NYS Music 2023

Category: Manhattan

  • Jim Jones Makes Loyalties Clear with Pusha T Stance

    Jim Jones continues to make the airwaves with his unfiltered take on Vibe and Billboard’s list of the 50 Greatest Ever Rappers. The list — which was part of a collaborative effort to celebrate Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary — named Jay – Z as the genre’s greatest ever MC. However, it was Pusha T’s ranking that raised ire of the “We Fly High” rapper. Coming in at number 29, Pusha T’s career as a member of the Clipse (alongside his brother Malice) and his solo work on GOOD Music has made him a staple of hip hop lore. Yet, Jim Jones doesn’t see it as such and on an episode of The RapCaviar Podcast, the Dipset member aired out his true feelings.

    “What has he done that puts him in the greatest rappers of all time besides talk about coke that he probably didn’t get himself?” Jones asked. “He’s nice as shit. He could rap his ass off, but what has he done?

    “Nobody has dressed like him. Nobody wants to be like Pusha T. I don’t remember nothing. And let’s not be evil, but we don’t talk about rap where the n-gga that’s popping the bitches wanna fuck and the n-ggas wanna be like.”

    He continued: “I don’t know too many n-ggas in this game that was leaning towards being like Pusha T. Pusha T don’t hold no weight out here. He not pushing no shit out here.”

    Jim Jones Doubles Down on The Breakfast Club

    Jim Jones then rehashed the sentiments during an appearance on The Breakfast Club. Confronted by DJ Envy and Charlemagne Tha God about the controversial stance, the Harlem MC colorfully reiterated himself. For the purpose of his argument, Capo focused solely on radio play and club records.

    “Could you name five Pusha T records?” Jones asked The Breakfast Club staff. “Could you name five Pusha T records? No. Could you rap to five Pusha T records?” After Charlemagne named several standout Pusha T records, Jones dismissed Charlemagne as a Pusha T fan and joked about him listening to the records in his basement.

    While Jim Jones acknowledged Pusha T’s talent as a lyricist, he said he hasn’t made enough of a cultural impact to be considered an all-time rap great.

    “Shoutout to Pusha T, I love your soul,” Jones continued. “You my dawg, you not in my top 50. You might be in Charlamagne’s top 50 and things like that, but you haven’t done that much for me in my life.”

    “I never wanted to be like Pusha, I never had a Pusha moment in my life. Where I’m from, n-ggas wanted to be like you if you was really that dude as a rapper.”

    Jim Jones Makes his Loyalties Clear

    Jim Jones is an accomplished rapper himself and is certainly entitled to his opinion. However, his conviction is not without bias. Along with his controversial opinion on Pusha T, Jones has made the rounds for declaring Drake as hip hop’s greatest ever rapper. During appearances on the RapCaviar Podcast and an interview on Complex, Jones asserted his controversial take.

    “Drake is the only one that gets played anyplace on this Earth, and they’re gonna know it in English. If you’re not putting Drake in the Top 2 of all time, like, what are we gonna do? We gonna keep putting shade on his name? He has broke every single statistic, period. You heard?”

    Drake of course, famously brought out Jim Jones and the entire Diplomats crew during his performance at the Apollo Theater and celebrated the veteran rapper and his cohorts with a heartfelt tribute. “These guys right here, from Harlem, made us dress different, talk different, walk different, rap different. All the way in Canada.”

    Verdict

    Thus, it could be that after that moment Jim Jones’ view of what makes an all-time great rapper was altered and he only saw things through a Drake lens. Or, the one they call Capo could just be aligning with his good buddy who also happens to be the most popular rapper in the world. After all, Pusha T and Drake’ s longstanding beef ended without a reply from the Canadian crooner. Consequently, many declared Pusha T the winner as he was one of the few to land a crack in Drake’s pop-star armor.

    What Jim Jones might have looked over is that Drake himself counts Pusha T amongst his many influences. During an episode of the short-lived MTV show When I Was 17, Drake shared a story from his formative years revealing his fandom of the “Dreaming of the Past” rapper. While scouring eBay in search of Clipse memorabilia, Drake stumbled upon and purchased a microphone that was allegedly autographed and used by Pusha T.

