Bryant Park Picnic Performances continues August 12th with New York City Opera’s condensed version of Verdi’s classic, La traviata. The performance will last two hours with one 15-minute intermission. Bryant Park will continue to monitor and follow updated New York City and New York State COVID-19 guidelines throughout the summer, as necessary.
Photo Credit :Michael Cooper
On Friday, August 12th at 7pm, Bryant Park Picnic Performances presents an abridged adaptation of Verdi’s classic that inspired Moulin Rouge. The show has instantly recognizable tunes famously featured in Pretty Woman. La traviata tells the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta and the romantic Alfredo Germont. Playing out against the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society, Alfredo and Violetta’s love threatens to shame his family.
‘The People’s Opera’ is thrilled to return to our summer home at Bryant Park, where we can continue our mission of free performances for New York audiences.
– Michael Capasso, General Director of New York City Opera
The 2022 Picnic Performances season is possible due to the generous support of Bank of America. “Bank of America is a long-standing supporter of the arts because we believe that a thriving arts and cultural community benefits both society and the economy,” said José Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City. “So we are thrilled to once again sponsor Picnic Performances and combine our commitment to the arts with our partnership with Bryant Park. Together we’re helping New York City’s iconic cultural scene to thrive, while promoting green spaces and providing free access to live New York City music, dance and theater.”
On Friday, September 2nd, the performance Lucia di Lammermoor emerges. The story concerns fragile Lucy Ashton (Lucia) caught in a feud between her family. The setting takes place in the Lammermuir Hills of Scotland (Lammermoor) in the 17th century. Think Romeo and Juliet, but set in Scotland.
Photo Credit: Ryan Muir
Complete Bryant Park Picnic Performances:
July
July 15: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Squirrel Nut Zippers
July 22: Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Broadway Sinfonietta
July 23: Jazzmobile: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
July 28: Ailey II Performance and Ailey Extension Dance Class
July 29: Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Hot Sardines Featuring Nellie McKay
Photo Credit: Ryan Muir
August
August 5: Greenwich House Music School: Mireya Ramos and Alea
August 12: New York City Opera: La traviata
August 19: Asian American Arts Alliance: Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang
August 26: Habibi Festival: Esraa Warda & The Châab Lab, Firas Zreik, Yacine Boularès, and AJOYO
August 29: The Town Hall: Eighth Blackbird Celebrates John Cage
September
September 2: New York City Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
September 8: Steinway Artists Aaron Diehl and Orrin Evans
September 9: Classical Theatre of Harlem
September 16: Accordion Festival: Heart of Afghanistan and More
September 17: American Symphony Orchestra
For the additional information please visit the link here.
Art, in all its forms, is intended to inspire, challenge and broaden our minds. Whether a song, a painting, a NFT, or an interpretive dance, art is not intended to be comfortable, and if it is, it’s not doing its job. So when Roger Waters, co-founder and former member of Pink Floyd, arrived in Albany this week, he brought with him a performance that reaffirmed his status as an artist, while confronting the views of the audience in the process, sometimes to their discomfort but to great acclamation.
photo by Dave Decrescente
Appearing at a hazy MVP Arena on Wednesday, July 20 for a show two years in the planning – and more than half a century in the making – Waters performed a career-spanning show, featuring Pink Floyd classics, solo and new material amid an odyssey for the senses.
Those two years were such a span of time, that from when the This is Not a Drill Tour was announced in January 2020, the name of the Albany venue has changed from the Times Union Center to MVP Arena. The anticipation for fans – who represented a wide age-range as grandparents joined grandkids to see a legend perform – grew steadily as they awaited the show to go on, nearly two years to the date of the original show (July 25, 2020).
With announcements on the screen read aloud by a calming British voice, the audience was given 15, 10 and 5 minute warnings for when the show would begin. There was this courtesy to all in attendance, as well as a request to silence your cell phone, that were met with agreement from the crowd. Rousing applause and cheers overshadowed those rumblings when those in the crowd who were not interested in hearing Roger’s politics were advised to ‘fuck off to the bar right now,’ as the audience prepared themselves for a spectacle of the audio, visual and political varieties.
photo by Dave Decrescente
For this performance, the cross-shaped stage featured four quadrants of video screens displaying animation and early band images, so that every seat was a great seat and you could see the full show from any vantage point, amid a haze that hung in the air like London fog. Opening with “Comfortably Numb” as a video played across the screens with a dark, dystopian future city scape, the song reaching an emotional peak and the screens ascending, revealing the full band and offering Albany a rare performance in the round.
