New York Festival of Songs concerts are pound for pound and dollar for dollar the most enjoyable musical experience you can have, across any genre. And now you have no excuse not to go — their New York to Paris, Paris to Paradise program repeats Tuesday night at Merkin Concert Hall, and if you use the code FRENCH KISS when buying, tickets are only $15. Really, let Steven Blier himself convince you.
If today is a day when you need to take someone to something fun, the best thing you can do is see NYFOS’s “A Modern Person’s Guide to Hooking Up and Breaking Up,” tonight and Thursday. Tickets still available. NYFOS shows are about as much fun as music can be.
Manning the Canon was one of the most pleasurable concerts of 2010 - now you can catch it for yourself.
On Tuesday, May 3, for NO MONEY WHATSOEVER, you can hear music by Corey Dargel, Phil Kline, David Lang, Meredith Monk and Elliott Sharp, played and sung by Dargel, Matt Boehler, Kathleen Supové, Todd Reynolds and Ashley Bathgate. AND THIS IS ENTIRELY FREE!
The place is the Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 West 37th Street, the time is 7PM. Again, this is gratis, but you must make a reservation by calling (212) 868-4444.
This is all brought to you by the good people at NYFOS and The Movado Hour.
If you haven’t been to a New York Festival of Song event yet, try them next month. These are consistently the most pleasurable musical evenings I’ve had in years, great musicians pleasing without pandering. The next program is Spanish Gold: Music of the Iberian Penninsula. Olé.
I’m a recent convert to the New York Festival of Songs, and now have that common fervor. Their upcoming program, on February 15 and 16, is Night & Day USA: Americans Working and Dreaming. That is a wonderful title that promises a rich, moving and vivid experience. Works songs are an American speciality, and you’ll hear music from Irving Berlin, Marc Blitzstein, Kurt Weill, Paul Bowles, Ned Rorem and more. Glorious, great stuff.
