Twiddle postpones their Ithaca show, Big Head Todd and the Monsters come to Homer, and two concerts pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plus, catch a bunch of local favorites on stage around Ithaca, Cortland, and CNY in the coming days.
Note: the events are listed below in chronological order, in two separate sections.
And if you missed it, Jim Catalano highlighted his 15 favorite concerts of 2022 in his Soundoff column!
Voices Raised
The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers (DCJS) will host a Community Celebration Concert to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The program will feature spirituals and gospel songs by the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers (DCJS), music by Kendall Choir, Made in Color from Boynton Middle School, Ithaca College Jazz Vocal Ensemble, Ithaca College Treble Chorale, Dorothy Cotton Youth Singers and dance and step by the GIAC Jumpers.
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25
Where: State Theatre of Ithaca
Cost: free; donations welcome
Going Big
The Deep Dive House Big Band continues its every-other-Wednesday residency under the direction of local jazz professor Greg Evans, who teaches at Ithaca College and Cornell University and plays drums with Rose and the Bros and other area bands. The DDBB will feature players from Cornell University, Ithaca College and the greater Ithaca Community every other Wednesday for the coming month.
When: 8-10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: free; ages 18 and up
Downstate Grooves
Deep Dive hosts Brooklyn-based SunDub, who blend reggae, funk and soul into a unique sound as showcased on the band’s debut album, “Burden of Love.” Also on the bill are Hanzolo, a seven-piece band from upstate New York that draws on soul, funk, rock and jazz influences, and DJ Mike Judah, host of WICB’s “Reggae Explosions.”
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $8 in advance, available online here; $15 day of show
Monster Mash
Big Head Todd and The Monsters come to Central New York for a sold-out show in Homer. The band has “quietly become an American institution following three and a half decades of writing, recording, and touring (totaling over 3,500 performances). After countless sold out shows in amphitheaters and on the high seas, beaming their tunes to outer space (literally), earning the endorsement of everyone from Robert Plant to The Denver Broncos, and tallying tens of millions of streams, Big Head Todd and The Monsters cite the friendships formed in the crowd among their proudest accomplishments.”
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: SOLD OUT!
Fun Fundraiser
Stone Bend Farm and TradeDesignBuild will host a fundraiser party for the Finger Lakes Reuse Remap Program, featuring “a ton of amazing prize donations for the silent raffle from all our favorite local businesses!” and live music from Richie Stearns, Aaron Lipp, Ben Gould, and Pat Burke.
When: 5 p.m. Friday (postponed from Dec. 23)
Where: Stone Bend Farm, 196 Porter Hill Road, Newfield
Cost: donations welcome
Beethoven in Berlin
The Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards’ Salon series begins on Friday, as Sezi Seskir, fortepiano, and Keiran Campbell, cello, perform Beethoven’s Berlin cello sonatas. Beethoven’s Op. 5 cello sonatas were Beethoven’s first attempt toward making the roles of the two instruments more equal and were a celebration of the capabilities of the five-octave piano for which he composed these works. Seskir is Associate Professor of Music at Bucknell University, and Campbell is a core member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra.
When: 5 p.m. Friday
Where: A.D. White House, Cornell
Cost: free and open to all Event Info
Ready for Release
Cortland singer-songwriter Cloey Tierno will celebrate her debut album "I Fell in Love with the Rain" with an album release party at Rose Hall. “The album features a collection of 14 songs written by Cloey, who’s a senior at Cortland High School, and brought to life by the talent of multi-instrumentalist Gabe Cummins and producers Cummins and Chris Merkley.”
Opening the show is Jenna Noelle, another Cortland High student who has been performing a mix of original songs and covers with pop and R&B influences since 2019.
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday (postponed from Dec. 16, 2022)
Where: Rose Hall, 19 Church St., Cortland
Cost: $15, available online here (each attendee will receive a copy of "I Fell in Love with the Rain" with admission)
When Harry Met Sammy
Ithaca-based singer-songwriters Samuel B. Lupowitz and Harry Nichols (Noon Fifteen, Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis, The Funx, Thru Spectrums, Ariel Arbisser, Maddy Walsh, et al) share the stage for an intimate evening, trading tunes and tales from their catalogs. Nichols’s recent release, “Songs for the Rich and Beautiful,” is a song-for-song response to Lupowitz’s 2012 album “Songs to Make You Wealthier and More Attractive,” as Sam’s “No Man Is an Island” (2021) responded to Harry’s “Love en Route (2012).”
When: 7-9 p.m. Friday
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: Pay what you can at the door (suggested $5-$10)
Read a 2022 interview with Harry Nichols here!
