Anywhere around the world, each major city most likely has its very own Shea Stadium who were notorious for premiering bands at very early stages of their career, sometimes even their first ever shows such as Speedy Ortiz, DIIV, Parquet Courts, Maggie Rogers, Big Thief and surprise shows from artists like Blood Orange and Julian Casablancas.
Today, Shea Stadium and Blast Radio are announcing a series of exclusive audio broadcasts focused on the moments that made Shea such an integral part of New York’s music scene over the past decade.
Launched this past summer, Blast Radio is a free music platform app where artists such as Animal Collective, Yann Tiersen, Matthew Dear, and Roy Molloy have been broadcasting intimate, audio-only performances, taking full advantage of its unique format by sharing something new, old, planned or improvised, whenever with whatever content that’s made available for only 24 hours.
Shea Stadium founders Adam Reich, Luke Chiaruttini, and Nora Dabdoub are tastemakers known for curating, and arguably forecasting, the next breakout artists on the indie and punk scenes. Innovators behind the all-ages DIY space, the crew hand picked fan favorites of live recordings from artists like Japanese Breakfast, Real Estate and Screaming Females for their Blast Radio show. In addition to the recordings, shows will feature musicians as special guests for BTS commentary – including Greta Kline.
Independent venues are the lifeblood of our culture. These Shea Stadium broadcasts tap into the community’s love for live music and communicate the impact venues like Shea Stadium hold within their communities.
Yousef Ali, founder of Blast Radio, says, “The Coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the world, and the music industry continues to face one of the biggest setbacks in its history. Building and supporting communities is more vital now than ever, and that’s what Blast Radio’s programming aims to achieve. Most indie live performance venues are in danger of closing permanently, or have closed, and for Shea Stadium, who were in the process of raising money and rebuilding a new DIY space for the music scene to flourish, all came to a halt. These Shea Stadium broadcasts are created in homage to spotlight independent venues and artists across New York and beyond.”
Adam Reich, co-founder of Shea Stadium, says, “The Shea Stadium archives have been the pride and joy of our venue since it began. The founding concept of our space was always to capture these performances with hopes of sharing them with an audience far greater than just those in attendance. Over the past 12 years, we have spent such a large chunk of our lives mixing, cataloging and caring for these performances. Along the way, we’ve captured hundreds of artist’s first baby steps, big breakouts, album release shows, reunions and farewell performances from the 2,000+ shows in our vaults. It’s been a real thrill to follow their journey, some to levels of notoriety that were unimaginable then, and others who we continued celebrating more privately as legends of our inner circle.
We’re excited to be taking people on guided tours of our show archives for the first time, while also highlighting artists who would most certainly be part of Shea’s present and future as we transition into a new era for us in NYC.”
A DIY haven for local artists, Shea Stadium was one of the New York indie scene’s vital organs, and served as a veritable crossroads for artists making music in a variety of moods and milieus. Through collaboration, promotion, and the prolific sharing of bandmates, bills, and boroughs, Shea Stadium served as a creative hub and incubator for musicians from Bushwick and beyond.
With more than 2,000 recorded live performances from both emerging and now established artists and spanning Shea Stadium’s run as the premier all-ages DIY venue in Bushwick, NYC, each episode of Shea Rewind will give listeners curated insight into a hand-picked show from the archives, complete with commentary, flashbacks, and “on this day” accounts from the people who made it possible.
“In doing this with Blast Radio, we hope to turn you on to some new music you may have missed from this golden age of DIY venues, or give you a chance to see some of your old faves from a new angle. We’ll be playing some things that do not exist anywhere online, and offering up our own thoughts while interviewing the artists and people that made it happen behind the scenes. We can only hope it inspires people to do the same- none of us had any prior experience running a venue or an archive before Shea. In the world we’ve been living in for 2 years, a time with seven nights a week of gigs with stacked lineups may feel like another lifetime/planet ago, but it doesn’t have to. We’re looking forward to doing our part in preserving this insanely fun, fruitful, and creative period in our community, while channeling that energy towards the present day and beyond,” continued Reich.
Additionally, each month, Shea Stadium will highlight a different artist, entity, or institution that has helped support New York’s ever-evolving musical ecosystem.
Featuring recordings from the Shea Stadium archives, Q&As with artists and creators, and general musings on the state of the New York scene, join Shea Stadium every month for a recurring segment on the cultural impact and implications of being at the heart of the action.
Here is a calendar of upcoming events for you to include in ‘what to listen to/stream this week/month’:
1/27/22
Shea Stadium Presents: Six Degrees Of Shea-paration
One of the New York indie scene’s vital organs, Shea Stadium was a veritable crossroads for artists making music in a variety of moods and milieus. Through collaboration, promotion, and the prolific sharing of bandmates, bills, and boroughs, Shea Stadium served as a creative hub and incubator for musicians from Bushwick and beyond. Featuring live recordings by Liquor Store, Real Estate, Juan Wauters, Unstoppable Death Machines, Japanther, The Honey-Dos, Screaming Females, and No Joy, tune in to Six Degrees of Shea-paration to hear how it all fits together.
2/3/22
Shea Stadium Presents: Frankie Cosmos /Greta Kline
Each month, Shea Stadium highlights a different artist, entity, or institution that has helped support New York’s ever-evolving musical ecosystem. Featuring recordings from the Shea Stadium archives, Q&As with artists and creators, and general musings on the state of the New York scene, join Shea Stadium every month for a recurring segment on the cultural impact and implications of being at the heart of the action.
For this episode, Shea Stadium is joined by Greta Kline, aka Frankie Cosmos, to discuss songwriting, DIY aesthetic, and the general contour of Kline’s artistic arc and output. 90+ mins of interview and Frankie Cosmos live @ shea tracks from her first and last show at 20 Meadow (as well as a premier of a never before heard Japanese Breakfast/Eskimeaux live collab from the archives recorded in December 2016). Tune in for a behind-the-scenes interview with one of Shea Stadium’s most prolific performers.
2/10/22
Shea Stadium Presents: Shea Rewind – Dec 6, 2013 (Yvette, Perfect Pussy, and California X)
With more than 1,000 recorded live performances spanning Shea Stadium’s run as the premier all-ages, DIY venue in Bushwick, NYC, each episode of Shea Rewind will give listeners curated insight into a hand-picked show from the archives, complete with commentary, flashbacks, and “on this day” accounts from the people who made it possible.
For this episode, tune in as the crew rewinds to December 6, 2013, for highlights from Yvette, Perfect Pussy, and California X.
2/17/22
Shea Stadium Presents: Shea Rewind – Dec 13, 2013 (TONSSTARTSBANDHT)
With more than 1,000 recorded live performances spanning Shea Stadium’s run as the premier all-ages DIY venue in Bushwick, NYC, each episode of Shea Rewind will give listeners curated insight into a hand-picked show from the archives, complete with commentary, flashbacks, and “on this day” accounts from the people who made it possible.
For this episode, tune in as the crew rewinds to December 13, 2013 for a full set and anecdotes from TONSSTARTSBANDHT.