Guide to New York's Music Happenings This Week

Arcade Fire performed at the Bowery Ballroom on March 18 in the first of four surprise shows at the venue; tonight might be the final night

Arcade Fire created quite a stir with three surprise shows at the Bowery Ballroom this past weekend. Each day, the band announced on social media that wristbands were available "now" on a "pay what you can" basis for the evening's concert. According to inside sources, only 200 wristbands would be available each night.

On Friday and Saturday, wristbands were available only at the Bowery Ballroom. Any donation to the PLUS! Ukraine Relief Fund would get a band attached on the donor's wrist. The wristband would guarantee entrance to that evening's performance. 

Early on Sunday morning, hundreds of speculators hoping to gain a wristband camped in line outside the Bowery Ballroom. About noon, Bowery Ballroom staff announced that the wristbands would not be available at the venue that day. The staff said that the locations for wristband distribution would be announced on the band's social media. More than an hour later, wristbands became available at parks in various boroughs of New York. 

The band is expected to perform a fourth and final show on Monday night. Where to get wristbands continues to be a mystery. The location of the wristband distribution will be announced on the band's social media probably around noon.

In addition to Arcade Fire, more than 100 music acts will perform in the New York area this week. Billy Joel, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Alice Cooper, Mitski, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, and Dionne Warwick are among the establish acts playing some of the larger venues. Several rising artists also are playing the larger clubs; these acts include Fletcher, Tones & I, Epik High, Mayday Parade, Parcels, Squid, Netta and Glassjaw. Dozens of local acts also are hoping to get noticed at the smaller bars, clubs and restaurants.

Please note that several concerts that were scheduled for this week are postponed or canceled. The following concerts will not happen this week. If you had plans to see any of these shows, this article lists alternate options further down the page.

• Mitski, Michelle at Radio City Music Hall
• The Music of Carly Simon at Carnegie Hall
• The Pretty Reckless at Brooklyn Made
• Tones and I at Terminal 5
• Kendall Street Company, CBDB at the Gramercy Theatre
• Gina Healy's DreamBand at the East Village Social

Alice Cooper at the Beacon Theatre in 2018; he will perform at NYPAC this week.

The Manhattan Beat recommends the following 100 concerts this week. Contact the venue for set times, ticket availability, COVID compliance and other updates. Note that some venues continue to require proof of vaccination for indoor entry.

Monday, March 21

• Arcade Fire at the Bowery Ballroom
• Ill Nino, Drowning Pool, (HED) P.E., Evolution Empire at the Gramercy Theatre
• Marcy Playground, Heaven Knows at Sony Hall
• Lauren Monroe w. Rick Allen at the Loft at City Winery
• Priya Ragu, Dan Croll at Great Jones Distilling
• Pip Blom, Catcher at Mercury Lounge
• Hrishikesh Hirway and Jenny Owen Youngs at the Bell House, Brooklyn
• Yard Act at Rough Trade
• Gayle, joe p at Mercury Lounge
• Big Ed's Blues Jam at the Red Lion
• Chris Snell's Bluegrass Session at Mona's
• The 11th St. Bar Quintet at the 11th St. Bar
• Richie Cannata's Monday Night Jam at the Bitter End
• The T Blues Band at Terra Blues
• Dirty Water Dogs at the Ear Inn
• Carl Banks at the Red Lion

