Joe's Pub Welcomes Mary McBride, Laura Jansen And More

Joe's Pub at The Public Theater debuted in October 1998 and has quickly became one of New York City's most celebrated and in-demand showcase venues for live music and performance. With its genre-blind booking and vast diversity of interests, the stage at Joe's Pub gives voice to a world of varied and stellar artists.

JUST ADDED
LAURA JANSEN

Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 PM; $12

Jansen, a Dutch-born, Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and musician, chronicles those little things, like cutting her hair, buying pink floral sheets, and venturing out for a drink with the guy down the hall, on "Single Girls" - the deceptively simple, but emotionally devastating first single from Bells, Jansen's upcoming debut album for Universal's Decca Records. A dreamy collection of piano-driven alt-pop songs, Bells has already gone platinum in Jansen's native Holland, propelled by "Single Girls" and a stunning cover of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," which has spent more than a year lodged in the Top 10 on the Dutch singles chart. In the U.S., Jansen is a fixture in the constellation of artists associated with Los Angeles nightclub The Hotel Cafe - a musical haven, creative incubator, and ultimately, national launching pad for such confessional-minded artists as Sara Bareilles, Priscilla Ahn, and Joshua Radin, whom Jansen toured with in 2008 and will hit the road with again in 2011.

MISS WILLIE BROWN

Wednesday, March 23 at 7:30 PM; $12

Kasey and Amanda-usually found finishing each other's sentences, talking over each other, making each other laugh and cry-are the two singers and songwriters who make up Miss Willie Brown, and the release of their first major label self-titled EP in March, marks the arrival of a major new force in country music. With raw, honky-tonk-style emotion and irresistible rock & roll swagger, the duo is both a reminder of the classic power of a song and a fresh look toward music's future.

APRIL 11-16

THE BENGSONS
Monday, April 11 at 9:30 PM; $14
Husband-and-wife led band, The Bengsons, blend rousing, all-join-hands group choruses with spry vocal melodies and rich instrumentation that incorporates everything from accordion to classical harp to church organ. Think Andrew Bird, David Byrne and Florence + The Machine writing the next Arcade Fire record and you're getting close. Hot off of the success of their coast-to-coast album release tour and Described by The New York Times as possessing "not only a tremendous musical talent, but a raw honesty, a sincere righteousness," The Bengsons present a raucous evening of art, music, and spastic joy.

MARY McBRIDE
Tuesday, April 12 at 7:30 PM; $20
"Her voice is part angel, part truck driver, as if to say sometimes you power through sadness and sometimes you just hope for a miracle." - The New York Times

"In some sort of magical kingdom, every bar you walked into would have Mary McBride performing onstage." - The Washington Post

Singer-songwriter Mary McBride burst onto the U.S.touring circuit when she released her debut album, "Everything Seemed Alright," produced by Lou Whitney. The album immediately drew critical praise and the attention of Grammy award winner Delbert McClinton, who asked her to join his tour. Mary's second release, "By Any Other Name," featuring co-writes with Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites) and Steve Wynn (the Dream Syndicate) brought her more critical acclaim. HARP MAGAZINE called it "a masterpiece, impeccable in every crevice." McBride's third album, "Every Day Is A Holiday," described as "fun and flirty" in PEOPLE and "soulful" in the BOSTON GLOBE, featured a duet of "Do You Hear What I Hear" with actor/singer Patrick Wilson. Mary has performed over 500 live shows in the US and Europe, including tour dates with Blondie, the Indigo Girls, the B52s, Cyndi Lauper, koko Taylor, Tony Joe White, Delbert McClinton, Joe Cocker, Maria Muldaur, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the late Clarence Gatemouth Brown. Mary performed "No One's Gonna Love You like Me" on-screen and on the soundtrack of the Academy-award winning film Brokeback Mountain, along with tracks from Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Rufus Wainwright, Steve Earle and others. McBride was chosen by Elton John to sing at the 35th Anniversary Concert of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and her songs have also been featured on episodes of The L Word and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Her song (co-written with Dan Baird) "Would it Kill You?" was recorded by the Yayhoos for their 2006 release "Put Your Hammer Down." McBride is currently writing the score for a new musical, The Nitpicker, directed by Tony award winner Scott Ellis.

"The Way Home," her fourth album, produced by Lou Whitney and featuring horn arrangements by legendary saxophonist Charlie Chalmers, who wrote arrangements and played sax on some of the greatest hits of Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis and Wilson Pickett, was released on June 22, 2010. As part of the release of "The Way Home," Mary launched THE HOME TOUR in the summer of 2010. Hailed by ELLE as "one of the year's most influential music moments and the summer's most altruistic tour," THE HOME TOUR brought Mary and her band to play at "places people call home" - including supported housing communities, long-term health care centers, homeless shelters, homes for people living with HIV/AIDS and homes for people living with mental and physical disabilities. They played for the elderly in Washington, DC; for Navajo families living in supported housing in New Mexico; for children in the Treme' district in New Orleans; for a farm worker community in rural Washington State; for veterans recovering from injuries and living indefinitely at a VA hospital in Long Beach, CA. And these were just a handful of their stops. The band partnered with not-for-profit organization in each city which hosted the community-based concerts. Plans are underway for THE HOME TOUR to take place again in the summer of 2011 with expanded partnerships, and a wide roster of artists from around the country. All developments will be posted at www.hometour.org

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