Lark Out Loud pumps up the volume on Lark Street 🎸

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Happy Thursday, Capital Region! Get ready to crank up the volume. Next weekend, Lark Street is getting its groove back with Lark Out Loud—a free tribute band festival dreamed up by several local businesses who refuse to let Albany’s most iconic street fade into silence. We’re so here for it! 👏 

Plus, it’s a super packed weekend of early fall fun, led by PearlPalooza. See you there!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

Lark Out Loud: A new beat on Albany’s most iconic street 🎸 

Lark Street is ready to turn the volume back up.

The corridor once seen as “Albany’s Greenwich Village” has dimmed as an epicenter for nightlife and indie commerce. Fewer businesses, more litter and panhandling.

The recent news that El Loco Cafe, a neighborhood staple for nearly 42 years, would be going out of business seemed like another sign of the times.

You can point your finger at a number of reasons for this: the city’s overly strict cabaret law, NIMBY residents, little cultural investment from the city, the pandemic, an ineffective Lark Street BID, etc. etc.

Whatever the reason, several prominent Lark Street business owners aren’t waiting around for a savior. They’re putting their money, time and energy into launching a new music festival called Lark Out Loud, created to bring new energy back to Albany’s most iconic street. Think of it as LarkFest 2.0.

“This is the new LarkFest,” says Jesse Sommer, owner of New Scotland Spirits and one of the event’s sponsors. “We’re not waiting for the city or the BID or some agency to save Lark Street. We’re just doing it.”

Taking place next Saturday, Sept. 20, the festival is being held in the private half-acre lot belonging to the Lark Street Tavern.

“I used to park there back in the day when I'd come up for open mics,” says Chris Pratt, owner of Lark Street Tavern. “It's always been a community space, in a way. Now it's a music space. It’s time we brought something back to Lark Street that people can rally around.”

Organized with the help of promoter Greg Bell, the free event will feature local tribute-style acts like Hot Cousin (’80s rock), Road Soda Pop (’90s emo/alt), CC Smokes (funk and Motown), and headliner Super 400, performing their legendary Led Zeppelin set. 

“Albany doesn’t need another giant, overproduced street festival,” Jesse says. “It needs this—real people doing real things in the neighborhoods they love. Lark Out Loud is a proof of concept that we can take back the block without waiting for permission.”

The budget (around $12,000) has been covered largely by sponsors like New Scotland Spirits, Savoy Tap Room, Nine Pin Cider, Albany Distilling, Northern Lights Dispensary, Discover Albany, and DeCresente Distributing Company. No grants. No city money.

For both Chris and Jesse, Lark Out Loud is a festival—but also a reset.

“I’ve had opportunities to open up in Saratoga, Troy and Schenectady, and I've always stuck with Albany,” Chris says. “I'm hopeful that we can turn things around on Lark Street.”

“People have this perception that Lark Street is done,” Jesse adds. “I think we’re going to change that. You’re going to hear music on the street again, and you're going to remember why this place matters.”

🎸 Lark Out Loud
📍 Behind Lark Street Tavern, 453 Madison Ave, Albany
📅 Saturday, Sept. 20, 1-8p
🔞 This is a 21+ event
🍸️ Free festival | Live tribute bands | Food & drink specials

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🍺 Electric City Hospitality Group is saying 🙅‍♂️ to overpriced beers. You can now find draft and bottled beers for just $5 at The Broken Inn in Niskayuna, The Parlor at the Schenectady Municipal Golf Course, The Horses Lounge in Schenectady, and The Comedy Works in Saratoga. “Yeah, we’re gonna make a little less money on a Guinness, but we’re going to make the customer happier,” says owner Tommy Nicchi. We need more businesses like this—bravo 👏 [News10]

🫒 The Old World Gourmet Market in Wilton is open again after closing temporarily in August due to a staff shortage. The market features a deli, bakery, seafood counter and a kitchen, and an indoor seating area for coffee and breakfast. [Daily Gazette]

👨‍🎓 The closing of the College of Saint Rose offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine the sprawling 27-acre campus. Guided by the Pine Hills Land Authority, the Reimagining St. Rose project aims to transform the former campus into a vibrant, walkable district for all. But they can’t dream it alone—your voice matters. Take the community survey, participate in the interactive map survey, and attend the public open house on Sept. 25. Details at Reimagining St. Rose.

⭐️ 🎸 PearlPalooza, one of Albany’s biggest street festivals of the year returns to fill downtown Albany with alfresco fun. This year’s headliners include Rubblebucket, known for their unique mix of pop, funk, dance and psychedelia. Also on the bill: Dave Gutter, The Happy Fits, and the Ky McClinton Band. And don’t forget about YogaPalooza, kicking off at 11 am. Be sure to register for the yoga! Sat, 11a–7p, free.

