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UID:157209@kingstonhappenings.org
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260701T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260701T180000
DTSTAMP:20260629T154003Z
URL:https://kingstonhappenings.org/events/greg-mendez/
SUMMARY:GREG MENDEZ
DESCRIPTION:Greg Mendez has always been an economical songwriter – he wie
 lds restraint and simplicity as tools\, the core of his songs sharpened in
 to simple\, cutting truths. On Beauty Land\, his new album and debut LP 
 for Dead Oceans\, we’re guided by a wry but forgiving narrator\, an unde
 rdog who has learned to balance cynicism and faith. These songs are self-e
 ffacing without self-pity\, carefully constructed altars of imperfection c
 hanneled through pop melodies\, shimmering but urgent guitars\, and a voic
 e that reaches for choir boy innocence.\n\nThe bulk of Beauty Land was r
 ecorded directly to tape\, almost entirely alone in Mendez’s makeshift h
 ome studio in Philadelphia - a small room with no natural light. It’s hi
 s first full length since his unexpected self-titled breakthrough in 2023\
 , which was a slow burn success following 15 years of writing and recordin
 g music in relative obscurity between Philly and New York. Beauty Land p
 icks up where we left off three years ago – plumbing the depths of grief
 \, love\, and addiction – but its intense\, quiet clarity shows Mendez a
 t his songwriting best.\n\nParts of Beauty Land feel like a lucid dream\
 , dented characters carve their way through a world that’s cartoonish an
 d warped – the broken-clock march of “I Wanna Feel Pretty\,” the chi
 ming toy piano on “Gentle Love.” “Mary / Dreaming” begins as a spa
 rse\, finger-picked lament before cutting abruptly to a deflated\, Beach-B
 oys-but-make-it-fucked-up resolution that brings both melancholy and joy\;
  a sense that all things can be true at once. None of the 14 tracks here b
 reak three minutes\, but they tell stories that span lifetimes.\n\nDeath f
 loats through the record\, whether it appears as a memory or a threat. Eve
 rything feels precarious. There’s a fragility to how these songs are bui
 lt: the way the funeral organ hits alongside the morphine on “Looking Ou
 t Your Window\,” the devastating simplicity of “Frog\,” with its slo
 wed-down keyboard and bare refrain: “Please forgive me for my faults.”
  Beauty Land feels\, at times\, impossibly lonely. Which makes it really
  count when it doesn’t – like when Mendez sings in harmony with his wi
 fe and bandmate\, Veronica near the end of “So Mean” and it feels like
  a cherished reunion\, a fleeting moment of redemption\, a temporary parti
 ng of the seas.\n\nSCARLET RAE\n\nScarlet Rae — a Los Angeles-born\, New
  York City-based artist — started to unveil solo tracks in 2020. She qui
 ckly honed a formula that blends understated acoustic instrumentation with
  shoegaze gloom and whispery\, effect-shrouded vocals. For those uninitiat
 ed\, her lowkey output may have seemed to come from nowhere. But she was a
 lready a seasoned musician\, having performed in a myriad projects since h
 er teens. Rae comes from a family of kindred spirits\, who encouraged her 
 to learn guitar as a young child. This led her to open for her father at b
 ars around Los Angeles and attend concerts with her older sister. By high 
 school\, she was fronting the indie folk band Rose Dorn\, who became favor
 ites in the Los Angeles DIY circuit. The trio’s sepia tinted debut\, Day
 s You Were Leaving\, was issued by Bar None Records in 2019.\n\nA move fro
 m California to Brooklyn in 2020 enabled Rae to creatively refresh. Lower 
 rents and the isolation provided by Covid-19 lockdowns led her to begin fo
 cusing on material she hadn’t had the time to pursue while occupied with
  Rose Dorn. Though newly 18 as she crafted early singles “Parachute” a
 nd “Going Through\,” the impressive strides made in Los Angeles allowe
 d her to connect with buzzy peers on the East Coast. Once pandemic restric
 tions lifted\, Rae settled into an ascendant groove: she has now gigged as
  a live member of bar italia at shows in Miami and Mexico City\; toured in
  support of alt-pop act Sedona\; and shared stages with the likes of Fanta
 sy Of A Broken Heart\, Bloomsday\, and CFCF. In late 2024 she announced he
 r signing to Bayonet Records (Mei Seimones\, Beach Fossils\, Being Dead)\,
  show released her first single “Bleu” which earned comparisons to Ale
 x G from Stereogum\, and saw praise from FADER who said Rae “navigates t
 he tangled emotions with ease\, and remarkable poise.”\n\nNo Heavy Goodb
 yes — Rae’s new EP for Bayonet Records — emerged as a rapid outpouri
 ng following an extended mental block. It stays true to her blueprint\, bu
 t dials in craggier textures and sharpens storytelling. Its five cuts were
  tweaked over unplugged snippets on TikTok. When it came time to formalize
  the body of work\, Rae fleshed out the songs as homespun demos in her Bro
 oklyn apartment. She polished takes at sessions with producer Jordan Lawlo
 r (M83\, Oberhofer) in Los Angeles. Rae played the majority of the parts o
 n No Heavy Goodbyes herself\, citing Placebo as a source of inspiration.\n
 \nAcross No Heavy Goodbyes\, Rae’s elven vocals are offset by razor-y wa
 lls of distortion. She pulls from acceptance\, solitude\, and grief — fe
 elings that surfaced as a result of a difficult chapter marked by loss. 
 “Bleu\,” previously released in December 2024\, hinted at the EP’s w
 renching\, but spellbinding quality. Above a thorny backdrop of resonant f
 retwork and synthesizer flourishes\, Rae pays numb homage to her late sibl
 ing. Opener “A World Where She Left Me” grapples with the early stages
  of sorrow after death\, Rae in one-sided conversation with the deceased a
 nd establishing a need for space amid an onslaught of attention. “The Re
 ason I Could Sleep Forever” expresses a desire to disappear\, without ro
 manticizing the depletion fueling that temptation. A vulnerable tremor\, N
 o Heavy Goodbyes is unafraid to be painfully articulate — dusting raw th
 emes in mesmerizing\, spectral sonics.
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CATEGORIES:@Featured,@Newsletter,Music,Nightlife and entertainment
LOCATION:Tubby’s\, 586 Broadway\, Kingston\, New York\, 12401\, United St
 ates
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