Back Into The Artists Den

The second season premiers on public television July 5, bringing audiences “never-before-seen performances by extraordinary artists in extraordinary settings.”

Each “Artist Den” show is a free, invitation-only event with each performance taking place in a new, unconventional venue. In addition to the concert, each episode features artist interviews conducted on-site by music critic Alan Light (former editor-in-chief of Vibe and Spin) as well as insights about the venues.

After beginning in 2004 as a series of intimate living room concerts, the “Artists Den” launched on public television in February 2009, snagging three Emmy Award nominations.

Past performers include Aimee Mann, The Hold Steady, Raphael Saadiq, Alanis Morissette, Crowded House, Regina Spektor, Josh Ritter, Patty Griffin, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ani DiFranco and The Swell Season.

Notable “Artists Den” venues include a natural history museum, a Masonic temple, Christie’s auction house, a 100-year-old ship, a private mansion, a former Archdiocese cathedral, and the diamond floor of Tiffany’s.

The July 5 episode will feature Ringo Starr rocking out along with Ben Harper and Relentless 7 in the Egyptian wing of New York’s The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Singer-songwriter Joan Osborne makes an appearance to help out with backing vocals.

“The Artists Den was one of the most pleasurable gigs in January,” Ringo Starr said. “I’d like to thank Ben Harper and The Met for holding it together.”

Catch the July 12 episode to see Tori Amos putting on a gig for just 100 fans at the Veterans Room of New York’s Park Avenue Armory.

“When you play in a room that doesn’t have a lot of personality, it’s sort of like a bad date,” Tori Amos said. “But when you’re in a magical place like this, then things start aligning, and you could be falling in love. When you play a space where you’re aware of the artists who came before you, it’s incredibly moving to be a part of that lineage.”

The second season also features David Gray at New York’s Broad Street Ballroom, Corinne Bailey Rae at lower Manhattan’s Japanese-themed Hiro Ballroom, The Black Crowes at The Lyric Theatre in Oxford, Miss., Dierks Bentley at Chicago’s Ravenswood Billboard Factory, and Booker T. and the Drive-By Truckers, along with special guest Bettye LaVette, at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.

For more information click here for the “Artists Den” website.