Name: Christopher Sears
Start: 2025-12-28T19:30:00
End: 2025-12-29T00:00:00
Location: Francis Kite Club

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://littlesilvermusic.com/">Little Silver</a>“The elegantly understated debut from this Brooklyn band does what great, grown-up indie rock at its best has always done: It maps out states of personal, emotional and historical in-betweenness with careful, intelligent grace… Songs […] take their time building from muted beauty to closely held grandeur.” - Rolling Stone&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/elkcityband">Elk City</a>Elk City is an American art-pop band from New York and New Jersey formed in 1997.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://greatlakesbencrum.bandcamp.com/album/dont-swim-too-close?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExTGRpTHJjNkFuZUc4QTdZNnNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4ayHf5JgQqcGJwHJOK_6yOIdl1fJoCWXqAySDieyt_o5dl0eH1gqHVS-8pmg_aem_g3Hjr0CvytmuEHpRriRgxQ">Great Lakes</a>Led by singer-songwriter-guitarist Ben Crum, Great Lakes has released 7 albums and a half dozen singles since the band formed in Athens, GA in 1996. Based in Brooklyn for nearly 20 years, Crum now lives in upstate New York.

The Ghost Of Cake Shop Presents

Christopher plays the Kite for the last time in 2025. He will be joined by Sienna Sears, Sydney Shepherd and Adrian Enscoe.Christopher started making music in his parents theatre company so his songs are all rooted in theatrical. Raw and emotional Fun house mirrors of lyrical self reflection. For his last show at The Francis Kite Club this year he will be joined by collaborators Sienna Sears, Sydney Shepherd and Adrian Enscoe with whom he is creating an opera!

Christopher Sears

Join us for the karaoke night with a game show twist where we DARE you to sing!Dare to Karaoke is the karaoke night with a game show twist! How to play:1) Songs you sing win you prize tickets.2) Win more tickets by completing Song Dares and Trick Shots - these are song, team, or physical challenges (think Double Dare).3) Combo &amp; stack multiple dares and trick shots for mega ticket payouts!The best part: spend your hard earned Dare to Karaoke tickets at our deluxe prize table! There's no price list - make us an offer and bargain for the prizes you covet! Cash out early for instant gratification… or save up your tickets to snag top-shelf swag at future Dare to Karaoke nights!Dare to Karaoke is THE karaoke night upgrade you never knew you needed! Assemble your adventuring party &amp; your song lists, and join us for a fun night of song-and-games at Dare to Karaoke - only at The Francis Kite Club in the East Village!

Dare to Karaoke!

Join architects&nbsp;Jonathan Toews and Kyle Winston for an evening of play and close attention to paper.

8.5 x 11

Come to The Kite for toe-tapping tunes brought by Buck And A Quarter at Swing Night! Doors at 7PM, with a dance lesson to get your feet moving in style at 7:30PM, then there is dancing at 8:30PM on the big wood floor!$10 cover at the door, cash or Venmo. Give the password “swordfish” for a discounted admission: $15 for two!<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.buckandaquarterquartet.com/">Buck And A Quarter Quartet</a> is the NYC-based string band that plays the forgotten gems and favorites of the golden age of American pop and vintage-inspired originals in their own category-defying style, described as ‘skiffle meets Cole Porter’ and ‘what do you call this kind of music?’

Swing Night

SNEAL, WISH WISH, and Howard Huang convene on this historic night for some fantastic music at the Francis Kite Club. Please, 8pm sharp!

SNEAL + WISH WISH + Howard Huang

Editrix, Erica Dawn Lyle and Sensor Ghost play The Francis Kite Club, with special guests Sally Gates and Matt Hollenberg. $15-$20 at the door!

Editrix + Erica Dawn Lyle + Sensor Ghost 

Despite certain grandiose delusions of white mastery and control, it is becoming increasingly evident that civil war is inescapable. It is not up to anyone, Rather, it is a play of forces that does not need to make any excuses for itself — once the tiger has been let out of the cage, it doesn’t go back in without trying to turn its former captors into prey. In other words it doesn’t look like Black people are going to sit down anytime soon, unless Mister Charlier figures out a way to strap back down into his chair. Therefore, the strategic question is, then, not so much how to stop it, but how to win a civil war.

The Revolt Eclipses Whatever The World Has To Offer

Shop for loved ones and supporting local makers! Including:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/michaelangeloswonderland/?hl=en">Michael Angelo’s Polaroids&nbsp;and&nbsp;scented&nbsp;candles:</a>&nbsp;10% of the selling price benefits The Ali Forney Center<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/ceramicsbyrana/?hl=en">Ceramics by Rana Amirtahmasebi</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/GeminiandCapricorn">Gemini and Capricorn Vintage:&nbsp;</a>Vintage Jewelry, clothing and accessoriesIstria Napoli by Laura Raicovich: hand ice-dyed throw pillows, vintage napkins, and other home textiles.

Francis Kite Holiday Market	

MOUTHFEEL Journal launch party with Cora’s Wine Club! December 5th! Francis Kite Club, LES! Don’t miss it! 10:30pm!$15 entry gets you a copy of the journal and a chance to hear some fabulous readings all about wine. Come share a glass with us! Cora’s Wine Club merch will be for sale; all proceeds to go to support World Central Kitchen’s efforts to provide hot meals in Gaza. As always, if you want to know more about why wine is relevant in the ongoing occupation of Palestine, don’t be afraid to ask!

MOUTHFEEL Journal Launch & Reading 

Miss Ambivalent + Kevin Shea + Santi Leibson

OR Books Live on Ave C:&nbsp;Celebrate the launch of Molly Crabapple's card set with Liara Roux.

Can You See the New World Through the Tear Gas?

Christopher Sears returns to The Francis Kite Club! He will be joined by his sister Sienna Sears and guitarist Avinoam Etun.Christopher Sears started making music in his parents theatre company. His songs are all rooted in theatrical. Raw and emotional funhouse mirrors of lyrical self reflection. For his fourth show at The Francis Kite Club, he will be joined by his sister Sienna Sears; who has a soulful voice from a time gone by. Sienna is working on an intimate new set of music w ethereal stylings of guitarist Avinoam Etun.

Christopher Sears and Sienna Sears Live

deerfrance&nbsp;has been a force on NY's underground music scene since day one and is a notable singer-songwriter in her own right. During the New Wave era,&nbsp;deerfrance&nbsp;not only worked the door at CBGBs but did the booking at Max’s in New York City.deerfrance&nbsp;has performed live with David Bowie at Carnegie Hall, toured for two years with John Cale, and sang with Tom Verlaine and Television. She started a collaboration with bass player&nbsp;Kai Eric which has led to the realization of two sets of new recordings, an EP called&nbsp;Everyday Violence&nbsp;and a full album, called&nbsp;the&nbsp;sad&nbsp;electronic&nbsp;NOW, available on Moon Caravan Records.The&nbsp;Scene&nbsp;is&nbsp;Now&nbsp;was formed in 1983 and is often described as “NYC’s most criminally neglected band. “The New York Times extolled “the sort of zany humor one might expect to find in some netherworld between Tristan Tzara and Spike Jones. The instrumental juxtapositions are consistently surprising, often hilarious, but there is no novelty for novelty’s sake. Every sound has its place.” Their current lineup is Chris Nelson (vocals/guitar), Greg Peterson (guitar) Steven Levi, (cornet), Cheryl Kingan (baritone sax), Bob Bannister (bass), and Blake Lindberg (drums).Tiers La Familia is a Queens-based electro punk trio created by anti-disciplinary sound sculptor and visual artist Sef Sidney. The live band was born on New Year’s Day 2023, featuring Sidney and scene stalwart Cheryl Kingan alongside a mysterious third figure who seems to shape-shift from one gig to the next. Their fourth release, The Love Synthesis, comes out this month via Debacle Records.

deerfrance + The Scene Is Now + Tiers La Familia

For Fall of Freedom, artist Tania Bruguera invites you to speak with her about life under dictatorship at The Francis Kite Club, from 3pm-4pm on Saturday, November 22.

