The Peoples' Voice Cafe
239 Thompson St, New York, NY 10012 / 212-787-3903

PVC is an alternative coffeehouse offering live and live-stream entertainment in New York City,
presenting folk, blues, jazz, rap, poetry, spoken word, storytelling, theater and dance since 1979.
We shine a spotlight on social issues and artists from underrepresented cultures.





Peoples Voice Cafe


Alcohol-free ~ Fully Wheelchair Accessible


***Please take our SURVEY to weigh in on our masking policy.***

Covid-19 Policy for September 2023
(subject to change as conditions evolve)

Required: Mask (we will provide one if you don't have one)

Strongly Recommended: Everyone should be fully vaccinated, boosted, and recently tested.

Risk Statement:
While no one precaution is guaranteed to prevent covid infection, a combination of precautions will contribute greatly to everyone's safety at the PVC. Although we expect that people who have symptoms of covid will stay home, we recognize that there are still risks when entering any public space. The PVC is therefore taking the follow steps:

  • We offer KN95 or other high quality masks to everyone entering.
  • We use three HEPA air purifiers within the Assembly Hall.
  • We have suspended the sale of food or drink, and there should be no eating on the premises.
  • We offer livestream shows whenever possible.





  • Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 8pm:

    In Person Tickets        Livestream Tickets



    Gary Allard
    Gary David Allard is a soulful contemporary singer-songwriter. He continues to build his unique sound by extracting inspiration from a plethora of genres including pop, folk, gospel, R&B, and Caribbean music. He composes his lyrics from his own personal and social experiences, striving to connect with his audience through tender yet powerful emotional singing. Tonight Gary will be joined by Natalie Guiteau, Wilner Louis Jean, Fabiola La Marque, and David Simon.


    Check out this interview with Gary Allard!




    Pamela Jean Agaloos
    Pamela Jean is an active musician in the Irish/Scottish trad scene in New York City. This week she will be giving us an appetizer of her October 7 set! See her full bio below, under October 7.



    Joel Landy
    Joel Landy is known for his energetic stage performances, witty parodies and insightful lyrics. He is the host of Songs of Freedom Television, an award winning cable program celebrating the dignity of human struggle. A public school teacher during the day, Joel continues to get into good trouble organizing and appearing at rallies and demonstrations in addition to playing at coffeehouses and clubs. "He's a real live wire!" --Pete Seeger



    Lindsey Wilson
    Lindsey Wilson is a NYC singer-songwriter with a flare for nostalgia with her memorable mix of 70's style urban folk rock and conscious lyrics. Throughout her musical career, Lindsey Wilson has embraced issues of the heart and mind within her original music. Love songs, protest tunes and lyrics of empowerment have all been a true representation of her style and sensibilities. Her songs "Stand for the People" and "The People Shall Rise" have caught the attention of culturally diverse audiences throughout the country. Lindsey's influences stem from a myriad of musically conscious voices such as Odetta, Richie Havens, Joni Mitchell, and Joan Armatrading. However, Lindsey's message is truly her own.
    lindseywilsonmusicnow.com


    LOCATION:
    Judson Memorial Church
    Assembly Hall (not the main sanctuary on West 4th St.)
    239 Thompson Street, between West 3rd and West 4th Streets
    New York NY 10012

    TRANSPORTATION:

    to West 4th St./Washington Square - south exit
    Walk three blocks east to Thompson Street; turn left. (3 minutes)
    MAP

    SHOWTIMES:
    All shows start at 8 PM, Saturdays. Doors open at 7:15.
    No reservations, so come early to be assured a seat.

    ADMISSION:
    Suggested contribution: $20. Friends of PVC*: $12. Students & Youth: $12
    Folk Music Society of NY Members: $12. Judson Memorial Church Members: $12
    More if you choose, less if you can't. No one turned away for lack of money.
    * Friends of PVC include monthly sustainers, regular volunteers, Collective members,
    Fall 2023-Spring 2024: performers and people who donate at least $30.

    ACCESSIBILITY:
    Wheelchair accessible (including bathrooms). For info call 212-787-3903.



    Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 8pm:




    Barbara Dyskant
    Barbara Dyskant is a dynamic pianist, singer, songwriter and activist. Her spectacular piano is both a solo instrument and an extension of her voice. She presents music infused with warmth and fire, believing that the deeply political and deeply personal are joined at the hip. Her music ranges from intense to silly and will empower, entertain, energize, and affirm, plus connecting with struggles of our time. And it just might make you dance! Barbara has been writing songs and instrumentals "forever." She loves intersections of multiple genres; her music includes blues, salsa, classical, jazz, and "trad" styles from Ireland, Quebec, and beyond. Stay tuned for Barbara's solo CD, Full of Life, currently in the works. She also performs with her daughter in the duo Confluence; their CD, An Early Spring, will be available at the concert.

    Check out this interview with Barbara Dyskant!




    Pamela Jean Agaloos
    Pamela Jean is an active musician in the Irish/Scottish trad scene in New York City. Born to Filipino parents in a US Naval Base in Chicago, she has a background in musical theater in the Philippines, where she lived until 2011. She participates in folk sings like Exceedingly Good Song Night and the Sunnyside Singers Club, and is also a guest vocalist for the band New York Brogue. Although a frequent figure in the Manhattan trad scene, Pamela makes Iona Bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn her session home, which has hosted and attracted top-notch talent from the city and around the world.
    https://redmaryjane.tumblr.com/

    Check out this interview with Pamela!

    Sunday, October 8, 3-6pm:







    A Life Well Loved: Memorial for Peter Pasco
    NYC Friends of Clearwater is hosting a memorial for Peter Pasco, who was also a great friend of, and performer at, Peoples' Voice Cafe.

    The Church of the Village
    201 W. 13 St.
    New York, NY 10011


    See Flyer
    nycfriendsofclearwater.org
    facebook.com/nycfriendsofclearwater

    Saturday, October 14, at 8pm:




    Judith Zweiman
    Throughout her illustrious career, Judith Zweiman has graced prestigious concert halls and stages, delivering performances that leave audiences spellbound, earning her a Meet the Composer awards grant and recorded numerous times for Fast Folk Musical Magazine. Her ability to connect with her listeners on a profound emotional level sets her apart as a true musical luminary. Whether performing solo or collaborating with other accomplished musicians, Zweiman's music transcends cultural boundaries, evoking universal emotions that resonate with people from all walks of life through storytelling. She was featured in several of the Fast Folk Revues at the Bottom Line. Judith's compositions and performances soar sonically and poetically, touching the heart and elevating the spirit. As she continues her harmonic journey, Judith Zweiman's legacy in the world of music is destined to remain an enduring testament to the enduring power of artistic expression. Tonight she will be accompanied by long-time musical partner Duane Bergman.
    Spotify
    It Was 20 Years Ago, Today (full album)

    Check out this interview with Judith and Duane!



    Barry Oreck
    Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Barry Oreck is known for his evocative, poetic and humorous storytelling. With an affecting vocal style and soulful guitar picking, his songs touch on societal and ecological issues as well as the perils of aging and long-forgotten love. Oreck honed his craft surrounded by the rich folk and blues tradition of his native Chicago, studying with Frank Hamilton and Steve Goodman at the famed Old Town School of Folk Music. Other major influences include John Prine, Stephen Sondheim, Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Josh White. Oreck's latest album, Leap Year (2022), reached #6 on the US Folk charts in May 2022 and was described as "an album of hope and humanity that questions and answers, played and sung with a beguiling simplicity and a deep heart." (Mike Davies, Fatea Magazine.)
    barryoreckmusic.com
    Facebook
    Instagram
    Bandcamp



    Saturday, October 21, at 8pm:




    Sol y Canto
    Rosi and Brian Amador founded the pan-Latin ensemble Sol y Canto in 1994, and before that were co-founders of Flor de Caña. They perform songs from the Nueva Canción tradition, creative arrangements of beloved Latin classics, and Brian's originals, which are distinguished by poetic lyrics, diverse styles and surprising twists. The Amadors can make you dance, laugh, cry and sigh all in one concert.
    solycanto.com
    Facebook



    Anne Price
    Anne Price was born and raised in New York City and has been performing for over 30 years. Her repertoire includes everything from traditional folk ballads to songs about work and the labor movement. She sings many songs from contemporary songwriters, such as Jean Ritchie, Peggy Seeger, Woody Guthrie, and Si Kahn, and she writes a few fine songs of her own. Her voice is strong, rich, and expressive. "This is the very best kind of music produced in America today - organic, honest, personal, and unaffected." - Bill Feagin, Crow and Wolf Music.
    anneprice.com


    Tonight's concert is co-sponsored by the Folk Music Society of New York.



