"Let's show them that SUNY can party out! Let's go!"

With those words, a massive concert kicked off on the campus of the University at Albany in 1982 — one year before the well-cited U2 concert on campus —but this show was broadcast live to millions!

In UAlbany Magazine's first Music Mini edition, you'll discover the name of that band and experience the full UAlbany concert in video, search by decade to find other famous musicians who played here, try our interactive DJ board featuring two legendary hip-hop aficionados/alums, revisit the legendary local band that helped launch MTV, and hear from our most prominent alumni in the music industry — from top music executives, up-and-coming artists, writers, photographers and more.

So, UAlbany, let's hear you: Are you ready to rock?!

Lickona and another Austin City Limits artist.

Terry presents Willie Nelson with an award on stage

Terry accepts an achievement award on a stage with a group of people.

Terry Lickona '68

Executive Producer, Austin City Limits

Terry Lickona knows there's an occupational hazard that comes with being the executive producer of the longest running music series in television history: Everyone wants your ear.

"Whether it's other people on my staff, my next-door neighbor, the plumber or anyone who knows what I do. They're going to be asking me ... 'Why don't you consider doing a show with fill-in-the-blank?'" says Lickona, who helms the iconic music show "Austin City Limits" which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024.

Over those five decades, ACL has become famous for its eclectic array of musicians who have played its stages: country music icons like Willie Nelson and Tanya Tucker, blues idols like B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, jazz greats like Herbie Hancock, rock legends like Pat Benatar, rap and pop superstars like Kendrick Lamar and Olivia Rodrigo, breakout talent like Noah Kahan, Jelly Roll, and jazz duo DOMi and JD Beck feature in more than 600 episodes that make up the Austin City Limits catalog. That diversity of artistry is why Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder has called the show a "monument to music."

According to the National Endowment of the Arts, ACL is the only television program to be awarded the National Medal of the Arts — an honor given by the president of the United States to individuals or groups "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States."

Lickona, who majored in history at UAlbany and hails from Poughkeepsie, New York, is moved that "our little PBS show" has become so much more than he could have imagined when he first joined the staff in 1974.

"It's really become ... a treasure chest of music that hopefully, you know, people will have access to for decades — forever, hopefully."

Learn how Terry found his way to Texas and built the longest running television music series in the world!

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Savannah Gordon '18

Opera Singer

Savannah Gordon is on fire: In 2023, she sang the national anthem at the inauguration of New York Governor Kathy Hochul. In 2024, the mezzo-soprano performed at The Metropolitan Opera — not once, but twice — first, in Terence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up In My Bones" and then in "Orfeo ed Euridice." In a recent television interview, Gordon, who also coaches high school track, describes her musical rise as a "fever dream."

Learn how a music video inspired Savannah to become an opera singer.

DJ Hol Up (Derek Moses '16) 

Top U.S. Afrobeats, Dancehall & Hip-Hop DJ

During his senior year, Derek Moses, then a vice president of the African Student Association, created his first DJ mix in his dorm room. After sharing it in Soundcloud, it blew up (12.5M streams) and set him on his path in music. Today, as DJ Hol Up, he delivers irresistible Afrobeat mixes and music to a global audience through more than 50+ million streams and organizes and headlines major Afrobeat concerts around the world. 

DJ Hol Up · Afrobeats Mix 2024 (2 Hours) ft Burna Boy Asake Davido Rema Arya Starr

Bob Gluck '77

Composer, music author, and pianist/electronics performer

Flip over for more

At age 6, Bob Gluck started playing piano and by age 9, he was studying in Julliard's Pre-College program. After 20 years as a rabbi, Gluck joined UAlbany as a music professor and director of the University at Albany Electronic Music Studio. He has written authoritative books on jazz greats Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Pat Metheny (due out in 2024) and his recordings have been released on the FMR, Ictus, and EMF Media labels.

