NEW CONCERT NEWS

By Greg Haymes

Viva Los Straitjackets! Led by by former Nippertonian guitarslinger Eddie Angel, the Mexican wrestling masked twang-time combo is headed back to the Hangar on the Hudson in Troy at 8pm on Wednesday, April 10. Grabbing an off-night from their tour with Nick Lowe, they’ll be previewing selections from their upcoming EP, Channel Surfing, which features renditions of TV themes from “Game of Thrones,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” Ken Burns’ “The Civil War” and a medley of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Sex and the City.” Tickets are on sale now, priced at $20.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Yeah, the BIG Woodstock 50 Anniversary Festival coming up in Watkins Glen has unveiled its whopping line-up of bands featuring Jay-Z, Chance the Rapper, Black Keys, Robert Plant, Halsey, The Killers and Miley Cyrus. And lots of Woodstock ’69 fest vets are on the bill, too, including Dead and Company, John Fogerty, Santana, John Sebastian, Country Joe McDonald, Melanie, Canned Heat and Hot Tuna. And of course, lots more. Tickets go on sale on Monday, April 22…

Skyloft in Guilderland doesn’t open its doors for another month, but they continue to announced new upcoming concerts, including Julian Marley at 8pm Wednesday, May 15 ($30 in advance; $35 at the door); The Wailers at 8pm on Thursday, May 30 ($25 in advance; $30 at the door); and The Tubes featuring Fee Waybill at 8pm on Wednesday, October 23 ($35 in advance; $40 at the door). Tickets for the new shows go on sale to the general public at 10am Friday (March 22).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: The Saratoga Performing Arts Center just keeps rollin’ out one new concert announcement after another. Five more new shows for SPAC feature YAMATO: The Drummers of Japan; sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, Latin Garmmy nominee Tony Succar & Mixtura, Red Baraat and Banda Magda.

Up in Saratoga Springs, Caffe Lena continues its delightfully eclectic booking policy which includes upcoming shows by jazz trumpeter Wallace Roney & His Quintet at 7pm Thursday, April 25 ($35 in advance; $37 at the door); Greater Nippertown rocker siblings Jocelyn & Chris Arndt playing a special semi-acoustic storyteller set at 8pm Saturday, June 15 ($22 in advance); and Woodstock veteran John Sebastian at 8pm Saturday, June 29 ($60 in advance).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Rosanne Cash will play the Hudson River Boat Restoration and Historic Sailing Society’s gala celebration at Club Helsinki in Hudson. Tickets are on sale now.

The Levin Brothers – featuring bassmaster Tony Levin and pianist Pete Levin joined by guitarist David Spinozza and drummer Jeff Siegel – return to the Van Dyck in Schenectady at 8pm Friday, March 29 for an evening of bebop jazz. Tickets are on sale now priced at $18.

Built to Spill brings their Keep It Like a Secret Tour to the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park at 8pm on Sunday, September 15. Tickets are on sale now, priced at $25 in advance; $28 at the door.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Two new comedy shows have been added to the calendar at Albany’s Palace Theatre – Nick Offerman and Ron White . Tickets for both shows go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday (March 22).

In Williamstown, the Clark Art Institute has announced two spring concerts: the Lao Tizer Quartet, featuring Grammy Award-winning saxman Eric Marienthal, performs at 7:30pm Friday, April 5 ($33; students $20) and jazz trumpeter Jonathan Dely and his swinging band at 7pm on Saturday, May 18 ($28; students $20).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: After his sold-out concert was knocked off the calendar back in January due to a snowstorm, R&B vet Keith Sweat is slated to make good on his return to the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady. Tickets are on sale now.

Mary Lattimore and Meg Baird team up at The Beverly in Kingston at 7:30pm on Sunday, April 28. Tickets are on sale now, priced at $15.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Four new concerts have been announced for The Linda in Albany, including the Clearwater 50th/100th Anniversary Concert featuring Thomasina Winslow, Three Quarter North, the Bounce-Back Band, Elizabeth Straton and Wanda Fischer; the Corvettes Doo Wop Revue; Paa Kow & His Afro Fusion Orchestra; and the prog-rock Stick Men.

Club Helsinki in Hudson welcomes back some of the venue’s fave performers, including Parsonfield at 8pm Sunday, May 5 ($15 in advance; $20 at the door); Nelson and the Wolf at 8pm Monday, June 17 ($TBA); and the always delightfully eclectic Eilen Jewell at 9pm Saturday, July 6 ($20 & $30).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: In Glens Falls, the Crandall Public Library’s free Live! Folklife Concert Series features upcoming concerts by Daymark, Molsky’s Mountain Drifters, Hayley Reardon, Cold Chocolate, The Mammals, the Rough & Tumble, Dan Berggren & John Kirk & Friends’ “Appleseeds: The Words of Pete Seeger,” Ustad Shafaat Khan, April Verch and Daly & Thoma with Stevig & Harrist.

In addition to their upcoming concert at Guilderland’s Skyloft, John Doe and Exene Cervenka will lead X into Gateway City Arts in Holyoke at 8pm Saturday, May 25. Tickets are on sale now, priced at $30 in advance; $35 at the door.