Richie Havens at The Turning Point — August 18, 1996
Richie Havens — who opened Woodstock in 1969 — played The Turning Point in Piermont. The man who opened the most famous music festival in history, performing in a tiny Hudson Valley cafe. From Yasgur’s Farm to a 100-seat room. Full circle. Thirty years ago.
Ray Charles at Clemens Center — August 17, 2001
Ray Charles brought a lifetime of American music to the historic Clemens Center in Elmira. Brother Ray at the piano, rolling through ‘Georgia on My Mind’ and ‘What’d I Say’ — a genuine late-career treasure, coming less than three years before his death. The Southern Tier got one of the last true giants. Twenty-five years […]
Phish at Plattsburgh Air Force Base — August 16, 1996
Phish threw The Clifford Ball on a decommissioned Plattsburgh Air Force Base — their first-ever festival and roughly 70,000 fans camped on the tarmac. Three sets a day, F-16 flyovers, a chamber orchestra playing Debussy, and a legendary late-night jam from a flatbed truck circling the campground. Thirty years ago.
Willie Nelson at Olympic Center — August 15, 1986
Willie Nelson played the Olympic Center in Lake Placid — the same arena where the Miracle on Ice happened in 1980. ‘On the Road Again,’ ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,’ ‘Whiskey River’ in the Olympic arena. Country’s outlaw king in the Adirondacks. Forty years ago.
Jethro Tull at Mid-Hudson Civic Center — August 14, 2001
Jethro Tull brought the flute-driven prog-folk to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie. Ian Anderson on one leg, flute in hand, ripping through ‘Aqualung’ and ‘Locomotive Breath’ — the arena that usually hosts hockey turned into a British rock cathedral for a night. Twenty-five years ago.
Snoop Dogg at Lakeview Amphitheater — August 13, 2016
Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa played the Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse. The High Road Tour brought West Coast hip-hop royalty to Central New York. ‘Gin and Juice,’ ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ — Snoop is a cultural institution. Ten years ago.
B.B. King at Chautauqua Amphitheater — August 12, 1976
The King of the Blues brought Lucille to the historic Chautauqua Amphitheater — B.B. King bending notes beneath the storied Institution’s open-air roof, a bluesman’s road show in one of Western New York’s most hallowed venues. ‘The Thrill Is Gone’ at Chautauqua. Fifty years ago.
Radiohead at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center — August 12, 1996
Radiohead opened for Alanis Morissette at Darien Lake — the summer of Jagged Little Pill, when Alanis was the biggest star on earth and Radiohead were still touring The Bends. A year before OK Computer made them legends, Thom Yorke’s band was the warm-up act. Thirty years ago.
The White Stripes at Mohawk Place — August 11, 2001
The White Stripes played Mohawk Place in Buffalo — a tiny club show before Jack and Meg White became one of the biggest rock bands of the 2000s. White Blood Cells had just come out, and ‘Hotel Yorba’ was getting indie radio play. The fans at Mohawk Place were seeing a band about to explode.
Glen Campbell at Franklin County Fairgrounds — August 10, 2001
The Rhinestone Cowboy himself, Glen Campbell, played the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Malone — ‘Wichita Lineman,’ ‘Gentle on My Mind,’ ‘Galveston,’ and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ ringing out over a North Country county fair. A crossover legend and master guitarist under the summer sky. Twenty-five years ago.