    “I used to pretend I was doing interviews on the red carpet and perform all the Clipse songs in my basement with the mic,” he says. “I’m a full-sized teen at this point, so this is in private. And I performed with it so much that I rubbed the autograph off. I don’t even know if he really signed it, but that was my big thing. At the time it meant the world to me.”

    Furthermore, Pusha T remains one of the very few that can get Jay – Z on a record. For rap fans, that may be influence enough.

  • Django A Gogo Music Festival Comes to Town Hall in New York City for 20th Anniversary

    The 20th Anniversary of the Django A Gogo Music Festival begins early this May and culminates with the main event: an intensive “Guitar and Violin Camp” at The Town Hall in New York City on May 6 at 8:00 p.m.

    Additionally, Django A Gogo includes an enhanced “Guitar and Violin Camp” from May 2-May 7 at The Woodland in New Jersey. The concerts will follow the Django canon and veer into reinterpretation, improvisation, and interplay between artists.

    Poster for the Django a Gogo Music Festival. Credit: Stephane Wrembel Presents.

    Wrembel has produced Django a Gogo since 2003, bringing together some of the finest musicians to celebrate the constant evolution of the Sinti guitar style, commonly referred to as “gypsy jazz.”

    The 3 concerts at The Woodland are as follows:

    On May 3, Stephane Wrembel Band (Stephane Wrembel on guitar, Josh Kaye on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums) presents The Art of the Guitar with special guests Simba Baumgartner (Django Reinhardt’s great-grandson), Paulus Schaefer and more!

    The Art of the Violin follows on May 4, featuring violinist Jason Anick and Trio Dinicu featuring Tommy Davy on guitar and Luann Homzy on violin as well as guitarists Stephane Wrembel, Debi Botos and, and Sam Farthing.

    The Woodland concerts conclude May 5, celebrating the release of Wremble’s new album, Django New Orleans, recorded with his NYC-based supergroup of musicians. Django New Orleans features Stephane Wrembel and Josh Kaye on guitar, Adrien Chevalier on violin, Joe Correia on Tuba, Scott Kettner on drums, David Langlois on percussion, Nick Driscoll on sax/clarinet, Joe Boga on trumpet and Sarah King on vocals.

    The main event on May 6 at The Town Hall opens with Stephane Wrembel Band, Simba Baumgartner (France), Paulus Schaefer (Holland), Debi Botos (Canada), Samy Daussat (France), and Sam Farthing (U.S.) on guitar; and Aurore Voilqué (France) on violin. The second set follows with a short performance by Trio Dinicu featuring Tommy Davy on guitar and Luann Homzy on violin, followed by a set from Django New Orleans. The concert concludes with a grand finale with all performers on stage.

    The concerts for the Django a Gogo Music Festival, both at The Woodland and The Town Hall, are open to patrons of all ages. Tickets for The Woodland Concerts start at $35/show and a limited number of three-day passes for $90 are available. Tickets for The Django A Gogo Music Festival at The Town Hall start at 49.50.

  • A New York City Night with Fruit Bats at Webster Hall

    On Thursday, April 20th the Fruit Bats returned to New York City, having not played on the island of Manhattan in three years. The East Village’s beloved Webster Hall slowly filled with an eclectic crowd.

    Photograph by Emma Dowd

    People of all ages mingled and spoke about their relationships to the band, as they sipped wine and other elixirs. The energy was timid and sweet, emulating the same experience the Fruit Bats create with their sound.

    Photograph by Emma Dowd

    Hums of conversation and the movement on the floor fell to a still hush when the openers, H.C. McEntire took to the stage. The lights glowed golden and a light fog rolled onto the crowd, as the lead singer transitioned the night into an experience. Slowly, each instrument organically introduced itself into the song. Multiple guitars, a bass guitar, and a percussion set melded together to create a culmination of bluegrass and folk. The audience was entranced as they drank in the band’s filling guitar riffs, and weighty vocals.

