420 is almost here and NYS Music has your very comprehensive guide to seeing music all across the Empire State this Friday. If you like to mix your favorite herbs with some tunes, you’ll find a variety of funk, jam, reggae, rock and much more throughout the state in every city and town!
New York City
High times will be had in New York City on 4/20, as there are dozens of shows happening across town. The B.B. King Blues Club will host the Cannabis Cup Reggae Band, with The Saturators and DJ Jah Culture providing support.
Rockwood Music Hall will be buzzing with live music on three stages on Friday. Erin and the Wildfire, Lady Moon and The Eclipse, and Bella’s Bartok will highlight a busy night at Rockwood. The first band starts at 6 PM and the last band starts at midnight.
Rocker Queen V is hosting her annual spring fling, playing in support of her new album Bridges Vol. 2, at The Cutting Room. The show will start at 7:30 PM, with Jo Smith and Margaret Valentine.
The Hot Sardines will play two smoky shows at Joe’s Pub on Friday, both of which have sold out. Should have been quicker, slackers. But while you’re here, take a listen to what you’re missing.
No worries though as tickets are still available to see the ever-patient 5,000 year old funk-rockers Here Come the Mummies, who are bringing their Wicked Never Rest tour to the Highline Ballroom for a 4/20 celebration. The high-paced hilarity will start at 8 PM.
Todrick Hall is a Broadway actor, a television and internet star, and a versatile musician. He is bringing his one-of-a-kind Straight Outta Oz tour to the Playstation Theatre on Friday. The show starts at 8 PM.’
Pop-folk artists The Weepies will perform at the Gramercy Theatre with Mark Geary on Friday, as part of Hideaway: the 10 Year Anniversary Tour. The shows starts at 8 PM.
Roots-rocker J.D. McPherson will play at the Bowery Ballroom. The show begins at 8 PM and Jake La Botz will open.
California-based experimental-pop group Sure Sure will play at Rough Trade on Friday. The show will start at 9 PM, with Lizzie No opening.
Electronic artists Kate Simko and Animal Trainer will split the 4/20 bill at Knockdown Center in Queens, beginning at 10 PM.
Nublu will also host a night of electronic music, with the Groove Collective, featuring DJ Jeannie Hopper and DJ Misbehavior. The shows is scheduled from 9 PM – 4 AM.
Cielo will host Basic Bring You Illusion: Sleepy and Boo, with special guests Mafia B + Dysco and Teelo, who will be playing electronic music until 4 AM.
Brooklyn
There is a glut of kickass 4/20 shows happening in Brooklyn on Friday. Instrumental trio, and Fugazi offshoot, the Messthetics will play at the the Bell House, with SAVAK and Sunwatchers providing support. The show will start at 8 PM.
Brooklyn Bazaar will host three shows on Friday, starting at 7 PM with the H20 “Nothing to Prove” 10 year anniversary show, followed by Invertebrate Presents Sic Tic, Nanny, the Human Fly, and Jupie at 8 PM, and finally the venue will hold the 003: LIFTED. by SISTASPIN party at 10 PM.
Knower is an LA-based funk-pop group touring in support of their fourth album Life and they are stopping at the Knitting Factory on Friday. The show starts at 8 PM, with Edit Bunker slated to open.
Brooklyn’s own Octo Octa, one of the top house-not-house producers to emerge in recent years, will play a late show at Good Room. The show will start at 10 PM with Golden Donna opening.
Two Brooklyn-based bands, Stuyedeyed and Sun Voyager, will go halfsies on a hometown show at Baby’s All Right to celebrate the release of Sun Voyager’s debut EP Seismic Vibes. The party starts at 10 PM.
Turkuaz, a Brooklyn band with a national audience, will take the stage at the Brooklyn Bowl Friday night for the first of a two-show stint at the famed venue. The Fritz will provide support on 4/20. The show starts at 8:30 PM. Advanced tickets are sold out, but a limited number of tickets will be available at the box office beginning at 6 PM.
