Show Detective – Weekend Shows – Friday, July 21st – Sunday, July 23rd
Written by Staff on July 20, 2023
Show Detective.
July 21st
Swan Lake, Fancy Free & Firebird, SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 7:30pm
New York City Ballet
Get swept away into worlds of magic, beauty, and celebration with three renowned story ballets featuring the choreography of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
The Erotics, Empire Underground, Albany, 6:30pm
w/ Ike’s Wasted World, Brother T & The Boys Gusto. Hosted by comedian Morgan Williams
RESIST: July 2023 with DJ Pet, Fuze Box, Albany, 9pm-2am
Strap in for an evening of throwing down in the dark to a diverse selection of dark dance music brewed from the finest industrial, ebm, darkwave, dark pop, electro, hip hop, rhythmic/tribal/power noise and modern goth ⚙️
DJ Pet (Resurrection, NH) returns to the Fuze this month to get daaaaamp 🐙💦
Moonlight Mystery Reading presented by Creative License, Cohoes Music Hall, Cohoes, 7:30pm-10:30pm
What if we told you we were hosting a staged reading this summer…
…but we didn’t tell you the title of the show?
Introducing our Moonlight Mystery Reading!
Friday, July 21st @ the Cohoes Music Hall.
Tickets go on sale Friday June 23rd-trust us that you’ll have a great time and enjoy the production? Get your tickets for the special mystery price of $10.
Not much for surprises? We’ll release the title of the show on July 14th and you can grab your regular admission tickets for $15.
Doors open at 730pm-mix & mingle with the cast and crew over drinks before the performance.
The show will kick off at 8pm with a brief chat about our history with the piece, followed by the reading.
Nectar’s Presents Joe Samba, Lark Hall, Albany, 9pm
Guitar slung low, microphone turned up, and emotion overflowing, Joe Samba taps into rock ‘n’ roll spirit and reggae soul all at once. The Massachusetts-born singer, songwriter, and guitarist sonically teeters on an axis of island-inflected grooves and gritty guitar-craft balanced by his dynamic vocals. He finds the sweet spot between smoked-out Caribbean bliss and sweat-soaked punkified energy. It’s why he’s quietly emerged as a phenomenon, toppling charts at #1 and performing alongside everyone from The Dirty Heads to Pepper.
However, he’s primed to unite not only genres, but people as well through a series of 2023 releases and much more to come.
Artist website/socials:
www.joesamba.com
https://www.instagram.com/joesambamusic/
https://www.facebook.com/joesambomusic
Let’s Be Dead w/ Dog Star Orchestra, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs, 9pm
Let’s Be Dead is an 8-piece capital region supergroup consisting of some of the area’s most active musicians; united in a mutual love for the music of the Grateful Dead.
The lineup:
Matt Griffin – Guitar
Karl Bertrand – Guitar
Connor Dunn – Saxophone
JP Hubbs – Keyboards
Evan Marre – Bass Guitar
Paul Guay – Drums
Sam Zuchinni – Drums
Angelina Valente – Vocals
Folk Heritage Series: Jerron Paxton with Dennis Lichtman, Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, 7:30pm
Jerron Paxton & Dennis Lichtman play “handmade” acoustic folk and early jazz that will transport you back to music of the 1920s and 30s
Jerron Paxton is a multi-instrumentalist and master of traditional American music. His dynamic performances showcase his skills on guitar, banjo, piano, and harmonica, while his vocal delivery is a classic bluesy throwback to simpler times. He mesmerizes audiences with his humor and storytelling. Paxton is a world-class talent and a uniquely colorful character that has been on the cover of Living Blues Magazine and the Village Voice. His sound is influenced by the likes of Fats Waller and “Blind” Lemon Jefferson.
Dennis Lichtman is a virtuoso clarinetist, and a leading figure in the revival of traditional jazz and swing music. He has performed with many of the top artists in the field, including Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks and Mona’s Hot Four. He’s been the clarinetist and bandleader of the famed Tuesday night traditional-jazz jam session at Mona’s in downtown Manhattan, which was profiled in The New York Times, and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as “ground zero for an emerging late-night scene of young swing and traditional jazz players.” Lichtman also leads a western swing sextet, The Brain Cloud, which has been in residency Monday nights at the prestigious Brooklyn venue Barbés since 2011.
