch War ended with the Breda Treaty in which England received “New Netherlands.” In the decades to come, more English settlers moved to the land, but the Catskills never lost its Dutch Heritage. Sojourner Truth, who was born over a century later, grew up in a Dutch Plantation in Ulster County. Although she spoke English, she never lost her Dutch accent.
As more European settlers moved to the Catskills, different ethnic towns like Germantown, located east of the river, began to pop up.
Although New York had long been colonized, it was still too unexplored throughout the 19th century to be substantially populated. The Catskills were partially desolate but it was the land itself that maintained a community of people in the area. Fur trade and beaver trapping were both profitable trades. The abundance of hemlock bark in the areas allowed tanneries to flourish. Needless to say, these industries brought more and more families to the Catskills.
New York City began to become dependent on the Catskills. Reservoirs in the land have been providing water to the city’s residents since 1916.
As water was flowing from the Catskill reservoirs, the region pulled in more and more city residents. In 1906 the Arts Students League of New York City opened a summer school in Woodstock. This was the beginning of the arts and music town that we know today.
The League brought in mostly visual artists, around 200 students a year from 1906-1922 and again from 1947-1979. They were said to continue their individualistic lives, enjoying their solitude outside of the city.
Perhaps the most famous artist that moved to Woodstock was Bob Dylan. Dylan moved to the small town in 1965 after visiting with his then girlfriend Joan Baez. It was above Cafe Espresso on Tinker Street that he wrote Another Side of Bob Dylan and Bringing It All Back Home.
Self Portrait
After a motorcycle accident, he continued his private life in Woodstock and turned to a new artistic outlet- painting. In 1970 he painted his album cover for Self Portrait. He also started working with a group of musicians called The Hawks, now known as The Band. They collaborated on Dylan’s album The Basement Tapes and The Band’s album Music From Big Pink. Dylan also created the Big Pink album art. The Band’s Levon Helm went on to make a lasting creation in Woodstock with Levon Helm Studios.
It wasn’t only artists that flocked to the Catskills. The year-round scenery drew tourists from all over New York to high end resorts and hotels. Perhaps the most significant hotel in Catskill history was The Catskill Mountain House located in Palenville. This almost mythical house opened in 1824 and was visited by presidents U.S Grant, Chester A. Arthur, and Theodore Roosevelt. The Catskills began to be overshadowed by a more Upstate park, The Adirondacks, and the mountain house had its last season in 1941. It was demolished in 1963 despite the passions of preservationists.
The modern equivalent to the Catskill Mountain House may be the Mohonk Mountain House, a resort and spa located overlooking a glacial lake. The Victorian style castle was built in 1869 and brings in guests from all over the world. The house sits on top of 40,000 acres of protected land thanks to conservationist efforts of the past.
In 1904 the state gained ownership of 92,708 acres of land officially making The Catskills a protected State Park.
Catskill tourism began to bring in families specifically of Jewish faith. This became known as the BorschtBelt, referring to the Eastern European soup. In the Borscht Belt heyday during the ’50s and ’60s, more than 1000 Jewish resorts were scattered the Hudson Valley. Today, the Borscht Belt Museum in Ellenville is dedicated to the rich Jewish history in the Hudson Valley.
With its forests, mountains and streams, the Catskills were the perfect terrains for summer camps, one of which was Camp Woodland. Woodland was founded in 1940 by Norman Studer who was an educator at the Elizabeth Irwin School in New York City. Studer’s purpose with Woodland was to give children a destination full of diverse folk culture.
Michael Pastor, who was a Woodland camper from New York City, remembers what it was like to be a part of this famous camp in folk history. Pastor says the eight weeks of camp he attended annually from 1958 to its last year in 1962 consisted of classic camp activities like football, games, outdoor excursions and of course music.
“A lot of campers played guitars, and so there was an awful lot of music going on all the time. I started playing guitar when I was 12 at camp,” He said. “It was kind of hard to hear yourself anyway, because there were 30 other guitars playing and a few banjo players as well.”
In a time of McCarthyism in America, Woodland was called “Camp Red” by conservatives referring to its teachings of inclusion and community building. According to Pastor, there was never any outright democratic or communist values being preached, but many of the families that sent their children to Woodland were leftward leaning.
photo courtesy of Camp Woodland, Phoenicia, New York Facebook.com
Pastor remembers the diverse music the campers performed. “Some of the music were Union songs from the 1930s. Also, there was a variety of international flavor to the music. We would learn songs from different languages,” he said.
