Live Music Calendar for NYC for June and July 2012
Since many of the summer concert series are behind the eightball pulling their schedules together, there will be constant updates here throughout the month – check back periodically to see what’s new. For directions and other information on the venues where these shows are happening, check the exhaustive guide to over 200 New York live music venues at NYMD’s sister blog, Lucid Culture.
Times listed here are set times, not the time doors open – if a listing says “9ish,” that means it’ll probably start later than advertised. Always best to check with the venue for the latest information on set times and door charges, since that information is often posted here weeks in advance. Weekly events first followed by the daily calendar:
Oldschool Chicago style blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin has a lot of June shows coming up. He’s at Terra Blues at 7 PM on 6/1, 6/7, 6/9 and 6/20.
Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.
Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.
Mondays in June at 9 PM Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra plays the Stone, $10. They might do their Stone (that’s Sly) or their originals or both or who knows – lots of fun in an intimate space, show up early at 7:30 and catch some of the open rehearsal.
Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: as jazz goes, it’s arguably the most exhilarating show of the week, every week. The first-rate players always rise to the level of the material. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.
Mondays 6/11, 6/18 and 6/25, 8 PM-ish Valerie Kuehne plays Goodbye Blue Monday. Irrepressible, sometimes assaultive, surreal avant-garde cellist/composer/singer and a charismatic performer with a punk edge.
Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).
Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9:30 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.
Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.
Mondays in June, 9:30ish Chicha Libre plays their home turf at Barbes. The world’s most vital, entertaining oldschool chicha band, they blend twangy, often noir Peruvian surf sounds with cumbia and other south-of-the-border styles along with swirling psychedelic jams and deep dub interludes. Show up early because they are insanely popular.
Mondays at 10 PM Gato Loco plays Zirzamin. One venues calls them a “psycho mambo band,” but that doesn’t translate their irrrestibly catchy but dark sound. Based in oldtime 1920s Cuban tunes and beats but with an irreverent current-day sensibility, they’re one of the funnest bands in town right now. Depending on who’s available, they may roll out their low-register unit which includes baritone sax, tuba, baritone guitar and bass.
Also Mondays in June Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11:15 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota on trombone, with frequent special guests.
Tuesdays in June clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get there as soon as you can as they’re very popular. $10 cover.
Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.
Wednesdays at 9:30 Roosevelt Dime plays their unique mix of oldtimey string band music with a dash of classic 60s soul at Brooklyn Winery, 213 North 8th Street, Williamsburg.
Thursdays and Fridays in June Bulgarian alto sax star Yuri Yunakov and band play Mehanata starting around 10. One of the most intense and gripping improvisers in gypsy music.
Fridays in June at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.
Saturdays at 3 PM at Bargemusic there are impromptu free classical concerts, usually solo piano or small chamber ensembles: if you get lucky, you’ll catch pyrotechnic violinist/music director Mark Peskanov and/or the many members of his circle. Early arrival advised.
Saturdays in June, plus June 28 at 4:30 PM Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall. Their new album Dancing on Roses, Dancing on Cinders is one of the year’s best; they take haunting, intense Balkan vamps and jam them out for minutes on end without any drop in that intensity.
Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.
Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.
Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell and an A-list of players play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.
Three Sundays in June: 6/3, 6/17 and 6/24 jazz guitarist Peter Mazza – a subtle and soulful player whom Gene Bertoncini has endorsed – leads a series of intriguing trios at the Bar Next Door, 7:30 PM
Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.
Sundays in June at 9 gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel plays Barbes. He’s holding on to the edgy, danceable spirit of Django Reinhardt while taking the style to new and unexpected places. He’s also very popular: get there early.
5/29, 7 PM Mariachi Flor de Toloache frontwoman/violinist Mireya Ramos at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party.
5/29-30 pianist Dave Kikoski (of the Mingus Orchestra) leads a tuneful trio with Ed Howard on bass and Al Foster on drums at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $20
5/29, 7:30 PM pianist Timothy Andres plays works by Brahms, Schumann, Ingram Marshall, Ted Hearne, and his own compositions at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.
5/29, 8 PM intense violin/bass/drums improv/atmospheric/assaultive trio Iron Dog at Freddy’s; they’re at Local 269 at 10 on 6/10
5/29, 8 PM the NY New Music Ensemble plays works by Franco Donnatoni, Annelies van Parys, Phillippe Hurel and Gerard Grisey at Merkin Concert Hall, $20/$10 stud.
5/29 purist, guitarishly brilliant, jangly country/psychedelic rock band Chris Erikson and the Wayward Puritans at Rodeo Bar, 9ish
5/29, 10 PM Bang on a Can’s Vicky Chow solo on piano at the Stone, $10.
5/30, 7:30 PM stunningly eclectic classical/Middle Eastern/gypsy/worldbeat string band Trio Tritticali play the album release show for their phenomenal new one at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 7th Ave. (corner of Lincoln Pl.), Park Slope, $10/$5 stud.
5/30, 8 PM the Tarras Band – sort of the klezmer equivalent of the Mingus bands – playing the great Dave Tarras’ originals and arrangements at 6th St. Synagogue, $15 incl. a drink.
5/30, 8 PM unpredictably bracing, intense avant garde vocalist/composer Amy X Neuburg at the Stone, $10
5/30 soaring but subtle Americana chanteuse/songwriter Hope Debates & North Forty at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.
5/30, 10:30 PM smart, politically aware newschool bluegrass harmony crew 2/3 Goat at Cafe Steinhof in Park Slope.
5/31, 7 PM the mysterious Tiki Brothers, who play kick-ass psychedelic instrumental versions of 60s rock hits and reinvent surf rock classics, at Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook
5/31, 8 PM eclectic Afrobeat band Timbila- who kicked ass at last year’s Howl Festival – followed by the Hot Sardines playing 20s hot jazz at Barbes.
5/31, 8 PM acclaimed avant garde cellist Cornelius Dufallo plays world premieres by Kinan Azmeh, Paul Brantley and Tim Hodgkinson as well as originals and works by JacobTV, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols and Patrick Derivaz at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15 stud.
5/31, 8 PM an intriguing jazz doublebill with the Seung-Hee Han Band feat Frank LoCrasto and Adam Kolker followed at 9:30 by guitarist Mike Baggetta with Jason Rigby on sax, Zack Lober on bass and the inimitable George Schuller on drums at ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Placebtw 1st St. and Carroll St., Park Slope
5/31-6/3 legendary European bop trumpeter Tomasz Stanko leads a quartet with Dave Virelles – piano; Thomas Morgan – bass; Gerald Cleaver – drums at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 ($30 Fri-Sat).
5/31, 8 PM Tammy Faye Starlite’s spot-on, cruelly funny Blondie cover band the Pretty Babies at Maxwell’s, $8
5/31, 8 PM the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra plays an eclectic program of Mozart’s Symphony No. 36, Borodin’s In the Steppes of Central Asia and Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite at Symphony Space, $20.
5/31, 8:30 PM the klezmer-fueled Ayn Sof Arkestra & Bigger Band – NYC’s most exciting original big band jazz ensemble – at 6th St. Synagogue, $10
5/31, 9ish Ashen Keilyn’s long-running, well-loved, jangly, moody indie band Scout at Bowey Electric, $8
5/31 frequently haunting oldtime country and bluegrass with Michaela Anne and the Honeycutters at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.
5/31, 9:30 PM dark acoustic Americana/blues/torch song group the Sometime Boys’ cd release show at the Parkside.
5/31, 10 PM the Gregg August Group does what’s essentially a live rehearsal at the Fat Cat. A powerful, politically aware composer and a smartly melodic player, one of the most interesting four-string guys in jazz
5/31, 10 PM Joe Pug - who’s quickly building a vast catalog of smartly lyrical, fearlessly political Americana/blues songs – at Bowery Ballroom, $13 adv tix rec. Make sure to avoid the putrid couplecore act who play at 9.
