Post-Punk, Disco, & Hip Hop Downtown Tour

In this tour through NoLiTa, SoHo, and TriBeCa, we'll see how cheap rents and repurposed industrial spaces helped jump-start punk, disco, and hip hop - leading artists like Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Arthur Russell, Run-DMC, Madonna, Blondie, Public Enemy, and Grace Jones to cross paths, and giving birth to sub-genres like No Wave, Mutant Disco, and Electro in the decade that followed.

Destinations include:
- Studios where several classic albums were recorded including Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation and Goo, Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill, Run-DMC's self-titled debut and Raising Hell, Brian Eno's No New York compilation, Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back and Fear of a Black Planet, LL Cool J's Radio and Walking With A Panther, Philip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi, Slick Rick’s The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, and Kurtis Blow's The Breaks
- Pre-fame homes and rehearsal spaces belonging to Madonna, Talking Heads, Blondie, Rick Rubin, Suicide, Sonic Youth, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Glen Branca
- The club where DJ Nicky Siano first developed now-ubiquitous DJ tricks like beat-matching and bass drops, while future dance pioneers Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles worked the door
- The experimental venue where Arthur Russell debuted some of his most groundbreaking work, Talking Heads played one of their first shows, and the Funky 4+1 first introduced hip hop to a downtown audience
- Legendary clubs, including the Loft, the Mudd Club, the Kitchen, and the Gallery
- And much more

We'll also discuss how the city's economic collapse in 1975 turned lower Manhattan into an urban wasteland - but a very affordable one - and how the art that flourished in its wake ultimately turned it into the luxury shopping district it is now.

Details

- Begins in Nolita and ends in Tribeca
- The tour lasts approximately two hours and covers two miles
- Comfortable shoes and bottled water are strongly recommended
- Gratuities are welcome but not mandatory
 

Check out this Tidal playlist to dive deeper into the music behind the destinations

Rates

$45/person

- two person minimum -
in the event that only one person books a tour, they will be offered the chance to cancel or have a private tour for an additional fee

Private tours and large group rates available by request