the love hangover

The Love Hangover, an international music tradition for 24 years.

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Find a sympathetic soul during this evening of duets about love stuff.
The Love Hangover, now in its twenty-fifth year (and its tenth city and second country), is an annual event held on February 15th. On this day-after evening, the world-weary and the true believers alike huddle in pairs, playing songs to heal broken hearts and break whole ones.
Local luminaries, surprise stars and up-and-comers on the music scene come two by two to sing songs about love stuff, not necessarily love songs, not necessarily not.  Some reverent, some cheeky, giving back to the audience what love has given them: the joy, the pain, the humor, the frustration, the ecstatic trials and dented triumphs.

By the Numbers
25 years
10 cities
90 shows
850+ performers

The Concept
The Love Hangover is an annual multi-city, multi-artist musical event that explores romantic love in all its many guises. Held each year on February 15th, this post-Valentine's showcase features a line-up of duets singing songs of the lovelorn, love sworn and love torn.

History
The Love Hangover was first staged in Raleigh, NC in 2000, and in 2005 expanded to New York City. In 2008, the showcase moved west to include Kansas City, MO. Ann Arbor, MI followed in 2009, and 2010 marked The Love Hangover's debut in Chicago, IL. In 2015 The Love Hangover became an international event with its first show in Toronto, Canada. Providence, RI became the seventh city to host a Love Hangover in 2017.  In 2019, The Love Hangover turned 20 and added two new cities: Philadelphia and Detroit.  Cincinnati pushed to double digits in 2020 as the tenth Love Hangover city.

While 2021 saw us entirely floating in our tin cans, individually sealed for our protection, 2022 had a bit of a hybrid to it.  On February 15th there was both a return to live performances onstage at recordBar, Kansas City and a still on the wires version broadcasting from everywhere as well.  Then came The Summer of Love...Hangover, a live show in June in Brooklyn at Mama Tried.  In 2023, The Love Hangover returned to stages in five cities.  And now on the cusp of 2024, The Love Hangover looks to expand even further as the festival of love and loss turns 25 years old.

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Benefit for Sounds of Savings
Since the 20th anniversary show in 2019, many local chapters of The Love Hangover have become benefits for Sounds of Saving, a nonprofit group seeking to use the connective and inspirational powers of music to alleviate depression, prevent suicide and reduce the stigma of these struggles.

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Alumni | Past live and video performers include:

Lloyd Cole, Mark Eitzel, Steve Wynn & Linda Pitmon, Shilpa Ray, Bridget St John, Wesley Stace, Laura Cantrell, Tift Merritt, Teddy Thompson, Michael Cerveris, Boo Hewerdine, Freedy Johnston, Caitlin Cary, Doug Gillard, Anders Parker, Jolie Holland, Deerfrance, Rick Moody, Tracy Bonham, David Nagler, Stacey Roca, Edward Rogers, Chip Robinson, Felice Rosser, Don Piper, Dave Derby
and members of Luna, Guided by Voices, American Music Club, The Magnetic Fields, Whiskeytown, Okkervil River, Versus, Tsunami, Clem Snide, 11th Dream Day, Gramercy Arms, Cat Power, Elk City, Nada Surf, Loser's Lounge, Dish, Freakwater, Poi Dog Pondering, Mascott, Megafaun, The dBs, Portastatic, KaiserCartel, Cobra Verde, Nøthing Painted Blue, The Winter Drinks, Shark Quest, Murderer's Row, The Connells and The Blue Man Group-Chicago.

 

Past venues and performances: 

2019 [20th Anniversary]

2020 [the last big show many folks saw before...]

2021 [pandemia times creates a World in a Wire]

2023 [our most recent installation, back on stages across the US]