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Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series
With the Low Anthem, Mary Chapin Carpenter and more
Mary Chapin Carpenter
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Yesterday, Lincoln Center announced performers and dates for their acclaimed American Songbook series, scheduled from January 12-February 20, 2011. Tickets, which can be purchased here, go on-sale November 1 (except for members, in which case they can be purchased now). Below is what’s on the schedule:
Barbara Cook
Wednesday, January 12 at 8:30 p.m.
This silver-voiced soprano forever changed the way we listen to the American songbook with a legendary solo debut at Carnegie Hall in 1975. After Sondheim on Sondheim on Broadway and concerts at the Metropolitan Opera House and with the New York Philharmonic, this icon returns to our intimate stage. Don’t miss the one American Songbook appearance by the woman Financial Times called “the greatest singer in the world.”
The Low Anthem
Thursday, January 13 at 8:30 p.m.
They’re called an “indie folk” band, but that only hints at this Rhode Island–based quartet’s dramatic rendering of the American roots idiom. Their sound is as expressive in its quiet moments as in its loud ones, marked by close harmonies, eclectic instrumentation, and gravelly vocals. They’ll perform from their 2009 breakout album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin along with tracks from their new album, to be released in early 2011.
Lance Horne: First Things Last
With special guests Alan Cumming and Cheyenne Jackson
Friday, January 14 at 8:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m
Horne composes, writes lyrics, sings, plays piano, and produces and music directs original works in collaboration with exciting artists from around the world. Featuring a spectacular array of special guests from Broadway and the West End, Lance Horne brings us First Things Last, his latest exploration of the most engaging sounds from musical theater.
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Saturday, January 15 at 8:30 p.m.
The American folk and country music superstar is celebrating her latest release, The Age of Miracles, a critically acclaimed musical introspection. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s progressive sound and signature voice have permanently fixed her in the heart of the listening public. For her debut on our stage, she will perform an unusually intimate program with a unique band of three instrumentalists.
Fascinatin’ Rhythm: Rob Fisher Celebrates the Gershwins
Wednesday, January 26 at 8:30 p.m.
Rob Fisher is a recognized authority on American music of all kinds, making a particular specialty out of classic musical theater, especially the famous songs of George and Ira Gershwin. His career has brought him before the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Clinton White House, and the Coffee Club Orchestra on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion.
The Songs of My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden
Thursday, January 27 at 8:30 p.m.
This singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist is the indie rock goddess behind the group My Brightest Diamond. Her versatile voice has been featured on recordings by David Byrne, Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists and Matthew Barney, among others. Worden’s singing—which mingles opera, cabaret, chamber music, and rock—will feel very firmly at home in her American Songbook debut.
John Doe: Americana
Friday, January 28 at 8:30 p.m.
John Doe remembers what country music used to sound like. As a founding member of the seminal punk band X and its later offshoot the Knitters, he cleared the path for a revolution in that genre. His solo career launched in 1990 with the dusty road poetry of Meet John Doe, and since then John has produced seven more stunning roots rock albums imbued with an intoxicating, understated empathy.
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Wednesday, February 2 at 8:30 p.m.
In 2005, the three young musicians of the Carolina Chocolate Drops set out to preserve the old-time sounds of North Carolina’s Piedmont region. They’ve honed that tradition and coaxed it into the 21st century, bringing the sound of sizzling nights on the back porch into a new world of music clubs and dance halls.
Bebel Gilberto
Thursday, February 3 at 8:30 p.m.
The crown princess of bossa nova, daughter of luminaries João Gilberto and Miúcha, this Grammy-nominated popular singer has been performing since her childhood in Rio de Janeiro. Admired for her adventurous and lively blends of Brazilian, European, and electronic pop styles, Gilberto continues to explore new musical dimensions in her new release All In One, celebrating the warmth and sweetness of love.
Joan Osborne: Love and Hate—A Song Cycle
Friday, February 4 at 8:30 p.m.
Her soulful voice and inspirational writing have earned this Kentucky-born rock artist eight Grammys nominations and several platinum records. She is the soul of Love and Hate, an emotionally charged song cycle she wrote and produced with Jack Petruzzelli that combines music, dance, and film in a stunning exploration of the human heart.
Anika Noni Rose
Saturday, February 5 at 8:30 p.m., 10:30 p.m.
The star of film and Broadway returns to Lincoln Center for a highly anticipated concert debut on the American Songbook stage. After her widely acclaimed start on Broadway, Anika Noni Rose shot to worldwide fame for her popular roles on screen, including in Dreamgirls and Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, and on stage, including in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Caroline, or Change, for which she received a Tony Award.
Stephanie Blythe: We’ll Meet Again—The Songs of Kate Smith
Wednesday, February 16, 8:30 p.m.
Stephanie Blythe’s commanding, sumptuous mezzo-soprano has captivated audiences at the world’s great opera houses. In her American Songbook debut, Blythe pays a personal tribute to the songs made famous by Kate Smith, the popular music icon whose stirring voice helped the country through the Depression and World War II.
Alexi Murdoch
Thursday, February 17 at 8:30 p.m.
This masterful folk- and rock-influenced songwriter is an unlikely star, but a star he most definitely is. In the early 2000s, this Scottish-born musician began receiving regular airplay on KCRW in Los Angeles, and quickly developed a rabid following online. Murdoch’s latest effort was a soundtrack for 2009’s Away We Go. He hasn’t released a proper album since 2006 or toured since 2009—don’t miss this intimate and rare public performance which coincides with the release of his new album, Towards the Sun.
Raúl Esparza
Friday, February 18 at 8:30, 10:30 p.m.
Raúl Esparza comes to the American Songbook stage to celebrate and share the Cuban music he grew up with in his Florida childhood. In 2001, when the singer was first making waves on New York stages, The New York Times wrote that “a Broadway star is born.” Since then, this multidimensional Cuban-American actor and performer has been nominated for four Tony Awards and has taken home Drama Desk and Obie awards.
Kate Baldwin
Saturday, February 19 at 8:30 p.m.
The actress and glorious soprano Kate Baldwin has been collecting award nominations for her role in Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow. Her new album Let’s See What Happens is a swinging and romantic solo debut from one of Broadway’s newest and brightest stars.
Herb Alpert and Lani Hall
Sunday, February 20 at 6:30 p.m.
“You hear three notes and you know it’s Herb Alpert,” Miles Davis once said. Alpert is a living legend, the trumpet-playing icon whose name immediately evokes the songs he recorded with the Tijuana Brass or as a solo artist, yielding five number one hits, eight Grammy Awards, and almost 30 platinum and gold albums. With his wife, the incredible singer Lani Hall, Herb Alpert’s career is still going strong—the duo’s first joint project, a heartfelt collection of standards called Anything Goes, was released as an album to broad acclaim in 2009.