ACs are turning on, coats are coming off, outdoor music venues are rapidly thawing, concentration is lagging, and now the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival lineup is here meaning, despite the summer solstice not being until June 21, it’s good as summer in the city in NYC.
Celebrate Brooklyn! is consistently my favorite piece of New York City summer programming. The lineup is reliably fantastic, spanning genres and generations to bring night after night of incredible performances to the Prospect Park Bandshell. The audiences are often as boss as the performers and find a way to perfectly match their personal aesthetics to the night’s show. People are respectful even at the more crowded performances, security consists largely of local volunteers, and besides the sometimes frustrating overabundance of other people’s children the vibes are chill and the air full of late spring or summer with a waft of weed and a pinch of overpriced food stand grub.
Even at the ticketed events you chose not to pay for, laying out a picnic blanket beyond the barrier and vibing along to the audio sans visual is a lovely way to spend an evening. The live scored-movies are great too, and the dance performances are accessible and enjoyable even if you really don’t care about dance. This year there’s as many indie acts as ever – Andrew Bird, The Shins, Tei Shi – plenty of soul – Lake Street Dive, Ben l’Oncle Soul – and an impressive amount of genre-fusing artists too – Brooklyn Raga Massive, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir. And now, the complete lineup:
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Wednesday, June 7, 8pm: Lake Street Dive
Saturday, June 10, 7pm: Alice Smith / Bilal / Kris Bowers
Thursday, June 15, 7pm: The Shins (benefit concert, sold out)
Saturday, June 17, 3pm: Lisa Loeb with The Knights
Thursday, June 22, 7pm: Yeasayer / Poliça / Cymbals Eat Guitars
Friday, June 23, 7:30pm: Pharaoh Sanders / Brooklyn Raga Massive: Coltrane Tribute
Saturday, June 24, 7pm: The Soul Rebels featuring Talib Kweli / Pharoahe Monch & Kirk Knight / Goapele / Natasha Diggs of #Soulinthehorn
Thursday, June 29, 7:30pm: Lila Downs / Orkesta Mendoza
Friday, June 30, 8pm: Garth Fagan Dance
Thursday, July 6, 8pm: Pilobolus
Friday, July 7, 7:30pm: Musiq Soulchild / People’s Champs
Saturday, July 8, 7pm: Chronixx / Chop & Quench / Laolu NYC
Thursday, July 13, 7:30pm: Robert Randolph & The Family Band / Eric Krasno
Friday, July 14, 7pm: Quantic / Tei Shi / Alex Anwandter
Saturday, July 15, 7:30pm: Ben L’Oncle Soul / Sweet Crude
Tuesday, July 18, 7pm: Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner & James Mcalister – Planetarium (benefit concert, $50)
Thursday, July 20, 7pm: Conor Oberst / Hop Along / Big Thief (benefit concert, $40.50 advance / $46 day of)
Friday, July 21, 7:30pm: Amadou & Mariam / Innov Gnawa / Ahmed Gallab DJ set
Saturday, July 22: 7pm: Mashrou’ Leila / Dawn of Midi / DJ Khatir
Wednesday, July 26, 7:30pm: Sylvan Esso / Middle Kids (benefit concert, $35 advance)
Thursday, July 27, 7:30pm: Maciste All’inferno with live score by Sexmob / Reverend Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir
Friday, July 28, 7:30pm: Andrew Bird / Esperanza Spalding
Saturday, July 29, 7pm: Admiral T / Tabou Combo / DJ Spike T.I.
Tuesday, August 1, 7pm: Fleet Foxes (benefit concert, sold out)
Wednesday, August 2, 7pm: Fleet Foxes (benefit concert, $50.50 advance / $55 day of)
Thursday, August 3, 7:30pm: Bela Fleck & The Flecktones / Nellie McKay
Friday, August 4, 7:30pm: Creed with live score by Worldess Music Orchestra / Franke Haye & The Brooklyn Interdenominational Choir
Saturday, August 5, 7:30pm: Lovers / Sam Amidon
Thursday, August 10, 7:30pm: Selma with live score by Jason Moran & Wordless Music Orchestra / Brooklyn United Marching Band
Friday, August 11, 7pm: Whitney / Weyes Blood / Moses Sumney
Saturday, August 12, 7:30pm: Youssou N’Dour / Yacouba Sissoko
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