The Weight Band returns to Central New York, while some of Ithaca’s top DJs are in action this weekend. And several area favorites are performing at regional venues in the coming days!
Please be sure to check with each show’s event page for various venue protocols, as well as potential postponement or cancellation information. Stay safe, and enjoy as much live music as you can in the coming days!
And don’t forget – it’s time for the 2022 NPR Tiny Desk Contest! It's open to area musicians of any style — you'll just have to upload a video of you or your band performing one original song. The contest is open through March 14. Find out all the details here.
String Thing
Richie Stearns and Friends return to South Hill Cider for a night of old-time tunes. Richie, best known for his work with the Horse Flies, Richie & Rosie, and the Evil City String Band, will be joined by fiddler John Hoffman and guitarist Randi Beckmann for tonight’s event. See the venue’s covid guidelines here.
When: 4-7 p.m. Thursday
Where: South Hill Cider
Cost: free; donations welcome
Piano Salon
Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards Salon Series continues with its first event of the semester. Invented by Johann Andreas Stein in the 1770s in Augsburg, Germany, the Viennese piano thrived for roughly 100 years before being superseded by French, English, and American designs. The CCHK collection holds a Stein copy as well as one of the last representatives of the lineage, an 1857 instrument by Stein's grandson, Johann Baptist Streicher. CCHK artist-in-residence Mike Lee will explore why the Viennese piano shot to prominence but fell out of fashion as it grew in size like all other 19th-century pianos. The Salon also will trace the storied legacy of three generations of a piano-making dynasty and the pivotal role Nanette Streicher (née Stein) – perhaps the best-known female piano maker ever – holds in the history of music. Excerpts from Mozart and Brahms will be performed on both instruments.
When: 5 p.m. Friday
Where: A.D. White House
Cost: free, but seating is limited; reservations are available here.
Campus visitors and members of the public must adhere to Cornell’s public health requirements for events, which include wearing masks while indoors and providing proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Brotherly Love
Billy Prine and the Prine Time Band will present “The Songs of John Prine,” in tribute to his late brother. “During this concert celebrating John’s life in song, Billy will tell stories about or surrounding some of John’s most beloved songs before leading his band through his version of John’s timeless masterpieces.”
When: 8 p.m. Friday just postponed to April 9, 2022
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: $35
See a message about the show from Billy Prine here!
Get Tough
Whiskey Tango Sideshow will present “Tough Love,” its winter burlesque bonanza featuring some of the troupe’s favorite performers.
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: The Range
Cost: $10
Wheels of Steel
DJ ha-Meen – aka Ben Ortiz – will showcase his vast trove of high-energy tunes ranging from classic hip hop, funk, soul, R&B, disco, and dancehall to reggaeton, salsa, house, and much more.
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: The Upstairs
Cost: small cover
Carrying That Weight
Led by Jim Weider, a 15-year former member of The Band and the Levon Helm Band, the Weight Band originated in 2013 inside the famed Woodstock barn of Levon Helm. Weider was inspired by Helm to carry on the musical legacy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group; he’s joined by keyboardist Brian Mitchell (Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble Band), bassist Albert Rogers (Jim Weider Band, Jimmy Vivino), drummer Michael Bram (Jason Mraz) and keyboardist Matt Zeiner (Dickey Betts). Their live set features Weight Band songs from their albums “World Gone Mad” and “Shines Like Gold,” as well as fan favorites from The Band’s catalog, including “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Weight,” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Learn more here.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Homer Center for the Arts
Cost: $32, available online here.
Downtown Vibes
Bead N Bone will return to downtown Ithaca, bringing their infectious reggae-dub-soul grooves and energetic stage show. Founded by London McDaniel, the band also includes Alina Kim on vocals, Shawn Seals on keys, Jabare on bass, and Eesa on drums.
When: 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Upstairs
Cost: small cover
DJ Dance Off
Two of Ithaca’s top DJs – djGourd and Proper Philth – will join forces for an event featuring more than three hours of hardcore house, disco, and funk. J-Sun will be opening the night; expect big sound and live visuals
When: 10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Forest City Lodge 180, 526 W. Green St.
Cost: small cover
Organ Journey
Cornell’s Midday Music for Organ series heads off campus as Anna Steppler performs music by Judith Bingham, Elfrida Andrée, and Cecilia McDowall in downtown Ithaca.
When: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 315 N. Cayuga St.
Cost: free
Bodies in Motion
New music quartet Yarn/Wire presents a performance of Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri’s “Quartet for Motors and Resonant Bodies,” followed by a talk. The piece combines acoustic instruments (resonant bodies) and motor driven devices that function both as sound sources themselves and as active preparations that determine speed, dynamics, and other musical parameters. The result is a slow, purposeful "unfolding" of sound: an intense procedural sequence of extremely minimal slow-motion movements produces complex and concentrated sustained sounds and textures over time. Seating is limited.
When: 2:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24
Where: Lincoln Hall B20, Cornell University
Cost: Free and open to the public. Campus visitors and members of the public must adhere to Cornell’s public health requirements for events, which include wearing masks while indoors and providing proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test.
More Events
Aiken is at Cortland Beer Company at 6 p.m. Thursday
Jeremy Bussman hosts the weekly Open Mic Night at the Upstairs at 7 p.m. Thursday
The East-West Blues Band will play an acoustic show at Hopshire Brewing at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Sydney Irving will play an acoustic show at Homer Hops at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Two Horse Johnson is at Grist Iron Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Friday
Tommy Tornado is at Cortland Beer Company at 8 p.m. Friday
Lub Dub Acoustic is at Treleaven Winery at 1-4 p.m. Saturday
Travis Knapp is at Summerhill Brewing at 6-8 p.m. Saturday
Travis Rocco is at Homer Hops at 6 p.m. Saturday
Ryan Spadafora is at Grist Iron Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
M3 is at Cortland Beer Company at 8 p.m. Saturday
Benny T brings his Open Mic Posse to Homer Hops at 1 p.m. Sunday
The Center for the Arts in Homer hosts its weekly Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesday
Sacred Root Kava Bar and Tea Lounge hosts its weekly Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Wednesday
