Toshi Reagon

Friday, December 20, 2019 at 9:30 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Described by Vibe magazine as “one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride” and by Pop Matters as “a treasure waiting to be found,” Toshi Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that is dynamic, progressive, and uplifting in American music. Since first taking to the stage at age 17, this versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist has moved audiences of all kinds with her big-hearted, hold-nothing-back approach to rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals, and funk. The New York Times described her vocal style as ranging from “a dirty blues moan to a gospel shout to an ethereal croon.”

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Toshi Reagon

Friday, December 20, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Described by Vibe magazine as “one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride” and by Pop Matters as “a treasure waiting to be found,” Toshi Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that is dynamic, progressive, and uplifting in American music. Since first taking to the stage at age 17, this versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist has moved audiences of all kinds with her big-hearted, hold-nothing-back approach to rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals, and funk. The New York Times described her vocal style as ranging from “a dirty blues moan to a gospel shout to an ethereal croon.”

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Martha Redbone

Friday, December 6, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

One of the most vital voices in American Roots music today,Martha Redbone is celebrated for the tasty gumbo of roots music embodying the folk and mountain blues sounds of her childhood in the Appalachian hills of Kentucky mixed with the eclectic grit of her teenage years in pre-gentrified Brooklyn. With the power of her gospel singing African American father’s voice and the determined spirit of her Cherokee/Shawnee/Choctaw mother, Redbone broadens all boundaries of Americana.

Her latest album, The Garden of Love: Songs of William Blake, produced by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder and Grammy winner John McEuen, is an unexpected twist—“a brilliant collision of cultures” (The New Yorker)—featuring Martha’s magnificent voice, Blake’s immortal words, and a masterful cornucopia of roots music (folk, country, Piedmont blues, gospel, bluegrass, soul, and traditional Southeastern Native American). Redbone and her long-term collaborator, pianist Aaron Whitby, recently created Bone Hill: The Concert, a devised, interdisciplinary musical theater work that brings to light an important piece of American history that has never been told.


About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Tom Rush

Friday, November 15, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Now celebrating 52+ years of touring, Tom Rush has been thrilling audiences here and abroad with countless hits and has left his stamp on generations of artists. His impact on the American music scene has been profound, as he helped shape the folk revival in the ’60s and the renaissance of the ’80s and ’90s. Artists like James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty, Garth Brooks, and countless others have cited Tom as major influences.

As vital and engaging as ever, Tom is still doing what audiences love him for: writing and playing …passionately, tenderly…knitting together the musical traditions and talents of our times. He’s also celebrating a YouTube hit, The Remember Song, for his generation that’s gone viral with over 7 million views.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings. Learn More.

Josh Rouse

Friday, October 18, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Hailed as “a talent to outrank Ryan Adams or Conor Oberst” by Uncut and praised for his “spare and easy sounding guitar songs” by NPR, Rouse first emerged in 1998 with his debut album, ‘Dressed Up Like Nebraska,’ which Billboard called a “dark horse gem.” Over the next two decades, he released a steady stream of critically lauded records that solidified his status as one of his generation’s most acclaimed songwriters, both in the United States and Europe, where he’s lived on and off since 2004. Never one to ignore the call of his muse, Rouse traded in his trusty acoustic guitar for a synthesizer, a move that quickly pulled him in a slew of exciting, unexpected directions as he found himself freshly inspired by the endless array of possibilities at his fingertips. The end result, ‘Love In the Modern Age,’ is an album that still bears Rouse’s distinct fingerprints, even as it pushes his limits and forges a bold new chapter more than 20 years into his celebrated career.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

BETTY

Friday, September 27, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

BETTY, the activist pop rock band fronted by Alyson Palmer, Elizabeth Palmer, and Amy Ziff, is known for clever lyrics, soaring harmonies, and energetic live shows. Their distinctive sound and inspired humor have been heard for decades on television, films, and concerts around the world, as well as in many recordings, including their most recent, tenth album, On The Rocks, now available on iTunes.

BETTY’s feminist passion and international appearances as Arts Envoys for the US State Department led Gloria Steinem to suggest they create a nonprofit on behalf of women, girls, and those marginalized by society. In 2016 The BETTY Effect began formally supporting the band’s outreach around the world.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

David Broza

Friday, September 6, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Israeli superstar David Broza is considered one of the world’s most dynamic and vibrant performers. From his whirlwind finger picking to flamenco percussion and rhythms to a signature rock and roll sound, Broza’s charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world.

Raised in Israel, Spain, and England, Broza has performed worldwide since 1977, when his hit song “Yihye Tov” first hit the airwaves, promoting a message of peace. Broza is also known for his commitment and dedication to several humanitarian projects, especially a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through dialogue, culture, music, and tolerance. Now, with a string of multi-platinum albums—in Hebrew, English, and Spanish—he continues to hone his message. Broza was awarded a Spanish medal of honor by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, for his longtime contribution to Israel-Spain relations and his promotion of tolerance. A passionate peace advocate, he has also been named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Broza garnered widespread acclaim for his 2013 album East Jerusalem West Jerusalem, produced by Grammy Award-winner Steve Earle and Steve Greenberg, and he recorded it in the Palestinian Sabreen Studio in East Jerusalem. The work, featuring a band of both Israeli and Palestinian musicians, resulted in a beautiful, intimate documentary of the same name. Vanity Faircalled the documentary “extraordinary” and added “if no one else is going to try and heal the world, he will.” East Jerusalem West Jerusalem is currently streaming on Netflix. Broza’s 2016 album, The Set List, captures his best-loved songs culled from studio recordings and live performances over the years. His latest release, Taba’at ZaHav (The Golden Ring), is a collection of 13 new songs about love and separation, co-written with lyricist-poet Tzruya Lahav and sung entirely in Hebrew.

A powerful entertainer and industry innovator, Broza awes and inspires audiences with his sincere message, energetic performances, and musical allure.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Grant-Lee Phillips

Friday, August 9, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

“I’m drawing on the urgency of the moment,” reflects Grant-Lee Phillips. “The things that eat away in the late hours.”

That urgency inspired the headlong rush of Widdershins, Grant-Lee Phillips’s most recent album, in which he invests the insight, nuance, and wit that has distinguished his songcraft over the past three decades in a riveting dissection of today’s fraught social landscape. Beneath the moment’s tumultuous veneer, Phillips uncovers resonances spanning centuries—patterns echoing from the present day to the distant past. The album’s 12 tracks were cut largely live in the studio with the sharp trio of Phillips (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Jerry Roe (drums), and Lex Price (bass) serving as messengers. Says Phillips, “This moment is explosive, volatile, and heightened. It’s important to me that the music reflect that.”

By turns sardonic, provocative, and illuminating, Widdershins(produced by Phillips and mixed by Tucker Martine) delivers its poetic truths through Phillips’s peerless melodic sensibilities, carefully balancing intensity and vulnerability. A seasoned songwriter and performer with more than two decades of experience, first as frontman of the acclaimed Grant Lee Buffalo then as an accomplished solo artist, Phillips awakens comfort and hope by shining light into darker corners. “I hope to express my faith in people, my faith in the good ideas we’re capable of, and that regardless of what opposition we face, the fact that we can surmount these things,” he concludes. “We can stare them down, laugh at them, belittle them, and drive the darkness back into a hole.”

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Ben Sollee

Friday, August 2, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Naked Soul series at The Rubin Museum of Art

Kentucky-born cellist and composer Ben Sollee likes to keep moving. Following the release of his debut record, Learning to Bend, he has performed with the Charlotte Ballet, and traveled the United States by bicycle. An ardent supporter of sustainability issues, Sollee has ridden over 5,000 miles and has performed and spoken on sustainability at a number of festivals including South by Southwest Music (2011) and TEDx San Diego (2012). He has also worked to raise awareness about the practice of Mountain Top Removal Strip Mining in Central Appalachia, an issue discussed in his 2010 collaborative album Dear Companion.

