Escape the Fate provided support for Skillet on their Comatose tour at Proctor’s.
Photography by Mike Hart.
More coverage of the show here …
WORLDWIDE Exclusive Premiere: UMIKO Kotori ‘UKA (羽化)’ FULL ALBUM Stream 10/9/2026 on RadioRadioX.com
WORLDWIDE Exclusive Premiere: UMIKO Kotori ‘UKA (羽化)’ FULL ALBUM Stream 10/9/2026 on RadioRadioX.com at 4pm (New York) 11pm (Lithuania)
UMIKO Kotori
UKA (羽化)
The sound of becoming — an eleven-track album where electronic production,
live instrumentation and instinctive genre collision become one moving form.
Official album artwork by Eglė Fern · Photography by Dalia Mikonytė
UMIKO Kotori releases UKA (羽化), her eleventh album and the latest chapter in the long-running solo practice
of Lithuanian musician, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Elena Neniškytė. Written, produced,
recorded, mixed and mastered by Elena, the album captures an artist working without fixed genre boundaries
— following curiosity wherever it leads.
The title UKA emerged from an unexpected linguistic coincidence: Lithuanian “ūkas”, a nebula — a cloud of gas
and cosmic dust where stars can form — and Japanese “uka” (羽化), the moment an insect emerges from its
final skin and takes its adult form. One word describes where a star is born; the other describes the moment a
wing is born. Between them sits the album’s central idea: music in the moment of becoming.
The sound: Sonically, UKA moves like a living organism: deep electronic low-end, restless beats and live drums
meet distorted guitars, bass, saxophone, synths and vocals, pulling from grunge, krautrock, hip-hop, soul, punk
and experimental electronics without settling into one genre.
THE ALBUM
Music in the moment of becoming.
UKA is not built around one storyline. It behaves more like a mixtape: eleven distinct moods, each allowed to
exist on its own terms, while the whole record moves through pain, elevation, tension, release and sudden
turns of curiosity.
The album grew out of a much larger burst of writing: twenty tracks created across a single year, followed by
six months of mixing and mastering. Four became pre-release singles; eleven form UKA; five more remain to
come. The album therefore feels less like a sealed object than a cross-section of a living process — one point on
a line that keeps moving.
UMIKO Kotori’s working principle was deliberately simple: from everything in front of her, choose whatever
contains even the smallest spark of curiosity, follow it until it runs out, then choose again. The result is music
that can move between electronic production and live instrumentation, grunge, krautrock, hip-hop, soul, punk
and experimental sound without needing to settle into any one category.
Two collaborators appear on the album itself: Mantas Augustaitis on drums and Augustas Genutis on bass.
Simonas Šipavičius (saxophone), Paulius Volkovas (guitar), Mantas Daujotas (drums) and Augustas Genutis
(bass) also appear across the pre-release singles.
THE PRE-RELEASE SINGLES
Four signals before the emergence.
The four pre-release singles — POLITE, SWEETY, JUNGLY and GRUNGY — introduced UKA’s evolving world
through four distinct moods, each paired with a recurring handmade white mask across different Vilnius
locations, building toward the mask’s removal on the album cover.
The singles were released between April and July 2026, creating a visual and musical arc into the album.
POLITE received airplay on LRT OPUS; the wider audiovisual direction continues through moving image,
performance and real-time visuals.
THE VISUAL WORLD
From mask to emergence.
The visual identity of UKA has developed alongside the music since April. Across the four pre-release singles,
UMIKO Kotori wore a handmade white mask in different Vilnius locations. For the album cover, the mask is
removed for the first time: the visual metaphor of becoming made physical.
For POLITE, UMIKO Kotori created the mask herself and directed and edited the video, extending UMIKO’s
practice beyond recorded sound into moving image, performance and real-time visuals.
THE ARTIST
UMIKO Kotori / Elena Neniškytė
UMIKO Kotori is the solo project of Lithuanian musician, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Elena
Neniškytė. Her musical path runs from classical and jazz vocal training through Vilnius’s alternative scene and
into electronic music. She works across vocals, drums, bass, guitar, synthesizers and trumpet, maintaining an
independent practice in which she writes, produces, records, mixes and masters her own work.
