NYS Music 202​1

Category: Manhattan

  • Alejandro Fernández Announces Fall 2021 U.S. Tour

    On April 14th, Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández announced his fall 2021 “Hecho en México” U.S. tour. The announcement comes on the heels of four consecutive number one singles.

    The 19-date tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on September 10th in Reno at the Grand Sierra Theatre with stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York and more, before wrapping October 24th in Phoenix at Arizona Federal Theatre.

    A portion of proceeds will be donated to Families Belong Together – a campaign of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, that works to end family separation and promote dignity, unity, and compassion for all children and families.

    The multiple Grammy winner and son of the legendary Vicente Fernández, has conquered stages all around the world with his personal interpretation of Mexican music.

    He has sold more than 35 million records worldwide and won countless awards and nominations. Alejandro is the first act to achieve No. 1s on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums in the 1990s, ‘00s, ‘10s, and ‘20s.

    His most recent album, Hecho en México, debuted #1 on Billboard’s Top Latin Album chart. The album marked Alejandro’s return to the mariachi format and garnered him a Latin GRAMMY win for Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album and a GRAMMY nomination for Best Regional Mexican Music Album.

    The album has earned four consecutives #1 singles at radio in the United States and Mexico with “Caballero,” “Te Olvidé,” “Decepciones,”and his current single, “Duele.”

    Throughout 2020 while live touring shut down, Alejandro Fernández remained very active, looking for new and innovative ways to be close to his fans and lend his voice to important causes impacting our community.

    In the early days of the pandemic, Alejandro partnered with Univision TV’s Dr. Juan Rivera in sharing vital information about health and COVID-19 on television and social media platforms.

    Seeing the impact of the shutdown on the artist community, Fernández released a stirring rendition of Joan Sebastian’s classic “Eso y Más” as a fundraiser for out of work musicians, donating 100% of the proceeds to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund in the United States and MúsicaMéxico COVID-19 in Mexico.

    In October 2020, the singer offered a historic live streaming event, América A Una Sola Voz (America Together in One Voice), a breathtaking concert viewed by over 150,000 fans in 19 different countries across the American continents.

    During the show Alejandro paused to remind his fans of the importance of voting in the upcoming elections. Following this performance he launched (along with a coalition of artists) the “Vota Por Nosotros” (Vote For Us) get-out-the-vote campaign airing on Estrella Media, encouraging Latino voters to vote on behalf of our entire community in the November 3rd elections.

    In accepting his Latin GRAMMY, Alejandro dedicated the award to the victims of the recent hurricanes in southern Mexico donating MXN $1,000,000.00 to the Mexican Red Cross to aid with the relief efforts.

    Most recently Alejandro joined Mana’s Fher Olvera as the face of the “We Are Home” campaign calling for a fair and dignified immigration policy for the millions of Latino immigrants living in the US.

    Alejandro will be joined by his son Alex Fernandez and latin-pop duo HA*ASH on certain dates in the tour.

    Tickets go on sale beginning Friday, April 16th at 10AM local time on Ticketmaster.com.

    ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ TOUR 2021 DATES:

    Fri, Sep 10 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Theatre^

    Sat, Sep 11 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center*

    Sun, Sep 12 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center*

    Wed, Sep 15 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena*

    Fri, Sep 17 – Albuquerque, NM – Rio Rancho Events Center*

    Sat, Sep 18 – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center*

    Fri, Sep 24 – Houston, TX – Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land*

    Sun, Sep 26 – Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena*

    Thurs, Sep 30 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre

    Fri, Oct 1 – New York, NY – Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden with special guest HA*ASH

    Sun, Oct 3 – Miami, FL – AmericanAirlines Arena #

    Tues, Oct 5 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy

    Fri, Oct 8 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory*

    Sat, Oct 9 – Hidalgo, TX – Payne Arena*

    Sun, Oct 10 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center*

    Fri, Oct 15 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose+

    Sat, Oct 16 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Arena+

    Fri, Oct 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum+

    Sun, Oct 24 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theatre*

    *with Alex Fernandez
    +with Christian Nodal
    # HA*ASH

  • SummerStage NYC Announces Free Summer Concerts

    SummerStage free concerts return to Central Park, bringing socially distanced live music this summer. The first benefit concert of the series of free shows begins with Dawes on Friday, April 16 at 10AM ET.

    summerstage free Concerts
    The SummerStage

    With new New York City announcements on limited-capacity concerts, live performances are scheduled for Central Park and Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park/Richard Rodgers Amphitheater. Events will follow all regulations regarding large-scale outdoor events, included masks, socially distanced seating, and limited capacity. For admittance, a free ticket, proof of vaccine and/or a negative COVID test, and health screening (a questionnaire and temperature checks). All in-person performances will also be live-streamed on SummerStageAnywhere.org.

