Brooklyn has become the place to enjoy classic R&B albums as live listening experiences, where people can connect, vibe and relive special moments through the music.
Lenny J, a former New York City party promoter, kicked off the first Lenny J’s Listening Room on a recent night at Love's Club in Bushwick. The monthly event was an intimate and immersive live music experience catered to the slightly more mature “aunties and uncles" crowd, where the audience were taken on a musical journey through Usher’s 2004 Grammy Award-winning album, Confessions.
To set the mood, patrons were asked to follow the “grown and sexy” dress code. Upon arrival, the men were given roses at the door and were encouraged to give them to anyone they wanted to spark a conversation with.
Attendees were also instructed to go into a confessional booth and anonymously write down their true confessions about love in honor of the album. These confessions were then read out loud by Lenny J throughout the night.
Lenny J, a Queens-native who has been hosting and promoting parties around the city for 10 years, said he wanted to come up with a more engaging way for party patrons to socially interact with one another.
“I came up with Lenny J’s Listening Room because I saw that something was missing in the nightlife/event space,” he said. “As someone who has been throwing and promoting parties for 10 years, I decided that I needed to grow with the crowd, and in doing so, I began listening to the people who kept saying that they wanted to dress up and have a different vibe from your typical club party. They wanted to be able to talk to each other.”
At one point, a professional skater performed a dance routine to one of Usher’s songs, attributing it to the singer’s recent residency in Las Vegas, where he skated during parts of his show. The night was also filled with a cocktail happy hour, food, and a DJ to keep the vibes going between sets.
As a former musician himself, Lenny J explained that he wanted to have a live band play songs from the album instead of playing that album itself because he likes the vibe a live band brings.
“It’s an elevated, sophisticated, classy vibe that I was going for, and I felt like the band made the most sense,” he said.
Lenny J said he’s trying to find ways to be intentional with props, costumes, and conversation starters for the men and women who will be in attendance. He hopes patrons will be more vulnerable with their confession cards than on their first go.
“Brooklyn, right now, is the epicenter of culture in New York,” he said. “I definitely want this event to be diverse, and because music has no color, no creed, and Brooklyn has everything going on.”
Patron Drew Bennett was all in. "Lenny's Listening Room was dope, man," he said. "The perfect Sunday or evening event for grown folk. We are the aunts and uncles now, so it felt good to be around mature energy and party like we're our age."
Bennett said he liked how the crowd dressed up for the night out.
"I think whether you're on a date, looking to mix with singles, or even take your mom after church... the vibe was perfect," he said. "Looking forward to more LLRs!"
For the second installment, music lovers will take a deep dive into Lauryn Hill’s Grammy Award-winning album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill on Nov. 2 at Love’s Club.