Justin Friello '11

Composer

Flip over for more

Justin Friello thinks deeply about music, sound, art, human behavior and their intersections. It's fitting that a podcast episode profoundly changed his life's course, serving as the genesis for "A Fine is a Price," a personal manifesto. For over 20 years, Friello — inspired by John Cage, Philip Glass and Meredith Monk — has navigated the musical landscape as a singer/songwriter, musical theater composer and now budding academic at the University of North Texas's Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia. The throughline of his journey, he says on his blog, is "to create something that sounded like what it feels like to be me."

Bill McCann '86, MS '87

DJ, WCDB 90.9FM

Flip over for more

As the longest serving DJ at WCDB 90.9 FM, Bill McCann is not just a fixture at the radio station, he is its heart. For nearly 40 years, countless listeners have had their Saturday mornings brightened by McCann's dulcet voice on his legendary and award-winning program "The Saturday Morning Edition of Jazz." Like the musical genre itself, McCann's jazz show is improvised on-the-spot and features a mix of well-known classics and contemporary gems, but it always reflects McCann's deeply felt love for the music. Learn McCann's recipe for radio success.

Shannon Mingal '13

Vice President of Digital Marketing, Epic Records

Shannon Mingal’s job at Epic Records is to get the label’s artists heard. Even with an impressive client roster that includes Madison Beer, Giveon, Tyla and Zara Larsson, she has to leverage her creativity to help musicians stand out in a competitive and ever-evolving landscape of online promotion. “That's the most challenging thing for sure,” she says. “But I think it's also exciting that things are always changing. We’re constantly having to stay on top of trends because there's a new platform every few years and there’s a new way of reaching audiences.”

Mingal has always been drawn to music. At an early age, she was captivated by '90s pop icons like the Spice Girls, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. “I remember looking at artists like superheroes and just being so fascinated by them and how they got to that point.”

She arrived at UAlbany wanting to have a career in the music industry and spent her four years here focused on that goal. When music moguls Monte Lipman ’86 and Avery Lipman ’88 took the stage as the keynote speakers at her 2013 commencement, she saw it as a sign. “I actually sent them a message after to say 'thank you.' I probably didn't even have the right email, but I thought, ‘I'm on the right path.’”

Determined to work at a record label, Mingal spent the next year scouring job sites and trying to make connections on LinkedIn. Her relentless search paid off when she landed an interview for an administrative assistant position in the marketing department at Epic, the home label of iconic artists like Michael Jackson and Ozzy Osbourne and current hitmakers like Future and 21 Savage.

After a lengthy process, she was hired. “I finally got the call and I remember thanking the HR person saying, ‘you've changed my life. This is my dream!’”

Ten years, six job promotions at Epic and a big move from New York to L.A. later, Mingal is still living her dream. In 2022, she won a Clio Music Award for her use of emerging technology in a Roblox marketing campaign. Her client, South African singer-songwriter Tyla, won a Grammy in 2024. And her biggest achievement? “Any time we're able to break a new artist is really exciting. And I'm proud to be even a small part of it.”

To celebrate the release of Zara Larrson’s album Poster Girl (Summer Edition), Zara hosted the first ever Roblox Dance Party. (Roblox is an online game platform) Mini games, interactive challenges and exclusive Zara “merch” were available. The party drew 3.7+ million visits. (1.6 + MIL unique viewers.) Streams for her songs increased significantly as did engagement on the artist’s social media accounts.

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You're stuck in a malfunctioning elevator that's playing only one song on loop. What song do you hope it is?

Mingal: The first one that came to mind is “White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean. I love Frank Ocean.

