Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra perform in Congress Park as part of the 2024 Saratoga Summer Concert Series. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Summer Concert Series returns to Congress Park for the 2025 season, kicking off on Sunday, July 6 with Fenimore Blues. The free, family-friendly concert series is a program of the Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center in partnership with Discover Saratoga and the City of Saratoga Springs.
The series will take place on Sundays in July and on Tuesdays in August. Shows will begin at 7 p.m. at the War Memorial in Congress Park. Each concert will be approximately 90 minutes. In the event of rain, performances will be held at the back covered patio at the Heritage Area Visitor Center, located at 297 Broadway.
The 2025 lineup is as follows:
° July 6 – Fenimore Blues: Fenimore Blues, based in Saratoga Springs, performs an eclectic mix of blues, R&B, and rock.
° July 13 – MPThree: MPThree is an acoustic band with a musical style rooted in country and classic genres, with a focus on storytelling and connecting with the audience.
° July 20 – Mostly Modern Festival-FAB 5: this program features the Mostly Modern composers mixed with The FAB 5’s most popular jams.
° July 27 – Skippy and the Pistons: local band Skippy and the Pistons is an 8-piece classic rock horn band, celebrating 50 years together.
° August 5 – Big Medicine: Big Medicine features honeyed vocals, supple R&B, folk rock grooves, and rich acoustic-based textures.
° August 12 – Rustic Spirit: the music of Rustic Spirit is a heavy dose of southern rock classics with a unique blend of country and classic rock.
° August 19 – Garland Nelson and Soul Session: Soul Session’s emotive style across all genres earned them the distinction of 2019 Eddies Award Winner for “Best Band in Capital Region NY.”
° August 26 – Tops of Trees: an original Rock & Soul ensemble hailing from upstate New York, the band aims to thrill audiences with high-energy performances and a modern interpretation of soulful music steeped in early R&B, funk, and soul.
For more information, please contact the Saratoga Springs Heritage Area Visitor Center at (518) 587-3241 or visit www.saratogaspringsvisitorcenter.com.
Cover of the book “Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution” by Molly Beer, published on July 1 by W. W. Norton & Company.
Update: Due to a flood at the Northshire Bookstore, the event featuring author Molly Beer will now take place at Pitney Meadows Community Farm at 223 West Avenue in Saratoga Springs. The date and time of the event (Tuesday, July 8 at 6pm) remain the same.
SCHUYLERVILLE — In her 58 years of existence, Angelica Schuyler had one of her childhood homes in present-day Schuylerville incinerated by retreating British troops; maintained correspondence with American luminaries like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson; eloped with a British-born businessman with a shady past; befriended Benjamin Franklin in Paris; attended the first inauguration of George Washington; was the namesake of a town in western New York; birthed eight children; and served as the inspiration for a Tony Award-winning performance in a hit Broadway musical.
Yet, despite such an accomplished and remarkable life, Angelica Schuyler has always been depicted as a supporting character in the stories of other people’s lives: her father, General Philip Schuyler; her brother-in-law Alexander Hamilton; and her husband, John Barker Church. A new biography, “Angelica: For Love and Country in a Time of Revolution” by Molly Beer, aims to cast this pivotal figure in a new light, one in which power is not just defined by battle victories and terms in elected office.
“[Historically], we think about power as being located in the men and women are connecting them, but now we talk more about soft power and social networks and connections and being locuses of power. Historically, she occupies this locus of power,” Beer told Saratoga TODAY. “A rubric for greatness is completely male specific, but when we talk about what power looks like now, she checks a lot of those boxes.”
Angelica’s power often lay in her extraordinary social and diplomatic skills, which allowed her to form connections with everyone from passionate patriots to loyal monarchists, from Americans to Brits to the French. Beer believes these talents may have arisen from Angelica’s outsider status as a Dutch New Yorker.
“From early childhood, she is seen as a foreigner,” Beer said. “She’s always navigating the Dutch-British divide and I think people who are used to crossing cultural lines get good at it.”
