The San Damiano Mission (85 N 15th Street) has the past few years not only been a church with some cool-as-heck Friars, but also they’ve been the home for a popup BBQ joint, been a community gathering spot, and they’ve hosting concerts of all genres of music in collaboration with The Lot Radio across the street. And if you don’t know The Lot by now, they’re an everyone-feels-welcome outdoor cafe/bar/DJ booth and hang spot.
On Thursday, August 30th, the Lot and The Mission are collaborating to bring talented pianist Hans H. Suh to the Mission for a classical concert. He’ll be playing Schumann – Arabesque; Liszt – Sonata in B minor; and Ravel – La Valse. Tix are $15 and you can get them here.
Some people may have heard of Greenpoint-based musician Andrew Shapiro as that guy who played modern classical piano at a McDonald’s in lower Manhattan every Sunday for nine years. Other people might vaguely recognize his name when hitting “like” on his song Mint Green on Pandora (it’s got several million plays). Still others might know him as the musician who recently collaborated with author and graphic novelist Neil Gaiman, who wrote the lyrics for his song Bash Street Worlds. This summer, Andrew released an ambient classical album and a synth pop album in the same month. Boring, he is not—his songwriting has taken him around the world—and some of those gigs he owes to being down-to-earth and confident enough to play at Mickey D’s. For a solo classical musician and an Oberlin Conservatory-trained pianist, one might assume he’s reserved and bookish; but in person Andrew is quite talkative and energetic with an innate curiosity about the diversity that is New York City. Continue reading →
Spring is a time of renewal. All the little lambs are born in the field >mmmm Easter dinner<. Tulips sprout along the paths in McGolrick. And most importantly, all the good TV shows, like Better Call Saul and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, start up again.
Yes, yes, this is a music post, fine, so for that, I’m also excited about the new places to hear music that have cropped up recently in North Brooklyn.
Weekend Music recommends today the best bets at some of the rookie spots. Continue reading →
For Matt Siffert, a junior semester abroad provided the impetus for choosing the life of a songwriter. He studied music and psychology at the University of Havana in the spring of 2008. With less classwork in Havana than in the Iron City confines of Carnegie Mellon, he finally had the chance to explore his love of music, photography, and poetry, and to develop his confidence as an artist.
“It was one of the most important experiences of my life; I grew up a lot and came to embrace my artistic side,” he said. Back home, he had too often let creativity take a back burner to his academic interests.
Siffert has four works as a solo artist, Morningside (2012), Cold Songs (2012), Rise (2013) and Punch, and has performed nationally and internationally. Listen to Siffert perform his original songs infused with folk, jazz, and classical sensibilities tonight at 10pm at Pete’s Candy Store (709 Lorimer St.).
Spring is a time of renewal. All the little lambs are born in the field >mmmm Easter dinner<. Tulips sprout along the paths in McGolrick. And most importantly, all the good TV shows, like Better Call Saul and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, start up again.
