Best Video Performance Space

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Best Video Performance Space Best Video Performance Space was launched in June, 2011 as a venue for music, film screenings, literary readings and more.

Best Video Performance Space was launched in June, 2011 as a venue for music, film screenings, literary readings, w**e tastings and more. From the beginning, the Performance Space has pursued an eclectic booking policy, showcasing acts ranging from classical (Haven String Quartet) to jazz (Bassology) to folk (Robert Messore) to rock and punk rock. The room is highly regarded among local musicians for the quality of its acoustics. While the greater New Haven area has several outstanding venues for live music—most notably Cafe Nine, The Space, The Outer Space and Spaceland Ballroom—the Best Video Performance Space is unique in the way it melds both formal and informal aspects in its audience experience. The Performance Space, in collaboration with our neighbor Temple Beth Sholom, has also presented several film series, screening great movies and following them with stimulating, moderated discussions. The Best Video Coffee and W**e Bar is open on event nights, offering a selection of fine beers and w**e as well as exceptional coffee drinks made from Willoughby's Coffee.

JAZZ *** VOCALS *** THIS *** SUNDAY *** AFTERNOON !!!The Mimi Lines Trio plays a Sunday jazz matinee at Best Video Perfo...
10/10/2026

JAZZ *** VOCALS *** THIS *** SUNDAY *** AFTERNOON !!!

The Mimi Lines Trio plays a Sunday jazz matinee at Best Video Performance Space on Oct. 11. The show starts at 4 PM and the cover is $10. Jazz vocalist Mimi Lines will be accompanied by Martin Carter on piano and David Chevan on bass.

Mimi Lines is a New Haven based cabaret and jazz vocalist whose performances blend timeless standards, heartfelt storytelling, and elegant musicality. She’s performed with jazz musicians Eric Comstock, Jeff Fuller, Darren Litzie, Ben Bilello, Josh Catania, David Chevan, Alvin Carter, Allen Lowe, Mark Kaplan and Michaela Coppola in clubs and theatres in Connecticut and New York City, including The Side Door, Café Nine, Long Wharf Theatre, Yale Cabaret, University Theatre, Lyric Hall, Best Video, Don’t Tell Mama and The Triad.

Dr. David Chevan is a bassist, composer, and educator whose work bridges jazz with African American and Jewish musical traditions. He co-leads The Afro-Semitic Experience, directs the Nu Haven Kapelye—Connecticut’s largest klezmer orchestra—and leads Bassology, his swinging jazz ensemble. His compositions range from liturgical jazz pieces to big band and klezmer works; all rooted in a deep commitment to cultural dialogue and community connection. A longtime advocate for music education, David has served on the board of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation for over 25 years.

Connecticut-based jazz pianist Martin Carter brings a deep appreciation for the jazz tradition to his performances, blending melodic expression, harmonic sophistication, and a strong sense of swing. With a repertoire spanning jazz standards, bebop, blues, and contemporary jazz, Martin brings sensitivity, spontaneity, and a spirit of musical collaboration to every performance.

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT BEST VIDEO !!!Kingsley Flood and The Shellye Valauskas Experience share the bill at Best Video Perf...
10/09/2026

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT BEST VIDEO !!!

Kingsley Flood and The Shellye Valauskas Experience share the bill at Best Video Performance Space this Fri., Oct. 30. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Kingsley Flood is a Boston and Washington, DC-based band with a "Billy Bragg-like folk-punk sound" (Washington Post) and "signature high energy" (Rolling Stone). They have played the main stage at the Newport Folk Festival, have been featured on the History Channel and Lifetime Network, opened for Josh Ritter, Grace Potter, Lucius, Langhorne Slim and have been been covered by NPR, New York Times, Esquire Magazine, Wall Street Journal, American Songwriter, among others.

PopMatters wrote, “One of those bands that matters.” NPR commented, “A band that seems to understand where inspiration can lead." And Esquire magazine opined, "The kind of hard-rocking folk-punk band that makes you want to dance with the person next to you and then punch them in the face. In a totally good way."

Based in the New Haven area, Shellye Valauskas & Dean Falcone lead The Shellye Valauskas Experience and write meticulously crafted power pop songs, with an emphasis on “power.” The songs hearken back to the finer moments of the 1970’s and 1980’s and are filled with sparkling melodies powered by sharp and often jangly electric guitars; think Big Star, The Raspberries and Aimee Mann. The latest release, History of Panic, is a collection of catchy choruses, swirly guitars and melodies that instantly draw you in and satisfy on every level.

