The Press Room presents: Smalltalker and Upstate Rubdown

Description

Smalltalker
​The name smalltalker refers in part to the shmooze, the how's-the-weather, the "welp...", aspect to the music. It's an afternoon on the beach under a palm tree with a beautiful woman that doesn't really like you that much but she's trying to get back at her ex and you don't really mind cause you don't really like her that much either.

Upstate Rubdown
Upstate Rubdown is an acoustic septet from New York's Hudson Valley, borrowing from every corner (and decade) of America's musical heritage. Over the years, the band's membership has snowballed from a fairly innocuous song-spinning trio in 2011 to the hefty and innovative ensemble it is today. Singers Mary Kenney, Melanie Glenn, and Kate Scarlett shine through in rich 3-part Harmony paired with an eclectic mix of instruments including Mandolin (Ryan 
Chappell), Upright Bass (Harry D'Agostino), Cajon (Dean Mahoney), and Saxophone (Christian Joao).

Though the band began among college peers in a college town, they have weathered the challenges of graduations, unemployment, and members moving across 3 states, to continue writing songs and touring the Northeast, and in the process won some glowing press and devoted fans.

Their energy and gravity caught the eye of veteran producer and keyboardist Jason Miles in 2014, and with Miles' help and the support of an ambitious Kickstarter campaign, the group recorded and released their first full-length album A Remedy in 2015.

Upstate Rubdown has shared stages with noted acts such as Cory Henry, Marco Benevento, Commander Cody, Phox and many others. Though their music is hard to pin down, a recent description from NPR Music gets close: "The New York seven-piece melds soul, jazz, and aggressive desk drumming into one unstoppable blend." Come Dance!