Bklyn Sounds 5/24/2023 - 5/29/2023 + Upstate Summer

A short guide to rhythm-improvisation-community vibes in the Hudson Valley + Shows: Hermeto Pascoal / Mickey Perez + Prince of Queens + Lumin / LaTasha N. Diggs & Kaoru Watanabe & Geng PTP / and more

About 8-10 years ago, I spent an extended, intermittent period working on a piece about a particular strain of futurist thinking, electronic/dance/experimental music, and Upstate New York. It encompassed a dozen-plus interviews, multiple half-drafts, and endless reporting threads on the history of both middle-class leisure and computer technology, and led to…no published work, only me learning a lot about up-river creativity. (A heartfelt mea culpa to P4k editor Ryan Dombal who tolerated my fanciful bullshit, but never once called me out on story-ghosting, though I am beyond deserving of it…) Yet the exercise was hardly useless. More than almost any other set of extended reporting I’ve done, it helped me discover a creative, cultural ecosystem, one that is both completely reliant on the anchor of NYC (money, talent, escape from...), and has absolutely developed its own energy. 

In the ensuing decade, that energy and ecosystem have only blossomed — even prior to COVID, and now booming in the pandemicine. And it struck me that not enough people who engage with Upstate (especially in the summer) are aware of its musical riches. Having just contributed to Gothamist’s Summer Music in the City Preview — and with Memorial Day, the official summer kick-off, around the corner — I thought that a Bklyn Sounds list of the great already-announced Dada Strain-focused events taking place above Westchester might prove handy to a few. And not simply call-outs to specific gigs, but introductions to musicking spaces, a short car, Trailways or Metro-North ride away, a one-off or a weekender. Because it’s important to flee the city occasionally. Here are some reasons and destinations to do so:

Since its inception in 2015, Basilica Hudson’s annual 24-Hour Drone: Experiments in Sound  has been one of the most interesting musical events to take place upstate. The event’s name is self-descriptive, a continuous marathon of artists performing variations on a drone. But the venue — a 6000-square-foot brick-and-windows industrial space built in 1880 on the Hudson, NY riverside — turns an excellent experimental happening into something otherworldly. And while there have always been stand-outs among the Drone participants, this year’s event, taking place Memorial Day weekend, is extra-stacked with unique interpreters: Photay, Laraaji, Liturgy, Yuka Honda, Raven Chacon, Kelman Duran, Wolf Eyes, Michael Foster & Luke Stewart, Laura Ortman, Gushes, FUJI​|​|​|​|​|​||​|​|​|​|​TA, and more. Not a cheap ticket, but the promoters did the math, and said it ends up as $6 per set. (For those looking to do a there-and-back, the Amtrak station (from Grand Central Station) is literally across the street from the venue.) (24-Hour Drone, Sat 5/27 noon - Sun 5/28 noon @ Basilica Hudson 110 South Front Street, Hudson - $113)

As of this writing The Sun Ra Arkestra gig at Opus 40 (on Fri 6/30) is sold-out, but accepting names for the waiting list. And while every opportunity to see/hear the mighty Marshall Allen lead this galaxy’s free-jazz-big-band champions into new musical dimensions is worth your time, this is yet another case where the venue helps make the gig super-special. Opus 40 is a unique place, a labyrinthine sculptural environment built into a quarry on the outskirts of Saugerties by the artist Harvey Fite in the early ‘70s. (Also immortalized by a pretty great Mercury Rev song.) It’s a sprawling grounds, so I can easily see them releasing more tickets for the Arkestra. That said, it has become a great place for live music as well, and the current schedule features dates with electronic producers/composers Keith Fullerton Whitman, Christina Wheeler and M. Geddes Gengras (Sat 6/24); Tuareg group Etran De L’Aïr (Sat 7/1); composer and (former Arkestra) trombonist  Craig Harris (Sat 7/8), and numerous others. (Sun Ra Arkestra, Fri 6/30, 7p @ Opus 40 356 George Sickle Road, Saugerties - $40)

