Manhattan Landmark SideWalk Cafe Kicks of 20th Anniversary Celebration 2/19

"From the beginning, Sidewalk's performance space was home to a supportive community of artists inspired by the sense of creative freedom they found there," notes Ben Krieger, who books SideWalk's live entertainment. "This nurturing environment has allowed generations of artists to find their voice and deepen their craft, launching them into the broader world of songwriting and performing."

The Antifolk Festival was started in the mid-1980s by a group of young songwriters, whose raucous style made them unwelcome in local folk clubs, as an Underground alternative to the popular annual New York Folk Festival. The Antifolk movement's subsequent association with SideWalk Cafe began when the group's ringleader, Lach, formed a partnership with the restaurant, establishing a weekly open mic session in its back room. Subsequently, SideWalk has nurtured the careers of successful artists like Regina Spektor, The Moldy Peaches (Kimya Dawson and Adam Green), Jeffrey Lewis, Langhorne Slim, Nellie McKay and numerous others who performed their earliest shows there.

The Winter Antifolk Festival will take place Feb. 19 - 28 with more than 80 free evening concerts over the ten-day period at SideWalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A (at 6^th). For more information and schedule details of the Winter Antifolk Festival and SideWalk LIVE, 20^th Anniversary, visit www.sidewalkny.com/calendar or call (212) 473-7373.

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