IVANKA 2020, Salty Brine and More Head to Joe's Pub This Week

Joe's Pub ends this week on a more chill note with Gary Lucas; Justin Vivian Bond's new show inspired by a Marianne Faithfull song; charismatic performer Susan Werner; country stars Bobby Pinson and RaeLynn as part of the Bob DiPiero Songwriters Series; and swinging, electrifying music, featuring Bernard Purdie along with entertaining stories retold by David Haney. Next week, the volume cranks up with Ryan Raftery's latest hilarious satire IVANKA 2020; the annual celebration of the intersection art and mental health Love is EleMental; Joe's Pub Working Group 2020 member Salty Brine continues their dazzling exploration of pop music with Living Record Collection - THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD: The Annie Lennox Show; the third in a five-part concert series exploring Shakespeare's women, black female ambition, and music, Whitney White: Think, And Die; the Joe's Pub performance of the tour of MICHA Música In Transit; a concert from multi-award-winning platinum-selling musician Sarah Harmer with opener Chris Pureka; the fascinating coming of age story of a young woman growing up in New York City with Kelli Sae: Disco, Dicks And Dykes!; and BlackIssuesISSUES, an event that is as much a serenade and celebration of Blackness as it is an indictment of a system and society that is so toxic, it renders Blackness a burden.

See the schedule below and on their site: www.joespub.com.

Gary Lucas & FRENZ

Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00PM
$20

A Joe's Pub favorite since we opened our doors in 1998, you never know what guitarist extraordinaire, Grammy nominated songwriter, and maverick film music composer, Gary Lucas, will surprise you with next.

On February 19, Gary offers a retrospective of nearly 40 years of music-making, going back to his earliest appearances in the early 80's as a featured soloist with Captain Beefheart and paying special attention to his work co-writing anthems with the late Jeff Buckley. Not forgetting Gary's 30-plus solo and ensemble albums in all sorts of genres (psychedelic rock, free jazz, blues, classical, world, electronica, folk, dance, you name it), special guests for the evening include some of his longtime Gods and Monsters bandmates Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) on bass, Billy Ficca (Television) on drums, and Jason Candler (Hungry March Band) on sax, plus mainland Chinese vocalist and erhu virtuoso Feifei Yang, and all the way from the UK, vocalist Pierre Roxon.

Gary tours the word constantly, and has just come back from playing high-profile shows in Mexico, Canada, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy. He's currently in the middle of recording several new projects, and is about to release a double CD retrospective of his work, The Essential Gary Lucas, on Knitting Factory Records.

Justin Vivian Bond: LOVE MORE OR LESS

Wednesday, February 19 - Friday, February 21 at 9:30PM
$40

Inspired by the Marianne Faithfull song, "Love More or Less," Justin Vivian Bond's latest show is a musical and personal journey that asks, "How do we qualify the depth of intimacy when it's mostly experienced with strangers?"

"If personal touch only comes from sex apps, personal trainers, manicurists, and an occasional hug, is it love more or less?"

This show will consist of covers and a few originals.

Susan Werner

Thursday, February 20 at 7:00PM
$25

After writing twelve albums of songs in styles ranging from folk/rock to Tin Pan Alley to gospel, country and chamber music, what might a woman deemed by National Public Radio as "The Empress of the Unexpected" try next?

And as audiences will testify, Susan Werner's been knocking it out of the park - or concert hall - all around the US for twenty years. Renowned as a charismatic performer, she's known above all for challenging herself to conquer new styles, almost like mountaintops, every few years.

From her 1995 major label debut, the folk/rock gem "Last of the Good Straight Girls," to her 2004 collection of Tin Pan Alley styled originals "I Can't Be New," to her 2007 "agnostic gospel" hymnal "The Gospel Truth," to 2013's tribute to agriculture and her Iowa farm roots "Hayseed" to 2018's Cuban flavored collection "An American In Havana" Werner's creative restlessness has become her defining characteristic.

BOB DIPIERO SONGWRITERS SERIES

featuring Bobby Pinson and RaeLynn

Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22 at 7:00PM
$35

Since his first #1 in 1983, Hall of Fame Songwriter Bob DiPiero has been responsible for an uninterrupted string of country music hits. One of Nashville's most prolific and consistent songwriters, Bob possesses a humble drive to keep learning and stay relevant. He has had over 1,000 songs recorded by other artists, countless hit singles, and an astounding 15 #1 hits. His songs have been featured in TV shows, commercials, and movies. Among his countless awards are 50 BMI Million--Air honors, multiple Songwriter of the Year awards, and 2 consecutive Triple Play awards for 3 #1 songs within a 12--month period. In 2007, Bob was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and Nashville's Walk of Fame. In 2014, the Country Music Hall of Fame honored Bob with their prestigious "Poets and Prophets Series: Salute to Legendary Songwriter Bob DiPiero" and the Country Music Association also presented Bob with the CMA Chairman's Award. On November 7, 2017 Bob DiPiero received yet another incredible honor when BMI presented him with their prestigious Icon Award celebrating his outstanding career achievement and honoring his unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers. This remarkable accolade leaves no question that Bob DiPiero's career has truly been iconic.

