From the Garden to a record store: David Kushner returns to Manhattan at Rough Trade Below

Two days after his second album, Devotion, arrives, the "Daylight" singer plays a Sunday-afternoon set under Rockefeller Center, his first Manhattan date since 2023.

The last time David Kushner played Manhattan, it was on the floor of Madison Square Garden, on Dec. 8, 2023. The next time is this coming Sunday, Nov. 15, at 3 p.m., in a record store basement under Rockefeller Center. That's a strange shape for a comeback, and a very good one for anyone who gets in.

The show is at Rough Trade Below, and tickets run $17.41 to $32.65 through DICE via the show's ticket link. It's an afternoon start, so this is a matinee: be there early, and you'll still make Sunday dinner.

The timing is the hook. Kushner's second album, *Devotion*, is out this Friday, Nov. 13, via Miserable Music Group and Virgin Music, according to Melodic Magazine. Rough Trade's own product page describes it as an album that explores what it means to give yourself fully to something or someone. The singles have pointed inward: Clash called the single "Ritual" a delicately composed return that finds Kushner opening up as rarely before, and "Electrified" followed. So Sunday lands 48 hours after release day, which means the people in that room will be among the first anywhere to hear these songs live.

It's also the follow-up to a debut that set a high bar. *The Dichotomy* came out in 2024 and carried "Daylight" and "Skin and Bones", songs that took a baritone-heavy, hymn-like folk-pop sound to arena size. That run is how a singer-songwriter ends up with a Garden date on his résumé before his first album was out.

His last Manhattan show was Madison Square Garden. This one is a record store.

Which brings us to the room. Rough Trade Below opened in April 2025 as the second Rough Trade shop in Rockefeller Center, about 4,000 square feet on the Rink Level, directly facing the 47th–50th Streets subway station, with the original store upstairs renamed Rough Trade Above. The expansion was built in part to grow in-store events from several dozen people to a couple of hundred, with Rough Trade pitching it as a home for all-ages, affordable, intimate live performance and signings. A couple hundred people is a long way from an arena. For a voice like Kushner's, which leans on low register and quiet space, that's a gift.

A few practical notes. The B, D, F and M stop at 47th–50th Streets puts you right at the door. Rough Trade Below shows are often paired with in-store signings, so check the DICE listing for what your ticket tier includes before Sunday. And with the album out Friday, there will be two days to live with the new songs before you hear them in person; it's worth spending them.

Three years is a long time between Manhattan shows. A couple of hundred people get to close the gap on a Sunday afternoon, a short walk from the skating rink.

Sources: Melodic Magazine: David Kushner announces sophomore album Devotion (melodicmag.com); Rough Trade: David Kushner — Devotion (shop.roughtrade.com); Clash: David Kushner announces new album 'Devotion' (clashmusic.com); Wikipedia: David Kushner (singer-songwriter) (en.wikipedia.org); BrooklynVegan: Rough Trade NYC opening 2nd location below current 30 Rockefeller Center space (brooklynvegan.com); Time Out: See inside the huge new record store that just opened at Rock Center (timeout.com); Rough Trade: New York Below store page (roughtrade.com); Rockefeller Center: Rough Trade Below (rockefellercenter.com); JamBase: David Kushner at Rough Trade Below (jambase.com)