Performing this evening with Waters were Jon Carin (keys, guitar, vocals), Robert Walter (organ), Jonathan Wilson – (guitar, vocals), Gus Seyffert (bass, guitar), Dave Kilminster (guitar, vocals), Joey Waronker (drums, percussion), Seamus Blake (saxophone), Amanda Belair (vocals) and Shanay Johnson (vocals).
As the band was revealed, the 78 year old Waters showed off his vocal ability and on-stage agility as he moved from side to side and end to end of the arena, making sure no one was left out of seeing Roger close up. A trio of songs from The Wall were the first songs in full view of the audience – “Happiest Days of Our Lives,” “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)” and “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 3).” “Powers That Be” followed as the first solo work of Waters, a track off his 1987 concept album, Radio K.A.O.S.
photo by Dave Decrescente
This is when, as if you hadn’t been given fair warning, Roger’s politics become their own feature of the show. If you somehow weren’t aware of where Roger stood on world issues beforehand, well, you were in for an education into the mind of the former Pink Floyd frontman.
Imagery included BIPOC victims of police violence – not just in America, but in England, Africa, Turkey, and around the world. During “The Bravery of Being Out of Range,” the voice and floating head of Ronald Reagan appeared on the screen, giving his farewell address to the nation in 1989, with the words WAR CRIMINAL beneath his image along with 30,000 Guatamalans killed referring to those of Mayan descent who were killed during his presidency through efforts to expand democracy in Latin America. By now, Roger had shifted to the piano as Reagan’s head was burned into the minds of those in attendance, and rightly so given his hatred for Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and whose policies the song criticizes. Not to leave the Gipper alone, Presidents Bush (both), Clinton, Obama and Trump are all featured as well with WAR CRIMINAL below their image for various military action and drone strikes taken during each presidency. Biden was featured last and while his presidency is just one and a half years old, WAR CRIMINAL appeared again, with ‘just getting started’ below, which was met with an uneasy applause from the audience.
https://youtu.be/C6bNEPF9EKU?t=1223
Roger spoke to the audience as he sat at the piano, thanking everyone who kept their tickets from the initial date in 2020. The first portion of “The Bar,” an unreleased song that was written during the pandemic followed, with a similar sound to “Nobody Home” from The Wall. Here, imagery was displayed of the Lakota Indian tribe and their protest against a uranium mine in the Black Hills of North Dakota. These were not light images to see, yet showing the resolve of the Lakota people in the face of overwhelming odds and power, both remarkable and inspiring.
Nothing, however, prepares you for the sheer amount of reading involved in a full Roger Waters concert experience. Instead of a professor giving you a pre-reading assignment before class, Waters puts the text on the screen, leading your eyes to dart from the screen to the band, and back again, knowing that this captive audience is laser focused on the center of the room. All of the text is no doubt informative and sheds some light into the mind of Roger Waters, yet at times feels like being stuck in a car with a podcast where you can’t change the channel.
The second side of Wish You Were Here took center stage as the set moved into its second half, starting with “Have a Cigar,” as early Pink Floyd photos were displayed on the screens; “Wish you Were Here,” as Roger spoke of Syd Barrett stories and images appeared above, and the finally, the latter portions of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” As sheep, pigs and dogs appeared on the screen, the show entered the Animals era, including Tweets featuring the recent opinions of the US Supreme Court while the band performed “Sheep” to the loudest cheers of the set thus far.
photo by Dave Decrescente
After a 20-minute intermission, a flying pig was released – roughly the size of a compact car and soaring over the crowd – circling the arena and drawing attention away from Roger and the band as they took the stage and moved into The Wall’s “In the Flesh (Part 2)” and bringing along the full experience of The Wall, short of the actual wall being torn down. Banners dropped down featuring marching hammers, a red hue about the stage and Waters in a full dictator-tilt as he tore through Pink’s speech from the film, before moving into “Run Like Hell” as the pig continued to circle the stage above the crowd.
Two tracks from 2017’s Is This the Life We Really Want?, “Déjà Vu” and the title track followed, with a theme of human rights flashing on screen, along with specific rights for Yeminis, Palestinians, women and those without equal rights in the world.
