Antibalas will be the house band and twenty artists will perform the songs of Aretha Franklin on Monday, March 6th at Carnegie Hall in the 14th annual tribute concert to benefit music education programs.  Here’s the lineup: Melissa Etheridge, Kenny Loggins, Ann Wilson, Todd Rundgren, Sarah Dash, Glen Hansard, Rhiannon Giddens, Taj Mahal with his daughter Deva Mahal, Living Colour, Allen Stone, Bettye Lavette, Ceelo Green, Naomi Shelton, G. Love, Richard Thompson, Ruthie Foster, Ron Pope, Don Bryant, Sam Moore, and Ledisi.

Tickets are available.

As is the tradition, a live rehearsal show will happen at City Winery the night before.  The concert on Sunday night is sold out but you can add your name to a wait list.

The concert has produced some memorable moments in the past.  David Byrne and Talking Heads, Paul Simon, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who, REM, Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell have all been feted and a handful of the honorees have turned up at the shows.  As Michael Dorf recalled while I was chatting with the Knitting Factory and City Winery founder last week, Elton John and Bernie Taupin enjoyed their songs while sitting together in a box overlooking the stage but did not perform. Bruce Springsteen not only made a cameo but did two songs for an encore after his music was  presented in 2007.  David Byrne showed his characteristic flair by appearing in a white tux leading a marching band down the center aisle before taking the stage to put a punctuation mark on the 2015 show.  Last year’s concert for David Bowie expanded to two nights, with a second show at Radio City Music Hall, following the artist’s death in January.  It was an emotional celebration of his legacy that gave artists and fans alike an opportunity to gather and share the loss while immersed in the music that endures.  

Will Aretha put in an appearance?  Who can tell!  In any case, Carnegie Hall is the place to be next Monday and these music education programs will all benefit: Grammy in the Schools, Young Audiences New York, Church Street School of Music and Art, The Orchestra Now, The Center for Arts Education, Little Kids Rock, D’Addario Foundation, Sonic Arts For All, and Midori & Friends.

Glen Hansard Interview NYC Shows

The man is an astonishing performer.  Absolutely thrilling performance turned in at The Beacon Theatre last Tuesday – December 2nd, 2015 – featuring songs from the new record Didn’t He Ramble not to mention a genius cover of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.  This is the second ‘solo’ album from Hansard aside from the 25 years he has led The Frames and his work as a member of The Swell Season. (His first encore was The Frames’ song Say It To Me Now.  The Swell Season’s Your Mind’s Made Up and Falling Slowly, which he did solo, also made it onto the setlist.)   Didn’t He Ramble was made mostly here in New York, with Pat Dillett engineering, at a studio with no name that no longer exists.  He also did some sessions in Chicago, Dublin, and Paris.

As Glen is such an engaging interview, I’ve included some bonus bits here beyond the 2 minute report that is airing on NY1-TV tomorrow.  The first video below is outtakes from the conversation we had backstage at The Beacon Theatre prior to the show.  It includes remarks about the two songs that I shot: Winning Streak and Just To Be The One.  He also discusses playing King’s Theatre in Brooklyn the previous night, a great story about bringing his parents to New York, and insights on the mystery and craft of songwriting.

The second video below is a snippet from an interview that I did with him two years ago when he spoke about the circumstances of his amazing cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Drive All Night.  That interview was also conducted at The Beacon Theatre at the Holiday Cheer for WFUV show on 12-30-2013 that was billed as Iron and Wine and friends.  As Sam Beam, who is Iron and Wine, guests on Didn’t He Ramble, I asked if they met at that show.  The answer was no; they go back further than that.  However, he revealed that Holiday Cheer ’13 did mark the first time he ever played some of the songs that ended up on the new album.  (This year’s Holiday Cheer show was another brilliant night by the way.)

Just before the last encore of Her Mercy, the band came to the front of the stage and led a sing-a-long of Brendan Behan’s The Auld Triangle…