Studor was always reaching out to the local community to teach kids about the history of the area. Pastor says he remembers community members including a local historian coming in to tell stories of the tanneries and music of the past.
Woodland also attracted legendary artists like Ella Jenkins and Pete Seeger. Seeger performed every year for all age groups, inspiring the whole camp.
Pastor says that being around music all summer and seeing artists like Seeger sharing their talents ignited a passion for music for campers. “A person who I met during my very first summer camp, my very first day of camp, Peter Simon, he and I are still very close friends and he, inspired by Pete Seeger, became a banjo player. We had a bluegrass band when we were in high school and we still get together regularly and play sort of old time traditional countries,” Pastor noted.
Seeger was born in New York City and raised in Dutchess County. He was first inspired to pick up the banjo when he traveled to Bascom Lamar Lunsford’s folk festival in Asheville, North Carolina at the age of 16. In 1938, he settled in New York City with other folk musicians known as The Almanac Singers in “The Almanac House.”
In 1949 he began to perform with a group known as The Weavers. A year later, the anti-communist book Red Channels came out which accused Seeger of being a communist. He became a blacklisted musician and the accusation loomed over Seeger’s head for decades.
According to his daughter he was never a self proclaimed communist. “He believed in community and he believed in it, whether it was a family, a school, a town, a country, the earth, but he wasn’t a communist. He was more like a ‘communityist,’” said one of his daughters Tinya Seeger. “He wanted good people who could do good things in office. That would be where his politics lay.”
She said that although he was never a communist himself, he was curious about life under communism. He visited North Vietnam during the Vietnam war along with communist China and Soviet Russia multiple times.
In 1955 he was called before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and was questioned about his political beliefs. He refused to answer their questions leading to 10 counts of contempt in 1956 followed by an indictment two years later.
During his blacklisted period, Seeger still created new music and performed all over the country. Some critics believe it was in these years that his best work transpired. He played gigs in smaller venues and college campuses, communities where folk itself began. His children’s albums were a huge success in summer schools and camps like Woodland.
At multiple performances, conservative community members would protest outside the venue but it never stopped him from performing. “He was happy when he saw free speech. He really believed very much in a person’s right to express how they feel, that you should be able to do that and life goes on,” remarked Seeger.
No two Pete Seeger shows were one in the same. He based his performance on the people that were in the audience. If there were children, he would play children’s songs like “Abiyoyo” or “The Foolish Frog.” If the audience was mostly older adults he would play songs to remind them of their childhood like “If I Had A Hammer.” His set list wouldn’t be determined until he was on stage.
At some of his concerts, audience members could leave him notes on the stage before the performance started. He made sure to read every one of them.
Seeger narrowly escaped prison time in 1962 when a Court of Appeals decided his 1961 conviction was faulty and deserted the case. Already infamous within right leaning circles, he became heavily involved in the civil rights movement and antiwar movement during the Vietnam War.
He was also active in local initiatives as well. His home in Beacon was located along the polluted Hudson River and he was determined to help this ecosystem. Seeger, along with some of his friends in the community, built a sloop named Clearwater, modeling the same boats that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries.
He sailed up and down the river educating listeners about the problem and collecting donations in his banjo case. His efforts actually cleared the river and although the river isn’t completely absent of garbage and pollutants, Hudson Valley residents today enjoy a much cleaner river than those in the 1960s “In those last 10 years of his life, he was trying to say things that were meaningful,” Seeger said.
Seeger understood the relationship between the art of folk music and community. According to his daughter, he liked living in Beacon with his family and a generation of adults that were raised on his music. “He created something that was like a camp experience within the Hudson Valley. Maybe it’s just that the same people were coming to the smaller gatherings that were happening around,” Seeger notes. “I think they were carrying on the tradition.”
Pastor, who is one of those campers carrying on the tradition, says he feels a strong community surrounding folk. “There is a bond that people feel throughout all these decades and I think if you were to ask people, you would find that music is a part of that shared experience, that’s part of that bond. Music was so interwoven with camp life, it’s kind of hard to describe,” he said.
Seeger is survived by his family including Tinya Seeger who lives in the Seeger home in Beacon, New York.
A decade after Seeger’s death, the tradition of Catskill folk continues. The music that was birthed from the land is dependent on the story of the Catskills. Folk was a distraction from work, a time of recreation and bonding for rural families. It was an expression of self for the collection of artists that gathered in the region.