Together, they are two of the most celebrated names in what Lichtman refers to as “handmade” acoustic music, with a reputation for transporting audiences back to the 1920s & 30s, and making them wish they could stay there for good.
The Folk Heritage Series is made possible by the Charlie Pickett & Kathleen Rehl Endowment Fund.
Ritz Carlton’s Live Game Show, No Fun, Troy, 7pm-11pm
Laveda – Toriendofstory – Autumnal, Elephant Alley (contact bands for location)
Moonrocka, Indian Ladder Farms, Altamont, NY
Benefit for Heather w/The Deadbeats, Parish Public House, Saratoga Springs, NY
The Old Main, Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
Mike Pedersen, Monopole, Plattsburgh, NY
Tony Rock, Funny Bone, Albany, NY
GEM Festival, Glens Falls, NY
HORORTERIA feat. Ex Hyena, Avalon Lounge, Catskill, NY
Hark, LG Beach Club, Lake George, NY
The National Reserve, Unihog, Hoosick Falls, NY
Rootsenanny with Keanen and Orion and More, Strand Theatre, Hudson Falls, NY
The Clements Brothers, Crandall Park, Glens Falls, NY
July 22nd
Carol Daggs, Troy Music Hall, Troy, 6pm
The Summer Square Concert Series is a free, outdoor event at 6 PM Saturday nights July and August in the Music Hall Courtyard.
Carol is a dual pianist and vocalist, composer and arranger whose Artist name is Jazzage: the artful application of musical Jazz sounds to the auditory apparatus and soul via vocal and instrumental flow! Carol received the Master of Music degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has enjoyed workshop and/or performance opportunities during Jazz in July with Dr. Billy Taylor, Geri Allen and John Blake. As an Associate Artist-in-Residence at Atlantic Center for the Arts, Carol enjoyed a September 2006 month-long residency with Sam Rivers at Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. Carol has also studied and performed with Regina Carter and Donald ‘Big Chief’ Harrison. In addition to being a member of ASCAP, Jazzage has performed her own original song arrangements at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater, as well as locally and regionally at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford Public Library, Saratoga’s Spa Little Theater, Caffe Lena and Skidmore College. Please visit and follow Carol online at:
https://www.instagram.com/saratogasoulbook
Swan Lake, Fancy Free & Firebird, SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 2pm
New York City Ballet
Get swept away into worlds of magic, beauty, and celebration with three renowned story ballets featuring the choreography of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
Peck & Copland, SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 7:30pm
New York City Ballet
After his award-winning foray with Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, Resident Choreographer Justin Peck goes all-in with Aaron Copland, featuring four of his most acclaimed musical scores: Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Fanfare for the Common Man, and Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo, creating an original full-evening work in collaboration with painter and sculptor Jeffrey Gibson.
Proxima Parada with special guest Chance Emerson, Lark Hall, Albany, 8pm
Próxima Parada means ‘next stop’ in Spanish and Portuguese. As college students in San Luis Obispo, California taking the bus to school, at every stop they’d hear, “Now approaching, próxima parada…” 100 times a day. The name is an invitation to the present moment, a reminder to not be too focused on the destination and to appreciate every stop along the way.
After ten years of next stops, their songs have become more and more focused on personal growth and groove, where each player adds just what’s needed and makes up a piece of a whole. Some songs are sunny and light-hearted indie soul, others have a late-Mac-Miller mellow vibe, all the while speaking to who they are working to be.
What began as a group of college friends wanting to spread joy to their local community has led to national tours where people let loose and feel whatever they need to feel. It’s already been an incredible journey with their songs reaching a global audience online, and they’re just getting started. 2023 brings Próxima Parada’s strongest album to date and much touring.
Artist website/socials:
www.joesamba.com
https://www.instagram.com/joesambamusic/
https://www.facebook.com/joesambomusic
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7YZitvv_J8-vgt1VPqQXpg
Deadgrass, Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, 8pm-10pm
Deadgrass puts a playful spin on the music of Jerry Garcia, infusing performances with improvisation and a healthy dose of jam band spirit.
Get ready to embark on a musical journey like no other with Deadgrass, the band that flawlessly fuses bluegrass and the timeless tunes of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead into an irresistible concoction of foot-stomping rhythms, blazing solos, and infectious harmonies that will leave you dancing like nobody’s watching. This string band takes you on an adventure through Garcia’s musical world, celebrating and interpreting decades of songs, drawing from Old & In the Way, JGB, Jerry’s Jug Band days and The Grateful Dead.