Offbeat Music Question

Martha Mooke '85

Grammy award-winning Electro-Acoustic Violist/Composer

Martha Mooke doesn't just play the electric viola, she wields it, Thor-like, and summons forth an awe-inspiring musical tempest that charges the air and shakes the ground around her audiences. Her unique style is also the reason she's performed with some of the most iconic musicians of our time: Barbra Streisand, David Bowie, Laurie Andersen, Philip Glass, Elton John, Iggy Pop, Tony Bennett, Moby and others. In 2024, Mooke — as a member of the Scorchio Quartet — received a Grammy award for Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album for their collaboration with Carla Patullo on her album "So She Howls." Mooke is also founder/director of the Multi-Style Strings program at New Jersey City University, where she encourages musical improvisation and experimentation and tells her students that "when you give yourself into it, you can create so much."

Craig Marks '83

Music Journalist and Editor

Influential Music Scene

Marks came to UAlbany in 1979 deep into punk and new wave music. He found a home at WCBD, hosting his own radio program and helping to book and promote shows for little-known bands like R.E.M and the Bangles at local venues. Some of his first music reviews were published in the ASP.

On the Forefront of Pop Culture

Marks became editor at SPIN magazine in 1991, just a few weeks before Nirvana released their culture-shifting album “Nevermind.” Marks and his team “flew the flag” for a new generation of bands and their fans. He also authored intimate cover stories on some of the biggest names in music. Corresponding for weeks with Eddie Vedder, Marks revealed the Pearl Jam frontman’s complicated relationship with fame. During an interview with Smashing Pumpkins, Marks poked lead singer Billy Corgan on always appearing in the same T-shirt, asking, “It is, like, your blankey?” Before performing in front of thousands with his band Green Day, punk rocker Billie Joe Armstrong confessed to Marks at a café in Sweden that it was being a parent that made him feel self-conscious. Under Marks’ leadership, SPIN doubled its circulation in just two years.

History Lesson

In 2011, Marks co-authored a book called I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, an eyewitness account of the network’s early days as told by over 400 musicians, directors, executives and MTV founder Bob Pittman, who thought a channel that played nothing but music videos 24 hours a day “sounded like an asinine idea.”

Marks is currently a contributing writer at The New York Times.

Find out which famous lead singer Craig Marks chauffeured from the Albany Airport and more in a full interview about WCDB’s role in the early '80s national music scene.

You’re up next for Karaoke, what song are you singing?

Marks: As a Long Island boy, my karaoke song of choice is typically Billy Joel's “Vienna.”

An icon of a microphone surrounded by musical notes and stars.

Offbeat Music Question

Cobaine Ivory '03

Grammy-nominated Music Producer/Film Composer

Whether it's a sumptuous, drum-driven R&B track, a dystopian-inspired cinematic score or elegantly original music for brands like Armani and Victoria's Secret, the Los Angeles-based music producer, film composer and multi-instrumentalist Cobaine Ivory defies categorization or stereotypes. In 2020, Ivory earned acclaim as a producer and for his five-song contribution on the Grammy nominated album "to feel love/d" by Luke James. He's collaborated with Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, H.E.R, Anderson.Paak and CharlieRED. "I graduated with a degree in psychology and a minor in business and both were instrumental (pun intended) in my ability to interact with artists and people within the business of music," says Ivory.

Doctor Baker

From the creative intersection of music, art and handcrafted croissants, comes the roots rock sound of the local indie band, Doctor Baker.  

In 2009, when UAlbany creative writing professor Ed Schwarzschild was living in downtown Albany, he started taking his young son to Crisan Bakery on Lark Street. Iggy Calabria owned the popular shop, known for its artisan pastries and cakes. The two men developed a friendship centered around their growing families, their Philadelphia origins and music. 

“I’m a professor and I have a PhD, so in some not super helpful way, I am a doctor,” explains Schwarzschild. “Iggy had his bakery, and he was up at an ungodly hour every morning making croissants, so he was a baker. In that way, Doctor Baker was born.”

As an acoustic duo with Schwarzschild as singer/songwriter and Calabria on guitar, Doctor Baker found initial success, but the musicians soon wanted to expand their sound to include percussion and bass, allowing them to play out some edgier music.

