Upcoming Events
Doors open at 7:00 pm; show at 7:30 pm
Winter/Spring 2025 Season
Winter/Spring Season Pass $175
Oswego Music Hall Ticket Information:
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Season Pass Holders purchase the entire season at a discount. They get the best seats in the house which are typically upfront tables. Anyone sitting with pass holders must purchase VIP seating.
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VIP seating (typically $5 above general seating) is preferred, forward seating. It is usually table seating.
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General seating is the balance of seating in the house. Any ticket level may sit there.
National Stage
Leslie Mendelson
February 22 $17-22
With her enchanted voice and evocative songwriting, Leslie Mendelson has won the hearts and minds of both an adoring fanbase and fellow artists alike. No less than Jackson Browne has declared, “Leslie’s melodies are timeless. They reach me way back in my youth somewhere. I hear traces of Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and hooks and passages that remind me of the pop songs I grew up hearing on the radio,” while The Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan shares: “Voices like Leslie’s can get away with almost anything. Along with being a great songwriter, this leaves her with few if any peers.”
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A Grammy Award-nominated artist, Mendelson returns this summer with her fourth studio album, After The Party. For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s studio Grove Masters in Santa Monica, CA, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds.
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​Website: https://www.lesliemendelson.com/
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​ “Leslie is a master of writing from her subconscious, something comes out of Leslie when she begins to write a song. It’s not from the mind; it’s from somewhere the mind can’t comprehend. Then, you return to the song and you might add details that your mind knows.” – Jackson Browne
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National Stage
Women in Music series:
Crys Matthews and The Nields
Meet & Greet reception at 6:30 with Oswego County Opportunities
“Let's make a difference together in honor of International Women’s Day! Bring a donation of women's personal hygiene product to the concert and support access to essential needs for women and girls in our community”. Some examples of items in need include: Feminine hygiene products (tampons and pads), Shampoo & conditioner (including dry shampoo), Deodorant, Toothpaste & Toothbrushes, Combs/hairbrushes, Lotion, Perfume, Laundry soap, Hand sanitizer, Body Wipes
March 8 $17-22
Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls "the poster-child for intersectionality," Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation called Matthews’s gift "a reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." She is made for these times and, with the release of her new, hope-fueled, love-filled social justice album Changemakers, Matthews hopes to take her place alongside some of her heroes in the world of social-justice music like Sweet Honey in the Rock and Holly Near. Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.
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”Matthews began performing in 2010, but cemented her acclaim at Lincoln Center as the 2017 New Song Music and Performance Competition grand prize winner. That year she also released two new projects—her album of thoughtful songs on love and life called The Imagineers, and her EP called Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers, which tackllly-trained clarinetist turned folk singer, Matthews is using her voice to answer Dr. Martin Luther King's call to be "a drum major for justice."
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​Website: https://www.crysmatthews.com/
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“Rising folk music star” – Ann Powers, NPR
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The Nields, the folk-rock band from Massachusetts, are delighted to announce the release of their much-anticipated twenty-first album, Circle of Days. An homage to the calendar––and really, time itself––this collection of songs is a testament to the band’s enduring creativity and unwavering commitment to their craft.
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During the pandemic, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the band’s frontwomen, took a daily walk with their beloved dogs, Greta and Hudson. The destination was a nearby lake, where Katryna would take a daily photo. Inspired by the ever-shifting seasons, they came to realize that each of Nerissa’s new songs could be intimately connected to a particular time of year, forming a musical cycle.
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With their unparalleled ability to blend pop craftsmanship, folk sensibility, and the influences of ’60s classic rock and ’90s alternative, The Nields have created a distinctive musical style that defies categorization. Their songs, imbued with intelligence and occasional humor, offer poignant observations on life’s unexpected twists and turns. Apple Music describes their sound as “equal parts The Beatles, the cranberries, and Joni Mitchell,” a testament to their unique fusion of melodic sensibilities
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Website: https://nields.com/
“A masterful mix of modern folk with an alternative edge.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Dave Kaspar
Jazz By The Lake: The Jill Minye’ Quartet
March 14th $17-20
The opening event of the Spring season of #JazzByTheLake showcases The Jill Minye Quartet on Friday, March 14th.