Sollee’s music has appeared on TV shows like ABC’s Parenthoodand in films such as Killing Season starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro. Within the past year, Soleee has complemented his musical releases with The Vanishing Point virtual reality app, film scores like Maidentrip, a technology-infused production of Harold and the Purple Crayon, an interactive sculptural installation called Livestream, and much more. Through the innovative facets of his artistic portfolio he teaches his audience that the modern artist has no boundaries.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Elizabeth Cook

Friday, July 26, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook is a critically acclaimed recording artist and performer, lauded by the New York Times as “a sharp and surprising country singer.” On SiriusXM Outlaw Country Radio, she has hosted her own show, Apron Strings, nationwide for the last 10 years. She is also a favorite of David Letterman, a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry, and a frequent guest star on Adult Swim’s long-running hit cartoon series Squidbillies on the Cartoon Network.

In the words of the Drivin’ and Cryin’s legendary Kevn Kinney, “Elizabeth is so far ahead and under the radar you better have a supercharger for that fastback if you’re going to catch up! Enjoy the ride.”

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Stephen Kellogg

Friday, July 12, 2019 at 7:00 PM at the Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art 

Alt-country singer-songwriter Stephen Kellogg has been hailed by CBS radio as “the best live act you’ve never seen” and by No Depression as “the best songwriter you’re not listening to.” In the last decade he has performed more than 1,500 concerts around the world, raised thousands of dollars for causes close to his heart, been named Armed Forces Entertainer of the Year, and penned singles for artists like “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani and the platinum-selling rock band O.A.R. Kellogg’s most recent writing work with legendary guitarist Robert Randolph, has led to a 2017 Grammy nomination for “Best Contemporary Blues Record.” He’s also had his songs covered by international major label acts and released eight albums of his own that have yielded hundreds of thousands of ticket and album sales.

His Americana-tinged folk, pop, and rock stylings have landed him onstage with some of the biggest and best touring bands in the world (Train, Sugarland, Jason Isbell, Sara Bareilles, and Hanson to name a few.) Kellogg’s music has found its way onto the Billboard charts and been featured in numerous films and TV shows. Filmmaker Peter Harding’s documentary about him, Last Man Standing, went on to become an Amazon exclusive film. In recent years he’s added speaking to his resume, delivering a Tedx Talk on job satisfaction, the keynote speech for the prestigious photography summit WRKSHP, and garnering an invitation to speak to the students at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO on the topics of social justice and “finding your voice.” To his core, this musician and father of four brings heart and incredible energy to everything he does.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Gina Breedlove

Friday, June 14, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

“The potent, powerful medicine of sound can shift and move stuck energy out of the body, creating opportunity for wellness, presence, clarity, and so much more.” —gina Breedlove

Medicine woman gina Breedlove is a singer, songwriter, sound healer, and actor from Brooklyn. gina began performing professionally at age 16, singing background for the inimitable Phyllis Hyman. She went on to tour with legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte as his featured vocalist. gina created the role of Sarabi in Disney’s The Lion King, and most recently has appeared in two Spike Lee films: Chi-Raq and Living Da Dream. gina tours the world with her music, which she describes as “FolkSoul,” holding sound healing circles in every city she visits.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Jolie Holland

Friday, June 7, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Over the span of her career, Jolie Holland has knotted together a century of American song—jazz, blues, soul, rock and roll—into a stew that is impossible to categorize with any conventional critical terminology. Her burden and her gift is to know all these American songs of the last ten decades in her head and her heart and to have to wrestle with their legacy. As evident on her first recordings, Holland has no fear of the truth, and there is no emotional core that she cannot reach in song. Astute listeners to Holland’s work can recognize how her writing over the years has deepened, matured, and become the songwriting of a wise, worldly adult.

