Live Music & Concerts Across Upstate New York
Your Guide to Live Music in Upstate New York
Upstate Concerts covers live music across New York State — from SPAC and Darien Lake to the 200-cap rooms your favorite band plays on a Tuesday night. We’re not a ticket seller. We’re the editorial guide that tells you what’s worth seeing, what just went on sale, and what you’ll kick yourself for missing. Independent. Comprehensive. Local.
Editor's Picks
Summer 2026: The shows we’d buy tickets for right now.
Just In
Fresh off the wire.
SatchVai Band: Joe Satriani & Steve Vai at Kleinhans Music Hall | May 12, 2026
Worship In The Pines Brings Brandon Lake, Crowder & More to SPAC | September 11, 2026
This Weekend
Your plans start here.
Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra at Universal Preservation Hall | April 18, 2026
Hail The Sun Returns to Buffalo Iron Works with Foxy Shazam, Makari & Resilia | April 19
Peak + Felix Free w/s/g The Basement Chronicles at Funk 'n Waffles | April 18, 2026
Michael Palascak (Comedy Zone) at Lake Placid Center for the Arts | April 18, 2026
The Thruway
Stories, guides, and the stuff you won’t find on Ticketmaster.
Long reads, artist profiles, and deep dives into Upstate’s music scene.

April 18, 2000 · 26 years ago
Elton John at War Memorial at OnCenter, Syracuse
Elton John brought his solo piano show to the War Memorial at OnCenter — just Elton and the keys, no band. The setlist drew from across his catalog: "Your Song," "Daniel," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and the Jets," "Can You Feel the Love Tonight." A soundboard recording of this Syracuse performance survives and circulates among collectors. The intimacy of a solo piano show in a venue like the OnCenter was a rare chance to hear one of rock's greatest showmen stripped down to the essentials.
Don't Sleep On These
Rewind
The shows that made us who we are.

David Lee Roth Played Glens Falls in 1986 — Now He’s Taking His Final Bow at Proctors
October 2, 1986. The Glens Falls Civic Center. A Thursday night in the Adirondack foothills, and David Lee Roth — six months removed from the

On This Day: The Grateful Dead Played Their Hearts Out at the Knick — March 28, 1993
On this day in 1993, the Grateful Dead played the middle night of their final three-night stand at Albany’s Knickerbocker Arena — and dropped a rare “Attics of My Life” that still gives tapers chills. Here’s the full story.

Billy Joel Played the Palace Theatre in 1996 — Now He’s Filling a Dome With Sting
In 1996, Billy Joel played the Palace Theatre in Albany for 2,807 people. On April 10, 2026, he shares a stage with Sting at the JMA Wireless Dome for 49,000. That distance is the whole story.
The Upstate Music Hall of Fame
89 musicians, producers, radio legends, and visionaries who made Upstate New York a force in American music.
Albert Grossman
Woodstock / BearsvilleAni DiFranco
BuffaloForeigner (Lou Gramm)
RochesterGoo Goo Dolls
BuffaloGriselda
BuffaloRick James
BuffaloRonnie James Dio
CortlandThe Band
Woodstock / SaugertiesNever Miss a Show
Every major announcement, this weekend’s must-see shows, and exclusive presale alerts. Every Thursday.
Know About a Show We're Missing?
We cover 100 venues across upstate New York, but good shows slip through the cracks. If you’ve got the scoop, we want to hear it.

























































































