A Musical Blackout #MusicMovesMe

I was not in New York City last night when the lights went out.  But I came close to being there.  July 12 and 13 were Manhattanhenge (one of four occasions during the year where the sunset or sunrise line up with the Manhattan street grid) and we wanted to be there.   We ended up not going - but if we had been there...

But thanks to social media, I was able to be there, and I decided to move my Music Moves Me post to  today, as I was so moved.

Who are the #MusicMovesMe bloggers? We are bloggers who blog about music each Monday and if you have music to share with us, you are most welcome to join! (Music Posts Only on this music train, please!)   First, there is XmasDolly.  Her chief co-conductor is Cathy of Curious as a Cathy. Her other co-conductors are:   Stacy of Stacy Uncorked, and me.  Callie of JAmerican Spice blogs from time to time.  

Our guest conductor for the month of July is Driller AA of Driller's Place. 

For our theme today he has picked: "Your Pick" so this isn't my usual rock music post.
New York City has had four major blackouts in my lifetime.  I was there for the first, on November 9-10, 1965.  

The second was during my father's birthday, July 13-14, 1977.  This one did not find New York City at its best.  The third was in August of 2003 and affected a lot of the Northeast.  We did not lose power for long where I live upstate, but we had rolling blackouts for a while.

The fourth one was 42 years later, to the day of the second blackout.  I found out about it - where else?  on social media.

Of the various reports I read, this one may have been the most inspiring.  There was supposed to be a concert at Carnegie Hall by a choir called MCO.  When the lights went out, the concert was moved outdoors.

Thanks to social media, I can bring you a little of it for your Sunday enjoyment. (MCO specializes in sacred music, and this is a religious performance).  There are other clips on Twitter (if you are on Twitter) and, on some of them, you can get quick views of Manhattanhenge.

Here is one more video from yesterday's impromptu outdoor blackout concert, with MCO singing a song called I Stand Amazed. 

To learn more about MCO you can look them up on Facebook or Wikipedia)

This wasn't the only concert cancelled - Jennifer Lopez had just started a concert at Madison Square Garden when the lights went out. 

I'm not a big J-Lo fan so I can't pick a good one for you so instead, for my final song for today, I turn to Billy Joel's Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway).  This is a live performance at Yankee Stadium.  I grew up in the Bronx.

So once again, happy birthday in heaven to my father.  And, please join me again tomorrow for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day.