    Photograph by Emma Dowd

    When H.C. McEntire humbly exited the stage, they were rewarded with hoot and holler applause. After a half an hour set change, the Fruit Bats made their way onto stage. Each band member made themselves comfortable behind their instruments. The keyboardist, Frank LoCastro, even poured himself a tall glass of red wine. Multi-instrumentalist Josh Mease, bassist David Dawda, and drummer Josh Adams situated themselves as their lead singer, Eric Johnson, approached the mic. He greeted New York City warmly, expressing his gratitude for having returned to “the big island.”

    The show commenced with Johnson’s raw voice dueting with the melody pulled by the guitar. The first lyric to be sung was from their song, “The Pet Parade”: Hello from me to all you out there. The crowd waved back to Johnson, their swaying hands casted a moving pattern of shadows across the notorious Webster velvet drapes that frame the stage.

    The Fruit Bats’ sound felt like a location. It held a midwestern kindness that could not be missed, as they performed songs tributing their roots in Chicago, Illinois. Though, the music was transient. As Johnson told stories through his lyrics, the audience was brought along with him to his muses. The journey was a long one, given that the setlist expanded over a vast culmination of records dating back to 1997.

    Photograph by Emma Dowd
    Photograph by Emma Dowd

    The band performed songs from Johnson’s early career all through their newest record, “A River Running To Your Heart,” that was released last week. The record’s first debut to the world happened in New York City. Johnson asked if the crowd minded if they played something new. The audience welcomed the proposition with open arms and open minds, as they listened to the fresh record. He sang of “proverbial shame,” “chosen family,” and the thread of most albums “love.”

    Photograph by Emma Dowd

    The show concluded peacefully, the audience fulfilled and the Fruit Bats doused in gratification. Claps and utters of “thank you’s” vibrated in the crowd. Their goodbye was swift as they stilled their instruments and waved to their listeners as they made their way backstage. The stage emptied and the lights came on, but the crowd stayed awhile. Ushered to the bar, they stayed carrying on the story of the music they just heard.

  • American Classical Orchestra Announces Season Finale “Romantic Fantasy”

    The American Classical Orchestra has announced its final concert this season on Thursday, May 18, at Alice Tully Hall: Romantic Fantasy

    American Classic Orchestra’s Romantic Fantasy will be an evening of Romantic music by Rossini, Schumann, Sarasate, and Grieg, played on period instruments. The program features Filipino-American baritone Enrico Lagasca, critically acclaimed for his role as Daedalus in the U.S. premiere of Jonathan Dove’s opera The Monster in the Maze, and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient violinist Rachell Ellen Wong. The program will begin with a brief presentation by orchestra founder and artistic director Thomas Crawford.

    Founded in 1984 as the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy, the ensemble was renamed the American Classical Orchestra in 1999. Founder and Artistic Director Thomas Crawford established its new and permanent home in New York City in 2005. It is now the City’s only full-scale orchestra dedicated to performing 17th, 18th, and 19th century music on period instruments.

    Romantic Fantasy Program

    Thursday, May 18, 2023, at 8 pm, Alice Tully Hall

    Rachell Ellen Wong, violin

    Enrico Lagasca, bass-baritone

    Rossini: William Tell Overture

    Schumann: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 “Spring Symphony”     

    Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25

    Grieg: The Mountain Thrall, Op. 32  

    Tickets priced at $35 -$75 are available now at aconyc.org 

  • Harlem Stage Announces The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference

    Patricia Cruz, artistic director and CEO of Harlem Stage invites iconic Contemporary Black artists and thinkers to the Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference, to be held from May 18-20 and curated by Harlem Stage Associate Artistic Director/Artist-in-Residence Carl Hancock Rux.

    the black arts movement

    The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference culminates Harlem Stage’s 2022-23 season-long initiative Black Arts Movement: Examined. This is a series of events devoted to escalating the understanding of the historic and cultural relevance of Black Arts Movement and its intersections with the Black Power Movement. The Black Arts Movement: Examined emerged from a conversation between Rux and Cruz about how it might result as a bridge to an exploration of Black art and activism in contemporary America. 

