The Sweet Sounds of September, Part One

Live music is exploding all through downtown Manhattan, as increasing numbers of New Yorkers come out of their COVID-era cocoons to enjoy the joyful sounds that temporarily erase the stresses of life. In parks, sidewalk cafes, and a few non-traditional settings, local musicians are drawing from a handful to more than 100 listeners, most of whom are masked and reasonably-distanced. In most cases, the music is performed outdoors and is free to enjoy, but the musicians encourage you to drop a few dollars into their tip buckets. Here are some of the musicians who are worth your time and financial support.

Nora Balaban and friends play traditional spiritual music from Zimbabwe in Tompkins Square Park

Scott Stenten plays jazz standards on two guitar necks simultaneously in Tompkins Square Park

High School students called the Employees play psychedelic rock in Tompkins Square Park

Leroy Webb plays rhythm and blues in Washington Square Park

Seth Kessel plays country rock at the Red Lion

Ghostwood Country Club plays acoustic rock at Marshall Stack

Barynya use folk instruments to play traditional Russian music at the Anyway Cafe

Yael Dray-Barel, Gabriel Hermida and Ben Golder-Novick play world music at Nomad 

Christos Papadopoulos and Spiros Exaras play Greek rebetiko music at Drom