Mikky Ekko, Our Lady J, Karsh Kale, Mara Wilson and More Set for Joe's Pub, Now thru 8/24
By: BWW News Desk Aug. 13, 2014
Joe's Pub at the Public has announced its performances, now through August 24, 2014. Scroll down for details!
SAM JAVITCH: TRAIN TO NOWHERE CD RELEASE SHOW
Wednesday, August 13 at 7:30 PM
$14
Sam Javitch has been impressing audiences with his unique brand of jazz, from fresh spins on standards to exciting original compositions. He is said to be a talent beyond his years, already forging a path to becoming a unique voice on the piano. Javitch has performed to full houses from Rockwood Music Hall to Café on Broadway and Latin Jazz at William Paterson's Jazz Room series. His show at the Pub will feature original compositions from his newest release Train to Nowhere. Javitch's personal, intimate playing is something you have to experience live to fully appreciate.
Wednesday, August 13 at 9:30 PM
SOLD OUT
Mikky Ekko has been one of the music industry's best-kept secrets until recently when "Stay," a stark piano ballad he co-wrote and is featured on, became Rihanna's latest blockbuster single. Now the rest of the world is catching on to what the tastemaker blogosphere has known for some time: that Ekko is a talent who demands attention. The FADER recently called the Louisiana-born, Nashville-based singer/songwriter's sound "massive." Spin put it even more emphatically, "Unsurprisingly, the music walks a line between soul-powered pop and indie-flavored rock while Ekko shows off his voice -- a flexible thing that can handle crisp notes as well and raw emotion."
Thursday, August 14 at 7:00 PM
$30
Mike Daisey takes on Herman Melville's masterpiece of revenge, fate and whaling terminology in a hilarious and breathtaking 90 minutes. He achieves this by weaving Melville's epic saga together with the greatest and most perfect film of the twentieth century -- STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan. Ornate nautical slipknots, space worms that crawl into your ears, tattooed harpooners and Ricardo Montalban's rich Corinthian leather chest all combine with Melville's gorgeous language to tell a sweeping story of revenge and what temperature that dish is best served at. Spoiler alert: the answer is "cold". Also, the whale wins.
BIG TOPS VARIETY SHOW FEAT. SCARLETT LA ROSA & THE VAUDE VILLAINETTES, HOSTED BY JOEY NOVA
Thursday, August 14 at 9:30 PM
$20 Adv / $25 Door
Art can take many forms and has an undeniable ability to invoke the human spirit. Join the Vaude Villainettes as they house The Arts under one Big Top to help children in need. A dozen performers take the stage at Joe's Pub to present an evening aimed to raise your spirits and to raise funds for Keep a Child Alive, so that they continue to make our world a better place. The Big Tops Variety Show has reimagined the classic Vaudeville model for a fun-packed evening of entertainment that includes singing, dancing, sultry burlesque and dazzling drag performances. Before and after the show, guests are invited to get their photograph taken in the Vintage Vanga Photo Booth and place bids on the exhibiting fine art works in the Art Auction.
MARTY STUART AND HIS FABULOUS SUPERLATIVES
Friday, August 15 at 7:30 PM
SOLD OUT
Marty Stuart is country music's Renaissance man -- a five time GRAMMY-winner, platinum recording artist, Grand Ole Opry star, Southern culture historian, photographer, musician, songwriter, TV show host, charismatic force of nature, and country music fan and archivist. The turn of the century saw Stuart looking inward to make deeply felt records paying homage to his love of vintage gospel, his Native American passions, and as always, his core -- foot-stompin', tail-shakin', honky tonkin', rockin' hillbilly music. His latest musical oeuvre is ably supported by the coolest cats in Nashville -- his backing band, The Fabulous Superlatives: guitarist Kenny Vaughan, drummer Harry Stinson and bassist Paul Martin.
Friday, August 15 at 9:30 PM
$15
Prompted to "ask big questions", emerging musical theater writers showcase new songs to be interpreted by Broadway performers in the 4th annual Broadway Sings for PKD to raise awareness of Polycystic Kidney Disease. All proceeds benefit the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation. Performers are TBA.