UMIKO began in 2011, with the first album Wave arriving in 2012. “UKA” is her eleventh album under the
project. The catalogue includes the home-recorded lo-fi IF (2014), “Aftermath” (2017), recorded with a live
band at Big Jelly Studios in the UK, the audiovisual “In the Nowhere Without the No” (2020), and later releases
including “SAKE” (2022), “Sorry to be You” (2023) and “Spitting Supernovas” (2024).
Her live work has taken UMIKO Kotori to Portugal, Poland and Germany, including Casa da Música in Porto,
Halfway Festival in Białystok alongside Julia Holter, My Brightest Diamond and These New Puritans, and solo
performances in Berlin at ACUD Macht Neu and Donau115. In Vilnius she has opened for Efterklang and,
through her wider work, for Franz Ferdinand.
Neniškytė’s wider practice includes Ministry of Echology, shishi and the Mommy’s Karma project, as well as
production and recording for other artists. She has also composed for film, animation, theatre, contemporary
circus and visual art, and hosted the monthly Radio Vilnius programme “Kokie nelygūs Vilniaus šaligatviai”
from 2022–2024.
WHY THIS RELEASE MATTERS
For media, curators and music industry professionals, “UKA” offers a clear entry point into an artist whose
practice is already unusually broad: a self-contained producer and multi-instrumentalist with eleven albums,
international performance experience and a growing audiovisual language. The album is also the beginning of
a new visual phase — one that can extend naturally into live performance, moving image and real-time visual
work.
CREDITS
Lyrics, recording, mixing & mastering: UMIKO Kotori;
Album cover art & graphic design: Eglė Fern
Photography: Dalia Mikonytė
Musicians across singles and album: Mantas Augustaitis (drums), Augustas Genutis (bass), Simonas Šipavičius
(saxophone), Mantas Daujotas (drums), Paulius Volkovas (guitar)
Official website: umikokotori.com
Skillet @ Proctors, 9/30/2026
Banned Book Week at Albany Public Library
As book challenges and bans continue to rise across the country, our annual Banned Books Readout — on Oct. 6 at the Washington Ave. Branch — reminds everyone that access to information, diverse voices, and free expression are fundamental to a healthy democracy.
During the Readout, you’ll hear local performers read powerful passages from books that have been banned or challenged, illustrating the themes of free speech, intellectual freedom, privacy, and the importance of resisting censorship.
The program is presented in partnership with the New York Civil Liberties Union and APL, along with a coalition of community organizations committed to protecting intellectual freedom, including League of Women Voters of Albany County, Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, and Albany NY Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Other Banned Books programs include:
Bookworm Bookmark | Oct. 7 at 4 pm | Bach | Ages 5-11
North Albany Cinema Society: 1931 Film “Dracula” | Oct. 21 at 5 pm | North Albany | Ages 18+
Book Recommendation Club: Read a Banned Book | Oct. 29 at 5:30 pm | Zoom | Ages 18+
And don’t forget to check out a banned book to read! Here are the most challenged books of 2025 from the American Library Association.
Liberty DeVitto – An Xperience Interview
(photo by R Shanahan)
Interview by OP Callaghan.
Liberty DeVitto is a phenomenal drummer, best known for his work as the drummer for Billy Joel. But as a session drummer, Liberty has played with a ton of other artists, including Elton John, Paul McCartney, and his current band, The Slim Kings. He’s a monster of a player, and will be appearing in a drum clinic on October 3rd at Rocky’s Music Studio in Latham. He will be appearing with Corky Laing, drummer extraordinaire from the band Mountain, coming together to BEAT Parkinson’s disease. All proceeds will benefit Parkinson’s Center YMCA in honor of Bob Girouard.
So please welcome Liberty DeVitto!
RRX: How did you get your start?
LD: I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do – tour the world with my friends and make music everyone loves.
RRX: Did you take lessons?
LD: No, at the time no one would teach me how to play R&R. They were jazz snobs and thought R&R was horrible.
RRX: Was there one song or performer that made you want to play drums?
LD: Ringo Starr! Then there was Dino Danelli from the Young Rascals!
RRX: You’ve had an astoundingly successful career as a drummer. Is there a certain song, performance, or recording that you’re especially proud of?
