Janis Siegel of the Manhattan Transfer will be the special guest of Latin Jazz and Salsa legend Bobby Sanabria and his 21-piece Multiverse Big Band in Washington Square Park. A free concert, Bringing It All Back Home to Washington Square takes place on Saturday, September 25 at Garibaldi Plaza in the Park.
The ten-time Grammy-winning singer is a founding member of The Manhattan Transfer and also enjoys an illustrious solo career. Janis said:
“I love singing with Bobby’s big band, especially in the playground of my teen years, Washington Square Park, for the people of my neighborhood (and others of course!) and to celebrate the rich cultural and intellectual heritage of Greenwich Village. Bobby and the Multiverse are a powerful force for good and I am proud and happy to raise my voice with them. I was born and grew up in Brooklyn, but the Village was a major factor in my life. As a teenage musician, I performed at Folk City, Kenny’s Castaways, and the Gaslight Café. I’ve been happily living in the West Village since 1981.”
Sanabria observed:
“Our concert will celebrate the Village’s legacy of culture and creativity, especially its rich history with the Puerto Rican community, which started with tobacco workers settling there in the early 20th century and continuing with the Newrican Village and Nuyorican Poets Café.”
“And I’m deeply honored that Janis Siegel, the Queen of Brooklyn, has agreed to join me Da’ Bronx Beatmaster for the gig.”
Greenwich Village’s rich history of creativity and activism will drive dozens of events throughout the iconic neighborhood, from Saturday September 18 through Sunday September 26 during The Village Trip, the third annual festival celebrating the history and heritage of the Village.
Seven-time-Grammy-nominee Bobby Sanabria and his Multiverse Big Band will bring Latin jazz to a free concert in Washington Square Park on Saturday September 25. “A force of nature” (Jazz Times), the Band is part of the rich downtown history of salsa meets jazz long celebrated by Art D’Lugoff at the Village Gate and later at Le Poisson Rouge. The ultimate feel-good music, it’s just what the doctor ordered for a festival that aims to rally the Village – so come dance in the streets to an afternoon of terrific music with some very special guests.
The Village Trip 2021 promises something for every taste and every age. On Tuesday September 21, Judson Church will host a special performance of Eve Beglarian’s opening movement to Earth Requiem: Wake Up, commissioned by artist Diana Wege. Both women live and work in the Village, as do composers Harold Meltzer and David Del Tredici, whose music will fill the sanctuary of St John’s in the Village on Thursday September 23 and Friday 24.
We are privileged also to feature the world première performance of Prelude, Prayer and Dance for Unaccompanied Viola by David Amram, Artist Emeritus of The Village Trip. Written for Consuelo Sherba, this new piece will form a unique double bill at Judson, with Earth Requiem.
At the historic Bitter End, the festival will celebrate two very different aspects of Village music history: On Saturday September 25, guitar quartet Bodies Electric will showcase the music of Edgard Varèse, and Frank Zappa and the Psychedelic Circus while on Sunday September 26, Sing Out! an all-star celebration of the New York folk revival will bring this year’s festival to a close.
There will be busking, readings, discussions, and events for children, plus a concert by the young students at The Third Street Music School Settlement. There’s also a full program of walks and talks, among them:
- David Amram, will lead a walk through the haunts and hangouts that mark his 65 years in the Village, his personal and professional friendships with a roll-call of legendary musicians and writers. A truly unique opportunity.
- Bill Groom, production designer for the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, will give an illustrated talk about the neighborhood featured in the series.
- Bill Goldstein, who is writing a biography of playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramer, will talk about work on that book at the NYC AIDS Memorial
- Public historian Kathleen Hulser will lead a tour focusing on the “Bad, Rad, and Boho Women of the Village”
- Brad Gooch will talk about his novel Smash Cut, set in the Village of the 1970s and ‘80s
- Jesse Rifkin of Walk On the Wild Side will lead two tours exploring the rich history of music in the Village
“This year, The Village Trip will have special resonance and meaning, as the neighborhood recovers from Covid and looks to the future. As a Village resident, I know we all need the chance to remember what we’ve been through and celebrate where we are headed.”
Clifford Pearson, Joint Artistic Director of the festival
Highlights of The Village Trip Progam in 2021
Land of the Blacks Walking Experience
Washington Square Washington Square Park, New York, NYBlack Gotham Experience will present a walking experience called "Land of the Blacks" for The Village Trip 2021. The walk will center around the lives of Black people that lived […]
Land of the Blacks Walking Experience
Washington Square Washington Square Park, New York, NYBlack Gotham Experience will present a walking experience called "Land of the Blacks" for The Village Trip 2021. The walk will center around the lives of Black people that lived […]
Hear The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Bill Groom, Production Designer, talk about the hit series
North Square Lounge at the Washington Square Hotel 103 Waverly Place, New York, NYHear Bill Groom, production designer of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, talk about using Greenwich Village as one of the key locations for the hit television series and how he and […]
Diana Wege’s Earth Requiem: Wake Up + World Premiere of Prelude, Prayer and Dance for Unaccompanied Viola by David Amram, performed by Consuelo Sherba
Judson Memorial Church 55 Washington Square South, New York, NYThis event will also be livestreamed.
A unique opportunity to experience Eve Beglarian’s opening movement of Earth Requiem: Wake Up and the world première performance of Prelude, Prayer and Dance for Unaccompanied Viola by David Amram, Artist Emeritus of The Village Trip, commissioned for this year’s festival by the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music. Performed by Consuelo Sherba.
An Evening of Chamber Music by Harold Meltzer
St John’s in the Village 218 W 11th St, New York, NYThis event will also be livestreamed.
A journey through the “graceful, sensual and contemplative” sound worlds of the much-garlanded East Village composer
David Del Tredici, in Black and White
St John’s in the Village 218 W 11th St, New York, NYThis event will also be livestreamed.
Pianist Marc Peloquin celebrates the keyboard music of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Westbeth composer, with whom he enjoys a symbiotic relationship
Bringing It All Back Home to Washington Square – Free Concert in the Park with Bobby Sanabria and His Multiverse Big Band
Garibaldi Plaza Washington Square Park, New York, NYA free concert headlined by Latin jazz great Bobby Sanabria and his Multiverse Big Band, plus friends and special guests, including Janis Siegel of The Manhattan Transfer. Bring your dancing shoes for the ultimate high-energy, feel-good afternoon.
Bodies Electric Celebrates the Music of Edgard Varèse, and Frank Zappa and the Psychedelic Circus
The Bitter End 147 Bleecker Street, New York, NYFathers of invention – the first wild man of classical music and the cultural gadfly. Two great iconoclasts who never met yet have much in common
Sing Out! The Village Trip Hootenanny
The Bitter End 147 Bleecker Street, New York, NYThis event will also be livestreamed.
A glorious finale to The Village Trip! Join Christine Lavin and friends David Buskin and Robin Batteau, David Massengill, Hannah Reimann, Michele Temple and of course David Amram, Artist Emeritus of the festival, for the now-traditional Village Trip hoot, a celebration of the New York folk revival and its rich and enduring heritage.