music

A rocking show honoring our revolutionary ancestors with an energetic fusion of Afro-Caribbean, reggae, rock, and hip hop freedom sounds to inspire a dance rebellion!

Puerto Rican vocalist Taína Asili carries on the tradition of her ancestors, fusing past and present struggles into one soulful and defiant voice. Her newest artistic work is with la Banda Rebelde (the Rebel Band), a six piece international ensemble based in Albany, NY.

Buy tickets online for Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde

This dynamic force brings love, resistance, and ancestral remembrance to venues, festivals, conferences and political events across the globe. Powerful vocals laid over an energetic fusion of Afro-Caribbean, reggae, rock, and hip hop sounds, the band’s eclectic style represents the diversity of its members, who have origins in Puerto Rico, Sicily, Greece, Spain, Brazil and Ghana. Taína Asili’s voice exudes strength of Spirit, filling its listeners with the fervor of freedom and inspiring audiences to dance to the movement of rebellion.

A coalition of local community groups is launching Freedom Square–just up the block from the Sanctuary–with a free outdoor live music event from 4 until 8 PM on Saturday, July 2nd.  Headlined by a 10-piece Boston-based Ethiopian-influenced jazz and soul group, the Debo Band, the lineup also includes rock, hip hop and gospel performances by local groups including Sumac, S.K.A.T.E., and the Missing Link Street Ministry Mens Choir.

Freedom Square is an urban cultural and spiritual oasis located at the mystical corner where 5th and 6th Avenues meet 101st Street a block from the Hudson River in North Troy, NY.  Map it!

JUST ADDED: Singer/songwriter Abby Lappen opening for tonight's gala event!

We're proud to present musical theater at its finest with an original production of an original historical play by Michael Monasterial entitled, "Sam Cooke: Where You Been Baby?"

It's an American pop fable that illuminates the life and musical genius of an American original. The pop singer who wrote, performed and produced 24 Billboard hits over his 8 years at the top of the charts was also a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement and an inventor of musical styles that are still incorporated in pop and gospel music 50 years later.

The Sanctuary is proud to presesnt educational theater at its finest with a new musical production of an original historical play by Michael Monasterial entitled, "Sam Cooke: Where You Been?"

It's an American Pop Fable that illuminates the life and musical genius of an American original. The pop singer who wrote, performed and produced 24 Billboard hits over his 8 years at the top of the charts was also a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement and an inventor of musical styles that are still incorporated in pop and gospel music 50 years later.

Sam Cooke's early years in Mississippi, his rise to fame and his demons that ultimately lead to his untimely demise are explored in this drama, but it is well seasoned with humor, pathos and most of all great, great music. The play has been presented to large houses and standing ovations. So come enjoy this masterpiece as it is honed and crafted to perfection by a multi-talented cast and crew.

Play credits:   The play is directed by Gordon W. Brown and the production stage manager is Alisa Brown, with music by Bruce Berky and choreography by Abby Lappen. It stars Stephen M. Jones, Evelyn Clarke, Dennis Washington and Michael Monasterial as Sam Cooke.

Riot Grrrl roared into the spotlight in 1991: an uncompromising movement of pissed-off girls with no patience for sexism and no intention of keeping quiet. Young women everywhere were realizing that the equality they’d been promised was still elusive, and a newly resurgent right wing was turning feminism into the ultimate dirty word. In response, thousands of riot grrrls published zines, founded local groups, and organized national conventions, while fiercely prophetic punk bands such as Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, Huggy Bear, and Bikini Kill helped spread the word across the US and to Canada, Europe, and beyond.

Girls to the Front, the first-ever history of Riot Grrrl, is a lyrical, punk-infused narrative about a group of extraordinary young women coming of age angrily, collectively, and publicly. A dynamic chronicle not just of a movement but of an era, this is the story of a time when America thought young people were apathetic and feminism was dead, but a generation of noisy girls rose up to prove everybody wrong.

plus a special performance with Mountain Man

A firespitting evening with drummer Denardo Coleman, featuring a voice  celebrated for her political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in  lyricism, and visceral sound. Cortez's literary work and impassioned  activism inspired by the ideals of human dignity and social justice  have been called blues poetics, part of the foundation of hip hop and  performance poetry. Denardo Coleman is a musician, composer, producer and drummer with the Ornette Coleman Quartet.

More about Jayne Cortez:

Jayne Cortez was born in Arizona, grew up in California, and currently lives in New York City and Dakar, Senegal. She is the author of ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music on nine recordings. Her voice is celebrated for its political, surrealistic, dynamic innovations in lyricism, and visceral sound.

Live From Lock One is a series featuring some of the most creative artists on the local live music scene. Each performance is recorded with a studio audience and streamed live over the internet. This season we'll be focusing on some of the region's great blues talents, hosted by JV & The Cutters. Featured singers include Thomasina Winslow (left) and Mother Judge (right).

The Persian-American poet/singer/songwriter Haale will perform at 9 PM on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 Sixth Avenue in Troy.  Admission to the all-ages show is $10 (free to patrons of the Indymedia 10th Anniversary Film Festival, which immediately precedes this show).  Call (518) 272-2390, email info@MediaSanctuary.org, or visit www.MediaSanctuary.org for directions and more information.

Drawing on Persian mystical and American folk traditions, Haale weaves engaging lyrics and trance-inducing melodies in a rare solo acoustic set.  She will sing new songs as well as songs from her album "No Ceiling," hailed by the Boston Globe as "one of the most memorable releases of 2008."

This show is available online here (click on individual tracks at right) and on DVD directly from Downtown Music Gallery.

The Thirteenth Assembly is a touring collective made up of four musicians and four different and musically distinct small ensembles.  Styled somewhere between the classic r&b/soul revues of the 60’s and a post-modern traveling circus, the Thirteenth Assembly presents a selection of some of the fastest-emerging young artists and bands in New York’s creative music scene in one package.
 
Over the course of the evening of Saturday, December 1, 2007, each group performed a short thirty-minute set, offering a glimpse of the vibrant and varied stylistic diversity and creativity of this particular musical community. Especially for this Thirteenth Assembly Tour, these four close friends and frequent collaborators formed a new quartet, with each member contributing original compositions.
 
THE BANDS
 
Taylor Ho Bynum/Tomas Fujiwara Duo