6/1-2 American Composers Orchestra’s annual new music readings at the DiMenna Center, 450 W. 37th St, free & open to the public, reservations rec. for the 6/1 working rehearsal and run-throughs on 6/2 feat. new works by Ryan Chase, Peter Fahey, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Paul Kerekes, Pin Hsin Lin, and Benjamin Taylor.
6/1, 5:30 PM oldtime fiddler Jackson Lynch at the American Folk Art Museum, free.
6/1, 6 PM bad segue, good show: eclectic tango/classical clarinet virtuoso Thomas Piercy followed at 8:30 by Canadian darkwave chanteuse NLX at Caffe Vivaldi.
6/1, 7 PM captivating worldbeat chanteuse/songwriter Imani Uzuri plays the cd release for her eclectic new one the Gypsy Diaries at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec
6/1, 7:30 PM Ukrainian virtuoso Julian Kytasty leads the New York Bandura Ensemble at the Ukrainian Museum, 222 E 6th St. (2nd Ave/Bowery), $15.
6/1, 7:30/9:30 PM Jon Irabagon on saxes with Sean Wayland on Organ and EJ Strickland on Drums at the Bar Next Door
6/1, 8 PM wildly guitar-driven psychedelic female-fronted power trio Devi outdoors at the Grove St. Path train station in Jersey City, free.
6/1, 8 PM an eclectic, amusingoldtime/Americana quadruplebill at the Bell House with Woodpecker, the Gentleman Callers, all-female Dolly Parton cover band Doll Parts and the satirical Menage a Twang, $10.
6/1, 8 PM a good doublebill at the Stone with torchy bossa chanteuse Sasha Dobson solo followed by the unpredictably excellent Trio S: Doug Wieselman on clarinet, Jane Scarpantoni on cello and Kenny Wollesen on drums, $10
6/1, 8 PM 90s NYC underground blues/soul legends King Dice at Kenny’s Castaways.
6/1-2, 8:30/10 PM innovative Finnish sax improviser Mikko Innanen plays with four combos: on 6/1 with Sylvie Courvoisier on piano, then with Ken Filiano on bass and Lou Grassi on drums; on 6/2 with Andrew Cyrille and then a quintet with Steve Swell on trombone at I-Beam, $10 sugg don.
6/1, 9 PM plaintive, powerful, innovative Bosnian accordionist Merima Kljuco joins forces with equally haunting, intense Balkan chanteuse Eva Salina Primack for an evening of Kljuco’s Sevdah Songs cycle, a radical reinvention of centuries-old works at Alwan for the Arts, $20, early arrival highly advised.
6/1, 9 PM Phil Kestra & the Balkan Explosion at Red Hook Bait & Tackle
6/1, 9/10:30 PM intriguing globally-flavored improvisations with Petros Klampanis, bass and compositions; Jean-Michel Pilc, piano; Ari Hoenig, drums; Christos Rafalides, vibraphone at Cornelia St Cafe, $10 + $10 min.
6/1, 9 PM the Two Cent Jazz Band play oldtime swing at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.
6/1, 10 PM well-liked, dynamic powerpop band New Atlantic Youth - with Jesse Katz from the Brooklyn What - at Trash
6/1, 10:30 PM eclectic, soulful B3 organist Jared Gold and trombonist Dave Gibson lead a Quintet at the Fat Cat.
6/1, 11 PM intense, tuneful southwestern gothic rock with the Downward Dogs at the National Underground.
6/1, 11 PM the Pinstripes – one assumes they’re not Red Sox fans – play ska, roots reggae and dub at Two Boots Brooklyn
6/2 organist Christopher Houlihan plays symphonic works by legendary, cutting-edge French composer Louis Vierneto commemorate the 75th anniversary of his death at the Church of the Ascension, 5th Ave. at 10th St. At 3 PM he plays Symphonies 1, 3 and 5; and at 7:30 PM, Symphonies 2, 4 and 6.
6/2, 6ish PM-ish Walter Lure’s ageless punk-powerpop band the Waldos at Tompkins Square Park.
6/2, 7 PM Chicago-style blues guitar monster Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues.
6/2, 8ish dark Americana/noir/punk chanteuse Raquel Bell followed by eclectic surfy Colombian rockers Il Albanico at Dekalb Market, 138 Willoughby Street at Flatbush Ave, free
6/2, 8 PM the Sima Trio: Sami Merdinian, violin; Ani Kalayjian, cello;vSofya Melikyan, piano with special guests Christine Moore, soprano and Vasko Dukovski, duduk and clarinet play Armenian composers at at Alwan for the Arts, $20.
6/2, 8 PM another good doublebill at the Stone: Nadia Sirota and Clarice Jensen play viola/cello duos followed by guitarist Tony Scherr doing his own stuff solo, $10
6/2 at 8 PM, repeating on 6/3 at 3 PM violinist Mark Peskanov and pianist Nina Kogan play Brahms – Sonatensatz in C minor, WoO 2; Beethoven – Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47, “Kreutzer”; Schubert – Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, D. 574, “Duo” and Sarasate – Carmen Fantasy at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15stud.
6/2, 8 PM smart Americana jams and tunesmithing: the Strung Out String Band followed at 10 by Megan Palmer at 68 Jay St. Bar.
6/2, 8 PM the reliably adventurous Mivos Quartet and cpmposer collective Wet Ink Ensemble present their first joint concert, featuring works by Sam Pluta, Alex Mincek, and Kate Soper. Mivos play Sam Pluta’s Lyra for amplified string quartet, a meditation on the flickering of stars in the New England night sky, Alex Mincek’s arresting String Quartet No. 3, lift-tilt-filter-split, and Carl Christian Bettendorf’s Il y a l’océan. In addition to the music for quartet, Kate Soper and Joshua Modney will perform Soper’s duo for voice and violin, Cipher, at Issue Project Room, $15
6/2, 8 PM eclectic country, blues and Americana with American String Conspiracy at Freddy’s.
6/2, 8:30 PM art-rocker Pierre de Gaillande and band playing his spot-on English-language versions of Georges Brassens classics at the Jalopy followed by M Shanghai String Band at 10, $10.
6/2, 8:30 PM “a tour of Green-Wood Cemetery led by cemetery historian Jeff Richman. Armed with flashlights and the full moon and accompanied by mystical live accordion music, participants will explore Green-Wood’s catacombs and will visit the final resting places of luminaries including De Witt Clinton, American artist William Holbrook Beard and many others. The tour will also include a visit to Battle Hill where the Battle of Brooklyn was fought in 1776. Participants must bring a flashlight.” 25th Street at 5th Ave, Brooklyn, R train to 25th Street and walk up the hill one block and into the cemetery, $20. Spooky!
6/2, 9 PM Jack Grace’s surreal, funky, late 90s/early zeros jamband Steak is back together and they’re playing at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club. Come see how hard the Martini Cowboy used to rock: they’re great fun live.
6/2, 9 PM Bad Buka’s “gypsy punk meltdown” at Mehanata, $10.
6/2, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza at Otto’s features Connecticut’s terse, purist Clams, Pacifica Roadshow and at 11 powerhouse original reverb rockers Strange But Surf at Otto’s.
6/2, 9 PM a rare acoustic show by Ashen Keilyn’s pensive, brooding jangle/indie band Scout at Full Cup, 388 Van Duzer St. in Staten Island
6/2, 9:45 PM smart, multistylistic jazz-pop/bossa nova chanteuse Sinem Saniye at Caffe Vivaldi
6/2, 10 PM a rare small club show by noir ska ensemble Tri-State Conspiracy at Hank’s.
6/2, 10ish haunting, rustic, gypsy-inflected art-rockers Kotorino at Sycamore Bar, $10.
6/2, 11 PM House of Waters play psychedelic, Middle Eastern-inflected hammered dulcimer worldbeat jams at the big room at the Rockwood
6/3, 3 PM-ish CBGB punk legends the Sic Fucs at Tompkins Square Park
6/3, 3 PM. up-and-coming avant-garde ensemble Face the Music plays Osvaldo Golijov’s Last Round for string ensemble; Steve Martland’s Horses of Instruction, for mixed classical/rock ensemble; Anna Clyne’s short quartet Primula Vulgaris; and Robert Honstein’s Night Mixes, at PS 321, 180 7th Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, $15, all proceeds to benefit the school music program.