Bernard Purdie & DAVID HANEY: NEW YORK JAZZ STORIES

Saturday, February 22 at 9:30PM
$20

with special guests:
Ken Filiano
12 Houses Orchestra

Improvised Scenes from Billy Martin's "Tribes of New York" With Letter of Marque Theater Company

Pianist and composer David Haney and legendary drummer Bernard Purdie will bring another performance of New York Jazz Stories to Joe's Pub.

New York Jazz Stories combines swinging, electrifying music, featuring Bernard Purdie and company along with some highly entertaining stories retold by David Haney. These are real stories told directly to Haney, transcribed and brought to life with a soundtrack by "Pretty" Purdie and friends.

Ryan Raftery: IVANKA 2020

Sunday, February 23 - Friday, March 19 at Various Times
$35 - $45

One woman. Two personalities. A magic whistle with powers of mind control. It's not about being right...it's about WINNING.

Just in time for the start of the presidential primary season, Ryan Raftery returns to Joe's Pub for his fifth consecutive run, premiering his new celebrity bio-musical comedy IVANKA 2020. Inspired by the classic film The Manchurian Candidate and the beloved animated film Anastasia, Raftery's latest piece is a satirical commentary on what is arguably the most fascinating political landscape the United States has seen in decades.

IVANKA 2020 tells a tale that begins in turn-of-the-century imperial Russia, where a young girl named Anastasia receives a jewel-encrusted whistle as a gift from her doting grandmother. Unbeknownst to all within the golden palace, a courtier by the name of Rasputin has placed a curse on the whistle, allowing him to control the mind of the young girl, bringing about the sabotage needed to destroy the powerful family. Cut to almost a century later, where Russian government officials have discovered the whistle and its powers and set out to interfere with yet another powerful political family. This time, it will be another favored child in another golden palace that would be entangled in a game of international political espionage and her name...is Ivanka.

LOVE IS ELEMENTAL

Monday, February 24 at 8:00PM
$500 - $2500

This annual event honors the arts and mental health, celebrating the unique ways in which the arts help transform our understanding of mental illness and open our hearts and minds. Funds raised through this event will support mental health research and training so that better mental health care is available to those in need around the world.

SALTY BRINE'S LIVING RECORD COLLECTION: THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD

Tuesday, February 25 and Thursday, February 27 at 9:30PM
$20

Imagining track lists as blueprints for evening of musical mayhem, cabaret artist Salty Brine brings you THE LIVING RECORD COLLECTION, a dazzling expedition into the heart of popular music that takes incredible albums and twists them in style and form until they are at once familiar and foreign, nostalgic and new.

Careening from Judy Garland's definitive 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall to Kate Chopin's groundbreaking feminist novel The Awakening, Salty Brine unleashes the power of Annie Lennox's devastating debut solo album DIVA to reveal the stories of strong, defiant women and the little gay boy who loves them. It's feminism meets goddesses in THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD: The Annie Lennox Show.

Whitney White: THINK, AND DIE

Thursday, February 27 at 7:00PM
$20

Tonight we drink to Cleopatra and what history, Shakespeare, and scholars are unable to imagine; the supremely feminine. A concert for the divine, for love, and the battles we always lose. Third in a five-part series exploring Shakespeare's women, black female ambition, and music. Created by Whitney White.

Featuring: Zdenko Martin, Doug Berns, Mary Spencer Knapp, Jeremy Smith, and Dan Rosato

Directed by Taibi Magar and Tyler Dobrowsky

MICHA MÚSICA IN TRANSIT

Friday, February 28 at 7:00PM
$15 plus fees*

This year, MICHA has been playing her nylon-string guitar that her abuelo gave to her father, inhaling new rhythms, learning favorite boleros and rancheras, and writing new tunes. In this intimate concert, she is mining deep into Latin American rhythms, memory and language. Joining her are Miriam Elhajli (guitar, vocals) and Reza Salazar (percussion).

MICHA is the project of vocalist, songwriter, musical theater composer and actor Michelle J. Rodriguez. With a voice that is "clear and compelling" and a sound that features "flourishes of bolero, bossa nova and even jazz" (Chicago Tribune), MICHA has captivated audiences at Joe's Pub (NYC), the Hideout (Chicago), and Steppenwolf (Chicago) with her stunning vulnerability onstage. MICHA was a finalist for NPR's 2018 Tiny Desk Contest with her song "Nena Nena Nena," praised for a "bilingual set spanning laid-back southern soul and Latin pop flare" (NPR).

