The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announced the list of events they will be hosting during the summer season. Events include Frances Day, Family Saturdays, Crafts on the Grass, and the inaugural Skidmore College Juneteenth Celebration.
The most anticipated of these events is the 2024 rendition of its summer concert series, “Upbeat on the Roof,” located in Saratoga Springs, NY. The series will run each Thursday from July 11 through August 15. All events are free and open to the public. Art-making activities are geared toward children 5 and older, with an adult companion.
A wide variety of performers will attend the concert series, including both revisiting and new performers. This year, a new collaboration with The Orchard Project and a theater and performance incubator in residence at Skidmore are among the newcomers.
For 23 years, the Tang Teaching Museum has brought the summer concert series to Saratoga Springs. However, the concert series is not just for musicians, as the aforementioned arts and crafts events, as well as the debuting of art for the museum’s gallery, take place after the performances. Showcasing a diverse set of performers and artists, and spanning across several genres, Upbeat on the Roof brings the best of what Skidmore College has to offer.
The Tang Teaching Museum located at Skidmore College is a monumental feat in the world of education. With exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, the Tang inspires learning on a higher level adapted to our modern times. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty engagement initiatives in the nation, as well as a robust publication and touring exhibition program that brings the Tang all around the world.
Staff at Upbeat on the Roof are dedicated to providing a family-friendly, fun space for their upcoming concert series. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets, camping chairs, food, and drink to picnic on the lawn. Craft kits will be available at 5:30 pm; concerts begin at 6 pm.
Below is the full schedule of summer events hosted by the Tang, including the lineup of the 2024 rendition of Upbeat on the Roof.
Skidmore College’s Juneteenth Celebration – Saturday, June 22, noon to 3 pm
Celebrate Juneteenth at Skidmore College’s annual celebration. The event features Juneteenth-themed arts and crafts, storytelling, food, and performances, with ongoing activities and timed events inside and outside the Museum. Black-owned businesses will have items for sale, including clothing, hand-crafted products, flowers, baked goods, and more. Live musical performances are scheduled for the event, as well. It’s a great opportunity to support local Black artists!
Musical performances will be:
- Noon-12:15 pm: Welcome and hip-hop dance performance by Prodigal B
- 12:15-1:15 pm: Neo-soul music performance by Adrian Emanuel
- 1:15-2 pm: Congolese dance and drumming workshop by Nkoula Badila and Angel Lau
- 2-3 pm: Gospel performance by The Heavenly Echoes Gospel Band
Family Saturdays – Saturdays, July 6, August 3, August 17, 2 to 3:30 pm
Our popular Family Saturdays foster multigenerational creative cooperation through looking at artwork, discussing it, and engaging in a hands-on art-making activity. The programs, which are free and open to the public, run from 2 to 3:30 pm. They are suitable for children ages 5 and older, accompanied by their adult companions. No registration required; supplies provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Led by Njeri Jennings, the Laurie M. Tisch Educator for K-12 and Community Programs at the Tang Teaching Museum, the programs are inspired by current exhibitions and art from the Tang collection. Details for each Family Saturday will be announced later.
Crafts on the Grass – Thursdays, July 11 to August 15, 5:30 pm
Before each Upbeat on the Roof concert, Tang museum educators will offer Crafts on the Grass, art-making kits for kids starting at 5:30 pm. A different kit with a craft project will be available each week. All projects are suitable for children aged 5 and up, with adult supervision. Materials will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Frances Day – Saturday, July 20, 2 to 6:30 pm
The Tang Teaching Museum’s annual open house features contemporary art exhibitions, art-making activities, tours, food, music, and more in honor of the museum’s namesake, Frances Young Tang. Details of Frances Day—including tours, art-making activities, and musical guests—will be announced soon and listed on the Tang website.
Upbeat on the Roof Summer Concert Series
July 11 – Future of Broadway
The Orchard Project is a preeminent artistic development laboratory and accelerator for creators of performance and dramatic stories, in residence each summer in Saratoga Springs. This special Upbeat on the Roof performance features selections from project-in-residence Safety Not Guaranteed, a theatrical version of the 2012 feature film, with music by Guster’s Ryan Miller and Nick Blaemire, that will have a major New York City production this fall; and from composers-in-residence Jesse J. Sanchez, Anna DeNoia, and others
July 18: Great Mutations
Great Mutations is a Troy, New York-based rock band that brings melodic, intricate songs about love, work, and death to their performances. Since their formation in 2012, they have released four studio albums, including their most recent LP, Gifted Kids, in April. Band members are singer and guitarist Matthew Thouin, bassist Mitchell Masterson, drummer Ian White, and guitarist Tommy Krebs. Join them for the 2024 Upbeat on The Roof on July 18!
July 25: Dust Bowl Faeries
Celebrating their tenth year in 2024, Dust Bowl Faeries perform a faerie-tale medley of dark cabaret and gothic polka music, infused with a dose of witchcraft and a dusting of woodland magic. Hailing from the New York Hudson Valley, the band draws inspiration from circus music, murder ballads, and Eastern European folk songs. Instruments like the accordion, lap-steel, electric bass, percussion, and acoustic guitar combine to create the Dust Bowl Faeries’ mystic sound. Founded by Ryder Cooley (“faerie queen”), Dust Bowl Faeries includes Jon B. Woodin (“rocket faerie”), Jude Roberts (“hobbit faerie”), Rubie LaRue (“feisty faerie”), and Andrew Stein (“time faerie”).
August 1: Drank the Gold
Drank the Gold is made up of two members: fiddler Oona Grady and multi-instrumentalist James Gascoyne. In 2023, the band was named the Folk/Traditional Artist of the Year at the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards. The duo plays North Atlantic dance tunes and traditional folk songs with their own original twist, bringing a new face to the folk scene. See them perform at Upbeat on the Roof on August 1.
August 8: Dan Carr and the Cure for Asthma
The band, in their own words: “Deep within the piney hills of Albany, New York, lurks a gaggle of obnoxious strummers, bangers, and sangers on an epic plot to take over all of Albany. Their music is so incredibly catchy it will brainwash and destroy all the evil-doers in Albany AND Troy. Rock, Country, distortion, they have it all. Tori, Juliana, Gabe, Joe, Sam, and Dan won’t stop ever.” Join them for a rock’n’roll night at Upbeat on the Roof on August 8.
August 15: Reese Fulmer & The Carriage House Band
The 2023 and 2024 Americana Artist of the Year at the Thomas Edison Music Awards, Reese Fulmer and his band are among the fastest-rising groups in the Capital Region. The Carriage House Band has appeared in duo, trio, quartet, 5- and 6-piece formats, and has featured artists including Chris Carey, James Gascoyne, Andy Arnold, Connor Dunn, Dustin DeLuke, Julia Alsarraf, JP Hubbs, Orion Kribs, Bobby Kendall, Chris Bloniarz, Matt Griffin, Connor Armbruster, Paul Guay, Sara Milonovich, Jimi Woodul, Katie Weissman, and Joe Woodul. Join them on August 15 as they close out Upbeat on the Roof!
Performances will take place every Thursday from July 11 through August 15. Tickets and more information are available here.
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