Porch Stomp, MMNY, and other June News!
hello eljibitee community
How is it halfway through June already???
Thank you for everyone who tuned in to the American Folk Art museum livestream last Friday!! If you missed it, do not fret- the full livestream is still up on their Facebook page here for you to listen to! On the past two livestreams I've been on I have been described by the host as "an absolute joy" and "an absolute delight" respectively so I will be adding both of those to my resume posthaste. <3
Live, Great Bops This month
Porch Stomp festival is THIS SATURDAY 6/18!! Am so excited to be playing this free open air festival on Governor's Island. The festival runs from 11am-5:30pm and my set is 4-5pm! Spend a lovely day outdoors with live music from local artists, group jams and singalongs, and dance classes this weekend- more information on the festival here!
Make Music New York, one of my favorite days of the year, is Tuesday 6/21!! Here is a list of places and times I'm playing around Brooklyn that day!! Even if you're not in those areas, I recommend looking up locations near you where local artists will be playing for free to celebrate this awesome day!!
BKLYN Crepe- 11am-12pm
Sahadi's- 12:15pm-1pm
Someday Bar- 5:30pm-6pm
Sweet Polly- 8pm-8:30pm
Siren Songs
More specific details still to come on this one, but I'll be playing Heaven Can Wait with Siren Songs on 6/27!! Shake off your post-pride hangover with us in the East Village- doors are at 6:30 and pre-sale tickets can be purchased now for $15 for the whole night of musicians!! Link to purchase tickets here.
Look, Golly its a Brand new Tune
This past week, a collaboration of mine dropped! I worked with producer chill blainz on this track about yearning for past loves over the winter and now it's out on all streaming platforms!! You can stream it on Spotify here.
Life's a Great Big Treasure
When I think about the qualities I like about myself, that I would like to draw upon, the kind of person I want to be, I always circle back to one thing: wonder. A pure, childlike wonder for the world. The ability to sit in a present moment with gratitude and joy; an abundant, almost delirious appreciation. Taking time to notice- the view, the sounds, the sensations, the emotions. Sitting in pleasure in a world that encourages shame. Sitting with curiosity in a world that encourages judgement.
I live in a very faced paced city, in an era where the attention economy reigns, in a country mired by violence and bigotry, so wonder, to me, feels a crucial tool to combat it all. Filling my cup, as the phrase goes. Balancing the scale. Surrounding myself with good food, good art, good company; moving my body in a way that feels good; thinking about the roots of things like the first person who combined chocolate and raspberries, the people who built the building I live in, how long a tree has lived in this park; people watching with sonder; listening to my inner child. adrienne marie brown's Pleasure Activism has been a foundational text for this.
I encourage you to lean into wonder this week, even in the face of it all. To be present in sensation and emotion- I do think that we are all a bit deprived of it, and it's needed for us to keep moving forward. I know these are mostly one way letters from me to you, but if you reply to this I will receive it, so if you feel like sharing a small wonder this week, it would bring me joy to read them <3
Art I've Been Enjoying Lately
Pop Song by Larissa Pham. Oof. I've had this on my shelf for ages and am finally reading these gorgeous essays that piercingly blend art analysis with a diaristic flavor.
The Fire Island movie on Hulu is a delightful little romp for pride, and makes me miss working on my old college friend's queer Pride and Prejudice musical adaptation.
Dropout's newest improv game show series Noise Boys is an absolutely delightful spin off of a few episodes of Game Changer, the first of which is streaming for free on YouTube here and I highly recommend if you need 25 minutes full of laughs.
I'm glad you're here.
gaily yours,
Em