Tania Bruguera: The winners have been chosen, know the future of a dictatorship

Dancing in Socks is back with their bi-monthly event to get you ready for the weekend: Warm-up Friday. Music will be everything from “just got out of work” to “get into the weekend with dancing”. Welcome to Dancing in Socks, a community centered around dance where you can be your wild self and explore house music in a safe space. You can dance how you want and dress how you want — you bring yourself, and we’ll bring the music. This all started in a small Alphabet City studio (hence the origin of the name), but that “be a little weird because you’re around your friends” ethos still stands.Kristen London is an NYC-based DJ with a deep love for dance music, the history of the dancefloor, and the community that continues to keep it alive. While her selections are steeped in traditional and modern jazz influences, she loves to weave in elements of commercial/hyperpop, future garage, funk, hard, house, and classic house—building her sets more around “vibes” than around specific genres.With over eight years of experience, SAUCI SONI has carved out a unique path as a global DJ spinning in over six countries, with DJ residencies in two. Born and raised in Guyana, SAUCI SONI’s deep musical roots are evident in her eclectic style, incorporating Caribbean and West African beats to Hip Hop, R&amp;B and most forms of House. Her sets are known for their infectious energy – an expressive reflection of her life – crafted to move the body and soul.Ah Dek is a Brooklyn-based DJ who combines deep textures and heavy percussion with a diaspora-based approach to digging and mixing. His background as a live hardware performer informs his sets which feature long blends, propulsive rhythms, and left-field sounds.&nbsp;Bence brings a taste of European club music, influenced heavily by the synthy beauty of the 80s and the madness of the French wave of the 2000’s. He started Dancing in Socks in his studio apartment to bring friends together and create a space to perform and has since got opportunities around the city, including Earthly Delights, Jupiter Disco and Elsewhere.

Dancing In Socks: Warm Up Friday

The final performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club.Pearla's Song Room 4 WaysNight 4: OutwardThe final performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club, featuring special guest Dan Wriggins, Visual Art by Emma Schreiner and Dance by Nailah Murray, in a celebration of collaborative community. Pearla will share new music in a different configuration each week.Graphic by Enne Goldstein.

Pearla's Song Room 4 Ways

With the editor Ana Ratner, Daniel Arnold, Indigo Goodson-Fields, Kay Kasparhauser, Shannon Lee, Zoe Lescaze, Isabel Ling, Kristine Rumman.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-other-almanac-2026/">THE OTHER ALMANAC</a>A sparkling new take on an age-old publication, The Other Almanac brings together contributions by writers, artists, and scientists on topics including environmentalism, botany, grief, seasonal savvy, and off-the-beaten-track curiosities, all presented in brilliant color and eye-popping design.Highlights of the 2026 edition include a guide to foraging in NYC, checklists for signs of the seasons, a tide chart for NYC, obituaries for recently extinct animals and plants, and a list of objects left on the moon.With contributions by: A.K. Burns, Alicia Kennedy, Al-Wah'at Collective, Brian Brown, Claire L. Evans, David George Haskell, David Kennedy Cutler, Day Brièrre, Diana Hubbell, Diana Sofia Lozano, Elijah Anderson, G. Peter Jemison, Isabel Ling, Jerry Lue, Jordan Casteel, Julie Rossman, Katherine Bradford, Kay Kasparhauser, Kris Rumman, Larissa Pham, Lily Consuelo Saporta Tagiuri, Marie Viljoen, Mary Mattingly, Mel Chin, Michael Yarinsky, Mohammed R. Mhawish, Morgan Lett, Nate Dorr, Raven Halfmoon, Sabrina Imbler, Sally DeWind, Shannon Lee, Tideland Prints, TJ Shin, Who Tattoo, Zoë Lescaze.&nbsp;

The Other Almanac

Lorem Ipsum is a dreamy collection of psychedelic grooves and intimate ballads from Brooklyn-based musician Jeff Jakobs. The album seamlessly weaves personal heartbreak and triumph with the disorienting feeling of living in the digital age. Jakobs is a singer-songwriter straddling the worlds of folk, indie rock, blues and jazz. His background in theater and comedy shines through in his live performances.

Lorem Ipsum

Long-standing DIY collective 8 Ball Radio continues their live series at Francis Kite Club with a night of downtempo digital/analog fusion featuring Shalma, Rice Rips, &amp; Stola.Shalma invites a special guest; expect harp strings, loops, and wind.Rice Rips is the amorphous musical project of Lucas Hickok. His music typically lands somewhere on a spectrum from indie songcraft to freaky uptempo breakbeats. This particular iteration will take shape as loopy and droning guitar-infused downtempo.Stola is a music and DIY obsessive who has been involved with 8 ball community since 2021. Her goal is to make people move.

8 Ball Radio Presents

Pearla's Song Room 4 WaysNight 3: AloneThe third performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club, featuring special guest TBA and visual art from Haley Darya Parsa, in a celebration of collaborative community. Pearla will share her own new music in a different configuration each week.Graphic by Enne Goldstein.

OR Books Live on Ave C launch of WE HAD IT COMING with author Luke O'Neil, Spencer Ackerman, Kylie Cheung, Edward Ongweso, and Grace Robins-Somerville.<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/we-had-it-coming-tickets-1579181156349?aff=oddtdtcreator">WE HAD IT COMING</a>That question runs through We Had It Coming, a collection of stories that pulse with both the familiar and the uncanny. O’Neil’s characters struggle to survive in a reality rife with violence, addiction, fascism, and the crushing weight of modern life. From the threat of mass shootings to the absurdity of predatory healthcare, his sharp observations of societal decay leave a lasting impact.Yet even amid the chaos, O’Neil’s trademark wit cuts through, offering moments of unexpected levity. Jumping from CVS to the emergency room to a seaside Massachusetts town ravaged by the opioid crisis, and blending short stories, poetry, and micro-fiction, O’Neil’s stream-of-consciousness style and inventive syntax pull the reader into a mesmerizing rhythm.Fans of his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/a-creature-wanting-form/">previous work</a> will find a continuation of his unique voice, and new readers will be captivated by his unflinching portrayal of survival in a world gone awry.

We Had It Coming

Dare to Karaoke is the karaoke night with a game show twist! How to play:1) Songs you sing win you prize tickets. 2) Win more tickets by completing Song Dares or Trick Shots - these are song, team, or physical challenges (think Double Dare). 3) Combo &amp; stack multiple dares and trick shots to win mega ticket payouts!The best part: spend your Dare to Karaoke tickets at our deluxe prize table! There's no price list - make us an offer and haggle for the prizes you covet! Cash out early for instant gratification… or save your tickets to snag top-shelf swag at future Dare to Karaoke nights!Dare to Karaoke is THE karaoke night upgrade you never knew you needed! Assemble your adventuring party &amp; your song lists, and join us for a fun night of song-and-games at Dare to Karaoke - only on Saturday, November 8 at The Francis Kite Club in the East Village!

Dare To Karaoke

Artistic Impulses&nbsp;program: experimental home movies with live scores performed by Gene Pritsker &amp; Franz Hackl.

In Another Light: Cinema of Memory

Stand-up comedy show run by NYC's most adorable boys with killer comics from all around the world.

Strait Jacket Comedy

Pearla's Song Room 4 WaysNight 2: InwardThe second performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club, featuring special guest Marina Allen and visual art from Amber Wynne-Jones, in a celebration of collaborative community. Pearla will share her own new music in a different configuration each week.Graphic by Enne Goldstein.

The prolific NYC brass assassin&nbsp;Mac Gollehin &amp; The Hispanic Mechanics, releases the trailer starring Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos) in anticipation of their new world fusion album, Pistoleros.&nbsp;The cast of Pistoleros convenes at The Francis Kite Club on November 5 to discuss the process, with a special performance by the band.

Mac Gollehon & The Hispanic Mechanics presents "Pistoleros"

An intimate evening of dulcet tones and masterful songwriting with Brittain Ashford (Brooklyn) and Mirabelle Skipworth (Pittsburgh).

