We are proud to announce the New York City autumn outdoor concert series. The venue tour is presented by Arts Brookfield, and curated by NewSong Music.
The series features free outdoor lunchtime concerts taking place every Wednesday and Thursday from Sept. 21 through Oct. 13.
Each Wednesday concert begins at 12:30 PM at Manhattan West, located at 385 9th Ave, near Madison Square Garden and Penn Station.
Thursday shows start at 12:30 PM at One New York Plaza, located at 1 New York Plaza in New York City’s Financial District. The lineup features some of North America’s most talented performing songwriters and represents an eclectic array of styles and genres.
All the performers featured in the concert series are members of the NewSong artist community.
QUEEN ESTHER
• Wed, Sep 21, 12:30 – 1:30PM @Manhattan West
• Thurs, Sept 22, 12:30 – 1:30PM @One New York Plaza
OLIVIA ELLEN LLOYD
• Wed, Sep 28, 12:30 – 1:30PM @Manhattan West
• Thurs, Sep 29, 12:30 – 1:30PM @One New York Plaza
JAE JIN
• Wed, Oct 5, 12:30 – 1:30PM @Manhattan West
• Thur, Oct 6, 12:30 – 1:30PM @One New York Plaza
MICHAEL FLYNN
• Wed, Oct 12, 12:30 – 1:30PM @Manhattan West
• Thur, Oct 13, 12:30 – 1:30PM @One New York Plaza
About the Artists:
QUEEN ESTHER
(pictured above)
Described as “the unknown queen of Americana” (Feedback, Norway), Queen Esther’s most recent work includes a performance with her western swing collective The Black Rose of Texas at Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City initiative. She was a 2015 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition finalist.
Queen Esther received a grant from the NYC Women’s Fund for her forthcoming alt-Americana album Blackbirding. Within the song cycle, she uses the Gettysburg battlefield to make reclamation driven Americana from a Black Southern feminist perspective. The album will be released by spring 2023.
Queen Esther is a proud member of Actor’s Equity, SAG/AFTRA, The Dramatists Guild and The Recording Academy. Her critically acclaimed 2021 Black Americana album Gild The Black Lily is the fourth release on her imprint EL Recordings. Her 2018 TED Talk “The True Origins of Country Music” continues to reverberate throughout the Americana community.
OLIVIA ELLEN LLOYD
After releasing her debut album Loose Cannon in February 2021, Olivia Ellen Lloyd has been on a steady diet of writing, touring, and honing her bandleading chops at some of Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Americana institutions (Skinny Dennis, Luckydog, and Pete’s Candy Store). Her self-funded and independently released debut has been quietly winding its way into the hearts and minds of Country and Americana music lovers all over the world.
Lloyd is a West Virginia native and proud of it. Raised by a musician and a public-school educator her sound is a combination of her deeply rooted past and her fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants present. Olivia was a 2021 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition finalist.
MICHAEL FLYNN
Michael Flynn is an Americana-adjacent singer-songwriter based in Western North Carolina. His songs have been featured on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Shameless, and on commercials for useful products like cars and shampoo. He’s also won a few awards for songwriting, most recently grand prize in the 2021 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition. His band Slow Runner has released five full-length albums, an EP, and several singles. The group spent some time on one of SonyBMG’s labels and have toured internationally with artists such as The Avett Brothers, Josh Ritter, Built to Spill, and William Fitzsimmons.
Michael has released three solo albums, including Survive With Me, the most recent, in 2020. That year also brought the release of a new EP called endlings, an unvarnished collection of songs that at various points evoke the following emotions: sadness, happiness, regret, romance, optimism, pessimism … you get the idea. Michael consistently threatens to write a self-help book called Stop Trying to Look Like What You Used To Look Like And Just Look Like What You Look Like but none of his friends think he’ll follow through.
JAE JIN
Jae Jin is an independent global recording artist, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor (SAG-AFTRA), and storyteller from Baltimore, MD. He has self-released three full-length albums of original music for which he has received Grammy consideration, numerous accolades, and songwriting awards (including the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Award and first place in the International Songwriting Competition).
He has performed nearly 600 concerts in 136 cities globally. Jae is also the recipient of a prestigious Creator Award through WeWork for his original music and powerful life story. He continues to share both around the world. Jae was a 2019 NewSong Music Performance and Songwriting Competition finalist.
ABOUT ARTS BROOKFIELD
Arts Brookfield supports innovation in music, dance, theater, film, and visual art by pushing boundaries to create unique works of art and cultural experiences presented for free. Thriving for over three decades, the program gathers communities around creativity by animating Brookfield Properties’ public spaces.
