Happy 5-18 Day!! It’s not every day (in fact, it’s only once per year) that we get to claim a holiday for our glorious Upstate NY Capital Region area code, so this year 518scene.com partnered with NYS Music to celebrate the occasion by spotlighting 51.8 (rounded up to 52 -with 26 picks each on our respective websites) of the numerous venues, bands, skateparks, festivals, promoters and more that make the 518 music, arts and entertainment scene great.
We’ll keep adding to this list over time, until we reach 518 entries and beyond. You can read NYS Music’s initial 26 picks here.
Now, on to our 26 picks. In addition to the 26 listed by NYS Music, here at 518scene.com, we can’t imagine our music, arts and entertainment life in the 518 without (in no particular order):
1. SPAC
Every major concert market needs a nice outdoor summer venue for the big shows, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) more than serves that need in the 518. A key venue for Live Nation, whether you’re watching from the orchestra or the lawn, it’s typically a great time, with top-draw talent.
2. The Palace Theatre
With a prime downtown Albany location offering a beautiful, historic building in pristine condition, The Palace is an ideal year-round option for larger-draw talent, especially tours with elaborate staging. The lineup is fresh and diverse, too, from heavy metal to hip hop to classic rock.
3. Empire Live
This sprawling downtown venue has quickly become the essential spot for shows by national touring artists and larger tour packages, essentially picking up where Northern Lights and Upstate Concert Hall left off, and in grander fashion. If you’re into heavy music of any kind—from deathcore and black metal to thrash to punk and hardcore—the biggest shows of the year inevitably happen here, and are legendary.
4. Empire Underground
The smaller sibling of Empire Live, this industrial feeling venue in the basement below is where the seriously sweaty, blood, spit and bruises kinda shows go down, where the mosh pits are not for novices. Like its sibling, it hosts a wide range of artists, predominantly in heavier genres, but also dips its toes in indie rock, hip hop, EDM and more.
5. No Fun
One of the major highlights of the Troy arts scene, this dark and intimate downtown nightspot presents a dizzying array of largely indie/DIY artists from the world over, with a keen focus on garage punk, hardcore, metal and more. And the lighting and décor is downright trippy.
6. Parkway Music
This place is everything a music store should be and more, with a positive, creative energy from the moment you arrive. The practice/testing rooms are great, the product line is massive and mind blowing, and the staff are friendly and helpful.
7. The Glen Drive-In Theatre
If you frequent the Glens Falls/Queensbury/Lake George region of the 518, few things herald the arrival of summer quite like the seasonal opening of this blast-from-the-past drive-in theater, where you get a nightly choice of one of two double features. Bonus points for the old school snack bar, when the lines are bearable.
8. Endure Skatepark/Noteworthy Center Albany
The recently christened skatepark and community center in the Albany warehouse district is a major win for the 518 and a top-flight facility with impressive ramps and everything else you’d want to jump or grind with a skateboard. There’s also a neat little reception area that doubles for a concert and event space.
9. The Strand Theatre Hudson Falls
An impressive old restored building, conveniently nestled away just minutes from Glens Falls/Queensbury, The Strand keeps growing both its crowds and the level of bands it books. And with a focus on veteran/legacy bands and vintage heavy metal, it definitely serves a sizeable niche.
10. Fuze Box
Another cool, smaller downtown Albany night spot for live music and Goth-themed DJ nights, Fuze Box is seemingly increasing the amount of heavy music shows its books, from punk to extreme metal. They host special events, too: From Satanic weddings set to live black metal bands, to courses on kinks and BDSM, it all happens at the Fuze Box.
11. Saratoga Comic Con
The bi-annual event is always a blast and just keeps growing every year, filling the Saratoga City Center all weekend with a glorious sea of nerds, costumed and otherwise. You can legitimately snag some great deals on comics and collectibles, there’s everything from tattooing to virtual reality, and you never know which oddly iconic celebrity from your past is going to be there, signing autographs.
12. Step Up Presents & SLP Concerts
Ted Etoll at Step Up Presents, and collaborator Stan Levinstone (SLP Concerts), have for years been two of the key figures behind booking and promoting many of the biggest heavy and alternative music shows in the 518. From the old Upstate Concert Hall into the booming Empire Live/Empire Underground complex, these are the folks who make some truly killer shows happen in the Capital Region.
13. Upstate Black N Blue
The booking/production moniker for scene veteran and Brick By Brick guitarist Mike Valente, Upstate BnB makes most of the truly brutal shows happen in the 518, from Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel to the Acacia Strain and Bury Your Dead, typically hosted at either Empire Live or Empire Underground, but at times, even at sea! Look for his forthcoming, desperately needed Empire Extreme Music Awards next year.
14. Super Dark Collective
Responsible for booking and promoting much of the talent at both No Fun in Troy and Desperate Annie’s in Saratoga Springs, Super Dark have a clear passion and commitment to underground music, both local and national. Next time you pass by one of their deliciously retro fliers, take a closer look at what’s coming up.
15. State Champs
Hometown heroes if there ever were, SC have grown in the last decade-plus from a young Albany basement dwelling pop-punk band into arguably one of the most popular and consistently excellent bands of the genre, touring the world over multiples times for a string of hit releases. Their annual Frozen Fest shows here every December are also a yearly highlight.
16. Drug Church
With roots throughout the Capital Region from the Albany area way north to Warrensburg, Drug Church have built a rabid following and impressive discography over the span of a decade-plus, both here and everywhere else that heavy music is enjoyed. Their unique brand of chaotic hardcore/skatepunk hits you with both its pummeling force and sonic quirkiness, and their hometown 518 shows are typically legendary nights where both seasoned pit fiends and unassuming soccer moms decide to attempt crowd surfing.
17. Cool Insuring Arena
The former Glens Falls Civic Center is such a versatile, sizeable space, hosting everything from concerts to hockey to rodeos, with a prime downtown Glens Falls location surrounded by food and drink. Our only wish is that it held more shows per year.
18. Pauly’s Hotel
Historic Albany pub and live music spot Pauly’s Hotel is an intimate space to be sure, but the proprietors book a constant flood of local acts as well as the occasional national artist. Pauly’s is a key component in the local scene, where countless 518 performers entertain and hone their craft.
19. The Hangar on the Hudson
The name says it all: The place is literally an old hangar, on the Hudson, in Troy. How cool is that? What’s also cool is the steady stream of indie, Americana, blues, folk, roots and other artists that perform there, beneath a ceiling of glowing bulbs.
20. Lake George Festival Commons at Charles R. Wood Park
Now occupying the site of the former Gaslight Village amusement park in Lake George, the Festival Commons holds a number of festivals in the summer, including Rock The Lake and Memorial Meltdown. There’s also a skate pavilion in the park, which is always a rad thing to have.
21. The Shirt Factory Glens Falls
There’s so much to love here, from the saving of a historic old early industrial era building, to it then becoming a haven for local artisans and small businesses, to now also hosting a great calendar of regular live music and food truck events, including its annual GEM Fest. It’s even awesome just to walk around inside the factory, and take a closer look at this massive historic structure.
22. The Empire State Plaza
Fairly enormous in both size and scope, the Plaza is the home to towering performing arts venue The Egg, as well as its annual outdoor free Summer at the Plaza concert series, food truck events, winter ice skating and more. It’s a cool spot to photograph, or even just stroll.
23. The Hollow
With a steady calendar of great live music and killer food and drink, The Hollow is another bright spot in Albany’s burgeoning downtown. The bands tend to skew mostly toward the jam band/Dead tribute/Americana world, offering an alternative to some of the immediate downtown Albany area’s heavier focused clubs.
24. Unihog – Hoosick Falls
This geographic area of the 518 needs more night life and entertainment, and Unihog is consistently proving a sound option, with a busy slate of rock, indie, bluegrass and Americana shows, among others. Some are ticketed, some are pay what you can, and some are free, including its Taco Tuesday event, with live bands.
25. Saratoga Tattoo Expo
The growing popularity and acceptance of ink culture is manifest in a full weekend where tattoo artists take over the Saratoga City Center, turning it into a mass ad-hoc tattoo shop, plus trade show, plus fair, plus concert and more. Stroll the booths and see new ink creations come to life on the skin of attendees; browse artists’ unique flash sheets and find your next design.
26. Cohoes Music Hall
We’d like to see even more upcoming shows at this restored historic theater, built in 1874, and located conveniently near Troy and Albany. There’s a fairly steady calendar of both concerts and plays at the moment, including some national touring acts, as well as tribute bands and local original artists.
Happy 518 Day!! Remember: This is list a work in progress. See you next year!!
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