Alan Jackson at Watertown Fairgrounds Arena — July 16, 2010
One of the last great neotraditionalists, Alan Jackson brought his honky-tonk to the Watertown Fairgrounds Arena in 2010 — a rare major-name country stop in the North Country. By then the Georgia native had stacked up a generation of hits built on fiddle, steel, and a plainspoken Southern drawl: “Chattahoochee,” “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” “Remember […]
Chuck Berry at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre — July 15, 1956
Chuck Berry played Shea’s Buffalo Theatre as part of the “Top Record Stars of 1956” package tour — the man who invented rock and roll guitar, on a bill of the era’s biggest names. “Maybellene” had broken him just a year earlier, with “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Johnny B. Goode” close behind. Buffalo’s ornate movie […]
Kenny Rogers at Clemens Center — July 14, 1996
Thirty years ago, Kenny Rogers brought his unmistakable rasp and a catalog of crossover smashes to the Clemens Center, Elmira’s beautifully restored vaudeville-era theater. By 1996 Rogers was one of the most successful entertainers in the world — “The Gambler,” “Lucille,” “Lady,” and the Dolly Parton duet “Islands in the Stream” had made him a […]
Bob Dylan & Tom Petty at Saratoga Performing Arts Center — July 13, 1986
Bob Dylan with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played SPAC — the same tour that hit Rich Stadium on the 4th of July with the Dead. Dylan and Petty together was a masterclass in American songwriting. Forty years ago.
Fleetwood Mac at Onondaga War Memorial — July 13, 1976
Fleetwood Mac played the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse. The Buckingham/Nicks lineup was still a year away from Rumours, but their self-titled 1975 album was already a hit. ‘Rhiannon,’ ‘Over My Head,’ ‘Say You Love Me’ — a band about to become one of the biggest in the world.
Metallica, Soundgarden, Wu-Tang Clan & Ramones at Lollapalooza — July 13, 1996
Lollapalooza 1996 hit Syracuse with a lineup for the ages: Metallica, Soundgarden, Wu-Tang Clan, and the Ramones — plus others. Metal, grunge, hip-hop, and punk on one bill. The most genre-diverse festival lineup imaginable, in Central New York. Thirty years ago.
Lynyrd Skynyrd at Mid-Hudson Civic Center — July 12, 1977
In the summer of 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd was the biggest Southern rock band in America and at the peak of its powers — Ronnie Van Zant out front, the three-guitar army behind him, “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird” already anthems. When they played the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie that July, no one could […]
Paul Simon & Brian Wilson at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center — July 11, 2001
Paul Simon and Brian Wilson shared a bill at Darien Lake — two of the greatest songwriters in American music history on one stage. Simon’s poetic storytelling meets Wilson’s harmonic genius. ‘Graceland’ meets ‘God Only Knows.’ An extraordinary pairing in Western New York.
Peter Frampton at Rich Stadium — July 10, 1976
Peter Frampton played Rich Stadium in Orchard Park — the year Frampton Comes Alive! was the best-selling album in America. The talk box, ‘Show Me the Way,’ ‘Baby, I Love Your Way’ — Frampton was the biggest rock star in the world in the summer of ’76, and Rich Stadium got the full arena experience.
Billy Joel at Niagara Falls Convention Center — July 9, 1976
Billy Joel played the Niagara Falls Convention Center in 1976 — the year Turnstiles came out and ‘New York State of Mind’ announced him as a serious songwriter. Joel was still building toward The Stranger breakthrough, playing mid-size venues across Upstate New York.