6/3, 4:45 PM organist Angela Kraft Cross plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
6/3, 7 PM Slavic Soul Party drummer Chris Stromquist’s Raskolnikov brass band with Brandon Seabrook on banjo at Barbes.
6/3, 7 PM satirical 80s cover band the Delorean Sisters acoustic and unanmplified at Sidewalk
6/3, 7:30 PM the Andre Matos Quartet with Jacob Sacks, Dave Ambrosio and Billy Mintz followed by the Frank Carlberg Trio feat. Matt Pavolka and Richie Barshay) at 8:30 and then composer/chanteuse Sara Serpa headlining with her combo: guitarist Andre Matos, pianist Kris Davis, bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky and drummer Dan Dan Weiss at ShapeShifter Lab, 18 Whitwell Pl, Park Slope, Brooklyn.
6/3, 8ish baritone western swing crooner Sean Kershaw at Grand Victory in Williamsburg
6/3, 8:30 PM innovative, hauntingly intense 4-woman Bulgarian a-appella quartet Black Sea Hotel at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.
6/3, 9 PM intense, slashingly Americana songwriter Matt Keating – whose new album may be his best yet – at the small room at the Rockwood
6/3, 9ish Trailer Radio play amusing retro 60s original honkytonk songs at at Rodeo Bar.
6/4 the CCB Reggae All-Stars play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Jewel, boarding at 6 at the heliport at 23rd St and the FDR, departing at 7, $30, early arrival advised. They’re also playing one of these on 7/2 as well as one in August and one in September.
6/4, 9ish trippy, twangy Asian psychedelic pop revivalists Dengue Fever at Webster Hall, $30 adv tix rec. at the Mercury Lounge box ofc. open 5-7 PM M-F
6/4, 9ish moody 80s-ish female-fronted neosoul/downtempo band Teletextile at the Cameo Gallery, $10.
6/4, 9 PM an avant evening with cellist Valerie Kuehne plus Lucas Brode, the Jazzfakers and Jason Ajemian at Small Beast upstairs at the Delancey.
6/4, 10 PM torchy eclectic cellist/songwriter Ashia & the Bison Rouge at Union Hall, $8
6/4, midnight-ish noir guitarist par excellence Ben Von Wildenhaus with his Twin Peaks style band at Manhattan Inn in Greenpoint.
6/5, 8 PM a whopper of a veteran LES rock quadruplebill: Lakeside all-stars Los Dudes, legendary and perennially fresh psychedelic punk/dreampop pioneers Band of Outsiders, their friends Certain General and John Cale collaborator/chanteuse Deerfrance with her band at Local 269, free
6/5, 8 PM a killer eclectic songwriter bill with multi-instrumentalist Alice Bierhorst and soaring Britfolk/jazz/janglerock chanteuse Amanda Thorpe at Freddy’s.
6/5, 8 PM legendary reggae crooner Jimmy Cliff at Prospect Park Bandshell. This you won’t get into unless you get there obscenely early, so best to view from outside the arena. And please don’t fall for the beggars asking for the absurd $3 donation – all this is paid for by corporate and taxpayer money many times over.
6/5 8 PM oldtime barrelhouse pianist Drew Nugent & The Midnight Society at Radegast Hall
6/5-9, 8:30/11 PM this era’s premier hot/cool jazzkitten/composer Karin Allyson at Birdland, $30 tix avail.
6/5, 8:30/10:30 PM soulful B3 grooves: Ed Cherry on guitar with Pat Bianchi on organ and McClenty Hunter on drums at the Bar Next Door, $12.
6/5, 10 PM star violinist Johnny Gandelsman of Brooklyn Rider with percussionist Joseph Gramley at the Stone, $10
6/5-9, 11 PM (quarter to one in the morning on 6/8 and 6/9, or 6/9 and 6/10 if you want to be precise about it) dynamie, imaginative, melodic postbop combo the Flail at Dizzy’s Club, $10 seats avail.
6/6 the Dandy Warhols at the Bell House are sold out
6/6, 6:30 PM the reliably eclectic, edgy Geoff Vidal on saxophone with Sean Conly on bass and Jochen Rueckert on drums at the Bar Next Door, free
6/6, 8 PM noir guitarist Ben von Wildenhaus does a live collaboration with video artists House Plants at Cantina Royale, 58 N. 3rd St at Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, $7.
6/6, 8/10 PM Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana do a rare piano/drums duo at the Stone, $25, early arrival highly advised for this intimate show.
6/6, 10 PM roaring, tuneful Link Wray-inspired hotrod and surf instrumentals with the Howlin Thurstons at Fontana’s, $7
6/7, noon, Larry Graham & Graham Central Station at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free. Reputedly the pantheonic bassist from Sly Stone’s band is every inch as dangerous as he was 40+ years ago.
6/7, half past noon pianist Arturo O’Farrill leads a slightly smaller than usual latin jazz combo at St. Mark’s Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.
6/7 comedic chanteuse Jessica Delfino presents the NY Funny Songs Fest, something that deserves to exist. Day 1 is at 6 PM at Lolita Bar, 266 Broome St, cover is $8. It continues on 6/10 with two shows at 2 and 4:30 PM at Culturefix for $10.
6/7, 6 PM Face the Music (NYC schools supergroup of up-and-coming new music talent plays Steve Reich’s Double Sextet and Steve Martland’s Horses of Instruction at Washington Square Park.
6/7, 7 PM the reliably fun self-explanatory NY Funk Exchange at Toshi’s Living Room in the Flatiron Hotel, 9 W 26th St, free. They’re also at Groove on 6/19 and 6/20 at 9.
6/7, 7ish a “survivors of Max’s Kansas City” night with what’s left of the Shirts followed eventually by the Sic Fucs at Bowery Electric, $15 adv tix rec.
6/7, 7 PM leaders of the 90s hip-hop school Sean Price of the Boot Camp Clik, Buckshot and Smif n Wessun at Betsy Head Park, 865 Boyland St, Brownsville, Brooklyn, C to Rockaway Ave.
6/7, 7:30 PM American Modern Ensemble plays Robert Paterson’s furtive, noir, cinematic suite Sextet along with travel-inspired pieces by John Adams, Steve Reich, Erik Friedlander and Billy Strayhorn at Merkin Concert Hall, $10
6/7, 7:30 PM percussionist/composer Eli Keszler with Anthony Coleman, organ and celeste; Ashley Paul, saxes and clarinet; Alex Waterman, cello; Spencer Yeh, violin; Catherine Lamb, viola; Geoff Mullen, guitar; and Reuben Son, bassoon play the album release show for Keszler’s ambitious new site-specific piece L-Carrier at Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, 540 W. 21st St. in NYC, between 10th and 11th Aves. and streaming live at www.turbulence.org/works/l-carrier. The installation will remain on display through 6/23. Careful! A spycam is involved in the live performance!
6/7, 8 PM charismatic, intense, inscrutably hilarious purist retro songwriter/accordionist/improviser Rachelle Garniez at Barbes followed at 10 by klezmer/bluegrass alchemist Andy Statman ($10).
6/7, 8 PM high-energy cowpunks I’ll Be John Brown at Spike Hill.
6/7, 8:30/10:30 an all-star multigenerational jazz guitar summit with Tosh Sheridan, Gene Bertoncini and John Stowell at the Bar Next Door, $12.
6/7, 9 PM the rambunctious oldime Baby Soda Jazz Band at Radegast Hall
6/7, 10 PM Amsterdam gypsy jazz band the Secret Swing Society at the Jalopy, $10.
6/7, 11ish Jean Grae – the greatest female hip-hop artist of all time? Maybe – at Public Assembly, $10.