The coins of “Money” could be heard next as the Dark Side of the Moon era was given center stage.. With screens showing faces of humanity and scenes from global protests, “Us and Them” felt more like “Us versus Them,” particularly those most vulnerable among the ‘Us,’ indiginous peoples from around the world. “Brain Damage” and “Eclipse” would follow, with a rainbow forming on the screens while a triangular prism of lasers surrounded the stage end to end, providing a full Dark Side of the Moon album cover effect.
photo by Dave Decrescente
Waters’ encore began with one of his last songs for Pink Floyd, “Two Suns in the Sunset,” which references nuclear holocaust, and was connected to the Doomsday Clock. A second portion of “The Bar” followed, with the band crowding around Waters at the piano, as they brought acoustic instruments in preparation for a walk around the perimeter of the stage as “Outside the Wall,” the final track on The Wall closed the show. With Waters standing on the stage at the end to a standing ovation, his bid farewell with a simple message: Peace.
When taken together, Roger Waters’ live performance coupled with the knowledge he seeks to impart on his audience is a vivid spectacle of the highest order. Taken separately, both fall on deaf ears and the message is lost. Waters continues to examine the uncomfortable realities of life through his music, one for the benefit of his audiences for the past 54 years and counting.
Roger Waters’ “This is Not a Drill” Tour arrives at Long Island’s UBS Arena at Belmont Park on August 13, followed by two nights at Madison Square Garden on August 30 & 31. All tour dates can be found here.
Roger Waters – MVP Arena – Albany, NY – July 20, 2022
Set 1: Comfortably Numb, The Happiest Days of Our Lives > Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2 > Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3, The Powers That Be, The Bravery of Being Out of Range, The Bar, Have a Cigar, Wish You Were Here > Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts VI-IX), Sheep
Set 2: In the Flesh > Run Like Hell, Déjà Vu, Is This the Life We Really Want?, Money > Us and Them > Any Colour You Like > Brain Damage > Eclipse
Encore: Two Suns in the Sunset, The Bar (Reprise), Outside the Wall
The Mann Center in Philadelphia hosted Phish for two steamy nights of music over Tuesday and Wednesday, July 19-20, including a space-themed “Tweezer”-fest on night one of the run.
Opening up Tuesday’s show were a trio of space songs, “Space Oddity,” “Martian Monster” and “Halley’s Comet,” perhaps inspired by new photos from the James Webb Space Telescope. A second set “Tweezer” segued freely in and out of “Cities,” “Passing Through,” Hendrix’s “Izabella” (which seems to be firmly in the rotation once again), “Mercury” and “Piper.” Trey Anastasio seemed to quote Lou Reed and Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man” during “Character Zero.”
Wednesday night, an appropriate “Steam” opened the night, given the steamy temperatures at showtime hovering around 90 degrees. A surprising “AC/DC Bag” opened the second set, with a nonstop segue threough “Soul Planet” > “Simple” -> “Light” -> “Party Time” with a romantic encore of “Waste” and “Loving Cup”.
Catch Phish in Bethel this weekend, then Hartford and Jones Beach next week!
Phish – The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA – Tuesday, July 21
Set 1: Space Oddity, Martian Monster, Halley’s Comet > Stash, The Moma Dance > Gotta Jibboo, Shade, The Old Home Place, Walls of the Cave
Set 2: More > Tweezer -> Cities -> Tweezer -> Passing Through > Izabella > Tweezer > Mercury > Piper > Tweezer > Also Sprach Zarathustra > Character Zero
Encore: Drift While You’re Sleeping > Tweezer Reprise
Space Oddity was played for the first time since July 28, 2017 (154 shows). The third Tweezer contained teases of Izabella and Cissy Strut. Trey teased Dave’s Energy Guide in Piper. Also Sprach Zarathustra included Space Oddity quotes from Trey and Martian Monster quotes from Trey and Page. Trey quoted I’m Waiting for the Man in Character Zero.
Phish – The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA – Wednesday, July 20
Set 1: Steam > Runaway Jim, Tela, Kill Devil Falls, Theme From the Bottom, Birds of a Feather, I Didn’t Know, Funky Bitch, Split Open and Melt
Set 2: AC/DC Bag > Soul Planet > Simple -> Light -> Party Time, Lonely Trip, David Bowie
Encore: Waste > Loving Cup
Runaway Jim contained a Nellie Kane tease by Trey. David Bowie featured an In Memory of Elizabeth Reed tease by Trey.
The print rock ‘n’ roll magazine CREEM has just announced its new issue, the first in 33 years, featuring Slash, The Who, Special Interest, and more.
