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He’s still driving them crazy after all these years.
Paul Simon retired from touring in 2018, ending his farewell tour with a concert at Flushing Meadow Park in the New York borough of Queens, where he grew up.
Since then, the legendary singer-songwriter has rarely performed while coping with hearing loss in his left ear. But the 82-year-old icon stepped back onto the stage for a private, intimate performance on Monday night at the Soho Sessions loft space.
The star-studded event — drawing everyone from Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Bacon and Mariska Hargitay to Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Schumer and Jackson Browne — was all to benefit the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss.
“This is the type of room that is conducive for him to play in at this stage with his hearing, and I think there was just mutual trust,” said Greg Williamson, who produces and curates Soho Sessions with Nicole Rechter to benefit various causes. “And we approached him about it, and the team trusted us, and it all worked out.”
“It gave him a space to be able to play in an environment that worked for where he’s at with his hearing, as well as amplifying the cause that’s really important to him, that’s doing great work,” added Rechter, who with Williamson and designer John Varvatos, has also produced the annual Love Rocks NYC benefit for God’s Love We Deliver.
From the moment he stepped into the Soho Sessions loft — located at the former site of Chung King Studios — Simon felt right at home.
“I think when he walked in here initially, he was felt immediately at home because of the intimacy of the room,” said Williamson. “There’s kind of music and soulfulness in the DNA of the building. And I think he instantly saw all these pictures on the wall from our Love Rocks concerts … with so many artists that he knows and is friends with and respects.”
Indeed, Williamson said that Simon was in “great spirits” the entire night. “He sounded amazing. His sense of humor was great,” he shared. “It was exactly what the Soho Sessions is about, which is a feeling of informality, and it being a really great hang where artists can amplify causes and be in front of a small but powerful crowd, and it just feel natural and organic.”
It all made for a “magical” night from beginning to end.
“From the first song, ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ to the closer, ‘The Sound of Silence,’ I mean, you’re listening to songs that are the soundtrack of our lives,” said Williamson. “Paul Simon is in there playing these songs that you’ve heard in so many different scenarios in your own life.”
Simon’s banter went over as well as his music. “He was making jokes the whole night with the crowd, with [former New York Yankee] Bernie Williams,” said Williamson. “We’ve done a lot of shows, and thank God, 90 percent of them go well. But not everybody shows up in great spirits, and sometimes it takes a minute. He was instantly dialed in, in a way that just made us all comfortable.”
And the stars came out to get up close and personal in a rare performance by the “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” icon. “It was next level,” said Williamson.
“We knew that there were people that would want to come out for Paul. And I think a lot of those people had been here before, but some of them hadn’t. And I think it was kind of a similar experience for them in walking into the room, they immediately felt at home … We just instantly try to make everybody feel comfortable, and it goes a long way in terms of setting the mood and the tone right away.”
For Williamson, Simon was the biggest booking the Soho Series — which began in 2021 — has seen yet.
“This is Paul Simon. This is Mount Rushmore,” he said. “To me, he’s the greatest songwriter of all time. To have him in our space, it was a surreal moment, and you’re pinching yourself.”
Wiliamson and Rechter will keep the music going with a City Parks Foundation dinner and concert with Peter Frampton and Patty Smyth on Thursday nigh in Central Park. The event will honor John McEnroe and Patrick McEnroe as well as Nadir Settles of Nuveen Real Estate.
“It’s full speed ahead, and it’s all pure energy and adrenaline right now,” said Williamson. “It’s thrilling for us.”