Another family that carries on the trend of intergenerational folk is the Helm Family. The Arkansas native Levon Helm of The Band settled in Woodstock in 1967. In 1975, he built Levon Helm Studios, putting down permanent roots in Woodstock. His family, including his daughter Amy Helm, continue his legacy with “The Helm Family Midnight Ramble,” an annual celebration of his art at Levon Helm Studios.
Today, the studio showcases independent artists and bands from all over the country.
Eggy at Levon Helm Studios – photo by Zak Radick
Helm recorded the Dirt Farmer album in his studio which won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 2008. Guitarist Larry Campbell, who also worked with Dylan, produced the album alongside Amy Helm. They both sang and performed on the album as well.
Dirt Farmer is not only an award-winning album, but it was deeply personal for Helm. It was his comeback album, his first since 1982. He started recording as he was battling throat cancer, despite the damage to his vocals.
The acoustic tracks are a nod to his Arkansas roots, but they have a clear Catskill influence. Each song tells a story of the human condition. “Anna Lee” is about children who remember their late mother by her lullabies. “Wide River To Cross” is the final track on the album. In it Levon describes his journey of life, being “only halfway home.”
Amy Helm, who has recorded solo music at the studio, was born in Woodstock and grew up watching her father perform. With her three folk albums, she continues to carry on her family’s legacy and tour around the country.
The Catskills and its history have shaped perhaps hundreds of solo folk musicians as well as contemporary bands.
The Felice Brothers, originally from Palenville in the Catskills, are one of the most popular folk groups today. They’ve released ten albums including their latest 2024 album Valley of Abandoned Songs. Ian Felice (guitar/vocals), James Felice (piano/vocals), Jeske Hume (bass), and Will Lawrence (drums) bring back the raw, acoustic sound of the region.
In a recent interview with NYS Music, James Felice stated that the category of Folk and Americana felt limiting to the band early in its takeoff, but later, he embraced the labels. “All of our music, the way we play and the music we grew up with is folk music. It’s the music that we are most connected to. So yeah, I’m okay with that. I think we’ve been doing this long enough to have our sort of thing,” he said.
Valley of Abandoned Songs
Hudson Valley artist Mikaela Davis moved from Rochester, after her first album, Delivery. Davis got her degree in harp performance at the Crane School of Music in Potsdam. The harp, an unusual instrument in the genre of folk, compliments her whimsical vocals and takes the instrumentation to a new level. She produces a blend of indie-pop and Catskill folk inspired by sounds from the ’60s, the golden era of music in this region.
Davis records and performs with her own musical family. She has known her drummer Alex Coté since childhood, guitarist Cian McCarthy and bassist Shane McCarthy from college and she met steel guitarist Kurt Johnson in her early twenties.
The Bones of J.R Jones, another artist from Central New York, started his musical career playing in hardcore punk bands until he became more interested in American blues and folk musicians of the 1930s and ’40s. He officially launched his musical project, The Bones of J.R Jones, in 2012 as an independent artist.
Although his music is categorized as folk, indie and punk, he doesn’t write with genre in mind. “I honestly believe the music we create is a reflection of life experiences,” he said. Since his start, he has released five albums. In 2021, he relocated from Brooklyn to a Catskill farmhouse.
He says, in his experience, the Catskills have been a welcoming environment for him and the music community is supportive and uplifting. There is also something very special about the slow sleepy hills and mountains here. “We are just out of the reach of the weekend crowd from NYC so in a way, it stays true to itself. It’s a magical place full of inspiration,” he notes.
Upstate, with Brooklyn connections, settled in The Hudson Valley and over the past 11 years of performing together, have released three bold harmonious albums.
Members Mary Webster, Melanie Glenn, Harry D’Agostino and Dylan McKinstry recorded their most recent album, You Only Got A Few, in the Hudson Valley at The Building in Marlboro, New York and Greenpoint Recording Collective in Brooklyn, another musical hotspot for independent music.
Laura Zarougian is a solo artist who describes herself as an “Armenian Cowgirl,” inspired by American folk as well as her Armenian roots. She is a multi-instrumentalist and a powerful vocalist. Her songs tell stories of her family lineage and explore themes of searching for home. “Cairo,” from her 2023 album Nayri, tells the story of her great grandfather’s death and her grandmother’s journey to bring his body back to Cairo.