Part of the Mobile Unit and Joe's Pub's collaborative series, In Transit, MICHA Música will tour to NYC Park sites, correctional facilities, and community venues, ending with a show at Joe's Pub.

*All orders subject to $3 per ticket service fee and $1.50 per ticket facility fee. Service fees are waived when you buy in person at the Box Office. All fees are waived for Public Theater Supporters and Partners. Performers, prices, and performance details are subject to change.

SARAH HARMER

with opener Chris Pureka

Saturday, February 29 at 7:00PM
$25

Are You Gone? - the first new album in a decade from Sarah Harmer - is a deeply personal and momentous collection of songs motivated by the beauty of life, the urgency of climate crisis, and the question of loss. The first song "New Low" is more than a return to music for the internationally celebrated singer-songwriter and activist: it is a definition of form, a call-for-uprising in the face of global disaster, at the most critical moment for Harmer to raise her voice - one of the most distinctive in Canadian music. The vitality of "New Low," its heedless pace, sharp guitars and exclamatory horns, bely the passage of time since Harmer's last record, Oh Little Fire (2010). Nearly twenty years from the release of her debut, You Were Here (2000), Are You Gone? brings a close to Harmer's period of musical quietude with a rousing artistic statement, rich in detail and emotion, from the heart and for the spirit. The multi-award-winning platinum-selling musician's long-anticipated sixth album will be released February 2020 on Arts & Crafts.

It's rare for an artist to bridge the divide between critical acclaim and dedicated fan engagement. Chris Pureka is a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose body of work has resonated deeply with these seemingly disparate milieus. Her bold vulnerability in processing the intimacies of her life in song has long appealed to those listeners who crave authenticity. Now, five years coming, she shares with us another powerful entry in her life's work, her sixth release, the aptly titled, Back in the Ring. Chris's elegant emotionality as a vocalist, and her flair and immediacy as a lyricist have garnered her favorable comparisons to Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, and Patty Griffin. She's earned accolades from such distinguished taste-making outlets as The New York Times, Paste, Magnet, Billboard.com, and The AllMusic Guide. She's shared the stage with such diverse and esteemed artists as Dar Williams, The Lumineers, The Cowboy Junkies, Gregory Alan Isakov, Martin Sexton, and Ani DiFranco. Along the way, Chris has remained fiercely independent, selling nearly 50,000 albums through her own label, Sad Rabbit Records.

KELLI SAE: DISCO, DICKS AND DYKES!

Saturday, February 29 at 9:30PM
$25 - $30

Hilarious! Witty! Entertaining! Naughty! are just a few words that describe Disco, Dicks And Dykes!

New York born and bred Performer, Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Comedian and now Playwright Kelli Sae stars in this cutting edge one woman show. "Disco, Dicks And Dykes!" tells the story of Kelli Sae's fascinating journey and the coming of age of a young woman growing up in New York City. In a side-splitting, comedic fashion she details the bumpy road of life defining events navigating her way through the music industry and discovering her sexuality. Backed by an incredible live band, Kelli's performance and euphonious voice leave you feeling uplifted and transported.

BLACKISSUESISSUES

Saturday, February 29 at 11:30PM
$20 / $15 for students (in person / box office only)

A BLEXTRAVAGANZA with ReBLACKa and special guests to throw the wildest end of Black History Month in the history of NYC!

BlackIssuesISSUES is Blackness on Spin Cycle- wringing out the hashtags inspired by senseless killings, economic despair, marginalization and other issues plaguing Blackness. If only it were that simple. Part talk show, part kiki, part erudite bitch fest masquerading as a town hall with all the king's horses and king's men trying to put Blackness Black together again, BlackIssuesISSUES is an invitation for an interracial (yes Whites are welcomed!!), intergenerational, intersectional conversation about race. The ISSUES, solutions and possibilities beyond the pain, shame and guilt.

BlackIssuesISSUES is as much a serenade and celebration of Blackness as it is an indictment of a system and society that is so toxic, it renders Blackness (that once labored on this land ) a burden. Instead of centering whiteness, BlackIssuesISSUES forces us to reckon with identity politics through its anti-climatic and deeply flawed heroine ReBLACKa Finch who flounders her Blackness in profound ways. ReBLACKa's atrociously fake British accent and grandiose sense of self, finds her attempting to transcend the Blackness she simultaneous covets when convenient. Editor-at-Large of a magazine called BlackIssuesISSUES, that doesn't exist, ReBLACKa, like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland frenetically races to win the race war replete in tutus and ruffles "I'm on deadline, I'm on deadline". ReBLACKa Finch is like Andy Warhol meets Ali G if they were allowed to disrupt anti-Blackness with a purple parasol.

Special guests will include MacArthur and Peabody Award Recipient Majora Carter and more!

TICKETS:

ONLINE joespub.com / PHONE 212-967-7555
IN PERSON The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC

NOTE There is a $12 food / two (2) drink minimum per person per show, unless otherwise noted.