6/7, midnight, legendary all-female funk-punk band ESG’s reputedly last-ever NYC show at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec.
6/8, 6ish dark, intensely lyrical pianist/songwriter Jodi Shaw at the American Folk Art Museum, free.
6/8, 7 PM saxophoist Nick Hempton leads his quartet through an edgy, wickedly tuneful mix of postbop originals at the Fat Cat.
6/8, 7 PM trombonist David White’s Jazz Orchestra at Something Jazz Club, $10
6/8, 8 PM one of the year’s best doublebills: noir Americana songwriter Eilen Jewell followed by third-wave surf legends Los Straitjackets at City Winery, $18 standing room avail.
6/8, 8 PM country blues guitar star Thomasina Winslow at the Good Coffeehouse at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, $15 ($6 for kids)
6/8, 8 PM oldtime fiddle duo Brittany Haas (of Crooked Still(, and Lauren Rioux (from Republic of Strings) followed at 9:30 PM by grasscore trio the Tillers at the Jalopy, $10
6/8-9, 8 PM eclectic, hypnotic Iranian-American multi-instrumentalist songwriter Fared Shinafury (of Austin freak-folk ensemble Tehranosaurus) at Zirzamin, $35
6/8, 8 PM Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def), Leslie Uggams and members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic play works by Bey, Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart, Fats Waller, Harold Arlen, plus Beethoven and the Beethoven Remix Project at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton St., Brooklyn, free.
6/8, 9 PM a roots reggae doublebill with the psychedelic dub/latin sounds of El Pueblo followed at 10 by Random Test at Shrine
6/8, 9ish the twisted funny retro 60s country stylings of the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. 6/9 they’re at 68 Jay St. Bar at 8.
6/8, 9:30 PM two sax-and-drums instrumental funk powerhouse Moon Hooch plays two shows (separate admission) at 9:30 and then 1 AM (actually early morning of 6/9) at the Knitting Factory, $10 adv tix highly advised.
6/8-9, 10 PM saxophonist Ralph Bowen plays the cd release show for his unexpectedly subtle, cool new one Total Eclipse with Freddie Bryant – guitar , Jared Gold – organ , Donald Edwards – drums at Smalls
6/8, 10 PM the Breakers play “50s and 60s surf” at Two Boots Brooklyn
6/8-9, 10 PM Irish drinking music par excellence with Shilelagh Law at Connolly’s
6/8, 10 PM accordionist Rob Curto’s forro group at Barbes
6/8, half past midnight (actually wee hours of 6/9) psychedelic funk orchestra Turkuaz at Sullivan Hall, $10.
6/9, 3 PM the wildly eclectic, jam-oriented Metropolitan Klezmer at the NYPL 67th St branch, 328 E 67th St (1st/2nd Aves); 6/14 they’re at St. Mark’s Park, 2nd Ave/10th St. at half past noon
6/9, 7:30 PM eclectic East African siren/bandleader Alsarah & the Nubatones followed by Malian/Cuban collaboration Afrocubism at Prospect Park Bandshell.
6/9, 8 PM a benefit for paralyzed producer Scotty Hard at the Brooklyn Bowl with stoner funkster Little Shalimar plus Afrobeat bands Emefe, Antibalas and more, $15 adv tix rec.
6/9, 8 PM a rare small club show by popular tango nuevo/pop star Federico Aubele at the Stone, $10
6/9, 8:30 PM satirical metalish Yiddish Princess and Sephardic rockers Deleon at Union Hall, $8.
6/9, 9 PM vaudevillian gypsy rockers Caravan of Thieves at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.
6/9, 9/10:30 PM saxophonists Sam Newsome and Dave Liebman join forces with a quartet at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15 + $10 min
6/9, 9:20 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Drom, $20.
6/9, 9:30ish badass oldtime blues singer/resonator guitarist Mamie Minch plus subtly amusing, lyrical Americana rock duo Kill Henry Sugar at Sycamore Bar, $10.
6/9, 9:30 PM oldschool soul from the late 60s with JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound at Maxwell’s, $10
6/9, 10:30 PM smart, lushly orchestrated 70s style art-rock with Igor’s Egg at Sullivan Hall, $10.
6/9, 11:30 PM dark 80s inflected rockers Exit Clov at the big room at the Rockwood
6/10, 2 (two) PM cellist Matt Haimovitz and his 8-cello ensemble Uccello play music by Ellington, Mingus, Miles Davis, Gershwin and others at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15stud
6/10, 8ish Talib Kweli at Von King Park, Bed-Stuy, G to Myrtle-Willoughby.
6/10, 8:30 PM drummer Dan Weiss leads an intriguing melodic jazz trio with Jacob Sacks, piano and Thomas Morgan, bass at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10 + $10 min
6/10, 9 PM eclectic country blues powerhouse Blind Boy Paxton at the Jalopy, $10.
6/10, 9ish the NYCity Slickers play their soaring, harmony-driven bluegrass at Rodeo Bar.
6/10, 10 PM terse, intense jazz guitarist Julian Lage at the Stone, $10, early arrival a must, this will sell out even if it’s a solo show.
6/10, 10 PM eclectic honkytonk/Texas zydeco band the Doc Marshalls at the Mercury, $10.
6/11, 10 PM NYC’s creepiest, most intense noir cinematic band Beninghove’s Hangmen at Spike Hill.
6/11, 11ish irresistibly assaultive noiserockers the Sediment Club at Death by Audio, $7.
6/11, midnight the twisted funny retro 60s country stylings of the Jack Grace Band at at the Ear Inn
6/12, 5:30 PM bassist Gregg August may be best known for his work in JD Allen’s pbands, but he’s also a brilliant, socially aware composer – he leads his quintet on the plaza out back of the World Financial Center
6/12, 6-9 PM it’s the Museum Mile Festival – free admission at a whole slew of museums starting at 103rd St.
6/12, 7 PM alt-country pioneer (and brilliant, eclectic guitarist) Robbie Fulks at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party ($10).
6/12, 7:30 PM hypnotic, intense minimalist avant piano/strings/percussion ensemble Build at Drom, $10
6/12, 8 PM Margaret Leng Tan plays Satie and Satie-inspired composers on toy piano at Roulette, $15.
6/12,, 8ish reggae crooner Bushman at Von King Park, Bed-Stuy, G train to Myrtle-Willoughby.
6/12 and also 6/19, 8:30 PM star bassist Omer Avital & Band of the East: Itamar Borochov – trumpet , Greg Tardy – tenor sax , Nadav Remez – guitar , Daniel Friedman – drums at Smalls
6/12, 9ish clever, endlessly entertaining purist powerpop siren Patti Rothberg at Rodeo Bar.
6/12, 9:30 PM tango-influenced big band sounds with the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec.
6/12, 10ish charismatic, original Americana songwriter Alex Battles at Sycamore Bar, $10 – might be your last chance to see him in NYC for awhile
6/13, 6:30 PM Lichtman’s Brain Cloud play western swing outdoors on the plaza at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free.
6/13, 7:30 PM reliably eclectic virtuoso pianist/impresario Alexandra Joan’s Kaleidoscope Series concludes this season with a jazz-centric show featuring saxophonist Timothy Hayward, guitarist Peter Mazza and bassist Thomson Kneeland and at WMP Concert Hall, $20.
6/13, 8 PM guitar duo summit: Jim Campilongo and Steve Cardenas at 8, Anthony Wilson and Julian Lage at the Stone, $10
6/13, 9 PM the reliably boisterous, smartly entertaining oldtimey Two Man Gentlemen Band celebrate their new album of drinking songs at Joe’s Pub, $12 adv tix very highly rec.
6/13, 9ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.
6/13, 9 PM the Chicken Barn Heroes play bluegrass followed at 11 by eclectic, funky, edgy lyrical rocker Avi Fox-Rosen and band at the Way Station in Ft. Greene
6/13, 9 PM high-energy oldtime swing and blues with Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess at Radegast Hall.
6/13, 10 PM low-key, absolutely authentic oldschool singer Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens at Littlefield, $10.
