BRIC’s Celebrate Brooklyn! is back with bigger shows and new leadership

By Jessica Lipsky

Eber

The line for the first show of Celebrate Brooklyn’s 2021 season—featuring R&B songstress Ari Lennox and rapper/poet KAMAUU—wrapped around several blocks, as hundreds of people anxiously waited for the return of Brooklyn’s beloved community concert series. When Lennox appeared, the crowd went absolutely wild with a level of hype that could only come from two years spent without live music. It didn’t hurt that she brought on a surprise guest: J. Cole.

That’s the vibe newly-minted executive producer Diane Eber hopes to extend into the 2022 series, which runs June 8 through August 6 at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park.

“I do this work [because of] that moment of transcendence when you look around and you see the audience and the artists connecting and taking each other to a new place,” says Eber, who is in her fourteenth year at BRIC and first as executive producer. “Especially in a time where we’ve all been on our computers and we’ve been isolated in so many ways. Here we’re building a safe, outdoor experience where you can still feel connected,”

The 44th installment of the series has a number of big gets this year, including Erykah Badu and Phoebe Bridgers. Where last year’s abbreviated season featured mostly tri-state area artists, Celebrate Brooklyn 2022 returns with artists from around the country, including singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, ethereal instrumental group Khruangbin, reggae vocalist Maxi Priest, psychedelic soul group Chicano Batman and Colombian singer Fonseca.

“Art is not always just about joy,” says Eber. “It’s about creating space for feelings that are hard to put words to,”

Celebrate Brooklyn! is also partnering with NPR’s Tiny Desk for an event that will feature Fantastic Negrito and this year’s recently announced Tiny Desk contest winner, Alisa Amador.

“[Tiny Desk] is one of the few partners I can think of where we would confidently say ‘yes, we will host whichever artist on our stage.’ We know it will embody our curatorial spirit and our voice, whether it’s a singer/songwriter or a humongous salsa band,” Eber says.

And for the first time in the festival’s history, Celebrate Brooklyn will host a Sunday performance—a Juneteenth UNITYFEST co-presented by Grammy-nominated blues artist Robert Randolph. UNITYFEST launched virtually in 2021, and BRIC is “working with him to curate and really celebrate Black culture and amplifying the narrative of the Black experience,” Eber says. “It felt important that rather than us coming up with a concept, you know, it truly came from Robert and so we’re supporting his vision.”

The festival is also operating at full capacity and without vaccination requirements (though Covid protocols are encouraged), even as Covid numbers are on the rise. While Celebrate Brooklyn! doesn’t have the same Covid-related production challenges as previous years, festival producers have had to make staffing contingency plans in case of positive tests and will also have a medical tent on site.

“This summer especially, we’re working hard to create a safe space. We’ve hired a community care manager to specifically focus on our guests,” Eber says. “Community health is not something that we can take for granted.”

Nor are Eber and BRIC taking their community of neighbors for granted. The 2022 season will feature a number of new partnerships, including those with Smorgasburg and BEM books and more, as well as returning collaborations with retailers Handmade Collective.