CREEM Magazine Issue 1 Preview
Founded in 1969 Detroit, it grew from underground paper to national powerhouse – an essential source of music journalism for 20 years. Kurt Cobain once said “I’ll just retire to Mexico or Yugoslavia with a few hundred dollars, grow potatoes, and learn the history of rock through back issues of CREEM.”
Back when the magazine first started it cultivated some of the most legendary writing talent of the era – like Lester Bangs, Cameron Crowe, and Patti Smith.
The new magazine will cover multiple generations of artists with contributors ranging from established writers and photographers, to up-and-coming voices. It will embrace rock ‘n’ roll as a mentality rather than a genre with the biggest bands of all time and records no one has ever heard of.
The rebound of CREEM comes after the critically-acclaimed 2020 documentary Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll Magazine earned praise from New York Times to CBS This Morning. CREEM Entertainment is led by former VICE publisher John Martin as CEO, alongside Chairman JJ Kramer (son of original co-founder & publisher Barry Kramer), and original editor Jaan Uhelszki, one of the first women to work in rock journalism.
Subscriptions for the magazine will also come with a free digital archive of every issue from 1969-1989, with 224issues, 69,000 photos, articles, and reviews, making it the most significant cache of rock ‘n’ roll history ever shared online at one time.
For more information about the revamp, and to purchase a subscription, go here.
On a hot steamy summer night in Rochester the last place you want to be is stuffed into a packed Bug Jar. For the voracious music fans among us though, some shows are just too good to pass up, no matter the weather. So when L.A. via Bloomington quartet Frankie and the Witch Fingers made their long awaited return to the venue, enough souls made that music over comfort decision to fill the joint. Toronto’s Hot Garbage and locals CD-ROM rounded out the fuzzed-out psychedelic bill.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers took the stage for their set, did a quick long distance secret handshake thing, then launched into newer tune, “Empire.” And launch they did. Into a firestorm of rocking goodness, with syncopated guitars and bass, intricate guitar leads, tribal rhythms, a little West African psychedelia and enough manic drum fills to excite the most jaded fan.
“Cocaine Dream” went full punk, “Pleasure” got funky with some fat popping bass action from Nicki Pickle, and “Realization” had lead guitarist Josh Menashe in straight shred territory. The band and crowd were slick and sweaty and ready for the meat of the set. A “Cavehead”/”MEPEM” combo went long and deep, whirling and winding and peaking and dropping, but always raging forward. Singer and guitarist Dylan Sizemore bounced and shook and vibrated, every note and rhythm coursing through his body. Pickle grooved on her bass sporting a huge “damn this is badass” grin on her face. Drummer Nick Aguilar directed the energy swell after swell, climaxing with a huge rhythmic closing section.
“Dracula Drug” continued the relentless assault. Slow downs in “Reaper” and “Work” were just fake outs to hit the crowd with surprise knockout hooks. By set’s end both band and audience were ready to call the fight. Sweaty lumps of flesh filed outside to reorient and refresh.
Toronto quartet Hot Garbage made their last appearance of their tour opening for the Witch Fingers. A bass-forward garage rock sound, everything blended together in a greasy mash. They took full control of the crowd. The keys, guitar and bass working the head and torso, kneading and pounding and sculpting. While drummer Mark Henein moved everything from the ass down, shaking and pulling like strings on a marionette. “Easy Believer,” long and droning, featured a delicious bass line you could live inside for days. “Ride” a slow psychedelic march, closed the set, and set them on their way back home.
Rochester’s psych rock band CD-ROM got the night off to fun start with lots of reverb and fuzzed out guitar and synths. Vocalist Jesse Amesmith made creative use of effects using her voice as an instrument, working on off and all around the stage while the keys and guitars and drums matched her moves. Zeppelin-worthy rock outs were met with time-shifting whirlwinds and high-energy punk ragers.
A perfect summer night greeted Dead and Company as the group returned to Citi Field for their two-night tour closing run in Queens over July 15 & 16. After a quick introduction by Bravo Network’s Andy Cohen (also Anderson Cooper’s New Year’s Eve television sidekick and huge Grateful Dead fan), the show kicked off with a high energy version of “Bertha” which set the tone for the weekend.
Drummer Billy Kruetzman had been sitting out most of Dead & Co.’s summer tour due to some back issues but made a humble return for the tour closers. The crowd’s raucous cheers every time the cameras focused on him brought out a smile on his face. Jay Lane had been filling in for Kruetzman for most of the tour and came back out during Saturday’s show to join the band on stage.
