Solange
Solange (photo by Max Hirschberger)

The 5 best NYC shows to see this week

Every day — 365 days a year — we post a list of suggested NYC shows happening that day, along with a reminder that you can also browse our full show calendar. Every Monday (starting today!), we’ll also give you a preview of the week with our TOP 5 NYC SHOWS HAPPENING THIS WEEK:

in date order…

Tibet House Benefit 2020

WEDNESDAY, 2/26: 2020 Tibet House Benefit @ Carnegie Hall

It’s the 33rd annual Tibet House US Benefit, which always brings out an amazing array of talent to Carnegie Hall. As usual, the legend Philip Glass has curated the lineup which this year includes Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Laurie Anderson, Bettye LaVette and Margo Price — who have all played previous benefits — plus Jesse Paris Smith, The National’s Matt Berninger, and first-timer Phoebe Bridgers. Fingers crossed Pheobe and Matt will perform their collaborative song “Walking on a String”. These shows are always a great experience and a great excuse to make it to the historic venue.

Status: there are limited tickets available — Carnegie Hall says call the venue at 212-247-7800.

Machine Girl Vitus

THURSDAY, 2/27: Machine Girl, Abby, .gif from god, LustSickPuppy, Versus (Channel 63 vs Sweet Zach vs Grooming vs Afterlife.Online) @ Saint Vitus

Machine Girl is the noise/industrial project of NYC musician Matthew Stephenson with drummer Sean Kelly, and they’ve got a chaotic sound that sounds like the middle ground between Godflesh, Squarepusher, and HEALTH, and they already have a reputation for putting on crazy live shows in NYC. They’ll take their show on the road opening for Code Orange this year, but first they play a headlining hometown show tonight, which celebrates the release of their new demos compilation MG DEMO DISC. Making the show doubly exciting, it also features Richmond sass/screamo/metalcore band .gif from god, whose 2019 sophomore album approximation_of_a_human (Prosthetic Records) was one of last year’s most exciting breakthrough albums in heavy music. Rounding out the bill is local electronic musicians Abby and LustSickPuppy, and a set from noise musicians Channel 93 vs Sweet Zach vs Grooming vs Afterlife.Online under the name Versus (not to be confused with the indie rock band).

Status: You can still get tickets.

UPDATE (2/26): Actually, the show celebrates Machine Girl’s just-released new album U-Void Synthesizer. It is now sold out.


Solange event at Town Hall

FRIDAY, 2/28: Lena Horne Prize Event honoring Solange @ Town Hall

Solange is being awarded the first-ever Lena Horne Prize for Artists, which “honors artists creating social impact with their platform and who inspire the next generation of change-makers.” She’ll receive $100,000 at the ceremony, which she’s donating to Houston-based nonprofit Project Row Houses, and the event also features visual art, short films, spoken word performances, and, of course, live music. The lineup was recently expanded with performances promised by Leon Bridges, Rapsody, Andra Day, BJ The Chicago Kid, Angélique Kidjo, Talib Kweli, Jon Batiste and others (including Solange?). The evening should be inspiring and a unique chance to catch many great artists all in one night, and all for a good cause.

Status: tickets are still on sale.

John Maus Boy Harsher Outline poster

SATURDAY: 2/29: “Outline” series @ Knockdown Center

A bevy of disparate but cool artists are on the bill for the inaugural edition of Knockdown Center’s vibe “Outline” series. At the top of the bill are gothy synthpoppers John Maus and Boy Harsher, plus Katie Gately celebrates the release of her terrific new album Loom, plus sets from Chicago jazz-funk experimentalist Ben Lamar Gay, Vancouver rapper/producer DEBBY FRIDAY, new age cult artist Don Slepian, Patience (the synthpop solo project of Veronica Falls’ Roxanne Clifford), and sound sculpturist Rena Anakwe. Between sets, check out multiple exhibitions in the gallery space, and Aya Rodriguez-Izumi’s art installation which is there just for Outline.

Status: tickets are still available.

Cult of Luna poster

SUNDAY, 3/1: Cult of Luna, Emma Ruth Rundle, Intronaut @ Gramercy Theater

20+ years into their career, Swedish post-metal greats Cult of Luna returned last year with A Dawn To Fear, an album so great we named it one of the best of 2019. As we wrote then, it has them seeming “totally revitalized” and “nailed the middle ground between heavy, atmospheric, and beautiful.” Much to our excitement, they also announced a rare North American tour that begins this week and lands at the fairly intimate Gramercy Theater on Saturday night. It’s a great triple bill that features Emma Ruth Rundle and Intronaut. Emma — who was chosen to be one of the curators at the highly respected and always amazing Roadburn fest this year — is a rising force in the metal world and beyond. Ex-frontperson of her own post-metal band Red Sparowes (who are reuniting for Roadburn), she has released a series of great singer-songwriter style dream pop albums under own name in recent years, as well as collaborations with other exciting artists like Jaye Jayle (Evan Patterson of Young Widows), Thou, and Thrice. LA’s proggier sludgesters Intronaut — now signed to Metal Blade — are celebrating the release of their sixth album Fluid Existential Inversions this week and will probably be headlining their own show at a venue at least as big as Saint Vitus next time they’re in town.

Status: sold out, but secondhand tickets are available.


runner ups: Wolf Parade, GZA, Lou Reed’s birthday celebration, Today is the Day & The Obsessed, One Step Closer, Heart Attack Man & Anxious with Knuckle Puck, and Hall and Oates & Squeeze.

see also: More suggested NYC shows happening today.