© 2025 Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Give to HPR and keep local support firmly rooted. The greater our local support, the greater our strength and resilience to serve you and future generations. Tap to get started.

Antony and the Johnsons: Cabaret to Carnegie Hall

Antony and the Johnsons began their concert tour last month playing mid-sized venues, including the occasional church. But the Europe-bound tour will exit the United States with a bang at New York's 2,800-seat Carnegie Hall Thursday night.

The act's lead singer/songwriter has a tremulous, mournful voice reminiscent of Nina Simone. However, Antony's look owes more to Boy George, an early influence who appears as a guest on the CD I Am a Bird Now. Lou Reed and Rufus Wainwright also contribute to the album, which last month earned Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize.

The songs on I Am a Bird Now speak of pain and longing, but that isn't the sum total of what Antony has to offer. "My grandmother always told me I need to write some happier songs," he says. "That's something I'm really working on."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Elizabeth Blair is a Peabody Award-winning senior producer/reporter on the Arts Desk of NPR News.
More from Hawai‘i Public Radio