Saturday, August 16 at 7:00 PM
$25
This balls-to-the-wall drag cabaret is hosted by Martha Graham Cracker, who is, perhaps, the world's tallest and hairiest drag queen. Backed by a four-piece live band, Martha Graham Cracker, hailed as "The Drag Queen King" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, performs new arrangements and mashups of songs by artists ranging from Prince and Crowded House to Motley Crue and Nina Simone, and a bit of everything in between. Martha Graham Cracker is played by Dito van Reigersberg, co-founding co-artistic director of Philadelphia's Obie-winning Pig Iron Theatre Company. The character was born in van Reigersberg's East Village kitchen when he was attending the Martha Graham School of Dance.
Saturday, August 16 at 9:30 PM
$15 Adv / $20 Doors
Natalie Imani is a music industry jewel who is at the turning point of her musical career. With performances at The White House, Beyonce's recent Chime For Change concert, background vocals for John Legend, Neyo, Shaggy, Jennifer Hudson and more under her belt, Natalie is prepared to take Europe by storm this summer. Never one to shy away from performing, Natalie is excited to display her gift at her Single Release Performance to fans, family and friends with her first performance of the year! Special invited celebrity guests and surprises.
EDWARD ROGERS: KAYE RECORD RELEASE / NICK GARRIE
Sunday, August 17 at 7:00 PM
$16
Kaye is the fifth solo album from UK-born, NYC-based singer-songwriter, Edward Rogers. Inspired and dedicated to the late English singer-songwriter and psychedelic legend Kevin Ayers, Kaye features 11 new original songs plus a version of Ayers' "After The Show." Popdose.com said, "New York-bred Edward Rogers delivers a grand slam of a release with this offering, Kaye. Dedicated to the late, great Kevin Ayers (of Soft Machine fame), and filled with intense, image-laden and melodic songs - this is as good as an album can get. It isn't often that a musician can bring a "complete" work to realization - Edward Rogers has unquestionably done so with Kaye. A must."
Nick Garrie is renowned in psychedelic collectors' circles for his 1970 debut, The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas, a Baroque pop masterpiece effectively buried by nonexistent distribution and promotion. Born June 22, 1949, in Yorkshire, England, to a Russian father and Scottish mother, Garrie spent the majority of his adolescence at a French boarding school. He began writing songs while attending Warwick University, but his interests primarily lay in surrealist literature and poetry and he did't mount a performing career until 1968, playing bars and restaurants while backpacking through the south of France.
Sunday, August 17 at 9:30 PM
$20
New York ex-pat Our Lady J paints the church pink with Trouble, an exhilarating musical celebration of original songs penned by the Lady herself and accompanied by the Train-to-Kill Gospel Choir. Inspired by conventional Gospel music, this show is anything BUT traditional, promising to deliver you from your woes, sans the usual dogmatic baggage.
BALTHROP, ALABAMA: A SMALL TOWN SUMMER
Tuesday, August 19 at 7:30pm
$15
Balthrop, Alabama--a small town band from Brooklyn, New York--returns to Joe's Pub with their songbook of tunes about love, dead people and dead people in love. The Balthrop, Alabama show features live drawings projected behind the band by town Draw-er Toxey Goodwater (artist Michael Arthur), created in real time like a live cartoon show. Balthrop, Alabama's live show is a mesmerizing and darkly joyous musical and theatrical experience, anchored by the Americana indie songwriting of siblings Pascal and Lauren Balthrop and a stellar band of musical townsfolk.
Tuesday, August 19 at 9:30pm
$12
Having never had a Bat Mitzvah, Confirmation, or even Sweet Sixteen, for that matter, Ali Grieb is no stranger to sin. Growing up in South Jersey before moving to South Georgia with her Jewish mother from the Bronx, Ali has always had a knack for finding herself in...situations...Well, the buck stops here! Be a witness as she hilariously recounts all of the ridiculously awkward moments that have gotten her to this point. All set to big band sounds her creamy voice will take you on a trip back to a simpler time when the music was good, the drinks were strong, and the bad choices you made were just a vague memory from last night's binge!
Wednesday, August 20 at 7:30pm
$15
A self-proclaimed "failed scholar and modern-day hobo," 24 year-old Caroline Rose has broken her long string of short-circuits with a live-wire national debut, I Will Not Be Afraid (August 19th / Little Hi! Records) that draws on her roots in rockabilly, vintage country and blues to capture her unique and personal vision. But first Rose tried embracing religion. Then her church busted up in a sex scandal, her parents stopped attending services and her attempt to join the last of the three remaining Shakers - a sect disappearing due to its strict belief in celibacy - well, didn't quite work out. And while she escaped the "heroin highway" that runs through her hometown via a scholarship to small liberal arts college, Rose failed as a scholar, barely scraping along to graduation. She bought a vintage sports car to travel the country, but it quickly broke down, followed by a stint stocking shelves and sweeping the floors of a grocery store for a boss who eventually fired her.