All of this isn’t to suggest that Angelica was without flaws. Although historians and gossip-mongers have long speculated that her relationship with Hamilton may have been more than friendly, the true blemish on the eldest Schuyler sister’s legacy was her use of enslaved people, a sin from which Beer doesn’t shy away. Beer never found any evidence of Angelica speaking about the issue of slavery directly, and it’s hard to piece together what Angelica’s thoughts may have been. On the one hand, she was a client of the famous hairdresser Pierre Toussaint, a formerly enslaved Haitian-American. On the other hand, enslaved people worked at the Schuyler family farm that still stands in the Village of Schuylerville (then called Saratoga). This farm reminds visitors of early America’s inability to rid of itself of a practice that the French (with whom Angelica spent much time) found abhorrent.
Despite these grim reminders of past crimes, historic sites can also serve as inspiration. Beer grew up in Angelica, New York, the town named after the eldest Schuyler sister, and her school bus drove past Belvidere, a mansion built for Angelica and her husband, every day.
“I always knew that this is where this historic woman who had to do with the forming of the country had lived,” Beer said. “The effect for me was that even if you’re from this place and even if you’re a girl, you can matter in the world. If you read books and you study hard and you’re brave, you can go do stuff. For me, that was important. One of the reasons I wrote the book was because I thought that would be useful for other girls to know.”
Beer will discuss all things Angelica Schuyler at the Northshire Bookstore on Broadway in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, July 8 at 6 p.m. For more information, visit www.northshire.com/event/northshire-saratoga-molly-beer-angelica-love-and-country-time-revolution.
The Schuyler Estate, where Angelica spent parts of her childhood, is open to visitors on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/basicinfo.htm.
Attendees of the 2025 Yaddo Summer Benefit gather under a tent on the nonprofit retreat’s lawn for dramatic letter readings and a musical performance by singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant. Photo courtesy of Yaddo.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Yaddo, the famed 400-acre artists’ retreat in Saratoga Springs, drew a crowd of more than 450 supporters and raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars at its annual summer benefit last Thursday night. Both the number of attendees and the fundraising total were all-time highs, the nonprofit said.
Guests were treated to a buffet of bites and mixed drinks prior to the event’s main act: a series of dramatic letter readings performed by actor Oliver Wadsworth, singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant, and Yaddo President Elaina Richardson; followed by an intimate performance at the piano by Merchant, who sang for the first time solo, her 2023 original song “Sister Tilly.” The letters were written either by or about some of the retreat’s most acclaimed artists-in-residence, such as Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Sylvia Plath, Leonard Bernstein, Langston Hughes, and many others.
This summer, Yaddo will be hosting a number of events, including Wine & Roses (offering live classical music paired with regional wines on July 17, July 31, and August 14), select Sunday yoga classes in the gardens through October, and a rare open house on September 27. The Yaddo Gardens will also be open to visitors until October 9. For tickets, event details, or to learn more, visit Yaddo.org.
Images provided by the Saratoga Springs History Museum.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A spinning roulette wheel. Doors slamming shut. A whiff of lavender perfume. Apparitions in the windows.
Over the years, there have been dozens of people who have reported seeing, hearing, and feeling the presence of otherworldly spirits in Saratoga’s Canfield Casino, which is now the site of the Saratoga Springs History Museum.
Saratoga TODAY collected just a few of these experiences, as relayed by the museum’s Executive Director James Parillo:
° Three people heard the chiming of crystals dangling from a lamp stationed in an empty room;
° the sound of what could be casino chips hitting the floor, heard “over and over again”;
° pounding on the side of an elevator that was once used inside the Adelphi Hotel;
° mediums communicating with unknown entities that smelled of perfume;
° people who feel pressure in their chest or have difficulty breathing when they reach the museum’s third floor;
° a woman who felt a room become ice cold before seeing the apparition of a man who descended a staircase;
° people in Congress Park who say they saw a woman in Victorian clothing looking out one of the casino’s windows;
° seven people who heard audio over a radio receiver of gamblers placing bets;
° three staff members who saw a “lady in a white dress,” believed to be the spirit of Reubena Walworth, a nurse who tended to Spanish-American War vets and later died of typhoid fever.
