Upstate is six days into Abalone by the time they hit Lark Hall on November 12, and that early-tour window — when new songs are still finding their live shape — is exactly when a band like this is worth catching. The Hudson Valley indie folk quartet’s fourth studio album drops November 6 on Royal Potato Family, barely a week before they land in Albany.
About the Show
Abalone marks a deliberate shift for a band that has been refining its approach across more than a decade. The 10-track record was captured live in the studio directly to tape — the band’s stated goal was something “less labored-over and less perfected, which felt like a more accurate sonic representation of our lives.” Those songs circle around themes of time and light, shaped by the changes founding members Melanie Glenn, Mary Webster, and Harry D’Agostino have navigated since forming Upstate as college students in the Hudson Valley: marriage, parenthood, relocation.
Dylan McKinstry, who joined in 2019, brings a male voice to the trio’s signature three-part harmonic arrangements — a sound that has drawn comparisons to Lake Street Dive, the Roches, and the Andrews and Boswell Sisters. The lead single, “Circumstance,” opens on an earthy electric guitar figure with nods to Big Thief and Tom Petty. Onstage, the band works with upright bass, clarinet, mandolin, melodica, and organ, and press coverage has characterized them as needing “nothing more than their voices to channel rhythm and stoke your emotions.” Upstate has played Mountain Jam and FreshGrass and supported The Felice Brothers, Marco Benevento, and Cory Henry.
This Albany stop is part of an 18-date East Coast tour running through September, October, and November, with dates in New York, Boston, and Washington DC.
Venue & Logistics
Lark Hall at 351 Hudson Avenue is one of the better rooms in the Capital Region for this kind of show — a 300-capacity standing venue built in 1916, with the architectural weight of a building that has been through a few lives. For a band whose whole approach is built around vocal intimacy and acoustic detail, the scale fits. Doors open at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m. Free parking is available at the venue. Attendees under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Tickets
Tickets are $24–$30. Buy tickets