Music legend Paul Simon plays a star-studded private show at his New York loft

It still drives 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 dealing with hearing loss in his left ear. But the 82-year-old icon returned to the stage for a private, intimate show on Monday night at the Soho Sessions loft space.

The star-studded event — which drew everyone from Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Bacon and Mariska Hargitay to Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Schumer and Jackson Browne — benefited the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss.

“This is the kind of room that allows her to play at this stage with hearing, and I think there was just mutual trust,” said Greg Williamson, who produces and organizes the Soho Sessions with Nicole Rechter to benefit various causes. “And we approached it that way, 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, which is doing great work,” added Rechter, who along with Williamson and designer John Varvatos, he 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 on the former site of Chung King Studios – Simon felt right at home.

“I think initially when he walked in here he immediately felt at home because of the intimacy of the room,” Williamson said. “There is a kind of music and soul in the DNA of the building. And I think he instantly saw all these images on the wall from our Love Rocks gigs… with so many artists he knows, is friends with and respects.”

Indeed, Williamson said Simon was in a “tremendous device” all night. “It looked amazing. His sense of humor was great,” he shared. “It was exactly what Soho Sessions is about, which is a sense of informality and it’s a really great gathering where artists can amplify causes and be in front of a small but powerful crowd and it just feels natural and organic.”

It all made for a “magical” night from start to finish.

“From the first song, ‘Mrs. Robinson,’ closer, ‘The Sound of Silence,’ meaning you’re listening to songs that are the soundtrack to our lives,” Williamson said. “Paul Simon is out there singing these songs that you’ve heard in so many different scenarios in your own life.”

Simon’s appetite went as well as his music. “He was cracking jokes all night with the crowd, with (former New York Yankee) Bernie Williams,” Williamson said. “I’ve done a lot of shows and thank God 90% of them go well. But not everyone shows up in the mood and sometimes it takes a minute. It was dialed in instantly, in a way that 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,” Williamson said.

“I knew there were people who would want to come for Paul. And I think a lot of these people have been here before, but some of them haven’t. And I think it was kind of a similar experience for them when they walked into the room, they immediately felt at home… We instantly try to make everybody feel comfortable, and that goes a long way in terms of setting the mood. spirit and the right tone. away.”

For Williamson, Simon was the biggest booking on the Soho series – which starts in 2021 – that he has seen so far.

“This is Paul Simon. This is Mount Rushmore,” he said. “For me, he is the greatest composer of all time. To have him in our space, it was a surreal moment and you pinch yourself.”

Williamson and Rechter will continue the music with a City Parks Foundation dinner and concert with Peter Frampton and Patty Smyth Thursday night 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 at the moment,” Williamson said. “It’s exciting for us.”