TONYA PINKINS & More Set for Joe's Pub this Week

Joe's Pub has announced this week's lineup of artists - check out the full listings below!

Tonya Pinkins UNPLUGGED
June 3 at 7:30 PM
$20 Advance / $25 Door
The Tony Award winning star of Caroline or Change, The Wild Party and Caroline or Change speaks her mind in SONG. Wicked, Raw, Hilarious and In Your Face. Witness Tonya Pinkins like you've never seen her before.

DIANE BIRCH
June 3, 10 & 17 at 9:30 PM
$15 Advance / $20 Door
Singer-songwriter Diane Birch took half her lifetime, and traveled across the globe, to get to America, where she literally found her voice and made her remarkable debut, Bible Belt. Though only in her mid-twenties, Birch likes to think of herself as an "old soul," and indeed there is a startling maturity in her singing and a veteran's self-assurance in her writing. Now working on her follow-up album, Speak A Little Louder, due out later this year, Birch mixes piano-playing virtuosity with easy-going soul, and she can strike an uplifting groove on even the most melancholy tune. Her work bears hints of Laura Nyro (when she was hanging out with LaBelle) and early 70's Karen Carpenter (when she was ruling the charts), while effortlessly incorporating New Orleans second-line rhythms, gospel fervor, doo-wop harmonies, country-blues guitar and classic AM radio-style melodies.

SOMI
June 4 at 7:30
$20 Advance / $25 Door
Acclaimed East African vocalist/songwriter Somi recently returned to New York City after a 15-month creative sabattical in Lagos, Nigeria. The result: a new body of songs inspired by the fiery spirit of the West African metropolis for an album she calls "The Lagos Music Salon," which will be released later this year. She will be joined by her full band to offer a "first listen" to that new material. "A world music luminary!" -New Yorker

TIMES SQUARE
Featuring Jill Sobule and Steve Cosson of The Civilians
June 5 at 9:30
$20
Times Square tells the story of Nicky Marotta, a volatile street kid with dreams of becoming a musician, and Pamela Pearl, the withdrawn daughter of a wealthy City Commissioner. The two forge an unlikely bond, and through the alchemy of rock and roll, turn their lives inside out and recreate themselves as a proto-Riot Grrl punk duo called The Sleeze Sisters. Together, they find friendship, love, and music on the rough-and-tumble streets of pre-Disney Times Square. A new musical based on the cult classic 1980 film of the same name, TIMES SQUARE brings together veteran singer-songwriter Jill Sobule with her longtime collaborator Robin Eaton, Tony-nominated writer Jim Lewis and director Steve Cosson, Artistic Director of the acclaimed theater company The Civilians. Also featuring Alyse Alan Louis, Jo Lampert, Matt Saldivar, Christina Sajous, Joseph Melendez and Darren Ritchie Music Director Chris Fenwick. Band: Allison Miller,Alex Nolan and, Octavia Romano.

DANCENOW: Adam Barruch WORLD PREMIERE
June 5 & June 6 at 7:00 PM
$15 Advance / $18 Door
Faced with troubled times, men and women have turned to religion, drugs, and family for solace. In his debut solo show at Joe's Pub, My Name is Barbra ADAM, choreographer Adam Barruch turns instead to the gospel of Streisand and Garland. In this virtuosic work of solo dance theater, Barruch plays a delusional mental patient who is both disfigured and empowered by moments of classic musical theater. Created in collaboration with Mark Ruhala. Music by Harold Arlen and Jule Styne. Musical Direction and Accompaniment: Rachel A. Kaufman. Dramaturge: Lauren Albert. Vocal Coach: Ingrid Saxon

CRISTINA PATO AND THE MIGRATIONS BAND
June 5 at 9:30 PM
$25 Advance / $30 Door
Cristina Pato has opened historical new paths for the Gaita (Galician bagpipe). In 1998 she became the first female Gaita player to release a solo album and since then has collaborated with many high profile world music, jazz, classical and experimental artists including the Chicago Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, The Chieftains, Arturo O'Farril, World Symphony Orchestra and Paquito D'Rivera. Her unique and powerful style of passionate, energetic playing has been acclaimed by The New York Times as "a virtuosic burst of energy" while the BBC crowned her "the Galician bagpipe diva." Cristina Pato's influences are a fusion of Latin, jazz, pop and contemporary music and she uses her artistry and unprecedented virtuosic skill to bring her musical vision to life. She is a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble. She is the founder and artistic director of Galician Connection, world music forum celebrated annually at Cidade da Cultura de Galicia. Featured tonight are: Victor Prieto, accordion; Eric Doob, drums; Edward Perez, bass; John Hadfield, percussion.