6/13, 10:30 PM swirling, psychedelic, anthemic Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the big room at the Rockwood
6/14, noon, pianist Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free.
6/14, half past noon, sizzling, eclectic, jam-oriented worldbeat/klezmer band Metropolitan Klezmer at St. Mark’s Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.
6/14, 7ish purist jazz guitarist Nick Moran leads a trio at the Garage Restaurant
6/14, 8 PM EPMD – Erick & Parrish still making a least a few dollars – at Von King Park, Bed-Stuy, G to Myrtle-Willoughby
6/14-15, 8 PMish long-running, influential 90s “postrock” band Mogwai at Webster Hall, $35 tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box office.
6/14, 8 PM Kenny Wollesen (drums), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Eivind Opsvik (bass), Tony Malaby (sax), Jacob Sacks (piano, organ), followed by Seabrook’s banjo project Seabrook Power Plant at 10 at the Stone, $10.
6/14, 8:30 PM Jacob Sacks’ and Jacob Garchik’s often haunting third-stream 4Twenty quartet at I-Beam, $10 sugg don. Followed by drummer Jeff Davis’ quartet with Jason Rigby on tenor
6/14, 9 PM haunting, female-fronted Turkish Balkan band Dolunay followed by ten-piece Balkan powerhouse Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10.
6/14, 9 PM ageless Chicago blues guitar icon Matt Guitar Murphy at Lucille’s, 9 PM, $20 adv tix rec.
6/14 cumbia stars Chico Trujillo at SOB’s, 9 PM, $20.
6/14, 9 PM Laura Marling at Prospect Park Bandshell. Recommended with several caveats: the place will be crawling with yuppies and trendoids, and as pleasant and purist as the Britfolk chanteuse is, she’s not worth sitting through two hot, terminally boring hours of Willy Mason and Michael Kiwanuka. Although some of the yuppies’ puppies might start whining, in which case they might leave and there might be room for you. But maybe not.
6/14, 10 PM inscrutable cellist/multi-instrumentalist/siren Serena Jost and her band at Barbes
6/14, 10ish wild, humungous gypsy band Mucca Pazza at Public Assembly, $14.
6/14, 10 PM country blues duo the Dough Rollers at Union Hall, $8
6/14, 11:30 PM psychedelic, horn-driven reggae crew Ilamawana at Sullivan Hall, $10.
6/15, 8 PM oldschool honkytonk and fiery psychedelic paisley underground rock with the Newton Gang, followed by Thee Shambels and then this generation’s finest country voice, Laura Cantrell at the Jalopy, $10 incl. free beer 8-9 PM.
6/15, 8 PM Hannah vs. the Many play sharply literate, angry, individualistic, tuneful female-fronted powerpop and noir cabaret at Arlene’s
6/15, 8 PM haunting, rustic and eclectic gypsy/klezmer/flamenco sounds with the Ljuba Davis Ladino Ensemble feat. oud genius Avram Pengas at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.
6/15, 8 PM the effervescent, theatrical, badass oldtimey Ukuladies at Barbes followed at 10 by Nation Beat bandleader Scott Kettner’s Orgy in Rhythm maracatu project
6/15, 9 PM haunting, atmospheric gothic Americana chanteuse Marissa Nadler at Union Hall, $12. She’s at Joe’s Pub on the 16th an hour earlier and for three bucks more.
6/15, 9 PM reliably charming, politically edgy Hawaiian swing/torch jazz band the Moonlighters at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.
6/15, 9/10:30 PM redoubtably tuneful pianist/composer Kris Davis leads a trio with Michael Formanek, bass and Nasheet Waits, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10 + $10 min.
6/15, 9/10:30 PM virtuoso trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson & his two-trumpet quintet Sicilian Defense at the Jazz Gallery, $20
6/15, 9:30 PM popular Americana rockers the Felice Bros. at the Brooklyn Bowl, $20
6/15, 10 PM Royal Khaoz play roots reggae at Shrine.
6/15, 11 PM Steely Dan-ish original funk band Otis – whose latest album Music Elevator is amazing – at the big room at the Rockwood
6/16, 3 (three) PM a daylong Americana show at the Jalopy with blues guitar powerhouse Will Scott, Low & the Lonesome, the Dirt Floor Revue, Nikki Sue & the Bad News, the haunting oldtimey Michaela Anne and band at 7, dark acoustic Nashville gothic crew Frankenpine at 8, the Newton Gang doing the cd release show for their long-awaited new one at 9, the High Irons at 10 and the Grand Prospect at 11. Whew.
6/16, 3 PM string quintet Cyrene – which is quartet Brooklyn Rider plus an extra cello – play a musical interpretation of 12th century Persian poet Nezami’s Layla and Majnun, a sort of percursor to Romeo and Juliet with music by music by Colin Jacobsen, Giovanni Sollima, Henry Purcell, and Vartabed Komitas plus traditional Armenian and Persian melodies at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, $15 (your ticket also includes admission to the museum if you feel like a treat for the eyes before or after).
6/16, 6:30 PM eclectic, raw, ecstatic worldbeat triplebill with the Brazilian/C&W Nation Beat, cumbia stars Chico Trujillo and perennially popular Balkan Beat Box at Prospect Park Bandshell, get there on time.
6/16, 7:15 PM SisterMonk’s intense worldbeat jam funk/punk at Caffe Vivaldi.
6/16, 8 PM feral, intense neoromantic/avant Argentinian pianist Fernando Otero leads a quartet at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.
6/16, 8ish noir cabaret/new wave rock chanteuse Lucy Foley and band plus worldbeat jamband Plastic Beast at Freddy’s
6/16, 8 PM the Cannabis Cup Reggae Band and politically-fueled French-African reggae legend Tiken Jah Fakoly at the Apollo Theatre, $25 tix still available at the box office, get ‘em now.
6/16, 8:30 PM clever, amusing, sometimes satirical Chicago oldtimey/Americana/indie band Dastardly at the Mercury, $10
6/16, 9ish period-perfect female-fronted dark new wave band the Foxx at Death by Audio, $7
6/16, 9:30 PM haunting Turkish worldbeat jazz with the Senem Diyici Mavi Yol 4tet at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec
6/17 this year’s Bang on a Can Marathon starts at noon at the World Financial Center.
6/17, 4:45 PM organist Andrew Peters plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
6/17, 7 PM Balkan/klezmer mandolinist Avi Avital at Barbes followed at 9 by gypsy guitar paradigm-shifter Stephane Wrembel.
6/17, 9ish hilarious, eclectically satirical cowpunk rockers Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar.
6/17, 9 PM original psychedelic funk band Mamarazzi at the big room at the Rockwood
6/18, 9 PM wickedly tuneful hip-hop/funk group Hypnotic Brass Ensemble plays a rare gig with their dad, 60s Chicago free jazz legend Kelan Phil Cohran at Highline Ballroom, $15 adv tix rec
6/19, 5:30 PM pyrotechnic virtuoso Colombian harpist Edmar Castaneda on the plaza at the World Financial Center. He’s also at One New York Plaza at 6/21 at 5 (five).
6/19, 7:30/9:30 PM bassist/composer Linda Oh leads a quartet with Dayna Stephens – tenor saxophone; Fabian Almazan – piano and Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20. That rhythm section alone is enticing.
6/19, 7:30 PM the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra plays Grieg’s Holberg Suite plus Romanian folk dances arranged by Bartok along with works by Rossini and Mozart at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.
6/19, 8:30 PM edgy chamber-pop/jangle/indie band Bern & the Brights at Bowery Electric, $8
6/20, 6:30 PM the Cassatt String Quartet play a program of nocturnes including Night by Ernst Bloch; Cypresses (excerpts) by Antonin Dvorak; Quiet Time (excerpts) by Sebastian Currier; Nocturne from Qt. 2 by Alexander Borodin; Restless Nation (excerpts) by Andy Teirstein; Lullaby by George Gershwin at the Hayden Planetarium, $15
6/20, 6:30 PM bassist Katie Thiroux and her Quartet play swing jazz outdoors on the plaza at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free.
