Make Sure This SPAC Concert Is On Your Radar
Eight-piece New Orleans rock band The Revivalists, best known for their song "Wish I Knew You," will headline Saratoga Jazz Festival next Sunday. See you there?
The Revivalists may not be a band you recognize the name of, but trust me: If you heard my off-tune rendition of their song “Wish I Knew You,” you’d know who I was talking about.
Personally, my favorite of The Revivalists’ songs is the second-most-played-on-Spotify “It Was a Sin,” from the same 2015 album that produced their Billboard-charting hit. But “Get It Honest,” the title track of their highly anticipated new album, which comes out July 24, is a close second.
Why am I telling you this? Because The Revivalists are coming to SPAC—not through Live Nation, which will forbid you from bringing in your own chair and drinks, but as part of next weekend’s 49th annual Saratoga Jazz Festival, to which you can bring food, drinks, chairs, tents, hammocks, mobile bars, coolers, tables, fans, umbrellas, and more. (See SPAC’s website for a list of items not permitted.) The Revivalists will round out the festival—which features 22 performances on two stages across two days—with a performance on SPAC’s amphitheater stage on Sunday, June 28 at 7:15pm.
This week, I had the chance to talk to The Revivalists’ lead guitarist, Zack Feinberg, about the band’s upcoming SPAC debut. Turns out, he’s no stranger to Saratoga Springs.
Let’s get this out of the way. The Revivalists aren’t a jazz band. But the band did start in New Orleans…Has jazz influenced your sound at all?
I would say a little bit. Maybe as like a seasoning. It’s a big influence one of our members, Rob Ingraham, our saxophone player. He can perform it fluently. Mike Girardot, our keyboard player and trumpet player, has also worked a little bit in that realm. Jazz was born in New Orleans, and in the same spirit of New Orleans creativity, we try to bring together all different styles and whatever will serve the song. We’ll use whatever stylistic elements we can conjure.
When I talked to Jon Batiste last summer, he told me that there’s no such thing as genre—every musician has their own genre.
That’s a transcendent artist. His musicality is amazing and he’s all over the map as far as classical and Americana. I’m a big fan of his. I’d say I agree with Mr. Batiste on that one.
Will you infuse any extra jazziness into your performance next weekend?
It’ll be like any other festival set. The saxophone certainly has moments; we try to give everyone a moment to shine during a live show. But it’ll be us—we have a pretty solid, consistent identity at this point.
How would you describe that identity?
We’re kind of all over the map stylistically, but I tell people we’re an eight-piece rock band from New Orleans with a lot of character and a focus on songwriting and lead vocals.
What can you tell us about the set list for Jazz Fest?
We’ll do some of the big hits for sure, like “Wish I Knew You.” But we do have a new record coming out in July. There are a few songs out from that now, so we’ll be doing some of those, and maybe some other ones that are not yet released that are fun for us to play.
I hear you have a connection to Saratoga—specifically Skidmore. Can you tell me about that?
I was an incoming freshman at Tulane University in August 2005. I went down there with my dad and moved the stuff into the dorm room, and an hour later they said that the university was shutting down; there was a big storm coming. It was Hurricane Katrina, and the university was not going to open for that semester. Skidmore was another college that I had applied and been accepted to. They were starting a little bit later than a lot of the other schools, so they graciously said they would accept me for that semester.
So you packed up and headed to Saratoga?
Yeah. It was a great experience. I really liked the school. I was challenged academically, and it was a cool little liberal arts community. I made some great friends. I had a great experience in Saratoga Springs, but decided to go back to Tulane, because I thought there was something more for me in New Orleans. I’m glad that I went back, but I do look back fondly on my time in Saratoga. I’m very happy to go to SPAC for the first time—I’ve never even been there—and I’m excited to come back to Saratoga.
—Natalie
Here’s the full lineup for next weekend’s Saratoga Jazz Festival. Get tickets and learn more here.