Ricky Stein performed at Hill Country Barbecue Market on March 19

Tuesday, March 22

• Alice Cooper, Buckcherry at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center
• Marisa Monte at the Town Hall
• Epik High, Woosung at Terminal 5
• Parcels, Mildife at Brooklyn Steel
• Dionne Warwick at City Winery NYC
• John Oates & Guthrie Trapp (acoustic), Theo Kandel at Sony Hall
• Fletcher, Julia Wolf, Amelia Moore at Webster Hall
• Squid, Deliliuh at the Bowery Ballroom
• NETTA at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
• Mayday Parade, Real Friends, Magnolia Park at Irving Plaza
• Cassadee Pope at the Gramercy Theatre
• Hamilton Leithauser at Cafe Carlyle
• Full of Hell, Chepang, Jarhead Fertilizer, No/Más at Saint Vitus Bar
• Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Shahzad Ismaily, Ches Smith at Public Records
• Nubya Garcia at le Poisson Rouge
• Horsegirl at the Market Hotel
• Gayle, joe p at Mercury Lounge
• Luna Li at Baby's All Right
• Pip Blom, Catcher at TV Eye
• James Maddock at the 11th St. Bar
• SaRon Crenshaw (acoustic) at Terra Blues
• The T Blues Band at Terra Blues
• Little Hag at Berlin
• Milo Z at the Red Lion

The Cliffhangers at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2, on March 18

Wednesday, March 23

• David Byrne's American Utopia at the St. James Theatre
• Marisa Monte at the Town Hall
• Parcels, Mildlife at Brooklyn Steel
• Dionne Warwick at City Winery NYC
• Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Jeremy Ivey at the Brooklyn Bowl
• Fletcher, Julia Wolf, Amelia Moore at Webster Hall
• NETTA at the Bowery Ballroom
• Hamilton Leithauser at Cafe Carlyle
• Dawn Richard at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
• Squid at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
• Cannons, Madi Sipes and the Painted Blue at Elsewhere Hall
• Glassjaw at Warsaw
• Maino, Papoose at Sony Hall
• Full of Hell, Artificial Brain, No/Mas at Saint Vitus Bar
• Charlotte Rose Benjamin at the Sultan Room
• ZelooperZ at Elsewhere Zone One
• The Adam Ezra Group at the Loft at City Winery NYC
• Peter Collins, Ordinary Elephant, Rachel Rose at Cafe Wha?
• Michael Daves & Jacob Jolliff at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
• Christine Santelli, Brian Mitchell & Heather Hardy at the Bitter End
• New Moon Acoustic Blues at Stitch Bar & Blues
• Leah Tash, Drew Jones at the 11th St. Bar
• Michael Hill (acoustic) at Terra Blues
• The Jr. Mack Band at Terra Blues
• The Jason Green Trio at the Ear Inn
• Deep C Revival at the Red Lion

DonBlackCat & Friends at the Parkside Lounge on March 18

Thursday, March 24

• Thomas Headon at Mercury Lounge
• Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
• David Byrne's American Utopia at the St. James Theatre
• Nick Cave, Warren Ellis at the Kings Theatre
• The Wailin' Jennys at Adler Hall
• Mac Ayres, CARRTOONS at Terminal 5
• Walker Hayes at the Hammerstein Ballroom
• Kishi Bashi, Tall Tall Trees at Irving Plaza
• Fit for a King, Silent Planet, Hollow Front at the Gramercy Theatre
• The Midnight, Nightly at Brooklyn Steel
• Hamilton Leithauser at Cafe Carlyle
• Daði Freyr at the Bowery Ballroom
• Meute at the Brooklyn Bowl
• Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes at City Winery NYC
• Glassjaw at Warsaw
• Peel Dream Magazine, Dirt Buyer, Foyer Red at Trans Pecos
• Kae Tempest at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
• Pedrito Martinez at Drom
• CMAT at Union Pool
• Suss, Dan Friel, J.R. Bohannon at the Sultan Room
• Nequient at the Gutter Bar
• Jamie McLean & Friends at the Bitter End
• The Sasha Dobson Quartet at the Cellar Dog
• Grady Spencer & the Work, Gooseberry at Hill Country Barbecue Market
• Dark Sky Hustlers at Stitch Bar & Blues
• New Moon Acoustic Blues at Terra Blues
• The T Blues Band at Terra Blues
• Days of Wild at the Red Lion
• The Frankadelics at the 11th St. Bar

Jane Cohen at Tompkins Square Park on March 19; buskers are returning to the parks now that the milder weather has arrived.

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right of the home page and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of upcoming concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's March calendar.