A SUMMER BENEFIT FUNDRAISER
Cocktails
5:30 PM
Dinner & Remarks
7:00 PM
Showtime
8:30 PM
TICKETS
MAIN FLOOR TICKETS: $850 per person / $6800 table of 8
MEZZANINE TICKETS: $650 per person / $1300 table of 2
Includes Cocktail Hour with Inda Eaton, Dinner, and Martha Wainright performance
NEW THIS YEAR: COCKTAIL HOUR ONLY: $ 150 per person
*cocktail hour does not include access to the Wainwright performance
Includes Cocktail Hour with Inda Eaton
Our highly anticipated, annual benefit returns with an intimate evening of
stories and songs by a powerful voice to be reckoned with
Catering by Sen
Pre-Sale for Director’s Circle, Board, and Pledges: begins April 21, 12PM
Pre-Sale for all other Member Levels: begins April 24, 12PM
General Public Sale & Cocktail Hour Tickets: begins April 27, 12PM
The moment you have been waiting for is her! The Church is thrilled to announce our inspirational annual tradition returns: a benefit event that is easy on the speeches and heavy on the brilliance. Showcasing yet another exceptional performer, this year’s Summer Dinner Theater benefit welcomes Martha Wainwright to the stage in her only area performance this summer!
Joining the likes of Candace Bushnell (2023), Martin Short (2024), and Laurie Anderson (2025), Wainwright has been invited due to her outstanding, heartful yet entertaining, command of song and stage. “We are thrilled that Martha is headlining this year’s benefit – our first to feature a musical act. Our summer benefit helps fund a broad range of our commitments to art and community, and she perfectly embodies inspirational levels of creativity, vision, and execution.”
Born into music royalty, the daughter of folk legends Kate McGarrigle and Loudon
Wainwright III and sister to the highly acclaimed, genre defying singer Rufus Wainwright, Martha grew up in a world filled with incomparable musical legends Anna McGarrigle, Leonard Cohen, Suzzy Roche, Richard and Linda Thompson, Emmylou Harris and struggled to find her voice in a milieu in which every drama was refracted through song. Then, in 2005, she released her critically acclaimed debut album, Martha Wainwright, which containing the blistering hit which the Sunday Times called one of the best songs of the year. That release, and the albums that followed, such as Come Home to Mama and I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too, showcased Martha’s searing songwriting style and established her as a powerful voice to be reckoned with.
AND THAT’S NOT ALL…
New this year: we’ve added a COCKTAIL HOUR ONLY ticket for those wishing to contribute the community love of the event, which includes another fantastic performer: Inda Eaton! The beloved, East End-based singer-songwriter will appear live for a set during our cocktail hour. Sorry - cocktail hour tickets do not provide access to the Wainwright performance. However, ticket holders for the dinner theater receive access to both the Inda Eaton cocktail hour and the Martha Wainwright headlining performance!
All proceeds benefit our year-round exhibitions, programming, and artist residency, making The Church a vital source for inspiring art, creativity, and community. Fast becoming one of the most beloved annual ‘un-galas,’ our artful approach to the benefit format is popular and much in demand – Get your tickets before they’re sold out!
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MARTHA WAINWRIGHT is an internationally renowned singer songwriter, with over two decades of industry experience. Critically acclaimed for the
rawness and emotional honesty of both her vocals and lyrics, her albums include: Martha Wainwright (2005); I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too (2008);Come Home to Mama (2012); the JUNO nominated Songs in the Dark (2015), a collaboration with her half sister Lucy Wainwright Roche; Goodnight City (2016); and her latest album Love Will Be Reborn (2021). She is also an actress and was featured in Martin Scorsese's Aviator and the recent HBO special, Olive Kitteridge. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her seminal eponymous debut studio album, Martha Wainwright announces the 20th Anniversary Tour, hitting North America in the Spring of 2025.In 2025, Wainwright toured in celebration of the 20th anniversary of her debut album. Of this, the star remarked:
“20 years ago my life as an artist took shape when my first record was released. In many ways that record defined me, as well as launched me into a now over 20 year long career that has made me who I am. It was after 10 years of playing in bars, making cassettes and Eps to sell at my shows, singing backup for my brother Rufus, falling in love and out of love and in again, practicing, writing, singing until I could barely sing anymore, partying walking for hours and hours, crying and laughing with friends, playing with musicians and listening to great artists working with my ex-husband in the studio for 2 years that created this first record.
Labels wouldn’t sign me when I started and I had to craft, with the help of many people, an album that would finally be licensed and released in 2005. My first record tells my story and when it was finally released I was able to work and tour and have a career in music- something that I always wanted but wasn’t sure would happen. 20 years later, with 6 other albums under my belt, 2 kids and career that is chugging along, I can safely say that my first record paved my way forward and I’m very proud of it and still sing many of these early songs.”
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Inda Eaton is an award-winning Americana singer-songwriter whose work blends country, rock, and storytelling rooted in the American landscape. A seasoned touring artist, she has performed nationwide as both a solo act and bandleader, opening for artists including John Hiatt, Blues Traveler, Earl Scruggs, Hootie & The Blowfish, LeAnne Rimes, Shemekia Copeland, and Molly Hatchet, with accolades including CMJ charting, an AFIM “Best Independent Album” nomination, and praise from Billboard and Relix. From the wide-open West to the East End of Long Island, Eaton’s voice—equal parts grit, heart, and humor—connects through songs of real life and shared experience. She is also the host of The IndAmerica ™ Radio Hour on 94.5 FM WFRM – The Farm, where she curates a blend of Americana music and storytelling that highlights emerging artists, honors roots traditions, and brings listeners into a rich, community-driven listening experience.