Divamensch

I love Chrissie Hynde's voice but is it wrong that I love her hair and makeup even more...? The bangs and the heavy eyeliner totally send me. I didn't know girls like this in high school but I WANTED to. Her voice is like her look - - not pretty but utterly distinctive, memorable, and appealing. This is my favorite Pretenders song: Here's my favorite Hynde moment, performing with my beloved Burt in a 1990s tribute to him. Baby, it's YOU!

I heard a program of Poulenc and Sondheim at the New York Festival of Song on April 7, 2026. I had heard maybe only one or two concerts by NYFOS - - they're on my radar but not at the front of my mind. Alex Ross wrote a rave in The New Yorker of a recent concert of theirs and I decided to check out what else they were doing this season. Turns out they were doing a concert of songs by Francis Poulenc and Stephen Sondheim. Totally my jam. You probably know Stephen Sondheim - -