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT BEST VIDEO!Best Video Performance Space features a triple bill this Fri., Sept. 18, of PROBLEMS (Ch...
09/17/2026

THIS FRIDAY NIGHT AT BEST VIDEO!

Best Video Performance Space features a triple bill this Fri., Sept. 18, of PROBLEMS (Chicago, IL); Wow, Okay, Cool (CT), and Void Ripper (CT). The show begins at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Chicago-based Darren Keen is the one-person band called PROBLEMS. PROBLEMS has extensively toured Europe, New Zealand, and the USA, opening for Peaches, Sleaford Mods, Getdown Services, Dan Deacon, Pile, death’s dynamic shroud, Mezerg, Lightning Bolt, Wolf Eyes, Plack Blague, and many others. PROBLEMS makes composer-driven electronic music with live vocals that is sometimes very fun and is sometimes very beautiful and is always interesting, singing about dogs, glue, and nuts.

12” LP “PROBLEMS GETTING HARD” Was released 4/10 on The Record Machine. Available on all streamers except spotify, because they fund AI weapons of war, this record was another leap forward in an already progressive catalog. Exploring the cycle of life and debt via a weightloss journey funded using buy now pay later schemes and musically anchored by the Fender Bass VI. The 12” LP “Enter The Annals” was released 2024 on The Record Machine, and is now sold out.

Wow, Okay, Cool produces panicked, boisterous songs that convey an urgency in desperate times. The post-punk project is the handiwork of New Haven, CT-based musicians Tim Fitzpatrick (vocals, synthesizer), Juniper Cadence (guitar), Dan Barletta (bass), and Brendan Galvin (drums). Since 2023, the group has been a staple in the Connecticut DIY punk scene, delivering an explosive live show experience throughout New England and the Tri-State area.

“If This Is Where It Got Us, What Good Is It?,” the band’s self-produced debut LP releasing September 4th, 2026, is a collection of 9 songs channeling the precarity and anxieties faced in the modern United States. The result is a flurry of post-punk riffs, violently-precise drums, and wailing vocals raging against the authors of our immiseration. From landlords, to private equity firms, to a feckless Democratic establishment, “If This is Where it Got Us, What Good is it?,” demands accountability from those who stand as gatekeepers to a life of dignity for the working class.

Wow, Okay, Cool's live shows deliver screaming hooks from Cadence, and a bombastic, chaotic performance, with Fitzpatrick’s manic presence drawing comparisons to The Blood Brother’s Johnny Whitney and Refused’s Dennis Lyxzen.

VOID RIPPER puts digicore, EDM, and chiptune through a blender and launches the contents into the sun. Enjoy aggressive, cinematic dance music straight into your DNA from the seams of reality where the veil is thinnest (New Haven, CT).

THIS *** SATURDAY ** NIGHT !!!The Joe Carter Samba Rio Trio plays Best Video Performance Space this Sat., Sept. 12. The ...
09/12/2026

THIS *** SATURDAY ** NIGHT !!!

The Joe Carter Samba Rio Trio plays Best Video Performance Space this Sat., Sept. 12. The group features Joe Carter on guitar, Jeff Fuller (Jeff Fuller Music) on upright bass, and Graciliano Zambonin on drums. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $15.

The trio celebrates the music of Brazil – Samba, Bossa Nova, Choro, Baiao and more. Their repertoire features songs by Brazil’s classic composers such as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Moacir Santos, Jacob do Bandolim, Luiz Bonfa, Pixinguinha, Baden Powell, Ary Barroso and others. The trio takes things a step further by using their Jazz backgrounds to add Jazz improvisation into the tunes, creating a sound that blends the best of both worlds. In other words: the best of Music from “Both Sides of the Equator.”

Whether performing on stage and in clubs, teaching jazz and coaching ensembles, or composing and arranging in his home studio, Jeff Fuller brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to all his musical endeavors. An integral part of the Connecticut, New York and international jazz scenes, Fuller toured worldwide and recorded with saxophonists Lou Donaldson and Paquito D’Rivera. He has played with jazz masters from all styles and eras including such diverse artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Mose Allison, “Papa” Jo Jones, Gerry Mulligan, and Clark Terry.

Having performed in such diverse places as Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Recife in Brazil, Bombay, Bangalore and Goa in India, Trossingen and Stuttgart in Germany and Paris and Corsica in France, Joe Carter has used these experiences to form a sound and style based in “Samba Jazz”, a style that combines the improvisational nature of North American Jazz with the lyrical and rhythmical aspects of Brazilian Bossa Nova, Samba, Choro, Baiao and MPB.

