Saturday, June 14, 2008
Isaac Hayes
From the 60s soul and R&B of his Stax-Volt days to the 70s funk of Shaft to laying down the genetic blueprints for of both disco and rap, few artists approach Isaac Hayes’ overall influence on the evolution of American popular music. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 2002, the singer, musician, composer, and producer “has generated five decades of grooves.” - Rolling Stone Live in concert, prowling the stage in his signature wraparound shades, he remains as potent a force as ever.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sibongile Khumalo
Bakithi Kumalo & Friends
WaMu® Concert Series
A fall sustained by Miriam Makeba late last week has forced the cancellation of her U.S. dates. Although it makes her deeply sorry to disappoint her loyal fans, Ms. Makeba’s doctors are not allowing her to travel. Makeba’s fellow South African and renowned vocalist Sibongile Khumalo has agreed to step in and will travel to the U.S. specifically to perform at Celebrate Brooklyn! As originally planned, Brooklyn resident and highly regarded South African bassist Bakithi Kumalo & Friends will open the show.
Sibongile Khumalo is one of Africa's biggest stars, an extraordinary performer as at home with traditional South African, jazz, and other popular styles as she is with oratorio and opera. She will perform at Celebrate Brooklyn! with a trio that will highlight her pop side. Among Khumalo’s many accolades are the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music, four South African Music Awards for her light music and jazz recordings, and three FNB Vita awards for her opera and concert work.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Medeski Martin & Wood
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Taylor Mcferrin & the Cell Theory
Celebrate Brooklyn & JVC Jazz Festival present
A night of pyrotechnic grooves featuring MMW’s “freaky funk, free interludes, amazing group chemistry and chops that slacken the jaw,” (Mojo) the free / punk / funk / experimental / psychedelic of “idiosyncratic and mesmerizing" (Village Voice) guitar titan MARC RIBOT’s new three-piece Ceramic Dog, and the neo hip-hop of musician, producer, beatboxer and Brooklynite TAYLOR McFERRIN and his band The Cell Theory.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Salif Keita
Haale
Verizon Concert Series
Known as the “Golden Voice of Africa”, KEITA blends the traditional griot music of his own Mali with sounds from Guinea, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal, along with influences from Cuba, Spain, and Portugal. “Keita’s voice leaps out of every song with tender urgency.” (NY Times) Persian rock goddess HAALE’s enchanting vocals soar over her band’s amplified rumble, which serves “as a reminder of the extent to which rock bands like the Doors and the Velvet Underground turned to the East for their hypnotic efforts.” (NY Times)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Dixie Hummingbirds
American Express Roots Music Series
The CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS are revisiting the ecstatic black string band music of the ‘20s and ‘30s “with a joyful vengeance” (Rolling Stone). Legendary jubilee gospel quartet THE DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS’ roots go back to the same era, and “they continue to press the envelope with their greatness, linking us to a rich musical heritage that keeps us in-tune and in harmony with the universe and each other.” (Stevie Wonder)
Ira Tucker, who had been singing with the Dixie Hummingbirds since 1938, passed away the evening of June 24. He was born in 1925 and performed with the group until the end of his remarkable life. The Dixie Hummingbirds will still perform as scheduled on Thursday, June 26th. There will be a moment of silence for their beloved band member.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Cold War Kids
Elvis Perkins in Dearland
Sam Champion
WaMu® Concert Series
Unleashing “cave-stomp drums, barroom piano and chiming post-punk guitars,” (Rolling Stone) COLD WAR KIDS eschew preciousness for grit. Live, they’re all smoldering energy and raw power. Joining them are local favorites ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND with their dream-like folk rock “drenched in equal parts sunshine and cloudy grey skies,” (Drowned in Sound) and the tuneful but hard hitting SAM CHAMPION, “an absolute force of nature.” (Stereogum)
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Crooklyn Dodgers Reunion with O.C.
