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Folk First: Black Roots Music

Vienna Carroll & The Folk at The Bitter End

Friday, February 20, 2026,
6:30 – 8:00 pm,
The Bitter End,
147 Bleeker St., Greenwich Village, NYC • Map

Vienna Carroll and The Folk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb 5, 2026

Black History Month Love Experience: Vienna Carroll & The Folk Return to The Bitter End

Friday, February 20, 2026 | 6:30 PM

Joyous, Genre-Bending Celebration of Funky Black Folk music and storytelling

New York, NY — Vienna Carroll & The Folk return to the legendary Bitter End on Friday, February 20, 2026 at 6:30 PM, to serve up a toe-tapping good time with a vintage gospel-funk groove in the spirit of Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Backed by an all-star lineup of veteran musicians, Carroll delivers a joyful blend of blues, gospel, funk, and folk with politically-charged storytelling and an electrifying stage presence. Her music is deeply rooted in Black history while remaining boldly relevant and forward-looking.

The Folk features:

  • Keith Johnston (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Jon Hendricks) – guitar
  • Stanley Banks (George Benson) – bass
  • Washboard XT / Newman Taylor Baker (Matthew Shipp, McCoy Tyner, Henry Grimes) – washboard
  • Special guest David Joyce – trumpet

As New York Music Daily notes, Carroll is known for “politically-charged reinventions of classic blues and gospel themes,” while Neon Jazz host Joe Dimino calls her a “Harlem-based vocal powerhouse.”

🎟️ Tickets: $20, available now at bitterend.com
Seating is limited; early arrival is encouraged.

Venue:
The Bitter End
147 Bleecker Street
New York, NY

Event Details:
Friday, February 20, 2026
6:30 PM | Doors open at 6:00 PM

PRESS RELEASE

Media & Press Inquiries:
viennacarrollmusic@gmail.com | 646-763-4587

Press Kit:

viennacarrollmusic.com/press-kit

60 second clip of This Train Is Bound For Glory

https://youtu.be/hk5xZ01LVCk Watch the previous show!

See Us Perform at The Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Join Vienna Carroll & The Folk for an evening of Seneca Village-era Afro-Future Roots music.

February 24 & 25, 2023,
6 – 8:30 pm (come early, there will be lines),
Petrie Court Cafe, Metropolitan Museum of Art,
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028.

With proof of a New York State residency (NY driver’s license/ID card; IDNYC; current bill or statement with a NY address, NY student ID, NY library card) any sized donation. Read more.

Come on out and sing Afro-Future Roots music with us: the classic Spirituals and work songs you know and love, through a modern lens. Celebrate your pride at Black History Month.

Vienna Carroll and The Folk at the Met!
Vienna Carroll and The Folk
Vienna Carroll and The Folks

CD Release Party a Smash Success!

We all had a fantastic time at the Album Release Party on Friday, March 6, 2020, at the American Folk Art Museum. Vienna Carroll and The Folk played songs from their new album, Harlem Field Recordings, plus older crowd folk favorites. Enjoy the photos and videos!

"Harlem Field Recordings" by Vienna Carroll and The Folk
"Harlem Field Recordings" Album
Harlem Field Recordings
American Folk Art Museum
Photos by award-winning photographer Jane Feldman

Listen and Purchase Harlem Field Recordings

at viennacarrollmusic.com/music/

“Harlem Field Recordings” CD Release Party

Friday, March 6, 2020,
5:30 – 7:15 pm,

American Folk Art Museum,
2 Lincoln Square (corner of W. 66th St. & Columbus Ave.),
New York, NY,
Take 1 train to 66th St. stop and walk one block east
See map/directions

I’ll be with my string band and we’ll be having lots of fun. Spirituals, work songs, prison blues, and sea chanteys – exuberant, roots and funky. Stanley Banks (George Benson) on bass, Keith Johnston (Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Jon Hendricks) on guitar and Newman Taylor Baker (Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Henry Grimes) on washboard.

Come on out.  Sing along.  Admission is free. CDs for sale!

Gorgeous CD artwork by Ken Daley.

"Harlem Field Recordings" by Vienna Carroll and The Folk

Vienna Carroll at the American Folk Art Museum

“What a voice!

This evening, awesome Vienna Carroll  gave a free concert at the American Folk Art Museum. Accompanied by 2 guitarists [Keith Johnson and Stanley Banks] and a washboard percussionist [Newman Taylor], she got everyone singing folk, gospel, spiritual, call & response, and prison labor songs, and deftly wove in stories of resistance to a range of oppressions (slavery, racist police violence, distortions of history). She gave a shout-out to social media as a tool to expose injustice. Her rendition of the lament-lullaby “Hush Little Baby” was beyond heartbreaking. Intense, informative, inspiring.”

– Review by Pam McAllister

Vienna Carroll & Band at Folk Art Museum of NYC
Newman Taylor, Keith Johnston, Vienna Carroll and Stanley Banks

 

Vienna Carroll at the Folk Art Museum in NYC

 

Vienna Carroll at the American Folk Art Museum