    The conference will explore areas of tension between the intellectual, ethical, and commercial imperatives of the Black Arts Movement, its scholarship, and the professional demands many of its leaders imposed upon artists, and whether or not the Black Arts Movement’s libertarian, racism-countering goals were ever truly achieved.

    – Carl Hancock Rux

    The event will kick off at 5pm with a keynote address by the poet, music critic, and arts administrator A.B. Spellman. He is a Director of The Expansion Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, which funded arts organizations that were in and of inner-city, rural, and tribal communities. Thirty minutes later, Miles Davis, Quincy Troupe, David Henderson, and Margo Crawford will respond to A.B. Spellman’s overview, giving further elucidation to the movement’s aesthetic, development, internal and external tensions. These special guests will also explore the movement’s relationship to the Black Power Movement, the AfriCOBRA movement, and Black cultural expression as resistance, and offer a fundamental re-evaluation of its complicated relationship with political insurgency and the larger Black community.

    On the second day at 10pm there will be a Black Masculinity Discussion moderated by Jonathan McCrory and featuring Felipe Luciano, Stew, Brent Hayes Edwards, and Lois Elaine Griffith. The set will examine the articulation of misogyny and homophobia often deployed by the Black Arts Movement in service to a masculinist vision of Black liberation principles and its constitution of “real” Blackness. Following that talk will be the discussion Music & Struggle with Angela Davis, Nona Hendryx, and Toshi Reagon Nona Hendryx. Next will be conversations with the activist Sonia Sanchez and multi-award-winning poet Carl Hancock Rux. The final celebration for that day will be a concert showcasing Henry Threadgill, Craig Taborn, and Dafnis Prieto.

    The last day of The Black Arts Movement: Then and Now Conference will begin with a discussion called Poder Latino with Felipe Luciano, Lois Elaine Griffith, and more. The speakers will explore the Afro-Latinx cross-cultural influence on the intersection of European colonialism and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the complexities of the Afro-Latinx relationship to the Black Arts Movement. After an 11:30 lunch, the audience will be treated to a Film Screening titled, “Portrait of Jason by Shirley Clarke” in collaboration with Maysles Documentary Center.  The film is an experimental documentary by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Shirley Clarke. Ingmar Bergman referred to the production saying it was “the most fascinating film he had ever seen in his life”

    After the documentary will be a discourse called “Crisis of the Negro Intellectual”. This conversation will be moderated by Margo Crawford and features Harmony Holiday, Michael Sawyer & Dominic Taylor, moderated by Margo Crawford. To end the conference the audience will be presented with a Closing Plenary by Carl Hancock Rux and a closing-night, curated by Carl Hancock Rux, Tavia Nyong’o, and Vernon Reid. The closing-night will also showcase contributions by Carrie Mae Weems, Stefanie Batten Bland, and Dianne Smith and co-presented with Park Avenue Armory.

    More information about the Harlem Stage can be found here.

  • The Rock And Roll Playhouse Announces Earth Day ‘Bob Marley For Kids’ Concert Series

    The Rock and Roll Playhouse has announced a special run of shows over Earth Day Weekend benefiting international non-profit Oceanic Global on Saturday April 22 and Sunday, April 23. Featuring the music of Bob Marley and The Grateful Dead, The Rock and Roll Playhouse will bring family fun to 13 different venues across the country where kids and parents can rock out to the classics.

    Included among the venues are Garcia’s in Port Chester, Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg and City Winery Hudson Valley in Montgomery.

    Rock and Roll Playhouse bob marley for kids

    The Rock and Roll Playhouse introduces the next generation to timeless music while providing kids with early music exposure and encouraging creativity. The Playhouse was founded in 2013 at its flagship venue Brooklyn Bowl by Peter Shapiro, entrepreneur and co-owner of the Bowl and owner of The Capitol Theatre, and Amy Striem, a certified Early Childhood and Elementary teacher.

    Designed to create opportunities for families to experience live music together in historic venues, The Rock and Roll Playhouse continues to unite families through music with hundreds of unforgettable shows nationwide as the largest national concert series for families where kids can “move, play and sing while listening to works from the classic-rock canon”. 

