WNYC & WQXR Celebrate 40 Years Of “New Sounds” With John Schaefer At Brooklyn Bowl On September 21

“‘New Sounds,’ a genre-defying radio program that has played an outsize role in the city’s new music scene for nearly four decades.” - The New York Times

“New Sounds tells the story of music that moves culture forward.” - NPR Music

“John’s show is one of the only avenues and formats in the world really able to defy genre and put all music on the same level.” - Bryce Dessner, The National in Gothamist

This year, New York Public Radio’s annual fundraising event at Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday, September 21 at 7pm will celebrate 40 years of “New Sounds” with John Schaefer and his incomparable contributions to the NYC music scene and beyond. Featuring performances by Brooklyn-based bhangra fusion group Red Baraat and tropical futurism band Combo Chimbita, along with a DJ set by Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan & Georgia Hubley, the fundraiser will support all of New York Public Radio’s brands, including WNYC, WQXR, Gothamist and WNYC Studios. Tickets available here start at $40 for general admission with options for VIP packages and bowling lane rentals with WNYC hosts. Guests will have the opportunity to mingle with a stellar line-up of on-air and podcast talent, hosts, producers, and staff on and off the lanes.

WNYC’s “New Sounds” is a cherished radio program at the helm of music discovery and gleefully free from the confines of genre, airing every night at 11pm on 93.9FM and wnyc.org. Since its inception in 1982, the show expanded to include a New Sounds Live concert series in 1986 and the innovative Soundcheck podcast in 2002, featuring live performances and interviews with a variety of guests, from Mavis Staples, Mark Ronson and Sheryl Crow to Chuck Klosterman, Norah Jones, Danger Mouse, and others.

Host and producer of “New Sounds” John Schaefer came to WNYC in 1981, where he was hired to read newscasts and introduce classical music, but soon found himself hosting a new music show that quickly became the on-air hub of the fertile downtown music scene. Schaefer has been cited by New York Magazine as one of "the people whose ideas, power, and sheer will are changing New York" and was honored in 2003 with the American Music Center's prestigious Letter of Distinction for his "substantial contributions to advancing the field of contemporary American music in the United States and abroad." 

He began blogging for WNYC while traveling with the New York Philharmonic on its historic trip to North Korea in 2008 and continues to blog at newsounds.org. When he’s not championing new music, international voices and obscure artists on air, Schaefer has written books and liner notes for more than 100 recordings, including those from Yo-Yo Ma, Ballaké Sissoko, and Terry Riley. He is also a regular contributor to the World Science Festival and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center. On September 21, New York Public Radio will celebrate Schaefer’s invaluable contributions to public radio and the New York City cultural scene, with his limitless curiosity for music and commitment to boundless discovery.

John Schaefer 

Credit: @thesundncekid for On Air Fest

About New York Public Radio

With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, New York Public Radio (NYPR) produces innovative public radio programs, podcasts, and live events that touch a passionate community of fans on air, online and in person.  From its state-of-the-art studios in New York City, NYP.R is reshaping radio for a new generation of listeners with groundbreaking, award-winning programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The Takeaway, Dolly Parton’s America, Carnegie Hall Live, and Aria Code, among many others. New York Public Radio includes WNYC, WQXR, WNYC Studios, Gothamist, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, and New Jersey Public Radio. Further information about programs, podcasts, and stations may be found at www.nypublicradio.org.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

About New Sounds

New Sounds is a NYC radio program and web stream on WNYC for curious listeners and music discovery, providing a place for your left and right brain to unwind at the end of day.  Host John Schaefer combs recent recordings for one of the most educational and enchanting hours on radio. For 40 years, he's been finding the melody in the rainforest and the rhythm in an orchestra of tin cans. The program offers new ways to hear the ancient language of song. With guest musicians from David Byrne to Meredith Monk to Ravi Shankar, Schaefer presents performances and premieres new works from the classic and operatic to folk and jazz. The show is broadcast from 11pm-midnight EST on 93.9 FM in New York and at WNYC.org.

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE

About John Schaefer

John Schaefer is the host and producer of WNYC’s long-running new music show New Sounds. He also hosts the Soundcheck Podcast, which has featured live performances and interviews with a variety of guests since 2002. In 1986 he created the New Sounds Live concert series, which features new works, commissioned pieces, and a special series devoted to live music for silent films. John has written extensively about music, including the book New Sounds: A Listener’s Guide to New Music, The Cambridge Companion to Singing: World Music, and the TV program Bravo Profile: Bobby McFerrin. He was contributing editor for Spin and Ear magazines, and his liner notes appear on more than 100 recordings, ranging from “The Music of Cambodia” to recordings by Yo-Yo Ma and Terry Riley. In 2003, Schaefer was honored with the American Music Center's prestigious Letter of Distinction for his "substantial contributions to advancing the field of contemporary American music in the United States and abroad." In May 2006, New York magazine cited Schaefer as one of "the people whose ideas, power, and sheer will are changing New York" in its Influentials issue. He began blogging for WNYC when accompanying the New York Philharmonic on its historic trip to North Korea in 2008 and continues to blog at newsounds.org. He is a regular contributor to the World Science Festival and the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center; he has also written about horse racing (Bloodlines: A Horse Racing Anthology) and was a regular panelist on the BBC’s soccer-based program Sports World.

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For more information, please contact:

Rebecca Shapiro, Shannon Cosgrove and MC Miskell at Shore Fire Media