Sarah Bareilles Will Play Benefit Concerts In Order To PRESERVE ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL

On July 26th, Grammy award winner Sara Bareilles announced that she has added concerts to her schedule, in her quest to save the Lower East Side music venue Rockwood Music Hall.  The beloved three stage performance space has been an integral part of the music and nightlife scenes of New York City for eighteen years and has, recently, found itself under the threat of closure.  Unwilling to give in to that idea, Bareilles and a host of other musical artists have been performing regular benefit concerts in a series titled THE PRESERVE ROCKWOOD BENEFIT CONCERT SERIES.   Bareilles performed some shows at the start of the campaign and returns August 1st at 7 and 9:30 pm.

In the meantime, a GoFundMe campaign started by the organization with a projected goal of two hundred fifty thousand dollars recently broke the one hundred thousand dollar mark.  Many dedicated fans and musicians who got the their start at Rockwood (like Sara Bareilles) are contributing time and funding to the fight to save the club that has hosted over seventy thousand shows in nearly two decades, including performances by artists who have been the recipients of awards like the Grammy, the Tony, and the American Music Award.

Regarding the concert series and the campaign to save Rockwood, Sara Bareilles has said, “I really believe in the essential nature of Independent music venues... We are thrilled to announce that I am adding two shows that are specifically directed at raising funds for the artists and staff members of Rockwood who have monies owed. This has been a major priority of this fundraising effort from the beginning and with the help of our unbelievable team and several artists joining together to make this happen, we are navigating a very complex situation with a lot of hopeful optimism,”  and every dollar, every last cent taken in at her August first concerts will go to the employees and the artists of Rockwood Music Hall.

On July 10th, Broadway World Cabaret published an article about the Rockwood crisis and campaign that can be read HERE.  Our team and this writer are staunch supporters of the unique venue, believing that it is an essential part of the cabaret and concert industry, an industry that has evolved over the years to include all types of live performance art from cabaret proper to comedy, from jazz music to folk music, from burlesque to comedy, from up and comers to celebrities.   Neighborhood haunts are the bedrock of Manhattan lifestyle, the places where people gather to enjoy art and each other's company.  Rockwood Music Hall is an important part of the fabric of its neighborhood, of the city, and of the entertainment industry.  These are difficult times for all and although we have survived other crises in recent years, the time to provide an outstretched hand of support never leaves us.  

It is Rockwood Music Hall's time to given that outstretched hand.  Let us all do our part.

Visit the #PreserveRockwood Benefit Concert Series page HERE

and the GoFundMe campaign page HERE.

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