Wednesday, August 20 at 9:30pm
$12 adv / $15 door
Armed with two excellent musicians and one of the most powerful voices in Canada, Alejandra Ribera weaves between languages, seducing audiences and luring them into an intimate world filled with deep waters and mythical creatures. Performing material from her critically acclaimed new album "La boca", Ribera's emotionally charged performances have moved audiences to tears, drawing them in with the first note and launching them on a journey with every passionate note and thoughtful lyric.
Thursday, August 21 at 7:30pm
$15
As a Bolivian-American artist trained in the opera and theater world, Gian-Carla Tisera's subversive musical prowess is the result of two worlds colliding to create a powerful, dynamic and groundbreaking fusion of Opera, Bolivian folk music and Latin jazz. 'Son Montuno' embraces operatic Verdi melodies, Bolivian, original and Latin American songs explode with symphonic passion and spoken word is embraced in a fury of sounds and textures. Gian-Carla's debut album 'Nora la Bella' is a ravishing musical feat where she is joined by twice Grammy-nominated Elio Villafranca as her co-producer and by some of the best talent in the Latin jazz industry. The album will be released September, 2014.
Thursday, August 21 at 9:30pm
$12
Peptalk is Michael Carter (electronics), Shayna Dunkelman (percussion) and Angelica Negron (voice). Peptalk's visceral music combines many exotic instruments with lush electronic sounds and airy vocals. They are obsessed with creating a hyper real world both sonically and visually by blending memories from their lives in Tokyo, San Juan and Los Angeles. Each member plays with bands and artists like Yoko Ono, Glasser, Xiu Xiu, Thurston Moore, Balun and Tyondai Braxton, but by joining forces, they create rich musical arrangements of various percussion, accordion, strings, harp and voice accompanied by layers of synths, samples and electronics beats. Themes of solitude, escapism and cultural curiosity are expressed through their songs that drift between intimate lyrical moments, dreamy sound textures and grooves.
PENNY AND SPARROW / SONGS OF WATER
Friday, August 22 at 7:00pm
$15
Penny & Sparrow were listed by BuzzFeed as #2 of 50 SXSW bands to know and The Huffington Post as #4 of 30 SXSW acts about to break in 2014. They're also part of the Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival lineup this October (10th-12th). So there's good reason this Austin duo is garnering such praise and attention. When so much of radio is a blur of popstars, synthesizers, drums, and light shows - here, two honest men lay bare the simple poetry of sound. Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke write and play music that effortlessly draws you in with their deep, moving lyrics that are intimate and relational in nature reminiscent of Bon Iver and The Swell Season; along with possessing that rare quality to captivate an audience to the point you can hear a pin drop.
Songs of Water is a 7-piece multi-instrumentalist group that blends Modern Folk, Bluegrass, Roots, Experimental and World Music influences in a strongly American context. With strong musicianship and performance skills, Songs of Water, delivers a live performance loved by all ages.
MICHAEL MWENSO: THE PROHIBITED JAZZ AGE
Friday, August 22 at 9:30pm
$12 adv / $15 door
Jazz vocalist Michael Mwenso offers a collection of shameless tunes from the 1920s and1930s that were banned from being broadcast in their era. The playful and romantic nature of these songs also make them timeless. not simply because they are funny and amusing, but it's a reminder that romance and sexuality are, and always have been, universal human experiences. Enjoy an exhilarating night of Jazz, wit and delight.
COOL PRESENTED BY RICHARD KENNEDY AND THE CULTURE WHORE
Friday, August 22 at 11:30pm
$15
Merging today's downtown stars with tomorrow's Broadway stars, "COOL" celebrates creative culture by bringing to life a night reminiscent of Studio 54. Performers to be announced shortly. Presented by Richard Kennedy and The Culture Whore.
