Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment
About This Event
Rufus Wainwright appears at Town Hall for Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment. Wainwright is a Canadian‑American singer‑songwriter and composer whose work ranges from country‑tinged songwriting to operatic and theatrical scores, including settings of Shakespeare; his New York performances, often presented with family or collaborators, emphasize precision and narrative over spectacle.
About Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment
At Town Hall, *Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment* frames rock and pop performance as a civic act, linking live music to questions of speech, protest, and public life. Rufus Wainwright leads a bill that also includes Bette Midler and Patti Smith, artists whose careers have moved between popular song and cultural commentary. In New York, where Town Hall has long hosted benefit concerts and political gatherings, the setting carries its own institutional memory. The program’s plain premise lands: the First Amendment is not abstract when voices are literal.
About the Artists
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter and composer whose work moves between country-tinged songwriting and larger theatrical forms. He has released a substantial catalog of studio albums, contributed to film and compilation projects, and written operas and other stage-based music, including settings of Shakespeare for theater.
Bette Midler
Read Jacob Bernstein’s profile of Bette in the Sunday, October 26, 2025 New York Times. Bette talks about the 30th Anniversary of NYRP, movies, show business, and movies. Read the article here.