Graciliano Zambonin is a drummer/composer who plays mostly Brazilian and Jazz music in New York.

THIS *** FRIDAY *** NIGHT !!!Marc Apostolides, Bryan Titus & Shawn Taylor present Songs From the Trail at Best Video Per...
09/10/2026

THIS *** FRIDAY *** NIGHT !!!

Marc Apostolides, Bryan Titus & Shawn Taylor present Songs From the Trail at Best Video Performance Space this Fri., Sept. 11. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Songs From the Trail is a multi-media exploration of thru-hiking and long-distance backpacking culture, from the Appalachian Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail and beyond. America’s National Trails are living treasures, that foster and weave together beautiful, evolving communities.

Songs from the Trail is a joyous exultation, of all this.

Bryan Titus, Marc Apostolides and Shawn Taylor serve up songs, stories, photos, gear and vibes from their collective thru-hikes and long-distance section hikes. With three distinctly different musical styles and perspectives, “Songs from the Trail” is as unique and eclectic, as the journeys they explore. Marc Apostolides performs on piano, guitar and vocals; Shawn Taylor on guitar, harmonica, foot percussion and vocals; and Bryan Titus on guitar, viola and vocals.

They pack with them decades of performing and touring experience, plus many thousands of collective miles and years hiked. Most importantly, they relate their trail experiences to the common threads of humanity and ooze magical, musical FUN!

THIS *** SUNDAY *** AFTERNOON !!!Best Video Performance Space presents a triple bill matinee show this Sun., Sept. 6 wit...
09/05/2026

THIS *** SUNDAY *** AFTERNOON !!!

Best Video Performance Space presents a triple bill matinee show this Sun., Sept. 6 with two acts from Brooklyn, NY—Sotto Voce and Cousin Oven—and Connecticut's Calendula. The cover is $10 and the show starts at 4 PM.

Sotto Voce has been the moniker for Pittsburgh native Ryan Gabos's homespun musical project since 2011. Recording nearly every note in whatever small space he calls his bedroom at any given time, he catalogues his personal brand of songcraft built on the result of his influences, including Jim O'Rourke, The Sea and Cake, Deerhoof, and Joan of Arc. Sotto Voce operates live as a band with bassist Justin Gonzales and drummer Ryan Hopper. Of latest album—2026's The Sound of Trying—Pop Matters says it "suggests a sort of Todd Rundgren in Brooklyn vibe, marrying the lo-fi, DIY aesthetics of bedroom pop with a musical mind that never seems to run out of good ideas."

Cousin Oven is the Brooklyn-based rock band led by frontman, Owen Bologna. A master of personification, Owen skillfully weaves emotional honesty, clever prose, and rhythmic drive into a consistently beautiful musical product. Cousin Oven songs are sweet and subtle, rewarding you for the attention you pay to them with genuine warmth.

Calendula is the musical project of Abigail Golec, a singer-songwriter based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. Their nostalgia for past homes, daydreamed futures, and yearning for loved-ones fuels their folk-inspired melodies. Their self-titled album releases on June 21st, 2026.

SATURDAY NIGHT TRIPLE BILL !Best Video Film & Cultural Center features the triple bill of Mother Juniper, Nathan El (Pit...
08/29/2026

SATURDAY NIGHT TRIPLE BILL !

Best Video Film & Cultural Center features the triple bill of Mother Juniper, Nathan El (Pittsburgh, PA), and Offering Field this Sat., Aug. 29. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Mother Juniper is made up of dream story weavers, many myths, and a three stringed street banjo.

Nathan El is the experimental folk project of Pittsburgh-based agriculturalist and musician Nathan Blake. The project seeks to stretch traditional folk forms into unfamiliar shapes and marry sleepy folk with ambient, distorted textures. Live, Nathan El is often supported by Claire Sweeney (fiddle, harmonium, backing vocals), Austin Orth (guitar, keys, backing vocals), Brian Spragg (drums), and Carson Mara (bass).

Nathan El has independently toured the East Coast, received airplay on NPR, and opened for internationally touring acts. The project’s most exemplary release to date, reworkings of the traditional songs Jubilee and Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still, arrives Friday, May 29.

New Haven’s Offering Field—Adam Parker's stage name—steps out of the studio and into the midwinter dusk with a gift: a new album of mystic songwriting crisp as frost on the fallen leaves. Hand Reaching Through Flames, his first album in seven years, is the most intimate work Parker has released, having both the immediacy of small club performance and the uncanny quality of a voice picked up on a shortwave radio.