Jeru the Damaja
Chubb Rock
EMC featuring MASTA ACE
DJ Premier
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
hosted by Buckshit of Black Moon and Special Ed
Bud Light Music Series
Celebrate Brooklyn & Lyricist Lounge present
Brooklyn hip-hop history will be made as the open mic pioneers of Lyricist Lounge return the pioneering open mic night Lyricist Lounge returns to the Bandshell to assemble for the first time the MCs and DJs responsible for the classic ‘90s singles Crooklyn Dodgers and Return of the Crooklyn Dodgers, soundtracks to the Spike Lee films Crooklyn and Clockers.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Michael Stuart
William Cepeda's Grupo Essencia
Zemog El Gallo Bueno
Bud Light Latin Music Series
With hints of reggaetón and other urban strains flavoring his classic New York sound, the dashing salsero MICHAEL STUART’s style “isn't your abuelita's salsa,” (All Music) but it will get you up and dancing. WILLIAM CEPEDA adds a dose of traditional Puerto Rican roots to the mix with special guest Angel Luis Torrullas, the "King of the Plena", while ZEMOG turns tradition on its ear with a sound “more all-encompassing than Manu Chao … not to mention heavier, artsier, and maybe wackier—yet no less catchy.” (Village Voice)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Freddie McGregor
Soul Steps
WaMu® Concert Series
Reggae icon FREDDIE McGREGOR has “the ability to shift smoothly between serious-themed roots and more commercial lover's rock without losing his Rasta credibility.” (Washington Post) After 40+ years performing he remains one of Jamaica’s most soulful singers. The high energy NYC-based SOUL STEPS aim to do for step dancing what Savion Glover has done for tap: revitalize the authentic style for a new generation.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Brazilian Girls
Chicha Libre
Ticklah
Bud Light Latin Music Series
Celebrate Brooklyn & LAMC presents
Not actually Brazilian—but very possibly the sexiest band alive—BRAZILIAN GIRLS shimmy into town on a “dizzy mix of bossa nova, jazz, rock, and electro beats” (Entertainment Weekly) to fête the Latin Alternative Music Conference.
Local peruvian surf rock band CHICHA LIBRE will keep the party going and Brooklyn's own own TICKLAH, who “channels his energy into deep dub territory” with “thick reggae beats and rhythms enhanced with electronic elements. (Glide Magazine). DJ PAPICHULO Spins between sets.Fresa Salvaje after-party at Studio B.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Beth Orton
Matt Munisteri
Verizon Concert Series
Maverick UK singer-songwriter BETH ORTON practically invented a genre on her groundbreaking 1996 debut Trailer Park, blending folk with trip hop. More than a decade on she’s “a performer with a dramatically renewed sense of vigor and purpose,” (London Times) as unclassifiable as ever and still wielding a voice as evocative as any in pop music. Brooklyn native MATT MUNISTERI and his cohorts romp through tunes “neither jazz, nor rock, nor cabaret, but at the same time all of them. Bands like this are why you move to New York.” (Village Voice)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Jerry Douglas
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson
American Express Roots Music Series
“Dobro's matchless contemporary master,” (NY Times) JERRY DOUGLAS has had an unparalleled impact on bluegrass and its related genres—to the tune of 12 Grammy Awards.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Deerhoof
Metropolis Ensemble: The Rite: Remixed
Verizon Concert Series
Celebrate Brooklyn & Wordless Music present
Celebrate Brooklyn & Wordless Music present DEERHOOF / METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE: THE RITE: REMIXED The mercurial experimentalists DEERHOOF, “the most creative band in indie rock today,” (LA Weekly) forge a distinctive sound out of sophisticated improvisation, fierce dissonance, and weirdly catchy melodies. They’re paired here, via the forward thinking Wordless Music Series, with a world premiere by METROPOLIS ENSEMBLE, led by Artistic Director/Conductor Andrew Cyr. The Rite: Remixed is a collaboration with composers and live electronics producer/performers Ryan Francis, Leo Leite, and Ricardo Romaneiro, who re-conceptualize Stravinsky’s monumental The Rite of Spring through the lens of the latest sounds and technology from electronica. The work combines keyboards and laptops with huge percussion and brass ensembles to create a futuristic, rhythm-inspired sonic tableau.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Enter the Dragon with Karsh Kale / Soh Daiko