6/20, 7 PM the Philip Glass Ensemble at Rockefeller Park at Chambers St. and the river.
6/20 popular Americana songwriter James Maddock at Madison Square Park, 7 PM.
6/20, 8:30 PM irrepressible, cerebral, tuneful third-stream improvisation with Jean-Michel Pilc, piano; Francois Moutin, bass; Ari Hoenig, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $TBA.
6/20, 9 PM catchy, lyrically edgy female-fronted powerpop/new wave band Changing Modes at Trash. One of NYC’s best bands, with a characteristically tuneful, intense new album out.
6/20, 9ish torchy Americana chanteuse Megan Reilly at Rodeo Bar.
6/20, 9:30 PM Americana singer/bandleader Alana Amram & the Rough Gems followed by Nashville gothic siren Emily Jane White at Glasslands, $10, be aware that it will be hot and unairconditioned here.
6/20, 10ish smart, tuneful female-fronted powerpop band Delusions of Grand Street play the ep release show for their new one at Bowery Electric, $8.
6/21 is the ostensibly all-day busk-a-thon Make Music NY. Lately the trend has been that bands reserve space for the day and play at night. The whole schedule is here: check out who’s in your neighborhood or playing on your walk to the train.
6/21, half past noon oudist Jeff Peretz and Abu Gara at St. Mark’s Park, 10th St./2nd Ave.
6/21, 4 PM furry-suited ragtime band the Xylopholks, Indian classical Carnatic Ensemble and the Prokofiev Sonata for 20 Violins performed live outside Cornelia St. Cafe
6/21, 7 PM latin jazz hall of famer Eddie Palmieri and band at Rockefeller Park.
6/21, 8 PM Indian mandolinist Snehasish Mozumder and his worldbeat group at Barbes followed at 10 by 10-piece psycho mambo band Gato Loco.
6/21, 8:30 PM Afrobeat funksters Zongo Junction followed eventually by retro soul crooner Eli Paperboy Reed at the Bell House, $12 adv tix rec.
6/21, 9 PM the Pearly Snaps a.k.a. fiddler Steph “Pearly” Jenkins and banjoist Rosie “Snap” Newton at the Jalopy, $10
6/21, 10ish noir/noiserock legend Steve Wynn and then the ageless garage-rocking Fleshtones at Bowery Electric, $12 adv tix rec.
6/21, 10:45 PM haunting, intense Lebanese-French trumpeter/composer Ibrahim Maalouf with his ensemble at Drom, free w/rsvp to (212) 777-1157.
6/22, 7 PM the Compared to That Big Band playing Middle Eastern-flavored jazz at Something Jazz Club, $10/$10 min.
6/22 ageless third-wave ska/soul band the Slackers play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Harbor Lights, boarding at 7 at the heliport at 23rd St and the FDR, departing at 8, $30 adv tix. avail. at the Highline Ballroom box office
6/22, 8 PM art-rocker Pierre de Gaillande and band playing his spot-on English-language versions of Georges Brassens classics at Barbes followed at 10 by ten-piece bhangra funk orchestra Brooklyn Qawwali Party.
6/22, 8 PM avant garde Javanese sounds with Gamelan Son of Lion playing Barbara Benary: The Braid Pieces, Aural Shoehorning; David Demnitz: Either/Or-Or/Either; Philip Corner: Gamelan Adagio; Daniel Goode: Hear the Sound of Random Numbers at Issue Project Room, $15
6/22, 9 PM eclectic Colombian surf/soundtrack/funk band Il Albanico at BAM Cafe
6/22, 9 PM grasscore/jamband the Infamous Stringdusters at the Brooklyn Bowl, $12.
6/22, 9 PM high-energy oldtimey Americana band Holy Ghost Tent Revival at Union Hall, $10.
6/22, 9 PM high-energy Mexican folk-punk band Radio Jarocho at the Jalopy, $10.
6/22, 11:30 PM the Mynabirds with their politically fueled female-fronted American/folk rock at the Mercury, $15.
6/23, 8 PM Llama plays psychedelic original oldschool salsa at Barbes.
6/23, 8 PM one of the current avant garde’s most original and melodically interesting composers, Annie Gosfield solo on keyboards at the Stone, $10
6/23, 8 PM, repeating on 6/24 at 3 PM Mark Peskanov, violin; Edward Arron, cello and Jeewon Park, piano play Saint Saens – Piano Trio No. 2, in E minor, Op.92; Beethoven – Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1 in D Major “Ghost”and Ravel – Piano Trio at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15stud.
6/23, 9 PM eclectic, politically aware, horn-driven ska/latin/gypsy band Karikatura at Mehanata
6/23, 9ish brilliant Americana/rockabilly guitarist Rosie Flores at Rodeo Bar.
6/23, 9 PM the Jalopy’s all-star jugband/country blues/hillbilly crew the Whiskey Spitters at the Jalopy, $10.
6/23, 9:30 PM wild, intense, horn-driven New Orleans soul/funk band Mingo Fishtrap at Sullivan Hall, $22 adv tix rec
6/23, 9:30 PM long-running goth/pop chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.
6/23, 10 PM moody pensive songwriter summit: Basia Bulat followed by the Bowerbirds at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15 adv tix avail. at the Mercury 5-7 PM M-F
6/24, 5ish PM the Alabama Shakes at Central Park Summerstage. Isn’t it nice that a band that plays real soul music has blown up bigtime? Of course it is. Is it worth getting here at 3 on the button when the gates open and then suffering through the tedium of Robert Ellis and Diamond Rugs just to see them? No.
6/24, 7:30 PM Indonesian choral music with the 24-piece Manado State University Choir directed by André de Quadros at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown (Broadway and Fulton).
6/25, 8:30 PM pianist Azusa Ueno plays Franck, Liszt and Debussy at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10 cover plus $10 min.
6/25, 9 PM Swingadelic play their monthly residency at Maxwell’s, free
6/26, 5:30 PM the cutting-edge Portland Cello Project in the parking lot behind City Winery, free
6/26, 7 PM deviously smart, intensely tuneful contemporary klezmer rockers Daniel Kahn & the Painted Bird, the satirical Yiddish Princess and ageless klezmerite titans the Klezmatics at Central Park Summerstage (the calendar simply says Central Park, but the map points to the stage. If that’s wrong, listen for flat fifths!).
6/26, 7 PM stark, plaintive, soaring Bulgarian folk with chanteuse Vlada Tomova’s Balkan Tales at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party ($10 cover).
6/26, 7:15 PM eclectic worldbeat/jazz violinist Luca Ciarla leads a quartet at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.
6/26, 8 PM clever, innovative indie classical ensemble Deviant Septet play new works by the group’s members at the Stone, $10.
6/26-7/1, 9/11 PM noir guitar legend Marc Ribot leads a characteristically eclectic trio with Henry Grimes on bass and Chad Taylor on drums at the Vanguard.
6/27 Amanda Palmer at the Music Hall of Williamsburg is sold out
6/27 jazz chanteuse Gretchen Parlato at Madison Square Park, 6:30 PM.
6/27, 7 PM the amazing all-female jam-oriented klezmer/jazz ensemble Isle of Klezbos in the community garden on E 12th St btw Avenues A & B; in case of rain, the show moves to the JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave @ 76th St.
6/27, 7 PM ageless first-wave reggae band Third World at Rockefeller Park.
6/27, 8 PM Hungarian klezmer band Nigun Feat at 6th St. Synagogue, $15 incl. a drink
6/27, 8 PM eclectic country/rock siren/bandleader Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at Spike Hill.
6/27, 8:30 PM one of this era’s most interesting baritone sax players/composers, Brian Landrus with Nir Felder, guitar; Frank Carlberg, piano; Lonnie Plaxico, bass; Rudy Royston, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10 + $10 min.
6/27, 9 PM dark jangly Americana rockers the Sadies at Brooklyn Bowl, $10.
