Courtesy BRIC
Taj Mahal to kick off Celebrate Brooklyn! in June with Corinne Bailey Rae
The 45th annual summer-long concert series kicks off June 7 and will include performances by Anderson .Paak, The Head and The Heart
Dust off the picnic blankets, because BRIC’s summertime concert series returns June 7.
The 45th annual Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series, held at Prospect Park’s Lena Horne Bandshell, is kicking off with with a performance by blues legend Taj Mahal, British soul songstress Corinne Bailey Rae and gospel trio the Harlem Gospel Travelers, the arts and media organization announced Wednesday.
The three-month festival runs until August 24, when it will conclude a concert from indie folk band the Head and the Heart. The full lineup will be announced in May.
Although most concerts are pay-what-you-will, some are ticketed benefit shows that help support BRIC’s “extensive free programming.” Paid performances this year will include NxWorries, the art-duo composed of Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge, on June 24, and rockers The Revivalists, appearing with Band of Horses, on August 10.
It’s the 45th year that the performing arts series has occurred, with BRIC calling it a “beloved tradition” featuring well-known artists from around the world. This year’s theme is “looking to the future, while honoring the past.”
“Many of the artists playing the Bandshell stage this summer, like Taj Mahal, have been a part of the festival in years past — and we’re beyond honored to welcome them back,” said Diane Eber, BRIC’s artistic director and executive producer, in a release.
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New this year is that the festival is being curated by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist L’Rain, a Crown Heights native who has “extensive experience participating in and uplifting Brooklyn’s experimental music communities.” Past curations of hers include a a music series at MoMA’s PS1 and the High Line.
Celebrate Brooklyn! attracts more than 250,000 attendees every year and is the “longest-running, free summer music festival in New York City,” which has become a staple of Brooklyn culture since its creation in 1979.
