NEWSLETTER
Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College’s popular concert series includes kid-friendly craft kits at every show
Saratoga Springs, NY (June 6, 2023) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces the return of its popular summer concert series Upbeat on the Roof, each Thursday from July 6 through August 17.
This year marks Upbeat’s twenty-second season and it remains a premier summer destination for the best music created by the region’s musicians. Folk, R&B, Latin jazz, classical Indian, and pop are all on tap for summer 2023.
The Tang offers craft kits for kids at every concert! Children aged 5-12 are invited to arrive at 5:30 pm to pick up a kit, get creative, and make art. A new craft will be available each week. All projects are suitable for children age 5 and older, with adult supervision recommended. Materials will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Performances begin at 6 pm and take place on the lawn outside the Tang. Visitors are invited to bring picnic blankets, camping chairs, and their own food and drink to make it a night. In the case of inclement weather, the art-making activities and concerts will be held inside the museum.
Admission is free and open to the public. For the latest guidelines on visiting and other information, please call the Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit https://tang.skidmore.edu/visit.
This year’s lineup:
- July 6: Blue Ranger: The Albany-based band reminds us that there are small moments of magic in the everyday. Formed in 2015, the trio have been crafting soft-focused folk that celebrates the beauty in our uncertainties with an existential flair. Following their 2018 LP Saving A Beauty (Five Kill Records) comes a fresh single—“True Blue”—where candid, autobiographical tales dance among a wealth of imaginary characters. The trio brings their propulsive folk-influenced sound to improvisatory heights in live settings, the product of countless years moving sound.
- July 13: The Age: For Adrian Lewis (The Age), making music is a portal into how he sees the world: piecing together fragments of introspection and humility, through a reflective and universal lens. Weaving together textural authenticity with his live band, The Age touches on themes of devotion, insecurity, and heartache with an optimistic flair. His Neo-Soul tendencies, blended with the electrifying groove of ’70s guitar, help this R&B artist evoke the genuine craftsmanship of the great songwriters before him.
- July 20: Hot Club of Saratoga: The Capital Region’s premier gypsy swing ensemble plays a repertoire that reflects the spirit and style originated by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in The Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Most prominently developed in 1930s and ’40s Paris, this genre has been kept alive through a long line of gypsy jazz artists. Most of the tunes Hot Club of Saratoga plays were written or recorded by Django at some time in his musical life, hot swing music of the 1920s, ’30 and ’40s. The group last played Upbeat in 2016.
- July 27: Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra: Formed October 1980 in Amsterdam, New York, this 12-piece orchestra is led by the Bronx-born bassist Alex Torres. The orchestra has performed its original blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as Salsa, Merengue, Cha-cha, Bomba, Plena, and Latin Jazz at hundreds of festivals, performing arts centers, and events. The group last played Upbeat in 2017.
- August 3: Zan & The Winter Folk: A Troy-based Americana/folk outfit, the band creates anthems for the revivalists, lullabies for the lonely, ballads for the hopeful. Paired with lead Zan Strumfeld’s alluring vulnerability and soulful lyrics, The Winter Folk reveal a unique and captivating sound in both their recordings and live performances. The Winter Folk's first full-length album will be released in the fall of 2023.
- August 10: Veena Chandra: An internationally renowned sitarist, composer, teacher, and choreographer, Veena Chandra is the founder and director of the Dance and Music School of India in Latham, New York, where she teaches Indian classical music. She has been a faculty member at Skidmore College since 1990, teaching sitar in the Music Department. Since 2014, she has also been the Artist Associate in Sitar at Williams College.
- August 17: Nathan Meltz and The House of Tomorrow: Nathan Meltz writes pop songs about failed utopias, backed up by his band The House of Tomorrow. Combining influences like your favorite mid-period Kinks records and classic Elephant 6 bands, The House of Tomorrow uses fuzzy indie-pop songs to tell stories about radical left communities, religious visionaries, and drug cults.
About the Tang Teaching Museum
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of interdisciplinary exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of New York’s Capital Region, the Tang’s approach has become a model for college and university art museums across the country—with exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation, and a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls. The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public on Thursday from noon to 9 pm and Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 pm, with expanded hours beginning in July to include Tuesdays and Wednesdays, noon to 5 pm. https://tang.skidmore.edu
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Image caption: ZATWF1 by Beth Mickalonis.jpeg: Zan & the Winter Folk, courtesy the artist
Media contact
Michael Janairo
Tang Teaching Museum
518-580-5542