Sidewalk Killa
Prior to the pandemic, Ariana and the Rose was in the thick of Brooklyn nightlife, bringing slamming synth-pop and eye-popping performance art to clubs, warehouses and queer-friendly spaces. It goes without saying, but during the COVID-19 period, Brooklyn nightlife (or nightlife of any kind) dried up, sending Ariana DiLorenzo to TikTok. There, her frank, funny musical musings on love and heartbreak, delivered while seated at a piano, attracted a new audience.
When the world opened back up, Ariana and the Rose brought that conversational, storytelling approach to beloved NYC gay bar Club Cumming. (Named after co-owner Alan Cumming, it’s attracted everyone from Broadway stars to Paul McCartney.) After that, she brought a full project — the Breakup Variety Hour live show — to famed Manhattan venue Joe’s Pub for a sold-out debut last October. Now, on Oct. 15, she’s headed back to Joe’s Pub – and beyond – to support The Breakup Variety Hour, her upcoming album which builds upon the show and its sly self-help premise.
“I knew I wanted to make something that felt like more than just a collection of songs,” she explains. “I had been watching episodes and clips of The Cher Show and old Bette Midler live shows and the idea and inspiration for a one-woman show came from that. Bette Midler was a huge creative inspiration for this, the Barbra Streisand specials from the ‘60s. They’re so theatrical and over the top yet relatable and funny. I love that style of performing, so I backed into that concept with the show also being an album,” she says. “My new album is like a long catch-up with your favorite friend that you haven’t seen in a while.”
The Breakup Variety Hour drops Oct. 10, preceded by “I Just Came to Say Goodbye” (one of her best-ever vocal performances) and “I’m Fine,” a disco-fied ode to pretending you’re great even when you’re falling apart post-breakup. Like much of the album, “I’m Fine” exists somewhere between winking self-flagellation and legit self-help – she’s laughing at herself for repeating the same mistakes in love while celebrating her strength and trying to move forward, via six steps toward recovery. Additionally, another preview of the album, the reflective “Limitless,” drops today.
“The album is about putting yourself back together after heartbreak. My example on the album is romantic heartbreak but really, it’s a love letter to picking yourself back up again after any heartbreak,” she continues. “It’s a very ‘take what you need’ kind of record. You can listen straight through and experience the full story, you can listen just to certain steps and their corresponding song (depending on your mood), you can just listen to the songs. It’s really whatever you’re needing.”
Of her return to Joe’s Pub, which has housed everyone from Amy Winehouse to Adele, Ariana says, “It feels very full circle to bring the show back a year later, having it change and grow so much and now having the music released as an album as well. Joe’s Pub is such a special venue and it feels so cool to have gotten to develop this show and idea there.”
Check out her The Breakup Variety Hour tour dates below.
Oct 15 – New York, NY – Joe’s Pub
Nov 11 – Austin, TX – 29th Street Ballroom
Nov 13 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Nov 16 – San Francisco, CA – Brava Theater Center
Nov 18 – Los Angeles, CA – El Cid
Nov 21 – Boise, ID – Shrine Ballroom Basement
Nov 23 – Portland, OR – Al’s Den
Dec 8 – Chicago, IL – Beat Kitchen
with more to be announced…
