On 4 October 2009, Gavin Friday celebrated his 50th birthday with An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends, a one-night-only concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Produced by longtime collaborator Hal Willner, the event was part celebration, part musical retrospective, and part fundraiser for (RED), the global initiative to fight AIDS in Africa. The lineup reflected the breadth of Friday’s artistic relationships, including all four members of U2, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Antony Hegarty, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Courtney Love, Shane MacGowan, Maria McKee, JG Thirlwell, Lydia Lunch, Scarlett Johansson and  Guggi.

A rotating cast of performers took on both Friday’s own work and songs that influenced him. 

One of the evening’s most memorable moments came from Broadway legend Joel Grey, who performed a medley of Cabaret and Money from Cabaret, a role for which he won both a Tony and an Oscar. His appearance paid homage to Friday’s long-standing admiration for theatricality and cabaret, linking the night’s variety-show energy to one of its deepest artistic roots.

Throughout the evening, the tone oscillated between reverent and raucous, with moments of intense intimacy balanced by bold, genre-defying collaborations. For Friday, performing at Carnegie Hall had long been a dream, and the night encapsulated the many musical lives he’s led: glam rock provocateur, avant-garde balladeer, film composer, and collaborator without borders.

An Evening with Gavin Friday and Friends was more than a birthday party – it was a staged biography told through sound, memory, and the voices of friends and peers. As IrishCentral put it: “It was New York’s concert of the year.” 

This is the setlist of ‘Gavin Friday and Friends’ as performed at Carnegie Hall.

Act 1

1. Apologia – Gavin
2. Children Of the Revolution – Gavin, Flo & Eddie, Bono, The Edge, Herb Macken
3. I Want To Live – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, Flo & Eddie, Maurice Seezer
4. He Got What He Wanted – Gavin, Antony, Maurice Seezer
5. Paul McGuinness memories of the Virgin Prunes
6. Courtney Love memories of the Virgin Prunes
7. Sweethome Under White Clouds – Gavin, Guggi, Dik, JG Thirlwell, Herb Macken (piano), Maurice Seezer (on drums!)
8. Caucasian Walk – Gavin, Guggi, Dik, JG Thirlwell, Herb Macken (piano), Maurice Seezer (drums)
9. Thief Of Your Heart – Martha Wainwright, Maurice Seezer
10. Ballad Of Immoral Earnings – Gavin & Maria McKee, Maurice Seezer
11. The Light Pours Out Of Me – Gavin & Courtney Love
12. Mr Pussy – Gavin, Scarlet Johansson & Rufus Wainwright
13. Benares Song – Gavin & Rufus Wainwright
14. A Rainy Night In Soho – Shane MacGowan, Maurice Seezer
15. Falling Off The Edge Of The World – Gavin, Maria McKee, Joseph Arthur, Jenni Muldaur, Flo & Eddie

Act 2

1. Cabaret / Money – Joel Grey
2. Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves – Gavin & Joseph Arthur, Jenni Muldaur
3. You Take Away The Sun – Gavin
4. Patrick McCabe reading from first chapter of Breakfast On Pluto
5. King Of Trash / 21st Century Boy – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton and Flo & Eddie
6. Knives In The Drain – Lydia Lunch
7. Caruso – Gavin & Eric Mingus, Maurice Seezer
8. ‘Red’ ( a Poker Face improv) – Lady Gaga

9. Angel – Gavin, Antony and Flo & Eddie

10. Love Is Just A Word – Gavin, Chloe Webb and Flo & Eddie

11. Another Blow On The Bruise – Gavin & Edge

12. Time Enough For Tears – Andrea Corr, Gavin

13. The Last Song I’ll Ever Sing – Bono, Maurice Seezer

14. Improv – Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn

15. Sonnet 40 – Gavin, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Larry Mullen, Edge, Shane MacGowan
16. Sweet Jane – Gavin, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, The Edge, John Zorn, Larry Mullen, Edge, Shane MacGowan, Bono, Flo & Eddie, Maurice Seezer
17. Jean Genie – Gavin, The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Eric Mingus, Courtney Love, Jenni Muldaur, Flo & Eddie, Andrea Corr, Herb Macken, Shane MacGowan (playing Bill Frisell’s guitar upside down) etc, etc

The band:

Doug Weiselman – musical director, arranger, clarinet, saxophone

Thomas Bartlett – keyboards

Steven Bernstein – trumpet, arranger

Knox Chandler – guitar

Bill Frisell – guitar

Hank Roberts – cello

Erik Sanko – bass

Jim White – drums