    Saturday, October 28, at 8pm:


    Judith Sloan & Friends
    Judith Sloan is an actor, audio artist, writer, radio producer, human rights activist, educator and poet whose work combines humor, pathos and a love of the absurd. Her stories take the audience on journeys about the trials and tribulations of teaching in prisons and youth detention centers, migration, refuge, the climate crisis, and navigating bureaucracies. She will be performing excerpts of songs and monologues from various theater projects including It Can Happen Here, Yo Miss!, Crossing the BLVD, and a new work in progress, This is Not a Drill, written in collaboration with Andrew Griffin. Her work has been supported by the New York Foundation on the Arts, commissions from the New York State Council on the Arts, the Queens Council on the Arts, the Puffin Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and support from NYU professional development fund.

    She will be joined by poet, performer, playwright Darrel Alejandro Holnes, filmmaker Mychal Pagan, and playwright Mêlisa Annis.

    There will be a talkback after the performance focusing on the balance of being an artist, teaching, and prison education.

    This program supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs awarded to EarSay.
    earsay.org
    judithsloan.com
    Soundcloud
    darrelholnes.com
    melisaannis.com




    UPCOMING SHOWS:

    Nov 4: Michael Veitch + Judy Kass

    Nov 11: George Mann + Rik Palieri

    Nov 18: Peter Yarrow [Fundraising Concert for PVC]

    Nov 25: [Closed for Thanksgiving]

    Dec 2: John John Brown: Songs, Stories, and Art: Lessons from Strangers

    Dec 9: Charlie King + Tret Fure

    Dec 16: Reggie Harris + Pat Wictor

    Dec 23: [Closed for Christmas]

    Dec 30: [Closed for New Year's Eve]

    Jan 6: Peter Pasco Memorial Concert

    Jan 13: Martin Luther King Celebration

    Jan 20: [To Be Announced]

    Jan 27: Jon Dell + Talbot & Jenny & SamiRose

    Feb 3: Akil Dasan Baker + Owusu Slater

    Feb 10: Lindsey Wilson + Judy Gorman

    Feb 17: Rod MacDonald

    Feb 24: Toby Fagenson Memorial Celebration

    Mar 2: Young Women’s Voices: Brie Kelly + Lindsey Smith + Nikki Nesbary

    Mar 9: Barbara Rosica + Eric Kilburn

    Mar 16: International Song Night: Le Ombre di Rosso + Guadalupe Peraza

    Mar 23: Woman in Song and Struggle, with the Herstorians (Sharleen Leahey & Lydia Adams Davis & Pat Lamanna)

    Mar 30: [Closed for Easter]

    Apr 6: Atiba Wilson + Jaque DuPree

    Apr 13: Thelma Thomas with Pearls of Wisdom

    Apr 20: Dilson Hernandez [plus one other act]

    Apr 27: Thea Hopkins + Luci Murphy

    May 4: [To Be Announced]

    May 11: Genny Haley & Steve Suffet: 60th Year Reunion

    May 18: A Grassroots Leadership and Arts for Social Change Primer, Volume 2 book release





    Help The Peoples' Voice Cafe!

    We are making great progress towards our fundraising goal after last year's cybertheft.
    A heart-felt thanks to all who have contributed so far.
    If you can help, please click here.





    The Peoples' Voice Cafe is supported in part by the generosity of

    Judson Memorial Church

    The Folk Music Society of New York





    PVC Solidarity Statement Against Racism

    Peoples' Voice Cafe, started in 1979 by members of Songs of Freedom and Struggle, carries forward the vision of using songs and performing arts to support the struggle for peace and justice.

    All are impacted by the history and ongoing practice of systemic racism in this country and the continuing brutal murders of Black Americans by police.

    We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, outraged by the many faces of racism found in education, healthcare, housing, jobs, poverty, criminal justice, and voting. All must be free to move about in the "land of the free" without suspicion, harassment, or arrest.

    Peoples' Voice Cafe stands committed to speak out, sing out, and work against racism, white supremacy, and indifference.