I am fortunate enough to be friends with a gentleman who transcends the word talent. Hi name is Alex Berger. It is because of him that not only do I get to hear HIS wonderful music BUT I get introduced to his friends who make gorgeous, wonderful, beautiful and generally brilliant music. Some of whom you will hear of in the near future and others who you should go out of your way to listen to.
Alex was kind enough to write a personal snapshot of the growing and trailblazing New York acoustic scene. This is very unique for us seeing as he has a broad and experienced musical ear while being one of it's stalwarts.
Alex:
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From my experience, having played in a number of major cities, I can say with conviction that the scene in New York right now is the strongest. The heart of the scene right now seems to orbit around Rockwood Music Hall on Allen Street. The place is packed every night, and recently opened a second, larger stage next door due to the demand. The format is simple. It's free to get in (there's an optional tip-jar that gets passed round for each artist) and the artists are all good. The word 'Hall' in the title is ironic as the original room is tiny. Packed in like sardines, you can get about 150ish people in there - with another 50 in a small room next door which they broadcast a live feed to. Some of my favourite venues in NYC - which always seem to be buzzing and full of life - are The Living Room, The Poisson Rouge, Cafe Vivaldi, Joe's Pub, Mercury Lounge (although this tends to be more rock-leaning than acoustic), The Highline Ballroom, City Winery and Pete's Candy Store (in Brooklyn).
Obviously it is the people and artists that make the scene what it is and there is a highly collaborative, friendly and welcoming feeling to the singer-songwriter crowd in particular - a genre/area of music where artists can end up feeling quite isolated in other scenes/ cities.
Everyone knows everyone else and it's almost like walking into 'Cheers' in some of these venues. There's a large number of fans who love and support pretty much all the artists in the scene and you can see them at most of the gigs.
There's also a good number of orchestral musicians who play in local orchestras and ensembles who have found work touring and gigging with a lot of these artists.
Main proponents are:
Deena Goodman (who created Rebel Spirit - a monthly charity night of acoustic music, usually introducing a newish act as well as having bigger names collaborate).
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Awesome words. Thanks dude
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