Monday, June 8, 8:00 P.M.
David Byrne
In this free concert, David Byrne will perform Music of David Byrne and Brian Eno, featuring material spanning his collaborations with Brian Eno: three Talking Heads albums, 1981’s groundbreaking My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and last year’s Everything that Happens will Happen Today. An ensemble cast including dancers, background vocalists, and a singular band will amplify the spectacle.
The concert was preceded by Celebrate Brooklyn’s first Green Gala, which includes cocktails, dinner and reserved seats for Byrne’s performance.
Thursday, June 11, 7:30 P.M.
Goran Bregovic & His Weddings & Funerals Orchestra
Sarajevo-born Goran Bregovic is a seminal figure in the Yugoslav rock world, a film composer who has been likened to Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota, and a collaborator of artists as varied as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora. Kicking off his first North American tour at Celebrate Brooklyn with his enormous band—featuring brass, a classical string ensemble, an all-male choir and traditional Bulgarian and Roma singers—he marries the dance music of a raucous gypsy wedding with Eastern European choral arrangements in what Spain’s La Vanguardia has called, “a mind-blowing return trip with no destination or port of arrival…a magnificent concert, one of the greatest marvels to be heard on stage today."
Goran Bregovic was presented with generous support from The Trust for Mutual Understanding
Friday, June 19, 7:30 P.M.
David Rudder
Samantha Thornhill
David Rudder
Samantha Thornhill
Calypsonian David Rudder is a performer of such innovation and vitality that Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner has called him “the Bob Marley of soca.” His music is a throbbing, innovative mix of classic calypso and soulful pop. He was preceded by Trinidadian-born, Brooklynite slam poet Samantha Thornhill.
Saturday, June 20, 7:30 P.M.
La Nave de los Monstruos, with live score by Ethel and Gutbucket
Co-presented with Cinema Tropical.
La Nave de los Monstruos was originally part of the film series “El Futuro Más Acá: The Future South of the Border” curated by Itala Schmelz, Héctor Orozco and Vania Rojas.
A special thanks to the Mexican Cultural Institute and Filmoteca de la UNAM for their generous support of this presentation.
La Nave de los Monstruos
Ethel
Gutbucket
Music & Movies on NYC’s largest outdoor screen!
Mexico Tourism Series
In a special Celebrate Brooklyn! commission, the nation’s premier rock-infused, postclassical string quartet, the immensely acclaimed Ethel, teams up with the wild art-rock group Gutbucket to perform a new original score to the vintage Mexican science fiction classic La Nave De Los Monstruos (The Monsters’ Ship, 1959). In the film, the last male on Venus has died, and two Venusian hotties embark on a quest to find men on other planets. The bands premiere the new work this evening after developing the project at a BRIClab residency this spring. Gutbucket will also perform an opening set.
Ethel pre-concert Friends of Celebrate Brooklyn reception is presented with support from Aguayo Huebener 5th Avenue
This commission and presentation is made possible with major support from The Starry Night Fund at The Tides Foundation.
Thursday, June 25, 7:00 P.M.
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force / Melvin Gibbs’ Elevated Entity
Femi Kuti
Melvin Gibbs
The Afrobeat pioneer Femi Kuti, backed by his band The Positive Force, will return to Celebrate Brooklyn to turn the Bandshell into a giant Nigerian dance party. The New York Times has championed as the group’s music as “thick, musky Afro-funk—a polyrhythmic elaboration on James Brown’s late-1960s sound—with lyrics that focus on government oppression and the problems of modern Africans.” The evening will begin with a performance by Brooklyn-born Melvin Gibbs, whom Time Out NY has deemed “the best bassist in the world.” Gibbs will showcase his Elevated Entity project, which is something of a downtown NYC supergroup and continues Gibbs’ exploration of African diaspora music with a fusion of Afro-Brazilian rhythms, funk and rap.
Friday, June 26, 7:30 P.M.
Blonde Redhead / Olof Arnalds
Blonde Redhead
Olof Arnalds
The vaunted NYC underground sensualists Blonde Redhead have shape-shifted from dissonant noise explorations to ethereal, dreamy pop over the course of their career, always inspiring intense devotion from their fans. PopMatters says of them, “It is as if they are pressing on piano keys and each key is a trigger that tugs a wire within the listener. There are keys for longing, possession, despair, and ecstasy—and Blonde Redhead travel fast and skillfully over the whole keyboard.”
