Walk on the Wild Side Tours NYC is owned and solely operated by me, music historian and author Jesse Rifkin. I am the author of This Must Be the Place: Music, Community, and Vanished Spaces in New York City (Hanover Square Press, 2023). I also consult as a pop music historian for the Association for Cultural Equity.
My tours have been featured in the New York Times, Conde Nast Traveller, BBC6, and Fodor's Travel, and my writing has appeared in the Quietus and Vice. I also run a free Substack newsletter, where I regularly publish full-length interviews with NYC music luminaries from a variety of eras and genres.
Prior to my work as a historian, I spent twelve years touring the country as a working musician, playing at CBGB, Lincoln Center, and venues of every size and shape in between.
My hope is that these tours demystify these artistic communities and humanize the larger-than-life figures involved. Counter-intuitive as it may seem, I am not interested in hero worship, debauchery narratives, or nostalgia for its own sake. I'm interested in the music itself, the circumstances that led to its creation, and the communities that formed as a result.
Check out our rave reviews in the press and from our customers
"Rifkin… reminds visitors that these movements were the product of people making the most of their unique time and place. Hearing him speak… familiar streets begin to feel a little more alive — full of connections to be forged, of fire escapes and community gardens brimming with secrets.” - New York Times
"From Sonic Youth to Public Enemy, tour guide Jesse Rifkin’s knowledge of the city’s role in some of the biggest musical movements in the world is impressive." - amNewYork
"Offering several genre-specific tours, artist-specific outings and other custom packages, the tours wind their way through the streets of the city, revealing tales of the people, places and events that shaped modern music." - BTR Today
"Solidify your music-lover status by signing up for a walking tour of NYC that takes you to significant spots where classic album cover photos were taken, bands formed, demos were recorded and more." - Alternative Press
"Sonic Youth isn’t touring and won’t be anytime soon, but now you can at least go on a Sonic Youth tour of downtown Manhattan." - Bedford + Bowery
"...if you want to go fully immersive, learn about the world in the late ’90s and early aughts that created bands like Interpol, with the new Walk on the Wild Side Indie Rock tour. Because that’s all history now." - Grub Street
Photo by Adam DiCarlo via Wikimedia Commons