Whether one finds these stories to be convincing evidence or not, there’s no denying that Canfield has become a hot spot for ghost investigators and paranormal enthusiasts. In 2010, the “Ghost Hunters” TV series on the Syfy network featured the Canfield Casino in one of its episodes, helping to popularize the site’s status as a haunted locale. Nowadays, Parillo said he gets biweekly requests from YouTubers hoping to film inside the museum.
In an effort to satiate the public’s curiosity, the museum has announced the return of its popular “Ghost Tours of the Canfield Casino,” running from July 2 through August 29, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
This season’s tours will aim to “immerse guests in Saratoga’s spectral history with new stories, local legends, and chilling accounts of real paranormal encounters,” the museum said in a press release. Participants will be guided through the “opulent yet eerie” halls of the casino, hearing tales of mysterious events, often from people who have experienced them firsthand.
“It’s important to us that whoever is telling the stories has experienced something,” Parillo said.
The tours are for visitors ages 10 and up. Advance reservations are strongly encouraged. For tickets and more information, visit www.saratogahistory.org/ghost-tours-summer-2025.
Cover of “Find Me in Saratoga” book provided by the author.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga resident Patrice Mastrianni recently released the book “Find Me in Saratoga: Inspired by the Early History, Mystery, and Folklore of Saratoga Springs, NY.” The book was written for children ages ten and up.
“Find Me in Saratoga” explains how Native residents shared their sacred mineral springs with European settlers in the 1700s, prompting early explorers and some of America’s founding fathers to visit the area. The old-style illustrations by artist David F. Globerson paint a picture of how spring water and grand hotels attracted thousands of visitors to the Spa City. The book also features a duck named
Henry, who provides historical “facts” while a sassy squirrel named Miles adds tales of folklore, untimely deaths, and ghosts.
“I was unable to find a book about Saratoga’s fascinating history for my grandsons, so I decided to write one myself,” Mastrianni said in a statement. “I hope this book helps residents and visitors of all ages appreciate what went into creating Saratoga Springs.”
Copies of the book are available at www.FindMeInSaratoga.com.
BOLTON LANDING — The Sembrich’s 2025 World Music Wednesday series opens on July 2 at 2:00 p.m. with a performance by Cécilia, one of Canada’s top traditional folk ensembles. The group will present a lakeside concert of traditional Celtic and Quebecois folk tunes.
“We’re delighted to open this year’s World Music Wednesday series with these uniquely talented musicians,” said Richard Wargo, The Sembrich’s artistic director, in a news release. “Cécilia’s reputation as one of the best folk ensembles on the scene is no exaggeration. The three talented musicians are not only masters of their craft, but also engaging and passionate advocates for the traditions they help preserve and promote.”
The Sembrich features museum exhibitions and an annual summer festival with a mix of musicians, noted musical scholars, a free film series, and the opportunity to enjoy it all on the shores of Lake George. Tickets and the full-season schedule are available at TheSembrich.org/festival.
2024 Saratoga Jazz Festival photo by IronGlass Productions.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The much-anticipated Saratoga Jazz Festival returns this weekend to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) with a new sponsor, upgrades, and a slate of performers encompassing almost every musical genre in existence.
Crafting such a diverse lineup of artists is no easy task, and festival producer Danny Melnick has been at it for more than a year.
“It’s bananas because we are getting inquiries about next year already,” he told Saratoga TODAY.
Musicians are especially eager to perform live nowadays, both to compensate for lost income during the pandemic and because the loss of album sales has necessitated busy touring schedules. This means that finding musicians to take the SPAC stage is not a struggle, but whittling down a list of hundreds of interested artists certainly is.
“One of the great challenges for me is that the festival has 22 sets and not 200 sets,” Melnick said.
The competitive, behind-the-scenes booking process is probably beneficial for festival-goers, however, who will be treated this year to headlining acts like Gary Clark Jr., Trombone Shorty, Cory Wong, Cassandra Wilson, Gregory Porter, Lettuce, DJ Logic & Friends, and Veronica Swift. Just this group alone encompasses a blues/rock/soul fusion, a contemporary spin on New Orleans-style jazz, funk, Grammy Award-winning vocals, nu-jazz, and bebop. Experience levels range from up-and-coming names to established pros. And it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Melnick’s picks for gems hidden inside this year’s lineup include Julius Rodriguez, a young pianist/multi-instrumentalist performing at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday on the Charles R. Wood “Discovery” stage.
