Village Preservation is pleased to partner with musician and author Richard Barone for his revitalized new series, VILLAGE NIGHTS, coming to the Bitter End nightclub with four unique events in 2026. Each event will focus on a specific decade of the Village’s musical history, featuring legendary musical guests and panel discussions with noted journalists, authors, and historians. Hosted by Barone, these events promise to be as educational and informative as they will be entertaining. The Bitter End is located at 147 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012.
Even by 1939, when Billie Holiday debuted the sociopolitical jazz classic “Strange Fruit” at Café Society on Sheridan Square, Greenwich Village had already long been viewed as the bohemian epicenter of revolutionary movements in music, art, and culture. With the advent of the first folk music revival of the 1940s and 50s — especially the commercial breakthrough of Pete Seeger and the Weavers, and the success of venues such as the Village Vanguard — the Village came under the bright glare of media attention as a center for popular music.
With each subsequent decade, especially between the 1950s and 1980s, the musical output of Greenwich Village evolved and changed with the times, strikingly inventing and reinventing genres and styles that had national and international impact. The popularity of jug band music and calypso, the jazz poets, the singer-songwriter, the avant-garde art rocker, the punk rocker, the Fast Folk movement, and more — all shared the birthplace of Greenwich Village.
Village Nights is also part of Village Preservation’s yearlong “Revolutionary Village” series in 2026, which celebrates the contributions that Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo made to American history in the course of the nation’s 250 years.
Here is the schedule of upcoming VILLAGE NIGHTS events:
The 1950s with CAROLYN HESTER, Terri Thal, and Stephen Petrus
Sunday, March 22 at 6:30 PM
The 1960s with ERIC ANDERSEN and Anthony DeCurtis
Sunday, April 26 at 6:30 PM
The 1970s with TERRE ROCHE, Terri Thal, and Michael Tannen
Sunday, September 27 at 6:30 PM
The 1980s with SUZANNE VEGA and David Browne
Sunday, December 6 at 6:30 PM
More information for each event will be available here and on Village Preservation’s Programs page. Tickets for each event are available via bitterend.com and at The Bitter End box office.
Originally launched in 2018 as a popular, free-wheeling salon series at the Washington Square Hotel’s intimate North Square Lounge, Village Preservation is delighted to present the continuation and expansion of this exciting tradition at an equally historic Village location, The Bitter End. Opened in 1961, the Bitter End is the oldest rock venue in New York City and has served as the launching pad for many performers who made music history, including Peter, Paul, and Mary, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Lady Gaga. 2026 marks the Bitter End’s 65th Anniversary.
Richard Barone is a recording artist, performer, producer, and author. Since pioneering the indie rock scene in Hoboken, NJ as frontman of The Bongos and helping to launch the chamber pop movement with his solo debut “cool blue halo”, Barone has produced numerous studio recordings and worked with artists in every musical genre. His list of collaborators includes producer Tony Visconti, Donovan, Lou Reed, and folk legend Pete Seeger. He has scored shows and staged all-star concert events at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and SummerStage in Central Park. His memoir Frontman: Surviving The Rock Star Myth was published by Backbeat Books. His album Sorrows & Promises and his latest book, Music + Revolution (Bloomsbury), are celebrations of the 1960s music scene in Greenwich Village NYC, where Barone lives. He teaches the course “Music + Revolution” at The New School’s School of Jazz & Contemporary Music, has served on the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs), serves on the Advisory Board of Anthology Film Archives, and hosts Folk Radio on WBAI New York.