Schwarzschild approached his UAlbany colleague, Art & Art History Department chair Danny Goodwin, who played drums for a few bands in his early days but no longer owned a drum kit.

“I urged him to get some drums,” Schwarzschild remembers. “He said he would, and then, over the course of a year or three, he’d occasionally give me an update. ‘I got a snare drum today,’ he’d tell me. Months would go by. Then he’d say, ‘I just bought a bass drum!’ This went on for a while. Eventually, he had a full kit.”

Goodwin, who has been at UAlbany since 1999, admits he had all but lost interest in drumming before joining the band. 

"I did not pick up sticks until Ed harangued me into it, and I’m so glad I relented,” Goodwin reflects. “It has been really rewarding to learn to play again. And I now own two kits, by the way — one for our rehearsal space and one for gigs!”

“The formula for the correct number of drums one needs is N+1, where N is the number of drums you currently have, plus just one more, forever.” 

With bassist Chris Gockley also on board, Doctor Baker began taking the stage at the legendary local music venue, The Low Beat, which closed in 2020. “We played on some wild, multi-band bills there, and it’s where we learned that we could gig as a band and have a great time together,” Schwarzschild recalls.

They now bring their edgy, retro vibe to other prestigious venues like WAMC’s The Linda, Lark Hall, Albany Distilling Co. and the storied Caffé Lena in Saratoga, where past performers include Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Don McLean. Audiences are treated to Schwarzschild’s poetic lyrics backed by the band’s evocative notes. Their biggest shout out to date is from noted environmentalist Bill McKibben in The New Yorker. McKibben linked to the band’s song, “Us People” and wrote, “It’s possible that the apocalyptic love song will become a new genre — here’s an offering from the Albany-based group Doctor Baker.”

The band’s journey from an acoustic duo to a dynamic quartet not only created a unique sound but also exemplifies the transformative power of collaboration.

In partnership with the University Art Museum, Schwarzschild and Goodwin will open a two-floor exhibition in August 2024 exploring the overlap of art and writing, set to coincide with the release of their co-authored book entitled Job/Security: A Composite Portrait of the Expanding American Security Industry.

The band is bound by their passion to share with others the profound healing abilities of expressive art forms. In other words, creativity is just what the Doctor orders.

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Molecules and Melodies: Jammin' with NanoJazz

Every month, in the modest student lounge of UAlbany's College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE) building, music and science merge.

An ensemble of a dozen or so students, mostly CNSE majors, comes together as members of the NanoJazz group. True to its jazz and science roots, the group encourages its members to experiment and improvise in the spirit of discovery.

“I’ve been playing the flute for 10 years now, whereas the alto sax I just taught myself last year how to play for the NanoJazz group," said Ava Alhoff, a sophomore majoring in nanoscale engineering with a concentration in nano-biosystems and a minor in biology.

"What initially drew me to the group was the fact that it focuses on jazz, which I had never done before. I spent my years playing the flute in concert bands and orchestras playing classical music. I was interested in exploring the world of jazz, new instruments and new people,” says Alhoff, who is now the group's vice president.

The desire to try something new reverberates widely within the group.

“The collaboration in the room both musically and socially is beyond satisfactory and enjoyable,” said Julia Rinaldi, a senior studying English and a vocalist in the band. She adds that her favorite song, "Blue Bossa," doesn’t even include vocals, but she enjoys listening to bandmates perform it: “It makes for a great time!”

Three members of NanoJazz playing saxophones.

Professor Robert Brainard, a saxophonist and renowned researcher in the design and use of new molecules and polymers in nanotechnology, has played in jazz bands since his college days in 1978. A chemist by training, Brainard has been the catalyst for student jazz bands on numerous campuses. In the spring of 2015, a group of students in the CNSE music club approached Brainard to be their advisor and lead a jazz group. It was music to his ears. He sent out a call for student musicians, set up auditions and NanoJazz was born.

