It was an especially fruitful year for Jack Antonoff. He released new Bleachers music, notched two #1 singles alongside Taylor Swift, and got nominated for six Grammys including for “A&W,” the Lana Del Rey collaboration that was Stereogum readers’ favorite song of 2023. (He also got married.) But as he’s done every year since 2014, Antonoff set aside a night in December to present a Talent Show concert benefitting the Ally Coalition (TAC). The non-profit Antonoff founded with his fashion designer sister Rachel has raised millions of dollars for organizations supporting unhoused and at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.

Last night’s ninth annual Talent Show, which set a new fundraising record, was held at the NYU Skirball Center in NYC’s Greenwich Village for the second time. It’s an 850-cap theater – pretty intimate for the high-caliber talent TAC hosts which, like last year, was not revealed in advance. The surprise performers this time ended up including St. Vincent, Jason Isbell, Bartees Strange, and Clairo, all artists who have collaborated with Antonoff in one way or another over the years.

Seated at the piano, Antonoff opened the show with “Goodmorning” before the rest of Bleachers joined in for “Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call,” a tune debuted at the 2022 Talent Show. As the song was expected to come out last holiday season, Antonoff joked that it was still a “work in progress” and may never actually be released.

There were a few other faces familiar to those who attended last year: Former fun. multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost ran through a couple of jazzy tunes from his Metal Bubble Trio project and singer/songwriter Claud returned, this time performing Taylor Swift’s “betty” and their own “Soft Spot” with Antonoff’s dad Rick on second guitar. Jacqueline Novak and Chris Laker also came back to deliver stand-up. (Sarah Sherman and Sam Jay rounded out the comedy lineup). And hosting again was Rachel Antonoff who promised early on that, unlike last year, she would not be too high to speak.

A series of solo acoustic performances was highlighted by Bartees Strange duetting George Gershwin’s “Summertime” with his opera singer mom Donna, Jason Isbell covering John Prine’s “Hello In There” in between his own stunning ballads, and Antonoff stripping down his 2014 banger “I Wanna Get Better.” After that, the rest of Bleachers reappeared for a rousing ”Modern Girl” from their upcoming self-titled album.

Clairo took the stage to sing Vashti Bunyan’s “Winter Is Blue” and her own “Blouse” with Bleachers and Strange, followed by Red Hearse (Antonoff, Sounwave, and Sam Dew) reuniting for “Everybody Wants You” and “Honey.” The night’s headliner was St Vincent, who sang “…At The Holiday Party” and a theatrical “New York,” two songs she wrote and produced with Antonoff. And Bleachers closed with the wistful “91,” the audience ably delivering its shout-out lyric on cue.

In between all the performances, TAC screened informational videos that contextualized its mission amid the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that were introduced to state legislatures in 2023. To that end, the Talent Show is just part of the work TAC put towards LGBTQ+ equality this year. By partnering non-profits with touring artists and festivals, it raised awareness and funds for local orgs throughout the country. The Activism Village on Boygenius’ 2023 tour alone, for example, yielded over $300,000 in donations. And last weekend TAC provided meals, clothing, and medical care to young people at NYC’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center during its second annual Day Of Services.

You can check out some videos by IronChefWong and photos by Taylor Hill below, and learn more about the Ally Coalition here.