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Jill Minye' was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. Jill came back to CNY after spending 20+ years in Northern California. She studied classical piano at Grunnell College. Ten years ago, Jill decided to follow a dream, going back to college for Jazz studies. Jill has played venues throughout Northern California as a solo and with trios and quartets. Jill can currently be seen in several area Jazz series including JazzingTheBurbs, BrewPubJazz, and JazzAlFresco.
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Saxophonist Frank Gross has been a music educator for several decades in the Syracuse City School District. He has his own trio and quartet, and is a member of both The Salt City Jazz Collective and the Central New York Jazz Orchestra.
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Bassist Robert MacPartland is an Eastman graduate who has performed professionally for over ten years across many musical genres.
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Drummer Gary Iacovelli is a 35-year veteran of the CNY music scene. He co-founded the Steely Dan tribute band The Royal Scam. Gary can currently be seen playing with the Longwood Jazz Project, The Dan Pugh Trio, and the Theo Curtin Trio to name a few.
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This is presented by The Ontario Center for the Performing Arts Guest Curator Program and made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.
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National Stage
Adam Ezra Group
​Meet & Greet reception at 6:30pm with Clear Path for Veterans and ‘Homelessness in America - In Scene and Story’ art exhibit prior to show. All proceeds from the sale of art will be donated to Clear Path.
March 22nd $20-25
Welcome To Adam Ezra Group
​He takes a month out of each year to visit the living rooms of his fans around the country. His band and nonprofit organization RallySound host a free festival every summer that raised $151,000 for homeless veterans in 2024. He live-streamed for 500 nights in a row during the pandemic. They co-produced an album with 163 fans…
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If you haven’t connected with Adam Ezra Group yet, these are just a few examples to help you understand how this underground, Americana songwriter and his bandmates seem to have popped out of nowhere, establishing a connection with their fans unlike any other, and are suddenly selling out theaters throughout the Northeast.
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These days you’ll find Adam and his bandmates, Corinna Smith (Fiddle), Poche Ponce (Bass), and Alex Martin (Percussion), constantly out on the road. If you look at their tour schedule now, you can buy tickets to see them at festivals, rock venues, and theaters around the country, but you will also see their tour continuously peppered with activism and grassroots events; a testament to an artist who will never forget where he came from, and whose mission is about much more than music.
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“This Independent Underground Folk Band Is Blowing Up Without Selling Out” – SPIN Magazine
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​Website: https://www.adamezra.com/home
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Guest Curator Series
Curator: Tom Lambert
Songs from the Trail
March 29th $20
Songs From the Trail is a multi-media “In the Round” exploration of long-distance backpacking and thru-hiking life. Songwriters Bryan Titus, Marc Apostolides and Shawn Taylor, share songs and stories from their long journeys on The Appalachian Trail, and beyond. A running slide show documents decades of their trail lives, across America’s famous long-distance trails, while scattered thru-hiking relics, further pull the trail into the room. Songs From the Trail invites you to metaphorically and musically re-hike the trail with them live, as one is never really “thru” with their hike.
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Guest Curator Series
Curator: Ann Buchau
Music, Movement & Mindfulness
April 4th $20
7 pm doors open 6:30
Back by popular demand is a two hour special guest curated event that begins with gentle yoga movement before settling into a mindful restorative pose to listen and enjoy live dreamy music by two talented musicians that will both inspire and ignite the soul and mind.
Ann Buchau, yoga instructor, Citya Studios of Pulaski, NY, in collaboration with musicians Annie Sumi and Travis Knapp.
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National Stage
Tony Trischka's Earl Jam--A Tribute to Earl Scruggs
Featuring Tony, Michael Davies, Casey Driessen and Jared Engel
April 12th $25-30
Tony was born in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1949, and raised in a home filled with music. There were Broadway scores and a sweeping range of classical music, from Stravinsky to Beethoven. (The first thing Trischka learned to play on the banjo, in fact, was the Ninth Symphony.) The wide- open American vistas of Aaron Copland had an especially potent spiritual and visceral impact on him, as did the folk music his left-leaning father held dear. The Almanac Singers, the solo work of its founding members Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly’s children’s LP were in constant rotation.