6/27, 9 PM jazz organ improviser Sean Wayland and combo at Freddy’s;he’s also here on 7/25 at 9.
6/27, 10ish quirky, edgy smart all-female rockers the Walking Hellos at Death by Audio
6/28, half past noon trombonist Art Baron leads a combo St. Mark’s Park, 2nd Ave/10th St. – last time he played here he had Bucky Pizzarelli and the show was off the hook.
6/28, 7:30 PM the US debut of the ABC&D of Boogie Woogie, a piano-based dance band led by the Stones’ Charlie Watts out back of Lincoln Center, $17 adv tix rec at the box office.
6/28, 7:30 PM funk bass goddess Shelley Nicole’s Blakbushe at Drom, $12 adv tix rec.
6/28, 8 PM harpist Zeena Parkins & the Adorables followed by The Unlearning:
Theresa Wong (cello, voice) Carla Kihlstedt (violin, voice) at the Stone, $10
6/28, 10 PM Veveritse Brass Band – as intense as Slavic Soul Party but without the hip-hop influence, and more improvisational – at Barbes.
6/29, 7 PM it’s the Battle of the Boroughs finals at the Greene Space. This competition isn’t just some dumb exploitative ripoff – they actually get some good bands here. Last year’s winner was Charanams, a smart, original Indian worldbeat group. $15 cover includes a beer or glass of wine; $30 gets you open wine and beer bar plus the show; acts TBA pending the winner of the Manhattan segment.
6/29, 7:30 PM flamenco rock with the Mar Sala Band plus Spanish/Brazilian chanteuse Rebeca Vallejo at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.
6/29, 8 PM a rare NYC appearance by Colombian gaita revivalists Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto at Barbes followed at 10 by the funky, psychedelic People’s Champs.
6/29, 8 PM the eclectic, potently socially aware Afrobeat/reggae Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone at Highline Ballroom, $25 adv tix highly rec.
6/29, 8 PM trippy swirling ambient guitar/violin loops with itsnotyouitsme at the Stone, $10
6/29, 9 PM fiery Balkan bass/accordion duo Cinder Conk at the Jalopy, $10. They’re at Mehanata at 9 0n the 30th.
6/29, 9 PM wickedly lyrical Americana songwriter Marcellus Hall (ex-Railroad Jerk and White Hassle) at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club
6/29, 9ish twangy bluegrass/C&W rockers Demolition String Band – who’ve never sounded better – at Rodeo Bar
6/29, 11:30 PM dark, moody gypsy/steampunk/Americana art-rockers Kotorino at Joe’s Pub.
6/30 quirky music night with Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra at 8 followed at 10 by the self-explanatory Toys & Tiny Instruments at Barbes.
6/30, 9 PM deviously innuendo-driven, charmingly retro French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins at the Jalopy, $10.
6/30, 9ish longtime NYC Americana standout Mick Hargreaves & the King Guys play rockabilly at Rodeo Bar
7/1 the perennially relevant, satirical Reverend Billy & the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir - whose mighty sound will move you to action against eco-destroyers and corporate criminals – at Highline Ballroom.
7/1, 8:30 PM pianist Dave Restivo leads a trio with Lauren Fall, bass and Owen Howard, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe $10 + $10min, followed at 10 by “Canadian Club” i.e. Tony Malaby, tenor sax; Kris Davis, piano; Nick Fraser, drums.
7/1, 9 PM soul rockers Mighty Fine plus the oldtimey Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band or whatever they call themselves at the Brooklyn Bowl, $10.
7/3, 5:30 PM mighty, funky, horn-driven 25-piece New Orleans band Brother Joscephus & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra in the parking lot behind City Winery, free
7/3, 7:30 PM Pakistani crooner/guitarist Arieb Azar at the Schimmel Auditorium at Pace University on Spruce St; free tix available 2 per person starting at 5 PM day of show.
7/4 harmony-driven oldtimey honkytonk hellraisers the Sweetback Sisters followed by the oldtimey high-energy sounds of Spuyten Duyvil at Madison Square Park, 4 PM.
7/5, 7:30 PM dark female-fronted new wave/punk band Ingrid & the Defectors followed eventually by punk-era powerpop legend Bebe Buell and her band at Highline Ballroom, $15
7/7, 3 PM, in order to get into Central Park Summerstage to see Guided by Voices when they hit the stage around 5, you’ll have to stand through a whole set by at least one of the world’s suckiest bands. You might want to show up at 5 instead and take this one in from outside the arena.
7/7, 7:30 PM intense, virtuoso oudist and violinist Simon Shaheen and group kick off what will probably be a transcendent doublebill with politically fearless Algerian siren Souad Massi at Prospect Park Bandshell.
7/7, 8 PM oldschool conscious hip hop lyricist Chubb Rock at Crotona Park in Queens.
7/7, 8 PM legendary synth band Tangerine Dream - who claim to have invented techno – at the Nokia Theatre, $35 tix avail.
7/7, 10 PM Bad Buka and their gypsy punk meltdown at Mehanata
7/7, 11 PM high-energy virtuoso barrelhouse blues with the 4th St. Nite Owls at Freddy’s.
7/8, 6 PM smart, tuneful, counterintuitive Persian jazz/dub instrumentals with Sohrab’s SoSaLa featuring Brian Prunka on oud and Damon Banks on bass at Downtown Music Gallery.
7/9, 6:30 PM pianist/crooner Peter Mintun sings popular songs about New York from across the decades (emphasis on Broadway and Tin Pan Alley, heavy on the cheese) at the Museum of the City of New York, $15
7/10, 7 PM perennially popular salsa chanteuse La India at Rockefeller Park.
7/10, 7:30 PM well-loved indie classical orchestra the Knights play Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor, Op 129, Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Thomas Ades’ Three Studies from Couperin and Colin Jacobsen’s arrangement of the classic Persian theme Ascending Bird at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat
7/11, half past noon purist Britfolk songwriter Ian Link at 1 Liberty Plaza downtown
7/11, 6 PM electric blues stars from the 60s: John Mayall followed eventually at around 8 by Buddy Guy on the water out back of the World Financial Center, free.
7/11, 6:30 PM the Wiyos – whose psychedelic Wizard of Oz-inspired new album is killer – outdoors on the plaza at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza. Raindate: 7/12.
7/11 edgy eclectic nouveau-cabaret chanteuse Nellie McKay at Madison Square Park, 7 PM.
7/11, 7:15 PM Persian-American chanteuse Mamak Khadem sings her new arrangements of Sohrab Sepehri poetry at Drom with her worldbeat ensemble, $20
7/11, 7:30 PM Missy Mazzoli and her moody, swirling, lushly artsy rock band Victoire at the Schimmel Auditorium at Pace University on Spruce St; free tix available 2 per person starting at 5 PM day of show.
7/12, noon, newschool blues powerhouse Shemekia Copeland at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free. She’s either opening for or playing with what’s left of NRBQ – stay tuned.
7/12, 7 PM oldschool/newschool soul spectacular: Charles Bradley & the Extraordinaires and then Neko Case on the water out back of the World Financial Center, free.
7/12, 7 PM George Clinton & P-Funk at Rockefeller Park.
7/12, 10:30 PM dark psychedelic Ethiopian funk grooves with the Funk Ark at Sullivan Hall, $10
7/13, 9 PM original Ethiopian-flavored funk with Debo Band at the Bell House, $15.
7/13, 11 PM Deathrow Tull (gotta love that name) open for P-Funk keyboard legend Bernie Worrell at the Mercury, $10 adv tix onsale 6/1
7/14 Argentinian ska-punk rockers Los Auténticos Decadentes at 5ish at Central Park Summerstage.
7/14, 7 PM Her & Kings County at Highline Ballroom, $12 adv tix rec. First discovered this twangy, excellently tuneful country-rock band at a show at Hank’s one cold night back in the zeros. Frontwoman Monique Staffile was genuine and down-to-earth, and still is, and the band has gone on to be a big touring act.
