Alexis P. Suter and Ministers of Sound AND the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir
For Alexis P. Suter and Ministers of Sound (AMOS) at Olive Ridley’s, in Plattsburgh, New York, the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir was charged-up to warm the room. Instead, they electrified it. Like a deck of cards, expertly shuffled, all thirty singers fell into position behind three microphones. They stayed focused on the expert lead and boundless energy of Choir Director Andrea Ogle. Opening a-cappella with “The Storm is Passing Over”, their final hallelujah was particularly heartwarming in these troubled times.
Read More
John Primer and the Real Deal Blues Band at BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake
What registers immediately is the injection, you know, that infusion. The boost, the balm, the grit and bounce. There’s the groove, the lilt and the beat. The band opens you up and rocks you with its sound…
Read More
"Playing with Passion" Eric Gales and the Paul DesLauriers Band
The heated-up audience was primed to groove to Eric Gales, regarded by some as the “next Jimi Hendrix” and highly praised by Joe Bonamassa, and by Carlos Santana with whom Eric has played. Before Eric took to the stage, Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz Producer Laura Carbone drew laughter...
Read More
Snapshot
I receive a packet of twenty-four pictures in the mail. It’s a mistake. They’re not mine. Curious with this inside look into others’ lives, I examine each photo. Sometimes, the pursuit of truth can lead to lies.
The first one is of a man I’ll call Ben, on a bicycle in the middle of a small street. He’s wearing a backwards baseball cap and a big grin. It’s hard to tell the season. The neighbors’ cropped hedges aren’t saying. No snow, no autumn leaves. And the lawns look asleep.
In the next photo a woman stands in a kitchen. She has short black hair. It’s 5:30 according to the wall clock above the sink. She’s cutting bread and seems pleased to have her picture taken. I’m calling her Sarah and putting her age around Ben’s mid-thirties…
Read More
Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir’s Soulful Christmas 2017
As the Giltz Auditorium in Hawkins Hall filled on a Sunday afternoon this December, six bell-ringers, in black outfits and white gloves, eyed music sheets, and melodically chimed festive holiday music under Dr. Michael Walters’ direction.
Read More
“Monster” Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter
December 1st at Retro Live, Laura Carbone, Producer of Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz welcomed the large crowd, individually thanked the sponsors, and introduced “Monster” Mike Welch and Mike Ledbetter. Laura has promoted them as, “one of the hottest acts in Blues and Soul today”, and said, “Mike Welch, named ‘Monster’ by Dan Aykroyd at the age of 13 for his guitar prowess is now one of the most, impeccable blues guitarists in the world. Mike Ledbetter, a direct descendent of Lead Belly is one of the world’s best classically trained blues vocalists, with a staggering vocal range that leaps octaves.”
Read More
Shakura S'Aida
Picture International Canadian blues artist, Shakura S’Aida standing next to the stage, strikingly tall in black-laced heels, wearing a silver pantsuit, black-sleeved cape, long, grey and white feather earrings. Close-cropped, white hair completes her ensemble. Shakura’s band members, also dressed in blacks and greys, embrace in a pow-wow huddle with her for, “seeing each other before going on stage”.
Read More
Angel Forrest
“Angel Forrest is a four-time winner of Canada's Maple Blues Awards for Best Female Vocalist, as well as this year’s Album of the Year and Singer-Songwriter of the Year,” Laura Carbone, Producer of Plattsburgh Blues and Jazz, told the crowd at Olive Ridley’s.
Read More