Jolie Holland has a “desperation to tell now.” And she has called on deep, dark forces to get there. It’s always a pleasure to hear a musician come to a new precipice in her output, where great skills and great courage are required to rise to the occasion. Wine Dark Sea is the album of a lifetime, with a lifetime of work in it.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Alejandro Escovedo

Friday, May 17, 2019 at 9:30 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll. Forever the curious explorer, he’s been a punk of the rebel kind, a cowpunk of the non-Western variety, commander of a guitar army, an orchestral conductor in his solo work, and a sensitive boy who has outrun death, demons, lust, and lost love in his songs. He has collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale, Los Lobos, among others, and in 1998 No Depression magazine declared him the Artist of the Decade.

Following the September 2018 release of his album The Crossing, recorded with the Italian group Don Antonio, Escovedo is fresh off his worldwide tour. Join him for one of two performances at the Rubin Museum on the night of May 17.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Alejandro Escovedo

Friday, May 17, 2019 at 7:00 PM at Naked Soul at The Rubin Museum of Art

Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll. Forever the curious explorer, he’s been a punk of the rebel kind, a cowpunk of the non-Western variety, commander of a guitar army, an orchestral conductor in his solo work, and a sensitive boy who has outrun death, demons, lust, and lost love in his songs. He has collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale, Los Lobos, among others, and in 1998 No Depression magazine declared him the Artist of the Decade.

Following the September 2018 release of his album The Crossing, recorded with the Italian group Don Antonio, Escovedo is fresh off his worldwide tour. Join him for one of two performances at the Rubin Museum on the night of May 17.

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Garland Jeffreys

at the Rubin Museum, Friday, November 2, 2018 at 7:00PM

Legendary singer Garland Jeffreys’ thoughtful, passionate songs mix new wave, soul, reggae, garage rock, doo-wop, and Latin influences to create a deeply personal hybrid that reflects his own multi-ethnic roots. A New York native and veteran of the fertile mid-70s and early 80s scene, Jeffreys’ songs range from streetwise urban-romantic love songs to penetrating social critiques tackling issues of race in America.

After a long hiatus, Jeffreys has self-released three stellar albums over the last seven years: The King of In Between, was featured on numerous 2011 year-end best of lists, including those of Rolling Stone, MSN, and NPR, and been recognized as “a late career masterpiece” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Truth Serum (2013) is “an album that’s urgent and immediate—much like New York City itself—but also filled with seven decades of gritty, street-smart attitude” (American Songwriter), and 14 Steps To Harlem (2017) had critics raving “more proof that he deserves musical comparisons that fall somewhere between Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and Graham Parker” (Pop Matters)and “shows the now 73-year-old songwriter still reveling in the kind of wide-ranging songwriting that has today become a lost art” (Stereophile).

About Naked Soul

Naked Soul presents performances from some of the country’s top singer/songwriters without microphones or amplifiers, as if the music were, acoustically speaking, naked. The musicians in the series draw upon the universal themes inherent in Himalayan art—spirituality, peace, tolerance, wisdom, compassion—on select Friday evenings.

Ari Hest

Naked Soul Series • The Rubin Museum • 10.19.18 • 7:30 PM • NYC

“I’ve been making music and touring the planet for about 15 years. What started out as an occasional creative outlet is now my way of life. Growing up just outside New York City, I began playing guitar in the hallways of my high school, learning the songs of The Beatles, Peter Gabriel, Smashing Pumpkins, and Dave Matthews Band. I graduated, went to college for a communications degree, and finished feeling way more inclined to make music than anything else, so I hit the road. In these past 15 years, I’ve played in every state in the U.S. and toured extensively throughout Europe. I’ve had the honor of playing with a slew of incredible musicians wherever I’ve gone.

I just released my ninth LP, Natural, and I’ve also released three solo EPs as well as a song-a-week project of 2008 called “52”. I also am in three bands that have recorded albums over the past few years -The Open Sea with Rosi Golan, Bluebirds of Paradise with Chrissi Poland, and most recently a duets album with Judy Collins called Silver Skies Blue, which was nominated for a Grammy award for “Best Folk Album” of 2017.

Sometimes my music is heard on TV or in movies – The Path, The Lincoln Lawyer, Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill to name a few. I also scored music for a film called Dreamriders, a documentary which won several independent film awards. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to sing and play music for a living. I wanna keep it going for as long as possible. It’s good for my soul, and I love knowing that what i create can have a real impact on people.”

