BoDeans: 40 years of Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams...and Good Things
City Winery NYCHudson River Park Esplanade, New York 10014
BoDeans bring their 40 Years of Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams...and Good Things show to City Winery NYC's Main Stage. The band is celebrating four decades in 2026, with a night framed around its 1986 T Bone Burnett-produced debut, Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, and the songs that followed: “Good Things,” “Idaho,” “Fadeaway,” “Only Love,” and “Closer to Free.” Founding member Kurt Neumann remains the songwriting and vocal force identified in the billing.
Emerging from Waukesha, Wisconsin, BoDeans built a guitar-driven Midwestern rock-pop sound that joins rock and folk motifs with heartland-scale songs. The original group was a quartet, and Trouser Press singled out the “captivating harmonies” of guitarists Kurt Neumann and Sammy Llanas, calling its sound “fresh not trendy,” while also finding some songs thin and repetitive. The band supported U2, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, the Pretenders, and David Bowie, and played Farm Aid, Summerfest, and ACL. “Closer to Free” became especially widely known as the theme to Party of Five; later work drew praise for “understated grace,” while Glide called the rock-and-folk blend on 4 The Last Time “infectious.”
City Winery at Pier 57 is a restaurant winery with live music on an intimate stage, offering a full evening experience that combines dinner, wine, and live music. The venue features two performance spaces: a seated 350-seat concert hall and a smaller 150-capacity loft space, with a 100-seat restaurant including a pizza bar and coffee roasting station. Guests enjoy views of the Hudson River and Pier 57, located in Chelsea on Manhattan’s west side, near Chelsea Market. The intimate setting allows audiences to experience performances up close in a seated environment, with a diverse lineup including national touring artists, singer-songwriters, jazz musicians, and comedy shows.