    In addition to the musicial performances, ranging from hip-hop, indie rock, and jazz, there will also be outdoor, family-friendly marionette shows throughout the summer through CityParks PuppetMobile.

    The City Parks Foundation will also soon launch a micro-grants program for grassroots arts organizations and individual artists to provide funding for free cultural programs in parks and neighborhood plazas in the city’s most under-resourced communities. These two organizations strive to provide free cultural programs across the city.

    A Past SummerStage Show from 2019

    Dawes will kick off the SummerStage free concerts season on April 16 as part of their 2021 tour to promote their new album, Good Luck With Whatever. Tickets go on sale begins at 10 AM, Friday April 16 on AXS.

    The last year has been enormously difficult for our city. Live performance, with the energy that is generated by experiencing it with others, will be a balm for our collective soul. SummerStage has been an active member of the NYS Nonprofit Outdoor Performing Arts Coalition, working with fellow outdoor venues and the NYS Department of Health to ensure that we are well-prepared to provide a safe and comfortable concert-going experience that follows strict health protocols. SummerStage will help restore vibrancy to our city through free performances in parks, which have been such important public spaces for New Yorkers seeking safe respite during the pandemic.

    Heather Lubov, Executive Director – City Parks Foundation

    The City Parks Foundation, Summer Stage, and Capital One provide vibrant, culturally impactful, free events in New York City. Now that vaccines are rolling out at a wider, consistent pace, there is hope for more live concerts, beginning with these benefit outdoor shows.

  • Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete’ Deluxe Edition Coming Soon

    In honor of the 50th anniversary of Chicago’s historic 1971 concerts, the band will release all eight Carnegie Hall shows in their entirety for the first time. Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete will be accessible on July 16.

    Chicago at Carnegie Hall

    Fifty years ago, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Chicago became the first non-classical group to perform six nights in a row at Carnegie Hall. Between April 5 and 10, 1971, the band played and recorded eight shows at the celebrated venue. Performance highlights from those shows were featured on the band’s first live album, Chicago at Carnegie Hall. This quadruple LP of theirs reached #3 on the Billboard 200, was certified platinum, and remained Chicago’s best-selling live album.

    Known as the “rock band with horns,” Chicago is one of the longest-running and best-selling groups. They have won countless awards over the years, not limited to two Grammy Awards, 11 Number One singles, five Number One albums, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, Chicago was the first American band to ever chart albums in Billboard’s Pop Top 40 in six consecutive decades.

    Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete includes memorabilia that commemorates the iconic event. The collection consists of replicas of the three posters that accompanied the original vinyl release. Also included are images of the original concert program, tickets, and other memorabilia from the historic event. Also included with the 16-disc set is a 28-page booklet illustrated with photos from the concerts. Alongside this will be new liner notes with contributions from Lee Loughnane, archivist Jeff Magid, writer/producer David Wild, and comedian/Chicago fanatic Jimmy Pardo.

    Lee Loughnane, Chicago founding member, and trumpeter teamed up with engineer Tim Jessup to develop this work. The two spent nearly a year going through more than 40 concert tapes and remastered each concert in the studio. Their dedication led to the development of the eight shared shows. The performances featured contributions from every band member, including guitar work from Terry Kath, vocals by Kath, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera. Also featured are memorable work by Loughnane, James Pankow, Walt Prazaider, and Danny Seraphine’s jazz-influenced drumming.

    Chicago at Carnegie Hall Complete will be available shortly and can be preordered exclusively here.

  • American Symphony Orchestra Announces Free Chamber Music Series in Bryant Park

    The American Symphony Orchestra announces plans for free nine-concert chamber music series, taking place in Manhattan’s Bryant Park and 34th St. Herald Square Plaza and will run through May 3–19, 2021. 

    The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based American orchestra that was founded back in 1962. Their mission is to make orchestral music accessible and affordable for everyone. The musical performances and works are curated around ideas drawn from a variety of disciplines such as history, visual arts, science, politics and literature. They often try to revive works that were rarely-performed in their hay day that audiences would otherwise never have a chance to hear performed live. 