⭐️📍 If you’re as fascinated with maps as we are, you need to make a beeline for Opalka Gallery on Friday for the opening reception for “Compass Roses: Maps by Artists–Albany.” Many of the 30 participating visual, audio and performing artists from across the Capital Region (including our very own Karley) will be there to talk about their maps. Read our story on this wonderful exhibit.

Part of Opalka’s wildly popular fall Popup Beer Garden series, the evening also features performances by Sirsy and Charming Disaster, beverages by Mean Max and Allied Brewing, and good eats by La Capital Tacos, Euro Delicacies, and Kona Ice. Fri, 6-9p, free.

⭐️ 🇺🇦 Get to the Ukrainian Festival for vareniki (stuffed dumplings), golubtsy (stuffed cabbage), and other iconic dishes. Sat, 12–6p, $15 general admission, $5 for kids over the age of 5.

⭐️ 🎸 Support your favorite street musicians at Saratoga’s 6th annual Front Porch Music Fest. Stroll Spring Street and take in the acoustic sounds of local musicians from ‘Toga and elsewhere. Proceeds benefit the musicians and Caffe Lena’s School of Music. So tip well, friends. Sat, 1-4p, free.

⭐️ 🍎 The 31st annual Capital Apple & Wine Festival takes over the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Chatham this weekend. Celebrate the best that New York State has to offer, including apples, wines, artisan foods and handcrafted goods. Sat & Sun, 12–4p, $12–$33.

🎟️ MORE WEEKEND EVENTS

🍁 This weekend, Shaker Heritage Society hosts its Fall Harvest Craft Fair.

🎷 Get up to Lake George for Jazz on the Lake, all weekend. On Sunday, you can enjoy live music and food on the Jazz Cruise with the Arch Stanton Quartet.

🦐 Downtown Troy Restaurant Week continues through Sunday, while the Lake George Restaurant Week ends on Saturday.

🏮The Autumn Glow Festival is happening now in Rotterdam Junction. Has anyone gone to this? Give us the lowdown!

👨‍🎓 “The Comeuppance” at Cohoes Music Hall is a humorous look at a group of millennials on the occasion of their 20th high school reunion, playing Sept. 5-14.

TODAY

😆 Found Footage Fest presents Porcelain VHS Treasures, a live comedy show with thrift store VHS tapes, playing at Proctors.

FRIDAY

🥨 Lionheart on the Green in Albany is putting on its Fall Festival, featuring stein hoisting and pumpkin pie-eating contests, and frozen drink specials all day.

👗 Circles, a long-time locally owned and women-owned boutique, returns to Stuyvesant Plaza with a grand re-opening party.

SATURDAY

🧭 Get to Opalka Gallery for Albany History in Maps, a guided tour of 30 maps by local artists with Albany City Historian Tony Opalka, followed by a scavenger hunt!

🌮 The Hispanic Heritage Celebration lights up the Empire State Plaza.

☠️ The always worthwhile Albany Twilight Market returns to Quackenbush Square.

🐕️🍺 Bring your pup to Grafton Lakes State Park for Bark ‘n Brew, featuring a guided hike, agility course, assorted animal care vendors, live music, raffle, and more!

✈️ It’s not every day that you get to run on an actual airport tarmac. But you can do just that at Run the Runway at Schenectady County.

🍺 SingleCut North Tap Room invites you to their Oktoberfest, featuring music by Head First and Glass Pony! Food from Cruet Wood-Fired Pizza, Juicy Burgers and more.

🍎 The 2025 Tasting on the Hudson is at the beautiful Hudson Crossing Park in Schuylerville.

🍺 While you’re in the area, check out the Schuyler Farms Find The Wine & Where's The Beer Festival.

🍺 The Warbler Brewery in Delmar hosts its Flocktoberfest with craft beer, German food, live music and more.

🥧 There are still tickets available for the first annual Pie Picnic at June Farms.

SUNDAY

🎟 WAMM Fest 2025 at The Hangar on the Hudson celebrates women making music with an all-day concert headlined by Shannon Teyha and The Troupe. Sun, 1–7:30p, $25 or $20 cash by emailing Niki Kaos at [email protected].

🎶 Speaking of female power, the Skidmore Faculty Quintet will perform a free concert, “100 Years of Wind Music by Women,” at the Zankel Music Center.

🥕 The 47th annual Carrot Festival in Schenectady is your chance in indulge in all things carrot, including delicious carrot cake!

🪄 Wanna learn quad ball? River Runners is putting their first-ever practice session at Beverwyck Park in Albany. What’s quad ball, you ask? It’s the real-life, full-contact, mixed-gender sport inspired by the game of “quidditch” in the Harry Potter books, of course 😂 

COMING UP

🌓 Get your tickets for next week’s The MoonCatcher Project Annual Wine and Cheese Party and help end period poverty in the Capital Region and abroad.

🎈The Adirondack Balloon Festival is Sept. 18-21.

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