Yo La Tengo’s 2022 Hanukkah run starts this weekend — who’s opening?
One of the great NYC holiday traditions, Yo La Tengo‘s 2022 Hanukkah run at Bowery Ballroom, starts this Sunday (12/18) and runs through December 25. Tickets are still available for December 24 and December 25, but they usually release more tickets during the week, so it’s worth checking back.
A big part of the fun at these shows are the surprise guests. Each night features an unannounced opening band and comedian, a guest collaborator for Yo La Tengo’s main set, and then a special guest for the encore. You never know who it’s going to be till you show up that night. We have no idea who will open at this year’s Hanukkah run, but it’s always fun to guess.
Sun Ra Arkestra play almost every year, and if there’s anything that can be considered a lock as far as openers go, it’s them. With Hanukkah overlapping with Christmas this year, there are less artists on tour during the run, but OSEES are in town with shows tonight and Saturday, so they are a possibility, as is Lambchop, who plays Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday. Their Matador labelmates Horsegirl all live in NYC now. Wet Leg wrap up their NYC run tonight; maybe they’ll stick around for a couple days? Other artists playing NYC shows during the run: Richard Thompson, Sunn O))), Modest Mouse, Cursive, Rhett Miller, and Suzanne Vega.
Yo La Tengo have also managed to get cool artists to fly in just for the occasion in the last few years, including Low and Superchunk. They have also gotten groups to reform, like Christmas and The Strangeloves, so there’s always a chance of something like that. Then there are locals, kinda-locals and friends who’ve played before, like Wreckless Eric, Oneida, Bush Tetras, Steve Gunn, John Cameron Mitchell, Peter Stampfel, Jeffrey Lewis, Jon Spencer, Robyn Hitchcock, Richard Barone, Lee Ranaldo, and Ted Leo (whose NYC holiday shows with Aimee Mann begin on 12/27), to name a few
On the comedian front: Todd Barry, David Cross, Jon Glazer, Aparna Nancherla, Roy Wood Jr, Joe Pera, Jo Firestone, and John Hodgman all seem likely, and they sometimes get bigger names like Mike Birbiglia (whose Broadway show is running now), Jim Gaffigan, and John Mulaney.
Who do you think this year’s guest openers will be? Who did we forget about?
Check out our recaps of previous Yo La Tengo Hanukkah shows here.
Yo La Tengo release their new album This Stupid World in February, and will be on tour in 2023, including a show at Brooklyn Steel on March 18.
You can get Yo La Tengo albums on vinyl in the BV shop.
Check out a few pictures from Yo La Tengo Hanukkah 2021:
