On August 3rd, Tony Bennett would have turned 100.
It’s a strange thing to realize that someone who feels so present in your life—in your record collection, in your memories, in the way you think about music—has now been gone long enough that we’re celebrating a centennial instead of a birthday. And yet somehow, Tony still feels very much here.
So on what would have been his 100th birthday, I’ll be at Joe’s Pub with my new band for a one-night-only show called Are You Havin’ Any Fun? (named after the song he recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra by Jack Yellen, Sammy Fain, and Jack Shilkret) – the first track on a forthcoming EP reimagining my favorite songs of his.
I love that title because, for Tony, it seemed to be more than a song. It was practically a philosophy. He believed that joy wasn’t the opposite of artistic rigor—it was part of it. Somewhere along the way, Are You Havin’ Any Fun? became a question I’ve started asking myself too.
We’ll be playing some of the songs that helped define him, like “Close Your Eyes,” “Until I Met You,” and “The Best Is Yet to Come.” I’m excited for you to hear all-new arrangements created with and by J. Walter Hawkes and with contributions from some extraordinary guest players. Kat Edmonson, Geoff Burke, Emeline O’Rourke, and John Manzari will be there alongside my band--MD J. Walter Hawkes, Matt Ray, Todd Londagin, Jen Hodge, David Berger--each of whom brings a completely unique voice to the evening.
Tony was the ultimate singular artist. He had a point of view. He had a mission. He knew exactly who he was and what he was meant to do. Through changing fashions, changing sounds, and an industry that repeatedly told artists to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, he somehow never lost his center. He simply kept making the music he believed in until the world caught back up with him. There’s something deeply comforting about that.
So where else for this than Joe’s Pub, whose mission is artist-driven? When I reached out to the Pub’s artistic director to ask if we could do a show celebrating Tony, I learned that he’d quietly funded an internship program for them where young people could learn the ropes in the arts. What a spectacular human.
It’s easy to mistake authenticity for branding these days, or originality for novelty. Tony reminds us that they’re not the same thing. Authenticity isn’t about trying to be different; it’s about refusing to be anyone else. That lesson has stayed with me far longer than any vocal trick or performance advice ever could.
I hope this evening feels less like a tribute concert and more like a conversation across generations—a celebration of songs that continue to live because they still have something to say.
If you’d like to celebrate Tony’s hundredth with us, we’d love to see you. Tickets are available here.
xo Elizabeth