Brittain Ashford and Mirabelle Skipworth 

Pinc Louds&nbsp;(the East Village's favorite imaginary band) turns 10 years old! Come celebrate their journey from the subway tunnels to the Kite Club as they play from all over their repertoire, including live karaoke of their classics, a special Teeth performance by DOUBLE, piñatas, sing-alongs, costume contests, dance contests and more!Opening the night will be Welcome Matt, releasing their first EP!&nbsp;Somewhere between childhood insecurity and grown up love gone wrong, Welcome Matt walks backward into a stilted hope for better days.&nbsp;And to close the night we have Lumberob. A freakout dance party explosion all crammed into one human with a couple of synths and pedals. Bring your dancing shoes! Costumes encouraged! Courage encouraged!&nbsp;

Pinc Louds Turns 10!

Join us for the launch of&nbsp;slow, dance: a heart led dance space for global diasporic sounds brought to you by one of the minds behind Disco Auntie. We're kicking things off with a groovy, spooky Halloween party and costumes are highly encouraged! Bring your dancing shoes and prepare to dance into Halloween together.&nbsp;sounds byVikmatic&nbsp;is a Brooklyn-based DJ &amp; producer. He grew up surrounded by the sounds of Indian classical, jazz, and fusion music. This has an influence on his DJ sets today and overall sound that he produces. He is a resident on the music listening platform <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://Boxout.fm">Boxout.fm</a> and frequently DJs in NYC, at venues such as: Eavesdrop, Night Club 101, Commune, Suono and The Brooklyn Museum. He also recently released his first EP of original music, in collaboration with Danilo Braca - titled Whoosh. Ziggee Gold is a multi disciplinary artist, hailing from Brooklyn, New York. She’s an audiophile, photographer, deep lover of art, as well as a fashion and home aficionado. Ziggee presents sound selection from her life experiences and relationships within the world. She loves to experiment and has grown up around Djs molding her sound to align with bass heavy dance tracks and smooth R&amp;B refixes. With her unique sense of synesthesia you’ll be sure to be seeing sounds…offering rain is a music producer, artist and tastemaker of Gujarati &amp; Ecuadorian heritage. born and bred in the heart of New York City and with roots stretching across the global south, offering rain draws from their diverse background to craft experimental and poly-cultural soundscapes as a form of offering.

slow, dance: halloween

The first performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club.Pearla's Song Room 4 WaysNight 1: TogetherThe first performance in Pearla's 4-part residency at Francis Kite Club, featuring special guest performers to be announced and showcasing artists of different disciplines in a celebration of collaborative community. Pearla will share new music in a different configuration each week.Graphic by Enne Goldstein.

Join us for our first membership social, an art-inspired Halloween costume party co-hosted with our friends at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://hyperallergic.com/">Hyperallergic</a>! Come by to boogie with your fellow Kites and the Hyperallergic staff, contributors, friends, and members on October 29th and show off your most convincing rendition of Munch’s “The Scream” or creature from Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights” — or something actually scary, like a grant application portal/yet another biennial/2,000-word press releases! (Heh.)​Enjoy spooky cocktails, and don an artful outfit for the night’s Costume Competition, judged by Hyperallergic’s Hrag Vartanian, curator-author Laura Raicovich, and surprise guests! Winners will be showered with praise and validation (what we all secretly want in the art world). Oh, and they’ll also receive special prizes. A tote bag may be involved…Entry is included in your Kite Membership. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.franciskiteclub.com/kite-membership">Sign-up here for details! </a>

Hyperallergic X Kite Halloween Party

An intimate evening of dreamy music toward total liberation and total self-acceptance. BREAKAWAYBreakaway’s unique operatic falsetto-style singing is at the center of his music, drawing influence from singers like Klaus Nomi, Joanna Newsom, and Zola Jesus. “Remember Your Light” is the 7th album from Breakaway since 2012, and this one is especially stripped down, mostly simple guitar songs, sometimes with a beat, sewn together with his haunting range of vocals.“People, my friends, tell me they see a lot of light in me, and I believe they do see light in me, but I rarely, if ever, see it in myself. This album “Remember Your Light” is my attempt to see it, to actively try to be gentle and kind with myself for once. I really needed to be reminded of this. I imagine others can use this reminder too. Why are so many of us so hard on ourselves? That's my motivation for this album.” LEE HOOPERDrawing upon the breath and beat of flute and body, “delicate, if deft, survivor” (Downbeat) Lee Hooper exhales sentiments of past, present, and future by accessing defining nuances of human emotion. Performances by Hooper often intertwine themes of acceptance, grief, hope, joy, liberation, rage, and reciprocity with the vast interdisciplinary repertoire and legacy of black and gender-expansive revolutionaries, using interpolation, improvisation, and electronics to pigment distinct perspectives of sound. an invitation is extended to listeners to self-reflect in the mirrors of comfort and discomfort. MANGO DREAMGIRLA self produced project from Brooklyn musician and producer Mariel Ross, explores the experimental electronic sonic space. Inspired by the worlds of fantasy, cyber-futurism, medieval madrigals/baroque choral music, and Lynchian art styles, mango dreamgirl offers a peek into her secret world of sound design, harmony, &amp; world building.

Breakaway

An intimate evening of dreamy music toward total liberation and total self-acceptance.BREAKAWAYBreakaway’s unique operatic falsetto-style singing is at the center of his music, drawing influence from singers like Klaus Nomi, Joanna Newsom, and Zola Jesus. “Remember Your Light” is the 7th album from Breakaway since 2012, and this one is especially stripped down, mostly simple guitar songs, sometimes with a beat, sewn together with his haunting range of vocals.“People, my friends, tell me they see a lot of light in me, and I believe they do see light in me, but I rarely, if ever, see it in myself. This album “Remember Your Light” is my attempt to see it, to actively try to be gentle and kind with myself for once. I really needed to be reminded of this. I imagine others can use this reminder too. Why are so many of us so hard on ourselves? That's my motivation for this album.” LEE HOOPERDrawing upon the breath and beat of flute and body, “delicate, if deft, survivor” (Downbeat) Lee Hooper exhales sentiments of past, present, and future by accessing defining nuances of human emotion. Performances by Hooper often intertwine themes of acceptance, grief, hope, joy, liberation, rage, and reciprocity with the vast interdisciplinary repertoire and legacy of black and gender-expansive revolutionaries, using interpolation, improvisation, and electronics to pigment distinct perspectives of sound. an invitation is extended to listeners to self-reflect in the mirrors of comfort and discomfort. MANGO DREAMGIRLA self produced project from Brooklyn musician and producer Mariel Ross, explores the experimental electronic sonic space. Inspired by the worlds of fantasy, cyber-futurism, medieval madrigals/baroque choral music, and Lynchian art styles, mango dreamgirl offers a peek into her secret world of sound design, harmony, &amp; world building.

Breakaway Album Release

The Francis Kite Club will be closed for a private party on October 25, 2025.

Closed for a Private Rental

Aesop's Sound Fables will perform our original score alongside a screening of the original 1922 Nosferatu, one of the first horror films ever made. For this show, Aesop's Sound Fables will be performing as a Bassoon and Guitar duo featuring local musicians Rosalie Avery and Mike Nowotarski.&nbsp; Doors are at 7:30 and the show will start shortly afterwards.