– Ari Hest

BETTY, the activist pop rock band fronted by Alyson Palmer and sisters Elizabeth and Amy Ziff, is known for clever lyrics, soaring harmonies, and energetic live shows. The band’s distinctive sound and inspired humor have been heard for decades on television (The L Word theme song, Weeds, Ugly Betty, and more), in films (Life With Mikey with Michael J. Fox and Nathan Lane, The Out-of-Towners, and more), Off-Broadway, on commercials, in concerts around the world, and in numerous recordings of their own and as guests, including their tenth and newest album, On The Rocks, now available on iTunes.

BETTY’s heartfelt feminist passion and international appearances as Arts Envoys for the US State Department led Gloria Steinem to suggest they create a non- profit for their ongoing work on behalf of women, girls, and those marginalized by society. In 2016, The BETTY Effect began formally, supporting the band’s outreach in India, South and Central America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the US.

David Bronza

NAKED SOUL SERIES at The Rubin Museum • 09.07.18 • 7 PM

From his whirlwind finger picking, to Flamenco percussion and rhythms, to a signature rock-and-roll sound, Israeli superstar David Broza’s energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world.

More than a singer/songwriter, Broza is also known for his commitment and dedication to several humanitarian projects, predominantly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since 1977, when his hit song “Yihye Tov” first hit the airwaves, Broza has worked to promote a message of peace. The song’s lyrics, roughly translated as “Things Will Be Better,” struck at the heart of the issue—that people all over the world want peace. Now with a string of multi-platinum albums behind him, he still strives to deliver this message. Broza was awarded a Spanish medal of honor by the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, for his longtime contribution to Israel-Spain relations and his promotion of tolerance. He has also been named a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

A powerful musician, passionate peace advocate, and music industry innovator, David Broza inspires audiences with his sincere message and charismatic performance.

John Gorka • Naked Soul Series • 08.03.18

The Rubin Museum • 7 PM

John Gorka is an honored icon of the folk tradition and has been described as “the preeminent male singer-songwriter of the New Folk Movement” by Rolling Stone. A New Jersey native, Gorka utilizes a rich baritone voice and unique songcraft to weave a magical spell that is immediately recognized as his personal style. Many well-known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black, and Maura O’Connell.

Richard Shindell

Performing in the Naked Soul Series

July 13, 2018, 7:00pm-8:30pm

Originally from New York, now dividing his time between Buenos Aires, Argentina and New York’s Hudson Valley, Richard Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be.

From his first record, Sparrow’s Point (1992) to his current release, Careless (September 2016), Shindell has explored the possibilities offered by this most elastic and variable of cultural confections: the song. The path that led him to songwriting was both circuitous and direct.

Taking up the guitar at the age of eight, he listened but imagined that composing a song was out of the question. After college and a nine month stint in a Zen Buddhist community in Upstate New York, he headed to Europe with his guitar, finding something not approaching a livelihood performing in the Paris Metro, where he discovered “I loved the acoustics in those tunnels, but only when they were empty.”

Jill Sobule

NAKED SOUL SERIES at The Rubin Museum • 07.06.18 • 7 PM

Jill Sobule is a Denver-born singer, songwriter, storyteller, and guitarist. Her recording career began in 1990 with her debut album Things Here Are Different, produced by Todd Rundgren. Her 1995 self-titled album yielded the hit songs “I Kissed a Girl” and “Supermodel.” Since then she has continued to record, produce, and tour with an ever-growing, loyal fan base. Jill is considered a pioneer in crowdsourcing, with her 2009 record California Years having been funded by her fans. She continues to be at the forefront of exploring and creating new models for artists in an ever-changing music industry. She has performed with Neil Young, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Cyndi Lauper, Tom Morello, and Warren Zevon and inducted Neil Diamond into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
 

Mary Gauthier plays the Naked Soul Series • Fri, 06.08

The Rubin Museum • NYC • 7 PM

There is nothing trivial about the award-winning, “country noir” singer Mary Gauthier’s tenth album, Rifles and Rosary Beads (Thirty Tigers), a collection of songs co-written with and for wounded veterans, as part of Darden Smith’s five-year-old Songwriting With: Soldiers program.