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He’s raised the banjo’s profile in many other ways as well. Through his theme song for Books on the Air and performances on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch and other programs, he’s been a frequent presence on NPR. His work with his pal Steve Martin too has helped the banjo gain a wider audience and deeper understanding. Trischka’s Grammy-nominated album Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, released in 2007, and Great Big World, from 2014, feature Martin within a mix of veterans and up-and-coming luminaries. He produced Martin’s Grammy-nominated Rounder album from 2011, Rare Bird Alert, which touts performances by the Steep Canyon Rangers, Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. His forthcoming album, Shall We Hope, is a visionary exploration of Civil War history featuring an all-star cast—from Michael Daves and Maura O’Connell to the Femmes, Catherine Russell, Guy Davis, the actor John Lithgow and many others. In addition to his Grammy nominations, he’s earned a number of honors over the years, including the International Bluegrass Music Award for Banjo Player of the Year in 2007, and he was named a United States Artists Friends Fellow in 2012.
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“Whether or not you’re a banjo player, if you play bluegrass, you’re influenced by Earl. So it was easy to get world-class players on board,” says Trischka. Names like Stuart Duncan, Ronnie McCoury, and Darol Anger fill the album liner notes next to those of Molly Tuttle, Brittany Haas, Dominick Leslie, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, creating a cross-generational, genre-spanning band of, let’s face it, a heaping of the best pickers alive today.
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"Tony Trischka is known as the father of modern bluegrass" - New York Times
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https://www.tonytrischka.com/home
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National Stage
Sam Robbins
Neil Minet opener
April 26th $17-22
Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country.
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Sam released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, on May 14th, 2021. The album is reminiscent of his 70's singer-songwriter heroes, with a modern perspective. On the heels of the award winning opening single, 'Remind Me", Finally Feeling Young has already garnered radio airplay and critical acclaim. Two album tracks, Remind Me and Saying Amen, won him a place as one of the six Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners. Americana Highways writes: “He writes of subjects that others don't explore. Saying Amen has Robbins touching that special place Leonard Cohen went. This is brilliance." Fateau Magazine in the UK writes "One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation". Sam is a solo acoustic performer who melds intricate and exciting acoustic guitar arrangements with smooth, intriguing vocals. Wherever he is performing, Sam builds an intimate, easy connection with the listener, naturally creating a feeling of closeness throughout the performance.
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Sam is a full time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country, including the MainStage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, Dripping Springs Songwriter’s Festival, and as one of the “‘Most Wanted to Return” artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In 2018, Sam was able to audition and was aired on NBC's The Voice, performing for Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson as the first artist to perform a Jim Croce song on the show.
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“One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation” –Mike Davies, Fateau Magazine, UK
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National Stage
The Honey Badgers,
Season Finale & Emerging Artist Showcase Start Time: 6 PM
May 10th. $15 (free for members)
The Honey Badgers are a folk/Americana duo who are known for their intense, sparkling harmonies, their honest lyrics and melodies, and their undeniable onstage chemistry. Weaving their voices together with Michael’s driving guitar and Erin’s wistful violin, they spin stories and songs about finding yourself, finding each other, and finding your way in the world. They were voted #1 “Most Wanted” at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase 2023 and recently won Susquehanna Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Showcase 2024. Their new album “The Earth Turns and So Do We”, released 6/20/2024, was #15 on the July 2024 FAI Folk Radio Chart.
As full time musicians and travelers, Michael and Erin look forward now to creating music that has roots growing through every place they go. They are currently promoting their second full-length album, The Earth Turns and So Do We, which was released on June 20, 2024. The record is a mature and varied collection of original songs focused on the repeating cycles of life, death, love, and time itself.
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​Website: https://www.honeybadgerfolk.com/