7/14, 8/11 PM Debbie Davies - one of the world’s most exhilarating blues guitarists – at Lucille’s, $10 adv tix rec.
7/14, 8 PM edgy politically-fueled hip-hop with Jedi Mind Tricks and La Coka Nostra at the Gramercy Theatre, $26.50 adv tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.
7/15, 4:45 PM organist William H. Atwood plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
7/15, 7:30 PM well-respected avant garde ensemble Alarm Will Sound play a program of new music TBA at the Schimmel Auditorium at Pace University on Spruce St; free tix available 2 per person starting at 5 PM day of show.
7/17-21, 8:30/11 PM tunefully cutting-edge pianist Jason Moran +3 at Birdland, $30 tix avail.
7/18, 6:30 PM the Gregorio Uribe Big Band outdoors on the plaza at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza.
7/18 powerhouse, socially aware jazz drummer/bandleader Jeff “Tain” Watts and his Quartet at Madison Square Park, 7 PM.
7/18 newschool roots reggae crew Passafire play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7 at the heliport at 23rd St and the FDR, departing at 8, $20 adv tix rec. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.
7/18, 8 PM Big Daddy Kane raps to the neighborhood on his old turf in Queensbridge Park.
7/19, 7:30 PM the world’s #1 hip-hop influenced ten-piece Balkan brass band, Slavic Soul Party plus open wine/beer bar plus free kosher ice cream at the Jewish Museum, $15/$12 stud/srs.
7/20, 7 PM torchy oldtime swing with Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers plus suave blues guitarist Duke Robillard and band at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.
7/20, 9ish dark garage rockers the Detroit Cobras at Maxwell’s
7/21, 7:30 PM Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval at Prospect Park Bandshell
7/21, 8 PM king of the surf guitar, Dick Dale, still setting picks on fire, at the Brooklyn Bowl, $15.
7/21, 11ish ageless, charmingly jangly lo-fi Japanese rocker women Shonen Knife at the Bell House, $12
7/22, 2 (two) PM Brooklyn Rider’sJohnny Gandelsman, violin; Christina Courtin, viola and Alex Greenbaum, cello play Haydn – String Trio in G Major, Op. 53, No.1; Beethoven – String Trio in G Major, Op 9, No 1; Schubert – String Trio in B-flat Major, D. 581 and Dohnanyi- Serenade in C Major, Op 10 at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15stud
7/22, 7 PM dark, moody nuevo-soul band Shenandoah & the Night at Pier One on the upper west.
7/22, 8 PM haunting, intense pan-Middle Eastern trio Niyaz at Drom, $20 adv tix rec.
7/23 smart, multilingual Malian hip-hop/reggae/acoustic band SMOD at SOB’s, 9 PM, $18 adv tix rec.
7/24, 5:30 PM charming, sly, innuendo-driven French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins on the plaza out back of the World Financial Center.
7/25, 6:30 PM jazz guitar genius Matt Munisteri leads his band outdoors on the plaza at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza.
7/25 jazz violinist Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread at Madison Square Park, 7 PM.
7/26, 8 PM intense Turkish/klezmer/gypsy rockers Raquy & the Cavemen’s farewell NYC show at Drom, free w/rsvp to (212) 777-1157.
7/27, 8 PM eclectic, shapeshifting saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin’s Wonderland feat. Turkish star Husnu Senlendirici at Drom, $15 adv tix highly rec.
7/27, 9 PM dark garage rock with King Khan & the Shrines at Bowery Ballroom, $15
7/28, 6:30 PM Istanbulive a.k.a. “Turkish Woodstock IV” feat. an amazingly eclectic all-Turkish bill with the Secret Trio (an exciting new gypsy/jazz summit withAra Dinkjian, Ismail Lumanovski and Tamer Pinarbasi), trippy saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin’s Wonderland feat. Turkish sax legend Husnu Senlendirici, and then the long-overdue US debut of a folk and protest music legend, chanteuse Selda Bagcan at Damrosch Park, early arrival a must, these events are perennially popular.
7/29 6 PM Israeli jazz/metal guitarist Yoshie Fruchter at Downtown Music Gallery – bring earplugs
7/29, 7 PM Joe Hurley’s annual, high-spirited night of Irish rock, first Hurley playing with the Gents to open and then Joe Hurley’s All-Star Irish Rock Revue co-hosted by sharp, literate crooner Ed Rogers, plus downtown NY legend Willie Nile, members of the Mekons, Cracker, Alice Cooper Group, Bob Dylan’s band, Blue Oyster Cult and others, early arrival advised.
7/29, 8 PM one of the most interesting, smartly politically aware roots reggae bands around, Taj Weekes & Adowa at Springfield Park in Queens.
7/31, 5:30 PM Cape Verdean chanteuse Maria de Barros on the plaza out back of the World Financial Center.
7/31, 5:30 PM NYC country/hillbilly/gospel stars Ollabelle in the parking lot behind City Winery, free
7/31, 8 PM underrated 90s hip-hop lyrical genius Keith Murray at Tappen Park in Staten Island
8/1, 8 PM fearless, powerhouse Malian soul/desert blues chanteuse Khaira Arby followed by Israeli Middle Eastern dance-funk orchestra Yemen Blues at Damrosch Park,early arrival advised.
8/2, noon, Afrobeat hip-hop bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Metrotech Park in downtown Brooklyn, free.
8/4 well-loved Malian bandleaders/crooner-and-chanteuse duo Amadou & Mariam at Central Park Summerstage, 5ish, early arrival advised.
8/4, 6:30 PM oldtime and bluegrass night with Spirit Family Reunion, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West and Del McCoury and band at Prospect Park Bandshell
8/6, 8 PM salsa jazz with the Pedrito Martinez Group followed by desert blues guitarist Sidi Toure at Marcus Garvey Park uptown.
8/7, 7:30 PM violinist Lara St. John and friends celebrate the 25th anniversary of Astor Piazzolla’s 1987 Central Park concert at the Naumburg Bandshell, early arrival advised if you want a seat
8/8, 7 PM retro soul sensation Bettye LaVette at Madison Square Park.
Bard Summerscape Festival starts August 10. Yeah, it’s out of town, but this year’s program is pretty amazing, an examination of the world of Camille Saint-Saens and his turbulent artistic world. Transportation from NYC for ticketholders is available via a $30 shuttle from Lincoln Center or a free shuttle from the Poughkeepsie Metro North commuter train station.
8/11, 3 PM banjoist/folksinger Abigail Washburn at Central Park Summerstage. Buckwheat Zydeco headlines afterward.
8/11, 8:30 PM Lyle Lovett at Prospect Park Bandshell- you might have to listen from outside the arena for this one unless there’s a lot of rain beforehand.
8/12, 5:30 PM Afrobeat band Toubab Crewe in the parking lot behind City Winery, free
8/15-16,7:30ish a mini bachata nueva festival at Highbridge Park uptown. On the 15th it’s Henry Santos from Aventura; the 16th has K Rose and 24 Horas
8/19, 3 PM get to Central Park Summerstage when the gates open if you want to see roots reggae harmony legends the Mighty Diamonds and Israeli Vibration. What’s left of Inner Circle play afterward (one can only imagine what the late Jacob Miller would have thought of the Fox network using a song by his old band as the theme for the most racist show on tv).
8/24, 7 PM the theme of this year’s Charlie Parker Festival at Marcus Garvey Park is Bird with Strings, a supposedly all-star lineup recreating pieces of that classic record. Then on the 25th, same place, same time it’s Jamire Williams’ Erimaj project, Derrick Hodge, singer Rene Marie and the presumably immortal Roy Haynes.
8/26, 6ish this year’s bill at the Charlie Parker Festival at Tompkins Square Park is uncharacteristically weak – although it’s nice to see chanteuse/organist Ernestine Anderson get the headline spot she’s deserved for a long time.
9/7 (yeah, it’s a long way off) is Brazilian World Music Day, check their blog for NYC happenings.
