New York is art, and after many windows were boarded up following looting during a few protest nights, those boards became canvases for inspiring messages, as did sidewalks, a pocket garden, and a beloved coffee house.
Jun 10 2020
May 9 2020
Pandemic Supermoon
Nearly every morning I wake up with what feels like a literal heavy heart, even though I am very lucky in terms of my circumstances during this shocking pandemic. I live with a human (my husband, Robert Rosen) and…
Feb 29 2020
Mustapha Khan's American Anthem
A couple of years ago, the filmmaker and songwriter Mustapha Khan played me an early demo of his galvanizing “Song for Our People.” Not long after that, his wife, Allyson Smith, told me that Mus had booked a Brooklyn recording…
Feb 17 2020
Forever Jungr
Barb Jungr at Joe's Pub, February 15, 2020.
Last Saturday night I took my husband, the writer Robert Rosen (Nowhere Man, Bobby in Naziland), to the glamorous but velvet-womb-like NYC venue Joe’s Pub for a slightly belated Valentine’s…
Dec 24 2019
Jesse Malin & Lucinda Williams
“When you’re young/And you run/And you’re burning like a star/And it’s fun/And it’s done/And it leaves you with a scar” — “When You’re Young,” by Jesse Malin
We might call Jesse Malin, who grew up in Queens and lives in…
Nov 30 2019
Buckley and Brown
Betty Buckley—she of Cats (Broadway), Eight Is Enough (TV), and Tender Mercies (film), to name just a few early achievements—shines on her own, whether playing such roles as the title one in Hello, Dolly! (national tour) or singing an eclectic…
Aug 18 2019
Notes on a show
With Graig Janssen and Joan Chew at the Map Room at the Bowery Electric. Photo by Allyson Smith.
When/where was it: Tuesday evening, July 23, in the Map Room at the Bowery Electric, a funky room at the end of…
Jan 20 2019
A Revved-up Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo with Don Antonio at City Winery, NYC, January 19, 2019.
The improbable pairing of Italian band Don Antonio and Mexican-American singer-songwriter Alejandro Escovedo made for some riveting rock ‘n’ roll at Escovedo’s concert at City Winery Saturday night…
Jan 6 2019
Supersinger Darlene Love
How cool to see the great Darlene Love at the new venue Sony Hall in NYC last night! Ecstatic harmonies and waves of nostalgia flowed during songs like "He's a Rebel," one of the "Wall of Sound" recordings she did…
Sep 20 2018
"Unity and Change" with Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash at the Church of Saint Luke in the Fields.
“I think someone’s in there.” As I turned toward the person speaking those words, I thanked her for letting me know that the restroom, in a small hall just…
Aug 15 2018
My Night with Aretha
Jul 21 2018
Eros and Thanatos: Shelby Lynne
Ben Peeler and Shelby Lynne at City Winery, July 21, 2018.
“When a line hits you, you’d best to put it down somewhere,” said the southern singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne, by way of introducing the Jimmy-Webb-esque “Lookin’ Up.” At City Winery…