Rufus and Martha Wainwright are extremely happy to announce the date and some details for their annual Christmas show, “A Not So Silent Night,” to take place at The Town Hall on December 22. A family tradition, the two siblings will be joined by their immediate family as well other members of the Wainwright and McGarrigle clans. Emmylou Harris is a part of the tradition too. She has been a part of almost every Christmas show since its inception since she had a strong creative history with the Wainwrights’ mother, Kate McGarrigle. Norah Jones is also a returning guest to the annual show. Sean Lennon, the Wainwrights’ dad Loudon Wainwright, and their half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche are already confirmed to join in the spirit of the holidays as well. More special guests are to be announced soon.
“I am utterly excited to bring our holiday concert back to New York City after a hiatus of almost 5 years. These shows very much reflect who Martha and I are as artists and a family, slightly messy but incredibly powerful and emotional, festive, and fun. The Town Hall is one of my favorite venues to perform in. So many Greats have graced the stage, and it is a place that my mother Kate worshipped.” – Rufus Wainwright
“These Christmas shows, conceived of over 25 years ago by our mum, have BECOME our Christmas! There’s always a slight annoyance (and dread?) as we start preparing in June but by the time the show starts all the holiday magic in the world shows up on stage and the importance (and wonderful ridiculousness) of the holiday season is revealed. Most apparent though is the love and music that reigns” – Martha Wainwright
This annual holiday celebration has its roots in the childhood home of Rufus and Martha’s mother, the Canadian folk legend Kate McGarrigle. The family would carol in the living room of their wooden home in the Laurentian mountain town of St. Sauveur. This is very much still the spirit of these holiday shows that Kate, and later her children, brought to major concert halls around the world, from London’s Royal Festival Hall and Dublin’s National Concert Hall to New York’s Carnegie Hall and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. When Kate was tragically diagnosed with sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, she began to raise money and awareness for funding research into the disease as at the time there were no drugs available to treat it. In December 2009, she bravely performed her last family Christmas concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. For that show, she wrote a heartbreaking song, “Proserpina,” that tells the story of Hera bemoaning the loss of her daughter Proserpina who married Hades and would live with him for half of the year in the underworld and would return to her mother in the spring and summer bringing warmth and light. It mirrored her own situation as her daughter Martha was bound in London after the premature birth of her son Arcangelo and could not travel home to be with her dying mother.
Rufus and Martha continue Kate’s legacy with the Christmas shows, helping to raise awareness and money for the Kate McGarrigle Foundation for Sarcoma Research.
Rufus, Martha, and their guests will be musically supported by a superb band led by Music Director David Mansfield and Jon Cowherd on keys, Doug Wieselman on oboe and guitar, Shawn Pelton on drums, Armand Hirsch on guitar, and Tony Scherr on bass. Special merch items benefiting the Kate McGarrigle Fund will be available the night of the show.
VIP Gold tickets, which include the best seats in the house, attending part of the soundcheck, a group photo with Rufus and Martha, and a special signed merch item, are available. Also available is the opportunity to sing on the closing song of the first half, “Silent Night,” with Rufus, Martha, and family.
Prices range from USD85 to USD250 with the special choir option as a USD100 add on to any purchased ticket. VIP tickets and choir tickets are limited.
A Not So Silent Night is presented by Murmrr.
Presale tickets are available today with code silent23: https://www.ticketmaster.com/rufus-and-martha-wainwrights-a-not-new-yor…
For more information about the Kate McGarrigle Fund, please visit https://standuptocancer.org/kate-mcgarrigle-fund/
About Murmrr
Founded by Brian Kelly, Murmrr is a community-focused New York-based events company. They program world-renowned and emerging artists in various disciplines including music, art, comedy, literature, and film. Murmrr strives to provide a hi-fi sonic experience coupled with events that promote culture before commerce. http://www.murmrr.com/
About The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a 1,500-seat, 501C3 non-profit national historic landmark venue in the heart of New York City, created by suffragists in 1921 and host to countless cultural and musical milestones…
Richard Strauss and Isaac Stern made their US debuts at Town Hall. Marian Anderson gave her first New York recital there. Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker debuted bebop to the world at Town Hall. Margaret Sanger was arrested for daring to speak to an audience of men and women about birth control. Bob Dylan performed his first major concert at Town Hall. America’s Town Meeting of the Air was one of the most celebrated and influential public discussion shows of the twentieth century, and featured guests as diverse as Eleanor Roosevelt, Langston Hughes, Richard Nixon, and Jackie Robinson. Town Hall continues to be a forum for the people—a welcome home of expression, education and exploration. In recent history, Town Hall welcomed Gilberto Gil, Joan Baez, Stephen Colbert, Jack White, Patti Smith, Larry David, Tig Notaro, Garrison Keillor, Ray LaMontagne, Ira Glass, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. We welcome the Prairie Home Companion, New York Comedy Festival, and TED Talks. We welcome debuts and old favorites, tributes and experiment, collaborations, and conversation. Town Hall welcomes thousands of public-school children every year who participate in the Town Hall Arts in Education program.
About the Kate McGarrigle Fund
Kate McGarrigle was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle. She is the mother of singers Rufus Wainwright and Martha Wainwright from her marriage to American singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III. When Kate was diagnosed with sarcoma in 2007, it became her mission to combat the disease. Later that same year, she and a handful of friends founded The Kate McGarrigle Fund in Canada. Following Kate’s death in 2010, the family expanded to the United States by founding The Kate McGarrigle Foundation, allowing the family to work specifically on Kate’s musical and artistic legacy while also funding research in the U.S. Recently, The Kate McGarrigle Foundation and The Kate McGarrigle Fund joined SU2C and SU2C Canada, respectively, to further expand their reach and fundraising efforts.
In the summer of 2010 Richard Thompson staged the first of a series of tributes to Kate McGarrigle’s music at London’s Royal Festival Hall as part of his Melt Down Festival. Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle is a documentary directed by Lian Lunson that captures the May 2011 tribute concert honoring the late, great singer songwriter Kate McGarrigle in New York City. This documentary is partly a concert, and partly an intimate look at a family coming to terms with the loss of a loved one. Candid interviews with Kate’s family and friends are paired with rousing performances of her music. Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You had its world premiere at Sundance London Film Festival in April 2012 and was also shown at the Berlinale and other festivals around the world.
