Whitney White, Kelli Sae and More Are Heading to Joe's Pub
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Feb. 26, 2020
Joe's Pub bids farewell to February and welcomes March with the third in a five-part concert series exploring Shakespeare's women, black female ambition, and music, Whitney White: Think, And Die; Joe's Pub Working Group 2020 member Salty Brine continues their dazzling exploration of pop music with Living Record Collection - THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD: The Annie Lennox Show; the Joe's Pub performance of the tour of MICHA Música In Transit; Ryan Raftery's new satire IVANKA 2020; a concert from multi-award-winning platinum-selling musician Sarah Harmer with opener Chris Pureka; the fascinating coming of age story of a young woman growing up in New York City with Kelli Sae: Disco, Dicks And Dykes!; BlackIssuesISSUES, an event that is as much a serenade and celebration of Blackness as it is an indictment of a system and society that is so toxic, it renders Blackness a burden; the Joe's Pub debut of musical theater artist Troy Anthony; the dynamic multicultural musical approach that marries electric blues with Afropop and folkloric Caribbean styles via Bokanté; pop music icon Jill Sobule; the return of the classic comedy-variety show The Meeting* hosted by Justin Sayre; the talented students of Ball State University; Lebanese-American, New York-based pianist Tarek Yamani and the Tarek Yamani Trio; Becca Blackwell's latest deeply personal and deeply absurd solo show; Vietnamese pop star-turned protest singer Mai Khoi; acclaimed lyricist and performer Charlotte Martin; celebrated comedienne Catherine Cohen; an album release concert from Divahn; a celebration of International Women's Day and Women's Month with ¡JEFAS!: A Celebration Of Latina Songwriters & Women In Music; and the return of Yemen Blues' brand of Yemenite chants swirled with jazz and rock grooves.
It's all down below and on our site: www.joespub.com.
Whitney White: THINK, AND DIE
Thursday, February 27 at 7:00PM
$20
Tonight we drink to Cleopatra and what history, Shakespeare, and scholars are unable to imagine; the supremely feminine. A concert for the divine, for love, and the battles we always lose. Third in a five-part series exploring Shakespeare's women, black female ambition, and music. Created by Whitney White.
Featuring: Zdenko Martin, Doug Berns, Mary Spencer Knapp, Jeremy Smith, and Dan Rosato
Directed by Taibi Magar and Tyler Dobrowsky
SALTY BRINE'S LIVING RECORD COLLECTION: THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD
Tuesday, February 25 and Thursday, February 27 at 9:30PM
$20
Imagining track lists as blueprints for evening of musical mayhem, cabaret artist Salty Brine brings you THE LIVING RECORD COLLECTION, a dazzling expedition into the heart of popular music that takes incredible albums and twists them in style and form until they are at once familiar and foreign, nostalgic and new.
Careening from Judy Garland's definitive 1961 concert at Carnegie Hall to Kate Chopin's groundbreaking feminist novel The Awakening, Salty Brine unleashes the power of Annie Lennox's devastating debut solo album DIVA to reveal the stories of strong, defiant women and the little gay boy who loves them. It's feminism meets goddesses in THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF MY HEAD: The Annie Lennox Show.
MICHA MÚSICA IN TRANSIT
Friday, February 28 at 7:00PM
$15 plus fees*
This year, MICHA has been playing her nylon-string guitar that her abuelo gave to her father, inhaling new rhythms, learning favorite boleros and rancheras, and writing new tunes. In this intimate concert, she is mining deep into Latin American rhythms, memory and language. Joining her are Miriam Elhajli (guitar, vocals) and Reza Salazar (percussion).
MICHA is the project of vocalist, songwriter, musical theater composer and actor Michelle J. Rodriguez. With a voice that is "clear and compelling" and a sound that features "flourishes of bolero, bossa nova and even jazz" (Chicago Tribune), MICHA has captivated audiences at Joe's Pub (NYC), the Hideout (Chicago), and Steppenwolf (Chicago) with her stunning vulnerability onstage. MICHA was a finalist for NPR's 2018 Tiny Desk Contest with her song "Nena Nena Nena," praised for a "bilingual set spanning laid-back southern soul and Latin pop flare" (NPR).
*All orders subject to $3 per ticket service fee and $1.50 per ticket facility fee. Service fees are waived when you buy in person at the Box Office. All fees are waived for Public Theater Supporters and Partners. Performers, prices, and performance details are subject to change.
Ryan Raftery: IVANKA 2020
Friday, February 28 - Friday, March 13 at Various Times
$35 - $45
One woman. Two personalities. A magic whistle with powers of mind control. It's not about being right...it's about WINNING.