    Supporting Oceanic Global on Earth Day Weekend is not just about bringing families together through the power of music, but also about teaching the next generation the importance of preserving our planet. By creating unforgettable experiences for families while supporting a worthy cause, we can inspire a love for music and a passion for environmental activism in our children that will last a lifetime.

    Stephen Grybowski, Senior Director of The Rock and Roll Playhouse

    Founded in 2016, Oceanic Global reconnects humanity to the ocean as the beating heart of the earth, and provides tangible solutions and blueprints for coexisting in harmony with the natural world. The 501c3 non-profit builds tools, mobilizes communities, and develops educational resources and standards that inspire global action and catalyze cross-sector change.

    Tickets are available now, and admission is free for children one years old and under. For more information please visit The Playhouse’s website.

    Earth Day Schedule

    Saturday, April 22 Earth Day Celebration

    Rockefeller Center – New York, NY

    Bob Marley for Kids

    Garcia’s – Port Chester, NY

    Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA –

    Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA

    Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO

    Woodlands Tavern – Columbus, OH

    Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC

    Sunday, April 23

    Grateful Dead for Kids

    High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI

    Bob Marley for Kids

    Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL

    Far Out Lounge – Austin, TX

    Portland House of Music – Portland, OR

    Brooklyn Bowl Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY

    City Winery Hudson Valley – Montgomery, NY

  • The Rooftop At Pier 17 Announces Newest Summer Concert Series Lineup

    The Rooftop at Pier 17, New York City’s most scenic outdoor concert venue is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its popular Summer Concert Series at the Seaport with over 60 shows slated from May through October.

    Rooftop at pier 17 summer concert series

    This year’s exciting lineup of shows kicks off May 3  with rock band Coheed and Cambria, and continues throughout the summer with performances by pop star Bebe Rexha (June 18), Pride weekend kickoff with DJ Trixie Mattel (June 22), T-Pain (July 11), YUNGBLUD (July 14),  Jenny Lewis (July 18), Pixies and Modest Mouse (August 21 & 22), Tove Lo (September 10), Macklemore (September 22) and many more to be announced.

    New Yorkers, tri-state area residents, and visitors from all over the globe look forward to The Rooftop at Pier 17 concert lineup each summer. This season we are excited to celebrate five years of bringing today’s most popular artists to the Seaport to perform at this unforgettable venue with its iconic New York City views—there’s really no place like it.

    Andrew Schwartz, Co-President of the New York Region, The Howard Hughes Corporation

    Since its launch in 2018 by The Howard Hughes Corporation, The Rooftop at Pier 17’s Summer Concert Series has attracted an eclectic mix of superstar acts including Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, Ringo Starr, Kings of Leon, Amy Schumer, Machine Gun Kelly, Janelle Monáe, Trevor Noah, Diana Ross, deadmau5, and The Fugees, who reunited for a historic performance in 2021. In 2022, the Summer Concert Series boasted 40 sold out shows from a range of artists like Blondie, Elvis Costello, 5 Seconds of Summer, Pusha T, Billy Strings, Deftones, Zach Bryan, girl in red, Jason Mraz, and more. 