Nosferatu

Belladonna* Reading Series has put on readings and published chaplets by feminist experimental writers since 1999. In this second reading in our Fall series, curated by Bahaar Ahsan, poets Farnoosh Fathi and Nora Fulton will read and debut chaplets of works in progress.""Farnoosh Fathi and Nora Fulton will read at Francis Kite Club on October 22nd in the second installment of our Fall series. Readers will be introduced by Bianca Rae Messinger and series curator Bahaar Ahsan. Come by for readings and to pick up copies of new chaps by the poets! Flyer by Rissa Hochberger

Belladonna* Reading Series

Celebrate the launch of THE NINE HAVE SPOKEN with editor Richard Kreitner and Elie Mystal.Get a copy of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-nine-have-spoken/">THE NINE HAVE SPOKEN</a>If the right-wing Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett holds onto her seat as long as her late predecessor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she will still be hearing cases in 2059. That’s nearly four decades of consequential decision-making, giving the Court’s conservative supermajority the opportunity to reshape nearly all American institutions for generations to come.As the leading progressive magazine in the country, The Nation has reported on and debated the Court’s repeated transgressions on public life for more than 150 years. This collection of cutting dispatches presents indispensable perspectives on how we reached our current moment—from the repeal of Roe v. Wade to the hollowing out of labor unions, voter protections, campaign-finance regulations, and beyond—and what it will take to find our way out.Featuring contributions by Elie Mystal, I. F. Stone, Jamie Raskin, Katha Pollitt, Jedediah Britton-Purdy, Patricia J. Williams, and Charles Warren

The Nine Have Spoken

<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/run-zohran-run/">RUN ZOHRAN RUN!</a>Grounded in firsthand knowledge of an insurgent campaign, Run Zohran Run! charts the unexpected rise of Zohran Mamdani and his victory in New York City’s 2025 Mayoral Democratic primary.Mamdani’s straightforward platform—a rent freeze, free buses, universal childcare, and city-run grocery stores—cut through the noise of mainstream politics and resonated with working-class voters struggling in an increasingly unaffordable city.A 33 year-old immigrant who openly identifies as a democratic socialist, Mamdani drew in Muslim and South Asian voters historically sidelined in city politics. His robust support for Palestinian rights upended traditional politics in New York City, where even the most liberal elected officials refuse to criticize Israel.The campaign faced relentless institutional resistance—attacks from the New York Times, the New York Post, and vitriol from disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo and former mayor Michael Bloomberg—but it also demonstrated how Left campaigns can be won.Whether plunging into the icy water of Coney Island on New Year’s Day to promote a rent freeze or letting a Knicks' fan spin a multi-colored basketball on his head at an NBA game, Mamdani's innovative and theatrical campaign captured the public. At the same time, a massive ground operation led by the Democratic Socialists of America mobilized tens of thousands of volunteers to knock on more than 1.5 million doors.As fast-paced and compelling as its subject, Run Zohran Run! reveals how a charismatic candidate and a vibrant grassroots campaign ended a New York dynasty and set the stage for the first democratic socialist mayor.

Run Zohran Run!

Chris Lee-Rodriguez is a musician, educator, and songwriter based in East Boston, MA. Most known as a founding member of former Boston bands I Kill Giants and Really From, Chris writes and performs solo music under his name as well. On his debut album, “Done with Doing,” which he self-released in November 2024, he draws influence from indie rock, electronic pop, and Latin folk. His songs focus on themes of love, anti-capitalism, and building community in dying times. isaac silber is a musician and sound artist/designer/engineer from Wynnewood, PA based in Brooklyn, NY. You can find more info about them at their website <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.isaacnsilber.com/">www.isaacnsilber.com</a> or on instagram @isilberis. For now he would just like to echo Hannah Einbinder in saying go Birds, fuck ICE and free Palestine. 💚❤️‍🔥🖤

Christopher Lee-Rodriguez

Dare to Karaoke is a game show twist on karaoke night! Sing songs for Dare to Karaoke Tickets and spend them at our Dare to Karaoke Prize Table. It's karaoke x Chuck E. Cheese!Songs you sing win you (1) ticket. Bonus tickets are awarded for singing specific songs, artists, or genres from our monthly menu. Win MORE tickets for performing "trick shots" - physical &amp; group challenges during your songs. Combo &amp; stack multiple "dares" for mega ticket payouts!Spend your song-earned Dare to Karaoke tickets at our prize table. No price list - make us an offer and haggle for the prizes you covet! Cash out for smaller prizes and instant gratification… or save your tickets to snag bigger, top-shelf swag at future Dare to Karaoke nights!Dare to Karaoke is THE karaoke night upgrade you never knew you needed! Bring your friends &amp; song lists and join us for a fun night of song-and-games at Dare to Karaoke - every 2nd Saturday of the month at The Francis Kite Club in the East Village!

Christopher Sears plays a new set of music live at the Francis Kite Club!

OR Books Live on Ave C launch of HITLER AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW with author Terese Svoboda and writer Helen Benedict.&nbsp;Get a copy of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/hitler-and-my-mother-in-law/">HITLER AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW</a>One of the first women hired by CBS Radio, Pat Lochridge was the only female journalist to cover both the Pacific and Atlantic theaters of WWII. She interviewed Hermann Göring twice, climbed to Hitler’s redoubt at Eagle’s Nest, was a friend of FDR, and the postwar mayor of Berchtesgaden. Sometimes even her four sons questioned the validity of their mother's stories. The first time she met her daughter-in-law (author Terese Svoboda), Pat showed her a photo of herself and a pile of ashes and said the US command had asked her to identify them as Hitler’s. Was she a fabulist, a trailblazer, or was she simply doing her job?Threaded with dark humor and personal reflection, this memoir explores the stories we inherit and the ones we invent, the official histories we parrot, and the quiet manipulations we accept. From Cold War propaganda and McCarthy-era paranoia to newsroom sexism and the strange theater of postwar art-world politics, Hitler and My Mother-in-Law reveals a life extraordinary—and perhaps crafted. With sharp insight, Svoboda unpacks the contradictions embedded in such a narrative, weaving in reflections on her own experiences in journalism, family, and the uneasy inheritance of truth-through-marriage.With a voice that is at once skeptical and affectionate, the author navigates the slippery terrain of memory—her own and others’—while wrestling with the impossible task of pinning down truth. In an age of misinformation, spin, and revisionism, this book is an excavation of narrative and memoir itself, and a warning about the seductions of a good story.

Hitler and My Mother-In-Law

If the Past is Prologue (yes, talking about you Zoe) what will we do about the Future?La Sala de Pepe y Foto Espacio &amp; Loisaida Inc. in partnership with The Village Trip invite you to a celebration of the Life, the Death, and the ‘Resurrection’ of Zoe Anderson Norris, Lower East Side resident, ‘muckraking’ journalist, publisher of The East Side ‘magazinelet’, poet, clairvoyant, social justice activist on behalf of the poor and the immigrant, and founder/head hostess of The Ragged Edge Klub- a space where ‘artists, authors, aviators, composers, dancers, musicians, physicians, politicians, singers, theater producers’ and others, living on the ‘ragged edges’ of society themselves, could defy the rules and hierarchies of the Gilded Age.Here was a Klub whose meetings were held in Lower East Side and East Village restaurants where anyone who shared Zoe’s radical social values, and could afford a 98-cent dinner, would eat, drink and dance the night away!So well-known was Zoe as a foe of income inequality and social hypocrisy that her death in 1914 made the National News. Over 230 papers in the U.S. and Canada (from The NY and LA Times to the Alaska Citizen to the Oklahoma State Register) ran obits and columns. How is it that today so few of us have heard of Zoe Anderson Norris? Was it because her contemporaries, such as Jacob Riis, Ida B. Wells and Emma Goldman, were better connected and provided more colorful media material? Was it because she was a woman and loud-mouthed feminist? Or because much of her popular fiction writing was thinly veiled and often ‘catty’ commentary on her family, friends, and enemies? Or simply because Zoe, born and raised in Kentucky, based for a decade in Kansas, married more than once, and a traveler in Europe before settling in the Lower East Side, was a tremendously complex woman?Today we might call Zoe Anderson Norris an anarchist, an influencer, a social justice activist and even a performance artist. But definitely no longer forgotten, thanks to the historical researcher and author Eve Kahn.Books will be available for purchase and signing at the party, along with cocktails, mocktails, signed books, tiaras, music by D.J. Pepe Flores, a presentation of Zoe Anderson Norris’s life and works and an extraordinary panel of contemporary ‘Queens of Bohemia’ in conversation with Eve Kahn.

