ROUND LAKE — The Markets at Round Lake event will return Aug. 9 and 10, bringing food trucks, live music, artisans, and book vendors to the village. 

The two-day festival will feature three musical acts each day, coffee, crepes, lemonade, wine, spirits, tamales, tacos, pie, empanadas, jewelry, pottery, furniture, photographs, candles, decor, artwork, and much more. Admission is free and the event will occur rain or shine at 49 Burlington Avenue.

The 2025 iteration of Markets at Round Lake is especially meaningful to its organizers, who are continuing the event in honor of Amy Leach, who passed away on Halloween (her favorite holiday) in 2024.

“Amy built and left us an amazing system for organizing this event, creating documents, systems, and connections that brought over 80 vendors and thousands of visitors to Round Lake each year,” Craig Maslowsky, chair of the 2025 Markets at Round Lake Planning Committee, told Saratoga TODAY. “After her passing, it was unclear whether the Markets could continue. But when a neighbor voiced concern at a village volunteer meeting that it might not happen, something beautiful unfolded: the community stepped up…We’re carrying it forward, not just for the event, but for Amy.”

For more information, visit www.marketsatroundlake.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College will host a behind-the-scenes tour on Thursday, Aug. 14 at noon.

The special tour, led by Izzy DeSantis (the Kiki Pohlad ’13 Curatorial Assistant) comes at a time when two galleries are being prepared for new exhibitions: “All These Growing Things,” opening Aug. 23, and “See It Now: Contemporary Art from the Ann and Mel Schaffer Collection,” opening Sept. 13.

Visitors will also be able to see the current exhibitions “Building Blocks,” “Elevator Music 52: Anne E. Stoner—Drowning Out the Noise,” “Up to Us: Black Dimensions in Art, 1975–Tomorrow,” and “Yvette Molina: A Promise to the Leaves.”

Admission is free. The Tang is on the campus of Skidmore College. The main entrance is at 815 N. Broadway in Saratoga Springs. For more information, please call the Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit tang.skidmore.edu/visit.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Phish played three shows at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) last weekend, packing tens of thousands of spectators into the usually serene Spa State Park. According to Setlist.FM, a database that has catalogued nearly one million live shows, Phish has now played at SPAC 27 times, making them one of the most popular bands in the venue’s storied history.

The Vermont-based quartet made headlines when, on Sunday, they used “Tweezer Reprise” as a jumping-off point for a series of jams. Their setlists also included time-tested favorites, such as “Bathtub Gin,” “Birds of a Feather,” “Chalk Dust Torture,” “Run like an Antelope,” “Wading in the Velvet Sea,” “Down with Disease,” “Reba,” and “Tweezer.” Covers included “Loving Cup” by the Rolling Stones, “Rock & Roll” by the Velvet Underground, and “Boogie on Reggae Woman” by Stevie Wonder. 

Some oddities and rarities during the three-night run: “Tweezer” was played as an encore for the first time; “N.I.B.” by Black Sabbath was teased several times in recognition of Ozzy Osbourne’s recent passing; and “Happy Birthday” was teased during “No Men in No Men’s Land”.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) recently announced that a panel discussion, “Music and Mind with Renée Fleming: Harnessing the Arts to Heal and Connect,” will occur on Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Spa Little Theater. 

Five-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Fleming—curator of the anthology “Music and Mind”—will host a discussion with experts that will explore research on the connections between the arts and health. The event is free to attend. 

The exploration will begin with an introduction from Renée Fleming, highlighting the intersection of music, neuroscience, and healthcare, alongside personal stories and insights from her career. She will also share findings from her book “Music and Mind,” which features discoveries on how the arts support healing in areas ranging from pain relief and the treatment of anxiety and depression, to regaining speech after stroke or brain injury, to improving mobility for individuals with conditions like Parkinson’s disease and MS. In addition to these therapeutic applications, the book delves into topics such as evolution, brain function, childhood development, and the role of technology in arts and health.

 Brief presentations will follow: psychology and neuroscience researcher Dr. Psyche Loui will speak on music-based interventions for individuals with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s; licensed creative arts therapist Bree Beaudette will discuss art therapy techniques that promote healing and personal growth; and SPAC Vice President of Education Dennis Moench will explore SPAC’s commitment to inclusive arts programming, cultivating access to shared creative experiences for all minds and bodies. A panel discussion led by Fleming will follow, culminating with a Q&A and book signing.

To register for this free event, visit spac.org. Seating is limited.

“I’d seen hundreds of concerts [at SPAC]. And here I am on that stage for the first time, which was my dream when I was 16…I mean, I saw everybody there. And that was my dream to play on stage one day, and here I am playing on that stage with one of my idols. We did ‘That’s It for the Other One,’ which the Dead hadn’t played in years. Had my career gone no further than that day, I would have been fine. My dreams were realized.”

