the national
Tyondai Braxton on crossing genres, and the 'Crossing Brooklyn Ferry' festival at BAM
While it’s useful for consumers and musicians alike to have a citywide infrastructure that can support both a composer like Missy Mazzoli as well as a band like Buke and Gase (who also have a new single out), it can also, at times, feel rather exquisitely figured out before you get to the show. Or, put another way, precisely un-Whitman-like in its sense of being a matter of minds already settled, rather than engaged with in an active process of collective self-discovery. Braxton, though, isn’t in a totally figured-out place—nor does he report any pressure or hurry to get there. More
Doveman's Thomas Bartlett inaugurates a new season of the Burgundy Sessions, perhaps the mellowest musical salon in town
Doveman is essentially Thomas Bartlett, 30, and a rotating group of collaborators from across the spectrum of New York performers. Typically a background player, he's played alongside The National, David Byrne, and Antony, but on his own through these salons, surrounded by talented colleagues, he's developed a tidy following. He organized the series in an attempt to re-create similar salons he'd held Chelsea. Since these semi-monthly shows at LPR began last year, they’ve gotten attention from the media for their intimate and impromptu nature. More