LD: That’s a tough question. I made 11 albums with Billy Joel. To pick one is impossible.
RRX: Yeah, that’s impressive! Who are you playing with now?
LD: I play with many people. My main band to perform with is The Lords of 52nd Street. It’s myself, Richie Cannata, and Russell Javors. We are members of the original Billy Joel band. We perform all the songs we recorded with Billy.
RRX: That’s quite a catalog! What can we expect at your upcoming clinic?
LD: Corky Laing and I will speak about our careers with both Billy and Mountain, along with taking questions and just having a great time, whether you’re a drummer or not.
RRX: I can’t wait!
The Xperience Monthly – October 2026
Go get your copy of The Xperience Monthly, September 2026 edition, for FREE, at any of the over 1,100 locations around the Capital Region of New York.
If you can’t find one, you’re not even trying!
Grab the Digital Edition here ===> October 2026
Heard @ Albany Institute of History & Art, 9/16/2026
Heard played an outdoor show at the Albany Institute of History & Art on September 16.
Photography by Timothy Reidy.
MEDIA ADVISORY: A Big Gay Market Returns to Washington Park Lake House
A Big Gay Market Returns to Washington Park Lake House with 100+ LGBTQIA+ and Allied Vendors Raising Funds for Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat.
WHAT: A Big Gay Market is a designated, intentional, and affirmative space for LGBTQIA+ individuals and their allies, especially for those in our community who have intersecting marginalized identities, to join together in queer and trans joy for a cause. We have 100+ LGBTQIA+ and allied vendors across the Northeast, a community area, a free kids craft tent, live music, food trucks, and social meet-ups, with a portion of proceeds going towards Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat.
WHO: Cyren Romeo, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of A Big Gay Market, and select artists on our Advisory Council are available for interviews.
WHEN: Sunday, October 4th from 11AM – 4PM
WHERE: Washington Park Lake House in Albany, NY
WHY: Since 2023, A Big Gay Market has been an LGBTQIA+ and allied creative community economic engine in the Capital Region and beyond. We are a market with a cause that has raised over $20K for Camp Unirondack’s Queer Youth Advocacy Retreat and $15K dispersed between 10+ regional nonprofit organizations serving the LGBTQIA+ community since our inception. Our vendors are from all across NYS, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, and have attracted over 1,000 attendees traveling to the heart of Albany per market.
Carol Durant launches “Portion Controlled Poetry” at UPH
Author Carol Durant continues the launch of her third poetry book, “Portion Controlled Poetry,” at Saratoga Book Festival’s Literary Night Market on Friday, October 2 at UPH
Poet and playwright Carol Durant continues the launch of “Portion Controlled Poetry,” her third book of poetry, with an appearance at the Literary Night Market at Universal Preservation Hall (UPH), which is part of the weekend-long Saratoga Book Festival on Friday, October 2, from 6:00 p.m.- 9:00 pm.
Durant remarked, “I’m very excited to be a part of the Saratoga Book Festival, and I hope people will stop by and say hello and want to purchase my new book. UPH is a great venue to meet the audience and connect with other authors. I appreciate Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library, the volunteers, UPH, and Proctors Collaborative for making this event space available for everyone to attend and enjoy.”
Her book, “Portion Controlled Poetry,” is formatted like a menu. There are poems that are sized as an entree, house specialties, or appetizers. The reader can decide what they would like to order to read and share. Carol’s personal writing strategy of Listen, Learning, and Literacy is incorporated into the book for people of all ages to enjoy alone or in a crowd.
Durant comments, “Portion Controlled Poetry” arrives six years after my last book, “Cold Pressed and Just Brewed Poetry. I combined two of my favorite things, writing poetry and eating food, in the titles and some of the poetic menu items in the new book to make people smile and become interested in reading poetry or adding to their library.”
“Portion Controlled Poetry” will be available for sale in person at the Saratoga Book Festival, The Book House Stuyvesant Plaza in Albany, and Market Block Books in Troy. The book is also available for sale online at this link:
PREVIEW: BOOP! The Musical
BETTY BOOP STEPS OFF THE SCREEN AND INTO REAL LIFE
by Lorelei.
