Meredith DiMenna Brings QUEEN OF THE BEATNIKS: THE SONGS OF JUDY HENSKE to Joe's Pub Tonight

"Queen of the Beatniks: The Songs of Judy Henske" moves downtown! After two smash performances at The Cutting Room, the Queen of the Beatniks is back, this time at NYC's premiere downtown venue, Joe's Pub, tonight, March 4 at 7:30pm. The show is written and performed by Meredith DiMenna under the musical direction of Jason Binnick.

The legendary Judy Henske is the best singer you've never heard of: from 1963 when she confounded audiences with her performance of "God Bless the Child" on the Judy Garland show, to 1966 when she riffed about whores on her Jack Nietzche-produced live album "The Death Defying Judy Henske," to her psychedelic folk classic "Farewell Aldebaran", recorded for Frank Zappa's label in 1969. Standing six feet tall with a voice like a midwestern mash up of Etta James and Ethel Merman, she predated deep-throated alto rock divas like Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, and Cher.

Vocalist Meredith DiMenna performs an overview of Henske's recorded material, featuring songs like "Danny Boy", "I've Been Loving You Too Long", "I Know You, Rider", "Til the Real Thing Comes Along", and "High Flyin' Bird."

Meredith DiMenna was most recently heard on the breakout single 'Legend in My Own Mind' from psychedelic soul band, The Stepkids, and is also a collaborator with Oh, Cassius! She is a Jackie-of-all-Trades performer who, like Henske, is comfortable across many styles and disciplines. All Music Guide raves about her "supple, velvety voice", indie-rock magazine Blurt calls her the "illegitimate offspring" of Robert Plant and Nancy Wilson, and the New York Times refers warmly to her "Grace Slick-meets-Edie Brickell vocals at their most haunting."

Jason Binnick, musical director, accompanies Ms. DiMenna on guitar. The band also includes Steve Doyle on bass, Elizabeth Frascoia on trombone, and David Berger on drums.

"Before there was Grace Slick, before there was Janis Joplin or Cher, there was Judy Henske....Henske...was known for her "loud, throaty, gravelly voice" and for ....[DiMenna] certainly had Henske's voice. And that says a lot....DiMenna sang a repertoire of traditional songs like 'Wade in the Water' and 'God Bless the Child,' and a few traditional songs in a non-traditional way. Her bluesy version of 'Danny Boy' went straight to the heart....DiMenna claimed only a performer like Henske could have the guts to change lyrics by the great Sammy Cahn and proved her point when she sang Henske's version of 'Til the Real Thing Comes Along.'....Henske 'stole' one song - Otis Redding's 'I've Been Loving You Too Long.' One didn't need to remember either Redding or Henske's version to appreciate DiMenna's....DiMenna...is a rising star, hopefully with a big career ahead of her." - Times Square Chronicles

Check out Ms. DiMenna in a few moments from the show here on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIA3LmlrOnA

Meredith DiMenna can also be found on the web at www.meredithdimenna.com.

For tickets, please use www.joespub.com or (212) 967-7555. For press reservations, please call (646) 770-6221 or email dspr@nyc.rr.com.