Nathaniel Rateliff, Valerie June, Alejandro Escovedo, Hayes Carll, Jordan Davis, Jonas Friddle, Billy Prine Added To Souvenirs: 80 Years of John Prine Tribute Concert at The Chicago Theatre, October 8

October 10th, 2026 marks the 80th birthday of John Prine, one of America’s most beloved songwriters and a model advocate for thoughtfulness, generosity, loyalty and community. In honor of Prine's enduring legacy, The Prine Family and The Hello In There Foundation have announced a new slate of events, collaborations and tributes across Prine's beloved hometown of Chicago, where he began his journey to becoming "America's Poet Laureate" (Variety). 

The celebrations include multiple screenings of the concert documentary How Lucky Can One Man Get (filmed in 2010 at Prine's hometown high school gym), a panel discussion of Prine's contribution to the Chicago folk scene at the Chicago History Museum, the unveiling of a mural of Prine by the artist Jon Langford followed by an all-day celebration at the Old Town School of Folk Music, and a celebration of Prine's life in the village of Maywood, Illinois, where he grew up and attended high school. A full schedule of newly announced events and celebrations can be found below, with additional events to be announced.

The Prine Family and The Hello In There Foundation have also revealed seven new additions to the lineup for the recently announced Souvenirs: 80 Years of John Prine, a concert celebration of Prine's life and legacy taking place on October 8 at The Chicago Theatre. The sold-out show will feature a community of artists performing their favorite Prine songs, paying tribute to an immortal body of work that has inspired, comforted and connected generations. 

Newly announced performers Nathaniel Rateliff, Valerie June, Alejandro Escovedo, Hayes Carll, Jordan Davis, Jonas Friddle and John's brother Billy Prine join host and performer John C. Reilly, Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff, Amos Lee, Andrew Sa, Briscoe, Jon Langford, Josh Ritter, Joy Oladokun, Kathleen Edwards, Margo Price, Noeline Hofmann, Ratboys, Shemekia Copeland, Steve Earle, Sullivan Sisters, and The Cactus Blossoms for an evening of song and celebration. All proceeds to the event will benefit The Hello In There Foundation, which has provided $1.4 million in community grants to more than 100 charitable organizations since its establishment in 2021. 

Wednesday, October 7 - Celebratory Kick Off Event

Venue and timing to be announced in August.

Wednesday, October 7 - How Lucky Can One Man Get Film Screening

Venue: Gene Siskel Film Center

Time: 8:15PM

Description: The Prine Family will present a special screening of How Lucky Can One Man Get, a concert documentary directed by Jim Shea that features previously unreleased footage from John Prine's May 2010 benefit concert at his hometown high school, along with reminiscences and storytelling about his time growing up in Maywood, Illinois. Tickets will be on-sale on September 7, 2026. 

Thursday, October 8 - Souvenirs: 80 Years of John Prine Tribute Concert

Venue: Chicago Theatre

Time: 7:30PM

Description: Commemorating John Prine's life and legacy, this concert will pay tribute to an immortal body of work that has inspired, comforted and connected generations. Hosted by John C. Reilly, with proceeds benefiting The Hello in There Foundation's ongoing grantmaking in John Prine's memory, the night will feature performances from a community of artists playing their favorite Prine songs, all backed by John's longtime band.

Friday, October 9 - "John Prine's Chicago" Panel Discussion

Venue: Chicago History Museum

Time: 1PM

Description: John Prine was born in 1946 in Maywood, a blue collar suburb of Chicago. Twenty-four years later he was writing songs and performing. Where did those songs come from? How did Chicago during that time period impact the character of his music? A conversation will look at the social upheaval in Chicago at the time and, more specifically, the streets, schools, teachers, events, and community of songwriters he knew so intimately and that would both shape his perspective and nurture his songwriting throughout his life.

Ticket Link: HERE

Friday, October 9 - How Lucky Can One Man Get Film Screening

Venue: Gene Siskel Film Center

Time: 6PM and 8:30PM

Description: The Prine Family will present a special screening of How Lucky Can One Man Get, a concert documentary directed by Jim Shea that features previously unreleased footage from John Prine's May 2010 benefit concert at his hometown high school, along with reminiscences and storytelling about his time growing up in Maywood, Illinois. Tickets will be on-sale on September 7, 2026. Producers Fiona Whelan Prine and John Anderson will appear for an in-person Q&A following the 6 PM screening.

Saturday, October 10 - John Prine Mural Dedication & Local Music Revue

Venue: Old Town School of Folk Music

Time: All Day

Description: Artist Jon Langford will unveil a mural honoring John Prine at the Old Town School, the institution central to John's early development and Chicago's folk music community. The dedication will be followed by a day of celebrations for John, featuring Chicago artists and songwriters, grounding the celebration in the scene that shaped John's voice. A full schedule of events can be found below.

10:30 am - The Magic of the Sublime: John Prine's Songwriting - Maurer Hall

Join Old Town School of Folk Music songwriting faculty to peek under the hood of John Prine's songwriting. Teachers will break down some of John's songs to explore insights into John's lyrical style, talk about what makes his songs work so well, and even provide burgeoning songwriters with some take-aways to apply to their own craft. While John's songs seem so natural and have an effortless quality, their timeless appeal comes from the elegance of the craftsmanship and artistry behind the songwriting. 

12:00 pm - John Prine Mural Dedication - Daily Bar and Grill Patio

Through support from The Hello in There Foundation and the Illinois Art Council, the Old Town School commissioned artist and musician, Jon Langford to create a work of John Prine, sitting with his guitar, that was recently installed in mural form on the north side of the Old Town School's West building. 

1:00 pm - Enjoy John's favorite Chicago cuisine - Daily Bar and Grill Patio

Enjoy some of John's Chicago favorites including Italian Beef and Hot Dogs provided by Nicky V's. Stop by the Old Town School cafe and purchase a special brew crafted by Hop Butcher for the World in honor of John's 80th birthday.  

2:30 pm - Pretty Good, Not Bad John Prine Sing-a-long - Maurer Hall

Fans are invited to gather in Maurer Hall for an afternoon of sharing John's music together led by Old Town School teachers and Chicago musicians. 

6:00 pm - Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You: The Old Town School and Chicago's Musical Tribute to John Prine

Fans can continue to soak in the joy and genius of John's music just a 4-minute walk from the Old Town School at the American Legion, Tattler Post 973, located at the corner of Montrose and Western Ave. The day will end with a musical tribute to John where Old Town School and Chicago musicians are invited to celebrate through song, backed by the Hoyle Brothers. 

Ticket Links: HERE

Sunday, October 11 - Maywood, IL Town-Wide John Prine Celebration

Venue: Village of Maywood

Time 10 AM

Description: Maywood, Illinois will host a morning of celebration honoring John Prine in the village where he grew up, to share the streets and neighborhood that shaped his earliest songs. The day will include trolley tours through Maywood's Prine landmarks, paired with self-guided walking tours for those who want to wander at their own pace. A community volunteer event will follow, offering visitors a chance to give back to the village that raised him. 

Ticket Link: HERE

PRE-ORDER NOW

Merriweather 6/30/85 Will Be Available The Same Day From Rhino On 3CDs And 4 LPs

PRE-ORDER NOW

"Sugar Magnolia (Live at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 6/30/85)" Available Digitally Today

LISTEN HERE

LOS ANGELES – Members of the Grateful Dead begrudgingly acknowledged the band's 20th anniversary during a rare press conference at the Greek Theatre on June 14, 1985. Backstage, the media focused on the past, even as the band was selling out shows across the country. Onstage, the band delivered a powerful reminder that it was no nostalgia act, opening a high-octane anniversary tour full of spellbinding moments that fans still talk about more than 40 years later.

Arriving September 18, Summer Magic 1985 is a new 20CD boxed set featuring seven previously unreleased concerts from the "Twenty Years So Far" Tour. Limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies, the collection will be available exclusively from Dead.net. Pre-Order HERE. ALAC and High Res FLAC downloads will be released the same day. 

The set includes all three official Grateful Dead 20th anniversary shows at the Greek (6/14-6/16/85); Saratoga Performing Arts Center (6/27/85); Hershey Park Stadium (6/28/85); and Merriweather 6/30/85. All the performances were recorded by the band’s longtime sound engineer Dan Healy and mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser at Airshow Mastering.