Dead & Co.’s setlist was orchestrated with the perfect ebb and flow of leisurely moments and dancing feet while maintaining full speed ahead. Set 2’s “Terrapin Station,” “Standing on the Moon,” and drums/space blended brilliantly with heaters “China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider,” “Not Fade Away,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and the extended jam evolving “Space” into “The Other One.”
With Dead & Co.’s summer tour grand finale at Citi Field, here’s looking forward to what we hope to be more tours from the band. Check out photos from Friday’s show below, as well as setlists from both nights.
Dead and Company – Citi Field – Queens
Friday July 15:
Set 1: Bertha -> Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo. Shakedown Street -> Sugaree, Tennessee Jed, Bird Song -> Don’t Ease Me In
Set 2: Althea. Viola Lee Blues, Terrapin Station, China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider -> Drums -> Space -> The Other One -> Standing on the Moon, Not Fade Away
Encore: Sugar Magnolia
Saturday July 16:
Set 1: Playing in the Band -> Uncle John’s Band, Dear Mr. Fantasy -> Hey Jude, Ramble On Rose, Brown-Eyed Women, Jack Straw
Set 2: Truckin’, Wang Dang Doodle -> Scarlet Begonias -> Franklin’s Tower, St. Stephen -> William Tell Bridge -> The Eleven -> Drums (with Jay Lane) -> Space -> All Along the Watchtower, Morning Dew, Deal -> Playing in the Band Reprise
Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter John Moreland will grace audiences with his mesmerizing country sound this July. On July 23, the Oklahoma singer will promote his upcoming album, Birds in the Ceiling, at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock before traveling to Buffalo Iron Works on the 24. The Dead Tongues will join Moreland for both performances.
The singer’s upcoming album will be released on July 22, just a day before the show at Levon Helm Studios. Bird’s in the Ceiling is John Moreland’s sixth studio album, and some of his previous works, including LP5, and High on Tulsa Heat, garnered much positive attention from fans and critics alike. The pandemic prevented Moreland from touring for LP5, so his live performances are highly-anticipated and a long time coming.
The imminent Birds in the Ceiling album, via Old Omens/Thirty Tigers, combines folk, retro-pop, rock, and roots with the foundations of Moreland’s strong sense of lyrical story-telling. The nine-track album gives listeners a glimpse into Moreland’s most recent thoughts and experiences. Singles off of the upcoming album were released earlier this year, including “Ugly Faces,” “Claim Your Prize,” and “Cheap Idols Dressed in Expensive Garbage,” all of which you can listen to below.
An artist known for his lyrics, much of Moreland’s music cuts deep. The reflective lyrics “does it even matter? does it ever last? / I didn’t want the answer to the question that I asked / Can I kill a monster? can I be a man? / I can’t afford to give a damn if you don’t understand” off of “Ugly Faces” lend a lonesome and introspective perspective.
With Moreland’s talented and accomplished guitar playing, emotional vocals, and combination of instrumentation, the live performances in NY this summer are sure to be memorable and captivating. For the Levon Helm Studio performance, tickets cost $30 or $45, and gates open at 6:30. The Buffalo Iron Works show begins at 8:00 pm with doors open at 7:00 pm and tickets cost $25.
Tickets for the upcoming shows at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock and Iron Works in Buffalo can be found with the link available here. To listen to some more of John Moreland’s work, see below.
On July 1, Dogwood Last, Fysics, and Rose Porn – three acts from the Brooklyn area – released their single “Straws” on July 1 via Dogwood Last, Fysics, and Rose Porn
The single was written and produced remotely over the last 12 months and combines the aesthetics of all three Brooklyn acts’ sounds. Dealing with some serious topics such as depression, a lost love, and more, the single combines a feel-good groove with hard-hitting lyricism.
Kory Burrell, a member of the band Dogwood Last, developed “Straws” with signature drum programs and synthesizers as Zach Rosenberg of Rose Porn worked on the production. The outstanding lyrics and many of the vocals come from Josef Lamberti, of the band Fysics.
Long before the groups worked on “Straws,” they were friends first and foremost. Of the track, the group shares, “We spent over a year crafting this song and the production, knowing we were getting at something greater than the sum of our parts. It was the dream quarantine collaboration.”
And a dream quarantine collaboration it was. The “Straws” single will surely draw the attention of fans of popular artists such as Frank Ocean, Jim-E Stack, and Dijon. With a calming opening mixing in tech beats and warped vocals, the song continues to develop into a track meant for indie-pop playlists and your next emotional summer drive.
