I'll be making a cameo tomorrow (11/5 Wed) night at @nyswritersinstitute marathon reading of William Kennedy's book "Legs" (a huge help in writing my song "Legs Diamond"). The reading goes til around 8 (you can sign up to read if there are still spots open) and I'll be closing it with my song about the notorious gangster 🖤
About the event:
The public is invited to raise a glass to William Kennedy, beloved New York State Writers Institute founder and 97-year-old Albany storyteller, at a marathon reading of Legs (1975), the novel that launched his “Albany Cycle.”
Legs tells the story of Jack ‘Legs’ Diamond, Albany bootlegger, Irish-American celebrity, self-made man, and one of the most notorious gangsters of the 1920s and ‘30s.
Legs and his paramour, Marion ‘Kiki’ Roberts, on their wanderings through the gritty, glamorous, and very dangerous world of Prohibition-era Albany.
This is the third marathon reading of Kennedy novels the Writers’ Institute has organized. The readings began with Ironweed in 2023 and Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game in 2024.
Cosponsor @albanydistillingco maker of Ironweed whiskey, is located in the North Albany neighborhood where William Kennedy grew up, and where some of the fictional scenes in the Great Depression-era narrative take place.
Donations will be collected at the door to benefit the food pantry and free meal outreach at Sacred Heart Church, 33 Walter St. in Albany, which was Kennedy’s childhood parish.
This free event is open to the public and will take place from Noon until to 8 pm, Wednesday, November 5, 2025 at Albany Distilling Co. Bar and Bottle Shop, 75 Livingston Avenue in Albany.