Penguin Prison, New Yorker Chris Glover’s dynamic alt-dance project, will play the Music Hall of Williamsburg. Mating Ritual and PROM will split the bill.
Celebrated American-Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright will perform at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn on Friday. The show will feature interpretations of songs by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and more. Northern Stars are providing support.
House of Yes will throw in on the 4/20 festivities, hosting an electronic dance party, aptly dubbed Flying High with Till Von Sein. Cry Baby, Mike Swells, and Chopstick and JohnJon will split the undercard.
Emerging star Josh Legg, who is behind the LA-based electronic dance project Goldroom, is playing at Elsewhere on 4/20. The show starts at 11 PM.
Output in Brooklyn will host the Katermukke Showcase, featuring Dirty Doering and a full lineup of other artists. The show is scheduled from 10 PM – 5 AM.
One last dab is all I’ve got for ya, Brooklyn. If you can’t sleep after all that, then go see Berkeley-educated chemical engineer turned Chicago-house wizard Green Velvet at Schimanski. His given name is Curtis Alan Jones and he dropped his first EP in 1991. The show is scheduled for 10 PM – 5 AM.
West Chester
The Capitol Theater in Port Chester will, quite appropriately, host Cheech & Chong on 4/20, just one of several stops on their first tour in more than twenty-five years. Following Cheech & Chong, Grateful BRO (Blue Roadhouse Orchestra) will explore the Grateful Dead songbook at Garcia’s, located within the Capitol Theatre.
Tarrytown
Dweezil Zappa is bringing his Grammy-winning project, in which he leads his top-tier band in interpreting the prolific catalogue of his father Frank Zappa, to the Tarrytown Music Hall on 4/20. This year’s tour is called “Choice Cuts” and features a fresh set of material for Dweezil.
Long Island
There are a couple of interesting opportunities to catch a show on Long Island on Friday. The Lizards will pay tribute to Phish at Stereo Garden in Patchogue at 8
Meanwhile reggae-rockers Aqua Cherry will play at the Brickhouse Brewery in Patchogue at 9 PM.
Iconic classic rocker George Thorogood and the Destroyers will bring the “Rock Party Tour” to the Paramount in Huntington on Friday. The show starts at 8 PM and Damon Fowler will open.=
Albany
Friday’s shows will give locals a chance to see acts from across a wide spectrum of music. Music Makes Me High at the Parish Public House will kick off at 5 PM and features a full roster of performers that includes Grateful Dead tribute band Quantum Cosmic, Andy “Ayo B” O’Brien’s album release, and Tree Shurts’ 10th Anniversary show, plus many others.
Veteran indie rockers Lydia, with special guest Lucy, will play at The Hollow, starting at 8 PM.
Renowned singer-songwriter Todd Snider will play at The Egg, as part of the American Roots and Branches series. The show will start at 7:30 and Rorey Carroll will open.
Saratoga Springs
Highly-acclaimed multi-media artists Anna and Elizabeth will bring their unique performance to Caffe Lena. The show starts at 8 PM, with Benjamin Lazar Davis slated to open. Meanwhile, another incredible show will be happening at Putnam Place, as Phish drummer Jon Fishman will join Eastbound Jesus and the Mallet Brothers for a show beginning at 8 PM.
Troy
Collar City Carnival at O’Briens Public House in Troy will start at 6 PM and feature an appearance and announcement by author, actor, and filmmaker Bruce G. Hallenbeck, vendors, vinyl, toys, and more attractions. Knot Dead will play the music of the Grateful Dead at Dinosaur BBQ starting at 9 PM.
Glens Falls
Glens Falls locals will have a couple of opportunities to catch a hometown show on Friday. Old-time mountain-music makers the North and South Dakotas will take the stage at the Park Theatre at 7:30 PM, while Let’s Be Leonard will bring their jazz fusion stylings to Gug’s, starting at 10 PM.
Ithaca
Rodriguez, whose improbable life story is the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, will perform at the State Theatre of Ithaca at 8 PM,with Liz Vice providing support. Cult rockers Guided by Voices will also play Ithaca on 4/20, at the Haunt, with Park Doing opening; but unless you already have tickets, it is likely too late to get in, as the show is sold out.
Woodstock
Not to be outdone, Woodstock has a pair of tasty 4/20 shows in which to indulge. The Grammy-winning bluegrass group Steep Canyon Rangers will play at the Barn at Levon Helm Studios, starting at 8 PM on Friday, while Parliament-Funkadelic’s Michael Clip Payne’s fittingly named 420 Funk Mob will play at The Colony at 8:30 PM.
Kingston
Keegan Ales in Kingston will host BuzzUniverse, a genre-bending rock outfit hailing from New Jersey. The show will begin at 9 PM.
Syracuse
Syracuse has a fat sack of heady shows on deck for Friday. Jamband and southern rock mainstays Gov’t Mule will play at the Landmark Theatre. The show starts at 7:30 PM and Black Stone Cherry will open. Gov’t Mule will not be the only legendary jam band in town though, as jam band luminaries Max Creek will perform at the Westcott Theatre at 9 PM. Then later, at Funk n’ Waffles, Skunk City, with special guests Vanishing Sun, will contribute to the festivities. The funk starts at 10 PM.
Waterloo
Margo Price, the much-praised, emerging country star from Nashville will perform at del Lago Casino in Waterloo on Friday. The show starts at 8 PM.
Rochester
Rochester is flush with chances to catch a buzz, er, I mean to catch a show, on Friday. Superkush Music and Arts Fest, hosted by California Brew Haus, features a full night’s lineup of acts, including Elephant in the Room, GORON, Cosmic Brownie, and many more.
420 Ain’t Dead Yet will feature Mud Creek, a Grateful Dead tribute, Wesley Claire, and Infrared Radiation Orchestra.
4/20 at the Firehouse Saloon also has a full slate of acts, including Lucky 33, Willow Bay, Jaynie Crash and the Tall Men, The Natty D’s, and Snailmate and starts at 8 PM.
Finally, Robert Randolph and the Family Band will play at Anthology, starting at 8:30. Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People and Luke Wade will provide support.
Buffalo
Buffalo-area fans will have their pick of edible shows to munch on for Friday night. Singer-songwriter John Darnielle has rejoined forces with bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes to reinvigorate his ever-evolving and long-lasting indie-folk project called the Mountain Goats. The show will take place at Asbury Hall at Babeville and start at 8 PM. Dead Rider will open.
Soul Roach will celebrate the holiday with the music of Jerry Garcia, taking the stage at 9 PM at Buffalo Iron Works. Garcia’s work will get another run in Buffalo on Friday, as Deadheads will have a chance to see the Smoking Dead take on the Grateful Dead canon at Nietzsche’s.
The show starts at 10 PM with the reggae-rock group Kaleidoscope Sky providing support. Fan-favorite Keller Williams will also be in Buffalo to add some smoke to the fire on Friday night, as he will bring his notorious one-man show to the Tralf, beginning at 9 PM.
There will be a strain of music to get almost any music lover’s head right in Buffalo on 4/20, and dubstep aficionados will appreciate UK-based electronic artist Cookie Monsta’s set at Venu, as part of the Hyperglow: Lights Out Tour. The show is scheduled for 9 PM. Finally, the Town Ballroom will host the LA-based DJ Carnage, who brings his Battered, Bloody, and Bruised tour to town. The show starts at 8 PM.
Hamburg
Reggae-flavored funksters Funktional Flow will play at the Armor Inn Tap Room in Hamburg at 9 PM on Friday.
Westfield
Westfield will host genre blending rockers the Bees Trees for an anticipated 4/20 performance at the Tap Room. The show is scheduled for 10 PM.
Comments are closed.