Zarougian grew up in Boston, but her musical career blossomed in Brooklyn. She now lives in Red Hook, a town right next to the Hudson River. “I do feel like there is a really strong sense of community here in which people want to support local musicians and do their best to promote them,” she said. Nayri is a seven-track album recorded with her partner, drummer Mike Alan Hams. The storytelling in her music captures the spirit of Catskill folk. “It’s definitely got some twang and elements of Americana and folk. But a lot of my songs, especially on my first album, had to do with my Armenian American identity,” she remarked. “I think folk songs have to do with place and longing and all of these things that are just part of the human experience.”
The folks that are keeping folk alive are the “grassroots” groups and families that create music without the pressure commercial industry influences.
Just days before his passing in 2014, Seeger attended the annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Beacon.
“What did my father do? You know, sometimes I say he was a singer and entertainer, but he was somebody that was really trying to help people get along,” Seeger said. “His version of helping them communicate was to write music.”
Seeger is still one of the most well-known folk singers in America and his work in activism and the folk revival movement live on.
Jelly Roll on the Beautifully Broken tour, with openers Alexandra Kay and Warren Zeiders, rolled into Buffalo KeyBank Center on Sunday, October 6th, bringing a night of healing and good old country vibes on a Fall night.
The night started with independent artist Alexandra Kay. Alexandra Kay is from Waterloo, Missouri, about 40 minutes from St.Louis. She has taken the country scene by storm, having collaborated with some of the most iconic names in the music industry, like Randy Travis, Tim McGraw, and Scott Stapp of Creed, just to name a few. When Alexandra Kay came out, KeyBank Center was electric for her. She had tremendous energy and worked the stage to ensure everyone felt connected.
Warren Zeiders followed up Alexandra Kay. Warren is one of country music’s newest up-and-coming stars. He recently was nominated and won his first CMT Award for “Breakthrough Male Video of the Year.” His fans are eating him up, giving him 7.9 million monthly Spotify listens and 1 billion TikTok views. He continued to bring on that high energy that Alexandra brought to his set. Both Alexandra and Warren were such perfect opening acts to get everyone ready for Jelly Roll.
Before Jelly Roll took the stage in Buffalo, he started a countdown just after Warren Zeiders finished his set. When the countdown reached zero, a video started to play. The video welcomed everyone to the tour and let everyone know to come as they are and, most importantly, that “it’s okay not to be okay” and that this show would be healing and a good time. When the video finished, Jelly Roll started his walk to the B stage on the floor of the sold-out KeyBank Center.
Along the way, he shook hands and said hi to the fans. When he got to the stage, he started singing ‘I Am Not Okay.’ During the song, a metal house silhouette came down, hovering above the stage on fire. After the song, Jelly Roll returned to the main stage and performed ‘Halfway to Hell’ and ‘Get By.’
The concert features the world premiere of Rumor Mill, an STSC commissioned work by Palestinian-Jordanian composer Dr. Shireen Abu Khader featuring the poetry of Naomi Shihab-Nye.
In addition to the world premiere of Rumor Mill, the Southern Tier Singers Collective gives a guided musical tour of countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, including the Levant, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Spain, Greece, and Italy. The music encompasses works ranging from Gregorian and Greek chant to Renaissance polyphony, to arrangements of folk music from the region. This concert is generously sponsored in part by the Broome County Arts Council, WSKG, and the School of the Arts at Binghamton University.
Dr. Abu Khader will join the Southern Tier Singers’ Collective for a weekend of workshops with students from Binghamton University and area high schools as part of her residency. Students will have the opportunity to hear her works and also experience a variety of Arabic percussion playing traditions. This presentation will conclude with a Q&A and discussion with the artists.
To learn more about Memories of the Mediterranean featuring Dr. Abu Khader, click here.
New York founded band Vampire Weekend played two shows at MSG in New York City on Friday, October 5th. “We’ve been looking forward to this the entire tour,” said frontman Ezra Koenig on the first night. This show marks the final quarter of the band’s ongoing tour in support of their latest album, Only God Was Above Us.
Vampire Weekend performs at MSG in NY. Photograph by David Reichmann (@davidpresspass)
Billy Joel Cover band Turnstiles opened for Vampire Weekend both nights, with additional support from Mark Ronson for the first show, and the Brothers Macklovitch for the second.
Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend performing at MSG in NY. Photograph by David Reichmann (@davidpresspass)
The second show was a rare Sunday matinee, which ended at 4PM sharp. During the second show, Ezra commented, “I didn’t know if this would be a good idea, we ended kind of late last night. But I think I like it.” The crowd cheered in response. Ezra would also go on to describe the backstory behind some of the band’s songs throughout the shows.
Turnstiles open for Vampire Weekend at MSG in New York. Photograph by David Reichmann (@davidpresspass)
Vampire Weekend performed with their signature brand of intellectual lyrics and intricately produced tunes. They played vast set lists each night, with nearly a two-hour long main set, covering their five beloved studio albums.
Each night featured a number of covers, including a rendition of Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” which featured a dinner scene performance behind the band as they played. Each show featured some pyrotechnics and a big blast of confetti at the very end of the encore.
In the past, the band often took fan requests at the end of the shows, but for this tour Ezra told the crowd they would only accept songs that weren’t theirs. So after the main set, the band came back on stage and asked the crowd to hold up signs, notepads, and scream out song suggestions, which the band attempted with varying levels of success. Covers included Fall Out Boy, Billy Joel, bruce Springsteen, and a handful of others.
You can follow Vampire Weekend “Only God Was Above Us” Tour here, and listen to their music here. Photo gallery by David Reichmann below.
New music venue, The Caz, in Buffalo, celebrates opening weekend Oct 17-20 with some great bands, including Buffalo locals, Johnny Hart & The Mess on Thursday, October 17. October 18 sees NY bands Big Shrimp and Escaper, as well as Buffalo locals, Type Relevant.
The venue features a restored historic listening room and is designed to provide superior sound and visuals for an unforgettable experience. The Caz is proud to be a venue that not only hosts national and international talent but also champions the incredible musical talent found right in Buffalo.
With the venue’s opening celebration on the weekend of October 17, The Caz excitedly hosts plenty of talented performers to kick off the upcoming bonanza. The Caz is redefining the live entertainment scene in the heart of South Buffalo. Savor delicious food from the full-time kitchen, complemented by themed cocktails and a selection of local craft beer and spirits.
Snag your tickets early to secure the best views from our elevated mezzanine and enjoy live performances from top local talent and national touring acts. The Caz is shaping itself up to be the ultimate destination for live shows in Western New York.
Big Shrimp returns with a fresh lineup and an electrifying sound, ready to make waves in the music world. Hailing from Bridgeport, CT, this versatile quartet features long-standing members Jared Sage Cowen and Jager Soss, alongside new talents Max Perrotti and Matt Takesh. Their evolution from a power trio to a quartet has broadened their musical scope, combining bold progressive fusion rock with innovative, polished new elements.
Escaper is a New York City band that blends funky jams with progressive psych-rock to create sci-fi dance parties. Known for the chemistry between Will Hanza and Phil Kadet. Escaper has played major Northeast festivals like Northlands, Great South Bay, and Bear’s Picnic. They have shared the stage with the likes of Jon Fishman (Phish), Karl Denson, and members of the Disco Biscuits, Dopapod, and more. Type Relevant is a Buffalo-based hip-hop collective that has been performing across Western New York for nearly two decades.
Big Shrimp
For more information on The Caz and to purchase tickets to the upcoming shows, click here.
With disgraced rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs seemingly destined for prison, you’d be forgiven in thinking that justice is soon to be served. Decades of allegations and industry chatter served only to bolster Diddy’s notoriety. To many insiders and onlookers alike, he was renown for his shady business tactics, while his exploits as a mob boss and sexual deviant lied as an unspoken truth. Allegations to the latter recently gained legal footing on November 16, 2023 when Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura, Diddy’s former Bad Boy artist and ex-girlfriend of several years, filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Combs, alleging and detailing years of physical assault and forced sexual labor. They reached an “amicable” settlement in court within 24 hours.
However, despite simultaneous raids of his Los Angeles and Miami homes, and video evidence of the previously denied assault on Cassie, the prevailing topic on social media focused on reports of a purported 1,000 bottles of baby oil, along with other social media fodder portraying Diddy as a Riddler-esque supervillain. With the baby oil jokes themselves being an extension of the “No Diddy” craze that came about after the Cassie lawsuit. TikTok comedian and D-List celebrity alike have basked in the content goldmine of what are essentially allegations of serious sexual crimes. And amid a rising tally of accusations, social media’s facetious nature has pushed the victims to the side in favor of likes and retweets.
