Madonna Drops By Stonewall For Surprise New Year's Eve Performance

Madonna thrilled some New Year’s Eve revelers when she dropped by New York’s Stonewall Inn for an impromptu performance. 

The Queen of Pop took the stage of the historic Manhattan nightspot Tuesday morning shortly after midnight, performing acoustic versions of “Like a Prayer” and Elvis Presley’s 1961 hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” She was accompanied only by her 13-year-old son, David Banda, on guitar. 

Snippets of the mini-concert were captured for posterity on social media. 

As spur-of-the-moment as the appearance seemed, rumors about what Madonna might do to mark the upcoming 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising considered the symbolic start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement had swirled for some time. 

Last month, Pride Live announced that the Material Girl had been named a “Stonewall Ambassador” ahead of the anniversary celebrations, which are slated to commence in June along with NYC Pride.  

Fittingly, Madonna referenced  the Stonewall uprising numerous times in an impassioned speech prior to her performance Tuesday. 

The seven-time Grammy winner praised the LGBTQ community’s efforts against “hatred, discrimination and, most of all, indifference,” adding, “If we truly took the time to get to know one another we would find that we all bleed the same color and we all need to love and be loved.” 

“Let’s take a minute to reflect on how we can bring more love and peace into 2019, let’s look at how we can bring random acts of kindness,” she said . “Maybe we can find an opening to bring the light in. Are you ready to do that?”

2019 is shaping up to be another banner year for Madonna, who recently relocated to Portugal and has been uncharacteristically quiet as of late. She’s reportedly been working on a new album with producer and songwriter Mirwais, with whom she collaborated on her 2000 smash, “Music .”