“Despite vast differences in medium and timescale, many surprising parallels exist in the areas of structure, theme and variation, collaboration, mistakes and the spirit of experimentation found within jazz and chemistry,” Brainard said in a 2023 interview.

Over the years, the music collaboration has yielded success: The group has played a number of gigs in the Capital Region, performed at a jazz festival and recorded a CD during COVID. Following pandemic protocols, each member of the group recorded their respective parts remotely and the final tracks were mixed together later.

It is precisely this kind of inventiveness that attracts students looking for a creative outlet.

“Sometimes as we're playing, mid-song, I'll come up with different ideas on what different bass lines I can add and different styles, I feel like I discover something new every time I play those songs,” said Keven Reyes, a bassist studying nanoscale engineering.

“It’s fun to see the countless ways that we can make our songs more vibrant when exploring different ways to play. I truly appreciate how much creativity this group has as a whole,” he added. “It’s astonishing.”

In addition to the creative outlet, NanoJazz provides another invaluable benefit for these science students who carry a demanding academic load while studying cutting-edge science: stress relief.

“Most of our students graduate with eight to nine research projects complete,” boasted Brainard. “We are all very nerdy.”

But nerdy in the coolest of ways.

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Meg Tarquinio, MA '06

Vice President, Strategy and A&R – Nettwerk Music Group
Former Head of Curation Strategy - Spotify

How To Build Powerful Playlists

Meg Tarquinio is a music curation mastermind. Here are her quick tips to help you create your own compelling playlists and signature sound.

Push your Pace. Need to conquer that morning run? Forget beats per minute. To open your stride, curate tracks with epic dynamics (highs and lows), a heavy beat, and rising energy.

Find Your Focus. For an optimal study aid playlist (that isn’t instrumental), create a mix of your favorite more intricate and even-keeled tracks and pair them with an ambient noise soundtrack. Then, go ace that test!

Put your Audience First. Knowing your audience is key to getting the party vibing. Familiarity and nostalgia reign, so play songs people already know and love. Pro-tip: choose popular songs that came out during their high school years.

Follow a Creative Spark. Try weaving a sonic thread that you find interesting. Acoustic indie folk with bird song? Sure. Indie rock with epic brass features? Go there. I once made a playlist inspired by minimalist arpeggiated solo piano tracks with ambient noise in E and A minor. Over 7 million people followed that list.

Context & Culture are Everything. Titles are your one way to find a wider audience directly in a streaming app, while an attractive cover can bring people in and keep them listening. Use your limited copy and cover features to make your playlist hyper-contextual, subcultural and niche (think Oat Milk Lattes in the Mountains). Enjoy!

Ben Kline '91

Co-chair & Co-president, Warner Music Nashville

On Sunday mornings, "Casey Kasem’s American Top 40" flowed through Ben Kline’s childhood home during breakfast. Growing up with his father, who worked at a rack jobbing company that stocked records at big box stores, “music was just always around,” Kline said.

A native of Boston, Kline’s family moved to Guilderland, N.Y., while he was in elementary school and, at age 15, started working part-time at Records ’N Such, a record shop in Stuyvesant Plaza around the corner from UAlbany’s Uptown Campus.

The store had separate rooms for classical, jazz and blues, with experts working in each one of them. For the young teen, it was a heady education. Looking back, Kline said he earned his “PhD” in music just from the days taking inventory of the shop's catalog — not too dissimilar from his father's one-time job.

“That staff that work there, I owe them so much,” he said. “They didn't know they were mentoring me, but they were mentoring me.”

With these early experiences, it’s no surprise that Kline not only built a career in the music industry, but also ascended to its apex. In June 2022, Kline was named the co-president and co-chair of Warner Music Nashville, the label he has worked for since 2014 and which boasts a roster of country music legends such as Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Kenny Rogers and others.

At Warner, Kline said the constant challenge is staying ahead, but he’s found that allowing musicians’ creativity to “lead every conversation” goes a long way.