THE LEFT BANKE
June 6 at 9:30 PM
$25
The Left Banke released their first hit record "Walk Away Renee" in late 1966. It reached # 2 on the Cashbox magazine national chart and # 5 in Billboard. They followed that with "Pretty Ballerina" and had a top 15 record nationally. Because of the classical music arrangements and beautiful vocal harmonies, the group became known by the term "baroque-pop." The Left Banke has been cited over the years by many top artists as a major influence on their own music. Rolling Stone listed "Walk Away Renee" as number 220 on their list of The Greatest Songs of All Time. Much to the joy of their loyal fans, The Left Banke has re-formed, with original members Tom Finn and George Cameron. In March of 2011 they performed their first two showcases at Joe's Pub, at The Public Theater in New York City, to sellout crowds.

ZION80
June 6 at 11:30 PM
$14
Zion80 explores the music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach through the lens of the Afrobeat funk master Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Led by Jon Madof (Rashanim, John Zorn, Matisyahu), the 13-piece band arranges Carlebach's beautiful melodies using the polyrhythmic intensity of Afrobeat, blended with the madness of the Downtown scene. Madof's most ambitious project to date, Zion80 is blazing hot and tight as a drum. Spiritual, grooving and endlessly exciting, this is essential Jewish music for the 21st century. Zion80's debut CD is out now on John Zorn's Tzadik Records.

ELLIS PAUL
June 7 at 7:30 AM
$22 Advance / $25 Door
Ellis Paul is one of the leading voices in American songwriting. He was a principle leader in the wave of singer/songwriters that emerged from the Boston folk scene, creating a movement that revitalized the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk pop style that helped renew interest in the genre in the 1990's. His charismatic, personally authentic performance style has influenced a generation of artists away from the artifice of pop, and closer towards the realness of folk. Though he remains among the most pop-friendly of today's singer-songwriters - his songs regularly appear in hit movie and TV soundtracks - he has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than perhaps any of his songwriting peers. Second only to Aerosmith in the amount of Boston Music Awards received (12), Ellis Paul has been skyrocketing into the public eye, and for good reason. Infused with hardball honesty and telling details, his songs merge big ideas with incidental moments, creating passionate yet literate character sketches that strike at the heart of the human condition.

CHAMPAGNE JERRY
June 7 at 9:30 PM
$12 Advance / $15 Door
Champagne Jerry also known as Neal Medlyn is, by far, the greatest rapper in the world. He likes snacks, books, sexual intercourse, and rhyming. Champagne Jerry was born when Neal Medlyn's friend Max Tannone who had success with a Jay-Z /Radiohead "Jaydiohead" mashup album some years back, wrote and asked if he would want to write raps. It quickly became an all-consuming new project with Neal writing original underground-y contemporary hip hop songs in a style all his own, using the name Champagne Jerry, a nickname Bridget Everett gave him one fateful night when he walked around drinking an entire bottle of champagne. Featuring original songs, created with producer and remix master Max Tannone, among others, this long rumored debut will be the most significant occurrence in all of our lives. Special Guests: Bridget Everett and the Champagne Club: Max Tannone, Farris Craddock, Gillian Walsh, Sophia Cleary and More.

ROCKY AND THE PRESSERS
June 7 at 11:30 PM
$12"
Rocky and The Pressers is a seven piece contemporary reggae band based in The Bronx, New York. The Pressers refresh the traditional genre tropes with lush vocal harmonies and flares of American folk, jazz and soul music. In crafting the thirteen original compositions for their debut album, Dance At The Playhouse, they expand into the orchestral palette by enlisting veteran horn players from ShaRon Jones & The Dap Kings and Antibalas, and gifted violinists The Villalobos Brothers. This additional musicianship along with their vocal arrangements and altruistic lyrics, results in a sound that is rhythmically rooted and easily identifiable as reggae that satisfies, even delights the most ardent of purists. Rocky and The Pressers sing about what they know and take loving care of a musical style, often misappropriated in the wrong hands.

