Live from the Artists Den
Encyclopedia
Live from the Artists Den is a music television Public-access television
program that began airing in 2008 and features recording artists performing in non-traditional settings. Each episode is an hour long and contains interview segments as well as invitation-only performances. The series is a co-production of The Artists Den and WLIW
in association with WNET
.
and Harvard graduate Mark Lieberman, who began putting on intimate, living room concerts in reaction to both his disappointment with traditional venues and his feeling that, after a certain age, music lovers cannot always stay out late at clubs to see shows, making it difficult to discover new music. The Artists Den soon expanded to include concerts across North America and Europe and featured significant names in music. Although not a fan of television, Lieberman partnered with cable network Ovation TV to deliver the series. He felt Ovation was "smart and curated, and the mission fit was spot-on."
After a sneak preview of the first episode (with KT Tunstall
) on January 13, 2008, the show began airing at 8pm on Thursdays. American Public Television
took over distribution starting with the show's second season. Barnes & Noble
is the official retailer for Live from the Artists Den CD and DVD releases.
, select artists who write their own music and have a reputation for live performances. Locations are chosen for their uniqueness as a venue and appropriate acoustics for recording, as well as for how a particular location matches the artist. The series differs from similar shows, such as MTV Unplugged
, in that the venue becomes part of the show, allowing artists to discuss the location itself in interviews.
Public-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
program that began airing in 2008 and features recording artists performing in non-traditional settings. Each episode is an hour long and contains interview segments as well as invitation-only performances. The series is a co-production of The Artists Den and WLIW
WLIW
WLIW, channel 21, is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Garden City, New York; which serves as a secondary Public Broadcasting Service member station for the New York City television market...
in association with WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
.
History
In 2004, The Artists Den production company was founded by PrincetonPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and Harvard graduate Mark Lieberman, who began putting on intimate, living room concerts in reaction to both his disappointment with traditional venues and his feeling that, after a certain age, music lovers cannot always stay out late at clubs to see shows, making it difficult to discover new music. The Artists Den soon expanded to include concerts across North America and Europe and featured significant names in music. Although not a fan of television, Lieberman partnered with cable network Ovation TV to deliver the series. He felt Ovation was "smart and curated, and the mission fit was spot-on."
After a sneak preview of the first episode (with KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
) on January 13, 2008, the show began airing at 8pm on Thursdays. American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
took over distribution starting with the show's second season. Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
is the official retailer for Live from the Artists Den CD and DVD releases.
Format
Each episode of Live from the Artists Den is an hour long. Lieberman and Alan Light, a former editor in chief of Vibe and SpinSpin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, select artists who write their own music and have a reputation for live performances. Locations are chosen for their uniqueness as a venue and appropriate acoustics for recording, as well as for how a particular location matches the artist. The series differs from similar shows, such as MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
, in that the venue becomes part of the show, allowing artists to discuss the location itself in interviews.
Season One
- KT TunstallKT TunstallKate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
at the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan - Jakob DylanJakob DylanJakob Luke Dylan is the lead singer and songwriter of the rock band The Wallflowers and is a son of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and Sara Dylan. He has also recorded two solo albums.-Personal life:...
at the Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
Cultural Center in New York's Chelsea neighborhood - Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
at Judson Memorial ChurchJudson Memorial ChurchThe Judson Memorial Church is located on Washington Square South between Thompson and Sullivan Streets, opposite Washington Square Park, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City...
in New York's Greenwich Village - Raphael SaadiqRaphael SaadiqRaphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
at the Harvard Club of BostonHarvard Club of BostonThe Harvard Club of Boston is a private social club located in Boston, Massachusetts. Its membership is essentially restricted to alumni and associates of Harvard University... - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsPennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsThe Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
in Philadelphia - Ben HarperBen HarperBenjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
in Manchester, Tennessee at the 2007 Bonnaroo Music & Arts FestivalBonnaroo Music FestivalThe Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011... - Aimee MannAimee MannAimee Mann is an American rock singer-songwriter, guitarist and bassist.-Early life:Aimee Mann grew up in Bon Air, Virginia, graduated from Open High School in 1978 and attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, but dropped out to sing with her first punk rock band, the Young Snakes...
at Vibiana Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles - Crowded HouseCrowded HouseCrowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia and led by New Zealand singer-songwriter Neil Finn. Finn is the primary songwriter and creative director of the band, having led it through several incarnations, drawing members from New Zealand , Australia and the United States...
at the Masonic Hall Grand Lodge of New YorkGrand Lodge of New YorkThe Grand Lodge of New York is one of 29 independent organizations of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. It was at one time the largest grand lodge in the world in terms of membership.... - Ingrid MichaelsonIngrid MichaelsonIngrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
at Cape Cinema in Cape Cod - Josh RitterJosh RitterJosh Ritter is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.- Early life :Josh...
at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyNatural History Museum of Los Angeles CountyThe Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County opened in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA in 1913 as the Museum of History, Science, and Art. The moving force behind it was a museum association founded in 1910. Its distinctive main building, with fitted marble walls and domed and... - The Hold SteadyThe Hold SteadyThe Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
at the Old Emigrant Savings Bank Building in downtown New York - Patty GriffinPatty GriffinPatty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
at the Angel Orensanz Foundation For the ArtsAngel Orensanz CenterThe Angel Orensanz Center is located at 172 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York...
on New York’s Lower East Side - The Swell SeasonThe Swell SeasonThe Swell Season is a folk rock duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová. "The Swell Season" name is derived from Hansard's favourite novel by Josef Škvorecký from 1975 bearing the same title...
(from the Fox Searchlight film OnceOnce (film)Once is a 2006 Irish musical film written and directed by John Carney. Set in Dublin, this naturalistic drama stars musicians Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová as musicians...
) at the Good Shepherd Center Chapel in Seattle
Season Two
- Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and Ben HarperBen HarperBenjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...
at The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
at the Park Avenue Armory in New York's Upper East Side - David GrayDavid GrayDavid Gray may refer to:*David Gray , Scottish poet*David Gray , English singer-songwriter*David Gray , Scottish footballer*David Gray , Scottish footballer...
at the Broad Street Ballroom in New York's Wall StreetWall StreetWall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or... - The Black CrowesThe Black CrowesThe Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989. Their discography includes nine studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer George Drakoulias and released their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, the...
at the Lyric Oxford in Oxford, Mississippi - Corinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey RaeCorinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist from Leeds, who released her debut album Corinne Bailey Rae in February 2006....
at the Hiro Ballroom in New York City - Dierks BentleyDierks BentleyDierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...
at the Ravenswood Billboard Factory in Chicago - Booker T. JonesBooker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
, Drive-By TruckersDrive-By TruckersDrive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
and Bettye LaVetteBettye LaVetteBettye LaVette is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, with her album, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise...
at the Patrick F. Taylor Library in New Orleans
Season Three
Season Three premiered April 1, 2011.- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
at the New York Public Library Main BranchNew York Public Library Main BranchThe Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library, more widely known as the Main Branch or simply as "the New York Public Library," is the flagship building in the New York Public Library system and a prominent historic landmark in Midtown Manhattan. The branch, opened in 1911, is... - Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs at the Don Strange Ranch in Boerne, TX
- Grace Potter and the NocturnalsGrace Potter and the NocturnalsGrace Potter and the Nocturnals is an American rock band from Waitsfield, Vermont.-Career:Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' lead vocalist is multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter, who attended St. Lawrence University for two years before pursuing music professionally...
at Bryant ParkBryant ParkBryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...
in New York City - Robert PlantRobert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
at the War Memorial AuditoriumWar Memorial AuditoriumThe War Memorial Auditorium is a 1,661-seat performance hall located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located across the street from, and is governed by, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and is also adjacent to the Tennessee State Capitol.- History :...
in Nashville, TN - Squeeze at Bryant Park in New York City
- Compilation episode featuring Daniel MerriweatherDaniel MerriweatherDaniel Paul Merriweather is an Australian R&B singer-songwriter who has worked as a featured vocalist for other artists and has a solo career. His guest vocals are included on album tracks by Disco Montego, Mark Ronson and Phrase...
at Sotheby'sSotheby'sSotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
in New York City, A Fine FrenzyA Fine FrenzyAlison Sudol , known professionally as A Fine Frenzy , is a US alternative singer and songwriter and pianist. Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, was released on July 17, 2007, and peaked at number 91 on the Billboard 200 chart...
and Lisa HanniganLisa HanniganLisa Margaret Hannigan is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. For several years she was a member of Damien Rice's band before beginning her solo career in 2008. She has been the recipient of various award nominations and critical praise both in Ireland and the USA...