Concert Review

OWEL mesmerizes at The Spark
By Dan Lyon
December 8, 2017 - 1:33pm
Review: After four openers played for a sparse crowd, OWEL rocked The Spark Contemporary Art Gallery

The Spark Contemporary Art Gallery hosted brilliant Equal Vision Records indie bands OWEL and Northern Faces, along with three local openers on Thursday night in Syracuse. Although there weren’t too many willing to brave the cold, it didn’t stop each band that played from blowing the doors off the venue.

The Story So Far bring high-octane punk to Syracuse
By Dan Lyon
November 29, 2017 - 1:42pm
Review: The concert might signal a resurgence for the genre in Syracuse

The Lost Horizon hosted one of the first sold-out punk shows in the city for years, as The Story So Far, Turnstile and Drug Church brought their high-energy sets to Syracuse. Put on by Upstate NY’s After Dark Entertainment, the show brought out around 200 people on a Tuesday night, and concertgoers proved ready to match the touring bands’ energy throughout.

Louis the Child lights up a sold-out Westcott Theater
By Jordan Capozzi
November 11, 2017 - 1:04pm
Review: EDM dominated even before the popular duo took the stage.

Louis the Child was everything you'd hope for from a Westcott Theater concert. The dance floor was packed, people were dancing in small groups, Juuls were being passed around, the lights were blinding and the music was bumping.

SU Symphony creates a tapestry of sound
By Jonathan Williams
October 23, 2017 - 9:45pm
Review: The Syracuse University Symphony allowed its passion to shine through in a performance featuring Rossini and Sibelius.

The grandiose sounds of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini paired with the deeply textured and intricate work of Finish composer Jean Sibelius formed a multilayered symphonic pallet Sunday in Setnor Auditorium.

Under the baton of James Tapia, the Syracuse University Symphony Orchestra performed Gioachino Rossini’s short overture from his opera “La gazza Ladra” along with Jean Sibelius’s laborious “Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43.”

R&B singer Lalah Hathaway brings soul to Coming Back Together weekend
By Isaac Napell
September 16, 2017 - 9:37am
Review: Lalah Hathaway inspires Latino and African American Syracuse University alums with classics, but loses them with more modern material.

On Friday night, Lalah Hathaway took roughly 1,300 concertgoers back in time to the 1980s and ‘90s. Hathaway was the musical performer for this year’s Coming Back Together reunion, which brings African American and Latino Syracuse University alumni to campus every three years for a weekend of celebration.

Explosions in the Sky makes Westcott debut
By Angela Zonunpari
August 8, 2013 - 11:19am
Review: The Texas instrumental rock band delivered an energetic performance on Tuesday to a sold-out crowd.

The Westcott Theater had two firsts on Tuesday night: performances by post-rock instrumental band Explosions in the Sky and local psychedelic rock group Black Throat Wind. The two bands performed to a sold out theater, with an audience that largely consisted of teenagers and 20-somethings.

Erin McKeown commences The Folkus Project with a concert
By Emmery Brakke
September 10, 2012 - 12:28am
Review: The project that will be bringing a series of artists throughout the next year kicks off with an engaging and personal set from the folk singer-songwriter.

Erin McKeown is nothing if not engaging, and her show in Syracuse on Friday night was a perfect example of that. Her songs are impressively crafted personal tales, whether of failed relationships or a political issue that struck a chord.

While anyone who has listened to her albums knows just how interesting her musical arrangements can be, there was also an incredible amount of charm in the show that McKeown put on, standing on a small platform in a church with nothing but her guitar and a microphone.

Amos Lee survives Westcott
By Erin Carson
October 29, 2011 - 2:19pm
Review: A rowdy crowd filled The Westcott Theater Friday night to see the folk singer.

Only so many artists can say “the last time I was here, was in ‘07 with the Bob Dylan tour.” And one of those artists is Philadelphia soul/folk singer Amos Lee.

After four years, Lee returned to Syracuse Friday night at The Westcott Theater, this time with singer/songwriter Pieta Brown.

Rachael Yamagata strolls through Ithaca
By Chris Baker
October 28, 2011 - 3:35pm
Review: The singer/songwriter returns to the stage after a three-year absence.

As the year’s first snow fell in Ithaca Thursday night, Rachael Yamagata stood on the sidewalk outside Delilah’s Lounge smoking a cigarette.

“Is it always this cold up here?” she asked. “It’s cold inside, it’s cold outside. It’s cold everywhere.”

A bittersweet evening at The Lost Horizon
By Sam Napolitan
October 16, 2011 - 10:21am
Polar Bear Club bids farewell to touring comrades, says hello to hometown stage

“Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other,” said Jimmy Stadt, Polar Bear Club’s ebullient lead singer, as he stood before zealous moshers exploding into the air like human-sized kernels of popcorn. Although warnings regarding unruly tattooed appendages were duly warranted, Stadt was undoubtedly referring to the overwhelming sense of kinship emanating from The Lost Horizon main stage on Friday Oct. 14.