Celebrating the magical and spiritual fusion of communal energy, musical improvisation, and psychedelic style, this high concept boxed set visually captures the transformative "concert alchemy" of the Grateful Dead's summer 1985 tour. Multidisciplinary artist Marcos Alvarado, known for incorporating alchemical symbolism in his surreal figurative drawings, guides us through an allegorical journey, introducing an array of new characters through striking original artwork that draws inspiration from classical illuminations. The 96-page book features new essays by Nicholas G. Meriwether and David Lemieux, photos and more original artwork from Alvarado. Clever design features in this boxed set and its bonus items add a sense of continued transformation and discovery that honors the Grateful Dead's enduring legacy.

Grateful Dead Legacy Manager and Archivist Dave Lemieux became a fan of the 1985 summer tour as a teenager after trading for a copy of the second set from June 15 at the Greek. "I had a few tapes by this time from 1983 and 1984, but this 1985 Grateful Dead was something entirely different, a freshness that sounded like a band now celebrating 20 years (!), but still just getting started. From that moment on, I was on a mission to collect as much 1985 Dead as possible."

Also on September 18, Rhino will release 3CD and 4LP versions of the legendary Merriweather 6/30/85 concert from the set. Pre-Order HERE.

Lemieux says the show's biggest moment is a version of "Shakedown Street" that's "widely considered one of the greatest single performances of any song by the Grateful Dead, up there with the 'Dew' from Europe '72, 'Viola Lee Blues' from Harpur College, and 'Eyes Of The World' from 3/29/90. Yes, it's that good."

The anniversary tour began in Berkeley, CA at the Greek Theatre (June 14-16, 1985), one of the band's favorite venues since its debut there on October 1, 1967, a day before the police famously raided their home at 710 Ashbury Street. Opening night, the band surprised with the debut of Eric Clapton's "Keep On Growing" with Phil Lesh and Brent Mydland sharing vocals. The following night they opened with "Touch Of Grey," a song whose success two years later would make it impossible for the band to return to the Greek after 1989. They saved a special bust-out for the final night, playing "Cryptical Envelopment" for the first time in 13 years. Jerry Garcia's eerie vocals and funhouse guitar once again provided a bookend around Bob Weir's thundering anthem, "The Other One." 

Moving East to Saratoga Springs, NY and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (June 27, 1985), the band faced a dangerously over-capacity crowd where fans hanging from the balcony forced an early-show warning from the stage. As cooler heads prevailed, the crowd was rewarded with a rare first-set appearance of "Crazy Fingers" that tapered gently into the jam from "Supplication," Weir's 1976 gem with Kingfish. The second set closed with "Turn On Your Lovelight," originally a showcase for Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who urged members of Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions to go electric in 1965 and was a member of the Grateful Dead until his death in 1973.

The momentum carried into Hershey, PA and Hershey Park Stadium (June 28, 1985) for a challenging, rain-soaked performance where Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart drove a powerful and sweeping "Terrapin Station" to its crashing climax before launching into "Drums" and "Space." Sound engineer Dan Healy joined in, using new electronic gear to manipulate the PA and shape a three-dimensional soundscape in the venue. A short drive away, the band took over Merriweather Post Pavilion (June 30–July 1, 1985), an outdoor amphitheater in Columbia, MD originally designed by Frank Gehry for the National Symphony Orchestra. After a showstopping "Shakedown Street" on the first night, the band closed the second night with a double encore, pairing the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" and Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"—the perfect grace note for a show that many raved was the best of the tour.

Lemieux adds, "Certain things are indicative of the Grateful Dead being 'on,' and a rare double encore always means they're having a blast and don't want the show to end. This boxed set's seven gigs feature THREE double encores, and it's those 'little things' that reveal a band still having more fun than a frog in a glass of milk."

In the Summer Magic 1985 liner notes, Nicholas G. Meriwether (Executive Director, Grateful Dead Studies Association) writes: "The seven shows this box presents... offer a snapshot of the artistic process that was the Grateful Dead, making a powerful statement of the band's project as they marked their 20th anniversary. ...this box not only lets us revisit what these shows sounded like at a peak of the band's PA prowess, it lets us finally hear what these shows meant, the alchemy of time and memory finally revealing the gold of those concerts."

Ahead of the full set, "Sugar Magnolia (Live at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 6/30/85)" is available digitally today. Listen Now.

Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD (6/30/85)

4LP Track Listing

Side A

“Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo”>

“C.C. Rider”>

“Brown-Eyed Women”

Side B

“Mama Tried”>

“Mexicali Blues”

“Keep On Growing”

Side C

“Big Railroad Blues”

“Looks Like Rain”>

“Don't Ease Me In”

Side D

“Shakedown Street”>

“Samson And Delilah”

Side E

“Gimme Some Lovin'”>

“He's Gone”>

“Cryptical Envelopment”

Side F

“Drums”

“Space”>

Side G

“The Other One”>

“Stella Blue”>

Side H

“Around And Around”

“Sugar Magnolia”

“U.S. Blues”

For more information, please contact teamrhino@shorefire.com at Shore Fire Media,

718-522-7171

Tickets Available Now

July 15, 2026 — Following sold-out performances across India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and beyond, internationally acclaimed mentalist Suhani Shah returns to New York with a limited engagement of her acclaimed live show, Spellbound, at SoHo Playhouse from August 19 through September 6. Purchase tickets at SoHoPlayhouse.com or directly at https://shorturl.at/mJx4E.

After more than 5,000 performances across 20 countries, Shah has spent over two decades redefining modern mentalism. In 2025, she became the first Indian recipient of the FISM (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques) Award for Best Magic Creator, the world's highest honor in magic. Today, she is one of the world's most-followed mentalists with more than 10 million followers across social media, including 4.8 million YouTube subscribers, 2.5 million Instagram followers, and over 1.4 billion YouTube views.

Spellbound is her most celebrated show and it is unlike anything you have seen before. Warm, sharp, and wickedly funny, Shah walks on stage and the room is already hers. Part comedy show, part collective gasp, she weaves her own life story into feats of mentalism that grow more extraordinary as the evening unfolds. Highly interactive and impossible to predict, the show invites you to choose to participate or simply watch — either way, you will not be a passive observer for long. You will laugh more than you expect and gasp more than you thought possible — and by the end, the whole room leaves feeling like the show was as much about them as it was about her.

"I've been fortunate to have performed across the world, and bringing Spellbound to New York is incredibly exciting," says Shah. "The audience becomes the show. My goal isn't simply to amaze people. It's to humour them and leave them questioning what they thought they knew about themselves, their minds, and human behavior."

The critics have taken notice. The Guardian calls her “infectiously perky.” World Magic Review awarded her five stars and called the show “nothing short of flawless.” The Wee Review declared her “a true master of her craft.”. She has performed for global organizations including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Infosys, and Boston Consulting Group and has done multiple sold out runs at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival.   

Following its New York engagement, Spellbound will continue its international run, introducing new audiences to Shah's distinctive blend of psychology, storytelling, and theatrical illusion.

FOLLOW SUHANI SHAH

Website | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok  

ABOUT SUHANI SHAH

Suhani Shah is one of the world's most-followed mentalists, with over 4 million YouTube subscribers and 2.5 million Instagram followers. Born in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India, she took to the stage at just seven years old and has spent over two decades mastering the art of magic and mentalism and has performed more than 5,000 live shows across the world. Combining psychology, human behavior, funny moments, audience participation, and situational comedy with mind-bending illusions, Suhani creates an unforgettable interactive experience that leaves audiences questioning what is real. A FISM Award-winning magic creator, she is renowned for pushing the boundaries of modern mentalism, captivating audiences through sold-out theatre tours, corporate events, and digital content alike.

For more information, contact Shore Fire Media: SuhaniShahPR@shorefire.com

Artist and local presales begin Thursday, July 16th at 10 AM local time

General on sale begins Friday, July 17th at 10 AM local time 

New song, “Lowlife,” out now

LISTEN HERE 

July 15, 2026 - Today, Talkhouse – the Peabody award-winning media company, production studio and audio-visual podcast network that's home to leading titles in the worlds of music, food, politics and beyond – celebrates the relaunch of viral sensation A View From A Bridge. 

