NYS Music 2024

Tag: festival news

  • Ithaca Reggae Fest Returns to Stewart Park in June

    The sixth annual Ithaca Reggae Fest returns to Stewart Park from June 21-22. With a wide range of activities and music, the festival is dedicated to the protection of Cayuga Lake through a conscious celebration of Ithaca’s legendary reggae community and its history.

    Kicking off the weekend this year is the Puerto Rican king of smooth dub beats Pachyman, with his live band. There will also be an opening set from Ithaca Reggae Fest original team member DJ ha-MEEN spinning some lively tunes to get things started at the free Friday Welcome Party. Spin magazine cites Pachyman as “a breezy, fun-loving, and freedom-seeking artist… His works are a well sonically seasoned mix, in which his Puerto Rican roots shine bright.”

    The big day Saturday, June 22 begins with setting the intention with an interactive yoga workshop led by the Yoga Farm before celebrating Cayuga Lake with a cultural celebration led by the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ. The music gets going on Saturday with Ithaca’s own Ghanian-led roots reggae favorites, Mosaic Foundation, followed by the lively and big sound of Syracuse’s own, Root Shock. As the sun goes down, Jamaica’s living legend and first female dancehall DJ & writer/singer of the top sampled reggae song of all time Sister Nancy performs.

    Also, festival co-founder Kevin Kinsella reunites with the internationally renowned and legendary Ithaca-based pioneering reggae band he started – John Brown’s Body – for a once-in-a-lifetime experience on the shores of Cayuga Lake.

    Tickets are on sale now at Advance Rate 1 so purchase yours today before prices increase to Advance Rate 2 on April 23!

  • Public Water Supply Announce new Album and Pre-Eclipse “Sun Festival”

    Rochester-based alternative rock/indie Americana act Public Water Supply has announced the release of their new record General Strike, to be showcased at Sun Festival, the band’s pre-eclipse event.

    Sun Festival takes place at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2024, at Essex, a music hall located at 1048 University Avenue which can hold 700 concert-goers. Public Water Supply will play their new record General Strike, plus some fan favorites. It started on Nazareth University’s campus when all five band members were enrolled for undergraduate studies. They have played on and off together since graduation in 2019 and the core group remains intact with Iggy Marino and Karis Gregory, Jr. on guitars, plus Alex Brophy on bass, and Spencer Kronrich on drums. Last summer, Tanner Kartes returned to the stage to flash his harmonica skills and rejoined as the fifth member. Public Water Supply has sold out Rochester venues such as Iron Smoke Distillery, Three Heads Brewery, and the Jackrabbit in Buffalo.

    “We are calling it SUN FESTIVAL in observance of the cosmos and we will assemble in celebration of the moon, the sun, and our musical surroundings,” exclaimed Iggy Marino, the band’s frontman. “It feels like the universe is truly coming together for us and we can’t wait for our babies to hear our creation!”

    The band released their first self-titled record last year, growing their fanbase dubbed the “babies,” with General Strike on its way. Billed as music written for the working class, “This album showcases the daily struggle of living, loving, and wanting to ‘stick it to the man’”, added Marino. “We’ve been re-defining our music and experimenting with our sound all year long. I think our babies are really going to notice more of a rock n’ roll feel in these songs.”

    The first single, “Leila” will drop on Friday, January 12.  Lead guitarist Karis Gregory, Jr. wrote the music and lyrics. “Leila is loosely inspired by the story of famed criminals, Bonnie and Clyde, two lovers on a cross-country crime spree, burning rubber and living an intense but exhilarating life,” claimed Karis. The rest of the songs on the album, including the title piece, “General Strike”, were written by lead singer and guitarist, Iggy Marino.

    Tickets for Sun Festival will go on sale Friday, January 12, priced at $25 each.

  • Dead of Summer Music Festival Announces Lineup

    The fifth annual Dead of Summer Music Festival is coming to Hunter Park from July 12-14, nestled on 25 acres in the Green Mountains of Manchester, Vermont.

    Dead of Summer Music Festival

    Dead of Summer features three days of live music on two stages, with over 20 food and craft beer vendors. It is family/kid-friendly, with various activities including yoga, a kids set with Andy The Music Man, tie-dying, disc golf, and RV and tent camping opportunities. The event is rain or shine.

    The lineup includes a variety of well-known jam bands, including Pink Talking Fish performing the Grateful Dead’s album Terrapin Station and a fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads, and Phish. The Ensemble includes THE WOLFPACK string & brass quintet along with members of Twiddle, Remain In Light/Cool Cool Cool, and Dead Set.

    Special guests include Neighbor, Max Creek, Bearly Dead, Dead Man’s Waltz, Deadgrass, Bar Maids, Lizards: A Phish Tribute, Annie in The Water, Misty Blues Roadhouse Revival, Mystic Dead, Harvest & Rust: A Neil Young Tribute, Rev Tor’s KlusterFunk, Saints and Liars, Organ Fairchild, The Rejuvenators w/ Wanda Houston, Woody and Rebel Alliance, and The Morning Dudes.

    Gates open at 9 am on Friday, July 12. For more information about the Dead of Summer Music Festival and to purchase tickets, visit here.