    The nine concert series will include five different programs curated by American Symphony Orchestra  musicians. The performances will feature music ranging from 20th century Mexican and all-American jazz composers to Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and classical works for horn quartet and woodwind trio. Some of the featured artists include percussionist and composer Javier Diaz, saxophonist Roxy Coss, and oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz. 

    There will be a limited number of first-come, first-served chairs set up near the Bryant Park Fountain Terrace in front of the stage and at Herald Square for people to watch the live music from American Symphony Orchestra. Artists and audience members will be required to follow current public health guidelines including wearing masks and social distancing. All the concerts will last for at least one hour and will begin at 5:30PM. 

    For more information on the American Symphony Orchestra and their concert series visit their website.

    The full schedule can be read below: 

    Modernism in Mexico – String Quartet

    Monday, May 3 & Tuesday, May 4, at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    Modernism in Mexico explores string quartets by some of Mexico’s most important 20th-century composers: Manuel Ponce, Silvestre Revueltas, and Carlos Chávez. Ponce was Mexico’s leading classical musician, and this performance of his well-known song Estrellita is a new arrangement for string quartet. Carlos Chávez was his student and heir apparent, touring extensively as a conductor and producing an impressive body of compositions. Chávez’s close colleague, violinist Silvestre Revueltas, was a notable conductor/composer whose work includes the score to the 1936 film Redes (The Wave), commissioned by the Mexican government. 

    Cyrus Beroukhim, violin

    Philip Payton, violin

    Will Frampton, viola

    Alberto Parrini, cello

    Manuel Ponce: Estrellita

    Manuel Ponce: Petite suite dans le style ancien

    Silvestre Revueltas: Musica de Feria

    Carlos Chávez: String Quartet No. 3

    Strike Force – Percussion Ensemble

    Wednesday, May 5 & Wednesday, May 12 at 5:30 pm

    34th Street Herald Square Plaza

    This percussion ensemble combines Afro-Cuban Batá drumming and poetry with the sounds of contemporary chamber percussion, featuring Grammy-nominated Imani Winds’ oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz in compositions by percussionist and composer Javier Diaz.

    Kory Grossman, Javier Diaz, and Charles Descarfino, percussion

    Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe

    All-Javier Diaz Program:

    “Chandani”

    “Canciones del Idalgo”

    “Maleza”

    “Son Montuno Sinfonia”

    “Sakpata”

    “Lucumi Cycle”

    ASO Salutes NYC/USA – Jazz Ensemble

    Monday, May 10 & Tuesday, May 11 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    A truly American genre, the ASO presents this jazz ensemble as a salute to U.S. healthcare workers who have made it possible for New Yorkers to experience live music once again. The program, including works by Gershwin, Bernstein, Ellington, and Chick Corea, among others, celebrates composers who have defined the sound of this vibrant city.

    Lee Musiker, piano

    Lou Bruno, bass 

    Kory Grossman, drums

    Eugene Moye, cello

    Roxy Coss, tenor saxophone and flute

    Harry Warren: “42nd Street”

    George Gershwin: “It Ain’t Necessarily So” from Porgy and Bess

    Duke Ellington: “Take the A Train”

    Leonard Bernstein: “Some Other Time”

    Leonard Bernstein: “Cool” from West Side Story

    Gustav Holst: I. Mars, the Bringer of War, from The Planets, Op. 32

    Chick Corea: Children’s Songs

    Charles Mingus: “Nostalgia in Times Square”

    Woodwind Trio

    Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace

    Woodwind chamber music had something of a renaissance in the 1920s; at the same time, works for reed trio—oboe, clarinet, and bassoon—were coming together with the formation of the Trio d’Anches de Paris, a collaboration of three virtuosi reed players. This program offers music from some of the greatest composers of wind music in the 20th century.

    Alexandra Knoll, oboe

    Shari Hoffman, clarinet

    Marc Goldberg, bassoon

    Charles Koechlin: Trio d’anches Op. 206

    Jean Françaix: Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon

    Alexandre Tansman: Suite for Wind Trio

    Claude Arrieu: Suite en trio

    Albert Roussel: Andante from an Unfinished Wind Trio: Adagio

    Joseph Canteloube: Rustiques – I. Pastorale

    Francis Poulenc: Sonata for Clarinet and Bassoon, FP 32a

    Gilles Silvestrini: Oboe Etude No. 1: Hôtel des Roches Noires à Trouville

    Horn Quartet

    Monday, May 17 & Wednesday, May 19 at 5:30 pm

    Bryant Park Fountain Terrace & 34th Street Herald Square Plaza

    Perfectly at home in the outdoors, the horn quartet has enjoyed a rich history from the forest to the concert hall. This program features composers highlighted by Bard Music Festivals of the past with a few modern classics that will inspire.

