The Blues Foundation held its 39th Blues Music Awards on Thursday, May 10, in Memphis, Tennessee. Several award winners have appeared recently in Central New York, most notably at the Chenango Blues Festival. Victor Wainwright took home the prestigious Pinetop Perkins Best Instrumentalist – Piano Award, and Jason Ricci was named Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica. Both Wainwright and Ricci delivered jaw-dropping, show-stopping performances at the 2017 Chenango Blues Festival, reviewed by NYS Music’s Mike Kohli here.

Other winners that have appeared at Chenango through the years include Curtis Salgado, Soul Blues Male Artist; Southern Avenue, Best Emerging Artist Album; Ronnie Earl, Best Instrumentalist – Guitar; Samantha Fish, Contemporary Blues Female Artist; Mike Ledbetter, who won with Mike Welch for Traditional Blues Album for Right Place, Right Time on Delta Groove Records; Mike Zito, Rock Blues Artist; Rick Estrin, who won Band of the Year, Traditional Blues Male Artist, and Song of the Year, for “The Blues Ain’t Going Nowhere;” and the late, great Luther Allison, Best Historical Album for Luther Allison – A Legend Never Dies, Essential Recordings 1976-1997 (Ruf Records).

Other BMA nominees that have appeared at Chenango include Paul deLay, Guy Davis, Shemekia Copeland, Janiva Magness, Mitch Woods, Chris Cain, John Nemeth, Upstate New York’s own Tas Cru,  (whose latest release, Memphis Song, was recorded at SubCat Studios in Syracuse), Anson Funderburgh, Savoy Brown, Vanessa Collier, Sugaray Rayford, Anthony Geraci, and the North Mississippi All Stars. 2018 Festival performers Toronzo Cannon, The Cash Box Kings, and Elvin Bishop were also nominated.

Emerging Artist nominees Larkin Poe, quickly gaining followers and national attention, will headline opening night of the NYS Blues Festival in Syracuse on June 28.

Some of this year’s Blues Music Award winners can be seen throughout New York State this summer. Here is a partial list:

Mike Zito is at The Tralf in Buffalo on May 17.

Keb Mo plays at the Tarrytown Theater on May 25.

Jason Ricci can be seen in Ellicottville on June 2, and in Lima, NY on June 3.

Samantha Fish can be seen June 2 in Rochester at Flour City Station, June 7 at Daryl’s House in Pawling (already sold out), June 12 at Funk ‘n Waffles, Syracuse, and will return to Chenango on August 18. A NYS Music review of her appearance at the Westcott Theater on February 9, 2018, can be viewed here.

Robert Cray stops in Vestal on June 13, and in Geneva on June 15.

Victor Wainwright will perform at Funk ‘n Waffles Syracuse with an early 6:00 p.m. show on July 6.

Beth Hart is on the bill with Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Albany’s Palace Theater, July 27.

Trombone Shorty visits Bethel, NY on August 11, and Lewiston, NY on August 14.

Rick Estrin & the Nightcats are scheduled to appear at Wakely’s on Varick, in Utica, NY on August 11.

As a part of the Smith Opera House’s Club Series, Dan Smalls Presents brings Aoife O’Donovan to Ravines Wine Cellars this Friday night. O’Donovan is touring behind her sophomore solo effort “In the Magic Hour” released early this year, of which the New York Times wrote: “Sweetness and sadness find a tenuous balance in [her] voice — and in the songs on her second album…evokes the reverberant chamber pop observations of Grizzly Bear…[and] the lush austerity of Alison Krauss.” This week she also released a live album, “Man in a Neon Coat: Live from Cambridge,” which was recorded on one night this April at The Sinclair.

The singer/songwriter is best known for her work in the Boston progressive folk band Crooked Still. She has also been featured with Yo Yo Ma’s The Goat Rodeo Sessions and has made multiple appearances on Prairie Home Companion. At the top of picturesque Seneca Lake, at a beautifully sloping vineyard, amongst award-winning wines, there might not be a better setting to hear O’Donovan‘s sweet as honey vocals and airy harmonies.

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Pittsburgh’s Brooke Annibale will open the evening showcasing her own evocative and timeless song craft. The music will get going around 8pm. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at the Smith Opera House’s web site. Ravines Wine Cellars is located at 400 Barracks Road in Geneva.

