THERE’S A RIOT GOING ON!: The Real Music & True Story of Stonewall

On June 4th and 11th, THERE’S A RIOT GOING ON!: The Real Music & True Story of Stonewall (TARGO!) will make its debut at Joe’s Pub. Like the uprisings that inspired it, this timely and ever-evolving multimedia documentary concert, last performed in 2024 as The Stonewall Jukebox, harnesses the urgency of a tipping point in history. Through high-energy performances of selections found on the original jukeboxes of the Stonewall Inn interwoven with narration drawn from period documentation, TARGO! illuminates a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality, while unveiling a story that’s more nuanced than most have come to understand

Sourced from mainstream and underground media, gay-bar guides, court decisions and political flyers, as well as first-person accounts, the texts of TARGO! reframe selections like Shirley Bassey’s “This Is My Life,” The Flirtations’ “Nothing but a Heartache,” Sly & the Family Stone’s “Stand!,” and popular favorites by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Harry Nilsson. Heard in this context, familiar hits and deep cuts alike take on new life, giving modern audiences glimpses into why these songs resonated with the Stonewall Inn’s diverse patrons amidst the societal pressures they faced, and ultimately, confronted.