by Debbie Adler
Director of Online Marketing, WNET.ORG

Sharing a live music experience can be one of those times you bond with perfect strangers. Inspiring music, a captivating performance, a stunning venue… everyone in the room feels connected by being present for the moment. I’ve had that feeling with 40,000 people at huge festivals when everyone is singing along, and in a room of 50 when the audience is perfectly silent.

The Artists Den started when founder, Mark Lieberman, realized that he wanted to take that feeling and bring it to life for small audiences around the country. The live show has hosted musicians like Aimee Mann, Regina Spektor, Josh Ritter, Crowded House, KT Tunstall and so many more. Each one possess a magical feeling that also gets captured on a multi-camera HD film shoot and edited for the public television program, Live From the Artists Den.

One of those shows featured neo-soul singer Raphael Saadiq performing with a nine-piece band at The Harvard Club in Boston last winter. And now that performance is coming out on DVD.

You may remember Saadiq from his mainstream break through as a member of multi-platinum R&B innovators Tony! Toni! Toné! If you aren’t familiar with him, Saadiq is one of those musicians with universal appeal to anyone with an ear for Motown, soul, R&B, swing and rock. That should just about cover everyone, right? His talent has been widely acclaimed by fans and critics, not to mention a few Grammy nominations for his 2008 release, The Way I See It.

Starting June 18, Public Television Rocks! has the exclusive pre-release sale of the DVD, Live From the Artists Den: Raphael Saadiq, before it’s made available to the public next month. All proceeds benefit WNET.ORG New York Public Media.

Visit www.publictelevisionrocks.org to watch a stunning trailer for the DVD and see a special message from Saadiq just for our audience!

To celebrate the exclusive DVD pre-release, Thirteen’s sister station, WLIW21, will air a special encore of Saadiq’s “Live from the Artists Den” episode this Saturday, June 20 at 10 p.m.