Just in time for the start of the presidential primary season, Ryan Raftery returns to Joe's Pub for his fifth consecutive run, premiering his new celebrity bio-musical comedy IVANKA 2020. Inspired by the classic film The Manchurian Candidate and the beloved animated film Anastasia, Raftery's latest piece is a satirical commentary on what is arguably the most fascinating political landscape the United States has seen in decades.
IVANKA 2020 tells a tale that begins in turn-of-the-century imperial Russia, where a young girl named Anastasia receives a jewel-encrusted whistle as a gift from her doting grandmother. Unbeknownst to all within the golden palace, a courtier by the name of Rasputin has placed a curse on the whistle, allowing him to control the mind of the young girl, bringing about the sabotage needed to destroy the powerful family. Cut to almost a century later, where Russian government officials have discovered the whistle and its powers and set out to interfere with yet another powerful political family. This time, it will be another favored child in another golden palace that would be entangled in a game of international political espionage and her name...is Ivanka.
SARAH HARMER
with opener Chris Pureka
Saturday, February 29 at 7:00PM
$25
Are You Gone? - the first new album in a decade from Sarah Harmer - is a deeply personal and momentous collection of songs motivated by the beauty of life, the urgency of climate crisis, and the question of loss. The first song "New Low" is more than a return to music for the internationally celebrated singer-songwriter and activist: it is a definition of form, a call-for-uprising in the face of global disaster, at the most critical moment for Harmer to raise her voice - one of the most distinctive in Canadian music. The vitality of "New Low," its heedless pace, sharp guitars and exclamatory horns, bely the passage of time since Harmer's last record, Oh Little Fire (2010). Nearly twenty years from the release of her debut, You Were Here (2000), Are You Gone? brings a close to Harmer's period of musical quietude with a rousing artistic statement, rich in detail and emotion, from the heart and for the spirit. The multi-award-winning platinum-selling musician's long-anticipated sixth album will be released February 2020 on Arts & Crafts.
It's rare for an artist to bridge the divide between critical acclaim and dedicated fan engagement. Chris Pureka is a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose body of work has resonated deeply with these seemingly disparate milieus. Her bold vulnerability in processing the intimacies of her life in song has long appealed to those listeners who crave authenticity. Now, five years coming, she shares with us another powerful entry in her life's work, her sixth release, the aptly titled, Back in the Ring. Chris's elegant emotionality as a vocalist, and her flair and immediacy as a lyricist have garnered her favorable comparisons to Gillian Welch, Ryan Adams, Bruce Springsteen, and Patty Griffin. She's earned accolades from such distinguished taste-making outlets as The New York Times, Paste, Magnet, Billboard.com, and The AllMusic Guide. She's shared the stage with such diverse and esteemed artists as Dar Williams, The Lumineers, The Cowboy Junkies, Gregory Alan Isakov, Martin Sexton, and Ani DiFranco. Along the way, Chris has remained fiercely independent, selling nearly 50,000 albums through her own label, Sad Rabbit Records.
KELLI SAE: DISCO, DICKS AND DYKES!
Saturday, February 29 at 9:30PM
$25 - $30
Hilarious! Witty! Entertaining! Naughty! are just a few words that describe Disco, Dicks And Dykes!
New York born and bred Performer, Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Comedian and now Playwright Kelli Sae stars in this cutting edge one woman show. "Disco, Dicks And Dykes!" tells the story of Kelli Sae's fascinating journey and the coming of age of a young woman growing up in New York City. In a side-splitting, comedic fashion she details the bumpy road of life defining events navigating her way through the music industry and discovering her sexuality. Backed by an incredible live band, Kelli's performance and euphonious voice leave you feeling uplifted and transported.BLACKISSUESISSUES
Saturday, February 29 at 11:30PM
$20 / $15 for students (in person / box office only)
A BLEXTRAVAGANZA with ReBLACKa and special guests to throw the wildest end of Black History Month in the history of NYC!
BlackIssuesISSUES is Blackness on Spin Cycle- wringing out the hashtags inspired by senseless killings, economic despair, marginalization and other issues plaguing Blackness. If only it were that simple. Part talk show, part kiki, part erudite bitch fest masquerading as a town hall with all the king's horses and king's men trying to put Blackness Black together again, BlackIssuesISSUES is an invitation for an interracial (yes Whites are welcomed!!), intergenerational, intersectional conversation about race. The ISSUES, solutions and possibilities beyond the pain, shame and guilt.
