Posted on July 1, 2025 at 4:00 am

Sometimes I ask what it is that the world needs from me, how can I be of service to this complicated and conflicted planet, and sometimes the answer comes with bracing clarity. On June 14, I was given the opportunity to perform at the Alden Theatre in the McLean Center in McLean, VA, exactly ten miles away from the White House, at precisely the same time as the president’s highly dubious Military Parade, and it felt like the most obvious sign: I can provide a small drop of relief for those who are thirsting for something, anything other than the cruelty, vainglory, and sheer mendacity on constant display in our nation’s capital. And I can bring joy and acceptance and empathy and gratuitous polyrhythms.

So that’s what I did, along with an amazing band (yay Jews!) and the bewitching Ms. Grace McLean, whose surname was not the impetus for her invitation, but I will admit it did probably tip the scales in her direction.

And what a wonderful show we had! Songs spanning thirty years of my catalogue (!), including several songs I’ve never performed in DC; a definitive “Mary Mallon” from Grace, and a pyrotechnic “Voice of My Generation” with the band; ferocious solos from Charlie on bass during “King of the World” and Gary on “The Shed Shack”; and, with “All Things In Time,” a real moment of connection and inspiration, and even grace. And Grace.

It’s gonna be a long four years and no one knows what this world is going to look like at the other end, but if you’re looking for counterprogramming to proto-Fascist antics, or simply a safe place to take a deep breath before we go back into the storm, I got you, boo. I will be here, waiting with you, trusting what’s true, stumbling blind, but knowing we’ll find everything in its time.

Hope from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
Shiksa Goddess from The Last 5 Years (2002)
The Shed Shack from Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (2025)
Boat from Less (2025)
The Voice of My Generation from The Connector (2024)
GRACE: Cassandra from The Connector (2024)
GRACE: Mary Mallon (2021)
GRACE: King of the World from Songs for a New World (1995)
It All Fades Away from Bridges of Madison County (2013)
Everybody Knows from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
GRACE: Stars and the Moon from Songs for a New World (1995)
GRACE: Zohra’s Philosophy from Less (2025)
Wait Til You See What’s Next from How We React and How We Recover (2018)
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Encore: All Things In Time from How We React and How We Recover (2018)

JRB: piano, vocals
Grace McLean: guest vocals
Gary Sieger: guitars
Charlie Rosen: bass
Jamie Eblen: drums
Alden Theatre at the McLean Center, McLean VA