While popular thought remains that social media mainstays like Instagram, X and Facebook are “just for laughs” they tend to shape our collective consciousness more than we’re wiling to give them credit for. Thus, by minimizing sexual assault in this way, we are empowering a culture of rape. We are cultivating an environment where speaking out for yourself is discouraged as the masses will trivialize your pain. Especially when there are a stark lack of consequences for those of status. And by the time “justice” finally arrives, the lives and livelihoods of many have already seen damage beyond repair. Comedy is a powerful weapon, and in the right hands can be a unifying tool for advancement. However, let’s stop to think who we are aiming it at, and why?
Comedy
It isn’t hard to see how abuse thrives in this environment, nor to pinpoint how we got here. What’s much harder to peg down is what to do moving forward. Whatever your answer, simple acts of empathy can go a long way. It isn’t a stretch to assume powerful people can pay to suppress information and stifle careers. Monetary incentive and the leverage of celebrity are powerful tools. However, that famous figures can face such public scrutiny with nothing to show for it is continually disappointing.
A point comedian Hannibal Buress brings home in his now-infamous stand up routine that sparked renewed interest in Cosby’s allegations. Allegations that ultimately resulted in the overturning of his 2018 conviction. Although a further civil case would award $500,000 in damages to the victim, the case was unfortunately several decades old at this point. And as Cosby’s representative Andre Wyatt so aptly remarks: “That amount will not cover the bills…”
Although it is the second episode to air, “The Trial of Robert Kelly” comes first in the production schedule of Aaron McGruder’s classic series, The Boondocks. Never one to shy away from controversy, the infamous episode sets the tone for the series’ trademark satire. Written three years prior to Kelly’s actual trial, in hindsight it begs us to ask very hard questions about this very public mistrial of justice and our role in it. The episode openly criticizes the cognitive dissonance on display from the public and the media. R. Kelly’s conviction came sixteen years after this episode’s original air date, only after the widely publicized Surviving R. Kelly documentary put his allegations back under the microscope. Sadly, it feels as though the Diddy’s action will never be treated with proper context until his own harrowing documentary releases.
Much of what we knew then, parallels what we now know about Diddy. Namely, the use of his wealth to influence his team of personal assistants into cornering an escaping Cassie. Employing harassment and intimidation tactics to limit the choices available to her. Similarly, several starstruck adults actively turned a blind eye to Kelly’s behavior. In cases such as Kelly’s illegal marriage to an underaged Aaliyah, even actively participating in the subjugation of a victim who knows no better. At what point does proximity to wealth override basic compassion? At any given point in either scenario, had one person decided to show a shred of dignity, or an ounce of compassion, perhaps justice could truly prevail. But for now all we’re left with is “freaks-off” jokes and the hope that the victims find peace.
Progressive rock-fusion band TAUK has announced their ‘Oogie Boogie Nights’ Halloween show in Port Chester with a star-studded guest list.
Long Island local rock-fusion band TAUK has been pushing the boundaries of sound for nearly a decade now. With several tours, millions of streams, festival slots spanning from Bonnaroo to Electric Forest, and an array of critical praise, TAUK is an ever-evolving quartet of musical force.
In addition to their purely musical endeavors, the band has begun a new tradition of gathering their favorite musical acts for once-in-a-lifetime halloween shows. Now in its third year, the ‘Oogie Boogie Nights’ Halloween extravaganza is a wild night of live music, good vibes, and all things spooky.
This year’s show goes hand-in-hand with TAUK’s recent streak of collaborative singles with artists like reggae icon Matisyahu, G. Love, Kanika Moore, The Shady Horns of funk group Lettuce, and Taz.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have played the Capitol Theatre a couple times already but being able to come in and throw our own show is something we’ve been dreaming up for a while… We get some of our absolute favorite musicians together and throw a huge party. The lineup for this is unreal and we have so much in store for this show.”
– Matthew Jalbert, guitarist of TAUK
In addition to some of their recent collaborators, TAUK will be bringing Mike Wilbur and Mihali along for the ride, elevating the night’s programming to another level of excitement.
Acting as the only New York date of TAUK’s current United States tour, the ‘Oogie Boogie Nights’ 2024 musical extravaganza will be hosted at the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on October 25. Tickets are available now- visit here for further information and ticket purchasing.
