Joe's Pub Presents Billy Simons and Brian Webb, 7/8

Joe's Pub announces their line-up from July 6th to the 8th. Performances include Chris Rael, Kelli Scarr, Rachel Platten and Nick Howard as well as the Happy Ending Music and Reading Series. Joe's Pub is located at 425 Lafayette Street.

On July 6th, at 7 pm, Church of Betty composer Chris Rael's ARABY re-tells the short stories of James Joyce's 'Dubliners' in one story-song each. This startlingly original musical was staged as a work-in-progress at Dixon Place last spring, to great acclaim. Featuring singers Nancy Magarill and Carlos Ponton, guitarist Marlon Cherry, violinist Rima Fand, violist Pinky Weitzman, cellist Maria Jeffers, bassist Reuben Radding, drummer Brian Geltner, and the composer. Tickets are $14.

MusicSnobbery.com Presents Kelli Scarr with Special Guest, Natureboy, on Tuesday, July 6th at 9:30 pm. Local singer-songwriter Kelli Scarr recently toured with Moby tour recently, and when she wasn't spanning the globe as his opening act and back-up singer, Kelli was putting the finishing touches on her forthcoming debut album, Piece. Her haunting, electronic music and effortless voice moved thousands of fans around the world. Opening the night is Sara Kermanshahi, who performs under the name Natureboy. This Brooklyn gal's fragile-yet-powerful folk and pop songs are not to be missed. Tickets are $12.

On July 7th at 7 pm, the consistently sold out, Happy Ending Music and Reading Series, chosen by New York Magazine and NY Press as the best reading series in NYC, and singled out by the New York Times Magazine for helping to "Keep downtown alive," features the most interesting storytellers, writers, musicians, raconteurs and personalities, and requires the readers to take one public risk, while the musicians, who perform two short sets with their original, lyric-driven music, are required to play one cover song and try to get the audience to sing along. Called the "most vital authors' series in the city," by Time Out NY, and known for its consistently good taste, Happy Ending has launched careers and proudly, ended none. This show features Audrey Niffenegger, Amelia Gray, and Shane Jones with musical guest, the Walking Hellos. Tickets are $15.

Rachel Platten and Nick Howard perform at the 9:30 pm show on Wednesday, July 7th. Advanced tickets are $12 and $15 at the door. Rachel Platten is a New York City singer-songwriter who's about to change everything. With a rapidly growing fan base and having already shared the stage and toured with such acts as The Strokes, Lady Gaga, Marc Ford, Rachael Yamagata, Susan Tedeschi and The Toots & The Maytals...she's ready. Rachel's self-titled, debut EP is piano-driven soul-pop (saturated with distorted trombones and ambient synths). Best of all, Rachel's music is the ultimate remedy to our darkest moments: an infectious smile, a giving heart, a radiant soul, and a whole lot of love.

With music featured in more TV shows and Films than you can keep count of, and with opening slots for artists such as Gavin DeGraw and Jack Johnson to his credit, it's no wonder why British Singer/Songwriter Nick Howard has become the latest buzz of the music world. Moving to the US five years ago with nothing but his guitar and a dream, Nick literally worked around the clock balancing countless day jobs and night jobs and managed to squeeze in his music at every possible opportunity to carve out what is now a blossoming career as a recording artist and songwriter. Five years later he is an award winning touring and recording artist, and is currently supporting the release of his debut album, Something To Talk About. You've probably heard his music on shows like The Hills, LA Ink, Jersey Shore, Greek, Army Wives and countless others. You may have seen him perform live on TV shows such as Fox's Fearless music or Comcast's Backstage. Perhaps you've heard him on the radio both in the UK and the US, his song A Better Man recently broke into the US radio charts and he was featured as an ‘Artist To Watch' by Clear Channel's ‘Discover New Music' campaign in 2009. Wherever you've heard or seen Nick Howard, listened to his music or caught a live show, one thing is for sure - you'll be hearing and seeing a lot more of it for years to come.

Billy Simons and Brian Webb performs on Thursday, July 8th at 7 pm wither tickets at $17. Typically performing as a solo act, Billy Simmons' shows are captivating, acoustic performances featuring beatboxing, guitar tapping, and lyrics to which audiences can relate. His stylized ability to tell stories through his music usually takes artists a lifetime to channel and his quirky lyrics are sure to leave you smiling, crying, or both. At a Billy Simons show, you're just as likely to see business men dancing on chairs as you are to see girls singing every word to every song with stars in their eyes.

From the Boston subways to headlining clubs, Brian Webb has come a long way. When Webb started out, he would set up at the Davis Square T stop in Somerville, MA. Brian spread his music all over the commuters and they threw him change as they awaited their trains. After realizing that he could make just as much money busking in the subways as he did at his waiter gig, so he quit and became a full time performer. Since then, Webb has released both a studio and live album, selling out rooms in the North East, and gaining notoriety as folk force with which to be reckoned.

Performing on Thursday, July 8 at 9:30 pm, Sophie Hunger released her first studio album, "Monday's Ghost", in the spring of 2009, climbed to number one in the Swiss album charts and achieved gold status. But her supreme discipline remains the stage. What stands out the most during her multilingual concerts, besides her vocals, are her jazzy improvisations on the piano, the sounds from her electric guitar that she plays like a punk princess and her folkie harmonica solos. In 2009, Hunger and her 5-member band traveled all across Europe, where they played more than 100 concerts. Hunger's performance at the European newcomer festival Eurosonic in January 2010 was described as "one of the best gigs of the entire festival" (Kinda Musik). She was invited on France 2 & 4 to the music spectacle "Taratata", performed in Paris at the Cité de la Musique, Olympia and Peter Brooks' Theater Bouffe du Nord. In Germany she also played a predominantly sold out tour accompanied by performances on ARTE, ARD and 3Sat.

During this time Hunger already felt the urge for a new album. Thus the new album, 1983, already came about at the end of 2009. In cooperation with sound engineer Stephane Briat (Phoenix, Air), Hunger produced a quadrilingual album in Paris. And 1983 truly sounds like a reinvention. Hunger freed herself from acoustic soundscapes. Electronic sounds, a drum computer and all kinds of effects mix with dry harmonicas, blasting beats and distorted choruses. She also freed herself from the spectral, mystic lyrics of the previous album. This time around she speaks to us with imperative and direct images.

It's not easy to pigeonhole Sophie Hunger. Her medial presence is ambivalent, sometimes she distances herself, and sometimes she's very precise. She has gained the reputation of being intractable. Asked about the reason for her musical success, she said: "I don't know. It must be a mysterious mixture of utter coincidence and perceived necessity." Or, during a television interview, when asked about where her boundaries lie, Hunger traced the outline of her body with her finger. Her fictional, anarchic columns in "Die Zeit" don't make her categorization any easier. The album 1983 will be released in the spring of 2010 and will be followed by a European-wide tour in which Sophie Hunger will once again enter unchartered territory. Tickets are $15.

Tickets for performances and events at Joe's Pub can be purchase online at www.joespub.com, over the phone at (212) 967-7555, or in person at Public Theater box office from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. or the Joe's Pub box office from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., both located at 425 Lafayette St.

For table reservations please call 212-539-8778. Purchase of tickets does NOT guarantee a table reservation; patrons must call to reserve seats. Seating, as well as standing-room, is available only on a first-come, first-served basis for all shows without a dinner reservation. Two drink or $12 food minimum per person is standard.