    Jordana at The Rooftop at Pier 17 – photo by Lindsay Brown

    For more information on the Summer Concert Series, visit RooftopatPier17.com

    Summer Concert Series

    May 3 – Coheed and Cambria “NEVERENDER NWFTWM”
    May 4 – Nickel Creek
    May 5 – Goth Babe: The Lola Tour
    May 12 – Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls and The Interrupters
    May 23 – Beach Bunny and PUP
    June 3 – Young the Giant with Milky Chance
    June 4 – Young the Giant with Milky Chance
    June 5 – The Used & Pierce The Veil: Creative Control Tour
    June 9 – The Wood Brothers with special guest Shovels & Rope
    June 13 – The Used & Pierce The Veil: Creative Control Tour
    June 14 – The Driver Era
    June 15 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Ziggy Marley
    June 16 – Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Ziggy Marley
    June 17 – Reggae Fest Blaze
    June 18 – Bebe Rexha: Best F’n Night Of My Life
    June 22 – DJ Trixie Mattel: Solid Pink Disco
    July 6 – Rebelution: Good Vibes Summer Tour 2023
    July 7 – SiriusXM Presents Yacht Rock Revue: Reverse Sunset Tour
    July 8 – Yellowcard: Celebrating 20 Years of Ocean Avenue
    July 11 – T-Pain: Escape from Wiscansin – The Invasion
    July 12 – Barenaked Ladies: Last Summer On Earth 2023
    July 14 – YUNGBLUD: The World Tour
    July 15 – The Struts: Remember The Name
    July 18 – Jenny Lewis: JOY’ALL TOUR
    July 21 – An Evening with CAKE
    July 22 – An Evening with CAKE
    July 27 – Joe Russo’s Almost Dead
    August 2 – Pink Martini featuring China Forbes
    August 4 – The Mountain Goats
    August 5 – Anjunabeats Outdoors
    August 21 – Pixies and Modest Mouse
    August 22 – Pixies and Modest Mouse
    August 26 – Gimme Gimme Disco
    August 30 – JVKE: what tour feels like
    September 10 – Tove Lo: Dirt Femme Tour
    September 14 – An Evening with Ween
    September 22 – Macklemore: The BEN To

  • Unknown Mortal Orchestra Lay Claim to Webster Hall With Four Show Run

    Unknown Mortal Orchestra continued their four show run at New York City’s Webster Hall this past Friday night, April 14. Continuing through Sunday to complete their New York stop on The V Tour.

    Webster Hall
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 2023 Photo by Parker Alexander

    Throughout the night, the group led by Ruban Nielson, blasted through songs from all of their albums, self-titled to the recently released V.

    The show slowly ramped up with only a solo keyboardist playing a minimal piano track, leading into the rest of the band coming out on stage to perform the newest album’s opener, The Garden. Some songs seamlessly transitioned between one another, leading to a perpetual sense of musical cohesion.

    Webster Hall
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 2023 Photo by Parker Alexander

    The whole night felt like a family get together. From the familial themes sung about on V to Ruban’s brother Kody on drums, even their Dad regularly emerging to play saxophone, among a variety of other brass instruments.

    Alongside their original material, two memorable covers joined the setlist. The group played The Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street” and Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out,” the latter being a first. The band’s unique melding of psychedelia, rock, and funk blended astonishingly well with these two songs.

    Webster Hall unknown mortal orchestra
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 2023 Photo by Parker Alexander

    Several times over the course of the night, the crowd accompanied Ruban’s singing, but not as much as during “So Good At Being In Trouble.”

    Webster Hall unknown mortal orchestra
    Unknown Mortal Orchestra, 2023 Photo by Parker Alexander

    The V tour continues on in North America this week, concluding in Boston, before traveling overseas for the remainder of the summer.

    Unknown Mortal Orchestra | Webster Hall | New York, NY | April 15, 2023

    Setlist: The Garden, From the Sun / Secret Xtians, Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark), Weekend Run, The Opposite of Afternoon, Thought Ballune / Little Blu House, Necessary Evil / Monki, Ministry of Alienation, In the Rear View, Nadja, So Good at Being in Trouble / Waves of Confidence, Layla, Multi-Love

    Encore: Meshuggah, Shakedown Street (Grateful Dead cover), Like Acid Rain, Movin’ Out (Billy Joel cover), That Life, Hunnybee, Can’t Keep Checking My Phone

    (Note: The tour had a film-only policy for photographers)

    Webster Hall unknown mortal orchestra
    Webster Hall unknown mortal orchestra

  • Bryant Park Announces Their 2023 Dance Party

    New York City’s annual Dance Party returns to Bryant Park for its ninth year of celebration. The prized series offers park goers in-person dance events in a variety of styles every Wednesday and Thursday from May 3 to May 18. The party can be enjoyed on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.

