It’s another busy week of music on the Ithaca scene, with the return of the Dark Star Orchestra, Lady Lamb, the Djangoners and much more in the coming days!
Night of the Dead
The Dark Star Orchestra returns to Ithaca. Over its 22 years, the band has built an ardent following for its spot-on re-creation of classic Grateful Dead setlists, including playing the famed 1977 Barton Hall show at the State in 2007.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: State Theatre
Cost: $32-$37
DSO Warm Up
Eric the Red will play a Dark Star Orchestra pre-show featuring Dead-related and other inspired tunes from his catalog.
When: 4:30 p.m.
Where: Bike Bar Ithaca
Cost: free
Gonna Live Forever
The Immortal Jellyfish return with the mix of funky grooves, tasty vocals, smoking guitar and blazing sax riffs.
When: 6-9 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Maxie’s Supper Club
Cost: free
Hot Jazz
Swing Time Tuesday will feature the Djangoners – Bobby Henrie, Brian Williams, Eric Aceto and Harry Aceto – who take their inspiration from Django Reinhardt and his famous Hot Club of France jazz band from late-1930s Paris and London. The night begins with dance lessons by Iska Ziver at 6:30 p.m., followed by the band at 7:30 p.m.
When: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Range
Cost: $7, $5 for students
Beethoven on Stage
Violinist Isabelle Faust will give a concert of Beethoven sonatas at Ithaca College as part of the Louis K. Thaler Concert Violinist Series. Faust will be accompanied by pianist Alexander Melnikov for the program, which will include Violin Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 30, No. 1; Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, No. 2; andViolin Sonata No. 8 in G major, Op. 30, No. 3. Read more here.
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Hockett Family Recital Hall in the Whalen Center for Music, Ithaca College
Cost: Free
Towns Tour
Travis Knapp continues his Southern Cayuga Lake Watershed Tour, a nine-day tour of all the Tompkins County towns, with three more shows this week:
• 7 p.m. Tuesday, Argos Warehouse, Ithaca
•7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Yoga Farm, Lansing
• 7 p.m. Thursday, Lakshmi Living Center, Ulysses
Cost: $20 suggested donation at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds)
Blues Duel
The “T’N’T Tour,” a double bill featuring blues guitarists Tinsley Ellis and Tommy Castro, comes to Central New York. The Alligator Records artists are both known for their high-energy shows, so expect a lot of fiery fretboard work throughout the evening.
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Center for the Arts, Homer
Cost: $30-$32
Celtic Sounds
Members of Traonach host this weekly Irish jam session, which features traditional tunes and plenty of special guests.
When: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Argos Inn
Cost: free; donations welcome
Shakin’ All Over
Indie-rock favorite Lady Lamb returns to Ithaca; Brooklyn-based songwriter Aly Spaltro released her latest album, “Even In The Tremor,” in the spring to excellent reviews. She and her new band have been touring with New Pornographers, but are headlining this show, her first in Ithaca since 2015. T?TH, the solo project of Rubblebucket’s Alex Toth, will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $16
Three of a Kind
Jazz trio Argos Grove – Ithaca College faculty members Nicholas Walker (bass), Greg Evans (drums), and Andrew Carroll (piano) – continue the celebrated Wednesday happy hour community music tradition initiated by i3° at Bar Argos. The trio’s repertoire ranges from Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder to the Beatles, Disney, swing, funk and bossa nova.
When: 5-7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Argos Inn
Cost: free; donations welcome
The Sound of Cornell
Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett of The World According to Sound will be performing a live audio show that represents Cornell University entirely through sound. The two have spent all semester recording sounds on and around campus, digging through archives, and listening to all the research at Cornell connected to the auditory world. And now they’re going to share everything they’ve discovered and created with you in an hour-long, surround sound, live audio show. They will set up a ring of powerful speakers, pass out eye masks, shut off the lights, and surround you with sound. They will transport you into the gears of a 19th-century Reuleaux machine, through a particle accelerator, alongside the skates of a hockey player and into the stomach of a cow. It will be the Cornell you know in a way you’ve never heard it before.
When: at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday
Where: Flex Theater, Cornell’s Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts
Cost: The performances are free and open to the public, but be sure to save your seat by securing a free ticket at Eventbrite.
Soul at the Speed of Light
The Motet brings its “Speed of Light” tour to Ithaca. The Denver-based funk and soul ensemble, which includes former John Brown’s Body saxophonist Drew Sayers, is touring to promote its latest album, “Death Or Devotion.” Syracuse hiphop favorites Sophistafunk will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $20 in advance, more at the door
Good Vibrations
The Crucials continue their weekly Reggae Night residency in downtown Ithaca, with some of Ithaca’s top musicians joining forces for an evening of classic and obscure reggae and dub classics. DJ Ziggy will start off the night by spinning on the decks.
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Range
Cost: $5
Storytime Tunes
Now in its sixth season, the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s Family Concert and Storytime series combines live music, narrated children's books, and a chance for children to try out instruments with the help of CCO musicians.
When: 4 p.m. Thursday
Where: Tompkins County Public Library
Cost: free
Roots and Blues
The Corning Museum of Glass’s 2300° series will host The Big Damn Blues Revolution Tour, which brings together three popular roots musicians: The Reverend Peyton, Dom Flemons, and J.D. Wilkes. All three have played here several times with their bands (The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and the Legendary Shack Shakers, respectively), but this is the first time all will be on the same bill.
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Corning Museum of Glass
Cost: free
Fiddle Fun
The Finger Lakes Fiddle Orchestra will present its fall concert. The program will feature a variety of traditional fiddle tunes performed by regional fiddlers, plus other musicians on mandolin, guitar, cello, and flute.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Community School of Music and Arts
Cost: free
Masters of Puppets
Indonesian guest artists Gusti Sudarta (Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Denpasar) and Darsono Hadiraharjo (SEAP Visiting Critic) will perform excerpts of traditional wayang (shadow puppetry), providing audiences a rare opportunity to experience both Balinese and Javanese forms of this vital art form. They will be accompanied, respectively, by guest musicians Gusti Nyoman Darta and Bethany Collier, and the Cornell Gamelan Ensemble.
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell
Cost: free
Family Ties
Lawrence returns to Ithaca. The brother-sister duo of Gracie and Clyde Lawrence made their local debut at the Finger Lakes Thaw in March, and played an impressive set that mixed pop, rock and soul influences. Lohai, the duo of Alita Moses and Devon Yesberger, will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $18 in advance
Practice Makes Perfect
The monthly Practice at Pete’s residency returns, with host band Secret Service Men joined by local garage-rock trio Alter Koker and Cobra Cadaver, featuring new singer Christine S. on a bunch of tunes.
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Pete’s Cayuga Bar
Cost: free; donations welcome
Feeling the Funk
Funk Night continues its biweekly schedule, with resident band Dean’s Kids – Dan Keller, Owen Erickson, Archer Cowen and Hayden Frank – joined by special guest Danielle Ponder, the powerhouse vocalist who leads Rochester’s soul band Tomorrow People. She’ll play a few of her originals, including her new single, “Holding Me Down,” which comes out Friday.
When: 10 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Range
Cost: $5
Sneak Peek
Local hiphop artist Mr. McBean will host a listening party for his forthcoming EP, “Set.” He’ll be joined by a special guest Matthew Cornwell for the event.
When: 10 p.m. Thursday
Where: Casita del Polaris
Cost: Admission is $7 in advance, $10 at the door.