Community Story
Alan Light, Board Cochair, Housing Works Bookstore Café
Housing Works Bookstore Café Board Cochair Alan Light is a legendary music journalist who cofounded Vibe magazine and writes regularly for the New York Times. He added an incredible new dimension to the Bookstore Café when he dreamed up its Live from Home series.
Light has prevailed on dozens of up-and-coming and already established musicians, including John Mellencamp, John Mayer, Nick Lowe, Patti Griffin, Bright Eyes, Apples in Stereo and Tracy Chapman, to give concerts in the uniquely intimate setting of the Bookstore Café as part of the Live from Home series. The John Mellencamp concert, which marked the fifth-anniversary of Live From Home, raised an astonishing $60,000, all of which went to Housing Works services for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Thanks to Light, Live from Home has become a staple of New York City’s downtown music scene. “The response from performers who have played at the Bookstore has been universally great. Many of them immediately offer to come back, and the bigger names all end up playing for longer than they had planned,” he says.
What’s more, Live from Home has dramatically widened the reach of the Bookstore Cafe. Says Light, “Some of the most exciting shows for me are the ones that bring in a new audience: when we had Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dion play, for example, or a classical prodigy like Hilary Hahn, with bluegrass virtuoso Chris Thile. I know the people attending those shows had never heard of Housing Works before and never set foot in the bookstore. That’s a really rewarding accomplishment.”
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Help Housing Works bring community-based HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs to neighborhoods throughout the city – and the globe. Your gift provides housing and services to people living with HIV and AIDS and provides hope to families in need.
