8 THENEWYORKER,DECEMBER16, 2019
ILLUSTRATION BY ALVA SKOG
Since 1995, Jingle Ball—the annual mega concert put together by iHeart-
Radio—has made it a tradition to pack some of radio’s heaviest hitters onto
a single stage. This year’s event, on Dec. 13 at Madison Square Garden, is
no exception. Leading the lineup are Lizzo, who tops the current Grammy
nominations following the success of her major-label début album, “Cuz
I Love You,” and her viral hit “Truth Hurts”; the Jonas Brothers, the mas-
sively popular sibling trio that reunited, in February, after a six-year hiatus;
and Taylor Swift, who is still riding the pastel wave of her seventh release,
“Lover.” Headliners such as Niall Horan and Camila Cabello, former
members of the boy band One Direction and the girl band Fifth Harmony,
respectively, continue the parade of shiny stadium pop.—Julyssa LopezPOP
1
NIGHTLIFE
Musicians and night-club proprietors lead
complicated lives; it’s advisable to check in
advance to confirm engagements.
Christian McBride
Village Vanguard
A nineties wunderkind who has fulfilled his
early promise, the extraordinary bassist Chris-
tian McBride began as a staunch defender of
mainstream jazz. His forays into such far-flung
terrain as free improvisation and electrified funk
notwithstanding, he always returns to where his
heart lies. His Inside Straight ensemble is a taut
quintet that includes the saxophonist Steve Wil-
son and the vibraphonist Warren Wolf.—Steve
Futterman (Dec. 10-15.)
Mr. Carmack
Music Hall of Williamsburg
The producer Mr. Carmack has spent most
of his public-facing career behind the boards,
crafting bassy electronic music replete with
hip-hop influences. Recently, he began step-
ping out from his laptop-and-d.j.-booth setup
to accentuate his high-energy sets with lush
live piano and trumpet. This year, he started
another chapter as a singer. “VIISTA,” his new-
est album, is jazzy and soulful, and the first
release in which he’s both the soundscapist
and the primary vocalist. This performance
spotlights his mastery of old and his frontiers
of new.—Briana Younger (Dec. 12.)Motor City Drum Ensemble
Knockdown Center
The German house d.j. Danilo Plessow, who
works as Motor City Drum Ensemble, has
a deep and fluid sense of how to make every
side of dance-music history not just talk but
cohere. His “DJ-Kicks” mix CD, from 2011,
intertwines records by Sun Ra, Aphex Twin,
and the Afrobeat bandleader Geraldo Pino into a
chugging groove and a ceaselessly alluring
soundscape. His production work echoes that
spinning style, leaning heavily on roughly
chopped samples.—Michaelangelo Matos (Dec. 13.)Steve Miller
Rose Theatre
Julian (Cannonball) Adderley, a brilliant alto
saxophonist who combined soulful intensity
with blinding virtuosity, kept a popular audience
in mind once he began leading his own success-ful bands. Steve Miller, the rock guitarist and
hitmaker, is a longtime fan; his tribute to the
iconic crossover musician features the saxophon-
ist Patrick Bartley’s sextet and the full-throated
vocalist Brianna Thomas.—S.F. (Dec. 13-14.)YOUNG WORLD Festival
Abrons Arts Center
The Big Apple has long birthed and attracted
creatives seeking a life that considers artistic
interests before commercial ones. The rap-
per MIKE, who was raised in London and the
Bronx, honors that tradition with the début
of his YOUNG WORLD Festival, billed as
a celebration of “black artists, hip-hop cul-
ture, and coming of age in New York City.”
The roster comprises rising producers and
rappers—among them the lo-fi lyricists Navy
Blue, Medhane, and Adé Hakim, the agile
singer-rapper Baby Sosa, and the enterpris-
ing beatsmith Sporting Life—who, together,
represent one of the area’s richest and most
captivating scenes.—B.Y. (Dec. 13-15.)Gates of the West
Bowery Ballroom
In 1979, the Clash discharged “London Calling”
against a rightward political tug, and, as the
album turns forty, the forces it so blissfully
scorned have reached a grotesque apogee. The
LP’s catholic vision of punk rock, which flirts
with genres from reggae to rockabilly, also
remains pervasive. Spearheaded by the singer
Jesse Malin, the annual Clash tribute Gates
of the West salutes “London Calling” on its
anniversary with a crowded bill that extends
from punk originators (Debbie Harry) to de-
scendants (Eugene Hütz) and parodists (Fred
Armisen).—Jay Ruttenberg (Dec. 14.)Jubilee
Nowadays
The Brooklyn-based producer Jubilee, born
Jessica Gentile, has long commingled straight-
forward house and techno with the more bump-
tious ends of hip-hop and dancehall; on her
recently released second album, “Call for Lo-
cation,” any seams between those styles have
disappeared. The lean, spring-coiled grooves
of her tracks have enough heft to ably support
a handful of guest vocalists—the most memo-
rable of whom is the U.K. chanter IQ, on the
slinky “Fulla Curve”—and to hold the stage on
their own, most charmingly on the neo-rave
throwback “Disconnected.”—M.M. (Dec. 14.)Mount Eerie
St. Ann & the Holy Trinity
Phil Elverum has never shied away from stark,
unwaveringly honest portraits of grief, nos-
talgia, heartbreak, and loss. His raw way of
writing, along with the bruised quality of his
vocal delivery, became a defining trait of his
early project the Microphones, and, as Mount
Eerie, his music continues to feel naked in its
sincerity. On his most recent album, “Lost Wis-
dom pt. 2,” a collaboration with the artist Julie
Doiron, he reckons with the end of a relation-
ship while finding peace in solitude.—Julyssa
Lopez (Dec. 14.)