By Larry Felton. When artistic director Michael Burns suggested Maria Ayoob as someone to interview at MopCo Improv Theater, he also invited me to enroll in her Improv 101 class. Three weeks later, after six hours as one of her students, I sat down with Maria to talk about how a Google search turned into […]

By Liam Sweeny. No Fun is the life of Monument Square in Troy on any given night. Its walls are tagged in band stickers, and its checkerboard floor offers patrons the dull gleam of a surface that embraces foot traffic. It’s got a bar and a foosball table and a big screen calling out future […]

By I Am Lorelei!. Walking into Empire Live on Thursday, August 6, 2026, there was no avoiding the larger story surrounding Wolfgang Van Halen — but what mattered most that night was the music in front of us. Mammoth (the WVH suffix was dropped last year) isn’t built on nostalgia. It’s built on Wolfgang’s own […]

The Hammerhead Trio made sound waves without horns outside the Albany Elks Lodge #49. Photography by Timothy Reidy. More from Timothy Reidy here …  

By Rob Skane. Eric Ambel plays rocknroll guitar – loose, raw, and loud – and he’s worked with everyone from Joan Jett to Steve Earle. You’d be wise to listen to his work as a musician but also as a record producer. If I were you, I’d track him down and have him produce your next […]

Joanne DelCarpine and Barbara Stein made music at the latest WAMM event at The Eleven. Photography by Timothy Reidy. More from WAMM here …  

By OP Callaghan. Packed house for this Thursday night ’90s flashback. Opening act Olive Vox kicked things off with a too-short set of high-energy Nirvana- and Turnstile-influenced rock n roll.  Hailing from Texas, these guys brought all the angst and fury we needed to kick off a great night.  Lead singer Parker James seemed right at […]