“He is this literal genius of music,” Melnick said. “He’s put out two of his own albums already and he is mind blowing.”
Another of Melncik’s buried treasures is Brandee Younger, a harpist who just released an album earlier this month. Younger will be the second act on the Discovery stage on Sunday.
“She played Alice Coltrane’s restored harp at Carnegie Hall and it was totally fantastic, brilliant, amazing, wonderful, gorgeous; everything you could ever imagine,” he said.
In addition to a robust schedule of performers, this year’s fest comes with some upgrades, including more food vendors, new speakers, and larger video screens.
“This winter, Live Nation installed new speakers in the amphitheater facade going out onto the lawn,” Melnick said. “They also installed new high-definition, larger video screens on the amphitheater facade.”
The upgrades provided by Live Nation come at a time when locals have responded less than enthusiastically to the company’s new policy that bans all outside lawn chairs. However, this rule only applies to Live Nation-produced events. The Saratoga Jazz Festival is produced by SPAC, and the venue continues to allow attendees to bring in their own lawn chairs, lawn umbrellas, food, drinks, and blankets.
Also new this year: GE Vernova will sponsor the festival for the first time after agreeing to a $1 million, five-year partnership with SPAC. Although the lead sponsor name on the banner has changed, the festival will still feel familiar to past attendees.
“I think people should feel like the festival that they love is happening again,” Melnick said.
Amenities at this weekend’s Jazz Festival include a fine arts and crafts fair, as well as artist merchandise signings. Parking for the event is free. Performances will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28 and at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 29.
Tickets are still available at www.spac.org. Children 12 and under receive 50% off tickets in the amphitheater and are free on the lawn. Full-time students with a school issued ID receive 25% off tickets in the amphitheater, or $28 on the lawn (student ID must be presented at will call).
2025 Jazz Festival line-up
Saturday, June 28
Amphitheater:
Gary Clark Jr.
Gregory Porter
Lettuce
Veronica Swift
Michel Camilo Trio
Kenny Garrett
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage:
Artemis
Nicole Zuraitis
Keyon Harrold
Julius Rodriguez
C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band
The String Queens
Sunday, June 29
Amphitheater:
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Cory Wong
Cassandra Wilson
Al Di Meola Acoustic Band
DJ Logic & Friends featuring Vernon Reid, Cyro Baptista, Emilio Modeste, James Hurt, Felix Pastorius & Terreon Gully
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage:
Gary Bartz
Bria Skonberg Quintet
Brandee Younger Trio
La Excelencia
Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Celebrate their Heroes featuring Clay Jenkins, Jimmy Greene, Steve Davis, Dave Stryker, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel
7 p.m. — Big Sky Country @ Dock Brown’s Lakeside Tavern
A high-energy, modern country band that brings Nashville north.
7:30 p.m. — Sean Lippin Band @ Quarters Bar
Sean Lippin is a singer-songwriter from the Hudson Valley playing original songs.
7:30 p.m. — Mostly Modern Orchestra with Andrew Crust @ Arthur Zankel Music Center
The 6th season finale of the Mostly Modern Festival with Maestro Andrew Crust, music director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and the Mostly Modern Orchestra. The nature-themed performance features Hovhaness, Boulanger, Paterson, Morlock, along with the concerto competition winner performing Schnyder’s Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra.
8 p.m. — Big Radio @ Nanola
Albany-area cover band playing modern classic rock with a few surprises, specializing in vocal harmonies and swoon-worthy dance moves.
8 p.m. — Dom Flemons @ Caffe Lena
Grammy Award winner, four-time Grammy nominee, two-time Emmy nominee, and United States Artists Fellow Dom Flemons is one of America’s most celebrated musicians and historians of American roots music. His performances span more than a century of American song, weaving together country, blues, bluegrass, folk, and early Americana traditions.