The Queen of Bohemia

For this edition of Intimate Thoughts, host and psychotherapist Daniel Hoffman will convene six comedians and one psychoanalyst to discuss a universal part of life and arguably essential part of comedy: shame. What is shame? When is it healthy, and when is it unhealthy? And what part does it play in comedy? These questions and more will be answered on the third live episode of Intimate Thoughts.With <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/hdsh06/">Daniel Hoffman, </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/mrkindakooky/?hl=en">Jesse Prado</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/pellegrino_claire/?hl=en">Claire Pellegrino, </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/dthomasphillips/">Daniel Philips, </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/sarahadelman1/">Sarah Adelman, </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/alexboswelll/?hl=en">Alex Boswell, </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/nickviagas/?hl=en">Nick Viagas</a> and Benjamin Cheney, MD (psychoanalyst)

Intimate Thoughts: A Live Talk Show

Last month, we launched <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.franciskiteclub.com/kite-membership">The Membership</a>, a program that supports our operations and allows us to continue to provide accessible space for our artists and customers. With your contribution and participation we can continue to socialize this space in the years to come. As pressures mount on civil norms and freedom of expression,&nbsp; it is incredibly important that we continue to support our independent cultural spaces locally and nationally, especially those that are not structured as 501c3s.&nbsp;Whether you are a member or have yet to sign up, please join us this month for our membership drive party, an evening of music and conversation hosted by Kyp Malone and our other founding members.Open to the public. Membership encouraged but not required. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.franciskiteclub.com/kite-membership">Sign-up here today!</a>

Kite Membership Drive Party

OR Books author Eileen Myles reads from their work alongside a group of NYC based poets, featuring Em DeVincentis, Ashley Escobar, Riley Mac, Coco Gordon Moore and Sade Powell who will read from their work and from Palestine poet Batool Abu Akleen's work as well.

A Night With Eileen Myles

Join us at the Francis Kite Club for "This is Lit": Literary Trivia! Bring your bibliophile friends and test your knowledge together. Compete with others for prizes! Winners will receive books about the carceral system and/or store credit to local bookstores.This event raises funds for Saxapahaw Prison Books, a Brooklyn-based collective that sends free books to people&nbsp;incarcerated in Georgia. The Georgia Department of Corrections has one of the strictest literature censorship policies in the country, and your donations will help us get books to people who need them inside!

This Is Lit: Literary Trivia

Willis Mathewson is a drummer and songwriter from New York City whose work often deals with themes of New York history, rising sea levels, and technological isolation.In celebration of the release of the single (A)live on 8th Avenue, largely written&nbsp;and recorded at the Music Building in Midtown, he will be joined by a full band. Also on the bill will be Port Ross and Alex Schoenfeld.

Willis Mathewson "(A)live on 8th Avenue" Single Release

Christopher Sears started making music in his parents theatre company and so his songs are all rooted in theatrical. Raw and emotional, fun house mirrors of lyrical self reflection.For his second show at The Francis Kite Club, he will be joined by Sienna Sears. A local artist, who has a soulful voice from a time gone by. She is working on a new solo album with ethereal stylings of guitarist, Avinoam Ettun.Sienna and Christopher will also play some songs together.

OR Books Live on Ave C launch of FROM THE FLAG TO THE CROSS with Margaret Kimberley, Kshama Sawant and Rick Wolff.Order a copy of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" href="https://orbooks.com/catalog/from-the-flag-to-the-cross/">FROM THE FLAG TO THE CROSS</a>"Gangster capitalism," that's how Henry Giroux describes the system where a billionaire class controls the institutions that shape our lives—the media, corporations, universities, courts, and government. But does this centralization of power on behalf of the super-rich mean that fascism has taken over the United States? Certainly, the signs are there: Individuals not charged with a crime are picked up on the street by masked police and "disappeared." Right-wing strongmen like Javier Milei of Argentina or Nayib Bukele of El Salvador are embraced warmly on the steps of the White House. The aptly titled Trump v. United States Supreme Court ruling just handed the president broad immunity for “official acts.” And Elon Musk, the president's unelected scourge of government inefficiency, gave repeated fascist-style salutes at Trump’s inauguration rally. His DOGE have fired tens of thousands of people, and illegally seized private personal data on millions of Americans.So is this fascism, oligarchy, authoritarianism—or all of the above? Is there a special brand of American fascism? And, if so, what direction is it likely to take, and how can it best be resisted? In From the Flag to the Cross: Fascism American Style, seven prominent American socialists explore these questions. They come at the issues from different angles in an enlightening spectrum of opinion. But on one point, they are in unison: Trump is not the disease. He’s the symptom. The real threat is a violent, deeply embedded system—fueled by capitalism, white supremacy, Christian nationalism, and authoritarian rule—that long predates the 47th president.

From The Flag To The Cross

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/gsxnyc/">GSX </a>single release party!GSX stripped down performanceAlso performing: the incredibly talented <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/nussyandrews/">Nussy Andrews </a>(piano/vocals)Video screenings by the fabulous <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/katrinadelmar/?hl=en">Katrina del Mar&nbsp;</a>

Queers of Noise Presents

Back To Cool

Long-running independent radio station 8 Ball Radio returns to the Kite for an evening of wide-ranging grooves.&nbsp;Brooklyn based DJ trap burrito will open us up bringing hot sounds from the dirty south, followed by&nbsp;artist, producer, writer, actor,&nbsp;and Brooklyn native o.negative providing lush &amp; hard-hitting synth-pop. Funk-rock diva&nbsp;Olive Oliver will close out the night, combining her church upbringing and love of rock and soul to push open both genres. Expect your body and heart to be moved.

The Tipsy Bee Author Spelling Bee &amp; Book Fair returns to The Francis Kite Club for the second year as part of Brooklyn Book Festival's Bookends. Root on your favorite authors – Abraham Chang, Erin Crosby Eckstine, Danny Goodman, Elyse Graham, Jakob Guanzon, and Olivia Wolfgang-Smith – as they try to spell literary-inspired words. Last year’s spelling champion, Hyeseung Song, will return as an official lifeline for struggling spellers. As the featured authors (inevitably) lose, we’ll call up audience members for the chance to win the Grand Prize! Hive Mind Books will be there with a curated selection of reads as well as the featured authors' books.

The Tipsy Bee Author Spelling Bee & Book Fair

Delicious food. Signature cocktails for purchase at the bar. Awesome music spun by DJs Art Jones and ingrid romero. Complimentary zines to add to your creative library.Join Social Practice CUNY to celebrate the launch of season two of Part of the Practice, our podcast about the intersection of art and social justice! This party is free and open to all, with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://forms.gle/PyebRTpAxWTVv8Jk6">RSVP</a> strongly encouraged but not required. Come for a night of good conversation, celebration, and surprises, along with a chance to hear from Part of the Practice guests in person. Hosted by SPCUNY Associate Director Catherine LaSota. About Part of the PracticeWhat is social practice, and how does it affect the ways we navigate our lives and make change in the world? Join artists, scholars, and collaborators from the Social Practice CUNY network on Part of the Practice, as we discuss our individual art practices, our communities, and the role of socially-engaged art in our work for social justice. SPCUNY is funded by the Mellon Foundation and supports faculty and graduate students across the CUNY campuses with social practice art project fellowships. Catherine LaSota is a writer, artist, and creativity facilitator living in Queens, NYC.

Part of the Practice

Dare to Karaoke is a new twist on karaoke night! Each song you sing is worth points and points you score are worth prizes. Add to the mix an ever-changing, super-sized menu of bonus point-scoring opportunities and you’ll Dare to Karaoke all night long!Some challenges require singing specific songs, artists, and genres. Other challenges are physical and/or group stunts you must complete while singing. Crafty players will choose songs that combo multiple menu challenges at the same time to score MEGA points!Points you win are awarded as Dare to Karaoke tickets - which you can “spend” for cool prizes! Cash out immediately for small prizes and instant gratification… or save up your tickets and snag bigger, top-shelf prizes at future Dare to Karaoke nights!Bring your friends &amp; level up karaoke 4-eva with a fun and interactive night of song-and-games at Dare to Karaoke!

Welcome to the Hat &amp; Beard Printed Matter Art Book Fair After Party! Join us for a night of art, books, and good vibes.Angela Jaeger in conversation with Julia GortonGraham Harrison Lee presents the photography and poetry of Jun FujitaJosh Rogers in conversation with Phong BuiDan Efram presents a decade of documenting artist Steve KeeneAll authors will be on hand to sign books afterward

Hat & Beard Press Presents

Celebrate the launch of A SEAT AT THE TABLE, with the author Andy Shallal and Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour.

A Seat At The Table

Ethan Turns 40A party with performances, hosted by Ethan Philbrick.&nbsp;Featuring&nbsp;Lauren Bakst and Kris Lee, Sol Cabrini, Zoë Chao, Jennifer Miller and Ned Riseley.&nbsp;

Ethan Turns 40

Emerging from Bogotá’s experimental scene, pianist Holman Álvarez—now based in New York—joins forces with the powerful double bass of Brandon López in an improvised set.