One of Instagram's most-watched storytelling platforms, with 660k+ followers and tens of millions of views, A View From A Bridge captures candid conversations with everyday passersby, renowned musicians, actors, activists and artists, all standing on a bridge while holding the series' iconic red telephone. Premiering today, the second season of the show's podcast delivers enlightening confessionals from some of the most notable names in contemporary culture, welcoming David Byrne, Cynthia Erivo, Cameron Winter, SubwayTakes' Kareem Rahma, Riz Ahmed, Richard Gadd, Aurora and many more, while exploring topics such as mental health, UFOs, relationships, communication, storytelling, love, prison, mourning, death, lies, truth, old age, forgiveness, sex, romance, virtual reality and beyond. 

Having joined Talkhouse's podcast network last fall, this season marks the podcast's first full release under the Talkhouse umbrella, augmenting the network's preeminent stable of prestige podcasts featuring How Long Gone, Blank Check with Griffin & David, Life of the Record, Solicited Advice with Alison Roman and Nobody's Ever Asked Me That, films including Björk: Cornucopia and more. 

Available now on all podcast platforms, A View From A Bridge's season two premiere features David Byrne, with new episodes arriving weekly on Wednesdays:

LISTEN HERE

"I'm super excited for A View From A Bridge to be coming out as a podcast as not many people know that there is SO much more to the 3 minute videos we release," says A View From A Bridge host Joe Bloom. "Each one of these videos is the result of a conversation which has been anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour, and so there is so much more to uncover! The overall feeling of the podcast is much more conversational than in the videos, allowing the listener to really feel as though it's them on the other end of the line. I'm excited to be able to offer an even more intimate experience with these stories and the people sharing them. This podcast is personal and familiar, all while being thousands of miles away, recorded somewhere on a Bridge! No studio, just a person on the phone on a bridge."

"Joe has created something incredibly intimate that, paradoxically, feels universal," adds Laura Mayer, Head of Podcasts at Talkhouse. "A View From a Bridge captures the real human experience. It's a popular, powerful, counterpoint of what fills so much of our feeds."

Hosted by producer and artist Joe Bloom, A View From A Bridge offers a poetic glimpse into the guest's life, story or opinion – something only they share with the world – presented in a stirring stream of consciousness. Highlights from the podcast's first season include a four-part discussion of the complexities of parenthood, interviews with notable musicians like Perfume Genius, Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos and Sleaford Mods' Jason Williamson, and a selection of stories from people who left home for safety, identity, or self-discovery (featuring Syrian activist and filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab), with an upcoming feature documentary and more to be announced soon. 

Coinciding with its recent success of SubwayTakes Uncut, How Long Gone and digital comedy series How Long Gone Today, 2026 Peabody Award-winner Fela Kuti: Fear No Man and more, Talkhouse's continued collaboration with A View From A Bridge furthers its emphasis on video production, best-in-class audio narratives, and always-on conversation shows.

To experience more of Talkhouse's array of podcasts (Talkhouse Podcast Network), TV & Film productions (Talkhouse Studio) and daily pieces written by artists (Talkhouse.com), visit its new website HERE.  

About Talkhouse

Talkhouse is a Peabody and Webby Award-winning first-person media company, podcast network, and outlet for musicians, actors, filmmakers, and others in their respective fields. Talkhouse's podcast series include SubwayTakes, How Long Gone, Blank Check, Alison Roman's Solicited Advice, Life of the Record, Craig Finn's That's How I Remember It, Santigold's Noble Champions, Björk: Sonic Symbolism – which GQ praises as "a road map to the creative life," delivering what The New Yorker calls "a rare chance to listen in as one of the most mysterious and mystical artists working today explains herself" – as well as the new Peabody-winning Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, which critics are raving about and represents Jad Abumrad's triumphant return to audio. Björk's Cornucopia represents Talkhouse's first foray into producing TV/film. Other projects are currently in development and production.

About A View From A Bridge

A View From A Bridge is an audio-first storytelling podcast featuring deeply moving and intimate conversations. Each episode is thematically curated and brings together four to five different voices and views recorded outdoors on bridges across the world. Known to millions on Instagram for its one-to-three-minute films with the project's iconic red telephone, the podcast dives deeper into human stories. From famous musicians to strangers passing by, every guest offers their view on life, love, loss, and everything in between.

About Joe Bloom

Joe Bloom is a London-born artist and filmmaker whose practice spans painting, film, and storytelling. A graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, where he studied Painting, Bloom has exhibited work internationally while simultaneously building a body of film projects, including a well-received short documentary for BBC3. Bloom's current projects include several new documentaries as well as A View From A Bridge podcast. At the heart of his practice is the belief that stories should not dictate how audiences think or feel, but instead provide the space and ingredients for reflection, empathy, and understanding. Whether on canvas, screen, or through sound, Bloom's work is dedicated to creating experiences that encourage openness and deeper connection.

For more information, please contact Matt Hanks, Greg Jakubik or Henry Thomas at

Shore Fire Media, 718-522-7171

July 15, 2026 – Jordan Rakei today announces his forthcoming seventh album, A Safe Place To Be Wild, due for release on October 30 via Fontana. Alongside the announcement, he shares the first single, “Enemies.” The news is accompanied by details of his biggest-ever UK and European headline tour, culminating in his largest show to date at London’s 10,000-capacity Alexandra Palace on April 24, 2027. Additional international dates will be announced in the coming weeks. 

A Safe Place To Be Wild, the seventh album from Rakei, arrives after more than a decade of reshaping the contours of soul, jazz and alternative R&B. His most instinctive and fearless work to date, it is an intimate, surreal and emotionally direct record about self-acceptance, vulnerability and creative freedom. Stripping everything back to raw feeling, Rakei lets go of expectation and steps into a more unguarded space, embracing the stranger, freer parts of himself with a sense of play, honesty and instinct. 

The 14 songs on A Safe Place To Be Wild were mostly created while Rakei was Abbey Road’s first-ever Artist in Residence. Having access to one of the world’s most famous studios, Rakei spent multiple days a week for nearly a year working on songs. No rules, no self-imposed creative parameters - he freed himself to follow whatever creative impulse struck him. He found inspiration in creatively courageous artists like David Byrne, Beck, St. Vincent, Grace Jones, Radiohead and Funkadelic. Some songs came from characters that Rakei imagined from his subconscious, method-acting how they would handle certain situations. Friends would join him in the studio to make hard-edged punk one day, techno the next. Rakei would bring the demos back and forth to his home studio in a small village outside of London, refining them along the way. The result is a collection of music with thrilling surprises at every turn.   

Out today is the brand-new single, “Enemies.” Embodying a ’70s-tinged psych-soul sound, “Enemies” carries a laid-back, rootsy warmth and a hazy, summer-tinged feel, the track captures the ambition and self-assured spirit of the album. Rakei says: "'Enemies' has a playful, almost arrogant energy to it, not from bitterness, but from self-confidence. It's an ownership song about not taking any more crap, rising above past dynamics, and turning all of that into positive energy. It's dedicated to all the enemies of my past, haha”. Listen here

A Safe Place To Be Wild is available in multiple formats, including a CD digipack, exclusive indie red vinyl, an opaque signed vinyl edition, and standard black vinyl.Pre-order A Safe Place To Be Wild here.

Over the past 10 years, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Rakei has built a loyal global fanbase around his distinctive, ever-evolving musical voice. Across seven albums he has moved fluidly between neo-soul warmth, jazz-inflected improvisation, melodic pop songwriting, sweeping orchestral arrangements and deeply narrative-driven composition. He has collaborated with artists including Loyle Carner, Tom Misch and Bonobo, and earned critical acclaim including a nomination for Best Album at the 2025 Ivor Novello Awards for his sixth record The Loop, which entered the Top 40 in the UK, alongside nominations for an AIR Award and the Australian Music Prize. Rakei has also been featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk, hosted a BBC Proms in 2024 and performed on Later…with Jools Holland. Onstage, his expansive and meticulously crafted live shows have taken him from Glastonbury to two sold-out nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall. In early 2026 he released an EP of collaborations with Tom McFarland of Jungle, FKJ, Jalen Ngonda, Nubya Garcia and Ezra Collective’s Femi Koleoso. 

