Happy July, y’all!

July in the Hudson Valley is a special time. We’re in the thick of summer. It’s time to cool off and go swimming during the daytime (don’t tell the littering city folk where the good spots are!), and then catch some shows in the evenings. I’m psyched for the emergence of outdoor shows and fests. Check out the July 2026 HV Show Calendar to see what shows to catch this month.

Here are my top 10 show picks for July:

• 7/2 – Cellmate, Bloodx3, No Division, & Third Black Day – No Fun – Troy (tickets)
• 7/3 – Your Favorite Person & Prairie Princess – Night Swim – Kingston (tickets at the door)
• 7/9 – Juma Sultan & The Sweet Clementines – Avalon Lounge – Catskill (tickets)
• 7/10 – Dinosaur Jr. & Band of Horses – UPAC – Kingston (tickets)
• 7/11 – Buck Meek & Kisser – Assembly – Kingston (tickets)
• 7/18 – The Big Takeover – Opus 40 – Saugerties (tickets)
• 7/18 & 7/19 – Rosendale Street Festival – Rosendale (free – see schedule)
• 7/24 – A Whole Nother, Easy Sweetheart, & Kiersten Blue (NJ) – Night Swim – Kingston (tickets/tickets at the door)
• 7/25 – Luah & Wet Dip – Tubby’s – Kingston (tickets)
• 7/31 – King in Yellow & Giant – Tubby’s – Kingston (tickets)

In case you missed ’em, here are the music reviews and interviews from last month. Be sure to check out these bands/artists–listen to their new music, buy their albums, and follow them on their socials.

Last Friday I published perhaps the most ambitious DIY Kingston article yet: “DIY Deliverance: Mining for Hope in a Seemingly Hopeless Music Industry.” I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how admirable it is that musicians continually choose to persist and push forward despite all the odds that are set against them. It often seems like fame and fortune are these distant carrots that are tauntingly dangled before us as we pursue our passion for music–but if we set our sights on only those goals, then we may miss out on all the good things that being involved in music brings to our lives. If we recalibrate our focus, it becomes clear that things like community and the satisfaction of songwriting are so much more important and valuable than notoriety and monetary wealth. I reached out to 20+ of my favorite artists in and around the Hudson Valley to get some fresh perspectives on what keeps us all keeping on. If ever you’re feeling stuck or in a creative rut in your music career, I encourage you to read this article and bookmark it so you have something uplifting to return to whenever things seem bleak. I feel a lot more reassured after having read my peers’ perspectives, and I’m sure you will too.

I hope you all have a great and inspiring July. Good luck with your gigs–keep submitting them and I’ll keep spreading the good word. If you have an album, EP, or single coming out this month, hit me up! My schedule just freed up, so I’ll have more time to write more reviews and conduct more interviews. And if you don’t have any gigs or new music releases coming up, get out to the gigs and support the bands!

-James <3