Holman Alvarez and Brandon Lopez 

The return of P.O.P Culture, hosted by Mazzi.

P.O.P Culture

Chill while DJ Greg Caz spins the music you need. Then settle in with a drink from the cash bar as co-authors John and Elizabeth Clay read you a story, passages from their new novel, Coconut. Conversation to follow.About the novelCoconut is a love story that weaves intimate life portraits across three generations and four continents. Mary is a young artist who struggles to build hope out of tragedy. Explorations in mathematics free Henry’s mind, but what can free his soul? Catherine looks into the mirror and asks, Who am I? She cannot find her path forward until she first finds the path back to her beginnings. James dreams of building a theory of human culture, but as his dream gets closer, his life veers off course. Calvert is a software architect at the start of his life journey. As the Andes come into view through the airliner windows, he's flooded with that feeling — when you don't know if it's a place you’ve been or a place you've only heard of. Across generations and across the globe, the five navigate through peril and heartbreak, beauty and laughter. The family lines meet in New York City and together they find their way. Coconut is a story of identity and the power of love across place and time to unleash the truth within us.About the authorsJohn and Elizabeth Clay are writers and artists living in Stillwater and Duluth, Minnesota -- sometimes with their three mostly-grown children. John spent formative years of his childhood in Africa and South America, and Elizabeth traveled extensively in Europe. They have been writing, editing, and making art together since 2007. Their commissioned public artwork "Strong as Steel” has been on display in St. Ingbert, Germany since 2019. John's non-fiction writing has been published online or in print in Minnesota, Georgia, New York, and California USA, and Saarland Germany. He holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in music composition. Elizabeth was adopted into a loving family in the Twin Cities and, through exhaustive research, has discovered and met many of her birth relatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in horticulture.About the man behind the musicGreg Caz is a DJ, writer, and self-made musicologist who has been making music in New York City for two decades and counting.

Coconut: A Novel

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/spencerbatman/">Spencer Batman</a> brings us all vinyl, all night.

Spencer

The official release party for Illuminated Sidewalks' debut 7", with Tahiti Syndrome and DJ Jodie Artichoke!

Illuminated Sidewalks

August is the time of year when New York City's salt marshes are at their most euphoric. Come celebrate with a night of original music which, like Francis Kite Club itself, is dedicated to NYC's strange and unique present and future with a focus on humanity's place in nature and vice versa.

Salt Marsh Euphoria

On August 17, Francis Kite Club hosts Satellite Correspondence — a multi-signal transmission of poetry, performance, film, and sound. An evening of delay, distortion, missed connection, long-distance intimacy, and signal-sending across vast space. Featuring live readings, short films, and a closing DJ set to extend the channel of reception.

Satellite Correspondence

Airplane Ears is a fresh underground project by New York City-based musicians Sujae Jung (KR), Wolf Robert Stratmann (DE), and Dino Kim (KR). Togehther, they explore the aesthetics of Drum and Bass, EDM, Experimental Music, Rock, Funk &amp; Soul through instant composition and rough improvisation. No song idea is preconceived, and the music is created together in the moment spontaneously. Using SOMA's Terra Synthesizer and an array of electric bass effect pedals, Jung and Stratmann create sonic textures that mingle rhythmically with the energetic and eclectic drumming of Kim, creating a captivating stream of collective consciousness that one cannot resist bobbing their heads to.Johnny Knollwood &amp; the Church of Mad Love wears their influences on their sleeves, but they are a high-energy rock &amp; roll band at heart. The group is headed by Johnny Knollwood; a multi-instrumentalist from North Jersey, who transcends genre lines in his songwriting and live performances with the Church of Mad Love. He is currently an Artist in Residence at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, supported by NJPAC’s Arts &amp; Wellbeing team, where he performs bedside for patients at the children’s hospital.The Church of Mad Love features a revolving lineup of incredible New York City-based musicians who lend their unique improvisational voices to upbeat, catchy songs. The group performs original music and also boasts a repertoire of classics by bands like Funkadelic, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, and Stevie Wonder. Their spirited performances have been lauded by audiences as “fun,” “danceable,” and “a damn good time.” The group released an EP, “Love is Over,” in 2020, and their first full length, self-titled album in September 2024.

Airplane Ears

Christopher Sears and Cornelius McMoyler are friends, actors, and songwriters. Both have spent the past decade in New York, onstage in plays and singing songs. They’ve had many conversations about how to keep their original work alive, how to share, where to put it. Even the writing of this description was mulled over. They are thrilled to share with you their latest solution: an evening of new songs.

Come to The Kite for toe-tapping tunes brought by Buck And A Quarter at Swing Night! Doors at 7PM with a shag dance lesson with Adrienne Weidert to get your feet moving in style at 7:30PM, then there is dancing at 8:30PM on the big wood floor!$10 cover at the door, cash or Venmo. Give the password “swordfish” for a discounted admission: $15 for two!<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.buckandaquarterquartet.com/">Buck And A Quarter Quartet</a> is the NYC-based string band that plays the forgotten gems and favorites of the golden age of American pop and vintage-inspired originals in their own category-defying style, described as ‘skiffle meets Cole Porter’ and ‘what do you call this kind of music?’

Come to The Kite to peruse and claim one of a kind makes from the artisans at the By Hand and Heart Market.Featuring:Henna by NatyCeramics by RanaIstria Napoli by Laura RaicovichChic, handmade ice-dyed home textiles made of 100% cotton.Seedpod &amp; Pearl by Sadaf PadeerNaturally inspired cyanotype textiles and seedpod jewelry.

By Hand & Heart Market

Swing by and enjoy some live music at The Kite!

Live at The Kite

Summer is here. For our last Karaoke Practice! session of the season, we’re hosting Time &amp; Tide : a special karaoke session focused on beginnings, endings, and beginning again. Come with your favorite tunes about time, transformation, getting a tan, or just plain the thrill of team play. These days, coming together for shared joy is even more important than ever!Founded by designer, author, and educator P! Krishnamurthy, Department of Transformation is an artist-organized group that prototypes new formats for togetherness, learning, and collective healing. As part of DOT’s ongoing micro-residency at The Clemente, “Karaoke Practice!” sessions at The Francis Kite Club invite the DOT community and the public to explore karaoke as a medium for expression, experimentation, connection, and community.&nbsp;As a readymade format, karaoke can generate varying levels of discomfort in people while also demonstrating a person’s virtuosic potential. Karaoke creates community through a shared sense of vulnerability and mutual support. Whether you are a pro or novice or simply love a good time, we invite you to our fun-filled karaoke gathering!Department of Transformation and Karaoke Practice! are supported by The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural &amp; Educational Center. Graphics by Mark Foss (@markjfoss).

Time & Tide

Found Sound Nation's bi-monthly concert series returns to Francis Kite Club, featuring Aurora Nealand's Monocle Ensemble and Smith Taylor. From the hood to the woods and everywhere in between, Smith Taylor’s music reflects his personal exposure to an array of ever changing environments. His potent guitar playing recalls the deep roots of blues and jazz in both tone and technique while intertwining a soulful feel with post punk inspired repetitive melodies. &nbsp; Within the Monocle Ensemble, Nealand’s original music examines the intersections between love, technology, community, government, mental health and sound in our modern world. Less loftily, it's music made up for 3 part vocal harmonies, accordion &amp; electronics, guitar soundscapes and many people hitting things (such as drums and emotional walls). It’s art-pop and performance art greatly influenced by the last 2 decades of living and breathing through the beauty and dysfunction of infrastructure, feelings, tradition and innovation in and between New Orleans, LA and New York City.

Found Sound Nation presents Aurora Nealand and Smith Taylor

She loves caprese sandwiches! She likes mushrooms aesthetically but not in her food! Her brain is fully formed! She’s Lizzy and she’s inviting you to her 25th birthday party which is actually a show on her actual birthday! Come hang out and watch her have a quarter life crisis ;)If you haven’t yet met Lizzy Hilliard, don’t fear, you are more than welcome to attend - Lizzy is a (freshly 25 year old) singer-songwriter from Abington, Pennsylvania trying to figure it out in NYC. A lifelong musician, her current work is infused with warm guitars and sincere vocals. Bearing lyrics with evocative imagery, whimsy, and a twinge of fantasy, Lizzy's songs oscillate between candid observation and wistful reflection. Her newest album, 'growth vol. 3,' is a journey of self discovery in the wake of newfound independence.

