JOY ON FIRE will host an artist residency at SoHo’s Cupping Room Café, playing two sets every Friday in May. This residency occurs in conjunction with the completion of their second album You Will Awaken Now. They will be performing songs from You Will Awaken Now as well as from their self-titled debut and their soon-to-be-begun third album (recording to start on July 31 at Baltimore’s Mobtown Studios).
Pieces range in style and texture from epic (“The Complete Book of Bonsai, Part Two”) to punk (“Kung-Fu Tea Party”) to jazz (“World Systems”) to punk-jazz (“Punk-Jazz 3000”) to dub (“Double Dub”) to combat-rock (“Night of the Night Sticks”). All feature the innovative soloing of Anna Meadors on saxophone (alto, baritone, and often both in the same song), the fluid rock-to-jazz-back-to-rock styling of drummer and percussionist Chris Olsen, and the riff- and effects-driven chordal bass playing of John Paul Carillo.
As well as the four Cupping Room Café shows, JOY ON FIRE will be playing additional May shows in Raleigh NC, Peekskill NY, Annapolis MD, Frederick MD, Boston MA, Long Island NY, Baltimore MD, and more TBA.
These May shows are a doorway to JOY ON FIRE becoming a New York-area band (JoF was formed in Baltimore in 2009 and was a North Carolina-based band from 2013 to 2016), as Anna has been accepted to Princeton University’s Ph.D. in Music Composition Program (congratulations Anna!), and Anna and John will take up residency near Chris in central New Jersey for at least the next five years.
JOY ON FIRE will add more regular shows in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Long Island, Jersey City, Hoboken, and the Hudson Valley to the rest of their East Coast circuit and will be venturing forth to new spots in Pennsylvania, New England, and beyond.
The Cupping Room Café is located in the heart of SoHo and is one of the oldest and most classic restaurants in the area. Established in 1977, The Cupping Room Café has a proud history of offering delicious food along with a full bar and gourmet coffee bar. Artwork from local artists hangs on their gallery walls, and their long-running Music Without Borders series spotlights local and touring bands every week. You can find The Cupping Room Café at 359 West Broadway at Broome Street, New York, NY 10013. The JOY ON FIRE artist residency is open to all ages and there is no cover charge. Music begins promptly at 8:00 p.m. every Friday in May.
Special thanks to Donna Moncur of Donna Shoots Photography for the collage above, created from her photos of last year’s residency at The Winery at St. George in Mohegan Lake, NY.
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The Cupping Room Café
359 West Broadway at Broome Street, NYC
www.cuppingroomcafe.com
Every Friday in May (5/6, 5/13, 5/20, 5/27)
8-11 pm / free admission / all ages