We have a detailed history of Tin Pan Alley thanks to invaluable information from the Historic Districts Council in their “Brief-ish History of Tin Pan Alley” written in 2008, and Michael Minn in his piece “Tin Pan Alley”, part of his “New York City” photography collection project. As both accounts cover both overlapping and different information, we present them both below. Many thanks to them both for their thorough and dogged research and insightful presentation.
Upcoming Events
Tin Pan Alley & Black American Music
Thursday, June 18, 2026, 7–8pm
Poster House, 119 West 23rd Street
(bet. 6th & 7th Ave)
The Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project is proud to partner with Poster House for this special concert in conjunction with their current exhibition "Act Black: Posters from Black American Stage and Screen." Join music director/Tin Pan Alley Project Board Member Robert Lamont and singer/actress/Tin Pan Alley Project Committee member Gabrielle Lee for an enthralling journey into the early years of American musical comedy.
Through live performance and storytelling, these esteemed performers will explore the relationship between Tin Pan Alley and the New York stage, highlighting the powerful contributions of Black composers, lyricists, publishers, and performers between 1890 and 1910.
The song-filled evening will spotlight the rise of Black-owned publishing houses on 28th Street and the Broadway productions that established this music as part of the Great American Songbook. Lee and Lamont will illustrate how the sheet music and poster art featured in the exhibition "Act Black" shaped popular culture across the United States and around the world. They will also share stories of the influential women who helped define American show music during this vibrant period.
Robert Lamont is a musical director, arranger, and pianist known for his work in musical theater and American song traditions. He has collaborated with leading vocalists, theater artists, and cultural institutions throughout New York, bringing historical and contemporary performance practices into conversation. Lamont’s deep knowledge of Tin Pan Alley and early Broadway music shapes his dynamic approach to musical storytelling.
Gabrielle Lee is a singer and actress whose career spans Broadway, national tours, concert stages, and film and television. She is celebrated for her powerful vocals and rich interpretive style, with performance credits that highlight a wide range of American musical traditions.
TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://posterhouse.org/event/tin-pan-alley-black-american-music/
Gabrielle Stravelli and the
Tin Pan Alley Cats
Sunday, June 21, 12 pm on the public plaza at the
Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, 25 West 28th Street
In conjunction with Make Music New York and the NoMad Jazz Festival, the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project presents a free concert celebrating Tin Pan Alley and the Great American Songbook
Vocalist & songwriter Gabrielle Stravelli brings to every performance soulful swing, sharp lyricism, and a deep connection to the American Songbook and jazz repertoire. Her career has been defined by highly individual choices and a genuine connection with audiences.
She regularly leads her group at the country's finest jazz clubs & performing arts centers as well as headlining domestic & int’l jazz festivals including the 2025, 2024 & 2023 Deer Head Inn COTA Festival, 2025 West Virginia Wine & Jazz Fest, 2023 Cape Cod Jazz Festival, 2023 Cayman Arts Festival, 2024, ‘21 & ’18 WBGO Jazz on the Mountain Festival, 2019 Providencia Jazz Festival in Chile and the 2016 Eleuthera Jazz Festival.
Gabrielle has collaborated with world-renowned jazz pianist Fred Hersch three times, most recently recording his song cycle “Suspended In Time.” She toured the U.S. premiering "Abyssinian" with Wynton Marsalis and as a U.S. State Department "Jazz Ambassador" since 2015, she has performed and taught throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South America.
In May 2026, Gabrielle made her debut in the Royal Albert Hall's Late Night Jazz series. She headlined the 2025 Battersea Jazz Festival in London and the 2025 COTA Jazz Festival at The Deer Head Inn. She made debut appearances at Carnegie Hall (with the New York Pops) and at Dizzy’s Club in NYC.
"Ms. Stravelli’s emotional intelligence coincides with a phenomenal voice that she wielded with an easygoing confidence and impeccable taste."
- The New York Times
www.gabriellestravelli.com, https://www.youtube.com/gabriellestravellimusic
Past Events
“Tin Pan Alley Holiday Songs” featuring The Kidwell Sisters
Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 4:30-5:30 pm
Madison Square Park, Reflecting Pool
The Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project is delighted to present favorite holiday songs from The Kidwell Sisters at the 2025 Madison Square Park Holiday Tree Lighting!
On December 24, 1912, Madison Square Park held the first-ever public tree lighting in New York City, sparking a trend that has since reverberated throughout the country. In 2025, the Madison Square Park Conservancy continues this tradition with a 42-foot concolor fir proudly sourced from New York State from a 4th-generation farm.
Enjoy this free, joyful event with photo ops, warm beverages, and live music performances, in partnership with the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project and the New York Life Chorus.
Know before you go:
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Tree lighting at approximately 5 PM.
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All giveaways while supplies last.
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Free and open to the public, no reservations are necessary, but sign up at this registration link to receive event updates.