A Safe Place To Be Wild - Track Listing:

1. Eden

2. Promise

3. Would Ya Mind

4. Enemies

5. Grace

6. Paradise

7. Games

8. From The Outside

9. Mirror

10. Go

11. I'm Out

12. If I

13. Pub

14. Whispers In The Wind

A SAFE PLACE TO BE WILD TOUR 2027

EUROPE

Mar 27 – Vasateatern, Stockholm

 Mar 28 – Vega Main Hall, Copenhagen

 Mar 29 – Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg

 Mar 31 – Huxleys, Berlin

 Apr 1 – Roxy, Prague

 Apr 2 – Palladium, Warsaw

 Apr 4 – Arena, Vienna

 Apr 6 – Kaufleuten, Zurich

 Apr 7 – Magazzini Generali, Milan

 Apr 9 – La Rayonne, Lyon

 Apr 10 – Bataclan, Paris

 Apr 11 – De Roma, Antwerp

 Apr 13 – Gashouder, Amsterdam

 Apr 14 – Stadthalle, Cologne

UK

Apr 16 – Bristol Beacon, Bristol

Apr 17 – Albert Hall, Manchester

Apr 24 – Alexandra Palace, London



Follow Jordan Rakei:

Instagram | TikTok | YouTube | Facebook 

Wednesday, July 15, 2026 (New York, NY) — Today, Kaufman Music Center unveils its 2026-27 season at Merkin Hall. The new season features extraordinary artists, bold ideas, world premieres and unforgettable moments where every performance becomes more than a concert—it becomes something to experience. Audiences can look forward to an inspiring blend of celebrated soloists, trailblazing ensembles, and visionary curators while experiencing music as connection, discovery and renewal. 

See season highlights & a full list of shows below. For tickets, visit: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/ 

Additionally, today, Kaufman Music Center announces the American Composers Orchestra (ACO) as its 2026–27 Artists-in-Residence.

As 2026-27 Kaufman Music Center Artists-in-Residence, the ACO will be on stage and in the classroom, leading innovative learning experiences with Kaufman Music Center students and premiering new works by renowned professional composers as well as music by students and community members. 

They’ll work with musicians of all ages from Special Music School and Lucy Moses school on projects including improvisation and composition workshops and a series of masterclasses as well as chamber music and string orchestra coaching with composers/instrumentalists Curtis Stewart, Josh Henderson and Matthew Jamal, culminating in numerous world premieres throughout the season in Merkin Hall.

Leadership support for American Composers Orchestra’s Artist Residency is provided by The Roz Lasker Artist Mentorship Fund.

2026-27 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH, 2026: Orli Shaham: In Clara’s Hands

The pianist Orli Shaham, hailed for her grace, subtlety and brilliance, performs the full range of music by Clara Schumann. Schumann was a rock star pianist of her day who set new standards for virtuosity and the modern piano recital while building her husband’s reputation, raising eight children and composing significant works of her own. Shaham will be joined by musicologist Sarah Fritz, author of a new book on Clara Schumann, Madame Composer. Also, the Juilliard String Quartet joins Shaham for Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet, a work Clara championed throughout her life. Join us for an evening celebrating the great musician’s remarkable life, legacy and music. 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH, 2026: The Anthology of Art Song by Black Composers

In this thrilling collaboration with the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, Grammy-nominated baritone Joshua Conyers, acclaimed soprano Kiera Duffy and BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Nicole Cabell—all Eastman faculty—lead Eastman students in a live performance of In Plain Sight: The Black Anthology. This rarely-performed repertoire from the Anthology of Art Songs by Black Composers was recorded and produced at URochester earlier this year. In Plain Sight brings together a rich body of art songs for voice and piano by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, George Walker and many others, in a powerful celebration of Afro-American musical tradition and its impact.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH, 2026: Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht & Elisabeth Hauptmann’s “Happy End”

The NYC premiere of a new English version of the sharp, jazz-infused 1929 musical satire by Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht and Elisabeth Hauptmann blazes with wit, grit and dark glamour. A follow-up to the trio’s success with The Threepenny Opera, Happy End is a satire of big business and big religion set in a smoky speakeasy where religion and capitalism collide. The unforgettable score includes “Bilbao Song,” “Mandalay Song” and “Surabaya Johnny.”

Directed by Mary Birnbaum, this compact new English adaptation by Kelley Rourke is music directed by Rob Ainsley and features Ana Karneža, a Juilliard drama graduate and 2024 winner of the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition, and instrumentalists from the Manhattan School of Music’s Jazz program. 

Co-presented with Glimmerglass Opera & Opera Saratoga

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2026: “Stand Up, Sit Down” The Westerlies Play Bill Frisell Album Release Show

The Grammy-nominated brass quartet known for playing with the precision of a string quartet and the audacity of a rock band performs new arrangements of works by the celebrated jazz guitarist and composer Bill Frisell from their forthcoming album, Stand Up, Sit Down: The Music of Bill Frisell, Vol. 2. The second volume in The Westerlies’s career-spanning retrospective of Frisell’s compositions sheds new light on old songs while firmly planting Frisell in the canon of American Concert Music in the lineage of Ives, Copland and Ellington. “An arty quartet…mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk” (The New York Times), The Westerlies have upended presumptions of the brass tradition to create music that is “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music).

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH, 2026: Chloe Flower 

Pianist, composer, and multi-hyphenate star Chloe Flower brings her signature “popsical” approach to bridging pop and classical music to an immersive interdisciplinary experience featuring her original works, dance and cinematic video. Blending classical elegance with contemporary energy, Flowers redefines the modern piano performance through her boundary-pushing artistry, captivating audiences worldwide. An official Steinway Artist, Chloe creates a powerful fusion of music, movement and visual storytelling. Featuring students from the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University and Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School. Co-presented with the John J. Cali School of Music

THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH, 2026: Lorelei Ensemble: WILD

Featuring four world premieres commissioned by Lorelei, this nonconformist and charged program claims a limitless space for the incomparable voices of Lorelei Ensemble and five extraordinary female composers whose music bucks convention and disregards the traditional boundaries of genre: Katherine Balch, Angélica Negrón, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Tina Tallon and Pamela Z. Merging magical realism and fairytales with the provocative prose of Virginia Woolf, layering soundtracks of natural migration and city traffic, and testing the limitations of modern technology, WILD is about controlled borders and vast landscapes, freedom and constraint, clarity and distortion, and the ways we resist and embrace wildness in ourselves and in the world around us.

FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH, 2026: Terence Blanchard 

“Blanchard’s body of work is one of the broadest and most imposing of any living jazz musician,” raves The New York Times. A true “Renaissance man,” Terence Blanchard stands tall as one of jazz’s most-esteemed trumpeters and defies expectations by creating a spectrum of artistic pursuits. He brings his boundary-breaking and genre-defying artistry to Kaufman Music Center for a unique one-night-only performance including a unique collaboration with student musicians from the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University and Kaufman Music Center.

Co-presented with the John J. Cali School of Music

MONDAY, APRIL 12TH, 2026: An Evening of Music & Comedy with Isabel Hagen, Charles Yang & Peter Dugan

The dynamic trio returns to Merkin Hall with an all-new, high-energy evening of chamber music and comedy. Comedian, filmmaker and Juilliard-trained violist Isabel Hagen, a Tonight Show veteran whose stand-up “blends existential humor and raunchy anecdotes with Bach and Mozart” (Deadline), is joined by Grammy-winning violinist Charles Yang, an adventurous composer, arranger and songwriter who “plays classical violin with the charisma of a rock star” (The Boston Globe), and acclaimed pianist and From the Toppodcast host Peter Dugan – plus surprise special guests TBA. Recommended for audiences 18+

FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2026: Adam Tendler: Béla Bartók – Mikrokosmos [Complete]

Grammy-nominated pianist Adam Tendler performs Béla Bartók’s complete Mikrokosmosin a landmark theatrical recital led by critically-acclaimed director Mary Birnbaum. A comprehensive piano method and audacious survey of a composer's own evolution, Mikrokosmos begins with a single five-finger scale and leads — through 153 movements — to the vibrant language of Bartók's mature voice. A “daring pianist” praised for his “adventurousness and muscular skill” (The New York Times), Adam Tendler has been called “the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene” (Minnesota Star Tribune), “relentlessly adventurous” (The Washington Post), a “remarkable and insightful musician” (Los Angeles Times) and an “intrepid... maverick pianist” (The New Yorker). This program will be the first time Tendler performs Mikrokosmos in its complete form, and the world premiere of this theatrical realization by Mary Birnbaum.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2026: A Night with the Orchestra: Isabel Hagen & Manhattan School of Music Camerata Nova

Comedian, filmmaker and Juilliard-trained violist Isabel Hagen blends music and comedy in hysterical, high-energy evenings of stand-up that “blends existential humor and raunchy anecdotes with Bach and Mozart” (Deadline). A veteran of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and a New Face of Comedy at the Just for Laughs festival in Montréal, Hagen will, for the first time, perform her hybrid show with an orchestra, MSM Camerata Nova (a prominent student performing ensemble at the Manhattan School of Music) – and surprise special guests TBA. Recommended for audiences 18+

THURSDAY, MAY 6TH, 2026: Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn & Concora

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, hailed as “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation” (The New York Times) and “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity” (The Washington Post), joins her string ensemble Baroklyn and Concora: Connecticut Choral Artists for an evening of cantatas by J.S. Bach. Among the greatest achievements of Baroque music, the cantatas combine expressive vocal writing, rich orchestration and profound spiritual and emotional depth.