BlackIssuesISSUES is as much a serenade and celebration of Blackness as it is an indictment of a system and society that is so toxic, it renders Blackness (that once labored on this land ) a burden. Instead of centering whiteness, BlackIssuesISSUES forces us to reckon with identity politics through its anti-climatic and deeply flawed heroine ReBLACKa Finch who flounders her Blackness in profound ways. ReBLACKa's atrociously fake British accent and grandiose sense of self, finds her attempting to transcend the Blackness she simultaneous covets when convenient. Editor-at-Large of a magazine called BlackIssuesISSUES, that doesn't exist, ReBLACKa, like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland frenetically races to win the race war replete in tutus and ruffles "I'm on deadline, I'm on deadline". ReBLACKa Finch is like Andy Warhol meets Ali G if they were allowed to disrupt anti-Blackness with a purple parasol.
Special guests will include MacArthur and Peabody Award Recipient Majora Carter and more!Troy Anthony AND FRIENDS
presented in association with MTF
Sunday, March 1 at 7:00PM
$20 advance / $30 at the door
Don't miss Troy Anthony's Joe's Pub debut, in a double bill with fellow groundbreaking writers from MTF's People of Color Roundtable including Jerome Ellis, Michelle J. Rodriguez, Rona Siddiqui, and Kirya Traber & Sissi Liu! Troy will present songs from THE RIVER IS ME (lyrics and book by Sukari Jones), DARK GIRL CHRONICLES (play by Nia Witherspoon), as well as brand new music from his upcoming music theater piece ANTIOCH MASS, premiering at The Shed in May 2020. Come and experience an evening of affirmation, reflection, and liberation as we all lift our voices in song. This is not a concert. This is a celebration service. You will not leave the way that you came.
Troy Anthony is a 2019-2020 MTF Maker that has presented music at Joe's Pub, 54 Below, Prospect Theater Company and the Musical Theater Factory (MTF). Commissions include the Atlantic Theater Company, The Civilians and The Shed. Troy has been seen in The Public Theater's Hercules, Twelfth Night and As You Like It, as well as Prospect Theater Company's Tamar of the River. He leads The Public Theater's Public Works Community Choir and focuses on the intersection between art and social justice at the DreamYard Art Center.BOKANTÉ
Sunday, March 1 at 9:30PM
$35
Named with the word meaning "exchange" in the Antillean Creole language spoken on vocalist Malika Tirolien's Caribbean home island of Guadeloupe, Bokanté is one of the latest omnivorous conglomerations assembled by bassist and Snarky Puppy mastermind Michael League.
Combining the Snarky Puppy guitar line and lap steel virtuoso Roosevelt Collier with a trio of percussionists including longtime Paul Simon hand drummer Jamey Haddad and Banda Magda/Snarky Puppy multi-instrumentalist Keita Ogawa, Bokanté brings a hugely dynamic multicultural musical approach that marries the electric blues of Led Zeppelin with Afropop and folkloric Caribbean styles, unified by the soaring vocals of Tirolien. Sung in Creole and French, Tirolien's lyrics paint unflinching portraits of joy, protest, racism, triumph, heartbreak, crisis, hope, and finally, unity. In the words of League, "Unity was paramount in the formation of this group. Though the ensemble is multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multi-generational, we all feel connected as musicians and people. And in combining our different accents I feel that there is a strangely common and poignant sound, one that can reach and relate to listeners around the world."
JILL SOBULE
Monday, March 2 at 7:00PM
$20
"Nostalgia can be wonderful and amazing. It's OK to look back. But then you gotta get the fuck out of there." So says singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, explaining the theme of her new album, Nostalgia Kills.
On 2018's Nostalgia Kills, the woman hailed by The New York Times for making "grown-up music for an adolescent age" turns her warm wit and poet's eye on herself more than ever before, revisiting moments from throughout her life that made her into the person she is today. It's an especially poignant look back at childhood - "exorcising some junior high school demons," as she puts it.
Looking back is a new experience for Jill Sobule. Ever since she first caught mainstream attention with her 1995 song "I Kissed a Girl" - the first song about same-sex romance ever to crack the Billboard Top 20 (and no relation to the later Katy Perry tune) - she's always pushed forward, exploring new sounds and subject matter with each passing album and refusing to be pigeonholed by her early hits (which also include the '90s alt-rock anthem "Supermodel," featured in an iconic scene in the film Clueless).