Lizzy Hilliard’s Birthday Show!

The fifth installment of 8 Ball Radio's bi-monthly live series at The Kite features three acts from different corners of NYC's underground music communities.The evening opens with a&nbsp;set of minimalist guitar compositions and ballads from Law Office. Manuela Mares' presents a fresh take on the bossa-nova traditions of Brazil. Closing out the evening will be the nylon-string, slowcore extraordinaire, Face Of Ancient Gallery, threading lullabesque songs into the night. 8 Ball Radio is a volunteer-run, public-access online radio station based in Chinatown. Focused on community-oriented programming, the station places an emphasis on freedom and collaboration without hierarchical structures. It serves as a part of 8 Ball Community, a nonprofit collective that also engages in other cultural projects.

8 Ball Radio Presents: Manuela Mares, Face of Ancient Gallery, Law Office

On Friday, July 25, INVISIBLE GUY materializes at The Francis Kite Club, in order, to dematerialize you through the use of groovy &amp; abstract sound. Improvisationally uplifting on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest yet.If there’s more to say, we’ll say it on July 25th. For now let’s say Michael Coleman is on keyboards, Hamir Atwal is on drums, Joshua Crumbly is on electric bass and Ben Goldberg is on clarinet. Stop on by.

Invisible Guy

Bad Pet is a monthly poetry readings series by Mutt Readings. The fifth edition features readings by Izzy Casey, Jessica Aurell, Nico Walker and Marjorie Galen.

Bad Pet 5

It's a evening length audio video installation; come in, hear the sounds, watch the color and motion. Ask the person next to you, "Did you see that?!"The original visuals by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/tonystinkmetal/">Tony Stinkmetal</a>&nbsp;shift from sensuous&nbsp;to psychedelic. The soundscape by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/camillebwrecords/?hl=en">Camille BWR</a> is designed as a travel companion to the visual trip.Antipodean poet, Leon Brown will be peppering the narrative fragments delivered under the soundscape. It's practically subliminal.

Kaputt, An Evening In Fragments

We're running Windows 1776 for our government—it's time for an upgrade. Nearly 250 years after the founding, Americans across the spectrum agree: the system is broken. So where do we go to reimagine what democracy could be?[Undetermined] States of America is a podcast, blog and movement to collectively envision the next evolution of American government—just like the Founders did, but for today's world.&nbsp;For too long, we've equated democracy with elections. But elections are plagued by intractable problems: special interest capture, endless fundraising, outdated structures built for 1776 and many more. Fortunately, we don’t need to start from scratch.Ancient Greece practiced a different form of democracy: sortition—randomly selecting everyday citizens (like jury duty) to deliberate and make decisions, informed by experts. This idea is making a comeback in the form of a burgeoning movement to&nbsp;bring about a full-fledged revival in American&nbsp;democracy.Join us on July 19th at Francis Kite Club for a live conversation with leading voices in the movement to upgrade democracy through citizen assemblies, deliberation, and sortition. We'll also explore the feasibility of a second constitutional convention—and what it might look like to build a government truly run by and for the people.<h3 style="text-align: start">Featuring:</h3><ul><li>Phil Lindsay – Director of the Democracy Innovation Hub at the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://hac.bard.edu/programs/democracy-innovation-hub/">Hannah Arendt Center</a>&nbsp;</li><li>Nick Coccoma – Executive Director and Founder of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://assembleamerica.org/">Assemble America</a></li><li>Colin Pugh&nbsp;– Founder and Host of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.undetermined.us/">[Undetermined] States of America</a></li></ul>

Undetermined States of America: Citizen Assemblies and Deliberative Democracy

Dancing in Socks is back with their bi-monthly event: this time moving a casual Thursday to a Friday Warm-up. Music will be everything from “just got out of work” to “get into the weekend with dancing”.Welcome to Dancing in Socks, a community centered around dance where you can be your wild self and explore house music in a safe space. You can dance how you want and dress how you want — you bring yourself, and we’ll bring the music. This all started in a small Alphabet City studio (hence the origin of the name), but that “be a little weird because you’re around your friends” ethos still stands.Kristen London is an NYC-based DJ with a deep love for dance music, the history of the dancefloor, and the community that continues to keep it alive. While her selections are steeped in traditional and modern jazz influences, she loves to weave in elements of commercial/hyperpop, future garage, funk, hard, house, and classic house—building her sets more around “vibes” than around specific genres.Joverine - is a NYC based House and Techno DJ. He lives in two worlds. one that is deep and minimal, influenced by the Romanian scene as well as the Deep Tech style he experienced in Washington, DC. His second world is within Soulful House and Jazz House. Bence brings a taste of European club music, influenced heavily by the synthy beauty of the 80s and the madness of the French wave of the 2000’s. He started Dancing in Socks in his studio apartment to bring friends together and create a space to perform and has since got opportunities around the city, including Earthly Delights, Jupiter Disco and Elsewhere.

Dancing In Socks Warm-Up Friday

In a celebration and reckoning, Hannah Marcus and friends are reanimating an album that was recorded in Montreal between 2005 and 2010 and buried for many years in the psychic underground.&nbsp;With a band including Olli Hirvonen, Tim Dahl, Kevin Shea, Jessica Moss and other very special guests!

'Ten Bones From a Virgin Graveyard' Record Release Party

CONGRATS PIG HIGH CLASS OF 2025!!! Poetry is Gay is celebrating their second annual zine and kicking off a pride after shock with their zine launch party at Francis Kite Club Thursday July 10 at 7pm.Poetry is Gay is a bi-weekly writing group hosted by Brooke Finegold and the zine features dozens of local queer writers and artists. At the launch party, you’ll have a chance to get an exclusive first look at the zine and hear readings before we take off to the NY Poetry Festival. Come for poetry, stay for our yearbook photo booth, flash tattoos, merch, and delicious treats + eats by Produce Section. Featuring readers: Bunny Overstreet, Kitty Bailey, Reece Borden, Emilia Donnelly, &amp; more! Hosted by Brooke Finegold.

Poetry is Gay Zine Launch

Come to The Kite for toe-tapping tunes brought by Buck And A Quarter at Swing Night! Doors at 7PM with a dance lesson to get your feet moving in style at 7:30PM, then there is dancing at 8PM on the big wood floor!$10 cover at the door, cash or Venmo. Give the password “swordfish” for a discounted admission: $15 for two!<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.buckandaquarterquartet.com/">Buck And A Quarter Quartet</a> is the NYC-based string band that plays the forgotten gems and favorites of the golden age of American pop and vintage-inspired originals in their own category-defying style, described as ‘skiffle meets Cole Porter’ and ‘what do you call this kind of music?’

Come One Come All! To this Puppet Hoedown! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/turtleswagger69/">Janky Ray </a>(former WFMU host, clown school dropout) will host this hootenanny with her fiddle and puppet friends. Watch as the puppets’ idyllic world gets some unknown visitors through the outhouse portal. Stay for the rockin’ tunes of The Day Boys and Florida Man’s Band! Florida Man’s Band NYC’s #1 Florida Garage rock revival band playing tunes that make you want to get up and dance, and maybe wrestle a gator! <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/thedayboys_band/">The Day Boys</a> A neo-traditional folk/rock band that combines down-home nostalgia, energetic rhythm, vulnerable lyricism and Irish influence together into one unique sound!

Janky Ray's Country Puppets

Queers of Noise Pride 2025: the only live music Dyke March afterparty! With Karyn Kuhl (solo electric), GSX (stripped down), Tracy City, We Were Werewolves and DJ Sarah Michaels!

Queers of Noise Pride 2025

With Don McKenzie &amp; Shayna Dulberger, virtuoso guitarist Sharp presents a unique take on blues classics, modern jazz, and angular funk.

