Live Music Returns to Greenwich Village

Greenwich Village has a music history dating perhaps almost as far back as the settling of Manhattan by the colonists. The neighborhood became known for live music during prohibition times, but it was the folk movement of the 1960s that laid its eternal musical footprint on the quaint neighborhood, establishing its street corners, parks and nightclubs as a mecca for budding musicians. Musicians as diverse as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Barbara Streisand, John Cage, John Lennon, Sid Vicious, and Mark Ronson have called the neighborhood their home, and many of these musicians formed their craft in the area's nightclubs.

Core members of the Cafe Wha? House Band perform in the lobby of the Players Theater

Robert Leslie in Washington Square Park

Dozens of popular folk, rock and jazz clubs have drawn tourists to Greenwich Village from around the world. Several of New York's oldest music venues remain viable in Greenwich Village. The Village Vanguard opened in 1935, originally presenting folk music and beat poetry, becoming a jazz club in 1957.  Opened in 1961, the Bitter End is the city's oldest continuously-operating folk and rock club. In March 2020, however, the COVID-19 pandemic shut these and all other indoor businesses. No one knows yet when the clubs can resume live entertainment in a traditional setting.

"My name is Lee and I play r&b" in Washington Square Park

Anya Aliferis outside the White Oak Tavern

In recent weeks, however, New Yorkers daringly are leaving their homes in search of live entertainment. Greenwich Village is feeding that need. Busking musicians gravitate to Washington Square Park nightly and on weekends. Several long-established music venues, including the Café Wha?, Groove, and the Red Lion, have musicians performing indoors through open doors and windows to audiences seated socially-distanced at tables outdoors. Several restaurants, including the White Oak Tavern, are new to the performance circuit and have positioned musicians outside alongside customers seated for dining. Meanwhile, several roving horn bands parade through the streets stopping at the restaurants' outdoor seating long enough to collect tips. Some musicians, including Willie Nile and Emily Duff, can sometime be heard playing songs from their fire escapes.

Amos Rose performs in the doorway of the Red Lion

Ria Alexander at Groove

Perhaps slowly and quietly, these new safer forms of presentation are working. New Yorkers are traveling to hear live music again, the musicians are generating some income after a four-month drought, and in the case of sponsoring restaurants, customers are sitting and ordering food and drink. Indeed, the environment has changed, but live music has returned to Greenwich Village.

Camila Aldet sings and tap dances in Washington Square Park