Alfonso Velez

West Village musician, singer and writer, Alfonso Velez, developed a loyal fan base the old fashioned way: playing live. For six years prior to the pandemic, his weekly Sunday evening performances in the West Village grew in attendance and his original songs became staples. Songs like A Year in a Night, Hard Night Buddies, and Barcelona Birds and his unique interpretations of songs by Nina Simone, Harry Nielsen, and Dylan have won him a New York following which has helped lift him onto stages like The Bowery Electric, The Mercury Lounge, The Kennedy Center, 9:30 Club in DC, La Flèche D’Or in Paris, and sharing bills with the likes of Alejandro Escovedo, Korey Dane, Jesse Malin, Jakob Dylan, and more. Flanking him on bass, drums and keys are NYC monsters Jamie Alegre, Chris Parker, and Ben Hoffman which together with Velez, create a distinct New York Sound, that nods to early and mid seventies records by Paul Simon, JJ Cale, Greg Perry and Odetta. Whatever the reason for their obscurity, the music plays for keeps, and has converted even the most cynical cross-armed New York audiences.