Fysics
We feel like it’s the summer bangerLil Peep would have made if he were a successful liberal arts undergrad.
– Dogwood Last, Rose Porn, and Fysics on “Straws”
If you are interested in hearing more of this music live, on stage, and right in the moment, catch one of the three acts off of the “Straws” single, Dogwood Last, on August 19 at Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn. To hear more music from some of these talents, see below.
The Kronos Quartet have a long history of creating unique and visceral music for a variety of different platforms. Last week, the San Francisco based string quartet came to the Lena Horne Bandshell and performed their live documentary, A Thousand Thoughts for the Celebrate Brooklyn! summer series. Directed by Sam Green, the documentary chronicles the string quartet’s history, various member lineups, and takes a deeper look into the musical theories behind some of the group’s more iconic work.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
The show began with Sam Green introducing the concept of the “live documentary” and how he went about convincing the group to take part. As the band took the stage, they also appeared one-by-one on the screen behind them as part of their interviews for the film. They each joked and seemed confused about the concept of performing music for a documentary live. As the show went on, the uniqueness of the presentation became more apparent. Seeing Dave Harrington and others talk about the music on screen while they were performing on stage in front of you truly gave you new perspective to the music.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
Green talked about the persistence of natural music in our every day lives and even had the audience take a full minute to sit in silence and tune into our surroundings at the start of the show. Described as a “meditation on music itself-the act of listening closely to music, the experience of feeling music deeply” the film tends to focus on how the members of the group discovered various musical styles that caught their attention. Hank Dutt told a story about how he discovered throat singing from a CD he packed for a long international flight, becoming fixated on one song for the entire trip, and the urge to find that artist in order to learn more and collaborate.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
The documentary began with a history of recorded music, including the first known audio recording called “The Lost Chord.” The presentation shifted between bits of interviews with the quartet members, anecdotes about the creation of some of their projects, and their perception as a “modern string quartet” that were breaking the rules and revolutionizing what a string quartet could be.
The Kronos Quartet at Celebrate Brooklyn! 7/14/22. Photo by Joseph Buscarello
A Thousand Thoughts is only performed as a live documentary, and the screening for Celebrate Brooklyn! was the last scheduled performance this year. Alongside the interviews of the members quartet, the film also well known collaborators of the group such as Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich, and more. The group has been performing since the premiere of the film in 2018, so keep an eye on their website for future screenings next year.
On Wednesday, July 20 at Joe’s Pub in New York City, Tony Trischka will pay tribute to the music of Earl Scruggs. Earl Scruggs, pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and one of the two most important musicians in bluegrass.
Tony Trischka credit to ArtistWorks
Born in Syracuse in 1949 and raised in a home filled with music, Tony Trischka is now a renowned musician. Trischka fell in love with the banjo by way of the Kingston Trio’s 1959 recording of “M.T.A.,” and was able to experience the New York-centered folk revival by trekking to the Newport Folk Festival in the early to mid-’60s. His latest album Shall We Hope is an exploration of the Civil War, and features Michael Daves, Maura O’Connell, the Violent Femmes, Catherine Russell, Guy Davis and John Lithgow.
Joe’s Pub, a program of the Public Theater, is an independent, non-profit music venue, dedicated to supporting performing artists at every stage of their careers. They fulfilled the Public’s mission to serve audiences and artists alike, as an active member of New York City’s creative community while they pair vibrant culture with genuine hospitality every evening.
“Earl is my North Star, a lifetime pathway. And I’m not alone. Through his music, this shy kid from Flint Hill, North Carolina went on to enrich countless thousands of lives. At the age of 13, when I first heard 16 notes of Scruggs style banjo playing, I put down my folk guitar and mercilessly pestered my parents to buy me a banjo. Once in my hands, that 5-string became my obsession and has been for close to 60 years. The depth of his genius becomes ever more apparent when I transcribe his solos, which I’ve been doing my entire musical life and with renewed vigor. Discovering new twists and turns in his playing is pure joy and in fact the inspiration for this tribute show.”
Tony Trischka
Together with his band—Michael Daves on vocals and guitar, bassist Jared Engel, fiddler Alex Hargreaves (from Billy Strings’ band), and mandolinist Maddie Witler— Tony Trischka will trace the story of Scruggs from his childhood to his final years. He is recently possessed with the recordings of jam sessions with Scruggs and John Hartford, some of which will be debuted at Joe’s Pub.