A few years ago, Josh JDH (co-founder of the long-running Fixed parties, booker at Greenpoint’s Good Room) began throwing weekenders at Glen Falls House, a hotel-tavern-B&B-type spot in Round Top, a hamlet about 10 miles west of Catskill. They’re doing it again this summer, with a Fixed party scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. (Full schedule can be found on the Good Room website.) But if there’s one I would highly recommend making the trek for, it’s the Coloring Lessons x Universal Love weekender, co-produced by Dada Strain perennials (and good friends), musclecars and Love Injection. Basically, combining two of the best disco-house parties in Brooklyn, transferred to a self-contained rural hotel upstate. And guests galore. The parties are free with suggested donations for artists. The hotel rooms are NOT, but you are not required to stay there to attend. Big Fun! (Coloring Lessons x Universal Love, Fri 6/30 - Sun 7/2 @ Glen Falls House 230 Winter Clove Rd. Round Top - FREE with suggested donation, accommodation not included)

There’s a whole Dada Strain piece ready to be written about Dope Jams, the indispensable record store and party once located on Myrtle/Classon, that moved upstate 10 years ago, initially to Oak Hill, and now to a barn outside of it. Paul Nickerson, the shop’s co-founder and excellent DJ, continued throwing house- and hip-hop minded parties up at the store, and in backyards of this small community, attended by a curious mix of Dope Jams lifers, artsy types (older and Hudson Valley art-school students), and…just good-ass party-goers. Moving it to that barn’s adjacent field a few years ago was a spark of genius, creating first a day-long, and then weekend-long, community hang, fun for the rural ravers and the dancing families alike (kids and bouncy castles are welcome - so keep that in mind). But Nickerson keeps building: the barn is now the store, outfitted with its own classic Richard Long soundsystem, and Paul has helped produce a fully-booked weekend dance-festival in the space (with a nearby camping option for those who want it). This year’s festival, “In The Open” (Fri 7/21 - Sun 7/23), is headlined by the mighty Traxx, and set to feature some of the most interesting DJs and producers in Bklyn, including Dada Strain favorites like Physical Therapy, Livwutang, Turtle Bugg, Nicole Misha, Sweater on Polo and many others. On the Dope Jams IG, there has also been promised an “Open Air Festival” (Fri 8/4 - Sun 8/6), details of which are yet to be disclosed. The outdoor events I’ve attended up at a spot Nickerson’s coined Locust Grove, have been some of the best upstate dances I’ve had. Highest Recommendation! (“In The Open,” Fri 7/21 - Sun 7/23 @ Locust Grove 318 County Road 22, Oak Hill - $90-$160 // “Dope Jams Open Air Festival,” Fri 8/4 - Sun 8/6 @ Locust Grove 318 County Road 22, Oak Hill - $TBD)    

And what if you just wanna know about clubs at which great local and touring gigs taking place Upstate? It should come as no surprise that the Hudson Valley has a number of spots regularly hosting excellent shows. Many of the tours are set to, or have just hit the city; other gigs are specific to the locations. Follow the following:

• The Falcon in Marlboro (Ulster County) looks like a side-of-the-highway tavern, and mixes jazz improvisers with players from the jam-band world and a healthy smattering of roots music. It’s got an excellently chill back deck too. Recommended upcoming gigs include: The Selcouth Quartet, drummer Joe Russo’s new group with multi-instrumentalist Stuart Bogie (Fri 6/9), drummer Kassa Overall’s massive band (Mon 6/12) and singer Madison McFerrin (Sun 6/25).   

• Tubby’s in Kingston (Ulster County) is another superlative club, exactly the type of spot that I adore: a great (small) city bar with a live room and fantastic bookings. Tubbys is a spot to catch some of the most interesting experimental/indie/improvising upstate folks, as well as incredible shows in a small room. Recommended upcoming gigs include: the mighty L’Rain (Wed 6/14), Hill country bluesman R.L. Boyce (Tues 7/11), hardcore modernists Soul Glo (Fri 7/14), and a late September club-anniversary festival with the best indie club line-up that I’ve seen since Terrastock.        

• I am yet to see a show at Avalon Lounge in Catskill (Greene County), but I have been following their bookings since I restarted Bklyn Sounds, and the diversity of sounds they’re putting on is pretty massive: experimental creative and improvised music, queer rave, electronic and ambient shows, well-picked old and new indie shit, and more. Recommended upcoming gigs include: the improvising trio of saxophonist Caroline Davis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and violinist Mat Maneri (Sat 5/27), the audio-visual electronic weirdness of Unguent (Wed 5/31) and the Brooklyn indie instrumentalists Scree (Sun 6/4).   

Also, this is basically me showing off my Upstate vs. the Island vs. Shore partiality. Biased since 1978. I’ll keep big-upping Upstate as the shows come up - if y’all are interested. I still am. 

This Week’s Shows: