It’s a busy week in Ithaca as City and Colour returns to the State Theatre, Mayfest returns to Cornell, and Rootstock returns to The Commons. Plus, lots of local and regional favorites are playing around the area in the coming days
Ready for Release
Ithaca singer-songwriter Rena Guinn plays a release show to mark her first full-length album, “Is It Now?” She’ll open the night with a solo set and then will be joined by some stellar players for an acoustic set. For the second half of the show, she’ll debut her new electric band, Rena Guinn & the Gentlemen, which also includes Neal Massa, Doug Henrie, Liam Lawson, and Sam Fishman. Other guests will include Joe Lule on mandolin, Lou DiPietro on guitar and Alejandra Diemecke on violin.
Where: South Hill Cider
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18
Read an interview with Rena Guinn here!
Sim at Sunset
South Hill Cider’s Golden Hour Music Series hosts the return of the Sim Redmond Band, the long-running local folk-rock-pop-Afro-Caribbean band that has become a summer staple. “They have toured extensively in the U.S.
and Japan, bringing together sounds and people from all walks of life. Their uplifting, optimistic music is infectious. It will brighten your day, open your heart, and strengthen your resolve to make a positive impact on this crazy world we share.”
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday
Where: South Hill Cider
Cost: $15 in advance, available online here; $20 at the door
Mayfest returns to Cornell
Mayfest – Cornell’s International Chamber Music Festival – returns this week for five world-class concerts featuring works from Mozart to Messiaen and Arensky to Weill. Artistic directors Xak Bjerken and Miri Yampolsky will welcome longtime friends and new collaborators, including five-time Grammy-winning soprano Dawn Upshaw; violinist Roi Shiloah, who has performed as soloist with the Berlin Radio Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, among others; cellist Ariel Tushinsky, a founder (along with Shiloah) of the acclaimed Jerusalem Trio; cellist Steven Doane, professor at Eastman and at the Royal Academy of Music; violinist Maria Ioudenitch, recipient of numerous first prizes including the Ysaÿe International Music Competition; violist Nikki Divall, a former member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the principal viola of Apollo’s Fire; violist Guy Ben-Ziony, assistant principal of the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester, Berlin; clarinetist Moran Katz, winner of the 2013 Ima Hogg Competition; and incoming Cornell faculty member baritone Jean Bernard Cerin, who has already wowed Ithaca audiences. Also making an appearance is renowned fortepianist Malcolm Bilson, plus bassist Misha Bjerken and violinist Isabella Gorman represent the next generation of musicians.
When: Friday-Monday; See the complete schedule here.
Where: Cornell University
Cost: are $25 for adults, $5 for students, and free for listeners below the age of 18 with an accompanying adult. Buy tickets and get more details at mayfest-cornell.org/
Getting Eggy wit’ it
“Song by timeless song, Eggy reaches out a hand, inviting you along as a great story unfolds. Eggy’s music traces the full spectrum of emotions evoked by a life well-lived alongside friends well-loved.”
Opening the show is NYC-based dance-funk quintet Stolen Gin, who are known for their “high-energy live act and avid improvisation – we never play songs the same way twice.”
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $16 in advance, available online here; $19 day of show
Join Together
The Downstairs will host “Skelaques,” the joint project of musical group Delaques and visual artist duo Skeleton Hands are joining forces for three Fridays in May:
May 12, May 19 and May 26.
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: $5-$10 sliding scale
Lethal Lounge
The Living Room comes down from Rochester to showcase their “murder lounge vibes” that recall Nick Cave and Mark Lanegan. Check their self-titled EP here! Sharing the bill are local cowpunk favorites, the 86ers.
When: 9:30 p.m. Friday
Where: The Range
Cost: small cover
Just Breathe
“Music Over Breathing” will showcase some stellar local hiphop talent, including Anthony Kannon (Ithaca), AKA Burnzyy (Massachusetts), 607-SOS (a new regional foursome featuring eYeBee, KayTee, DeO, and J. Corleone), and Andrew Brown (Massachusetts).
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: The Upstairs
Cost: $10
Celebrate Youth
An annual celebration of the next generation of performers in the Finger Lakes region, Rootstock will showcase live music, dance, and youth vendors.
When: 12-6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Bernie Milton Pavilion, The Commons
Cost: free
Read about last year’s Rootstock here!
Matinee Moves
Practice at Presents returns with another Punk Rock Happy Hour, this one featuring local favorites Secret Service Men and Teencat along with Philadelphia’s Assemble. Open to ages 16 and up.
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $5
Read a 2022 interview with Secret Service Men here!
Residing Underground
Local prog trio Strong Maybe returns for its second residency in downtown Ithaca, performing its “mostly improvised psychotic cartoon animal music” on Saturdays through May. The trio of Matt Saccuccimorano, Chad Lieberman, and Mark Wienand Karlsen will be joined by special guests each week. “What happens can never happen again,” the band promises.
When: Saturdays in May; doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m.
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: $10
Love for Linda
CNY Songbirds will pay tribute to a pop music legend in “Dear Linda: a musical love letter to Linda Ronstadt.” “Join the CNY Songbirds as they celebrate one of music’s most talented and beloved vocalists – Linda Ronstadt – with their musical love letter! From rock to country, American standards to folk, The CNY Songbirds, backed by their incredibly talented and versatile band, will take you through decades and genres as they explore her life in music and pay homage to a singer they love and admire, who has shaped their own vocal stylings.”
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: $30, available online here
In Session
Traonach and Friends continue their Live Irish Music Session on alternating Sundays at the Watershed, carrying on in the fine tradition of their much-beloved sessions at the Argos, The Chapter House, and Micawbers.
When: 5-8 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Watershed
Cost: free; donations welcome
Crossing Borders
Beacon on Aurora Concert Series presents legendary Canadian singer-songwriter Garnet Rogers. “Born in Hamilton, Ontario to parents of Nova Scotian descent, Garnet Rogers spent many hours in front of the old floor model radio listening to Grand Ol' Opry broadcasts and harmonizing with his brother, the late folk legend Stan Rogers. Two years later, Garnet was playing the definitive 8-year-old's version of ‘Desolation Row’ on his ukulele. He soon abandoned that instrument to teach himself the flute, violin, and guitar.”
When: 7 p.m. Sunday
Where: First Unitarian Society of Ithaca (FUSIT)
Cost: $20 suggested donation at the door (cash or check options available)
Emotional Rescue
City and Colour – aka Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green – returns to Ithaca in support of his new album “The Love Still Held Me Near,” which is “a deeply personal and cathartic offering, and the most sonically expansive in the celebrated City and Colour canon.” Green’s six studio albums have garnered three JUNOs, including two Songwriter of the Year awards, plus a Triple Platinum, two Double Platinum, a Platinum, and a Gold certification at home in Canada; he also has been awarded Platinum-certification for all four of Alexisonfire’s full-length records.
Courtney Marie Andrews, the Phoenix-born singer-songwriter, will open the show; her latest release is “Loose Future.”
When: 8 p.m. Sunday
Where: State Theatre of Ithaca
Cost: $43, available online here
Get Rhythm
“Jazz Mondays are back! Join us under the tent every Monday for cider, upgraded food menu and live jazz!” Dave Davies RhythmMakers return for Jazz Mondays with jazz, blues, originals and more on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of each month.
When: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday
Where: South Hill Cider
Cost: donations welcome
Going grein
To mix things up a bit, the ElectroZone presents A.W.E. (ambient weird experimental), a night of accessibly unusual music in one of Ithaca’s most eclectic venues the Downstairs. Doors open at seven and sounds tingle the aether at seven thirty. grein (Boston), Miles Friday (Cornell), Landscapes of Unease (Ithaca), and E (ElectroZone) have concocted a master plan to leave you in A.W.E.”
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: $10
Cello Explorer
The Downstairs will host the Ithaca debut of Helen Gillet, “a singer-songwriter and surrealist-archeologist exploring synthesized sounds, texture, and rhythm using an acoustic cello. For someone with her varied background, New Orleans, with its mix of cultures and musics, seemed like a natural place to call home. She was born in Belgium, raised in Singapore from the ages of 2 to 11, and routinely shuttled between the homelands of her Belgian father and American mother. Over the years — working in New Orleans with musicians of all stripes, from avant-garde jazz and classical to pop and funk — Gillet has developed a singular polyglot style.
“The core of her work is solo performance with live looping, layering cello parts and vocal lines. Rhythmic figures emerge with bowed or plucked ostinatos or a variety of rubbing and slapping on the body of the cello, then enhanced with melodies played or sung in her haunting alto. Her mixed musical vocabulary is commensurate with her disparate travels — French chanson of the 1940s, Belgian folk tunes sung in Walloon, a mix of rock and punk from the likes of PJ Harvey and X-Ray Spex, and her own affecting originals, like audience favorite “Julien,” sung in a mix of French and English. Gillet’s solo performance is known for its enigmatic quality as she fabricates each song with innovative use of the cello and true mastery of live looping technology.”
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: $10-$25 sliding scale
Going Galactic
The Galactic Escort Service returns every other Wednesday to Deep Dive, promising “another epic journey through sonic cosmology.” Core players include Tenzin Chopak, Emmett Scott, Michael Schuler, Josh Oxford, and Ashley Ickes, who create improvisations on a variety of instruments.
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 24
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $5
A Howling Success
Deep Dive will host the Howl Studios Takeover, a one-day festival that will feature “a stage on the front patio, the back deck, and of course the main stage in the club! We will have reggae, pop, rock, ska, blues, country, metal, math rock, and jazz and feature: Mortal Combine, Circus Owl, Dart Brothers, The Amalgamators, Garlic Band, Crime Waves, Kitestring, and The Burrito Band open jazz jam.
“It is the mission of Howl Studios to provide space for musicians, artists, and craftspeople to rehearse, create and thrive and to create an inspiring and productive art industry workplace that is a highly desirable venue for practice, production and display.
Howl Studios is a place where artists of all kinds can find affordable space to realize their creations. Howl is a hub of the art industry in the area and provides an incubator for the budding artist-entrepreneur.”
When: 5 p.m. Thursday, May 25
Where: Deep Dive
Cost: $10
Bon Ton Roulet
The Big Sky Music Studio 2023 concert series will present the Soiree Louisana Dance Party. “We are excited to have our talented friends from Louisiana coming to play music and make amazing food for our community. It will be quite the party! Amazing dance music by Cajun all-stars Blake Miller, Kevin Wimmer, Jo Vidrine, and Colin Gould. A Louisiana dinner will be served with meats smoked here at Sweet Land Farm by Jo Vidrine, sold ala carte along with a gumbo made the day of the show.”
Tickets for the show do not include food. Dinner will be $15 and can be bought the evening of the show. Dessert by Rachel Conroy for $7. Wine and Cider from Sweet Land Farm Cellars will be available; no outside alcohol allowed
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25
Where: Big Sky Music Studio, Sweet Land Farm, Trumansburg
Cost: $18 in advance, available online here; $20 at the door
Underground Practice
Practice at Presents returns to The Downstairs to present Florida’s Swamp Rats, along with local Strange Heavy and The Blackjack Brothers.
$10 cover
When: 8 p.m. Thursday, May 25
Where: The Downstairs
Cost: $10
More Shows
The Diana Leigh Quartet plays Six Mile Creek Vineyard at 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Pat and Don are at Cortland Beer Company at 6 p.m. Thursday
Atwater Vineyards hosts “Bring Your Own Vinyl Night” at 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Scott B Adams hosts Open Mic Night at the Scale House Brewery at 6-9 p.m. Thursday
Guest host Dave Merkli brings Benny T’s Open Mic Posse to the Ridge in Lansing at 6:30 pm. Thursday
The East-West Blues Band plays Deep Dive at 7 p.m. Thursday ($5)
Pete’s Porch Pickers host a “Square Dance! Pizza Party!” at 7011 Searsburg Rd, Trumansburg at 7 p.m. Thursday ($10 suggested)
Quinn Bedore is at Liquid State Brewing North in Romulus at 5-7:30 p.m. Friday
Top Shelf is at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards at 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday
StratCat Willie is at Seneca Cheese Company at 5:30-8:30 p.m. Friday
Jess Novak and Anthony Saturno are at Revelry Yards at 6-8 p.m. Friday
The Delta Mike Shaw Band is at Hopshire Farms and Brewery at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Harry Nichols is at Summerhill Brewing at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Travis Rocco is at Homer Hops at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Ryan Matter is at McGraw Box Brewing at 6-8 p.m. Friday
M3 is at BRU64 at 6-8 p.m. Friday
Janet Batch and the Four-Bangers are Stone Bend Farm at 6-9 p.m. Friday
Yetsu is at Grist Iron Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Friday
The Sweats are Two Goats Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Friday
The F.A.R. Trio is at the Scale House Brewery at 6-9 p.m. Friday
The Unknown Woodsmen and Rachel Beverly are at Rose Hall in Cortland at 7 p.m. Friday
Clint Bush is at the Dryden Hotel at 7-9 p.m. Friday
Ben Wayne is at ONCO Fermentations in Tully at 7-9 p.m. Friday
Bob Holz and A Vision Forward are at Cortland Beer Company at 8 p.m. Friday
Dane Hendrix and the Hangdog Saints are at Garrett’s Brewing at 8 p.m. Friday
Andrew Alling is at Sacred Root Kava Bar and Tea Lounge at 8 p.m. Friday
The Dirk Quinn Band (1 p.m.) and Miller & the Other Sinners (5 p.m.) play Lucky Hare Brewing Company’s 7th anniversary party on Saturday
Papa Muse is at Treleaven Winery at 2-5 p.m. Saturday
Sandra Esparza is at Chateau Dusseau at 3-6 p.m. Saturday
Scott B Adams is at Azure Hill Winery in Hammondsport at 3-6 p.m. Saturday
Unreal City is at McGraw Box Brewing at 5-8 p.m. Saturday
The Tangled Roots Trio is at ONCO Fermentations in Tully at 5-7 p.m. Saturday
Amber Martin is at Summerhill Brewing at 5-8 p.m. Saturday
Rezenen’s Duo is at Homer Hops at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
McArdell and Westers return to Heuga’s Alpine in Tully at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
NEO Project is at Grist Iron Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
The Analogue Sons are at Two Goats Brewing at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
The East-West Blues Band plays Seneca Lake Brewing Company at 6-9 p.m. Saturday
Roger Decker is at Liquid Shoes Brewing in Corning at 6:30-9 p.m. Saturday
Steve Daniels and Friends are at Cortland Beer Company at 8 p.m. Saturday
Bendher plays Ivan’s Bar and Grille in Cortland at 8 p.m. Saturday
Mosaic Foundation is at the Range at 8 p.m. Saturday
The Dave Richman Trio plays the Live Jazz Brunch series at Stonecat Café from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Tim Herron is at Heuga’s Alpine in Tully from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Prime Box is at Brookton’s Market at 1:30 p.m. Sunday
The Denali and T.R. Acoustic Duo is at Treleaven Winery at 2-5 p.m. Sunday
Jim E Leggs is at Grist Iron Brewing at 2-5 p.m. Sunday
City Limits is at Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards at 2:30-5:30 p.m. Sunday
Louiston with Colleen Countryman is at Two Goats Brewing at 4-7 p.m. Sunday
The CatBirds play jazz at the Downstairs at 7:30 p.m. Sunday ($5)
DJ Rob Haze and DJ Law host Goth Night: Dark Alternative Monthly at Modern Alchemy Game Bar at 9 p.m. Sunday
Brett Beardslee is back with the blues at Rasta Ranch Vineyards at 5-8 p.m. Mondays
Ryan Vanderhoof is at Firelight Camps at 6-8 p.m. Tuesday
Howard Rothenberg is at Brookton’s Market at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday
The Center for the Arts in Homer hosts Open Mic Night at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays
Auburn Public Theatre hosts Open Mic Night at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays
The Analogue Sons are at the Argos Warehouse at 8 p.m. Tuesday
The Westy hosts its new Open Mic Night at 9 p.m. Tuesdays
Dee Specker and Bob Walpole are at the Trumansburg Farmers Market at 4-7 p.m. Wednesday
The Pelotones play Deep Dive’s Swingers Happy Hour at 5 p.m. Wednesday ($5)
Jesse Collins and Friends host the Sandwich Sessions at Brookton’s Market at 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Joe Lule is at the Scale House Brewery at 6-8 p.m. Wednesday
StratCat Willie and the Strays are at Althea’s Finger Lakes Tavern in Montour Falls at 6-9 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
The Upstairs has resumed its weekly Open Mic Night, now at 8:30 p.m. to midnight Wednesdays
Mike Callahan and Janet Batch play South Hill Cider at 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday
The Brewhouse Blues Jam returns to Hopshire Farm and Brewery at 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Aiken Nadge are at Cortland Beer Company at 6 p.m. Thursday
Sarah Noell is at Atwater Vineyards at 6-8 p.m. Thursday
Scott B Adams hosts the last Open Mic Night of the season at the Scale House Brewery at 6-9 p.m. Thursday
Regional Shows
May 18, Crash Test Dummies and Heather Maloney, Center for the Arts, Homer
May 18, DiTrani Brothers, Abilene Bar and Lounge, Rochester
May 18, Cody Johnson, Upstate Medical Arena at OnCenter, Syracuse
May 18, Mikaela Davis, Funk N Waffles, Syracuse
May 19, Dar Williams, May Memorial Society, Syracuse
May 19, David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Del Lago Resort, Waterloo
May 19, The Acacia Strain, Lost Horizon, Syracuse
May 19-20, The Avett Brothers, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, LaFayette (SOLD OUT!)
May 20, Leah Marlene, Funk N Waffles, Syracuse
May 20, The Revelers, Harmony House, Rochester
May 20, Tyler Farr, Claudia Hoyser, Tompkins Drive, Frozen Ocean Motorsports, Auburn
May 20, Rod Abernathy, Six on the Square, Oxford
May 20, The Acacia Strain and Escuela Grind, Empire Live, Albany
May 20, Donna the Buffalo, Center for the Arts, Homer (SOLD OUT!)
May 22, My Own Will, Fathom, The Cambion, Bound and Quartered, and Gainer, Westcott Theater, Syracuse
May 23, Boz Scaggs, Kodak Center, Rochester
May 25, The Front Bottoms and AJJ, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, LaFayette
May 25, Mt. Joy, Artpark, Lewiston
May 25, Creed Fisher, The L, Horseheads
May 25, OTEP, Kegs Canalside, Jordan
May 25, Steve Morse Band, Center for the Arts, Homer
May 26, Noah Kahan, Artpark, Lewiston
May 26, Wolf Eyes, The Bug Jar, Rochester
May 26, Mt. Joy, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, LaFayette
May 26, Priscilla Block, Kegs Canalside, Jordan
May 26, Cheap Trick, Del Lago Resort, Waterloo
May 26, Zach Bryan, MVP Arena, Albany
May 26, Awake At Last, The L, Horseheads
May 26, Kofi Baker’s Cream Faith, Empire Underground, Albany
May 26, Tom Jones, Turning Stone Event Center, Verona
May 27, Dirty Blanket, Point of the Bluff Vineyards, Hammondsport
May 27, Cole Swindell and Lee Brice, Tag’s Summer Stage, Big Flats
May 27, The Skycoasters, Lincoln Hill Farms, Canandaigua
May 27, The Gaslight Anthem, Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, LaFayette
May 30, Puscifer, Kodak Center, Rochester
May 30, Declan McKenna, Westcott Theatre, Syracuse
May 31, Legendary Shack Shakers, Dex Romweber, Viva Le Vox, The Bug Jar, Rochester