TUESDAY, MAY 18TH, 2026: CoLAB: Experiments in Community – American Composers Orchestra 

The leading champion of new orchestral music, ACO brings works by today’s most innovative and visionary composers to the concert stage. The program includes world premieres by Joshua Henderson and Matthew Jamal, plus commissions from composers across the Kaufman Music Center community performed in the lobby spaces before and after the concert by the Special Music School High School String Orchestra conducted by David Bloom. ACO is Kaufman Music Center’s 2026-27 Artist-in-Residence.

THURSDAY, MAY 27TH & FRIDAY, MAY 28TH, 2026: Lauren Lovette & Time For Three

The celebrated choreographer and former New York City Ballet superstar Lauren Lovette teams up with the Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three for two evenings of music and dance. Time For Three’s Ranaan Meyer (double bass, vocals), Nicolas “Nick” Kendall (violin, vocals) and Charles Yang (violin, vocals), merge classical, Americana and singer-songwriter traditions into a singular, remarkable sound that captivates audiences worldwide. Additional dancers TBA.

SEPTEMBER 2026 PERFORMANCES:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND AT 7:30 PM ET: Taylor Tomlinson: “Actually, Nevermind” Book Launch - “One of the most acclaimed, in-demand superstars of comedy” (The New York Times) launches her hilarious, heartfelt and brilliant debut essay collection. 

Co-presented with The Strand

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH AT 2:00 PM ET: Michael Davidman, piano - The 2025 American Piano Awards winner hailed for his “electrifying… pyrotechnical prowess” (Peninsula Reviews) and interpretive nuance performs works by Schubert, Albeniz, Liszt, Franck and Chopin.

OCTOBER 2026 PERFORMANCES:

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Orli Shaham: In Clara’s Hands - The pianist hailed for her grace and brilliance joins musicologist Sarah Fritz and Juilliard String Quartet for an evening celebrating the remarkable life, legacy and music of Clara Schumann.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16TH AT 7:30 PM ET: The Anthology of Art Song by Black Composers - Award-winning vocalists Josh Conyers, Nicole Cabell and Kiera Duffy lead the album release event for songs from the new album In Plain Sight: The Black Anthology.

Co-presented with Eastman School of Music

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17TH AT 7:30 PM ET: PUBLIQuartet - The multi-Grammy-nominated improvising string quartet celebrates American rhythmic traditions with music by Daniel Bernard Roumain, Duke Ellington and Fodé Lassana Diabate.

Co-presented with The John J. Cali School of Music

MONDAY, OCTOBER 19TH AT 7:30 PM ET: What Makes It Great? Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto - Hosted by Rob Kapilow with violinist Timothy Chooi and the Manhattan School of Music Camerata Nova. Savaged by Tchaikovsky's contemporaries, the concerto overcame its critics to become a cornerstone of the classical repertoire.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22ND AT 7:30 PM ET: Evren Ozel, piano & Joshua Brown, violin - The Avery Fisher Career Grant recipients and Concert Artist Guild winners explore works with literary connections by Brahms, Ysaÿe, Debussy, Chausson, R. Schumann and Fauré. 

Co-presented with Concert Artists Guild 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Broadway Close Up: William Finn - A festive soirée honoring the life and work of the late Tony-winning composer/lyricist William Finn: Falsettos, A New Brain, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and more. 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Lembit Beecher & Karen Ouzounian: Mayrig- This immersive new show weaves together human voices, traditional Armenian songs and new compositions in music teeming with passion and celebration, resilience and rage.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29TH AT 7:30 PM ET: VOCES8: Lead Me Home - The celebrated British vocal ensemble journeys through the rich and varied landscape of American choral music, tracing a path through faith, folk tradition, poetry and popular song.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30TH AT 6:30 PM ET: VOCES8 at Trinity Church - Beloved signature works from the Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble’s repertoire focusing on Renaissance and Early Music crafted to the exceptional acoustic experience of Trinity Church.

Co-presented with Trinity Church NYC  

NOVEMBER 2026 PERFORMANCES:

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD AT 2:00 PM ET: Jonathan Leibovitz, clarinet - An “extraordinarily gifted clarinetist” who mesmerizes audiences (BBC Music Magazine) performs works by C. Schumann, R. Schumann, Alan Berg, Paul Hindemith and Paul Ben-Haim.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht & Elisabeth Hauptmann’s “Happy End” - The new English version of the 1929 follow-up to the trio’s wildly successful Threepenny Opera is a sharp, jazz-infused musical satire that blazes with wit, grit and dark glamour.

Co-presented with Glimmerglass Opera and Opera Saratoga

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH AT 8:00 PM ET: Broadway Close Up: Bound for Broadway -Emmy Award-winner and Tony nominee Liz Callaway hosts a sneak peek at four of the best new shows headed for New York’s bright lights. 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST AT 7:30 PM ET: The Hands Free & Dance Heginbotham: The Party Scene - The fabulously whimsical Dance Heginbotham joins The Hands Free ensemble for a music and dance extravaganza inspired by The Nutcracker and your rowdy holiday office party.

Co-presented with The John J. Cali School of Music

DECEMBER 2026 PERFORMANCES:

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Broadway Close Up: Broadway in the 50’s - Celebrate the most iconic shows of the 1950’s, from Guys & Dolls and My Fair Lady to West Side Story, The Music Man and Gypsy.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH AT 2:00 PM ET: William Suh, cello - With pianist Anthony Ratinov. The winner of many prestigious competitions acclaimed for his engaging musicianship and dynamic tonal color performs works by Brahms, C. Schumann and R. Schumann.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 14TH AT 7:30 PM ET: What Makes It Great? Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” Quartet - Hosted by Rob Kapilow with Terra String Quartet. Written during a period of illness and despair, this haunting piece pushes the string quartet to extremes of drama and power.

TUESDAY,  DECEMBER 15TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Marc-André Hamelin, piano - The pianist hailed by The New York Times as a “performer of near-superhuman technical prowess” performs works from Debussy and Chopin to Enescu and Earl Wild.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Zachary Wilder & Rob Mounsey - Tenor Zachary Wilder teams up with renowned producer Rob Mounsey for an intimate evening of music from their new album, Brooklyn Suite, from opera arias to Broadway musicals.

JANUARY 2027 PERFORMANCES:

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12TH AT 2:00 PM ET: Julian Rhee, violin - The 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient performs works by Arcangelo Corelli, Fritz Kreisler, César Franck, Louis Vierne and Zlatomir Fung.

Co-presented with Korean Cultural Center New York

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14TH AT 7:30 PM ET: “Stand Up, Sit Down” The Westerlies Play Bill Frisell Album Release Show - The Grammy-nominated brass quartet performs music by jazz guitarist and composer Bill Frisell from their new album, Stand Up, Sit Down: The Music of Bill Frisell, Vol. 2.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 TH AT 7:30 PM ET: The Westerlies - For The Improvisation for Everyone Mentor Session, the celebrated brass quartet leads a hands-on improvisation workshop where musicians of all instruments and experience levels create their own improvised pieces.

FEBRUARY 2027 PERFORMANCES:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH AT 2:00 PM ET: Trio Azura - The winners of the 2025 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2024 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition perform works by Beethoven, Arvo Pärt and Bedřich Smetana.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Chloe Flower - Pianist and multi-hyphenate star Chloe Flower brings her signature approach to bridging pop and classical to an interdisciplinary experience with her original works, dance and video.

Co-presented with The John J. Cali School of Music

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Katarina Quartet & Carter Johnson, piano - The prizewinning performers invite listeners to reimagine their connection to the natural world through music by Schubert, Beethoven, Fauré and Konstantia Gourzi.

