I’m giving a talk next Sunday on my experience living inside a venue (Silent Barn II); 1 of 3 presentations on the history of residential performance spaces in New York (the others include archival footage from concerts Alan Lomax, the folklorist, had in his home in the Greenwich Village in the 1960s & from Studio We, one of the first jazz lofts in NYC). It’s at Rubulad, arguably New York’s longest running DIY space, and is organized by The Museum of Music & Entertainment in NYC.

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Moment NYC presents:

Residential Music Spaces

Oral history, archival media, and social dance party. Featuring rare materials from Alan Lomax, Studio We, and the Silent Barn.

NYC has a rich history of residential spaces being used as unlicensed, DIY performance spaces, from jazz musicians routinely playing at Harlem rent parties in the 20s, Yoko Ono and LaMonte Young staging a concert series in Ono's Tribeca apartment in the early 60s, to singer-songwriter Lach hosting antifolk open mics at the Fort, his L.E.S. storefront apartment, in the mid-80s, to composer William Basinski and artist James Elaine presenting avant-garde music in Arcadia, their Williamsburg loft, in the early 90s.

We'll be celebrating that legacy by diving into the histories of three very different residential venues from three disparate music scenes: Music historian Jesse Rifkin will introduce a rare screening of Ballads, Bluegrass, and Blues, Alan Lomax's short film documenting one of the many invitation-only folk music shows he staged in his apartment in the early 60s, including rare performances by the likes of Doc Watson, Willie Dixon, Roscoe Holcomb, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott.

The Underground Producers Alliance will present footage and audio from Studio We, the cutting-edge "loft jazz" venue run by musicians Juma Sultan and James DuBoise in the early 70s.

Finally, promoter and Withfriends co-founder Joe Ahearn will screen and discuss documentary footage and photos from his longtime residence, the Silent Barn, the influential Ridgewood, Queens, show space that hosted a wide variety of indie artists in the 00s and 10s. While this event's focus is on long-gone venues, it is our hope that this treasure trove of material will illustrate the ongoing importance of non-traditional performance spaces in the city, and perhaps even inspire attendees to take matters into their own hands and create venues of their own.

Rubulad
RSVP for address, Bushwick, Brooklyn
2p doors, 2:30p; $10-20 suggested