Ethentric launched his Bass Invasion series at Empire Underground this past August with a four-act bill — dubstep, riddim, tearout, melodic bass — and proved that downtown Albany can hold a real bass music night without anyone driving to New York City to find one. The second chapter, subtitled Emergence, lands on Friday, Nov. 20. Round two is where you find out if a local series actually has legs, and the fact that it made it back to the same room is already a data point.
About the Show
Bass Invasion is organized by Ethentric, the production and performance alias of Ethan Norris, an 18-year-old Upstate New York producer who has been building tracks in FL Studio since he was 12. His reference points run the full width of bass music — melodic and color bass (Ace Aura, Chime) on one end, and heavier dubstep and tearout (RZRKT, Virtual Riot) on the other, with Ray Volpe, Tokyo Machine, and Pixel Terror filling out the middle. That range is not genre-hedging; it’s what the music sounds like when someone has been absorbed in the ecosystem for six years and developed actual taste rather than just a lane. His catalog includes the singles “Reception” (February 2023), “Eclipse,” “Come On Tonight” (April 2025), and “Quasar,” a collaboration with Limitless. He has announced a debut EP titled Ascension, described as centering on heavy and melodic riddim. The lineup for the Emergence installment had not been confirmed at publication time; the inaugural Bass Invasion bill featured Ethentric alongside Spike Right, That Ninja Guy (TNG), and Bucket BROC.
Venue & Logistics
Empire Underground is the basement space beneath Empire Live at 93 N Pearl St. in Albany, with low ceilings, close quarters, and a sound system described as “punchy and present without being overwhelming.” It opened as part of what was billed as Albany’s first downtown premier club complex in 30 years and has built a calendar spanning hip-hop, metal, electronic, and comedy. For a night built around bass frequencies in a room that can actually translate them, the fit is apparent. The Capital Region doesn’t have a deep bench of dedicated bass music nights; Bass Invasion ran once and came back, which is how a scene actually starts.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Tickets went on sale Sept. 3. The show is Friday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Buy tickets