Co-presented with Concert Artists Guild 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND AT 7:30 PM ET: What Makes It Great? John Adams’s Shaker Loops - Hosted by Rob Kapilow with Terra String Quartet. Go back to the heady days of early minimalism with Adams's vibrant, visceral and emotionally expressive piece.

MARCH 2027 PERFORMANCES:

THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Lorelei Ensemble: WILD - The Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble performs world premieres by five extraordinary female composers: Katherine Balch, Angélica Negrón, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Tina Tallon and Pamela Z.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Chanticleer & ACRONYM - The Grammy-winning British vocal ensemble teams up with early-music string ensemble ACRONYM for an evening of thrilling vocal and instrumental works by Baroque composer Giovanni Valentini.

MONDAY, MARCH 22ND AT 7:30 PM ET: What Makes It Great? Count Basie - Hosted by Rob Kapilow with the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra. Explore the music and extraordinary 50-year career of the leader of one of the most important big band leaders of the 20th century.

APRIL 2027 PERFORMANCES:

THURSDAY, APRIL 8TH AT 1 PM ET: American Composers Orchestra Mentor Session - A new generation of musical creators from Kaufman Music Center will develop works through ACO’s Sonic Spark Lab and CoLABoratory programs and see them premiered at Merkin Hall.

FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Terence Blanchard - Blanchard brings his boundary-breaking and genre-defying artistry to Kaufman Music Center for a unique one-night-only performance including a unique collaboration with student musicians.

Co-presented with The John J. Cali School of Music

MONDAY, APRIL 12TH AT 7:30 PM ET: An Evening of Music & Comedy with Isabel Hagen, Charles Yang & Peter Dugan - Comedian, filmmaker and Juilliard-trained violist Isabel Hagen, featured on The Tonight Show, joins Grammy-winning violinist Charles Yang and acclaimed pianist Peter Dugan for comedy and chamber music. Recommended for audiences 18+

TUESDAY, APRIL 13TH AT 2:00 PM ET: Terra String Quartet - The winners of the 2025 Naumburg Chamber Music Competition and the 2022 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition perform works by Haydn, Janáček and Mendelssohn.

FRIDAY, APRIL 16TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Adam Tendler: Béla Bartók’s Mikrokosmos [Complete] - In a theatrical recital directed by Mary Birnbaum, “the hottest pianist on the American contemporary classical scene” (Minnesota Star Tribune), performs Bartók’s landmark piano collection.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28TH AT 7:30 PM ET: A Night with the Orchestra: Isabel Hagen & the Manhattan School of Music Camerata Nova - An all-new evening of music and comedy with comedian, filmmaker and Juilliard-trained violist and Tonight Show veteran Isabel Hagen and the Manhattan School of Music Camerata Nova. Recommended for audiences 18+

MAY 2027 PERFORMANCES:

THURSDAY, MAY 6TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Simone Dinnerstein, piano & Baroklyn with Concora - The celebrated pianist and her string ensemble Baroklyn join Concora: Connecticut Choral Artists for an evening of cantatas by J.S. Bach. 

TUESDAY, MAY 11TH AT 2:00 PM ET: Daria Podorozhnova, piano - First Prize winner at the 2025 Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, Russian pianist Daria. Podorozhnova will perform works by J.S. Bach, Brahms, Fábregas, Kern and Stravinsky.

SUNDAY, MAY 16TH, AT 4 PM ET: Simone Dinnerstein Mentor Session - The acclaimed pianist hosts a performance of the complete Bach Sinfonias and Inventions featuring pianists of all ages from Kaufman Music Center’s Lucy Moses School.

TUESDAY, MAY 18TH AT 7:30 PM ET: CoLAB: Experiments in Community, American Composers Orchestra - The leading champion of new orchestral music performs world premieres by Joshua Henderson and Matthew Jamal, plus commissions from composers across the Kaufman Music Center community. 

MONDAY, MAY 24TH AT 7:30 PM ET: What Makes It Great? James Taylor - Hosted by Rob Kapilow with singer-songwriter Eugene Ruffalo, guitarist Ann Klein and more TBA. Get a fresh perspective on the legendary artist who became one of the defining voices of the 1970s singer-songwriter era.

THURSDAY, MAY 27TH & FRIDAY, MAY 28TH AT 7:30 PM ET: Lauren Lovette & Time For Three - Two evenings of music and dance with choreographer and former New York City Ballet superstar Lauren Lovette, the Grammy and Emmy-winning ensemble Time For Three, and dancers TBA.

ABOUT KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER:

Established with the mission of providing access without barriers, Kaufman Music Center proudly programs a comprehensive musical experience for students, performers and audiences in New York and beyond. Merkin Hall, the Center’s intimate performance venue, provides unparalleled access to today’s most compelling artists, workshops and competitions, offering students, artists and audiences alike the chance to share music at the highest level. Its acclaimed Artist-in-Residence program also gives those performers the resources to develop groundbreaking, multidisciplinary projects as well as educational opportunities to mentor and inspire. Kaufman Music Center continuously cultivates and nurtures new generations of artists through Special Music School, the nation’s only K-12 public school prioritizing an intensive, immersive and musically-focused education without financial barriers, as well as Lucy Moses School, one of NYC’s finest community performing arts schools for students of all ages.

ABOUT KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER’S ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM:

Since its launch in 2021, Kaufman Music Center’s Artists-in-Residence program has connected leading composers, performers, and ensembles with the Center’s students, faculty, and audiences. Resident artists contribute to the artistic and educational life of Kaufman Music Center through performances, masterclasses, rehearsals, workshops and community programs. The program gives students opportunities to learn directly from accomplished professionals working at the forefront of their fields. The residency extends across Kaufman Music Center’s performance, educational, and community initiatives, creating opportunities for artistic collaboration, mentorship and audience engagement. Previous Artists-in-Residence have included Meredith Monk, Curtis Stewart, Jessie Montgomery, Simone Dinnerstein, Conrad Tao, Angélica Negrón, VOCES8, Chanticler, Harlem Quartet, Aaron Diehl and Jonathan Biss.

KAUFMAN MUSIC CENTER ON THE WEB

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Rebecca Shapiro, Mikaela Duhs, & Naomi Banks

(KaufmanMusicCenterPR@shorefire.com)

See Below for Honorees in Charleston, Nashville, Baltimore, Jacksonville and more

July 15, 2026: When Barry Manilow returns to the road later this month for the next leg of his U.S. arena tour, he'll once again use the spotlight to recognize the people who inspire the next generation of musicians. At every stop, the GRAMMY®, TONY®, and EMMY® Award-winning icon will present the Manilow Music Teacher Award, honoring an outstanding local music educator whose passion and dedication have made a lasting impact on their students and community.

Created through the Manilow Music Project, a program of the Manilow Fund, the Manilow Music Teacher Award recognizes educators whose passion and dedication bring music to life for their students. Ten outstanding high school music teachers in each tour market are nominated before the public votes to select the local recipient. Each winner receives a $10,000 grant, with $5,000 awarded directly to the teacher and $5,000 designated for new instruments and equipment for their school's music program. The winning educator is presented with the award during a private meet-and-greet with Manilow before the show and is also recognized onstage during the concert.

Founded after Manilow learned that music programs across the country had been devastated by budget cuts, the Manilow Music Project has donated more than $10 million in instruments and scholarships to high school and college music students, teachers, and music programs nationwide.

"While Barry continues his extraordinary career with arena shows this summer, he has chosen to share the spotlight with those he believes truly deserve it: music educators," said Matt Parrish, President of the Manilow Fund.

The upcoming recipients of the Manilow Music Teacher Awards are:

Charleston, SC (July 30): Ronnie Ward, Westview Middle School

Nashville, TN (August 1): C. Allen Kennedy, Hume-Fogg High School

Columbus, OH (August 2): Gretchen Wyder Zunic, Upper Arlington High School

Lexington, KY (August 4): Robert Bishop, Lafayette High School

Cincinnati, OH (August 5): Kyle Phillips, Princeton High School

Baltimore, MD (August 7): Christopher Gnagey, Catonsville High School

Norfolk, VA (August 8): Emily Wolcott, Oscar F. Smith High School

Greensboro, NC (August 10): Eddie Deaton, Walter Hines Page High School

Duluth, GA (August 11): Quentin Goins, Stephenson High School

Jacksonville, FL (August 13): Alexander Washington, Jacksonville Classical Academy

Manilow's arena tour resumes July 30 at North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, SC before continuing to Nashville, Columbus, Lexington, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Jacksonville, and more. For a complete list of tour dates, visit barrymanilow.com/the-last-concerts. 