Read a 2021 interview with Samuel B. Lupowitz here!
Celebratory Concert
Ithaca College will present “A Concert Event Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” directed by Baruch J. Whitehead. “Concert attendees will experience the heart of the African-American musical experience, including spirituals, gospel, jazz, and popular, performed by: Ithaca College Ensembles: Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Choir, Chorus, Treble Chorale, and Jazz Vocal Ensemble; the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers; and guest duo Kuwento Mizik. There will also be a reading of King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
In addition, the concert will feature the world premiere of “Don’t Look Away (Requiem for a World that Never Was),” a thought-provoking piece about racism in America commissioned by associate voice professor Dawn Pierce ’97 in collaboration with IC alumni John Conahan ’96 (composer) and Meaghan Boeing ’00 (librettist). “The piece is designed as an empathetic call to engagement and point of entry for majority white communities that may be unsure of how to begin this difficult conversation, and a dramatic exploration of the damage done by the racism that has shaped American society and how it is still in force today.”
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday; the concert will also be livestreamed, and then available on demand starting a few days after the concert, both at ithaca.edu/music/live.
Where: Ford Hall, James J. Whalen Center for Music, Ithac College
Cost: free and open to all
Fond Farewell
Twiddle brings its “Distance Makes The Heart” tour to Ithaca. The Vermont-based band – Mihali Savoulidis (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dempsey (keys, organ, synth), Brook Jordan (drums), and Zdenek Gubb (bass) – will be going on hiatus after its current tour. The group’s latest release is “Every Last Leaf,” showcases its trademark blend of funk, jazz, rock, reggae, and bluegrass influences. Update: this show has been postponed to April 2 due to illness in the band!
Yam Yam, a funk-soul-jazz-jam band from Harrisburg, Pa., opens the show.
When: 8 p.m. Friday POSTPONED TO April 2!
Where: State Theatre of Ithaca
Cost: $36, available online here (almost sold out!!)
Fwends Indeed
Deep Dive will welcome Ashley Ickes & Fwends for “A Twiddle Afterparty” after the latter band’s show at the State Theatre. “Join us for a musical hang of very special guests led by the one and only Ashley Ickes!”
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $10 at the door, 18+
Going Underground
Local singer-songwriters Silver Rein and Emma Vulnerability team up for “A Night of Musical Witchery” in downtown Ithaca. Their show will be preceded by a screening of the new short film “Transmission: Lisa Stephen Friday,” about the performer whose theatrical music project “Trans Am” played at the Hangar Theatre last summer.
When: 7-10 p.m. Saturday
Where: Sacred Root Kava Bar and Tea Lounge
Cost: $5
Swinging Party
“Boost your January! Meet up with friends at the Village Swing scene, Saturdays 7 to 9 through January, at The Downstairs. Your hosts, Brian Earle and Wayne Gottlieb, will get your feet tapping! Watch for a new special guest artist each week. See you there!” They’ll be joined by bassists Ted Caldwell (Jan. 7, 21) and Harry Aceto (Jan. 14, 28) throughout the month. This week's guest singer is Jen Cork!
Update: "Wayne will not be able to make tonight's Village Swing session. He's feeling ill. Harry will play bass and Dave Davies will sub for Wayne on vocals and guitar."
When: 7-9 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: free; donations welcome
Triple Threat
Buffalo-based and Top Shelf Records artist Del Paxton returns to Ithaca for a indie-rock show with two hometown bands: Chimes of Bayonets and Gravestone Glue.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: The Rest Gallery
Cost: $5
Let’s Dance!
Deep Dive will host the David Bowie Ball: “Hey moonage daydreamers, space odditys, young americans, and jean genies! Get ready for the Bowie Ball, a burlesque celebration of the music of David Bowie with @parlorcityburlesque. Glamming up and costumes encouraged! Bowie dance party with DJ Hipster Dad to follow.”
“Central New York's newest black-owned burlesque troupe, the creative team at Parlor City Burlesque is dedicated to fostering a progressive community that prioritizes pleasure, consent and inclusivity. PCB is currently hosting monthly events in Binghamton and Ithaca.”
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $20
A Good Cause
Microtones is hosting a fundraiser rave party for local DIY nonprofit Ithaca Underground, with sets from “house-techno encyclopedia” Whoisbriantech and electronic music DJ Highstone, who plays “Trance, Acid, Progressive House, and Drum & Bass, particularly music from the late 90s / early 00s, throwing back to his roots in the NEPA rave scene of the late 90s.”
“We are throwing this party to support IU in its mission to create all-ages spaces where challenging art and music can thrive. Thanks for rocking with us.”
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Forest City Lodge 180, 536 W. Green St., Ithaca
Cost: $10 in advance, available online here; $20 at the door
Dynamic Duo
The Cornell Department of Music will host The Sierra Duo (John Haines-Eitzen, cello, and Matthew Bengtson, piano), which will perform Roberto Sierra’s new work “Cuatro Piezas para cello y piano,” along with George Walker’s “Sonata for Cello and Piano” and Beethoven’s “Sonata in A Major, Op. 69.”
The new Sierra piece was a surprise gift to the duo about six months into the COVID-19 pandemic. Haines-Eitzen and Bengtson previously recorded Sierra’s work on Albany Records, and Bengtson also recently recorded an album of Sierra’s solo piano music. The duo notes that “Roberto has a remarkable sense of what an instrument can do,” and “the demanding technique really stretches what’s possible on our instruments.” Bengtson is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, and Haines-Eitzen is Senior Lecturer and Artist-in-Residence at Cornell.
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where Barnes Hall, Cornell
Cost: free and open to all
Goin’ Goth
DJ Rob Haze and DJ Law host “Goth Night: Dark Alternative Monthly,” featuring “darkwave/postpunk/ebm/goth/industrial/electro/synth/bass.”
When: 9 p.m. Sunday
Where: Modern Alchemy Game Bar
Cost: $5 cover; 21+
X Marks the Spot Cornell’s new music group Ensemble X returns with a program titled “Throughlines,” which features recent works by British/Jamaican composer Matthew Kaner and Korean-American composer Juri Seo, as well as works from the latter half of the 20th century by American composer Milton Babbitt and Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. “This concert celebrates expressions of lyricism and instrumental vocality. Works on this program also pay homage to composers of the past, including Orlando Gibbons, Beethoven, Schoenberg, and Debussy.
“This program brings Cornell’s performing artists Mike Truesdell, Michael Poll, Thomas Feng, and Jack Yarbrough, together with guest artists Karl Henry, Emi Ferguson, Diego Vásquez, Asher Wulfman, Liviu Dubrota, Keegan Donlon, and Angelique Montes.”
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31
Where: Barnes Hall
Cost: free and open to all
Natural Sounds
Cornell’s Midday Music for Organ series kicks off the semester in Sage Chapel. Annette Richards will perform “Nature’s music,” a program on the 1746 Italian organ featuring storms, birds, forests, and song, with music by Frescobaldi, Sweelinck, Poglietti, and Phillips.
When: 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1
Where: Sage Chapel
Cost: free and open to all
Going Galactic
The Galactic Escort Service returns, this time on every other Wednesday at Deep Dive, promising “another epic journey through sonic cosmology.” Core players include Tenzin Chopak, Emmett Scott, Michael Schuler, and Ashley Ickes, who create improvisations on a variety of instruments.
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $5
More Shows
Sacred Root Kava Bar hosts Piano Happy Hour, featuring the improv piano sounds of Em Ludek performing as Five Dollars More Fancy, at 5-7 p.m. Tuesday
Joe Hayward, Richie Stearns, Liz Pickard, and Sam Schmidt will play old-time tunes at Bike Bar Ithaca at 6-9 p.m. Tuesday
The Center for the Arts in Homer hosts Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesday
SingTrece hosts her monthly “Open Mic for Singers, Rappers, Songwriters, Poets and Spoken Word” at the Downstairs at 7 p.m. Tuesday
Jesse Collins hosts the Sandwich Sessions at Brookton’s Market at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Levi and the Wranglers are at Salt Point Brewing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Sacred Root Kava Bar and Tea Lounge hosts its weekly Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Wednesday
The Salsa Night Dance Party returns to the Range at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Richie Stearns and Friends play old-time tunes at South Hill Cider at 5-8 p.m. Thursday