    Chad Yarbrough, David Smith, Lawrence DiBello, and David Peel, French horns

    Nikolai Tcherepnin: Horn Quartet Op. 35

    Carlos Chávez: Sonata for Four Horns

    Richard Strauss: Fünf Volksliedsätze

    Selections of Austrian hunting music

  • Kid Cudi pays tribute to Farley and Cobain on Saturday Night Live

    Promising Young Woman actress Carey Mulligan hosted this week’s Saturday Night Live, with rapper Kid Cudi joining her as musical guest. Cudi released his most recent album, Man on the Moon III: The Chosen in December of 2020, concluding the trilogy he began in 2009.

    Kid cudi

    Mulligan’s husband Marcus Mumford appeared during her opening monologue, offering to be the night’s musical guest. After Mulligan informed Mumford that Kid Cudi was performing already, he pulled an acoustic guitar out of thin air and accompanied her closing remarks. Of course, Mumford is the front-man of folk rock band Mumford & Sons, who previously played SNL in 2012, 2015 and 2018.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BfpGLs0Cs

    Before his performances, Kid Cudi first appeared in a sketch with Pete Davidson and Chris Redd, “Weird Little Flute.” It parodied flute rap, a burgeoning subgenre including songs like Future’s “Mask Off.” Previous SNL host Timothee Chalamet made an unexpected cameo, endorsing the weird little flute as a musical asset.

    Kid Cudi chose “Tequila Shots” as his first song of the night, with lyrics about alcohol-induced anxiety and depression: “It seems I’ll never learn / I won’t stop ‘til I crash and burn / Tell my mom I’m sorry.” He wore a t-shirt depicting late SNL cast member Chris Farley, who famously struggled with addiction.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr6Vyc_qYMg

    Cudi closed out the episode with “Sad People,” a toast to contemplative night owls. Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain, he wore a floral dress. Cobain died by suicide this week in 1994, and Cudi has been open about his own experiences with suicidal ideation.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsagiYnmN_4

    As for Kid Cudi’s 2021 plans, an album is likely on the horizon for his supergroup, The Scotts. Made up of Cudi (whose first name is Scott) and Travis Scott, The Scotts formed in 2020 and debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 with single “The Scotts.”

    The episode ended with an in memoriam tribute to rapper DMX, who played SNL in 2000.

    DMX Kid cudi
    SNL honors DMX.

  • Langston Hughes: Prolific Writer and a Leader of the Harlem Renaissance

    Langston Hughes, full name James Mercer Langston Hughes, was born around February 1st, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He was raised by his mother and grandmother, and grew up in a series of towns across the United States midwest, showing a proficiency in writing from a young age.

    His tumultuous childhood may have given him the experiences that made him such a profound writer down the line. By the age of 12, Hughes had already lived in 6 different American cities.

    Furthermore, by the time he released his first book, Hughes had already been to Mexico, West Africa, the Azores, the Canary Islands, Holland, and worked as a doorman at a nightclub in Paris.

    By the time of his high school graduation, Hughes had already written his first acclaimed poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”

    The Negro Speaks of Rivers: Hughes, Langston, Lewis, E. B.: 9780786818679: Amazon.com: Books

    This poem would be published in The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP and the world’s oldest black publication.

    After graduating, Hughes moved to New York City and attended Columbia University for one year before dropping out. During his time in the city, he explored Harlem and found the place where he’d establish his career.

    It would be in this neighborhood that Hughes would play a central role in one of the most important cultural events of the 20th century. This event, the Harlem Renaissance, would be the flowering of African-American culture in the United States.

    During this time, black artists, writers, and intellectuals would reconceptualize the African-American image separate from the stereotypes that they had been defined through by white society for centuries.

    A Voice for Black Artists

    In his writing, Hughes spoke about the black experience in America, but in new ways that many black intellectuals at the time disagreed with. Hughes aimed to “honestly portray the joys and hardships of working-class black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative stereotypes.”

    This concept was outlined in an essay, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” where Hughes stated:

    We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.

    Hughes writing, and many of his contemporaries writing, focused on the “low-life,” that is, the real lives of African-American’s who found themselves in the lower part of the social-economic system.

    He was the first African-American man to make a living off of his writing and giving public lectures, and by doing proved wrong many white Americans who disregarded blacks simply because of their race. For one of the first times, whites considered a black writer to be on par with white contemporaries.