    Bryant Park dance party

    This year’s Dance Party highlights New York City’s signature brand of salsa dura with La Excelencia on May 3. La Excelencia is a multi-hit band that combines traditional salsa elements with a modern and unapologetic sound. Futhermore, audience members can also look forward to traditional Argentinian tango with Latin Grammy-winning bassist Pedro Giraudo on May 4. In the following days participants can also Andean Afro-cumbia with Afro-Andean Funk Ft. Araceli Poma and Matt Geraghty, Harlem-style Swing dance with Charenée Wade’s Band of Swing, bachata tradicional with Valerio, and salsa with Santiago y la Orquesta. 

    The party also commemorates the premiere of Charenée Wade, the Jazz at Lincoln Center vocalist, debuting her new Band of Swing on May 11. Additionally, Santiago “Sachy” Moyano, the son of the Columbian icon Luis Moyano, Jr., debuts his new orchestra on May 18.

    Each Dance Party Event gives attendees the opportunity to meet with expert instructors to learn basic steps from 6 to 7pm. After classes, participants can test their new moves to live music performed by a diverse selection of bands from 7 to 8:30pm.

    Communities of color in NYC that have taken the biggest hit from COVID are in real need of opportunity for spaces to meet and celebrate where everyone is invited, and anyone can join in. That’s exactly what the Bryant Park Dance Party was designed to offer. In curating this program, I have taken a great deal of effort to intentionally show the diversity of the city’s sound and motion with representatives of Andean Afro-cumbia, Argentinian tango, traditional old school salsa dura, contemporary salsa, modern bachata, and Harlem swing.

    – Talia Castro-Pozo, Bryant Park Dance Party producer and host

    Dance Party makes the art of dance fun and simple for all ages and skill levels through hands-on instruction. Audiences can learn basic moves in cultural dances like salsa and swing, bachata, salsa dura, and more. Bryant Park’s stellar cast of instructors incorporates their deep understanding of the traditions and innovations of their chosen specialties in their lessons. All are welcome, just walk up and join the party.

    More information about other upcoming cultural events at Bryant Park can be accessed here.

  • In Focus: GZA, Big Daddy Kane and Roy Ayers at Sony Hall

    On Thursday, April 13, Sony Hall hosted a concert featuring three legendary names in hip-hop and jazz music: GZA, Big Daddy Kane, and Roy Ayers. Each artist brought their unique style and energy to the stage, creating a night to remember for fans of all ages.

    The evening began with Roy Ayers, who delighted the crowd with some of his biggest hits, including “Searching,” “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” “Running Away,” “Firehouse,” and “Apache.” Ayers, a prolific jazz-funk musician who has been active since the 1960s, is known for his use of the vibraphone and his signature blend of jazz, funk, and soul.

    Next up was GZA, one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan and a hip-hop legend in his own right. He took the stage to thunderous applause and launched into an electrifying set that included fan favorites like “Duel of the Iron Mic,””Living in the World Today,” “Cold World,” “Labels,” “4th Chamber,” “Shadowboxin,” and “Clan in the Front.” GZA’s powerful flow and sharp lyrics combined with the crowd’s energy to create an electric atmosphere that left everyone wanting more.

    After GZA’s set, Big Daddy Kane took the stage to the delight of the audience. The rapper, who first rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, performed classic hits like “Smooth Operator,” “Ain’t No Half Steppin’,” and “Warm It Up.” His performance was a testament to his status as a true hip-hop icon, and the crowd responded with thunderous applause and cheers.

    GZA then returned to the stage to finish the show, performing some of the biggest hits of his career, including “Reunited,” “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Triumph,” “Liquid Swords,” and “WU Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin to Fuck With.” The crowd was on its feet rapping along to every word, as GZA and his live band brought the night to a close with an unforgettable performance.

    Setlists:

    Roy Ayers Searching, Everybody Loves the Sunshine, Running Away, Firehouse, Apache

    GZA Duel of the Iron Mic, Gold, Living in the World Today, Cold World, Labels, 4th Chamber, Shadowboxin’, Clan in Da Front, Killah Hills, Crash Your Crew

    Big Daddy Kane Smooth Operator, Aint No Half Steppin, Warm it Up,

    GZA Legend of the Liquid Sword, Reunited, Shimmy Shimmy Ya, C.R.E.A.M. Triumph, Liquid Swords, Wu Tang Clan Aint Nuthin To F With