The Elliott Sharp Trio (E#3) 

In the midst of the rise of oligarchic fascism across the globe, artist Ahmet Öğüt and writer and curator Laura Raicovich ask what it means to build a resistance in pursuit of freedom. Are there lessons from the past that are useful today? How can culture combat the atmospheres of repression that are emerging even in the absence of legal constraint? Can cultural acts save lives? The two friends will talk about these questions and more with anyone who wishes to join the conversation.

Freedom (by those who reclaim it)

From Grover Washington Jr. to Bruno Mars: a sonic journey of jazz, soul, and pop.

Rich Cerulean Troís-Tet

Join Lux magazine and Bridget Read for a discussion of her new book Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America followed by a screening of a forgotten gem: Hell on Heels, a made-for-TV film about Mary Kay starring Shirley MacLaine (as Mary Kay) and Parker Posey (as her rival) – both got Golden Globe nominations for their performances. Spend your Friday night watching Posey get what’s hers.Discussion at 6:30pm, screening at 7:00pm.

Hell on Heels Screening with Bridget Read and Lux Magazine

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/freya.berkhout/">Freya Berkhout</a> is a Sydney-born multi-award winning composer and creative technologist based in Los Angeles. She began her professional music career as half of experimental pop duo kyü, releasing two records to critical acclaim and winning a slew of awards.Since then, Freya has been scoring films, television, podcasts and interactive media, notably The Greenhouse (Netflix) and Pillow Talk (Audible). Her scores have been heard at festivals around the globe, including Cannes, SxSW, Warsaw, Tribeca and BFI London Film Festivals. She is a graduate of Sydney University, the Australian Film Television and Radio School, and has a Masters in Computational Art from Goldsmiths, University of London. Freya has been nominated for two APRA Screen Music Awards, for Best Music in a Short Film and Best Soundtrack Album, and she received the prestigious APRA Professional Development Award in 2021.Freya returned to the world of music in 2023, releasing her debut solo album Fruit. She is a 2024 Women in Film Music Fellow and a 2025 recipient of the Reel Change Grant from New Music USA. In 2025, she scored queer feature Ride or Die, which will premiere in competition at Tribeca in June.Freya’s passion is to manifest profound, emotional, thought-provoking experiences, creating sonic worlds that span the dark and enigmatic to the delicate, exquisite and transcendental. She revels in bold, celebratory intersectional feminist and queer narratives and perspectives.

Freya Berkhout Live

Come to The Kite for toe-tapping tunes brought by Buck And A Quarter at Swing Night! Doors at 7PM with a dance lesson to get your feet moving in style at 7:30PM, then there is dancing at 8PM on the big wood floor!$10 cover at the door, cash or Venmo. Give the password “swordfish” for a discounted admission: $15 for two!<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.buckandaquarterquartet.com/">Buck And A Quarter Quartet</a> is the NYC-based string band that plays the forgotten gems and favorites of the golden age of American pop and vintage-inspired originals in their own category-defying style, described as ‘skiffle meets Cole Porter’ and ‘what do you call this kind of music?’

CONTENT BLOCKSEmerging from New York City’s subterranean trenches, Content Blocks explore the acoustical infrastructure of their environs through reflective soundscapes and post-club iterations. The duo, consisting of Ian Campbell and Matthew Hord, have collaborated and participated together for years in musical endeavors and events. Their near-decade of shared experiences crafting, programming, and operating the electronic instrumentation in heralded industrial/noise rock act Pop. 1280 [Sacred Bones, Profound Lore] has informed this journey further into hardware experimentation – and this new partnership shows the results of their journeys into ambient abstractions, dancefloor deconstructions, and fractured pop tropes steeped into darker realms. IMDS, their first release, explores their focus on melding off kilter percussive patterning into textural immersion and manages to find a balance between plaintive and uplifting. A fever dream of reverb is smeared across a dancefloor malaise, the disaffected vocals inhabiting a space not unlike the walk home after the afters – the avenue empty, the building surfaces emitting echoes of parties past. Conceived further in concept as an audiovisual experience, the single is accompanied with a video created by longtime&nbsp;collaborator Scott Kiernan (ESP TV), focusing on an accelerating centrifuge interspersed with frames of cell death and electronic feedback, all orbiting the centerpiece of a lone dancer. This track is the beginning of multiple collaborations between Content Blocks and Kiernan that can be expected in later months to come. ALICE SANDAHLAlice Sandahl’s forthcoming second album pulls off something difficult, something entrancing—something that might best be described as magic. It wraps around you and draws you into its search: a search for just the right note, the right melody, the perfect tone for each moment. Yet, in this exploration, the artistry never feels lost—it always has its footing.&nbsp;This masterful foundation Alice has created is well-earned. She has spent the past 16 years delving deeply, transforming her experiences in academia and life on the road into her own spellbinding sound. Her journey began with classical training in college and evolved into her role as a founding member of the acclaimed rock band La Luz. Over a decade with the band, she released four albums on the notable indie label Hardly Art, collaborated with visionaries like Ty Segall and Dan Auerbach, and logged countless hours on the road.&nbsp;The proficiency makes sense: miles have been traveled, hours have been labored, and a wealth of knowledge and skill has been earned. But understanding the how doesn’t diminish the real magic of the work. That magic comes from a curious soul, constant movement, and the quest for the "new now." Alice Sandahl fully connects with the present on this album, offering a striking documentation of it, while also posing the question: what’s next?THE INTELLIGENCELars Finberg, confirmed genius guy and poet laureate of sunken 21st&nbsp;century Rock, acts as manager in perpetuity of THE INTELLIGENCE, primary vehicle for his prolific creative swirl and a project that has taken on new shapes across myriad trials and shifts. The project began in his Seattle bedroom – a lad and his Tascam cassette 8 track – with the classic&nbsp;Boredom &amp; Terror&nbsp;and has now landed in his Los Angeles studio apartment – an urchin and his Tascam digital 12 track – with&nbsp;Lil’&nbsp;Peril, a new album that finds Finberg 1000% back at the controls. Over the course of 11 albums (!), The Intelligence has established a backbone that boogies through revolutions, allowing each jam-crammed dispatch to feel and sound admirably unique. The angular sharp shocks heard in earlier years have steadily evolved into the ballooning grooves heard on more recent releases (including Finberg’s recent solo work).&nbsp;Lil’ Peril&nbsp;is a dreamy gamble that captures this current bubbling penchant in The Intelligence’s inaugural homemade mode.

Alice Sandhal + The Intelligence with Content Blocks

Every Thing Could Be

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://rogerclarkmiller.com/dream-state-guitar/">Roger Clark Miller</a> (Mission of Burma/Alloy-Anvil Orchestra, etc.) will perform a "Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble" concert. Onstage he is at his cockpit where he accesses four different electric guitars: a modified Fender Strat and three lap-steels on legs, two prepared with alligator clips and bolts, and the third tuned to a complete Glenn Branca unison E. This third lap-steel is prepared with various slides, coasters, etc. By use of extensive stereo foot-pedals and elaborate looping he creates, by himself, an ensemble. The music is usually structured by dreams from his dream journal, utilizing his "Dream Interpretation" technique, but his new album also features a composition structured by photographs taken by NASA's "Curiosity" Mars Rover. The music is surreal and psychedelic, but is also highly organized and improvised. It could occur no other way.Miller is a guitarist, pianist, bassist, composer, singer, percussionist and occasional cornet player. He has been a band leader since 1967. His recordings have appeared on Matador, Fire, Ace of Hearts, SST, New Alliance, Forced Exposure, Cuneiform, Atavistic, Feeding Tube, Fun World, World in Sound, and others. He has toured nationally since 1979 and internationally since 1998. His career officially began in 1979 when he co-founded the influential post-punk band Mission of Burma on guitar and vocals. The band is in Michael Azzerad's book on indie rock "Our Band could Be Your Life". He is also the keyboardist for the Anvil Orchestra silent film composing ensemble with recent shows at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Roger Ebert Film Festival. He has performed in too many ensembles aside these, and made too many wildly diverse records to mention here, generally pushing the boundaries of sound and composition. He has scored soundtracks that appeared at the Sundance and the Telluride Film Festivals, and his art installation "Transmuting the Prosaic", has been at two different art museums.

Francis Kite Club

@franciskiteclub