Along the way, Jill has shared stages with the likes of Billy Bragg, Cyndi Lauper and Warren Zevon, written music for TV and theater, and been a pioneer in the art of crowdfunding, raising so much money for her 2009 album California Years that a then-unknown startup called Kickstarter came to her for advice. She's also been active in numerous social and political causes, performing at prisons as part of Wayne Kramer's Jail Guitar Doors project, playing dates with Lady Parts Justice's "Vagical Mystery Tour," and curating Monster Protest Jams Vol. 1, featuring protest songs by Tom Morello, Billy Bragg, Boots Riley, Amanda Palmer, Jackson Browne and many other great artists - including Jill's own "When They Say We Want Our America Back, What the F#@k Do They Mean?", which traces the history of anti-immigrant sentiment in America.
THE MEETING* HOSTED BY Justin Sayre
Monday, March 2 at 9:30PM
$25
Justin Sayre brings back his classic comedy-variety show, The Meeting* for another more round of fun. With lots of special guests, laughs and a Happy Birthday Wish for the Chairman, Sayre returns to the format and the fun. Come and get indoctrinated while you can.
BALL STATE UNIVERSITY: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Tuesday, March 3 at 9:30PM & 11:30PM
$10
Under the guidance of two-time Tony Award winner Sutton Foster and Ball State faculty members Michael Rafter, Johnna Tavianini, and Bill Jenkins, this performance is a culmination of a cabaret course taught to the graduating BFA Musical Theatre class of 2020. Focused on the music and performance work of The Beatles, don't miss this year's showcase of the best young cabaret talent in the nation!
TAREK YAMANI TRIO
Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00PM
$15 advance / $20 at the door
Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek Yamani is a Lebanese-American, New York-based pianist who taught himself jazz at the age of 19. He has been dedicated to exploring relationships between African-American Jazz and classical Arabic music which are most evident in his second album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic, and in Peninsular which fuses jazz with quarter-tones and the rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula.
A recipient of many prestigious awards such as the Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition, the Baryshnikov Artist-in-Residence, the Huygens Scholarship, the Prins Bernhard Culture fund, and the Abu Dhabi Festival Commission, Tarek has been part of three editions of the International Jazz Day Global Concert and performed in venues such as the Smithsonian (DC), Barcelona Cathedral at La Merce (Spain), Atrium at Lincoln Center (NYC), Boulez Saal (Berlin), MuCEM (Marseille), the UN Assembly Hall (NYC), Melbourne Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Arts (Seoul), and Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba).
Tarek is also an educator, author of two self-published music books on rhythm and a film score composer of films screened in 100+ festivals around the world and broadcasted on AMC network, BBC and Sundance TV.
Becca Blackwell: SCHMERMIE'S CHOICE
Wednesday, March 4 at 9:30PM
$20
Becca Blackwell is back with another deeply personal and deeply absurd solo show, and this time, it's about love. Get ready to witness another white, 40-something masc talk about their identity (but this time it's okay cause they have a pussy too). From exploring their past childhood truths and traumas, adolescent relationships, being a big ol' dyke in the 90's to now looking like a 4chan apologist's wet dream, Becca asks the fundamental question of who am I, and how does love fit in?
In collaboration with Jill Pangallo, Jess Barbagallo, and Hannah Gregg
Directed by Jess Barbagallo
MAI KHOI
presented in association with SHIM NYC
Thursday, March 5 at 7:00PM
$15
With a powerful voice that sings, speaks, and screams, and a style that defies genre, Vietnamese pop star-turned protest singer Mai Khoi performs her storytelling song cycle "Just Be Patient." In this performance, she tells her story about blazing trails as an artist-activist living under an authoritarian regime, and shares the risks and rewards of speaking truth to power through music. Drawing on a wide variety of influences, from traditional Vietnamese folk to blues, soul and rock, Mai Khoi has been compared to Pussy Riot and dubbed the Lady Gaga of Vietnam. Though she has had her concerts raided, faced retaliatory eviction from her home, and been detained and interrogated by the police, Mai Khoi continues to use her music and voice to fight censorship and advocate for human rights and freedom of expression in Vietnam and around the world. Songs are performed both in English and in Vietnamese with English translation.
Khoi is the current musician in residence with the Safe Haven Incubator for Music NYC (SHIM:NYC), an artist-at-risk residency program recently launched by Artistic Freedom Initiative and Tamizdat.
CHARLOTTE MARTIN
Friday, March 6 at 7:00PM
$25
Over the course of her career, Charlotte Martin has recorded both major label and independent releases, performed sold-out shows to audiences around the world and shared stages with the likes of Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, Damien Rice, Jason Mraz, and many others. Her music has been licensed for a plethora of television shows, including "So You Think You Can Dance," which regularly features her song "The Dance" during the show's open. Details magazine called her "a seductive performer" and "a skilled lyricist who writes with surgical precision" and Performing Songwriter praised Martin as "a born storyteller and affecting vocalist."