The heavenly voice of Icelandic folk chanteuse Ólöf Arnalds has shared the stage with the likes of Björk, Sigur Rós, Jonathan Richman and The Dirty Projectors across the globe. Like each of these avant garde artists, Ólöf asks for the definition of singer/songwriter to be redefined. Stereogum.com says, "She makes a lot happen with very few ingredients: The Icelandic singer/songwriter uses her pristine voice and an instrument or two to conjure a strange, mysterious world." Ólöf is currently mixing her second album which, like her debut Við og Við has been produced by Kjartan Sveinsson.
Saturday, June 27, 7:00 P.M.
Celebrate Brooklyn and LimeWire Present
Dr. Dog / Phosphorescent / These United States
Dr Dog
Phosphorescent
Esquire has called Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog as “your favorite band’s favorite band,” and Philadelphia Weekly has described the band’s music as a blend of “a little folk, blues, indie rock, soul, bluegrass—and a whole lot of down-home harmonizing. They channel ” (The Band one moment, the Beach Boys another, and Pavement the next. In the music played by Brooklyn’s Matthew Houck, a.k.a. Phosphorescent, “you can hear Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Will Oldham—but the modern day folkie has a sound all his own.” (Gothamist) These United States’ “distinct electro-folk sound” (NPR) rounds out the bill.
Thursday, July 2, 7:00 P.M.
Obie Bermudez / Cucu Diamantes / Rebel Diaz
Obie Bermúdez
Cucu Diamantes
Bud Light Latin Music Series
The Latin Grammy-winning Puerto Rican pop star Obie Bermúdez, whom The Houston Chronicle calls “a talent on par with Juanes or Alejandro Sanz,” headlines this triple bill, joined by Yerba Buena singer Cucu Diamantes, whose music is a unique mix of “salsa, funk, cumbia, hip-hop, pop-punk, mariachi, tango, disco and flamenco…just for starters” (the New York Times). Opening the show will be the activist hip-hop outfit Rebel Diaz, whose frontwoman is the mesmerizing rhymer Lah Tere.
Thursday, July 9, 8:00 P.M.
STREB: Invisible Forces
Streb
Dance
STREB, the seminal, Williamsburg-based acrobatic company, celebrates 30 years with Invisible Forces, which combines the thrills of the circus and the velocity of the Indy 500 in one Action event. The show features STREB’s new Action Platform, a 20-foot, rotating floor; the España Whizzing Gizmo; and the two-dimensional vertical pipe grid, Airlines. The result is a singular spectacle in which beautiful bodies engage with sexy hardware, exemplifying what The Village Voice recently said of the company: “Streb’s unique movement art—kin to sport, circus, physics experiment, and hard labor—has reached a peak of theatricality and dare-all virtuosity.”
Dance programming is supported by Capezio/Ballet Makers Dance Foundation and The Harkness Foundation for Dance
Friday, July 10, 7:30 P.M.
Celebrate Brooklyn and LAMC present
Los Amigos Invisibles / Aterciopelados
Los Amigos
Bud Light Latin Music Series
A featured performance as part of the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC), this double bill brings together two great South American acts. The Venezuelan party band Los Amigos Invisibles is a lusty outfit that combines a “love of disco and funk with their reverence for old-fashioned Latin dances like the mambo and bossa-nova” (New York Post). The Columbian national heroes Aterciopelados are proficient in everything from punk to electro-lounge and jangly Latin folk rock, and have what Time Magazine calls an uncanny ability “to take north-of-the-border musical styles...and breathe new life into them."
Los Amigos Invisibles and Aterciopelados are presented in association with the Latin Alternative Music Conference
Saturday, July 11, 4:00 P.M.
A Very Special Show with They Might Be Giants
Featuring Readings of Keats Stories by Claudia Marshall of WFUV
They Might Be Giants
Brooklyn’s legendary alternative rockers They Might Be Giants are, of course, also now recognized among the foremost creators of cool kids’ albums. Billboard calls them “the ultimate fan- and now family-friendly rock act.” TMBG’s most recent disc, Here Come the 123s, won them the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Children's Album. They return to the Bandshell to headline this year’s annual Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert, which will also feature readings of Keats’ classic stories by WFUV’s Claudia Marshall. The event will also include a special appearance by Livable Streets Education’s big purple friend, ZoZo.