    Hughes was also a pioneer of jazz-poetry, a form of literary art that is characterized by jazz-like rhythm and the feel of improvisation. The development and growth in popularity of jazz music was one of the ways the arts, specifically art created by African-American’s, flourished during the renaissance.

    One of Hughes acclaimed poetry books, The Weary Blues, is a prime example of his unique style of phrasing that is influenced by jazz music. Here is a short excerpt from the book that exemplifies this style of poetry:

    To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
    With his ebony hands on each ivory key
    He made that poor piano moan with melody.
         O Blues!

    The Weary Blues, a poetry book released by Hughes in 1926.

    An Incredible Legacy

    Langston Hughes had an everlasting impact on writing, as well as future generations of African-American artists. His approach to the portrayal of African-American life in writing at the time was new to many, and proved to be revolutionary.

    His career was also unique and second to none. It took him all across the globe, and allowed him to develop into the visionary writer he came to be.

    Besides being regarded for his poetry, Hughes also wrote plays, essays, short stories, and novels. He would also frequently travel across the United States, and to the Soviet Union, Japan, and Haiti to give lectures. He even served as a war correspondent for American newspapers during the Spanish Civil War.

    As the years passed, new generations of African-American intellectuals and activists began to take issue with some of his viewpoints, perturbed by the fact that Hughes never really identified himself politically.

    Although his popularity wavered at points throughout the years for these reasons, especially in the exceedingly racially turbulent second half of the 20th century, Hughes reputation as a trailblazer for the freedom of African-American art and culture is everlasting.

    Langston Hughes died of complications of prostate cancer on May 22, 1967, but his legacy and profound impact on African-American culture and the world of literature lives on.

    His home in Harlem, on East 127th street, received landmark status in the city of New York and was added to the National Register of Places in 1982.

    A Collective of Writers Are Saving Harlem's Langston Hughes House From Gentrification - Bloomberg
    Langston Hughes home in Harlem.

    In most of his work, Hughes continued to discuss important issues regarding African-American’s in American society, and their experience in the face of centuries of discrimination and prosecution.

    His work exemplified the attitude of the Harlem Renaissance, and he is remembered as a central figure of the era in which African-American culture blossomed and defied the prejudiced and discriminatory attitude that was cast upon it by American society.

  • St. Vincent Transforms SNL Into Studio 54

    St. Vincent took to the Studio 8H stage this week as Saturday Night Live‘s musical guest, with Judas and the Black Messiah star Daniel Kaluuya serving as SNL host. St. Vincent, (real name Annie Clark) will release her seventh studio album Daddy’s Home on May 14.

    The episode opened with Chloe Fineman’s take on Britney Spears, who tackled Lil Nas X’s Satan shoes, Pepé Le Pew’s removal from Space Jam 2 and Rep. Matt Gaetz’ sex scandals. While Britney was sympathetic to Lil Nas X, she deemed Le Pew and Gaetz “not that innocent.”

    St Vincent SNL

    St. Vincent’s first song of the night was her lead single, “Pay Your Way in Pain.” The funk track is a love letter to the 1970s, channeling Prince, David Bowie and the sounds of Studio 54. At the end of the performance Clark revealed the word “Daddy” on the back of her jacket, in reference to her upcoming album.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeHnPfIEyss

    “Pay Your Way in Pain” was co-written by Jack Antonoff, who previously worked with Clark on her last album Masseduction. The two also shared writing credits on Taylor Swift’s 2019 song “Cruel Summer.”

    This isn’t the first time St. Vincent has played SNL; back in 2014, she played the gig to extremely mixed reception. It’s not surprising: like Fiona Apple or Björk, Clark’s sound is an acquired taste that cares little for accessibility. All are undeniably talented, but easily jarring to unfamiliar listeners.

    St. Vincent closed out the night with her new single, “The Melting of the Sun,” whose lyrics reference Joni Mitchell, Tori Amos, and Nina Simone. Clark’s backup singers nearly stole the show:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baklAZ2Rrt4

    SNL returns next week, April 10, hosted by Promising Young Woman star Carey Mulligan with Kid Cudi as the musical guest.

  • Phil Robinson Releases Video for “Transcendental Cowboy,” supporting #SaveOurStages

    To support the #SaveOurStages foundation during the pandemic, artist Phil Robinson today releases a video for his song “Transcendental Cowboy” from the renowned The Bitter End venue in New York City.