-Vinnie Amico, drummer for the jam band Moe, on performing alongside surviving members of the Grateful Dead at SPAC on July 6, 1997. [This quote appears in the book “Sharing in the Groove” by Mike Ayers].

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It wasn’t necessary to ask Mike Ayers, the author of a new book on ‘90s jam bands, just what exactly he was doing in Saratoga Springs last weekend.

Phish performed its 27th show at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) last Sunday, concluding their three-night stay in a city that continues to hold a special place in jam band history. Last weekend, the Dave Matthews Band played their 50th concert at SPAC. Last summer, rising jam band Goose played two headlining shows at the venue six years after being an opening act at Putnam Place. Also, that summer, Blues Traveler played at Belmont on Broadway, a free concert downtown. At the end of the year, up-and-coming jam group Dogs in a Pile played four straight shows at Putnam Place to celebrate New Year’s Eve. In 1985, the Grateful Dead famously drew the largest-ever SPAC crowd of more than 40,000 Deadheads. It was one of many times that various iterations of the Dead (both before and after Jerry Garcia’s death) took the SPAC stage.

The list of jam bands—ranging from obscure acts to all-time greats—that have played in Saratoga is an almost impossibly long one. But why does the Spa City hold such a prominent place in jam band lore? Saratoga TODAY spoke with Ayers—whose oral history book “Sharing in the Groove” chronicles the explosion of jam bands like Phish, Dave Matthews, and Blues Traveler—to help unravel this mystery.

“There’s definitely lineage around certain areas,” Ayers said. “Up here, near Woodstock, it has this aura that is left over from the 60s that probably just continues to permeate in ways.”

Ayers compared the Upstate jam scene with others that have sprung up around the country, in places like Georgia (where the Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic were based) and Colorado (home of the long-running Telluride Bluegrass Festival).

“It’s probably a case of you have these longstanding scenes and then you have young people coming up in them, taking influence from the past but putting their spin on it, whatever that may be,” Ayers said.

Young people, typically college kids, are a key ingredient in fostering a successful jam band scene. Many of the bands covered in Ayers’ book sprung up around college towns (such as Athens, Charlottesville, and Burlington) that had plenty of bars, fraternities, and other venues that could host and/or subsidize live music. And as the ‘90s progressed, college kids increasingly had access to internet connections, allowing them to network with other jam band fans. This gave rise to a fan base that was enthusiastic about sharing music with like-minded people. Ayers was one of those fans, mailing tapes to strangers across the country “all the time.”

But the jam band scene isn’t always so harmonious. In the ‘90s, following the death of guitarist Jerry Garcia and the official end of the Grateful Dead (though the surviving members would subsequently play together many times), some Deadheads didn’t enjoy the new crop of emerging jam bands—especially Phish—and seemed to resent Phish’s status as the jam scene’s new torchbearers. That dynamic is repeating itself today as some Phish fans resist the rising popularity of Goose. Ayers, however, (like most jam band fans, probably) doesn’t partake in these internal squabbles.

“I’m definitely more of an omnivore; I like a lot of things,” Ayers said. “But in the ‘90s with this jam culture movement, I remember if you were an indie kid or a punk rock kid, you did not want to listen to the jam stuff and vice versa. It was very divided. It was almost like a record store where here’s the punk section, here’s the rock section, here’s the classics.”

The divisiveness, however, is probably more of a vocal minority than an accurate representation of the entire scene. And despite some bad vibes, jam bands have continued to flourish well past the ‘90s glory days.

“It seems pretty healthy now, like it was in the ‘90s,” said Ayers. “You have multiple acts selling out arenas or large theaters. Goose, Billy Strings; those are prime examples. Phish is still doing it. Dave [Matthews] is still doing it. [Widespread] Panic does pretty sizable theaters still…It’s probably a bit of a perfect storm where you have a younger crowd that is super interested and you have an older crowd that can get away a little bit easier. There’s new acts, there’s old acts; there’s lots of stuff to check out.”

To see evidence of how the jam scene is still truckin’, simply stop by a Phish or Dave Matthews show at SPAC, and good luck finding a decent spot on the lawn if you don’t show up early enough.

“It’s not shocking that [these bands] are still going, it’s shocking that they’re still putting 25,000 people in Saratoga Springs for three straight nights,” Ayers said. “It’s great to see. So many people are still into it, especially here.”

“Sharing in the Groove” was released on July 22 and is currently available at booksellers nationwide. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Legendary comedian and sitcom star Jerry Seinfeld visited Saratoga Springs for the first time last week, performing a set of all-new material at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).

The eponymous “Seinfeld” creator made a perhaps obligatory joke about horse racing before delving into a series of observations and commentaries on contemporary life. At one point, a heckler attempted to derail the set, but the audience was firmly on Jerry’s side.

