If you don’t dig the bro-rock of third-wave ska, and all the questionable behaviors and ideologies that it may or may not imply, chances are you are still going to think the Slackers are one the best and most savvy ska-inflected global rock bands you will ever see. There is nothing terribly Bosstone about Vic Ruggiero and this crew. Their tempos are slack and flexy; their horn charts elegant and witty as all get out, and their lyrics and personae full of devilish pre-modern character, broad global purview and real heart. They’re simply a great band with great songs, as has been known far and wide since the ’90s.
If you do like ska, reggae and modern derivatives, circle Saturday, June 11 thrice with highlights, for the Slackers will visit BSP in Kingston. They’ll be accompanied by local-and-beyond legends The Big Takeover and the excellent New Paltz-headquartered ska-grass band Los Thujones, whose lead singer Rick Schultz was instrumental in the recent area present of Ruggiero as a solo artist and with the Slackers. Music starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and are available locally at Outdated: an Antique Café and Rocket Number Nine in Kingston, Jack’s Rhythms in New Paltz, Darkside Records in Poughkeepsie, the Woodstock Music Shop in Woodstock and in the Hudson Valley Mall. BSP is located at 323 Wall Street in Woodstock. For more information, visit www.bspkingston.com.
Join the family! 
