New York State Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner Jeanette Moy today announced the lineup for the 2023 Summer at the Plaza Capital Concert Series Presented by Miller Lite and DeCrescente Distributing Company. The series will feature performances at the Empire State Plaza by Spin Doctors, Cracker, Night Ranger, Eli Young Band, and Big Daddy Kane.

 

“The OGS team is excited to make the Empire State Plaza a space for all in the Capital Region to enjoy, particularly with our annual summer tradition of live performances like these great concerts,” Commissioner Moy said. “The lineup for this year’s Capital Concert Series includes something for everyone, with alternative, rock, country, and hip-hop artists taking the stage and providing the public with evenings full of free entertainment.”

 

Earlier this month, OGS announced it will host an exciting and entertaining lineup of festivals and concerts for the 2023 Summer at the Plaza season, which will kick off with New York State’s Fourth of July Celebration presented by Price Chopper/Market 32, featuring an Independence Day performance by Sheila E.

 

The Capital Concert Series offers four Wednesday evening concerts with a list of award-winning and diverse artists scheduled to perform.

 

Spin Doctors is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City, best known for their early 1990s hits. Their 1992 debut album, “Pocket Full of Kryptonite,” took the nation by storm. With more than 10 million sales, the album featured the familiar hits “Two Princes” and “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.” Peaking at No. 4 on the Top 100 singles chart, “Two Princes” had more U.S. radio spins than any other rock & roll song in 1993. After three decades, the Spin Doctors have no plans to slow down. They’re still making music like their lives depend on it, still riding the bus, and still shaking the room. 

 

Cracker has been described as a lot of things over the years: alt-rock, Americana, insurgent-country, and have even had the terms punk and classic rock thrown at them. But more than anything, Cracker are survivors. Cofounders David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have been at it for a quarter of a century – amassing 10 studio albums, multiple gold records, thousands of live performances, hit songs that are still in current radio rotation around the globe — “Low,” “Euro-Trash Girl,” “Get Off This” and “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me” to name just a few — and a worldwide fan base that continues to grow each year.

 

 

Heavy-hitting rock legend Night Ranger has always had a knack for killer melodies, intricate instrumentation, and captivating lyrics. Having sold over 17 million albums worldwide, performed across more than 4,000 stages, and captivated a radio audience that exceeds 1 billion, Night Ranger has both epitomized and transcended the arena rock sound and style well beyond that era. The band continues to grow its ever-evolving fan base, proving that powerful songs alongside incredibly talented musicians is the perfect formula for continued success. Night Ranger has earned widespread recognition that includes both multi-platinum and gold albums all while leaving their indelible mark on the music industry. Their popularity is fueled by an impressive number of instantly recognizable hit singles and signature album tracks, including “Sister Christian,” “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me,” “When You Close Your Eyes,” and the anthemic “(You Can Still) Rock In America.”

 

 

Eli Young Band has always been unique in modern country music — a true band of brothers who play their own instruments, write their own songs, and cling fast to their Texas roots. Eli founded the band with guitarist James Young, bassist Jon Jones and drummer Chris Thompson at the University of North Texas in 2000, steadily building a grassroots fanbase that propelled four No. 1 singles and gave the band an edgy, romantically charged identity. The trailblazing group has come a long way since its founding, producing Billboard’s No. 1 Country Song of the Year and ACM Award for Song of the Year with “Crazy Girl,” plus multiple CMA, CMT, ACA, and Teen Choice Award nominations. What they’re good at has always been the same — organic, live-show-focused country dripping with authenticity and perfected at sold-out shows coast-to-coast.

 

Big Daddy Kane with performances by Roxanne Shanté and Black Sheep.

Big Daddy Kane is one of hip-hop’s most lyrical, diverse, innovative, trendsetting MCs. This baritone-voiced, stylish-dressing MC was the first rapper to ever hold not one but two sold-out shows at the world-famous Apollo Theater for women only. Referring to his rapid-fire, metaphoric battle rap style, Kane’s influences are Muhammad Ali, Marvin Gaye, and his rap hero Grand Master Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers, and you can clearly see the James Brown and the Famous Flames influences as well. With several gold albums, Kane has endured a long career giving us a catalog of music such as “Long Live The Kane” that features hit songs “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” and “Raw;” “It’s A Big Daddy Thing,” which features “Smooth Operator,” “Warm It Up,” and the Teddy Riley-produced hit “I Get The Job Done;” and “Taste Of Chocolate,” which features “Hard Being The Kane” and “All Of Me,” a duet with the late legendary Barry White.

 

 

Black Sheep lyricist, artist, MC, there are so many words that can be used to define the creative force that is known as Andres “Dres” Titus. A talented hip-hop artist, Dres is known to many as one half of the iconic hip-hop group Black Sheep, a group that created one of the most notable songs of the hip-hop genre, “The Choice is Yours.”

 

OGS will continue to announce the lineup of events and performers for the 2023 Summer at the Plaza season in the coming weeks.

 

For event updates, visit empirestateplaza.ny.gov, @EmpireStatePlaza on Facebook, and @plazaevents on Twitter, or call (518) 474-4759. For additional information about Summer at the Plaza events, including directions and ground rules, visit www.empirestateplaza.ny.gov.