Gauthier’s first nine albums presented deeply confessional songs, ranging from “I Drink,” a blunt accounting of addiction, to “March 11, 1962,” the day she was born—and relinquished to an orphanage—to “Worthy,” in which the singer finally understands she is deserving of love.

Each song on Rifles and Rosary Beads is a gut punch: deceptively simple and emotionally complex. From the opening “Soldiering On” (“What saves you in the battle/Can kill you at home”) to “Bullet Holes in the Sky” (“They thank me for my service/And wave their little flags/They genuflect on Sundays/And yes, they’d send us back”), to the abject horror of “Iraq,” and its quiet depiction of a female mechanic’s rape, each song tells the story of a deeply wounded veteran. “My job as a songwriter,” Mary says, “is to find that thing a soul needs to say.”

Dan Bern

Naked Soul Series at The Rubin Museum • 05.11.18 • 7 PM

A remarkably prolific songwriter, Dan Bern has released around two dozen studio albums, EPs, and live recordings since his first acclaimed Sony-distributed album in 1997. Either fronting the prodigiously talented band Common Rotation or as a solo performer, he is comfortable and convincing, funny and topical, with an unassuming tip of the hat to Woody Guthrie, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan, all while sounding thoroughly original and contemporary. Whether writing about stepping back and appreciating the world around us (“Breathe”) or celebrating the venerable voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers (“The Golden Voice of Vin Scully”), Dan’s songs are always literary, sometimes funny, and often cinematic. And it’s not uncommon at a Dan Bern concert to see and hear fans unabashedly singing along to one song after another with no prompting from the stage.
 

Folk icon Tom Rush is a gifted musician whose shows offer a musical celebration and a journey into the tradition and spectrum of what music has been, can be, and will become. His distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and warm, expressive voice have made him both a legend and a lure to audiences around the world. His shows are filled with the rib-aching laughter of terrific storytelling, the sweet melancholy of ballads, and the passion of gritty blues.

Beginning his career in Boston at the famed Club 47, Tom helped shape the folk revival in the 1960s and the renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s. His early recordings introduced the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor. He is credited by Rolling Stone with “ushering in the singer/songwriter era.” Now celebrating his fiftieth year on stage and in the studio, Tom continues to break new ground. His most recent release was voted Top Album of the Year by Folk DJL and awarded Folk Album of The Year by the International Folk Alliance. His YouTube clip of “Remember Song” has become an internet sensation with close to six million plays to date. He maintains a full touring schedule of largely sold-out shows that are both presenter and audience favorites, still doing what audiences love him for: writing and playing passionately and tenderly knitting together the musical traditions and talents of our times.

Anaïs Mitchell at Naked Soul

Rubin Museum | NYC | March 9th | 7 PM

Anaïs Mitchell is a Vermont and Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter who comes from the world of narrative folksong, poetry, and balladry. She recorded for Ani Difranco’s Righteous Babe Records for several years before starting her own Wilderland label in 2012. Among her recorded works are six full-length albums, including 2010’s sensationally reviewed Hadestown, a folk opera based on the Orpheus myth; 2012’s Young Man in America, which was described by the UK’s Independent as “an epic tale of American becoming”; and 2013’s Child Ballads, a collaboration with Jefferson Hamer, which won a BBC Radio Two Folk Award for Best Traditional Track.

Mitchell has headlined shows worldwide as well as supporting tours for Bon Iver, Ani Difranco, The Low Anthem (all of whom appear as guest singers on Hadestown), Josh Ritter, and Punch Brothers. Her stage production of Hadestown, which was ten years in the making, opened Off-Broadway in May 2016 to rave reviews. The New York Times called it “inventive, beguiling, and spellbinding” while Vogue proclaimed, ”Hadestown will be your new theater obsession.” The show was extended twice as a result of critical success and sell-out performances.