Saturday, August 23 at 7:30pm
$15
Craig Greenberg has been called this generation's "troubadour piano man" (Jambands.com), combining the pop sensibilities and greatly skilled musicianship of Ben Folds, with the lyrical smarts of Randy Newman. His voice brims with soul and personality, coming from his strong native New Yorker identity, and also from his experience getting his start while living abroad, performing in the bars and on the streets of Chile and Spain from 2002 to 2004. Since his return to NY, Craig has been a mainstay on the downtown and Brooklyn music scene, and as well has toured around the US and abroad. He has performed with industry notables such as Jackson Browne, Chris Barron (Spin Doctors), Jane Wiedlin (Go-Go's), Steve Conte (NY Dolls). He is currently working on 3rd album, to be released the end of 2014.
BLAIR CRIMMINS AND THE HOOKERS
Saturday, August 23 at 9:30PM
$15
Blair Crimmins and The Hookers bring Ragtime and 1920s style Dixieland Jazz to new audiences. His sound is at once modern while being deeply rooted in the past. In four years and over five hundred shows, he has toured the U.S. playing his own gigs and and opening for artists like Mumford & Sons and O.A.R. A multi-instrumentalist and music academic, Crimmins writes songs and arrangements for a classic New Orleans-style horn section (trumpet, clarinet and trombone). His last release and video "State Hotel" landed them a full feature in Creative Loafing Atlanta. In 2012, Crimmins showed his musical chops by scoring the independent short film Old Man Cabbage. Crimmins and The Hookers are currently on tour to support their 2013 album Sing-a-longs.
KARSH KALE - COLLECTIVE SESSIONS
Saturday, August 23 at 11:30pm
$18 adv / $23 door
Described by Billboard Magazine as a "visionary composer and producer," Karsh Kale is one of global music's brightest stars. In the past 12 years as a solo recording artist, producer, composer, performer and DJ, Kale has set the world of electronic fusion on fire and has helped to create a genre of new music and culture that continues to influence an entire generation. Fans and critics claim Kale as a pioneer and a trail blazer, not only opening doors for his own career but for an entire scene to emerge in the world of electronica and fusion music. Kale has also developed a reputation as a genre bending collaborator and a world renowned tabla player and musician, exploring the worlds of electronica, Indian classical music, rock, jazz fusion and hip hop which has led him to work with some of the most renowned artists from around the globe. Kale continues to reinvent his ever-evolving sound and has established himself as one of the world's most sought after fusion artists.
Sunday, August 24 at 7:30PM
$14
Creaky Brooklyn band Kotorino plays darkly elegant, trippy, gypsy-flavored "parlor rock" with carnivalesque touches. Compared to the Fishtank Ensemble, Radio Fantastique, Piñataland, Starhead and Sufjan Stevens, they perform European waltzes, Latin Tangos and rural Americana on guitar, fiddle, tuba, bass clarinet, tenor sax, horn, piano, drums, and acoustic bass. Vocal harmonies are haunting and lyrics flirt with adventure, unease and triumph. WNYC said, "Even in a music scene saturated with 'chamber-pop' bands and odd instrumentation, Kotorino stands out with its use of all variety of winds, strings, and other musical gadgetry. The music itself is omnivorous in its source material, quite pretty, and downright haunting."
MARA WILSON: WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Sunday, August 24 at 9:30PM
$14
Death, commitment, sock puppets -- everyone's afraid of something. Laugh at your fears as host Mara Wilson takes you through comedian and performers' anxieties (and a few of her own). This is a show all about fears, anxieties, phobias, dealing with them, getting through them, and laughing at them. Guests are TBA.
For tickets, visit joespub.com or call 212-967-7555 or visit in person at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.
ABOUT JOE'S PUB AT THE PUBLIC Named for Public Theater founder Joe Papp, Joe's Pub at The Public debuted in 1998 and plays a vital role in The Public's mission of supporting young artists while providing established artists with an intimate space to perform and develop new work. In 2013, Joe's Pub celebrates 15 years of the best in live music and performance nightly, continuing its commitment to diversity, production values, community and artistic freedom. It received a top-to-bottom renovation in 2011, leading to improved sightlines, expanded seating capacity and a new menu from acclaimed Chef Andrew Carmellini. With its intimate atmosphere and superior acoustics, Joe's Pub presents talent from all over the world as part of The Public's programming downtown at its Astor Place home, hosting approximately 800 shows and serving over 100,000 audience members annually.
ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER AT ASTOR PLACE Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare and the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs. The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all, new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater's year-round activities.
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