CATHERINE COHEN
Friday, March 6 at 9:30PM
$25
Catherine Cohen's live show is about living, laughing, loving, and losing your debit card five times in one year. Through original songs and stand-up, Catherine explores life as an immortal millennial who is addicted to attention. Winner of the Best Newcomer Award at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Guardian called the show "can't-take-your-eyes-off-of-it entertaining," and The Telegraph heralded that "Cohen is a star in the making."
DIVAHN
Saturday, March 7 at 7:00PM
$20
Join us for Divahn's long-awaited new album release concert! Iranian-descended singer Galeet Dardashti leads the all-female power-house Middle Eastern Jewish ensemble, Divahn. The New York City-based group has gained an international following with its fresh and fiery renditions of traditional and original Sephardi/Mizrahi Jewish songs: lush string arrangements, eclectic Indian, Middle Eastern, and Latin percussion, and vocals spanning Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish, Persian, Arabic, and Aramaic. "Divahn," a word common to Hebrew, Persian, and Arabic, means a collection of songs or poetry. Through its music, Divahn underscores common ground between diverse Middle Eastern cultures and religions.
¡JEFAS!: A CELEBRATION OF LATINA SONGWRITERS & WOMEN IN MUSIC
Saturday, March 7 at 9:30PM
$15
Jefa. je·fa Feminine - Noun - Singular. Plural: jefas. Spanish term: woman in charge, boss, headwoman
March is Women's Month! Join us at Joe's Pub for an evening of tropical and empowering woman-fronted music on the Eve of International Women's day! These trailblazing Latina songwriters are making waves in the Latin alternative scene with a fresh approach to their Latin American roots. Discover new sounds with essences from Mexico to Panama to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Join us for performances by Jessica Medina, Renee Goust, and Mai Elka plus surprise special guests. Hear their hits "La Cumbia Feminazi" and "Libre" as well the premiere of their new singles "A una mujer" and "Cuidao," and be part of this movement seeking to empower women through song.
With Spanish and English as her native tongues, and New York City as her home, Jessica Medina was recently referenced by NPR's Alt Latino music roundup as a "super talented vocalist that effortlessly bridges jazz, soul and even bits of Afro Caribbean music". Blending a World Music vibe with espresso shots of Afro-Peruvian and Caribbean flavor, her sound is an aromatic blend of life and love.
Through her music, she hopes to inspire others, especially girls and women, to believe that they too can pursue their dreams, and transform their own lives.
Latinx neo-folk artist Renee Goust, who grew up on the US/Mexico border, writes bilingual songs about gender equality, the LGBTQIA+ experience, immigration, and other social justice issues.
Renee's mission is to be a proud voice for the queer and gender non-conforming Latinx community that is typically under-represented in the folk music traditions of Latin America. She has performed in Mexico, Argentina, Italy, France, and the US, appearing in renowned stages such as New York's Lincoln Center and Mexico City's El Cantoral, and has shared the stage with artists such as Flor de Toloache's Mireya Ramos, Jorge Glem, Erin McKeown, Torreblanca, Diana Gameros, and Ampersan to name a few.
After a 19-date tour in Mexico, Renee is back in New York City to present her upcoming single "A una mujer" ("To a Woman"), a queer ranchera tracked, mixed, mastered and performed by an all-woman team featuring a collaboration with acclaimed Mexican songwriters Edna Vázquez and Grammy-nominated Sonia de los Santos.
Mai-Elka Prado Gil is a singer- songwriter born in Panamá City, Panamá 1986.
She is the founder of the Afro-Latino Festival of New York. She is a New York-based bilingual singer-songwriter. She has done many music collaboration such as vocal tracks for acclaimed Afro- Colombian artists Petrona Martinez and Magin Diaz. As an artist, her work has been focused on the exposure of Afrodescendant music sounds from Latin America in the city of New York.
YEMEN BLUES
Saturday, March 7 at 11:30PM
$30
Shavua Tov. Come join the great Ravid Kahalani and Yemen Blues perform Yemenite chants with swirls of jazz and rock grooves at a special late night performance at Joe's Pub. Welcome the new week with the uplifting sounds of this amazing band.
TICKETS:
ONLINE joespub.com / PHONE 212-967-7555
IN PERSON The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC
NOTE There is a $12 food / two (2) drink minimum per person per show, unless otherwise noted.
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