Family programming is supported by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, Astoria Federal Savings, and Livable Streets
Thursday, July 16, 7:30 P.M.
Kronos Quartet
Opening Act: Luminescent Orchestrii
Kronos Quartet
Mexico Tourism Series
For more than 35 years, Kronos Quartet has, time and again, redefined “string quartet,” assembling in the process “a body of work unparalleled in its range and scope of expression” (NPR). Their repertoire runs the gamut from Bartók to Charles Mingus to Jimi Hendrix, and their collaborators have been as diverse as Philip Glass, Asha Bhosle, and Nine Inch Nails. They share the Bandshell stage this evening with the frenzied and slightly diabolical Luminescent Orchestrii, a Gypsy punk string ensemble that “plays renditions of Appalachian and Gypsy tunes that run from lively and infectious to deeply melancholy” (Time Out NY).
Friday, July 17, 7:30 P.M.
The Robert Cray Band / The Sweet Divines
Robert Cray
Sweet Divines
American Express Roots Music Series
According to Rolling Stone, the five-time Grammy-winning Stratocaster legend Robert Cray makes “soul-infused blues [that] has become the bridge between traditional and contemporary.” He remains a strong persuader, as potent as ever after three decades of recording and touring. Opening for him will be The Sweet Divines, four young ladies with a fierce band behind them. The group pays homage to the traveling soul revues of the `60s with an authentic sound that evokes Stax, Aretha, James Brown and funky New Orleans. The BBC has exclaimed, "Sign them up, and let them bring the funk to the masses!"
Robert Cray is presented with support from Betancourt & Associates Realty
Saturday, July 18, 2:00 P.M.—9:00 P.M.
African Festival with King Sunny Ade / Freshly Ground / The Mandingo Ambassadors / Cheikh M’Baye & Sing Sing / Abena Koomson / Yasser Darwish
King Sunny Ade
American Express Roots Music Series
Celebrate Brooklyn!’s annual all-day festival of music, food and crafts features a lineup of music selected to keep dancers moving into the night. This year’s headliner is the great King Sunny Adé of Nigeria. The bill also includes a rare U.S. appearance by South Africa’s Freshly Ground; The Mandingo Ambassadors, from NYC by way of Guinea, whose music “has been structured to make you feel good” (the New York Times); the wild Senegalese drum troupe Cheikh M’Baye & Sing Sing; the powerful Brooklyn-born, Ghanaian vocalist Abena Koomson; and whirling traditional Egyptian dancer, Yasser Darwish.
The African Festival is presented with major support by The South African Consulate General, and the Consul Generals of Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana. Additional support provided by the Museum for African Art
Thursday, July 23, 8:00 P.M.
Stephen Petronio Company
Stephen Petronio
Dance
The New York Times has lauded Stephen Petronio as “one of the few contemporary dancer makers who have created an instantly recognizable style.” He celebrates his company’s 25th Anniversary Season with the dynamic and elemental I Drink the Air Before Me, an evening-length work inspired by the power of extreme weather and storms, both atmospheric and internal. Petronio’s predilection for forward thinking popular music—his dancers have moved to Rufus Wainwright and Antony—is satisfied here by a score from the beloved young composer Nico Muhly.
Dance programming is supported by Capezio/Ballet Makers Dance Foundation and The Harkness Foundation for Dance
Friday, July 24, 7:30 P.M.
Buckwheat Zydeco / The Holmes Brothers
Buckwheat Zydeco
Holmes Brothers
American Express Roots Music Series
The swamp boogie accordion master Buckwheat Zydeco and his band “spit out the kind of crackling music that's been missing since the heyday of Stax Records,” says The Wall Street Journal, which adds that, “on stage [Zydeco’s] attack is relentless.” Zydeco shares the bill with the Holmes Brothers, whose harmony-filled blend of American roots music jumps from church to the juke joint and “recalls the era when soul seceded from gospel music” (Mother Jones).
Buckwheat Zydeco pre-concert reception is presented with support from Warren Lewis Realty
Saturday, July 25, 7:30 P.M.
Kailash Kher / Electro Morocco
Kailesh Kher
Electro Morocco
The South Asian superstar, Bollywood icon, and judge of Indian Idol Kailash Kher moves “among styles without hesitation, adding elements of folk, reggae and rock to Indian pop,” according to The Wall Street Journal, which adds that he “has a voice as appealing as it is thrilling.” Kher is joined on this bill by Electro Morocco, which is comprised of five NYC-based Israelis and combines buzzing guitars with synths and beats to concoct a dance floor-friendly mix of retro rock, Middle Eastern folk and warped electro.
