A Night of Music, Theater, Poetry, Song: Thursday, January 11, 2024, 7 pm-9 pm
If you found your way here, congratulations! You're one step closer to a night full of inspiration and surprise. Ken Waldman & The Wild Ones feature Alaskan Fiddling Poet, Ken Waldman, with Cambridge MA guitarist (and fiddler and accordion player), Erica Weiss, and Ithaca multi-instrumentalist--banjo, fiddle, guitar--Lydia Garrison. They'll go from rocking and rowdy traditional string-band numbers (made new through poetry and storytelling accompaniment) to Waldman's original waltzes to Garrison's songs (and singing). Separately, the three have not only played music all over the continent, but they've traveled the world. Together, they aim to make sure everyone watching and listening is having as much fun as they're having playing. Ken Waldman & The Wild Ones are on from 7:00-7:30 and again from 8:30-9:00. More about Ken & Lydia is right here.
In between, from 7:30-8:30, we have Matt Butler and his Reckless Son project. Written and performed by singer songwriter Matt Butler, he's been inspired by his experience performing inside places like Ohio's Chillicothe Correctional Institution, Utah's Gunnison Prison, and New York's Rikers Island. It's a collection of music, monologues, personal history, and lessons learned from those behind bars. Filled with Americana songs influenced by Woody Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, and other troubadours, Reckless Son is more than a show. It's a calling. Matt Butler's work has also been been compared to Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and Johnny Cash's “Folsom Prison Blues.” Butler has been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, https://www.npr.org/2023/01/30/1151365311/matt-butler-prisons-concert and on the nationally syndicated Live Wire Radio. For more about Matt Butler, https://mattbutlersongs.com/.
The venue: Don't Tell Mama, 343 W. 46th, an easy walk from the Hilton, the conference hotel. It's 46th St. between 8th and 9th Avenue. We're in a back cabaret room, the same space Ken Waldman has used for a decade of producing APAP showcase evenings. It seats 80, and is open to both APAP attendees and the general public. APAP attendees are comped (and reservations are strongly recommended); it's $20 for the general public. There's a two-drink minimum, and it's a cash-only establishment. Doors open at 6:30, but you can also arrive early to grab a meal, or a drink in another of the rooms. It's a famous club, a lively piano bar up front. Again, it's an easy walk from the Hilton. Come see us! (For the first 10 APAP reservations, the drinks are our treat.)
Questions? Reservations? ken@kenwaldman.com