9 p.m. — Tim Olsen Quartet @ 9 Maple Ave
Tim Olsen is a composer, performer, and educator whose early training involved playing trumpet in marching, concert, and jazz bands. Olsen began writing and arranging for these groups and picked up the piano by ear. As a Fulbright Scholar in 1990-91, Olsen studied with composer Ib Nørholm at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen.
9 p.m. — Ky McClinton Band @ Putnam Place
The Ky McClinton Band merges their inspirations in blues rock and RnB/Soul, molding influences from the likes of John Mayer and Jimi Hendrix with soulful artists like Michael Kiwanuka and Goose. Their setlist is crafted to bring life to any space but also leave room for improvisation.
Saturday, June 21
6 p.m. — Tame the Rooster @ Carson’s Woodside Tavern
A vibrant, modern country band from New York’s Capital Region.
7 p.m. — Mumford & Sons @ SPAC
The popular British folk rock band has earned two BRIT Awards and two Grammy Awards (including Album of the Year) for their distinctive Americana sound.
8 p.m. — Hot Club of Cowtown @ Caffe Lena
The Hot Club of Cowtown play high-energy Western swing and hot jazz, “at that crossroads where country meets jazz and chases the blues away” says The Independent.
8 p.m. — Darkside Skinny Dippers @ Nanola
Diverse rock and roll with attitude from Upstate New York.
9 p.m. — Out of the Box @ 9 Maple Ave
Out of the Box will bring their version of straight up jazz, seasoned with a bit of funk and plenty of groove, to 9 Maple. Selected winner of the Albany Downtown Jazz Competition in 2011, they have been a staple of the greater Capital Region music scene for the past decade.
Sunday, June 22
3 p.m. — Great Sonatas: Beethoven, Brahms, and Mozart @ SPAC
Celebrated pieces presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
7 p.m. — Sue Foley @ Caffe Lena
Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer brings her One Guitar Woman show to life, a solo acoustic tribute to female guitar pioneers.
Crawling cartoon zombie. Vector illustration with simple gradients. All in a single layer.
MALTA — The Malta Drive-In is partnering with local haunt production company Booo365 for a unique double-feature event that will include zombies and masked killers prowling the theater.
On Saturday, June 21, “Summer Outbreak: Haunted Night at the Malta Drive-In Theatre” will begin with a screening of “28 Years Later” (R) as zombies roam the grounds of the drive-in.
At the conclusion of “28 Years Later”, the horror will continue with the second feature of the night, “Until Dawn” (R). As a masked killer arrives on the big screen, a group of masked individuals will descend upon the theater late into the night.
“We are really excited to team up with the Malta Drive-In Theatre for this immersive haunted movie event,” said Dan Barner, co-owner of Booo365, in a news release. “The Drive-In is such a summer tradition in Saratoga County, and our creatures are ready to help make this summer kick-off one to remember.”
Movie-goers are encouraged to interact and take photos with the zombies and other creatures that Booo365 will be unleashing at “Summer Outbreak.”
Tickets are available online at www.maltadrivein.com or at the box office starting at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 21.
Photo provided by the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association announced this week the return of the Concerts in the Park series; a free, family-friendly event that brings live music to Old Iron Spring Park every Thursday at 6 p.m. from June 26 through August 28.
Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs for seating. Food concessions will be on-site, offering a variety of refreshments.
The 2025 Concert in the Park Schedule
June 26: Ballston Spa Community Band
July 3: SIRSY (sassy pop-rock with folk intimacy)
July 10: The Lustre Kings (modern take on the reverb-driven sounds of early rock, leaning also on touchstones of country, blues, and R&B)
July 17: Black Mountain Symphony (six-piece progressive folk band)
July 24: Thee Mr. E Band (60s, 70s music and beyond)
July 31: Fenimore Blues (an eclectic mix of blues, rock, and R&B)
August 7: Annual Ice Cream Social featuring Union Fire Co. Band
August 14: Diamond Cut Horns (multi-instrumental band with a horn section performing covers from the 60’s through today’s hits)
August 21: “An Evening with Elvis” Tribute Artist Joe Ramsey
August 28: The Protones (local rock band featuring veteran musicians)