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Traveling down a country road that didn’t veer from it’s straight path infinitely in either direction, the kind GPS voice eventually called for a turn down a perpendicular gravelly dirt path. It wound through a vast vineyard before arriving at a wooden barn. Visible inside through the large barn window, a stage was being set: drums, amps, guitars, all illuminated by a simple set of LEDs. As the crowd gathered, sampling the wine and meats being served up at the Ravines Wine Cellar, they oohed and aahed and tried to capture images of September’s beautiful full moon, aka the Harvest Moon, rising through the late summer sky.  The crescent moon logo of the Smith Club Series, however, served as a reminder of the impending concert.

Opener Brooke Annibale, comes from Pittsburgh via Nashville via Pittsburgh and back again. Her sound reflected her disjointed travels. Her beautiful voice sometimes reaching a more emotional gravelly strain, melodic strumming interrupted by dashes of brilliant fingerpicking, and simple rhythms shifting in surprising jolts. One of her songs took a cyclical path as well. “Alright,” off of her 2015 LP The Simple Fear (as most of the set was), was written while she was employed at Starbucks. After finally  recording it a few years later, Starbucks bought the tune to play in their stores nationwide.

Headliner Aoife O’Donovan took the stage in front of the sell out crowd after a short break. Her band, Anthony Da Costa on guitar and Steve Nistor on drums, have been touring with her since January, in support of her early 2016 release, In the Magic Hour. “Lay My Burden Down” off of her 2013 debut Fossils was followed by “Magic Hour” off her latest, and the set continued with a healthy mix of both releases, sprinkling in some covers for good measure.

O’Donovan’s voice provided the melodies, her guitar the rhythms. Her song craft was like the perfect grapes, but as any vintner or artisan knows, that is just the base. She added Da Costa’s guitar and Nistors’s drums to fill the bottle with subtle and not-so subtle hints and flavors. Free from major rhythmic lifting, Nistor danced outside the edges with flourishes and broad swaths. Da Costa’s guitar added body and color, bringing out the best in every moment, constantly moving in fleeting moments of brilliance, rarely soloing but shining brightly when given the opportunity. O’Donovan had crafted this band perfectly. The timeless quality of her music mellowed warmly within the barns wooden walls, much like the wine aging in casks nearby.

During a two-song solo break, she veered from her planned set to grant a fan’s request of the rare “Diamond” from her former band Sometymes Why. She pulled off the unexpected change incredibly well and followed with a stunning rendition of the traditional Creole love ballad, “The Lakes of Pontchartrain.”

Throughout the evening O’Donovan chronicled the band’s travels that day through upstate New York. They started with coffee in a “beautifully tiled” cafe in Buffalo. A little while later they were stranded for two hours at the Pembroke Thruway rest stop when they mistakenly locked the keys in the rental car. They made it to the gig though, with time enough to sample Ravines’ wines, grab some dinner and rehearse for a “special silent movie soundtrack” set they were performing at Freshgrass. After the show they would head to their hotel in the foothills of the Adirondacks, in Utica. “We’re in the Finger Lakes now, how far are the Adirondacks?” she wondered aloud.

The evening ended as it had begun, with the room mesmerized by the Harvest Moon. In tribute of the full celestial moon, the band played a cover of the Neil Young tune that shared it’s name. A fitting finish to a perfect evening amongst the grapevines.

Setlists

Brooke Annibale: Like the Dream of It, Under Streetlights, Middle of the Mess, Alright, All Over Again, The Good Hurt, Patience, Remind Me

Aoife O’Donovan: Lay My Burden Down, Magic Hour, Stanley Park, Hornets, Magpie, Glowing Heart, Red & White & Blue & Gold, Beekeeper, Anyhow I Love You (Guy Clark), Diamond*, The Lakes of Pontchartrain* (Traditional), Donal Og (Traditional) > Porch Light, King of All Birds, Detour Sign, Oh Mama

Encore: Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
* O’Donovan solo

Let’s Be Leonard will be on the road this fall, with several shows in and around New York State. The jazz-jam fusion band is playing in their hometown of Saratoga Springs on Oct. 20. From there, they venture west as far as Iowa before making their way back to New York. The fall tour hits Jamestown, Geneva, and Ithaca before closing with a two-night stand at The Brick in Oswego.

