Celebrating the musicians, builders, and visionaries who made Upstate New York a force in American music.
82 Inductees Across 7 Regions
From Buffalo’s funk and punk scenes to Rochester’s Eastman School pipeline, from the Woodstock creative commune to Albany’s underground, Upstate New York has shaped American music in profound and often underrecognized ways.
No Upstate city rivals Buffalo for sheer musical breadth. Rick James defined funk from the East Side. Ani DiFranco built the DIY independent label movement from her Buffalo apartment. The Goo Goo Dolls gave the world "Iris." Cannibal Corpse became the best-selling death metal band of all time. Grover Washington Jr. invented smooth jazz. Griselda put Buffalo back on the national hip-hop map. And Harold Arlen — the man who wrote "Over the Rainbow" — was a Buffalo native.
The Eastman School of Music is the single most important institutional pipeline for Upstate NY music talent. It trained Chuck Mangione, Steve Gadd, Ron Carter, Mick Guzauski, Mitch Miller, Angelo Badalamenti, and Maria Schneider. Lou Gramm of Foreigner grew up in Rochester. Cab Calloway was born there. Son House was rediscovered there in 1964.
When Albert Grossman moved to Woodstock in the 1960s and built Bearsville Studios, he created an ecosystem that attracted Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Todd Rundgren, and dozens of jazz legends. Levon Helm hosted the Midnight Ramble concerts from his barn. Alan Gerry saved the Woodstock festival site by building Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
Jimmy Van Heusen — who wrote "Come Fly with Me" for Sinatra — was born in Syracuse. Ronnie James Dio grew up in nearby Cortland. Joey Belladonna of Anthrax hails from Oswego. Earth Crisis pioneered metalcore. Joe Bonamassa, the world's top-grossing blues artist, opened for B.B. King at age 12 in Utica.
Phantogram, State Champs, Drug Church, Maria Brink of In This Moment, MacArthur Fellow Vijay Iyer, and Voice winner Sawyer Fredericks all have roots here. Greg Haymes built the scene by writing about it for 30 years. Greg Bell booked 3,000 shows. Brooks Brown built WEQX into the last independent alternative radio station in America.
10,000 Maniacs formed in Jamestown. X Ambassadors came out of Ithaca. Orleans gave us "Still the One." Gym Class Heroes launched from Geneva. And the GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg has been bringing communities together through music since 1991.
20 inductees matching your filters
Sullivan County
Alan Gerry purchased the original Woodstock festival site in 1996 and invested $100-150 million to build Bethel Woods Center for the Arts — a world-class...
View Profile →Woodstock
Raised in Woodstock as the daughter of Levon Helm, Amy Helm carries on the rich folk and Americana tradition of the region. Her music draws...
View Profile →Buffalo
Artie Kwitchoff managed the Goo Goo Dolls to multi-platinum success and co-restored Buffalo's historic Town Ballroom in 2005. A central figure in Buffalo's modern live...
View Profile →Albany
Cult-favorite Albany new wave band Blotto was one of the first acts to get major MTV airplay with their novelty hit "I Wanna Be a...
View Profile →Capital Region
Brooks Brown founded WEQX radio in 1984 and built it into the last fully independent alternative radio station in the United States. Rolling Stone named...
View Profile →Woodstock
Multi-instrumentalist Cindy Cashdollar grew up on a dairy farm in Woodstock and became one of the most sought-after slide guitar and Dobro players in American...
View Profile →Capital Region (Albany/Troy/Saratoga)
Greg Bell booked approximately 3,000 shows over 33 years as the Capital Region's preeminent independent concert promoter. He promoted more moe. shows than any other...
View Profile →Albany
The most important music journalist and advocate the Capital Region has ever produced. Greg Haymes wrote for the Times Union for 25 years, co-founded Nippertown.com,...
View Profile →Rochester
Howard Hanson built the Eastman School of Music into one of the world's premier music institutions during his 40-year tenure as director. He premiered over...
View Profile →Trumansburg / Ithaca
Jeb Puryear founded the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in 1991 — one of the longest-running and most beloved community music festivals in New York State....
View Profile →New Paltz / Poughkeepsie area
The most important studio designer in music history has deep Upstate NY ties. John Storyk designed Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios at age 22 and...
View Profile →Rochester
Modern indie rock/synth-pop band formed in Rochester in 2010. Joywave's infectious hooks and electronic-tinged sound have earned them a growing national following and major festival...
View Profile →Schenectady
Multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi blends indie pop with orchestral arrangements from his Schenectady base. His looping violin performances and genre-defying albums have earned him a devoted...
View Profile →Buffalo
Leonard Silver founded Amherst Records in Buffalo in 1957 and built it into a nationally distributed label releasing jazz, big band, country, and pop. Artists...
View Profile →Bethel, Sullivan County
Max Yasgur rented his 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, Sullivan County for the 1969 Woodstock Festival after other sites fell through. Without Yasgur saying yes,...
View Profile →Port Chester / Woodstock
Peter Shapiro owns the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and manages the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. A bridge between NYC and Upstate, his venues directly...
View Profile →Syracuse
Formed at Syracuse University in 2006, Ra Ra Riot brought chamber-pop innovation to the indie rock world. Their use of strings and orchestral arrangements set...
View Profile →Buffalo
Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac reinvested his success directly into Buffalo's music infrastructure — founding Good Charamel Records and opening GCR Audio, a world-class...
View Profile →Troy
Troy-born Sean Rowe possesses one of the most distinctive deep baritone voices in American folk music. His critically acclaimed songwriting and powerful live performances make...
View Profile →Saratoga Springs
Saratoga Springs rock band The Figgs became famous as the backing band for legendary English rocker Graham Parker. Their own power pop recordings earned them...
View Profile →The Upstate Music Hall of Fame is a living project. If you know of a musician, producer, promoter, or music industry figure from Upstate New York who should be recognized here, we want to hear from you.