Woodstock ’99 (Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello, Creed, Megadeth, Jewel) at Griffiss Air Force Base — July 25, 1999
The most infamous festival in Central New York history reached its chaotic climax 27 years ago. Woodstock ’99 drew an estimated 200,000-plus fans to the tarmac of the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome from July 22–25, and the final Sunday became legend for all the wrong reasons — but also for an astonishing […]
Elvis Presley at Onondaga War Memorial — July 25, 1976
Elvis Presley played the first of two nights at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse. The King was touring relentlessly in his final years, and Central New York got two nights of the most iconic performer in rock history. Fifty years ago.
Eddie Murphy at Olympic Center — July 24, 1986
Eddie Murphy performed at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. The biggest comedy star on the planet in 1986 — Beverly Hills Cop, Raw, Delirious. Murphy at the Miracle on Ice arena in the Adirondacks. Forty years ago.
Fats Domino & Jerry Lee Lewis at Weedsport Raceway — July 23, 1986
Fats Domino and Jerry Lee Lewis played Weedsport Raceway. Two founding fathers of rock and roll — ‘Blueberry Hill’ meets ‘Great Balls of Fire’ — at a RACEWAY in rural Central New York. The 1950s rock revolution, alive and kicking at a stock car track. Forty years ago.
Styx at Tag’s Summer Stage — July 22, 2006
Twenty years ago, Styx rolled into Tag’s Summer Stage in Big Flats — the outdoor Southern Tier venue near Elmira that drew classic-rock crowds all summer long. Tommy Shaw and James “JY” Young led the band through the arena-rock canon they built in the ’70s and ’80s: “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Mr. […]
Doc Watson & Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival at Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival — July 21, 2001
The Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival — then held in Ancramdale, NY — featured Doc Watson, Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Nickel Creek, and more across four days. One of the premier bluegrass gatherings in the Northeast, it drew pickers and fans from across the country to the rolling hills of Columbia County. (Grey Fox would later […]
Queensrÿche at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena — July 20, 1991
At the height of their Building Empires Tour, Queensrÿche brought thinking-person’s metal to Binghamton’s Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena 35 years ago. Touring behind the platinum Empire album — and its unlikely hit ballad “Silent Lucidity” — the Seattle band famously performed their concept masterpiece Operation: Mindcrime in full, with Suicidal Tendencies and Warrior Soul […]
James Taylor at Dome Arena — July 19, 1976
James Taylor played the Dome Arena in Rochester — ‘Fire and Rain,’ ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ ‘Carolina in My Mind.’ Sweet Baby James in a summer setting. Taylor’s warm voice and gentle guitar were the perfect antidote to everything else happening in 1976.
Destiny’s Child at Pepsi Arena — July 18, 2001
Albany got the very first night. On July 18, 2001, Destiny’s Child launched MTV’s inaugural TRL Tour — and their first national headlining tour — at the Pepsi Arena, with Nelly, Eve, Dream, 3LW, and Jessica Simpson rounding out a stacked pop-and-R&B bill. Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams were riding the chart-dominating Survivor album; […]
Kansas at Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center — July 17, 1996
Thirty years ago, two titans of ’70s arena rock shared the bill at the Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua. Kansas brought the symphonic muscle of “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind”; Styx countered with “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” and “Mr. Roboto.” It was a double dose of the era’s grandest, […]