Holly Near plays the Naked Soul Series at

The Rubin Museum

Friday, Jan 26th, 2018 | 7 - 8:30 PM

Holly Near grew up on a ranch in Northern California, where her initial vocal training was singing from mountaintops. This was followed by work in musical theater, folk, jazz, and popular music styles. For more than forty years she has been a musical ambassador for peace and understanding all over the world.
 

James Maddock • Naked Soul

The Rubin Museum of Art • NYC

Singer/songwriter James Maddock has rightfully earned the respect of such influential songsmiths as Bruce Springsteen and Willie Nile. He has built his legacy by honoring purity of expression, tapping into a talent for conveying his songs and sentiments in a style that is at once elegant and direct.

Since 1999, Maddock’s boldly vulnerable songwriting, along with his honeyed rasp and a distinctive folk and Americana aesthetic, has garnered acclaim from icons, peers, and such taste-making outlets as NPR, American Songwriter, Relix Magazine, and CMT Edge. His consistency as a recording artist and his captivating live performances have attracted a devoted and engaged fan base.

Prior to his solo career, James Maddock acted as front man for the Columbia Records band Wood, whose songs were prominently featured in the acclaimed television series Dawson’s Creek. His 2009 solo album, Sunrise on Avenue C, won a New York Music Award for Best Americana Album, while its follow-up, Wake Up and Dream, ranked among the top albums of 2011 in WFUV’s annual Best of the Year Listener Poll. His 2015 album, The Green, represents an eclectic and soulful expansion of Maddock’s catalogue of tasteful music.

Tim O'Brien | Naked Soul Series | Nov 17th

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien, grew up singing in church and after seeing Doc Watson on TV, became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Over the years, he has released fifteen solo albums, as well as collaborations with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old time musician Dirk Powell. His newest release, Where the River Meets the Road, features songs from his native West Virginia; bluegrass and Americana covers from songwriters Hazel Dickens, Billy Edd Wheeler, and Bill Withers; and heartfelt autobiographical originals.

Livingston Taylor | The Rubin Museum - Naked Soul Series | Sept 8th | 8 PM

Livingston Taylor picked up his first guitar at the age of 13, beginning a 50-year career that has encompassed performance, songwriting and teaching. Born in Boston and raised in North Carolina, Livingston is the fourth child in a very musical family that includes Alex, James, Kate and Hugh. Livingston recorded his first record at the age of 18 and has continued to create well crafted, introspective, and original songs that have earned him listeners worldwide.

From top-40 hits “I Will Be in Love with You” and “I’ll Come Running,” to “I Can Dream of You” and “Boatman,” both recorded by his brother James, Livingston’s creative output has continued unabated. His musical knowledge has inspired a varied repertoire, and he is equally at home with a range of musical genres—folk, pop, gospel, jazz—and from upbeat storytelling to touching ballads.

Livingston has never stopped performing since those early coffeehouse days, touring with major artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett and Jethro Tull, and he maintains a busy concert schedule of over 80 shows a year. He is a natural performer, peppering his shows with personal stories, anecdotes and ineffable warmth that connect him to his fans. His relaxed on-stage presence belies the depth of his musical knowledge, and fans might just as often be treated to a classic Gershwin or something from the best of Broadway.

Livingston is a full professor at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught a Stage Performance course since 1989. He teaches young artists invaluable lessons learned over the course of an extensive career on the road; the course is consistently voted the most popular at the College. His book, Stage Performance, released in 2011 offers those lessons to anyone who is interested in elevating their presentation standards to professional standards.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017 was declared "Livingston Taylor Day" by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in celebration of Livingston's 50th year of making music.

Safe Home, the new album from the venerated songwriter, Livingston Taylor, is set to be released March 3rd, 2017. Featuring a world class band of Shelly Berg (piano), David Finck (bass), Bashiri Johnson (percussion), and Chelsea Berry (vocals), the album gives playful bend to musical classics like "Anything You Can Do", and also presents Livingston originals such as "I Must Be Doing Something Right". Pull up a chair and give a listen to this guaranteed toe tapper of an album.