Jesse Ruben w/ Jenn Grinels

Celebrating Rockwood Music Hall’s 15-Year Anniversary! 

Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter currently living in Brooklyn, NY. Best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows, his songs have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows in the US and abroad including Teen Mom, Switched at Birth, The Bachelor (Germany), and the recent Disney+ series Diary of a Future President. His most recent single "This Is Why I Need You” reached the top 10 in 12 different countries, and has been streamed more than 45 million times across all platforms. He has recorded live sessions for NPR and MTV Asia, and have been featured on CNN and Esquire Magazine.

Beyond his music career, Ruben is highly active in philanthropic endeavors. He has run the NYC Marathon three times for The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the largest non-profit devoted to spinal cord injuries, and five times to raise money for Lyme disease research. He is also the founder of The We Can Project, an initiative for young students designed to help them discover their passions and give back to their communities. So far, more than 500,000 students have participated. To promote the program, he was personally invited by Hoda Kotb. to perform live on The Today Show.

A tremendous vocalist, compelling songwriter and dynamic performer, Jenn Grinels is shockingly talented and unexpectedly sincere. 


Grinels has spent the last decade headlining concerts from Denver to Dublin and everywhere in between, as well as supporting artists like Marc Broussard, Edwin McCain, and the 10,000 Maniacs- once prompting San Francisco Examiner reviewer Kenneth Fish to write, “Grinels steals the show. She is a rock and roll temptress conjuring musical spells that no one could resist. Whether quietly purring into the microphone or seriously belting out a tune, the audience was hanging on every note and lapping up every well-crafted phrase."

With the onset of the pandemic and support of fans via Patreon.com, Grinels took advantage of time off the road- releasing three critically lauded albums, a celebrated collaboration (and future album) with lyricist Alfred Howard, numerous singles, and even writing an original folk rock/Americana musical recently recognized with five wins in the Broadway World Regional Awards.

Reviewing her latest studio album, Go Mine, NPR affiliate OPB Music praised Grinels' "powerful voice...gorgeous sound and instrumentation" and called title track Go Mine “one of the best kiss-off songs in years.” Pop Matters described lead single Evidence as “a soulful, pop expression...featuring joyous horns, an infectious rhythm, and powerful vocals from Grinels alongside Marc Broussard.”