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New Year’s Eve in the Spa City

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Entertainment.


The Allman Betts Bandheadlined Saratoga’s New Year’s Eve music lineup, taking the main stage at the City Center at 8 p.m. Introducing the group, which includes the sons of three founding members of the Allman Brothers Band, was outgoing Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran. “The Allman Brothers, for me, pierced me like no other band,” Moran said. “I think you’re all sitting here for a reason. I actually was, I would guess, the youngest person that was at the famous 1971 concert up at Skidmore. As a 10-month-old, I was taken to that concert by my dad. Apparently, I was drinking Mateus wine all day and eating cigarette butts. Nothing’s changed since, but it brings me extreme pleasure to introduce the progeny of the band that makes me love music, The Allman Betts Band.” Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
Ally the Piper, a Capital Region native who plays the bagpipes, rose to fame thanks to millions of social media followers. She played in the second-floor room at the City Center around the same time as Allman Betts. Her proud mother was in the audience, issuing the occasional “whoop!” of encouragement. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
Glass Pony, an Albany-based group that bills themselves as a “psychedelic groove circus,” opened for Allman Betts on the main stage. The jam band featured Greg Pittz on lead guitar, who impressed the cheering audience by shredding some solos. Glass Pony’s drummer, Chanda Dewey, states on the group’s website that she “was born in an oyster shell off the coast of New Zealand.” Saratoga TODAY is still working on fact-checking that biographical claim. Photo by Jonathon Norcross.

Heard— a world jazz band that incorporates influences from West Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean—played in the City Center’s second-floor room prior to Ally the Piper. The group led audience members in several dance sessions, one of which included a modified “Macarena.” Photo by Jonathon Norcross.
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