The Brewhouse Blues Jam returns to Hopshire Farm and Brewery at 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Pat Nadge and Roger Decker are at Cortland Beer Company at 6 p.m. Thursday
Scott B. Adams hosts Open Mic Night at the Scale House Brewery at 6-9 p.m. Thursdays
Benny T brings his Open Mic Posse to The Ridge in Lansing at 6:30 p.m. Thursday
WonderMonday plays a solo show at the Downstairs at 7 p.m. Thursday
Freight’s JP Payton and Liam Lawson play at Brookton’s Market at 5:30 p.m. Friday
Cisco and Present Company are at Hopshire Farm and Brewery at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Clint Bush plays Trax Pub and Grille at Greek Peak at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Sandra Esparza is at Homer Hops at 6-8 p.m. Friday
The Causeway Giants play at Heuga’s Alpine in Tully at 6-9 p.m. Friday
Just Joe hosts Vinyl Night at ONCO Fermentations in Tully at 6-9 p.m. Friday
Joey Arcuri, Owen Erickson, Tristen Jarvis and Zack Knewstub play jazz at Seven Of at 7-10 p.m. Friday
Marc & Monica are at the Hairy Tony's at 7-9 p.m. Friday
Adam Parker is at the Dryden Hotel at 7-9 p.m. Friday
The Homebrewed Comedy Show is at McGraw Box Brewing Company at 7-9 p.m. Friday
Evan Dillon is at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards at 1-4 p.m. Saturday
Pat Young is at Treleaven Winery at 1-4 p.m. Saturday
Kilrush brings Celtic folk-rock tunes to Grist Iron Brewing for “St. Practice Day” at 2-6 p.m. Saturday
Da Prof 'N Starr are at Chateau Dusseau in Locke at 3-6 p.m. Saturday
Mark Nanni is at the Puffin Dirt at Labrador Mountain in Truxton at 4-7 p.m. Saturday
Terrapin Station is at Two Goats Brewing at 5-8 p.m. Saturday
The Rollin’ Rust is at Summerhill Brewing at 5-8 p.m. Saturday
TNT Dynamite DJ is at McGraw Box Brewing Company at 5-8 p.m. Saturday
Pat Young is at Homer Hops at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
Rachel Beverly returns to Brewer’s Kitchen and Taproom at 6-8 p.m. Saturday
Diana Leigh is at WMC North in Elmira at 7-10 p.m. Saturday
Joey Arcuri, Owen Erickson, Tristen Jarvis and Zack Knewstub play jazz at Seven Of at 7-10 p.m. Saturday
Grateful Upstate Toodeloo is at John Barleycorn Tavern in Owego at 9:30 p.m. Saturday
Proper Philth and DJ Tuggle join forces at the Upstairs at 10 p.m. Saturday
Cielle is at Six Mile Creek Vineyard at 1-3 p.m. Sunday
DeWayne Perry hosts the monthly Jazz Jam at the Downstairs at 5-8 p.m. Sunday
The Center for the Arts in Homer hosts Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Tuesday
Tenzin Chopak and Emmett Scott are at the Downstairs at 7 p.m. Tuesday
The Westy hosts its new Open Mic Night at 9 p.m. Tuesdays
Jesse Collins hosts the Sandwich Sessions at Brookton’s Market at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Sacred Root Kava Bar and Tea Lounge hosts its weekly Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Wednesday
The Salsa Night Dance Party returns to the Range at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Regional Shows
Jan. 26, The Arcadian Wild and Oshima Brothers, The 9th Ward at Babeville, Buffalo
Jan. 27, Juice, Lark Hall, Albany
Jan. 27, Donna the Buffalo, Ransom Steele Tavern, Apalachin
Jan. 27, Chris Young, Turning Stone Event Center, Verona
Jan. 27, Greg Townson, Abilene Bar and Lounge, Rochester
Jan. 27, Dead to the Core, 443 Social Club, Syracuse (SOLD OUT!)
Jan. 28, Sim Redmond Band, Geneseo Theatre, Geneseo
Jan. 28, Donna the Buffalo, Water Street Music Hall, Rochester
Jan. 28, Colorblind James Experience, Abilene Bar & Lounge, Rochester
Jan. 28, Marisa Mulder, 443 Social Club, Syracuse (SOLD OUT!)
Jan. 28, The Brothers Blue, Oswego Music Hall, Oswego
Jan. 29, Jon Spencer & The HITmakers, The Bug Jar, Rochester
Jan. 29, Kate Taylor, 443 Social Club, Syracuse
Jan. 29, Dan Bern, The 9th Ward at Babeville, Buffalo
Jan. 30, Gregory Alan Isakov, The 9th Ward at Babeville, Buffalo
Jan. 31, Patty Griffin and Raul Malo, The 9th Ward at Babeville, Buffalo
Jan. 31, Jon Spencer & The HITmakers, Lark Hall, Albany
Jan. 31, Spafford, Buffalo Iron Works, Buffalo
Feb. 1, Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime, Westcott Theater, Syracuse
Feb. 1, Papa Roach, Main Street Armory, Rochester
Feb. 2, Shemekia Copeland, Center for the Arts, Homer
See an updated list of dozens of shows across upstate New York happening in January and beyond!