Parker paints fluid shapes with his palate of acoustic guitar, bass, shimmering percussion, and Mellotron around delicate lyrics steeped in magic and longing. We’re led down winding paths to windows, mirrors, eyes: thresholds that beckon us somewhere within and beyond — into the night sky and back into the basement. Producer Sam Carlson renders these songs in a detailed chiaroscuro. Each strum rings out like a beam of light through dusty air in a home emptied and moved away from. Adam’s voice cuts through the veil and echoes down the hall.

!!! CHILDREN'S MUSIC AT BEST VIDEO THIS SATURDAY !!!Val McKee plays music for kids at Best Video Performance Space this ...
08/28/2026

!!! CHILDREN'S MUSIC AT BEST VIDEO THIS SATURDAY !!!

Val McKee plays music for kids at Best Video Performance Space this Saturday morning, Aug. 29, at 10:30 AM.

Suggested donation is $5-10 per family but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Music, movement, and storytelling have been ever-present in Val McKee’s life. Always the singer in her sibling’s living room band, Val grew up connecting music to play. It is a practice she brings into her classroom as an early childhood educator, songwriter, and performer. Val is presently a teacher with Leila Day Nurseries, Neighborhood Music School, and Southern Connecticut State University.

THIS *** WEDNESDAY *** NIGHT !!!Philadelphia act Strawberry Hands shares the bill with local ambient act The Regal Drug ...
08/25/2026

THIS *** WEDNESDAY *** NIGHT !!!

Philadelphia act Strawberry Hands shares the bill with local ambient act The Regal Drug at Best Video Performance Space this Wed., Aug. 26. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Born 2006 in Philadelphia, Strawberry Hands is the songwriting project of poet, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Brunner (Weyes Blood, Karl Blau, Mike Bruno). The Strawberry Hands universe is one where basketball philosophy, Zen Buddhism, found poetry, and bedroom psychedelia somehow coexist without contradiction. Rounding out the ensemble are Jonathan Davenport (Dirty Projectors, Red Tailed Rounders), John Comune (Henbane, Bitter Wish), and Mark Ettingoff (Ghostwood Orchestra, Golden West Service).

The Regal Drug is the sonic brainchild of Scott N. Amore, born from an abandoned, busted piano discovered in a New Haven parking lot in the dead of night, 1995. What began as a spontaneous experiment in sound and electronics has evolved over three decades into an immersive recording and performance project. The current incarnation features a dynamic trio: Amore on keys and textures, joined by Ben Heller on trumpet and effects and Richard Brown on alto saxophone and guitar. Blending improvisation with deep electronic atmospheres, The Regal Drug channels three decades of exploration into moments of musical gratitude and raw expression.

TONIGHT *** AT *** BEST VIDEO !!!Power pop group Lucy's Neighbor and indie rockers Zoo Front share the bill at Best Vide...
08/22/2026

TONIGHT *** AT *** BEST VIDEO !!!

Power pop group Lucy's Neighbor and indie rockers Zoo Front share the bill at Best Video Performance Space tonight, Sat., Aug. 22. The show starts at 7 PM and the cover is $10.

Lucy’s Neighbor—named after the Mrs. Matilda Trumbull character in the “I Love Lucy” Sitcom—is an original indie rock/power pop band from New Haven. The members are Derek Di Fronzo (vocals); Dave Esposito (guitar); Tom Quagliano (drums) and Ed Flynn (bass). They will be playing songs from their four self-released CDs, the self-titled “Lucy’s Neighbor” (2011), “Over Easy” (2018), “Till It’s Gone” (2020), and "Long Road Home" (2023).

Zoo Front is a sonically eclectic original band always striving to evolve their sound. Each member brings their own somewhat divergent influences to the group, where ideas and genres are meshed and massaged to form a cohesive body of work. 2023’s “Re-Entry” album was a collection of songs taking listeners on a ride through a variety of musical styles and moods. Anyone who has witnessed a Zoo Front gig has been along for that ride, taking in a mix of new and old, soft and sultry, moody and energetic songs. A new batch of music is under development and promises to take the band and audience into uncharted territory.

Zoo Front is Ed Ekendu, Ju Dee Luna, Nancy Tatsapaugh, and Lisa Tonner.

You can find Zoo Front on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, You Tube Music, Apple Music and other streaming services.

Address

1842 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT
06517

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 9pm
Tuesday 9am - 9pm
Wednesday 9am - 10pm
Thursday 9am - 10pm
Friday 9am - 10pm
Saturday 9am - 10pm
Sunday 9am - 9pm

Telephone

(203) 287-9286

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