Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ APRIL 20, 2019

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.

For future NYC Events, check the tab above:  “APRIL NYC Events”
It’s the most comprehensive list of top events this month that you will find anywhere.
Carefully curated from “Only the Best” NYC event info on the the web, it’s a simply superb resource that will help you plan your NYC visit all over town, all through the month.
OR to make your own after dinner plans TONIGHT, see the tab above;  “LiveMusic.”

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Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

Live From Here w/ Chris Thile
with guests Josh Ritter, Cécile McLorin Salvant and Mike Lawrence
Town Hall / 5:45pm; $55+
“Live from Here with Chris Thile is a Saturday-night destination for audiences everywhere. This variety show features a unique blend of musical performances, comedy and audience interaction. Acclaimed musician and songwriter Chris Thile welcomes a wide range of well-known and up-and-coming talent to share the stage and create a beautiful listening experience.”

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> LARRY GOLDINGS, PETER BERNSTEIN AND BILL STEWART
>> La Traviata
>> 54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits!
>> TERENCE BLANCHARD AND THE E-COLLECTIVE
>> Amanda Palmer
>> Reggae Fest
>> Monty Alexander Trio

Continuing Events
>>more coming soon
>> STREB

COMING SOON (WFUV)
4/21 Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados, Sony Hall
4/22 The National, Beacon Theatre
4/22 Los Amigos Invisibles & Aterciopelados, Brooklyn Bowl
4/23 Bailen, Music Hall of Williamsburg
4/24 Girlpool, Hatchie, Music Hall of Williamsburg

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

LARRY GOLDINGS, PETER BERNSTEIN AND BILL STEWART (April 19-21)
at Jazz Standard / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $
“Over the past three decades, this trio has been one of jazz’s quiet stalwarts. Goldings’s organ is sometimes frisky, sometimes smoldering; Bernstein plays the guitar more crisply and adroitly than almost anyone in the game; and Stewart’s drum work balances the influences of Tony Williams and Paul Motian into an attack that’s buoyant and tonally sensitive and complex. The group released a charming album last year, “Toy Tunes,” and will likely draw from that material during this weekend run.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

La Traviata (next Apr.24, 7:30PM)
Metropolitan Opera House / 8PM, $139+
“Michael Mayer’s “dazzling” (Vanity Fair) new production returns, with Romanian soprano Anita Hartig as the opera’s tragic heroine. Plácido Domingo reprises his portrayal of the stern Germont, alongside tenor Stephen Costello as Alfredo. Nicola Luisotti conducts.”

54 Sings Broadway’s Greatest Hits!
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM; $40+
“Broadway by the Year impresario Scott Siegel curates this monthly concert series, in which Broadway stars sing some of the Great White Way’s best-loved tunes. Performers on April 13 include John Easterlin, Douglas Ladnier, Cooper Grodin and William Michals; the April 20 lineup features Michael Winther, Pedro Coppeti, Dongwoo Kang and Q-Lim.” (TONY)

TERENCE BLANCHARD AND THE E-COLLECTIVE (April 18-21)
at the Blue Note / 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $20-$35
“Since his arrival in the 1980s as a member of the Young Lions scene, Blanchard has become one of jazz’s most effortlessly flexible trumpeters and inquisitive bandleaders. He is known for scoring most of Spike Lee’s movies (his music for “BlacKkKlansman” was nominated for an Oscar this year), but his most consistent concern over the past few years has been the E-Collective, a quintet of Blanchard and spry young improvisers who play his explosive original music — often guided by social concerns — and currently include the guitarist Charles Altura, the pianist Fabian Almazan, the bassist David Ginyard Jr. and the drummer Oscar Seaton.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Amanda Palmer
@ Beacon Theatre / 7:30M, $40+
“After a seven year gap between solo albums, Amanda Palmer returned this year with the wonderful There Will Be No Intermission, and her stop at Beacon Theatre tonight marks the halfway point in her extensive North American theater tour.”

Reggae Fest
Have an island respite on the island of Manhattan
Playstation Theater / 11PM, $25
“Catch an island breeze at this weekend’s Reggae Fest, a concert-meets-dance party featuring soca music, dancehall, afrobeats, and reggae from 11pm till the wee morning hours. Sure, it can’t rival an actual vacation, but it’s a start.” (Thrillist)

Monty Alexander Trio (Apr.18-21)
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, 9:30PM, $35-$45
“In a career spanning six decades, pianist Monty Alexander has built a reputation by exploring and bridging the worlds of American jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica. In the process, he has performed and recorded with artists from every corner of the musical universe and entertainment world, including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Quincy Jones, Ernest Ranglin, Barbara Hendricks, Bobby McFerrin, Sly Dunbar, and Robbie Shakespeare. Combining classic, swinging jazz with the rhythms and vibrations of Jamaica, Alexander always makes good on his promise to “get everybody moving below the waist.”

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

More Smart Stuff coming soon.

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Continuing Events

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STREB (weekends through May 12)
Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st St., Bklyn. / Sat.5PM, Sun.3PM; $25
“The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters  have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.” (Brian Seibert, NewYorker)

The Streb performers are absolutely amazing and so worth the detour.
I try to see them every year, can’t get enough.

♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, plus dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.6 million, had a record 65 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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Bonus NYC Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not quite WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. caffevivaldi.com, 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening discovery and enjoyment.

Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world. Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues. Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art.

Here is one exhibition the New Yorker likes: