Uncles joking about being broke, friends popping in after work, a host reminiscing with stories of past years’ events, and someone starting an impromptu karaoke-slash-carroll session at the piano: describing the 10th Annual Ally Coalition Talent Show to an outsider sounds like detailing an eclectic family holiday party. And that’s exactly how it felt.

Except here, that “uncle” is comedian Mike Birbiglia, the friend rushing downtown is Rachel Zegler freshly off the Romeo and Juliet broadway stage, the stories come from fashion designer Rachel Antonoff and her “Little Rachel” puppet, and the piano is run by her brother (and Grammy-winning producer and Bleachers frontman) Jack Antonoff. Also, I don’t know about you, but Sabrina Carpenter and Remi Wolf did not RSVP to my holiday party.

“I’m pretty sure it was Jack’s idea eleven or so years ago,” Rachel Antonoff tells Wonderland regarding the origins of the event. “Jack has a remarkable ability to take something really huge and make it feel cozy. It definitely started out much smaller than it’s become, but it still feels like an intimate show and I really love that about it.”

It’s true. Like it’s predecessors before it, which featured everyone from Lana Del Rey, Phoebe Bridgers, and Taylor Swift to reoccurring TAC darlings such as Jacqueline Novak, Chris Laker, Claud, Andrew Dost, and, of course, Bleachers, Tuesday night’s event brought the biggest names in entertainment together in an intimate setting at NYU Skirball. Adorned with Christmas trees, Hanukkah menorahs, and twinkly lights, it was a space where every fan’s call could be heard, performers’ children danced in the wings, and all the proceeds went to The Center, New Alternatives, and more local organisations dedicated to reducing homelessness among queer youth in New York City. In addition to Sabrina Carpenter, Remi Wolf, and Rachel Zegler, this year’s lineup of musicians and comedians also included Veronika Slowikowska, Laundry Day, and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, as well as a reunion performance from Jack Antonoff’s first band, Steel Train.

The Ally Coalition, founded in 2013 by the Antonoff siblings, has spent the past decade mobilising music fans to fight against the discrimination LGBTQ+ Youth face. Just this year, the organisation went on tour with Lizzy McAlpine, Remi Wolf, Julien Baker, Katie Gavin, Bleachers, and more, partnering with relevant non-profits in each city to raise awareness and encourage engagement from the crowds. By the time of the Talent Show, they had raised over $350,000.

“We first started TAC with the goal of raising funds for local shelters housing queer youth,” Rachel Antonoff explains. “Since then, our vision has remained very much the same but we’ve been able to do it at a scale that I’m not sure we could have imagined when we started.”

“Every year we have one million ideas which we then try to shave down to a list that will fit into a 2-3 hour programme,” she continues, discussing the annual event, which packs in a festival-level amount of acts in just one evening through short set times and limited equipment changes. While it’s nearly impossible to pick a favourite moment, Antonoff herself admits she’s a “sucker for Claud and [her] dad playing together,” and we have to agree. Rick Antonoff’s rendition of “Soft Spot” was certainly a highlight.

There was also a real sense of magic in the final segment of the show, where Jack Antonoff and Bleachers performed with a slew of rotating artists walking on and off the stage. It was in this portion that Remi Wolf and Trey Anastasio covered Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good,” Rachel Zegler made it just in time for “Man of the House,” and Sabrina Carpenter sat on top of the piano for an intimate performance of “Please Please Please” — the first song, she shared with an air of nostalgia fitting for the holiday season, that she wrote with Antonoff. It was a peek into a studio session you’d never want to leave.

For more information on The Ally Coalition, click here.

Words by Sophie Wang