Chelsea Waterside Park Celebration
Hudson River Park and Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project present a
Chelsea Waterside Park Celebration,
Saturday, September 20, 2025, 12-4 pm
We are excited to partner with Hudson River Park and other neighbors on this free community event.
Come to Chelsea Waterside Park and celebrate what you love about the Park! Enjoy activities led by local groups and organizations, including crafts, face painting, and fun for all ages, plus performances from the Great American Songbook by the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project featuring Marc Devine piano, Jesse Breheney bass, Takashi Inoue drums, and Lisa Gary vocals performing lively straight-ahead jazz and Great American Songbook standards!
This event is free to attend and will take place between the Playground and Dog Park. Bring your friends and family and stop by anytime throughout the afternoon—all are welcome!
Songs She Wrote
Michael G. Garber, author of Songs She Wrote: Forty Hits by Pioneering Women of Popular Music, illuminates the history of women who created the Great American Songbook in the musical worlds of Tin Pan Alley, ragtime, jazz, Broadway, and Hollywood.
In the feminist Ceres Gallery, surrounded by the scintillating artworks of Marcy Bernstein and Carlyle Upson, Michael will celebrate women songwriters who laid the foundations for American popular music during the jazz decades.
Jazz Age artistes Miss Maybell and Charlie Judkins will bring the music to life, as Michael takes us inside the struggles and triumphs of our songwriting foremothers.
Thursday, September 11, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, look, talk, listen, and learn!
The Ceres Gallery, 547 West 27th St Suite 201, New York
Free (Suggested $15 Donation to Tin Pan Alley Project)
NoMad Jazz Festival
In conjunction with the NoMad Jazz Festival, the Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project and the Flatiron NoMad Partnership will present the following free concerts celebrating Tin Pan Alley and the Great American Songbook.
Wednesday, August 6, from 12-2 PM at Natuzzi Italia, 105 Madison Avenue at 30th Street, featuring the TIN PAN ALLEY CATS (vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli, guitarist Derek Duleba, and bass player Jesse Breheney. Natuzzi will be offering complimentary light bites.
Wednesday, August 6, from 5-6 PM at BRASS RESTAURANT in the Evelyn Hotel, 7 East 27th Street, featuring Eric Yves Garcia. BRASS will be offering its regular bar and food menu, along with a special cocktail, the “Gin Pan Alley.”
Songs She Wrote
“Songs She Wrote: 40 Hits by Pioneering Women of Popular Music” with Author/Historian Michael G. Garber
Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 6:30 pm
The Center at West Park, 165 West 86th St. at Amsterdam, New York City
Women built the popular song industry of Tin Pan Alley, yet many of their stories have seldom been told. They blazed the trail for women in music today and set an inspiring example for future generations.
Songs She Wrote celebrates women's contributions to popular music by examining the work of dozens of well-known songwriters, lyricists, and composers from the first half of the twentieth century who made significant contributions.
Harry Warren: From Tin Pan Alley to Hollywood
Vanessa Racci and Robert Lamont sing favorite Harry Warren songs like “At Last,” “I Only Have Eyes For You,” “Chattanooga Choo Choo," “42nd Street” “Lullaby of Broadway,” plus a few overlooked gems at Birdland, New York City’s famed jazz club. This musical tribute includes anecdotes on Warren’s life and film clips from his musicals.
Tin Pan Alley: Gateway to the American Musical on Broadway
BroadwayCon Panel
July 24, 2024
Video Credit to:
Eva Heinemann / HI! DRAMA
Illustrating Tin Pan Alley: From Ragtime to Jazz
Exhibition“Illustrating Tin Pan Alley: From Ragtime to Jazz”
July 24-September 21, 2024
Society of Illustrators,
128 East 63rd Street
This exhibition of sheet music covers and other illustrations is drawn from the collection of Harlem historian John T. Reddick, whose research has focused on that community's Black and Jewish music culture between 1890 and 1930. The illustrations on sheet music served as an essential tool in marketing Tin Pan Alley songs and capturing their spirit in the minds of the public. The sheet music helps tell the stories of the songwriters, music publishers and performers -- many of whom were Eastern European Jewish immigrants and Black Americans -- that formed the sound and industry of American Popular Music in the first half of the 20th Century, Tin Pan Alley located on 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue in the late 19th and early 20thcenturies was the cradle of the music industry in the United States. Here, American popular music as we have come to know it was first manufactured and promoted through sheet music and its compelling representative illustrations. The landmark buildings on that block of 28th Street offer a glimpse into what has become a worldwide cultural force – pop music – at its birthplace. The nonprofit Tin Pan Alley American Popular Music Project commemorates and continues the legacy of Tin Pan Alley, the culturally rich and diverse birthplace of American Popular Music on 28th Street between Broadway and 6th Avenue in New York City. The Project connects people with the power of music as an essential element of New York City and American cultural history.