    Phil Robinson
    Phil Robinson

    Robinson’s live performance is another in his efforts to fundraise for live music venues that have suffered astronomically throughout the pandemic. In September 2020, he created, hosted, and performed in the “Save The Bitter End!” livestream fundraiser. It ended up raising over $24,000 towards The Bitter End’s $100,000 GoFundMe campaign, and ensured the venue’s April 9, 2021 reopening. 

    In addition to his venue fundraising efforts, Phil Robinson has organized and performed livestream events that benefit the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, local food banks, and more.

    “Transcendental Cowboy (Acoustic)” is out March 31st via Phil’s label Roomful Of Sky. His debut album Through the Middle is set for release later in 2021. His soulful rock music is a balm for the struggles of the pandemic, garnering comparisons to Cat Stevens and Bruce Springsteen.

    Robinson shares: “‘Transcendental Cowboy’ is usually my encore song – it gives audiences the chance to yell at the top of their lungs, so it’s always a lot of fun to play live! I thought it’d be a great fit for the #SaveOurStages campaign because it highlights that LIVE engagement between audience and performer that we all live for. Performing the song in an empty venue as I do in this benefit video highlights exactly what’s been missing this past year and what we hope to get back once the pandemic’s over and our music venues can hopefully re-open.”

  • David Byrne Premiers SOCIAL!, The Social Distance Dance Club

    Legendary Talking Heads front-man David Byrne has unveiled his lasted project, SOCIAL! This social distance dance club takes place in Park Avenue Armory as a part of the Social Distance Hall.

    SOCIAL david byrne dance club
    Park Avenue Armory

    SOCIAL! is part of the Armory’s Social Distance Hall commissioning initiative, which provides artists with the space and resources to create and present to in-person audiences new works designed specifically for the tumultuous times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Armory, with its immense, 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall and multiple airy rooms and entrances, featuring an air volume comparable to being outdoor. This hall is shaping up to be the shining example of how to re-open performing arts in New York and beyond.

    SOCIAL! invites 100 participants, 10% of the Drill Hall’s normal capacity, to the Armory’s Drill Hall for a socially distanced dance club, where each member will have a six-foot diameter circle in which to dance and move, spaced out from surrounding circles to provide proper social distancing at
    all times.

    The curated playlist will include a recoding of dance directions narrated by Byrne. All participants are welcome to move freely or choose to follow David Byrne’s magical suggestions. A video of Byrne teaching choreography for a song on the playlist will be sent in advance to all participants can prepare their dance moves. Ultimately, the goal of this program is to provide a powerful healing moment that can be experienced individually and communally.

    SOCIAL! will begin previews in the Drill Hall on April 9 and open April 13, running through April 22. Show times during the week will be at 7pm and at 12pm, 4pm, and 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets can be purchased here.

  • Watch Jack Harlow Perform on Saturday Night Live

    The first Saturday Night Live of Spring featured the return of longtime cast member Maya Rudolph as host. She was joined by Kentucky rapper and songwriter Jack Harlow, who earned a GRAMMY nomination for “WHATS POPPIN’ in 2020 and recently released That’s What They All Say.

    jack harlow

    Harlow first appeared in the Digital Short “NFTs,” a take on Eminem’s “Without Me,” complete with Pete Davidson in a Robin costume similar to that of Eminem in the original video.

    Midway through the show, cast member Bowen Yang stopped by the Weekend Update desk to talk about the recent spike in violence towards Asian-Americans and how you can help.

    Harlow’s first performance featured a medley of “Tyler Herro” and “WHATS POPPIN.” Herro, a friend of Harlow’s and Miami Heat guard is mentioned in the first verse of the song: “My homeboy Tyler he play in South Beach / He told me this summer he gon’ fix my jumper.”

    Giving a nod to the early influence of Saturday Night Live, Harlow said on Twitter, “I grew up watching SNL with my family every weekend. I vividly remember seeing Kanye perform Love Lockdown and Heartless in 2008. Thank you for making this happen. Another dream come true.”

    https://youtu.be/tkSvFzC7GGo

    For his second performance, Jack Harlow welcomed surprise guest, Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine, to duet on “Same Guy.” Levine is featured on the studio version of the track, an album that also features appearances by Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, and Static Major.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doi4H-BNkxQ

    Harlow also recently donated $500,000 to two HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) – Kentucky State University in Frankfort and Simmons College of Kentucky in Louisville – after winning Bleacher Report’s Open Run 2-on-2 basketball competition earlier this month.

    SNL returns next week with host Daniel Kaluuya and musical guest St. Vincent.