“Every day you’ve got to wake up hungry to find the next artists, the next movement, and with the speed and attention spans of the youth today, you’ve got to be super agile,” he said.

“We're not looking for TikTok moments. We're looking for artistry, and artists that have something to say.”

Kline paid his proverbial dues in the industry. Fresh from UAlbany, his first job was working for PolyGram’s Boston office, hanging posters and setting up artist displays in record stores across New England. He later became the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Universal Music Group, was a senior vice president at San Francisco-based INGrooves, and then founded and served as CEO of Brazenhead Entertainment before landing with Warner Music in Nashville.

Thinking back on the soundtrack of his college years, Kline ticks off several tracks that "were all in heavy rotation" for him while lounging by the fountain: "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M., "Right Here, Right Now" by Jesus Jones, and "Joey" by Concrete Blonde.

Mentorship has played a big role in Kline’s career, and it’s something he doesn’t take for granted. John Grady, the former executive vice president of Mercury Nashville whom Kline met when the pair worked at PolyGram, was the mentor who initially brought Kline to a job with Universal Music in Nashville. Years later, in 2014, other connections catapulted Kline to Warner.

In the same way that he benefitted as a teen working in that record shop, Kline is trying to provide the same mentorship at the label.

“The one thing that I've carried with me my entire career is that spirit,” Kline said. “We have a really robust mandatory mentorship program within our company that the executives spend a lot of time with, and it's not just sitting across and answering questions.”

The program aims to have the label’s 10-person executive team help their staff in their professional development. Kline said the label’s leadership strives to take their experience and “pay it forward.”

“If I can't, then I'm screwed because no one has benefited more from the wisdom and the care of others over the years,” he said.

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It's the last mile of a marathon, what song are you playing to get you over the finish line?

Kline: I will need something with tempo and a driving beat-so I would probably choose "Dakota" by Stereophonics.

An icon of a runner wearing earphones and crossing a finish line.

Offbeat Music Question

DJ HollyW8D
(Mario Johnson '18)

DJ, Entrepreneur and Community Activist

For Mario Johnson, being a DJ is about much more than the music: It's about bringing people together. Highly sought after for events, DJ HollyW8D has brought thousands to their feet at epic gigs ranging from the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life to the 2024 NCAA Elite 8 Tournament. Named the 2023 DJ of the Year by the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards, Johnson also founded the More Music Less Violence movement that seeks to inspire passion and positivity in a whole new generation of rappers, musicians and producers.

Martin Benjamin '72

Music Photographer & Visual Arts Professor

Bono backstage. Destiny's Child swaddled in gold. Steven Tyler flippin' the bird. For more than 40 years, photographer Martin Benjamin has trained his camera on hundreds of musicians and bands, from up-and-coming indies to icons in music and entertainment, and vividly captured their onstage antics and intimate backstage moments — all of which can be viewed on his website stockrockshots.com. His incredible images have been published by MTV, VH1, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, People, American Photographer and many more. In 2023, Benjamin was inducted into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame and in 2024 he retired from a 50-year career teaching photography.

Martin Benjamin shares photos of music legends he captured and the stories behind them.

Blotto

When MTV launched in the summer of 1981, among the first music videos broadcast were offerings from Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, Styx and a  relatively unknown band featuring four University at Albany alumni — Paul Jossman ’86, Bill Polchinski ’72, Greg Haymes ’72 and Paul Rapp ’78. Together, they formed the nucleus of the band Blotto. Their popular single, “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard,” conjured images of carefree summer fun and the band recalls standing up to their ankles in the frigid waters of Lake George. “We were at Million Dollar Beach in March,” says Rapp, now an intellectual property lawyer in Kingston. “I mean, [there are] no leaves on the trees if you watch the video!” The idea of yearning for a life of beaches, sunscreen and “1,000 pretty girls within reach” while working a dead-end mall job certainly resonated with crowds in Albany and far beyond. And, more than 40 years later, the song and its iconic music video still do.

