Joy Askew w/Luca Benedetti, Andy Hess, & Bill Campbell
Bar LunÀtico486 Halsey Street, New York 11233
Joy Askew leads two sets on piano and voice with guitarist Luca Benedetti, bassist Andy Hess and drummer Bill Campbell. The singer and composer brings her own songs to the bandstand.
Originally from the North of England, Askew came to New York in the 1980s and has played keyboards and sung with Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson, Joe Jackson, Rodney Crowell, Jack Bruce and Quincy Jones. Her ninth album, Everything Is Different, arrived in 2022, followed by the live EP Joy Askew Live at Grand Street Recording in 2024.
A basement club in Bedford-Stuyvesant, LunÀtico is a musician-owned space where live music starts at 9pm nightly, following dinner service. The stage is modest, with a single chair for the band, and the audience sits on wooden booths or the floor, close enough to feel the energy. The room is lit by dim bulbs, with walls lined with vintage posters and a few well-worn speakers. There's a bar with original cocktails, craft beer, and wine, and a dinner menu available from 6pm to 11pm. Shows are donation-based, with a $10 recommendation in cash. It's a place where people listen to music and talk afterward, in a familiar, unpolished setting.