KIRAN AHLUWALIA
June 8 at 7:30 PM
$20 Advance / $25 Door
Expressing her muse through ghazals and Punjabi folk songs, Kiran Ahluwalia explores the language of the heart with beautiful artistry and smoldering intensity. Born in India, raised in Canada, and now living in New York City, her enchanting and seductive music has garnered glowing praise from critics around the world. Her's is "a voice destined to enchant more than one generation" (fROOTS) and she possesses "a deep spirituality and tranquility that borders on the mystic" (Sing Out Magazine). But most of all, Kiran Ahluwalia is a unique and inspiring performer and composer, who's legion of fans continues to grow with every captivating performance and each new recording project.

WAU WAU SISTERS
June 8 at 9:30 PM
$20
New York's bravest and bawdiest cabaret duo returns to Joe's Pub after 4 years of international touring to serve up a ludicrous night of chaos, burlesque, comedy, and nudity. Straddling (literally) the gap between religious and related, performance art and party, busking and burlesque The Wau Wau Sisters' take audiences on a ride which always teeters on the brink of a divine and demented disaster.

THE GEORGES
June 8 at 11:30 PM
$20
Part performance, part band, The Georges is an offshoot of OBIE-winning theater company Hoi Polloi (All Hands, Shadows). The Georges is perhaps best described as "avant garde improv," and features Alec Duffy, composer Steven Leffue, and the fiercest actors in downtown theater, Jason Quarles and Julian Rozzell, Jr. Each show is different, but all are loud.

Henry Butler NEW ORLEANS BRUNCH
June 9, July 21, August 11 at Noon PM
$20
Join Henry Butler for Sunday brunch at Joe's Pub -- June 9th, July 21st, and August 11th. Enjoy the music and stories of a man who is deeply connected with the music of New Orleans. The rise, swing, and rumble of his fingers channel sounds as diverse as that of his birthplace: jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues, and R&B. A ten-time Pinetop Perkins (formerly W. C. Handy) Best of Blues Instrumentalist Award nominee, Butler brings his vivid, inquisitive personality into every performance. Butler's impeccable skill and distinguished career have inspired countless audiences, making him the premier exponent of the New Orleans jazz and blues piano tradition.

SYMPHONIC SUNDAYS WITH MOTHER FALCON
FEATURING KELLI SCARR
June 2 at 7:00 PM
$15
This June Joe's Pub at The Public will kick off Symphonic Sundays, a new series that pairs Tony Trischka, Raul Midon and KELLI SCARR with the 18-piece orchestral pop outfit MOTHER FALCON. The series runs June 2, 9, 23 & 30, capping off with Mother Falcon's epic tribute to Radiohead's seminal album OK Computer played in its entirety. Kelli Scarr was raised in Folsom, California and has performed as a solo artist opening for the Moby. Her music is rooted in the traditions of American folk that reflects the diversity of iconic artists such as Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Patti Smith and Rickie Lee Jones. Mother Falcon are still coming down from a six-performance run at this year's SXSW, where they were cited as one of Bob Boilen's "15 Essential Moments From SXSW 2013" , and Stephen Thompson tapped them as his "favorite young band of the festival's opening night" on NPR's "All Things Considered".

MILOW
June 9 at 9:30 PM
$12 Advance / $15 Door
Over the last five years Belgian artist Milow (born Jonathan Vandenbroeck) has emerged as one of Europe's most exciting young talents: a plugged-in singer-songwriter with the ability to touch a crowd and the pop know-how required to make great records. He's an old-school soul with a new-fashioned sensibility, a troubadour fascinated by technology. Milow's music gleams with the inherited song-craft of his heroes-Ryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, Jack Johnson-but it also reflects a point of view all his own, with specific concerns about growing pains and the future of his generation. This combination of the intimate and the widescreen has won Milow a devoted fan-base across Europe, not to mention a list of achievements that includes number-one singles, platinum albums, sold-out tours, performances at some of the world's most prestigious festivals and millions upon millions of YouTube hits.

TICKETS ON SALE NOW: ONLINE at joespub.com, PHONE 212-967-7555, or IN PERSON at The Public Theater Box Office (1 PM to 6 PM) located at 425 Lafayette Street, NYC.

Photos by Walter McBride

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