The nicest green room I have ever been in
Pierogis, Sleepwalk(ing), and upcoming shows
Hello!! I’m still coming off a high from our show at Brooklyn Made earlier this month. As I divulged, this was the biggest venue I’ve ever played. We were far from filling the room, but over 100 of you showed up to hear me, Jane O’Neill, and Meir Levine do our thing with a bunch of incredible musicians backing us up. That means a hell of a lot! Also the green room was two stories tall and had a sleeping pod that Laura Marling maybe slept in once. Pretty sick!
My next show is Tuesday, March 4th at Cassette in Ridgewood. I’ve heard really good things about this venue! Advance tickets are on sale now for a discounted price:
What else is new?
Jacqueline Hackett and Caroline Strickland played a delightful (and delicious) house show at Unruly Collective, in collaboration with Under the Table NYC. There were pierogis, so many pierogis! A veritable feast of dipping sauces and three kinds of fillings! Plus a little bowl of Hot Fries! Jacqueline played a beautiful stripped down set with Quinn Devlin on piano and James Wyatt Woodall on pedal steel. Caroline played soooo rock ‘n’ roll that I had to break out my new Loop earplugs. She performed her newest single “Prettiest Girl of Heaven” that I can’t get out of my head. What more could you want?
I rolled out some fresh, minimalist tees on nice thick 100% cotton, with a design from the incredible Virginia-based artist Jack O’Neil. These are only available at shows for the moment, but I may open up for online ordering soon (especially if anyone tells me they wanna buy one!).
Last week, I made it out to a show at Sleepwalk, a 1920s Shanghai-style bar with a great little venue setup in the back. I’d been dying to catch a set here, partly because they attract amazing acts (like Sidney Gish and Margaux) for such an intimate room, and partly because it was once a bar called The Topaz, where I did my first open mics in NYC. It’s where I met my bandmate Evan Moore, and countless other talented local artists and musicians.
The setup at Sleepwalk is pretty much the same, but with an upgraded stage area and really good house sound. I saw Bug Crush (formerly known as Junebug), Stefan Weiner, and longtime fave and homie Nan Macmillan.
I’d been meaning to catch Bug Crush for a while since their song “Hurt a Fly” ended up on rotation for me last summer (and thus ended up on my Top Songs of 2024 on Spotify). We were set to share a bill late last year, but the common cold and life had other plans. Rest assured I’ll be circling back with Carolyn to fix that! She is nimble on acoustic guitar, right at home on stage (she removed her shoes after one song), slinging lines about how loneliness is like a bug bite; once you scratch it, it only gets worse.
Stefan’s writing is clear and experience-driven, and he dresses his beautifully simple songs with lush guitar tones and exceptional vocal control. The crowning jewel of this set was his cover of Esther Phillips’ “I’ve Forgotten More Than You’ll Ever Know About Him”, which he performs with such charm you almost pity the guy who must have provoked it (*almost*, I’m obviously still Team Stefan).
Nan Macmillan was captivating as always, joined by collaborators Evan Dibbs and Alejandra Sofia. She focused on songs from her 2024 album From Both Eyes (another staple of mine last year) but also traded performances with Evan and Alejandra, including “Feel Good Sometimes” from Evan’s wonderful record Breathe to Break. She also shared a new song, “Flight of the Birds”.
Next week, I’m looking forward to hopefully catching Vern Matz at Nightclub 101 (East Village) and Jacqueline Hackett and Gemma Laurence at Cassette (Ridgewood).
Hope to catch you at my next show on Tuesday, March 4th at Cassette!
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My upcoming shows:
3/4 Ridgewood, Queens @ Cassette w/ Yael S. Copeland, Pleasant Peasant - Buy Tickets
4/17 Ridgewood, Queens @ Windjammer w/ Rye Golde, Freddy Banker - Tickets on sale soon
+ More dates coming soon ♡‧₊˚