Sophie B. Hawkins: One Night Only NYC
Joe's Pub425 Lafayette Street, New York 10003
Sophie B. Hawkins brings her One Night Only NYC show to Joe’s Pub in Manhattan. Billed simply under her own name, this is a solo singer-songwriter appearance, with Hawkins at the forefront rather than a separately named band. The evening’s title marks it as a one-night engagement, and the setting is Joe’s Pub’s converted library room, where the audience is seated close to the performance space. Dinner and drinks are served during shows, so the music unfolds as part of a full evening in the room.
A New York City native, Hawkins is a Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose work crosses alternative pop, rock and singer-songwriter traditions. Her 1992 debut Tongues and Tails went platinum and introduced “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” one of her defining songs; “As I Lay Me Down” is another of her best-known hits. She sings and plays guitar among other instruments, and her official description calls her an “alternative, pop, rock artist.” A profile also characterizes her as a “prolific songwriter,” a useful frame for a performance built around the songs and the voice that made her name.
The stage is set in a converted library space with a striped bar and photos of legends like Leonard Cohen and Amy Winehouse lining the walls. You'll find yourself seated on velvet couches or at candle-lit tables, close enough to hear every note from the back. The sound, engineered by technicians who've worked with John Legend and The Notorious B.I.G., is consistently ranked among the best in New York. Three shows a day, dinner and drinks served throughout, and a menu ranging from Italian small plates to craft cocktails; it's a place where music and conversation flow together, and where both rising stars and legends have made their U.S. debuts.