Gail Payne Explores What it Means to be American in THIS IS U.S. at 54 Below

Gail Payne, an acclaimed cabaret performer from Indianapolis, makes her New York City debut next Friday with "This Is U.S.: We Hold These Tunes to Be Self-Evident."

Gail and her team -- renowned New York musical director Alex Rybeck and director, Tony-Award-winner Faith Prince -- carefully curate an evening of music and stories that celebrates and explores the complex flavors inherent in American society today. Selections include unexpected ingredients that influenced Gail growing up in rural Illinois, living in urban Indianapolis, and traveling the world, from Guthrie to Gershwin, Berlin to Dixie Chicks, "This Land is Your Land" to Mellencamp's "Small Town" and "Political Science" by Randy Newman. Alex Rybeck accompanies on piano with his masterful arrangements for guitar and ukulele played by Sean Harkness.

"Given where we are today, these songs remind us of what it means to be American," said Payne. Without being partisan, music allows us to reflect on where we've been and who we are -- the beautiful and ugly; the funny and infuriating; and everything in between. It's about our unwavering hope, which is a message that's needed today."

Payne debuted "This Is U.S." last November in St. Louis, just before the election. In July, she brought the show to the Indianapolis famed "The Cabaret" and Chicago's "Davenport's Piano Bar." Next Friday, Oct. 20, 9:30 p.m., she'll perform at New York City's Feinstein's 54Below.

"Gail Payne's show combined honesty, deep thought, humor and irony with great vocals and masterful musical arrangements for a show that was anything but cliché," said Forsell. "It's a show worthy of being seen on a national scale," said Shannon Forsell, CEO and Artistic Director for The Cabaret in Indianapolis.

Gail has had extensive national study in the art of cabaret performance. She was invited to participate in the prestigious, audition-only, International Cabaret Conference at Yale University. Payne was one of 20 artists from four countries studying the art of cabaret with award-winning performers, composers and musicians such as Faith Prince, Sharon McNight, Amanda McBroom, and Sally Mayes with music direction by Alex Rybeck and Tex Arnold. She was also invited to study in the acclaimed St. Louis Cabaret Conference in 2015 and 2016 where she studied with such prestigious performers, composers and musicians as Faith Prince, Jason Robert Brown, Christine Ebersole, Marilyn Maye, Karen Mason, and Ann Hampton Calloway.

Visit https://54below.com/events/gail-payne/ for tickets to "This Is U.S.: We Hold These Tunes to Be Self-Evident" or call 646-476-3551.

For more information about Gail Payne, visit www.gailpayne.com or follow her @GailPayneSings on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.