Seinfeld’s latest cinematic project, “Unfrosted,” is currently available to stream on Netflix. The comedy chronicles the largely fictional origin story of Pop-Tarts.

Following his July 24 SPAC show, Seinfeld is scheduled to make three appearances in the New England area from Aug. 7 to 9.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Cynthia Erivo—acclaimed singer, actor, and co-star of hit Hollywood musical “Wicked”—has canceled her Aug. 22 performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) “due to scheduling conflicts beyond the artist’s control.”

Replacing Erivo in SPAC’s summer lineup will be seven-time Grammy Award-winning artist Jon Batiste, whose new album “Big Money” is set to be released on the same day of his Aug. 22 show, giving audiences a chance to experience his latest music live prior to a national tour that begins on Aug. 27.

“While we are disappointed that Cynthia Erivo will not be joining us this summer, we are elated to welcome Jon in celebration of his highly anticipated new album,” said Elizabeth Sobol, the CEO of SPAC, in a news release.

The first half of Batiste’s show will feature music from his upcoming album performed alongside his band. The second half of the show will mark his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra. This appearance will be Batiste’s first time back at SPAC following his Saratoga Jazz Festival performance in 2018.

Tickets to the Cynthia Erivo show will be automatically transferred to “A Special Evening with Jon Batiste and The Philadelphia Orchestra” on Aug. 22. For existing ticketholders who prefer a refund or a credit to redeem at a later date, a request form will be emailed directly to be completed by Friday, Aug. 1. Questions can be directed to the box office at boxoffice@spac.org. 

BALLSTON SPA — The Village of Ballston Spa Committee on the Arts will present a free outdoor jazz concert at the Brookside Museum on Sunday, July 27 at 5 p.m. The performance will be the first concert in the “Sounds of Summer/Sounds in Winter” series.

Dennis Searles and the Jazz Ambassadors Jazz Band will play music from the porch of the museum. Attendees are invited to bring chairs and picnic dinners to enjoy an evening of music. Should rain cancel the event, it will be rescheduled for Aug. 3 at 5 p.m.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — If you’ve ever visited the Saratoga Springs Public Library in search of the latest popular fiction title, don’t be surprised if the author of the book you’re borrowing is in line behind you.

“I love the library here in Saratoga,” said Mai Corland, a New York Times bestselling author and Saratoga resident. “From when my kids were very little, we would go to the library. During COVID, it was integral and it remains integral in our lives.”

Corland just released “Three Shattered Souls” earlier this month. It’s the final installment of her romantasy trilogy, “The Broken Blades,” which is primarily set in the fictional land of Yusan, but was written right here in the Spa City.

In an interview with Saratoga TODAY, Corland gushed about the city’s many literary institutions and events, from the Yaddo artists’ retreat to the Saratoga Book Festival to the Northshire Bookstore.

“There is a long history, especially in Saratoga, of supporting the arts,” Corland said. “For a small town, there is a great arts influence…It’s not as cookie-cutter as other places tend to be.”

The home of health, history, and horses served as inspiration for some of Corland’s prior work, especially the young adult novel “Everyone Hates Kelsie Miller,” which takes place partly in Saratoga and includes references to the horse racing industry. Another YA title, “Emma and the Love Spell” is set in a fictional town with a distinct Upstate New York feel. (Both books were released under the name Meredith Ireland.)

“The Broken Blades” trilogy, however, takes inspiration from Korean history and mythology. Corland was born in Seoul, adopted, and then moved with her new family to New York City, where she was raised. Sometime around the 9/11 terrorist attacks, her family decided to relocate. Corland’s sister was interested in Skidmore College, prompting her parents to make the move upstate when they fell in love with Saratoga. At age 22, when Corland was about to leave New York to attend law school in Miami, her life took an unexpected turn when she met her future husband here in New York. In other words, the author of romantic stories had her own life profoundly shaped by romance.

Of course, romance is only part of the romantasy genre. The “Broken Blades” trilogy opens with five deceptive assassins competing (and, at times, collaborating) to kill the king of Yusan. The final installment in the series, released on July 15, contains dark subject matter, such as death, violence, and genocide. These elements were influenced, in part, by real historic occurrences, such as the Jeju uprising/massacre, which caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The adult subject matter could appeal to fans of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the fantasy series by George R.R. Martin that was adapted for television as “Game of Thrones.” But Corland’s incorporation of Korean history, as well as her feminist perspective, puts a distinct spin on familiar fantasy themes. 

“Three Shattered Souls,” which Kirkus Reviews called “a compelling and skillfully written end to a thrilling fantasy series,” is now available via online and brick-and-mortar booksellers nationwide.