September 6, 2018 – This month, platinum-selling rock band X Ambassadors will return to their hometown of Ithaca, NY, hosting two nights of outdoor concerts as part of a city-wide week-long festival. Cayuga Sound Festival is set to take place September 21-22 at historic Stewart Park and other local venues in Ithaca, NY. Two-day and single-day tickets with VIP upgrades are available now at cayugasoundfestival.com.
Presented by X Ambassadors, This Fiction and DSP Shows, the second annual Cayuga Sound Festival will include performances by X Ambassadors, Young the Giant, Matt & Kim, Sofi Tukker, Talib Kweli, Towkio, and Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones. The festival will also feature some of the top local and regional artists including KNEW, No Comply, and Lady D & the Shadow Spirits. A portion of the proceeds will benefit local non-profits. Last year these donations totaled nearly $50,000.00.
“We’re beyond thrilled to be bringing Cayuga Sound back to Ithaca this year,” says X Ambassadors lead singer Sam Harris. “Last year was such a milestone for us and the prospect of making this an annual tradition is so exciting. Expect another eclectic lineup with both global acts and some our favorite Ithaca music too.”
“Building a festival from the ground up was huge challenge,” says Seth Kallen, founder of This Fiction; management for X Ambassadors., “but the weekend was incredibly gratifying for all of us involved. To be able to create something that will continue for years to come, while giving back to such a great community was so amazing. We’re so excited to expand to two days this year and bring even more amazing music to the city of Ithaca.
“DSP set out to bring a true world class music festival to our home town and we did just that. The comments from folks who attended were just great and we feel we created a venue that made for an amazing experience all around,” says Dan Smalls, founder of DSP Shows (formerly Dan Smalls Presents). “We donated nearly $50,000 last year and over 80% of that stayed right here with 10 not-for-profits that help kids in our community. There is nothing more gratifying than giving back and we hope to do even more this year – both financially but also through our talk series, events and growing idea list. Just saying it aloud gets me excited for what we have in the works!”
Cayuga Sound Festival will offer performances in the park on Friday evening September 21st and all-day Saturday, September 22nd featuring an eclectic mix of talent from national touring acts to homegrown local performers from Ithaca and the surrounding region. Local vendors will be on-site to offer attendees a taste of the area’s best food and drink, including Silo Food Truck & Mac Express, Solaz, On the Street Pitas, Cayuga Lake Creamery, Luna Inspired Street Foods, Lou’s Hot Dog Stand, Blue Moon Real Fruit Smoothies and Lemonade, and The Good Truck.
VIP ticket packages include a private dinner on Thursday, September 20th catered by Serendipity, a meet and greet with X Ambassadors and will feature plenty of surprises. The Thursday VIP event will be followed by a pre-party at The Haunt featuring Great Good Fine Ok, Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin’ Stones, and The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. Cayuga Sound Festival is also presenting an after-show event with Ithaca Underground at The Haunt on Friday, September 21st, featuring an all-New York lineup: Elucid (Brooklyn, NY), Space Cubs (Buffalo, NY), Myles Cameron (Westchester, NY), and Lazy Bones (Ithaca, NY).
Additional information on tickets, travel, hotel accommodations and festival details can be found at cayugasoundfestival.com.
KIDinaKORNER/Interscope band X Ambassadors’ debut album VHS reflected on the events that shaped lead vocalist and lyricist Sam Harris and his older brother, keyboardist Casey Harris’ life growing up in Ithaca, NY. The gold-certified album debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart and spawned two double-platinum-selling singles, “Renegades,” which spent 12 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Alternative chart, and “Unsteady.” The success of VHS sent X Ambassadors on a nearly two-year global touring odyssey and performing at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Life is Beautiful, and Shaky Knees festivals, among others and establishing themselves as a world-class rock band. Last summer X Ambassadors released the impassioned “Ahead of Myself,” the first single from their forthcoming sophomore album, and in 2018 followed up with the powerful and redemptive title track for their forthcoming album “JOYFUL” and the soulful, Prince inspired single “Don’t Stay.”
Since the band’s 2010 inception, Young the Giant has made a name for itself in rock as the “thinking man’s band,” winning over fans, radio, and press with their incendiary live shows, strong musicianship, and poignant lyrics. The band’s 2010 self-titled debut, which reached No. 6 on the Rock and Alternative album charts, featured the RIAA Gold-certified hits, “Cough Syrup” and “My Body,” which peaked at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively on Alternative Radio. The band’s sophomore release 2014’s Mind Over Matter hit No. 7 on The Billboard 200 and spawned the hits, “It’s About Time,” which reached No. 2 on the Alternative Radio chart and the title track, which hit No. 15.
DSP Shows, based in Ithaca, NY and Northampton, MA, is a one of the leading independent concert promoters in America. The company was founded as Dan Smalls Presents in 2008 by Dan Smalls and became DSP Shows in 2015 with the addition of partner John Sanders. The company produces over 600 shows a year in venues throughout Upstate New York and New England including The State Theatre of Ithaca, Brewery Ommegang Summer Concert Series, The Academy of Music in Northampton, Daryl’s House in Pawling, NY, and Babeville in Buffalo, NY among many others. They also produce the annual Cayuga Sound Festival in Ithaca.