Manilow released his 33rd studio album What A Time earlier this summer, marking his first nearly all-original LP since 2011’s 15 Minutes. The album brings together an eclectic, cross-generational group of collaborators, including Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, nine-time GRAMMY® winner Dave Cobb, and prolific songwriter Gary Barlow. The result is a collection that pairs Manilow’s signature songwriting with influences ranging from orchestral pop and ballads to R&B, heartland rock, and gospel. Listen to/order What A Time HERE.

For more information on Barry Manilow, please contact:

Allison Elbl & Taylor Perry at Shore Fire Media

1LP RED VINYL AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY AT DAVIDBOWIE.COM

RELEASED ON PARLOPHONE SEPTEMBER 18, 2026

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW

LISTEN TO THE PREVIOUSLY UNHEARD I WANT YOUR LOVE NOW

New York, NY — Handcraft Entertainment and Takasago International CorporationUSA, one of Japan’s largest and one of Asia's leading fragrance and flavor companies, today announced a strategic partnership to build the smell, taste, and feel of “Global” J-Pop.

The partnership builds on Handcraft’s work pioneering “Global” J-Pop, a term coined by the company to describe a new genre of Japanese music and culture designed for worldwide audiences, while drawing on Takasago's decades of experience creating fragrances, flavors, and sensory experiences for globally recognized brands and artists.

This announcement follows the release of Handcraft’s “Heartless,” a collaboration between Japanese artist Mia Takarabe and global icon Steve Aoki. As SPIN Magazinenoted, “the race to bring J-pop to a truly global audience has a new contender,” and the release marked a defining moment for Handcraft. 

The partnership combines Takasago’s expertise in fragrance, flavor and sensory innovation with Handcraft Entertainment’s strategy to build globally scalable Japanese artists, brands and cultural IP as part of a worldwide cultural platform. The companies will develop fragrances, flavors and products tied to artists, releases, live experiences, and cultural moments, while expanding into consumer products, experiential activations, and global brand collaborations that deepen how audiences connect with music, artists, and culture beyond traditional formats. One of the first projects will be a fragrance developed with Handcraft artist Mia Takarabe. The companies also plan to develop original content and media around the artists and the creation of fragrances, flavors and products, bringing fans into the creative process and deepening engagement across social media.

“This is about building something entirely new at the intersection of music, culture, and sensory innovation,” said Michael Africk, CEO of Handcraft Entertainment. “We are building a new generation of globally competitive Japanese artists, products, and cultural experiences created for worldwide audiences while remaining authentically connected to Japanese identity and culture. Takasago is uniquely positioned to define that world with us.”

“Takasago has seen firsthand the growing global demand for Japanese culture across entertainment, fashion, food and lifestyle,” said Joseph Lattarulo, Senior Vice President & General Manager at Takasago. “‘Global’ J-Pop represents an exciting new chapter for how Japanese culture can connect with audiences around the world. We are excited to partner with Handcraft to create products and experiences that will shape the world of ‘Global’ J-Pop.”

Together, Handcraft and Takasago are building the sensory world of “Global” J-Pop - where music, culture, identity, and sensory experience converge.

Tickets On Sale Now

NEW YORK, NY – On Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, classical pianist and University of Southern California (USC) alumnus Hunter Noack will perform at Griffith Park under the iconic Hollywood sign in partnership with Trust for Public Land as part of the 11th season of IN A LANDSCAPE: Classical Music in the Wild™. This groundbreaking concert series reimagines the classical music experience by taking it beyond traditional concert halls and placing it in the great outdoors. 

The Griffith Park shows will be the first time the IN A LANDSCAPE has performed in Los Angeles – marking a special moment in one of the city’s most beloved gathering places. Spanning over 4,200 acres and welcoming more than 10 million annual visitors, the piano will be set up in Bronson Canyon, just beneath the Hollywood Sign and just outside of the Bronson Caves. Trust for Public Land helped permanently protect the land surrounding the iconic Hollywood Sign, ensuring that Griffith Park’s scenic hillsides and public open spaces remain accessible for Angelenos and visitors alike.

The shows will transform the nation's largest urban parks into a shared artistic experience, inviting audiences to engage with both the landscape and one another in a new meaningful way.

Noack is traveling across the American West and Canada with a 1912 Steinway Model D piano for 50 concerts this year. Mountain tops, old growth forests, and sunny meadows will again replace the traditional concert hall as audiences listen through wireless headphones, wandering afield with the music as a soundtrack to their experience. 

The landmark 11th season will visit a variety of breathtaking settings across western America, including Banff Centre, The Sea Ranch, San Francisco Botanical Garden, Black Butte Ranch, Schweitzer Mountain, and Seattle’s Mercer Island. Earlier this month, Noack performed a special nighttime concert in the Oregon Outback’s Dark Sky Sanctuary. 

The 2026 tour officially began in May at Filoli Historic House & Garden in Woodside, Calif. and will conclude on October 4 in Portland, Ore. at Lewis & Clark College.Please find full tour routing below. For more information and tickets, please visit: https://www.inalandscape.org/

Founded by Noack in 2016 with a mission to remove barriers to live classical music and foster a deeper connection to the natural world, IN A LANDSCAPE has presented over 370 concerts featuring 110 guest artists to nearly 100,000 attendees, many of whom had never attended a classical music event before. By partnering with national and state parks, land trusts, conservancies, historical societies, Native American reservations, and schools, the series brings music to rural communities where such opportunities are often scarce. In alignment with its nonprofit mission to make concerts accessible to all, IN A LANDSCAPE subsidizes ticket pricing at 95% of its concerts and distributes over $100,000 in free tickets annually through its Good Neighbor Program.

Beyond its innovative approach to classical music, IN A LANDSCAPE creates space for immersive storytelling by frequently featuring poets, Native American musicians, dancers, singers, and visual artists as guest performers. The concerts are designed to inspire a sense of quiet contemplation and free-spirited play, encouraging audience members to fully engage with the music and the landscape around them. The series has been featured on CBS Mornings, in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, AirMail, and more. 

IN A LANDSCAPE cultivates a profound feeling of togetherness across ranchers and hikers to city dwellers, families, and classical music aficionados, proving that music and nature have the power to unite people across all walks of life. 

Named after John Cage’s composition In a Landscape, Noack’s series embraces the avant-garde composer’s ethos of redefining how we listen to and experience music. “No two concerts are ever the same,” says Noack. “At a place like Griffith Park, the music is shaped by the light, the weather, the trees, and the movement of people through the landscape. It becomes a shared experience of listening—not only to the piano, but to the place itself.”

IN A LANDSCAPE 2026 TOUR DATES

Saturday, July 18, 2026 – Portland, Ore. – Laurelhurst Park

Sunday, July 19, 2026 – Portland, Ore. – Rose Garden Amphitheater

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 – Mercer Island, Wash. – Mercer Island

Wednesday, July 22, 2026 – Seattle, Wash. – Golden Gardens Park

Thursday, July 23, 2026 – Leavenworth, Wash. – Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort

Saturday, July 25, 2026 – Cle Elum, Wash. – Suncadia

Sunday, July 26, 2026 – Goldendale, Wash. – Maryhill Museum of Art

Monday, July 27, 2026 – Tillamook, Ore. – Smith Homestead

Thursday, August 20, 2026 – La Pine, Ore. – East Lake in Newberry National Monument

Friday, August 21, 2026 – La Pine, Ore. – East Lake in Newberry National Monument

Saturday, August 22, 2026 – Bend, Ore. – Drake Park

Monday, August 24, 2026 – Sublimity, Ore. – Silver Falls State Park

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 – Sublimity, Ore. – Silver Falls State Park

Wednesday, August 26, 2026 – Eugene, Ore. – Mount Pisgah Arboretum

Thursday, August 27, 2026 – Oakland, Ore. – Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park

Saturday, August 29, 2026 – Coos Bay, Ore. – Shore Acres State Park

Sunday, August 30, 2026 – Langlois, Ore. – Valley Flora Farm

Friday, September 4, 2026 – Gearhart, Ore. – Dunes Meadow Park

Saturday, September 5, 2026 – Gearhart, Ore. – Dunes Meadow Park

Sunday, September 6, 2026 – Dayton, Ore. – Stoller Family Estate

Monday, September 7, 2026 – Carlton, Ore. – Soter Vineyards

Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Huntsville, Utah – Huntsville Monastery

