Marc Maron, Kevin Bacon, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and More at The Soho Sessions (A Photo Gallery)

Photo Credit: Marc Millman

On Dec. 5, The Soho Sessions returned with its final staging of 2024, closing out a year lined with unparalleled intimate performances with its first-ever comedy program. To drive this new offering, the esteemed benefit series welcomed iconic comedian, actor and writer Marc Maron, whose singular brand of thought-provoking humor brought heart, gravity and riotous laughs to the close-quarters crowd. Furthering its founding principle, the 16th installment of The Soho Sessions dedicated its premier mix of comedy and music to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, with all proceeds advancing the organization’s 40-year mission of serving the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

Volume 16 of The Soho Sessions followed a musical revue format, with performances from The Soho Sessions Band interspersed between stand-up sets. The house band–featuring drummer Shawn Pelton, bassist Adam Minkoff and keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist and bandleader Jimmy Vivino–gave Maron a chance to showcase his musical talents; in covers of Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix and more, the host and noted blues devotee stole the show with his powerful vocals and virtuosic guitar.

Beyond Maron’s stand-up and musical sets, the program saw performances from rising comics Maddie Wiener and Nimesh Patel and a headline staging from the blues rock master Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, who commanded soul-stirring treatments of “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Hey Joe.” Another definite highlight of the evening arrived with a surprise sit-in from Kevin Bacon, who sang and played harmonica for Chuck Berry’s holiday classic “Run Run Rudolph,” then returned for a full-company finale of “Killing Floor.”

Get an inside look at the event in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Marc Millman. Read our full recap of the benefit concert here.