The group was formed when Matt Turk and C Lanzbom joined forces a little over six years ago. Bassist Dave Richards, banjo player Boo Reiners and fiddler Kensuke Shoji complete this fine group of seasoned pros exploring the life works of Jerry Garcia on the instruments that first inspired him. NYS Music describes the band as “improv-laden … phenomenal chops … capturing the vocal harmonies and intonations led by Garcia … refreshing and fun,” and Cindy O. Herman of the Daily Item says, “Anyone who loves the Dead and appreciates a well detailed, thoughtful and respectful group of superb musicians artistically intercepting the music will have a spectacular night.” So grab your dancing shoes, embrace the tie-dye spirit, and join Deadgrass on a wild ride through a musical landscape where bluegrass meets psychedelic jamming, creating an unforgettable experience that will have you craving more long after the last note fades away.
FREE F#%*ING SHOW – House of Saturn / Beached Bodies / Yort / Ben Caulkins, No Fun, Troy, 7pm-11pm
YORT, The Free Jays, Pauly’s Hotel, Albany, 7pm
Ryan Sullivan, Slidin’ Dirty, Troy, NY
Finnegin Pin/Lungbuster, Monopole, Plattsburgh, NY
GEM Festival, Glens Falls, NY
Wet Noise, Avalon Lounge, Catskill, NY
Blue Moon Band, LG Beach Club, Lake George, NY
Ditrani Brothers, Unihog, Hoosick Falls, NY
Marty Wendell, Strand Theatre, Hudson Falls, NY
Hoots and Hellmouth, Waterhole, Saranac Lake, NY
Dave Gallagher, Stable Gate Winery, Castleton-On-Hudson, NY
July 23rd
The Miró Quartet, SPAC, Saratoga Springs, 3pm
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
This string quartet has established a reputation as one of the finest ensembles in the world, with numerous recordings, a wide repertoire, and an irresistible stage presence. This eclectic program displays the breadth of their talent and stunning virtuosity.
Willi Carlisle with special guest Reid Parsons, Lark Hall, Albany, 8pm
WILLI CARLISLE is a poet and a folk singer for the people, but his extraordinary gift for turning a phrase isn’t about high falutin’ pontificatin’; it’s about looking out for one another and connecting through our shared human condition. Born and raised on the Midwestern plains, Carlisle is a product of the punk to folk music pipeline that’s long fueled frustrated young men looking to resist. After falling for the rich ballads and tunes of the Ozarks, where he now lives, he began examining the full spectrum of American musical history. This insatiable stylistic diversity is obvious in his wildly raucous live performances, where songs range from sardonic trucker-ballads like “Vanlife” to the heartbreaking queer waltz “Life on the Fence,” to an existential talkin’ blues about a panic attack in Walmart’s aisle five. With guitar, fiddle, button-box, banjo, harmonicas, rhythm-bones, and Willi’s booming baritone, this is bonafide populist folk music in the tradition of cowboys, frontier fiddlers, and tall-tale tellers. Carlisle recognizes that the only thing holding us back from greatness is each other. With a quick wit and big sing-alongs, these folksongs bring us a step closer to breaking down our divides.
“Willi Carlisle is an absolute force of nature. From the moment he walks on stage you can’t take your eyes off of him and the minute he opens his mouth you can’t help but hang on every word. Even if the songs weren’t there, the showmanship alone would be worth the price of admission, but the scary part is the songs are just as good as the stories.” — BJ Barham
Delicate Steve / Griff / Adequate Phil, No Fun, Troy, 6pm-10pm
Delicate Steve – https://delicatesteve.bandcamp.com
“I’ve spent most of my life trying to escape the sound of the electric guitar,” says Steve Marion. That’s a rather surprising confession considering that, under the name Delicate Steve, Marion has spent the better part of the last decade establishing himself as one of the most wildly innovative and widely revered players in the game. He’s recorded with Paul Simon, been sampled by Kanye West, toured in the Black Keys, and released four critically acclaimed albums of genre-bending instrumental music. He’s your favorite musician’s favorite musician, a virtuoso songwriter, producer, and performer who occupies a lane entirely his own in the modern indie landscape.
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