Saturday, September 26, 2026 – Los Angeles, Calif. – Griffith Park

Sunday, September 27, 2026 – Los Angeles, CA – Griffith Park

Sunday, October 4, 2026 – Portland, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College

For more information about IN A LANDSCAPE or Hunter Noack, please contact

ial@shorefire.com

Hosts Charlie Harding & Nate Sloan Begin New Era With Four-Part Series, "The Art of The Song"

Exploring The Intro, Verse, Chorus & Bridge With Special Guests Aaron Dessner, Audrey Hobert, Trevor Horn, Cypress Hill, Tayla Parx & More

First Episode Out Now: WATCH

NEW YORK, NY – July 14, 2026: Today, Switched On Pop launches on Netflix, marking the beginning of a new era for the long-running, ear-opening and award-winning podcast that has mastered a way to make critical listening fun. It was more than twelve years ago that hosts Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan were driving on the California coast, realizing that Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" was a masterclass in musical tension, and recognizing that there is so much more we could be missing from our favorite songs – elements that a show and their expertise would reveal. After nearly 500 episodes and counting, Switched On Pop's pioneering approach to pop music and journalism has helped an audience of tens of millions, including diehard stans, staunch skeptics, seasoned scholars, aspiring talent, casual consumers and everyone in between to achieve one thing above all: listening closer to pop music, to understand why it moves us. 

Co-produced with New York Magazine's Vulture, and now partnering with Netflix for exclusive video distribution, the collaboration signals the latest evolution for a series that has transcended mediums: from audio and social feeds to a Switched On Pop book published by Oxford University Press, translated into multiple languages and adopted into curriculums at universities and colleges across the country; from live events with Maggie Rogers and Djo at NYU and Charlie Puth at Berklee to appearances on Good Morning America, PBS, CNN, NPR, Morning Joe and op-eds for The New York Times, and, as of today: on Netflix. 

With a brand new look, filmed on camera in new studios in Los Angeles and New York City, new episodes of Switched On Pop will stream on Netflix, beginning with something the show has never done before: a four-part series focused on "The Art of The Song" – intro, verse, chorus and bridge. Aaron Dessner, Audrey Hobert, Trevor Horn, Cypress Hill and Tayla Parx will serve as expert witnesses during the episodes, paired with examples that span contemporary music. Video will be released every Tuesday morning on Netflix, with audio continuing to be available on all podcast platforms, and more special guests, timely topics and events to be announced. Watch the trailer, and tune into Switched On Pop exclusively on Netflix: HERE

"After twelve years and nearly 500 episodes, you'd think we'd have run out of things to hear in a pop song. The opposite keeps happening. When we listen closely, we always find that the hits have more to reveal, and now we get to show people with cameras rolling," says Switched On Pop co-host Charlie Harding, a songwriter, music journalist and music educator who currently serves as an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music and Adjunct Professor at NYU Steinhardt's Music Performing Arts Professions.

"Music is both a private pleasure and a public phenomenon. That's what makes it endlessly interesting to discuss. We're both teachers at heart, and there's nothing better than revealing new facets of a song someone might have heard a thousand times before. That's what these episodes are built to do," adds Switched On Pop co-host Nate Sloan, a musicologist, performer, and associate professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, where his research spans jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and popular music. 

Whether Harding and Sloan are discussing Taylor Swift's recurring melodic signatures, Olivia Rodrigo's heartbreak anthems, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's time-bending duets or Stevie Wonder's enduring harmonies, each episode of Switched On Pop is delivered with an "affable passion" that "will deepen your appreciation," says The New York Times, which – along with The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Vogue, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly and more – has named the show among the best music podcasts. Previous guests have included generations of artists, producers and songwriters such as Chappell Roan, Jack Antonoff, Laufey, Robert Plant, Nile Rodgers, Brittany Howard, Talking Heads, Carly Rae Jepsen, Caroline Polachek, Seal, Sombr, Slayyyter, Zara Larsson and dozens of others who have explained how their hits are made, what they mean and why their musical ideas and production choices matter, because every song has more to give, if you listen closer.

About Switched On Pop

It started driving down the California coast, when we realized Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" was a masterclass in musical tension hiding in a three-minute pop banger. That spark became Switched On Pop, a podcast about listening closer to pop music to understand why it moves us.

Hosted by Nate Sloan, professor of musicology, and Charlie Harding, songwriter and music educator, Switched On Pop breaks down the musical ideas and production choices behind today's biggest hits: Taylor Swift's recurring melodic signatures, Olivia Rodrigo's heartbreak anthems, Kendrick Lamar and SZA's time-bending duets, and Stevie Wonder's timeless harmonies.

We pull songs apart to understand how they work and why they matter, often bringing along artists, producers, and songwriters to share how their hits are made and what they mean. Because every song has more to give — if you listen closer.

About Charlie Harding & Nate Sloan

Charlie Harding is a songwriter, music journalist and music educator. He is the co-host of the award winning music podcast Switched On Pop co-produced by New York Magazine'sVulture. Charlie is an Associate Professor at Berklee School of Music and an adjunct professor at NYU Steinhardt’s Music Performing Arts Professions.

Nate Sloan is a musicologist, performer, and associate professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, where his research spans jazz, Tin Pan Alley, and popular music. He co-hosts Switched On Pop, produced by New York Magazine's Vulture, which Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Entertainment Weekly have all named among the best music podcasts.

Follow Switched On Pop 

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Netflix

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Today (7.14), Highway Home – the country trio of Stanton Langley, Eamon Owen and Conner Sweeny – signs with talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME). 

“Whether live or in their recorded music, Highway Home’s distinct trio of lead vocalists harmonizing, authentic songwriting, and genuine connection with audiences makes them a standout,” said WME's Doug Neff. “We're thrilled to welcome them to WME and look forward to creating new opportunities as their momentum accelerates.”

Highway Home is on the fast track to success in the country music genre. With a distinct three-part harmony and ‘90s, classic country sound, the trio blends their individual singer-songwriter talents to create hits comparable to country legends like Rascal Flatts and Diamond Rio. The band has already shared stages with Sara Evans, Priscilla Block, George Birge, and “went from playing to 15 people to CMA Fest in one year” (Country Hub).

Last month, they signed with Warner Records and released their newest single ‘No More Drinkin’ Songs,” an easy-going, honky-tonk ballad about a love that outlasts any drinkin’ song.

Listen to ‘No More Drinkin’ Songs’ HERE

They will continue to be represented by underscore works (management), Shore Fire Media (publicity), Sayles Eagen (Business Manager), and Matt Cottingham(Attorney). 

2026 is expected to be the band’s best year yet, with new music and performances on the horizon. See the full list of their upcoming performances below.

UPCOMING HIGHWAY HOME PERFORMANCES:

July 17 - London, KY - Town Center Park (Ashley Cooke Support)

July 18 - Plain City, OH - The Grainery

July 24 - Cayce, SC - Steel Hands Brewing

July 30 - Nashville, TN - 27Live Powered by Country Now (Priscilla Block Support) 

August 1 - Willoughby, OH - Double D's HonkyTonk and Smokehouse

August 4 - Little Valley, NY - Cattaraugus County Fair 

August 8 - Monroe, LA - ReaperFest 2026 

August 13 - Prior Lake, MN - Mystic Lake Casino Hotel (Cole Swindell Support)

August 14 - Dubuque, IA - Q Casino - Back Waters Amphitheater (Cole Swindell Support)

About Highway Home:

Highway Home is a harmony-driven country trio blending heartfelt songwriting, tight vocals, and a sound rooted in late '90s/early 2000s country. Made up of singer-songwriters Eamon Owen, Conner Sweeny, and Stanton Langley, the group delivers nostalgic melodies with a fresh edge. Born in the South and built in Nashville, Highway Home is where country storytelling meets unforgettable harmony.

About WME:

WME is the world’s preeminent talent agency. With over 125 years of experience, WME enables artists, athletes and brands to grow their businesses, leverage the full potential of their intellectual property and bring projects to life that define the cultural landscape. WME’s expertise spans books, comedy, digital media, fashion, film, food, licensing, music, sports, television, theater and more. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, WME’s office locations include Australia, Chicago, China, London, Miami, Nashville and New York. WME is part of WME Group, a global network of businesses that represent the world’s leading talent, intellectual property and brands. For more information, please visit www.wmeagency.com.

FOLLOW HIGHWAY HOME

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