Duncan Sheik Heads to Zankel Hall Tonight

The WFUV Live at Zankel concert series, presented by Carnegie Hall in partnership with WFUV 90.7 FM, kicks off its eleventh annual series tonight, November 21 at 10:00 p.m. with a performance by Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik. Sheik, whose musical Spring Awakening is currently running on Broadway, performs songs from his new album Legerdemain and favorites from his theater work.

The annual series, which celebrates the art of singer / songwriters and highlights the eclectic nature of their music, includes two more concerts this season by Hurray for the Riff Raff on January 29, and The Wood Brothers on March 5. WFUV's Music Director Rita Houston curates the series with Carnegie Hall and serves as host for the concerts.

Duncan Sheik: Saturday, November 21 at 10:00 p.m.
After breaking through in the late '90s with his Top 20 single "Barely Breathing," Duncan Sheik spent much of the subsequent decade focusing on albums that broke with pop music conventions as well as Spring Awakening, the Broadway sensation that won him two Tony Awards and a Grammy Award in 2007, and which returned to the Broadway stage in September. Duncan's extensive discography includes Humming (1998), Phantom Moon (2001), Daylight (2002), White Limousine (2006), Brighter / Later (2006), Covers 80s (2011), Covers 80s Remixed (2012), and Legerdemain (2015). His recent theater projects include Because of Winn Dixie, which premiered at the Delaware Theatre Company in spring 2015; American Psycho, which premiered at the Almeida Theatre in the UK in winter 2013 and is set to open on Broadway in March 2016; Arms on Fire, which premiered at the Chester Theater Company in summer 2013; The Nightingale, which premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in summer 2014; and Alice By Heart, which premiered at London's National Theatre in summer 2012. Duncan is also the owner and producer of Sneaky Studios, a full service recording studio built in 2011 on 2.5 acres in the Hudson Valley community of Garrison, New York.

Hurray for the Riff Raff: Saturday, January 29 at 10:00 p.m.
The New Orleans-based band Hurray for the Riff Raff features lead vocalist and songwriter Alynda Lee Segarra together with the accompaniment of guitar, fiddle, accordion, and other down-home instruments. Segarra was influenced by the musical traditions of the south and New Orleans, where she spent time playing washboard, banjo, and singing with a group of fellow travellers. Many of the songs on the band's most recently released album Small Town Heroes reflect Segarra's special reverence for New Orleans, although the album also encompasses the rich variety of musical forms of American roots music. Segarra notes that Hurray for the Riff Raff feels "at home with a lot of worlds of people that don't really seem to fit together...and we find a way to make them all hang out with our music. Whether it's the queer community or some freight train-riding kids or some older guys who love classic country, a lot of folks feel like mainstream culture isn't directed at them. We're for those people." NPR has praised Small Town Heroes for its "Americana sound that spans genres and generations."

The Wood Brothers: Saturday, March 5 at 10:00 p.m.
From early in their childhood in Boulder, Colorado, Chris and Oliver Wood were steeped in American roots music. The brothers pursued separate musical careers for 15 years before reuniting to perform a show together in North Carolina. Oliver had been playing guitar in cover bands in Atlanta, and formed the R&B, funk, and country band King Johnson, while Chris had been studying jazz bass at the New England Conservatory and founded Medeski Martin & Wood, a contemporary jazz and abstract music collective in New York City. After recording some of Oliver's songs, the brothers landed a record deal with Blue Note, who released Ways Not To Lose in 2006. The follow-up Loaded came in 2008, and the band eventually moved to Zac Brown's Southern Ground Artists label for Smoke Ring Halo and 2012's Live, Volume One: Sky High and Live, Volume Two: Nail and Tooth. New full-time member Jano Rix, a drummer and multi-instrumentalist, rounds out The Wood Brothers' sound for their most recent album, The Muse, which shuffles between bluesy, classic country, and swampy funk. Oliver notes that The Muse is "the first record that really feels like a band record. It's taken years for us to really feel like we can collaborate, and I think this is the pinnacle of it so far."

About WFUV Live at Zankel
Prior to all WFUV Live at Zankel performances, beginning at 9:00 p.m., concert-goers are invited to enjoy a laid-back pre-concert experience with drinks in the Zankel Hall lounge where they can meet others who share their passion for music. For more information please visit: carnegiehall.org/latenights.

The WFUV Live at Zankel series, which began in October 2005 as City Folk Live at Zankel, is based on WFUV's pioneering music format which blends adult rock, alternative rock, singer-songwriters, and roots music. Previous artists who have performed as part of the series include Rosanne Cash, Citizen Cope, Cowboy Junkies, Alejandro Escovedo, Richie Havens, Indigo Girls, Nick Lowe, Shelby Lynne, Aimee Mann, Nellie McKay, Joan Osborne, Jane Siberry, and Suzanne Vega, among others.

WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org), New York's source for music discovery, is a noncommercial, member-supported public media service of Fordham University for more than 65 years. WFUV has received national recognition for its award-winning weekday format of adult album alternative music, award-winning local news and sports, and a diverse weekend lineup. WFUV's robust website has extensive audio archives, videos, song playlists, an events calendar, blog and other resources.