Fall Tour Dates:
Oct. 12- Burlington, VT – Sidebar supporting Binger
Oct. 20- Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Den with Madaila
Oct. 21- Douglassville, PA – Red Corner Benefit
Oct. 23- Ironton, OH – Frogtown
Oct. 25- Indianapolis, IN – Melody Inn
Oct. 26- Appleton, WI – Gibson Music Hall with Ethan Keller
Oct. 29- Waterloo, IA – The Wedge with Candy Ambulance
Oct. 30- Madison, WI – The Frequency supporting Alabaster and Bojo’s Mojo
Nov. 1- McHenry, Il – Mackey’s Hideout
Nov. 3- Jamestown, NY – Mojo’s
Nov. 4- Geneva, NY – FLX Live with Maybird
Nov. 16- Ithaca, NY – The Haunt
Nov. 17- Oswego, NY – The Brick
Nov. 18- Oswego, NY – The Brick

You’ll find Intrepid Travelers at Funk n Waffles Music Hall in Rochester every Wednesday in October as they take up residency for the month. The progressive jam band just wrapped up their September residency at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo. Recordings from those sessions are posted on Bandcamp. The residency at Funk n Waffles Music Hall is the cornerstone of the band’s schedule for this month, which also includes shows in Geneva, Oswego, and Adams. This month, they’re also hosting their annual Halloween bash at Buffalo Iron Works. The Halloween party is Ween themed, and features special guest Slip Madigan. See a full list of show dates below. Tickets are available now.

Upcoming Shows:

Oct. 4 – Funk n Waffles – Rochester, NY- with Greyhounds
Oct. 11 – Funk n Waffles – Rochester, NY
Oct. 13 – Finger Lakes Live – Geneva, NY
Oct. 14 – Brick Bar – Oswego, NY
Oct. 18- Funk n Waffles – Rochester, NY
Oct. 25- Funk n Waffles – Rochester, NY – with Jaw Gems
Oct. 28 – Woodhenge Halloween – Adams, NY
Oct. 31 – halloWEEN at Buffalo Iron Works – Buffalo, NY – with Slip Madigan

The Finger Lakes region, Rochester included, is bursting with live music lately. Dan Smalls Presents has a handle on things on the south side of Cayuga Lake. On the north side of the lakes, The Smith hosts medium-sized shows at the theater and occasionally puts on some club-sized shows in smaller spaces around Geneva. But there hasn’t been a venue hosting live music consistently on a weekly basis in Geneva for a long time. Until now…

Finger Lakes Live, a near 300 capacity space, opened this past August and has been holding shows every Thursday through Saturday (and sometimes Wednesdays) ever since. The venue is drawing in both national talent like Billy Strings or Molly Tuttle Band (who played the night we visited), regional acts from Syracuse, Rochester or Buffalo and bands from their own backyard.

Owner Ian Pattison, General Manager Nicholas LaChance and Musical Director Matthew Elkin met at Hobart and William Smith College and watched as the landscape of Geneva changed throughout their time in school. The city has recently undergone a renaissance linked closely to the boom of wine and beer tourism in the area. With that success came a bunch of great restaurants and bars. But the friends spotted a need for a music venue.

Part of the beauty of FLX Live is that it is first and foremost a live music venue, and a bar second. The sound and sight lines throughout the place speak to this, with improvements still in the works. It’s a warm and welcoming place, with wood accents throughout. A long and easily accessible bar is backed by beautifully lit wooden cask bottle displays. The beer list spans all tastes with something to satisfy the snobbiest of drinkers as well as those preferring something that advertises on sports broadcasts. There is also plenty of wine and alcohol available as well. Within the next couple of weeks, they will begin offering pizza and other finger foods.

Patrons can view the show from hightop tables and chairs in an elevated area at the back of the room, which for some shows will be available for reservation, with bottle service possibly in the near future. There is also a large floor immediately in front of the stage, for those wishing to get closer to the band and dance. They will be hosting live bands of all kinds, everything from rock to folk to salsa to funk and everything in between, with DJs spinning dance music after many shows. Just a 45 minute drive from Rochester, Syracuse or Ithaca, FLX Live is well situated to draw people from out of town to downtown Geneva for live music. So look at their upcoming schedule and make a plan to check it out.

Schedule highlights:
11/22 – Aaron Lipp and the Slacktones, A Girl Named Genny
12/2 – After Funk, Formula 5
12/8 – Dead Winter Carpenters
12/30 – Big Mean Sound Machine

Learn more and hear from the owners in a great interview with Evan Dawson on Connections from September.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, Intrepid Travelers are following up their successful Solstice Festival with the second leg of their summer tour. IT heads out to Ohio and Michigan next week, then double back to New York, hitting Jamestown, Geneva and Buffalo. Summer tour rounds out with performances at Night Lights Music Festival in Sherman on Aug. 23 and Beau Fleuve Music Festival in Buffalo on Aug. 26.