 Discover Blotto's beginnings with an interview from members of the band!

Remembering
Rob Stone '90

Founder, Co-CEO of Cornerstone Co-founder, The FADER, Inc, FADER Films & FADER Label

During final production of this first music issue, our noted alum Rob Stone, who was originally scheduled to be interviewed, passed away after a battle with lung cancer. Rob's legendary career and life warranted significant coverage in The New York Times. In 2015, Rob returned to campus to be honored with the University's Reaching Higher, Achieving More recognition and he delivered a powerful and emotional speech that serves as an inspirational reminder for all. We thought this was a fitting way to remember him. Thank you, Rob. You will be missed.

UAlbany Magazine welcomes your comments and we encourage a respectful and on-topic dialogue. Comments that violate our guidelines will be removed.

Reader responses to

UAlbany Magazine Mini Music Edition

Great showcase of the musical talent from our school!

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Rebecca Angel

I remember a Jorma Kaukonen solo show at Page Hall - maybe ‘79 or ‘80?

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Peter Stelman

Paul and Company, WOW! This was a very entertaining and informative read! Keep up the great work!

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Kevin Champagne

Was john cougar at mayfest 81 or 82 ? just before he started to go by his given name.

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kelly wright

I believe Dionne Warwick performed at the 1969 Homecoming Concert in the gym. I also remember Jay & the Americans in Page Hall (1966 or 1967) and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap in the gym.

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Martha Beck ‘70

I remember hearing the band “Renaissance” at the Palace Theater in ‘77 or ‘78, but don’t see it on your list. Then again, maybe it wasn’t a university-sponsored event. Loved it, though!

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Ellen Messina Ciompi

This is so fun to read!

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Kathleen

I remember so many 99cent concerts in the gym in the early 70's. I graduated 1973. Concerts like: J Geils Band, John Mayall, The Moody Blues and so many more!

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Ann Abrams

In the late '60's at The Rathskeller there were all these traveling troubadours that would appear weekly. One was a pre-Woodstock Richie Havens who put on the most fantastic shows.....for free. There would usually be about 50 students attending who would simply pull up a chair. Loved those shows.

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Norman Reisman

Smashing Pumpkins played at RACC April 18, 1994! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgNjZgei7hU. Also, this mini music edition magazine is awesome!

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Michelle

The Smashing Pumpkins played the RACC (one of its first shows) in 1994. Meatloaf also played on campus in ‘91, but not sure where because I had to go home that weekend. There was a great Mayfest, think it was in ‘94, maybe ‘93, with Black ‘47 and I think the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Hope this helps!

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Barbara Sheridan

My first time on campus was to see Dave Matthews Band at the RACC. Who knew I'd spend three decades as a Great Dane. Check out DMB https://youtu.be/crraXOvmD58?si=pfegwd21n9mA059C

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Holly Barker-Flynn

"Let's show them that SUNY can party out! Let's go!"

Terry Lickona '68

Savannah Gordon '18

The Crossfade

J-Live

Mylo the Cat

Meet Adam Schleickorn

Meet J-Live

J-Live's intro to hip-hop

Adam Schleickorn's intro to hip-hop

J-Live on Breaking Through

Adam on Breaking Through

J-Live on WCDB

Adam on WCDB

J-Live on Being Inspired

Adam on Being Inspired

DJ Hol Up (Derek Moses '16)

Bob Gluck '77

Justin Friello '11

Bill McCann '86, MS '87

Shannon Mingal '13

Martha Mooke '85

Craig Marks '83

Influential Music Scene

On the Forefront of Pop Culture

History Lesson

Live@UAlbany

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DJ Hol Up (Derek Moses '16) 

Live
@
UAlbany

DJ HollyW8D
(Mario Johnson '18)

Remembering
Rob Stone '90