MICHELLE. Photo: Jimmy Fontaine
Through sharing the sacred space of meals and the secret space of dreams, MICHELLE presents a picture of a band enthralled by their craft, a group capable of melding six unique perspectives and backgrounds into one cohesive, impressive collection. Their 2022 album, AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS, is the culmination of what it means for six friends and collaborators to continuously reimagine their world on 14 succinct tracks.
Born-and-bred New Yorkers, MICHELLE formed in 2018 around their celebrated debut album HEATWAVE. The band is comprised of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard. On their forthcoming record, the predominantly POC and queer collective are closer than ever before as they continue to mix and match the writing and production groups amongst the six of them. Jamee notes, “We’ve learned how to maximize everyone’s strengths by listening to each other.”
The hallmarks of MICHELLE’s music — layered vocal harmonies, analog synthesizers, vibrant percussion, smoldering hooks — dominate the sonic landscape of the album. Songs hop across genres, from funky R&B to bedroom slow jams to amped-up beat-heavy anthems and more. And the songwriting on AFTER DINNER has been elevated as there is a depth and prowess at work that builds off the band’s early songs, something they admit was learned by reflecting and allowing for artistic growth.
The Band:
Sofia D’Angelo – Vocals
Julian Kaufman – Drums
Charlie Kilgore – Bass
Layla Kuriloff – Vocals
Emma Lee – Vocals
Jamee Lockard – Vocals
Sponsors
Performing Arts programming is supported in part by funding from The Melville Straus Family Endowment, and Monica and Peter Tessler. Music Programming is supported in part by The Ellen and James S. Marcus Endowment for Musical Programming.
Additional support provided by Friends of the Theater: John and Joan D’Addario, Christine and Bill Campbell, Gabrielle and Gianpaolo de Felice, Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan, Michèle and Steve Pesner, The Schaffner Family Foundation, Lisa Schultz and Ezriel Kornel, Jayne Baron Sherman and Deborah Zum, Leila Straus, and Susi and Peter Wunsch.