{"id":92465,"date":"2026-01-07T16:15:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92465\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:15:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:15:32","slug":"a-night-of-british-invasion-girl-power-brings-60s-music-magic-back-to-manhattan-amnewyork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/92465\/","title":{"rendered":"A night of British Invasion girl power brings \u201960s music magic back to Manhattan \u2013 amNewYork"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s plenty to enjoy in Amber Martin and Shannon Conley\u2019s production of \u201cThe Carnaby Street Girls\u201d \u2014 regardless of whether you\u2019re old enough to remember the British Invasion or just discovering that there was a whole lot of great music<\/a> that came out of England in the \u201960s.<\/p>\n

Playing last weekend at The Cutting Room<\/a> in Kips Bay, the two powerful singers had a great time, singing together and separately, with a repertoire of fab tunes that were hits for a number of swinging British gals.<\/p>\n

The show originated with Steve Walter, the owner of the venue. He suggested the concept back in 2016, and the girls loved it.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re too young to know that music, but they researched it,\u201d he recalls. \u201cTheir voices were just so good. We were thinking that Amber should do a Dusty Springfield song, and then one thing led to another. Why don\u2019t we do a whole British Invasion girls thing? Nobody\u2019s doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conley notes that \u201conce we started doing the deep dive, we were like, this stuff is great! Let\u2019s, let\u2019s do this! So it was kind of a no-brainer once we realized there was a whole world of music that we had yet to discover.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin was also on board immediately. \u201cI love Steve\u2019s musical taste,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen he came up with the idea, I didn\u2019t even have to think about it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"The\u201cThe Carnaby Street Girls\u201d at The Cutting Room: Bottom row, L-R: Tracy Stark (piano\/vocals), Heather Litteer (special guest vocal), NathAnn Carrera (dancer\/ guest vocal) , Mademoiselle Estelle (dancer\/aerialist) , Anna CopaCabana (dancer\/guest vocal) .
Back row, L-R: Mike Fornatale (guitar\/vocals), Mike Maenza (drums), Amber Martin (vocals) , Jesse Krakow (musical director\/bass), Shannon Conley (vocals) , Darren Denman (keyboards), Steve Walter (guitar)Photo by Bob Krasner \"\"NathAnn Carrera stepped away from their go-go dancing to share the vocals with Amber Martin on \u201cGeorgie Girl\u201dPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Shannon Conley takes a soloPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Heather Litteer channels her inner Ann-Margret for \u201cThe Swinger\u201dPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Amber Martin savoring the momentPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Anna CopaCabana took on \u201cThese Boots Are Made for Walkin’\u201d in between go-go dancing dutiesPhoto by Bob Krasner<\/p>\n

Many, but not all, of the tunes made the AM radio Top Ten lists in the U.S. Dusty Springfield\u2019s \u201cI Only Want To Be With You\u201d is a welcome blast from the past, as is Petula Clark\u2019s \u201cDowntown,\u201d but Cilla Black is a name that never managed to crack the US charts although she had a string of hits in the UK.<\/p>\n

Conley and Martin share the stage with an excellent band that consists of musical director Jesse Krakow (bass), Mike Fornatale (guitar\/vocals), Mike Maenza (drums), Darren Denman (keys), and Tracy Stark (piano\/vocals). Adding to the fabulousness is special guest singer Heather Litteer (who superbly channeled her inner Ann-Margret) as well as go-go dancers NathAnn Carrera and Anna CopaCabana, who each had their own turn at the mic.<\/p>\n

Steve Walter had his time on stage also, adding his guitar to Fornatale\u2019s \u201cTo Sir With Love\u201d (sung in his most endearing falsetto) and Conley\u2019s \u201cAs Tears Go By,\u201d which also included some wonderful spinning in the sky by aerialist Mademoiselle Estelle.<\/p>\n

The musical experience was heightened by the fact that everyone onstage just seemed to be having a great time.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"Cutting Room owner \u2013 and founder of \u201cThe Carnaby Street Girls\u201d show \u2013 accompanied Shannon Conley on \u201cAs Tears Go By\u201dPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Mike Fornatale, accompanied by Steve Walter, got two thumbs up from Paul Shaffer for his fabulous falsetto version of \u201cTo Sir With Love\u201dPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Mademoiselle Estelle lent her aerial expertise to a number of songsPhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"The cast basks in the exuberant applausePhoto by Bob Krasner \"\"Amber Martin, Paul Shaffer, Cathy Shaffer, Shannon ConleyPhoto by Bob Krasner<\/p>\n

Conley, whose performing range goes from fronting the Jimmy Page-endorsed tribute band Lez Zeppelin to Broadway to voicing Nickelodeon cartoon characters, notes that \u201cit\u2019s so fun to do those ballads. Oh my gosh, it\u2019s almost out of body getting to, you know, the way they built those ballads back then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin, who has collaborated with Rufus Wainwright and John Cameron Mitchell, among others, and is currently a member of the Scissor Sisters, mentions that \u201cworking with Shannon is is one of the top highlights for me because she\u2019s so easy to work with and she\u2019s so calm and peaceful. I love working with Shannon on this in particular because I can say girl, I need you to help me with this part, you know? And she\u2019s always right there with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the pair had known each other for years prior to this show, they had never worked together, and it worked out because, Conley says, \u201cWe have so much fun! We enjoy each other\u2019s talent so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another plus for Martin is that, unlike her Janis Joplin tribute, there\u2019s not much strain on her vocal cords.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI could sing this whole show two or three nights in a row, and I\u2019d be fine, you know?\u201d she notes. \u201cBut when I do my Janis show, I can\u2019t talk for two weeks after!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Litteer notes that the success of the show lies in the fact that \u201cwe all have our own special sauce and our own special talents, and we each bring a different energy to the show to make it thrive and to make it fun. We make each other laugh and entertain people, which is what we need here in the society that we\u2019re living in today with everything that\u2019s happening in America and all over the world. So let\u2019s get together and make a show and have some joy and laughter and some sexy \u201960s glamour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conley finds that she was \u201cpleased at the amount of exuberance from the audience and how much people enjoyed it who were not from that generation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that those that came that had lived through it, it was their music and that they were going to love it. And we hoped that they would feel we honored it, of course,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n

Which turns out to be true, as music aficionados such as Lenny Kaye and Paul Shaffer are both fans.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cLenny Kaye loved it!\u201d Martin says. \u201cHe said, \u2018You know, this show is so punk. These girls were so punk before punk. They\u2019re pre-punk!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Shaffer, who was at Friday\u2019s show, told us that \u201cthis show had everything! These kids are much too young to know this music so well, but they really do. They\u2019ve totally captured the era, and I can\u2019t wait to see it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walter, who\u2019s been running The Cutting Room for some 25 years, knows how to read the room.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, everybody just loves it,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re so happy. And in these s#!tty times, to have some light, fun music just makes people feel good. The show on Friday, everybody hung out in the front room drinking, just like the old days. It just leaves people really happy because they\u2019re such great songs and the girls have such a fun way of presenting them \u2013 it\u2019s contagious.\u201d<\/p>\n

For further info, visit shannonconley.com<\/a>, ambermartin.org<\/a> and follow them on Instagram at @shannonconleynyc<\/a> and @msambermartin<\/a>, where future shows will be announced.<\/p>\n

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