Holiday cheer with a twang: East Village country Christmas show helps City Harvest fight hunger

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?” asks the 1971 seasonal song “Happy Xmas” from John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This year, Katie Curley, Stephanie Marie (The Tennessee MC) and their crew can go on record as having raised some solid cash for the non-profit charity City Harvest and as having had a darn good time doing it.

The country rock “Holiday Spectacular” at Lucinda’s in the East Village last week featured an excellent band led by Curley that was comprised of Brendan Curley (guitar), Dot Moore (fiddle), Shu Nakamura (guitar), Max Newland (bass), Konrad Meissner (drums) and Kenny Soule (drums on “Drummer Boy”). Though some of the songs were curated by Curley, she gave the guest singers the option to choose their own numbers.

The result was a variety of local talent lending their voices to tunes that ranged from traditional Christmas fare (Silent Night) to more recent standards (Last Christmas) to various original tunes and even a rocking version of “Havah Nagilah!”

The guest singers included Sean Kershaw, Eric Ambel, Mary Lee Kortes, Paisley Fields, Sarah Kinsey, Lizzie Edwards, Sarah Durning, Leeore Schnairsohn, Darlin’ (Chloe Byars and Sarah Royse), Karen Hudson, Kelley Swindall, Mike Fornatale and Stephanie Marie, who also acted as the evening’s MC.

Paisley Fields joins Katie Curley and the band for “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”Photo by Bob Krasner

Marie Suchan, the resident elf, with Mark Katzoff, aka Santa ClausPhoto by Bob Krasner

Karen Hudson rocked the house with her version of “Havah Nagila”Photo by Bob Krasner

The duo called Darlin’ , Chloe Byars and Sarah Royse, performed an original called “‘Bama Santa”Photo by Bob Krasner

Curley started doing the annual show in 2017 (although she missed a year during COVID), and it’s only grown bigger since its humble beginnings at the Branded Saloon in Brooklyn.

“I just did that with one or two other acts,” she recalls. “And then slowly it evolved into having more and more of my friends perform in it.”

Fun fact: one of the band’s guitarists is Curley’s husband, Brendan, whom she met when she hired him to play a gig with her in 2011 at the Rodeo Bar.

Katie Curley is hard pressed to pick out favorite moments from the show, because, she says, “I hesitate to like single out people because I thought everyone did a great job.” She does mention loving that the whole place (and it was a full house) sang along to Stephanie Marie’s rendition of Wham!’s “Last Christmas.”

“The spontaneous moments were my favorite,” she says. Of course, there were plenty of others.

Mike Fornatale, who never disappoints, gave us his best falsetto for “Santa Baby.” Kelley Swindall put a country twist on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Shu Nakamura made Chuck Berry proud with his version of “Run Rudolph Run.”

Another high point (well, maybe not musically) was when local business owner Abby Ehmann, of Lucky on Avenue B, hit the stage to claim her raffle prize: the chance to sing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” with the band. Her enthusiastic performance went over big with the crowd and left her with a true sense of accomplishment.

“I can check ‘singing onstage at a big East Village show’ off of my bucket list!” she later exclaimed.

Kelley Swindall’s version of “AlI Want for Christmas is You” was a crowd favoritePhoto by Bob Krasner

Brendan Curley took the mic for “Blue Christmas”Photo by Bob Krasner

Mike Fornatale and Stephanie Marie duetted on that perennial Elvis Presley holiday classic “Suspicious Minds” before Stephanie took over with “Burning Love”Photo by Bob Krasner

Shu Nakamura took center stage with Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run”Photo by Bob Krasner

Eric Ambel with Mary Lee Kortes on harmony revived “Merry Christmas, Baby!”, written by Ambel’s old bandmate Scott Kempner of The Del-LordsPhoto by Bob Krasner

Abby Ehmann made the most of her raffle win by singing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”Photo by Bob Krasner

The gang’s all here: Top, L-R: Sarah Kinsey, Paisley Fields, Shu Nakamura, Brendan Curley (above Shu), Mary Lee Kortes, Eric Ambel, Konrad Meissner, Max Newland, Mike Fornatale, Stephanie Marie. Bottom: Sean Kershaw, Kelley Swindall, Katie CurleyPhoto by Bob Krasner

There were a variety of raffle prizes donated by various local businesses, including Precision Massage NYC, East Village Vintage and Charles Chessler Photography. Mark Katzoff donated his time posing as Santa with various patrons and Marie Suchan was the elf who coordinated the various raffles, which were facilitated by Stephanie Marie.

“I truly love getting involved in events that serve to bring money into a local business, like Lucinda’s, and that also uplift the community surrounding them, like City Harvest,” Stephanie Marie said. “It feels awesome to get to perform with my friends too, so it’s a win-win-win for me. Also, that wig is fun as heck to wear!”.

Curley mentions that, “It was Stephanie’s idea to have it at Lucinda’s, and I honestly could not have done it without her. This is by far the biggest show like this that I’ve tried to facilitate. She really stepped up with helping promote it and with all of her innovative ideas for raising money. I’m a Virgo and I’m an introvert, and she’s a Pisces and definitely an extrovert. It worked out perfectly.”

Patron Jordi Scott agreed, saying that “Katie and Stephanie Marie put together a perfect show! We got a chance to help the community and enjoy some holiday music (new and old). Such a fun and festive night at Lucinda’s”.

The folks at City Harvest appreciated the effort as well.

“We are so grateful for their support of City Harvest,” said Kenyatta Skyles, director of business partnerships at City Harvest. “Food insecurity is a year-round problem, but for many families, the holiday season can be even more challenging as families budget for special meals and gifts for their loved ones, while also juggling their everyday expenses like rent, childcare, and utilities. With 50% of working-aged New Yorkers struggling to make ends meet, the support of partners is critical.”

“We raised 400% more than last year!” Curley says happily. “I hope we do more of these in the future.”

You can follow Katie Curley on her website at katiecurley.com and on Instagram at @katiecurleymusic. Stephanie Marie is on Instagram at @jiffy_caftan. More info on City Harvest is available at cityharvest.org.