Intrepid Travelers Summer Tour 2018 Leg II:

July 25 – Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH **Ween Preparty & Afterparty
July 26 – The Knickerbocker – Grand Rapids, MI
July 28 – George’s – Canton, OH
Aug. 3 – Mojo’s – Jamestown, NY
Aug. 4 – FLX – Geneva, NY
Aug. 7 – Larkin Square – Buffalo, NY
Aug. 23 – Night Lights Music Festival – Sherman, NY
Aug. 26 – Beau Fleuve Music Festival – Buffalo, NY

This summer’s concerts have been heating up for sure. Friday July 27 was no different when four time Grammy winner, Pat Benatar and her long time husband/guitarist Neil Giraldo co-headlined the Vine at Del Lago along with another 80’s icon, Rick Springfield.

Pat and Neil have been performing together since 1979 and have been an unstoppable husband and wife team since 1983. Together they have written and produced many gold and platinum and multi-platinum hits including “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”, “Love is a Battlefield”, “We Belong”, and “Invincible”.

At just about 9 p.m., the seasoned musical veteran performers hit the stage with their band and kicked right off into “All Fired Up”, “We Live For Love”, and “Invincible”. The dynamic duo of Pat and Neil had the sold out audience at Del Lago fired up for sure, as no one was quite sure who would be performing first on the bill, Rick or Pat and Neil.

Their sound was like pure vinyl. If you closed your eyes, it was as good as a recording. Flawless. Pat’s vocals were simply powerfully amazing as she hit all the high notes effortlessly, especially on “We Live For Love. Neil’s guitar work is just plain brilliant. His technique and playing style that has defined the Benatar sound for nearly 40 years remains perfect never missing a lick, bend or nuance.

Their set included a stripped down, acoustic side as well when they performed powerful “Shine” intimately for the audience. “Shine”, released in 2017, was written in support of  the women’s rights movement, and the record reflects the Shine Together Movement, which is her voice to hopefully affect positive change in the world and government. This was a beautifully performed acoustic number.

Finishing out the twelve song set, was a very cool rendition of “Heartbreaker” with a few twists thrown in including a medley of Cash’s “Ring of Fire”, Hendrix’s “Purple Haze”, The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army”, and a cool little “Godfather Theme” instrumental.

After nearly forty years of making hit after hit, Pat and Neil have pretty much proved that they are in fact invincible.

Setlist: All Fired Up, We Live for Love, Invincible, Promises in the Dark, We Belong, Disconnected, Hell is for Children, You Better Run, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Love is a Battlefield (Encore: Shine, Heartbreaker

Trey Anastasio has announced a fall solo acoustic tour. Prefaced by the announcement of Between Me And My Mind, a documentary about the Phish frontman’s solo songwriting process and influencing relationships.

The solo acoustic shows kick off in Geneva at the Smith Opera House, followed by a string of dates spread across the midwest and into the Southeast, wrapping up at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

Phish has a history in Geneva, performing at Hobart College in 1989 and at the Smith in 1993.

Trey Anastasio October 2019 Solo Acoustic Tour Dates:

Oct. 15 – Smith Opera House – Geneva, NY
Oct. 16 – Victoria Theatre – Dayton, OH  
Oct. 18 – Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI
Oct. 19 – State Theatre – Minneapolis, MN  
Oct. 21 – The Pablo Center at the Confluence – Eau Claire, WI
Oct. 23 – Palace Theatre – Canton, OH
Oct. 25 – Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI
Oct. 26 – Murat Theatre at Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN
Oct. 27 – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN

Trey Anastasio began his solo acoustic tour last night at the historic Smith Opera House in Geneva, NY with an evening of songs encapsulating not only the entire Phish musical catalog, but its various side projects as well. In addition to acoustic takes on songs that span the prolific songwriter’s career, these smaller, intimate shows gives the Phish front man more of an opportunity to engage the audience with stories and anecdotes that makes the evening feel more like a performance in a friend’s living room.

After a couple of Phish staples, “Back on the Train” and “Sample in a Jar,” Trey couldn’t help but mention the festival that never was, Curveball, which was to be held just down the road in Watkins Glen. He talked about how there were to be two ways into the concert field, one being a “mime” field you’d have to cross. And don’t be surprised if the next festival is called Momball and your mom is invited.

Setlist: Back on the Train, Sample in a Jar, Snowflakes in the Sand, About to Run*, Heavy Things, Turtle in the Clouds, Wolfman’s Brother, Mountains in the Mist, Strange Design, Driver, Sleep, Water in the Sky, Brian and Robert, Theme From the Bottom, Shade, We Are Come to Outlive Our Brains, Sand > The Inlaw Josie Wales, Limb by Limb > Chalk Dust Torture > Harry Hood > Chalk Dust Torture > The Wedge > Bathtub Gin

Encore: Waste, Lifeboy, Ghosts of the Forest*, Say It To Me S.A.N.T.O.S 

* – debut acoustic performance