Electro Morocco is presented with support from the Office of Cultural Affairs Consulate General of Israel in New York
Thursday, July 30, 7:30 P.M.
Burning Spear / Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
Burning Spear
Naomi Shelton
Roots reggae legend Burning Spear will return to Celebrate Brooklyn! for another epic performance. Last year’s vital Jah Is Real featured contributions from Bootsy Collins and Bernie Worrel and found Spear at the top of his game. PopMatters said, “Four decades and still dropping knowledge: no other artist, with the possible exception of Toots Hibbert, can lay claim to being reggae’s true elder statesman.” The evening will begin with the harmonies and church-inflected soul of Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens.
Friday, July 31, 7:00 P.M.
The Royal Family: Soulive’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, with Special Guests John Scofield and Christian Scott / Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk
Royal Family
John Scofield
The exceptional jazz-funk trio Soulive celebrates ten years of “simmering instrumental funk” (Entertainment Weekly) by bringing out The Royal Family, a conglomeration of various side projects and special guests that will come together for the ultimate outdoor summer NYC jam. The proceedings will begin with a performance by Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, which Offbeat describes as “musically hard-nosed and rooted in 1970s inner city funk.”
Saturday, August 1, 7:30 P.M.
Dean & Britta: 13 Most Beautiful…Songs for Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests / Crystal Stilts
Dean and Britta
Crystal Stilts
Music & Movies
On NYC’s largest outdoor screen!
Mexico Tourism Series
Dean & Britta, who are beloved as one of the sexiest duo’s in rock, in addition to being alumni of the groundbreaking alt-rock band Luna, perform original scores to Warhol's rarely seen short silent film portraits, which captured Factory superstars, celebrities, and anonymous teenagers in mesmerizing four-minute shots. The New York Times says, “The music unabashedly translates the ominous drone of early Velvet Underground songs like I’m Waiting for the Man and Venus in Furs into a more modern electronic mode reminiscent of Giorgio Moroder’s chic torture-chamber disco.” Commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum, the project is like an archeological dig unearthing NYC’s 1960s art scene, complete with an unforgettable soundtrack. Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts, whom Pitchfork describes as “moody-sounding f*ckers who make fabulous stripped-down garage-pop,” will set the tone for the night.
Thursday, August 6, 7:30 P.M.
Purple Rain Sing-A-Long with Escort
Purple Rain
Escort
Music & Movies
On NYC’s largest outdoor screen!
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of history’s greatest pop albums, and the extravagantly, hilariously whacky and over the top film it inspired (the apotheosis of both the purple one’s genius and self caricature), we invite you to don something lacey and ruffled and come get your Prince on. We'll have lyric subtitles, but you know the words already. Joy Dragland of Brooklyn's live disco orchestra Escort certainly does; Purple Rain was the first cassette she ever owned. Dragland and others from Escort will lead the sing-along, after the band puts everyone in the mood with an opening set. (Note: The film is Rated R and admission of anyone under 17 will require an accompanying parent or guardian. The whole evening will feature scenes of extreme sexiness throughout.)
Friday, August 7, 7:00 P.M.
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals / Deer Tick / Jones Street Station
Grace Potter
Deer Tick
Fronted by the Joplin-like vocals and the Hammond B-3 playing of the group’s fearless frontwoman, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals play “blues-based rock with glorious passion.” The music of Deer Tick is hard to categorize—folk? indie rock? alt-country? Americana?—but easy to love. They “write and play some of the most soulful, inspired music around, littered with lyrics as sharp as a shot of whiskey and rapid-fire guitar solos strong enough to blow the dust off your boots.” (Brooklyn Vegan)
Saturday, August 8, 7:00 P.M.
The Lyricist Lounge returns to Celebrate
Big Daddy Kane
Plus a Screening of BDK: The Big Daddy Kane Story
Big Daddy Kane
Celebrate Brooklyn! with a momentous night of hip-hop featuring Brooklyn legend Big Daddy Kane, who will perform with his live band. The show will be preceded by a screening of the short documentary BDK: The Big Daddy Kane Story, directed by Lyricist Lounge’s own Anthony Marshall.