Regina Spektor Stops at Jorgensen on CHEAP SEATS World Tour Tonight, 10/6

Regina Spektor, the singer/songwriter/prodigious pianist who sells out halls like Radio City in New York, the Royal Albert in London and the Sydney Opera House in Australia at the drop of her stylish hat, will perform at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts at UConn tonight, October 6, at 8 pm.

Spektor’s music has been heard on film soundtracks, such as 500 Days of Summer, Enlightened, In Bruges and Chronicles of Narnia, and on television shows, such as How I Met Your Mother and Grey’s Anatomy.

Her new album, WHAT WE SAW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS, made its debut at No. 3 on Billboard’s Album Chart, and ever since she has been the darling of the top talk spots – The Colbert Report, Good Morning America, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with David Letterman and, just recently on September 12, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Her “All the Rowboats” video for the new album was just nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction.

Spektor, whose lyrical delivery reminds one of an Edith Piaf with punk rock leanings and attitude, grew up in pre-Perestroika Moscow listening to her father’s collection of Beatles, Moody Blues and Queen recordings. She said on a recent “Fresh Air” interview with Terry Gross on NPR that she annoyed her parents with her constant singing, sometimes of bad opera. Spektor began classical training on piano at age 6, but had to leave her piano behind when the family moved to the Bronx when she was 9. A chance meeting on a subway between her father and a musician hooked her up with an accomplished teacher, whom she studied with for years on her way to conservatory training and, in 2001, the NYC café circuit.

Only Son, featuring Jack Dishel (formerly of The Moldy Peaches), will open for Spektor. Only Son collaborated with her on the song “Call Them Brothers.”

Spektor’s performance at Jorgensen is sponsored by WFCR/New England Public Radio.

Jorgensen was recently named Best College/University Performing Arts Center in the Hartford Advocate Best of Hartford Readers’ Poll for 2012 and “Best Cabaret” in 2011 and 2012 by Connecticut Magazine.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Regular tickets are $35 and $25 for UConn students. For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 860.486.4226, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., or order online at jorgensen.uconn.edu. Convenient free parking is available across the street in the North Garage.