Jason Isbell: Beacon Theatre 25 February 2016

The Lucero family is a group of people who look out for one another. On a Thursday in February I got a notice that one of my Lucero friends was paging me to a particular Facebook post. I go to the post and one of the Lucero Diehards had two tickets for that night’s Jason […]

Rhett Miller: Bell House 19 February 2016

Another February Friday night and another night out to see good music. I hadn’t been to the Bell House (in Gowanus) in a while and I was very surprised by how much the block has changed. It used to be a very dark and desolate block until you got to the club. The Museum of […]

Chuck Ragan/Cory Branan: Rough Trade 12 February 2016

There are a lot of southern alt-country/Americana/indie boys, who started in punk and sing with whiskey-soaked voices. I’ve seen several of them on The Revival Tour and I was really looking forward to this show. Cory Branan I’d seen a bunch of times and I adore him. He is a storyteller and uses words brilliantly. […]

Knockdown Center: Maspeth, Queens 16 January 2016

Saturday was one of those whiplash weather days that NYC is famous for. It had been cold – close to freezing. But on Saturday it was over 50 degrees. Perfect weather for checking out a gallery in Maspeth, Queens (on the Brooklyn border). The Knockdown Center is an old factory (they invented and manufactured the […]

Hamilton: Richard Rodgers Theatre 2 January 2016

How often do you leave the theater saying that now you want to read the book? Well that happened to some of us when we left Hamilton. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (book, music, and lyrics/Alexander Hamilton) musical was inspired by Ron Chernow’s biography. The musical covers Hamilton’s life from the time he joins the Revolution to his […]

Nassau County Museum of Art: 29 December 2015

You know how sometimes you Google a name from your past just to see what comes up? Well, I Googled a childhood friend and found an email and got in touch with her. It took a while but we managed to hook up and we made a date to meet in Roslyn, Long Island and […]

Phil Ochs Tribute Concert: Odradeks Café 17 December 2015

Fifty years ago, Phil Ochs performed at the Interlude Café in Kew Gardens, Queens, NYC. Now the café is called Odradeks and an SRO crowd gathered together to celebrate Phil’s birthday. December 19 would have been Phil’s 75th birthday and in celebration there were concerts performed all over the US, Canada, and the UK. Phil […]

John Henry’s Friends: Town Hall 14 December 2015

John Henry’s Friends was the first annual charity concert for the Keswell School (formerly the McCarton School) in NYC. The school was founded on the belief that children diagnosed with ASD can live full and productive lives as integrated members of their communities. John Henry is Steve Earles’s son. John Henry is five years old […]