City Winery is New York's only fully functioning winery, complete with an intimate 350-seat concert facility, full restaurant and private event space. The winery received its first harvest of grapes from California in the fall of 2008 and opened the doors to the entire facility on Dec. 31, 2008 with a concert featuring Joan Osborne. The world's best winemakers and sommeliers conduct tastings and dinners along side the acclaimed singer-songwriters in one of the music unique new venues in the world.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at Carnegie Hall
2010 will see the latest in the continuing series of benefit concerts at Carnegie Hall with an all-star tribute to The Who. Over twenty artists from across the musical spectrum will collect on the famed Carnegie Hall stage to perform songs from the legendary British group. 100% of net proceeds benefitted musical education programs for underprivileged youth.
The lineup so far includes: Living Colour, Bobby McFerrin, Robyn Hitchcock, Matt Nathanson, Sondre Lerche, Postelles, Bettye LaVette, Mose Allison, The Smithereens, The Gaslight Anthem, Bob Mould (of Hüsker Dü), Fab Faux, Jason Isbell, Asaf Avidan, Willie Nile, Vanessa Carlton, Rich Pagano, Nicole Atkins, Steven Bernstein & The Music Unites Choir.
More artists are yet to be announced.
After the show, the event will move to City Winery for an after-party with impromptu performances by many of the featured musicians.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 at Carnegie Hall
This event was a very special evening of artists performing the songs of the legendary alternative rock group from Athens, Georgia which led the underground American music movement with a constant stream of hit records from the early eighties through today. 100% of net proceeds benefitted musical education programs for underprivileged youth.
The lineup included: Throwing Muses with Kristin Hersh, Kimya Dawson, Ingrid Michaelson, Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish, Glenn Hansard of Swell Season & The Frames, The Apples In Stereo, Marshall Crenshaw, Jolie Holland, Patti Smith, The Feelies, Keren Ann, Guster, Fink, The dB's, Bob Mould of Husker Du & Sugar, Rhett Miller of The Old 97's, Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power, Rachael Yamagata, and featured special House Band for the Evening: Calexico
As an encore, R.E.M. themselves took the stage with Patti Smith for a brilliant, improvised rendition of "E-bow the Letter".
After the show, the event moved to City Winery for an after-party with impromptu performances by many of the featured musicians. See the slideshow for just a few amazing shots from this once-in-a-lifetime night.
All slideshow photos by Chris Owyoung - onelouderphoto.com
May 4 - June 1, 2008 - nationwide
60@60 was an unprecedented series of 60 events across North America to celebrate Israel's 60th Anniversary. This event showcased the boundless creativity and prolific cultural activity in the State of Israel. Festivities began with a gala event at Radio City Music Hall on May 7th, 2009. Then the party moved to the Kodak Theatre in LA on May 10th. Connecting events took place all over North America over the period from May 4th through June 1st.
The production team consisted of Michael Dorf, David Azulay, and Moishe Rosenfeld, each of whom operate their own individual businesses in the music industry, but came together to offer their varied expertise to this endeavor.
November 7, 2007 at the Beacon Theater
A Concert Celebration of the film by Todd Haynes featuring the music of Bob Dylan - co-produced by Michael Dorf, Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar.
With performances by: My Morning Jacket, Calexico, The Roots, J Mascis, Mason Jennings, Yo La Tengo w/ Stanley "Buckwheat" Dural, Swell Season: Glenn Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Mark Lanegan, John Doe, Michelle Shocked & Jimmy LaFave, Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks, Joe Henry, Terry Adams Rock & Roll Quartet, Al Kooper & Funky Faculty, Ian Ball & Olly Peacock (Of Gomez), Lee Ranaldo & the Million Dollar Bashers and many special guests
This very special event was a benefit for 826 National, a non-profit organization that hosts writing and tutoring workshops for kids nationwide.
In addition to those listed above, Michael Dorf was also founder and creative force behind The Digital Club Network, Tribeca Hebrew, and the Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival. His series of tribute concerts at Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls have included such honorees as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Neil Sedaka, and most recently, R.E.M. - and more musicians than there is space to list. These concerts are a high-quality mix of musical showcase and cultural event that are creatively marketed to a highly targeted audience. It is no wonder that New York Magazine named him one of the "10 Most Influential New Yorkers."
In 1986, at the age of 23, Michael Dorf founded the Knitting Factory with his Bar Mitzvah savings. He served as Chairman and CEO from inception until 2002, during which time he developed the company's international brand with expansion into Europe and Asia through the production and sale of records, branded festivals and tours. Under the umbrella of KnitMedia from 1995 to 2000, Dorf was recognized as a pioneer in producing music on the Internet, through a variety of strategic relationships with Apple Computer, Intel, MCI and Bell Atlantic. During his tenure at the Knitting Factory, he produced over 200 recordings with Knitting Factory Records, a television series, and eventually expanded and built the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. In addition, Dorf has also produced over 100 festivals and staged events in Europe with partnerships such as Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Vienna Jazz Festival, and dozens of others. In 2002, he left his operating responsibilities to start other projects and has subsequently sold his equity position and resigned from the Knitting Factory Board.
Since that time, Mr. Dorf has became one of the most prolific independent promoters in New York and main presenter of music in "downtown" New York. In November 2005, Mr. Dorf was lauded by The New York Times as "one of New York's most important music impresarios." Under the banner "Michael Dorf Presents", he produced the opening celebration concert for the first new building on the WTC site, 7 World Trade Center, as well as hundreds of other concerts including the Music Downtown Series, the aforementioned Carnegie Hall Tribute series, the annual Oyhoo Festival and Jewzapalooza, the annual Downtown Seder, and a number of significant private corporate events.
In 2008, many years of planning, fund-raising and development gave birth to Mr. Dorf's latest venture, City Winery - a hybrid venue that c
Michael Dorf has also been very involved in creating or supporting several philanthropic ventures in Lower Manhattan including Tribeca Hebrew, an after-school program which currently boasts over 150 kids. He served as the founding Chairman and is currently on the Tribeca Hebrew Board. He is additionally on the board of Music for Youth, Jewish Week, and Downtown Arts Development.
Michael is married with three children and lives in Tribeca, New York.
The Boss with Michael after The Music of Bruce Springsteen Benefit at Carnegie Hall.
Dorf gives President Clinton a record which he produced.
Michael Dorf is available for speaking engagements on a wide variety of topics ranging from new media, innovative business models, marketing, Jazz, the Avant-Garde in music, festival production and many others.
