Sat 9/26 @ 5:30PM
It’s been a tough summer for music lovers, with only a handful of the normal abundance of shows. And it’s going to be a worse winter because the few opportunities to hold safer, socially distanced shows will be gone.
So seize the day and enjoy outdoor music by an artist who’s become a Cleveland favorite and help support folk music in northeast Ohio as well. New York-based Nellie McKay, who makes regular return visits to Nighttown and even played Oberlin’s Riverdog Retreat this summer, will be performing on the south lawn of the First Baptist Church of Greater Cleveland in Shaker Heights to raise money for the Northeast Ohio Musical Heritage Association.
McKay is one of those oddball performers who blends humor and subtly serious messages into her eclectic pop music. Her 2004 debut album Get Away From Me established her as an artist who didn’t fit into any easily marketed genre; it seemed almost a mistake that it came out on a major label like Columbia. Since then, she’s gone her own way, releasing a series of intriguing projects on her own label, including Normal as Blueberry Pie, a tribute to Doris Day and 2015’a My Weekly Reader, which featured covers of ’60s songs, a bizarre collection of the familiar (“Itchycoo Park,” “If I Fell,” “Sunny Afternoon”) and the obscure (Moby Grape’s “Murder in my Heart for the Judge”), none of which seems like it would be suited to her style, which of course is what makes these renditions weird and wonderful.
She’s also an activist for progressive social causes, including animal rights, so expect a little sly political commentary between her unique takes on, well, almost anything.
Donation levels are $20, $50, $100 and $250, and spaces must be reserved in advance. Go here. https://ioby.org/project/nellie-mckay-socially-distanced-concert-neomha
Gates open at 4:30 for picnicking, with the show starting at 5:30. Bring your own lawn chairs and snacks. Masks are required when you are not seated in your own area. Rain date is Sunday September 27.
nellie-mckay-socially-distanced-concert-neomha
Cleveland, OH 44118