Albany's Jive Hive will kick off a series of shows at Cohoes Music Hall that feature some of the best local bands in the Capital Region music scene. The Great Swarm launches the series in October with The Erin Harkes Band, The Nolanauts, and The Sugar Hold.
Erin Harkes Band
Erin Harkes Band - It’s hard to say exactly what Erin Harkes is. She’s a singer/songwriter. She’s a full time musician. She’s also a part time standup comedian. Whatever she is doing she is doing it on stage!
Erin began writing her own songs at age 19 and has released four albums of original material since then. Her first CD was aptly titled “Bar Napkins and Magic Markers” due to the crude way the lyrics were jotted down during her college years.
Her music comes from triumphs over tragedy. Though sometimes somber there’s always a resounding theme of resilience. The power of her voice and the emotion that comes through her lyrics make you want to sit and listen to every word. Erin’s lyrics tell stories of her life, sung through a big voice that’s often compared to Janis Joplin. Hearing Erin sing is a powerful experience that grabs anyone within earshot.
Erin’s spontaneity and willingness to perform won her a spot on “Battle of the Instant Bands” on the Jimmy Fallon show in April of 2010. Having only 20 minutes to prepare with an impromptu band made up of complete strangers, Erin won over both Jimmy Fallon and the studio audience by naming the band (“Fallon Angels”) and the song (“Free Jimmy”) – the band performed the song with Erin on vocals to an explosive audience response and easily won the contest.
Erin is regularly voted Best Singer/Songwriter, Solo Musician and Comedian in the Capital Region by the Times Union Reader’s Poll, The Alt and the (sadly now defunct) Metroland. She has been the subject of several cover stories by both of those newspapers. She is definitely a local favorite. Erin has had the privilege to have shared the stage with national acts such as David Allen Coe, Leon Russell, Melissa Ferrick, Eric Burden and recently opened for one of her musical idols, Beth Hart. In comedy she has worked with Jeff Dye, Demetri Martin and In Living Color's Tommy Davidson.
Erin likes to say that music is her spouse and comedy is her mistress. She tries to give them equal amounts of love and attention. Whether singing songs or telling jokes, Erin commands attention every time she steps foot on stage.
The NolaNauts - Welcome to the NolaNauts! A high-energy 10-piece rocking funk band that’s passionate about bringing the vibrant and joyful sounds of New Orleans to the masses.
Since their launch in 2020, the NolaNauts have been on a mission to transport audiences to the musical melting pot that is New Orleans without jumping on a plane. With their powerful rhythm section, dueling guitars, and swampy keyboard gumbo, the NolaNauts create an unforgettable live experience that celebrates the music of The Iconic City.
Nolanauts
The NolaNauts - Welcome to the NolaNauts! A high-energy 10-piece rocking funk band that’s passionate about bringing the vibrant and joyful sounds of New Orleans to the masses.
Since their launch in 2020, the NolaNauts have been on a mission to transport audiences to the musical melting pot that is New Orleans without jumping on a plane. With their powerful rhythm section, dueling guitars, and swampy keyboard gumbo, the NolaNauts create an unforgettable live experience that celebrates the music of The Iconic City.
The Sugar Hold
The Sugar Hold - The Sugar Hold doesn’t play any specific genre of music, their milieu isn’t from any specific decade, and they truly don’t have any agenda other than to have a good time. They’re pure rock n roll. A lot of us believed that kind of innocent purity didn’t and couldn’t exist anymore. But it does; right here in upstate New York. (W.A. Wright, Nippertown, 2023). Hailing from Troy, NY, The Sugar Hold consists of Mikey Baish on guitar and vocals, Dan Clark on lead guitar, Matt Malone on bass and vocals, and John Olander on drums. A band labeled as “surf-punk,” groups they could actually be compared to like the Crickets, the Beach Boys, early Beatles or the Clash are not going to be bands they sound very much like given over fifty years of changes to production and instruments. Instead, The Sugar Hold puts together an eclectic mix of all the great rock bands from the 50s to today. The Sugar Hold strives to promote the good times and feelings that make their music so enjoyable. The party’s just beginning.