Music & Movies
Insane crime lord holds deadly karate tournament at island fortress—DJ emerges victorious! South Asian electronic musician, tabla master and Bruce Lee fanatic KARSH KALE, a “visionary composer and producer,” (Billboard) performs his incendiary new live score to ENTER THE DRAGON (1973), a special Celebrate Brooklyn commission. Warm up for the onscreen mayhem with the thunderous roar of SOH DAIKO’s traditional Japanese taiko drumming.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Golem
Sway Machinery
Michael Showalter
Deleon
Soulico
& Special Guests
Celebrate Brooklyn & JDub Records present
JDub, the innovative not-for-profit Jewish music label, celebrates its 5th anniversary with a global lineup of artists bridging the divide between the old world and the new, featuring Gypsy folk rock from GOLEM, hip-hop and reggae from Tel Aviv's SOULICO, the Ladino-infused Sephardic tunes of DELEON, and the ritualistic Afro-pop/Cantorial blues of SWAY MACHINERY (with members of Balkan Beat Box, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, & Antibalas.) Special guests including Jon Langford, Hungry March Band and Ladybug Mecca will join each band for a truly unique JDub festival. Hosted by Michael Showalter. Co-sponsored by Sabra Go Mediterranean, Natan, UJA-Federation of NY, and Masa.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Brave New World Repertory Theater: Fahrenheit 451
Theater
For its third Celebrate Brooklyn outing the daring and ambitious Brooklyn theater company BRAVE NEW WORLD takes on Ray Bradbury’s 1953 science fiction masterpiece (in which all critical thought is suppressed—it’s as topical as ever), which Bradbury himself adapted for the stage in the 1970s. A dynamic video design will transform the Bandshell as the strong performances and imaginative staging, which have made BNW a local favorite, bring the action to vivid life.
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Philip Glass Ensemble: Powaqqatsi: Life in Transformation with The Brooklyn Youth Chouus
Marta Topferova
Music & Movies
World-renowned composer PHILIP GLASS and his ensemble perform Glass' masterful score to avant garde filmmaker Godfrey Reggio's visually stunning chronicle of cultures around the world POWAQQATSI (1988), "a stunning tour-de-force" (Variety) joined in this rare event by the BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS. The cross-cultural MARTA TOPFEROVA is a Brooklyn based singer/songwriter whose sound weaves together influences from South American folk music and her native Czech background.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Ghostland Observatory
The Jealous Girlfriends
Bear Hands
Verizon Concert Series
With axe-wielding front man Aaron Behrens simultaneously channeling Freddie Mercury, Bowie, and Gary Glitter against a backdrop of diabolical beats and a laser show that will melt your brain, GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY’s “undeniably unique brand of electro-rock is as catchy as hepatitis at a Caribbean resort.” (PopMatters) With the “soft and erotic clouds of guitar and keyboards that can turn grungy and turbulent” (NY Times) of Brooklyn’s JEALOUS GIRLFRIENDS and BEAR HANDS, a band “destined to pick up the much desired musical inheritance left by Steven Malkmus.” (The Deli)
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Mark Morris Dance Group
Dance
Based in Fort Greene, world-renowned director and choreographer Mark Morris has challenged convention in the dance world for almost three decades, "blending originality and insight and extending the horizons of dance with unflagging inspiration." (LA Times) We are proud to welcome the MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP back to perform New Love Song Waltzes (1982), Love Song Waltzes (1989), and the New York premiere of a brand new work to Samuel Barber's Excursions for Piano. All three pieces will also feature live music performed by the MMDG Music Ensemble.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Carl Davis: The Charlie Chaplin Mutuals with The Knights
