Club Free Time Blog

A Festivus of Festivals in January

Gail Wein
January 07, 2015

January in New York City brings thousands of industry insiders from all over for a string of annual conferences. With them come performers, looking to get noticed and get booked at venues all over the country.

There’s the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, International Society for the Performing Arts, and Chamber Music America, all of which happen every year in New York in January. At each conference, exhibits and showcases are only for registrants, but keep an eye out for these artists popping up around town, in performances that are open to the public.

Consequently, January is a month of festivals in New York. There’s the Prototype Festival (January 8-17, at several locations including La MaMa, HERE and St. Ann’s Warehouse), an indie and edgy showing of opera theater and music theater. Nearly all of the productions are recent, and three are world premieres. Highlights include The Scarlet Ibis, a Southern Gothic opera with puppetry at HERE, and Aging Magician, by Paolo Prestini, Rinde Eckert and Julian Crouch at Park Avenue Armory. You can purchase single tickets or a festival pass through the festival’s website, or at the box office at each performance.

The annual storm of performances known as Winter JazzFest NYC happens January 8-10 at several venues in and around Greenwich Village. There are two marathon concerts that will have you roaming from club to club, enjoying performers like Dave Douglas Quintet, Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, So Percussion, Uri Caine, the Lounge Lizards and about 100 more. One-day and weekend passes are on sale via the festival’s website, or at the door of any of the venues.

If you’re ready for more after JazzFest, then head on to Webster Hall (125 E. 11th Street) on January 11 for globalFEST. World music aficionados will love this packed lineup of performing artists from Brazil, Nairobi, Columbia, Texas, and many places in between. One admission gives access to 12 acts on three simultaneous stages over five hours.

On January 18 and 21, the Budapest Festival Orchestra performs at Avery Fisher Hall, with Iván Fischer conducting. Though these two concerts aren’t part of a festival (I couldn’t resist including it here – Festival is part of the group’s name, after all), they will be spectacular performances that you won’t want to miss.

These January festivals will propel you into February, when the height of the season begins. It’ll be a cinch to keep your New Year’s resolution to go to more concerts. See you at the concert hall!