Betty Boop was born flat in the 1930s, and for almost a century, she’s lived on black-and-white film. With a body made of ink and a voice that’s hard to mistake for anyone else’s, she’s climbing out of the frame and into full color, modern-day New York City, and she’s bringing her whole world with her. BOOP! The Musical comes to Proctors in Schenectady, on October 13-18.
Playing her on the national tour is Aliya Grace, and her enthusiasm for the role is unmistakable.
“I’m looking forward to portraying Betty’s joyful spirit and sassy personality! She is such a multifaceted Icon and I’m excited to embrace all of those aspects of her.”
Moving Like a Cartoon
You might think the difficult part of playing Betty would be the singing songs that are very demanding vocally or the eight-shows-a-week schedule. For Aliya, the biggest challenge was simpler. Figuring out how Betty moves.
Betty’s exaggerated, rubber-limbed style is nothing like the way a person walks across a room. Getting it right took some help. Aliya worked with Rachelle Rak and Jerry Mitchell to find those movements, and she says she can’t wait for audiences to see the result.
The show also has fun with movement. In Betty’s black-and-white world, the 1930s cartoon style is on full display, and Aliya admits the style can be tough to execute. But as the story moves along and Betty settles into the real world, her movement changes. It gets looser, more human, and more modern. Aliya says it’s “very cool” to watch that shift happen a little more each scene.
“I think the biggest challenge was finding out how she moves. Moving like a Betty in her exaggerated way is very different than moving like a human on the day to day. With the help of the amazing Rachelle Rak and Jerry Mitchell, I’ve been able to find those movements, and I can’t wait to share it!”
Color Comes to Betty’s World
Change isn’t just in Betty’s body. The design team took her out of her black-and-white cartoon world and dropped her into a bright, modern NYC. Aliya credits the set, lighting, costumes, and special effects for bringing that transformation to life. She can’t wait for audiences to see it in person.
“The design team has done amazing job of transforming the atmosphere of Betty’s black and white world to colorful, modern day NYC! With the amazing set, lighting, costumes, and special effects, I can’t wait for audiences to experience it!”
A Big Score and Even Bigger Choreography
Ask Aliya about the singing, and she does not sugarcoat it. Vocally, she says, the show is very demanding. She must bring Betty’s iconic voice to life while also handling the score by David Foster, a score that jumps from big Broadway numbers to up-tempo jazz to power ballads. Keeping her voice ready for all of it has been a fun challenge, she says.
The physical side of the role asks just as much of her. Jerry Mitchell’s choreography is famous, and doing it eight shows a week, in Aliya’s words, “can do a number on your body.” The show is as physically demanding as it is vocally, so she’s made taking care of her body and her voice a big priority.
Why Betty Still Works
It’s been almost a century since Betty first hit the screen, but Aliya thinks her story still holds up because her themes are timeless. From the 1930s to today, Betty has stood for strength, dignity, confidence, and standing up for what’s right. Aliya says she’s grateful to share that message with women especially, but everyone across the country.
The show also touches on some real history. Betty ran into the Hays Code in the 1930s, a set of moral rules, and the musical brings that up. It happens while Betty is scheming to help a friend win a political campaign that would be good for NYC. Aliya says the timing is “pretty perfectly placed,” so it fits right into the story instead of feeling like a history lesson.
A Small Town Girl On The Road
Aliya has a personal connection to her character, too. Betty is eager to explore something new in her life, and Aliya knows the feeling well. She grew up in a smaller town and felt the same pull for most of her life. Now she gets to travel the whole country with the show, which she says is exciting.
Two Dimensions to Three
When Aliya was asked what surprised her most while working on the show, she didn’t mention the dancing of the score. Aliya points to how far Betty travels over the course of the show. What struck her most was Betty’s journey. She was struck by how much Betty changes from beginning to end. She starts out as a two-dimensional character and finishes as a fully-fledged woman.
Aliya says getting to tell that story, and share it with so many people, has been “a beautiful journey.”
Catch Her In Person
If you grew up with Betty, or you only know her from a T-shirt or a sticker, this is your chance to see her move, sing, and step out of the frame. BOOP! The Musical plays at Proctors on October 13-18. Call the Box Office at 518.346.6204 or email for information at info@proctors.org or visit https://bit.ly/3QrN0WK for a direct link to tickets.