Christina Courtin
Music & Movies
Three of Chaplin’s greatest shorts—The Rink (1916), The Immigrant (1916), and The Adventurer (1917)—will come alive as never before with new scores by the highly sought after UK based composer CARL DAVIS (London Philharmonic Orchestra), performed live by the dashing 16-piece pickup NY chamber orchestra THE KNIGHTS. Brooklyn born Davis returns home to conduct. With the charming local violinist and singer CHRISTINA COURTIN, whose fearless delivery recalls “performers as diverse as Janis Joplin and Antony.” (Time Out)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Father Goose
The Sippy Cups
Sonia Manzano
James McDaniel
Joan Osborne
Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert
Join us to celebrate the classic and progressive work of children’s book author Ezra Jack Keats as Dan Zanes cohort FATHER GOOSE throws a block party stretching from Jamaica to Brooklyn, abetted by the delightfully over-stimulating psychedelic California kids rockers THE SIPPY CUPS, “quite possibly the illegitimate offspring of The Cat in the Hat and Joey Ramone.” (SF Chronicle) Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter JOAN OSBORNE and Emmy Award-wining actor JAMES McDANIEL read classic Keats stories between sets. Come early and stay late or just drop in—over two hours of music and fun.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
African Guitar Festival with Oliver Mtukudzi & Black Spirits, Habib Koité & Bamada
Daby Touré
Yossi Fine & Afrikan Bass
Extra Golden
American Express Roots Music Series
Our annual all-day festival of food, clothing crafts, and music from across the continent features a stellar lineup, led by Zimbabwe’s deeply soulful national treasure OLIVER MTUKUDZI and heirs to the Malian music throne HABIB KOITÉ & BAMADA and DABY TOURÉ. YOSSI FINE’s funk-infused pan African approach and EXTRA GOLDEN, who combine traditional Kenyan Benga with indie rock, complete our most eclectic African festival ever.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Ailey II
Dance
Celebrate Ailey’s 50th anniversary with the extraordinary artists of Ailey II, universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Dancers and dance enthusiasts of all ages and abilities are invited to join in two free, interactive dance classes prior to the performance 5:30 & 6:30 at the Prospect Park Picnic House. Lead Sponsor of Ailey's Free Summer Performances
Friday, August 8, 2008
Lila Downs
The Villa – Lobos Brothers
Grupo Norteño
Bud Light Latin Music Series
Mexican songbird LILA DOWNS’ intense folkloric style juxtaposes the emotion of fado and mariachi with norteño and tejano influences. “Fascinating...both current and timeless in the same moment.” (CMJ) The classically trained but fiesta minded VILLA-LOBOS BROTHERS and their signature fast-chatting violin style mix it up with the bajo sexto of locals GRUPO NORTEÑO for an all south of the border triple bill.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Hal Willner's Bill Withers Project
WaMu® Concert Series
Celebrate Brooklyn & Brighton Festival present
Visionary music producer HAL WILLNER returns to the Bandshell with a multi-artist celebration of acoustic R&B pioneer BILL WITHERS, whose Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone, Lovely Day, and Lean On Me only hint at a body of work that ranks him among our greatest songwriters. ANGELIQUE KIDJO, NONA HENDRYX, THE SWELL SEASON, COREY GLOVER, JAMES “BLOOD” ULMER, SANDRA ST. VICTOR, THE PERSUASIONS, ERIC MINGUS and many more! plus an all-star band featuring Lenny Pickett, Steven Bernstein, and Cornell Dupree will be among the ensemble cast—check our website for the latest updates but expect surprises and late additions. “No one puts on a better tribute concert than Hal Willner ... a sympathetic and generous listener with an almost preternatural ability to match performer to song, and a Rolodex to back it up.” (Variety)