Celebrate Brooklyn! 2023! and its history.
Celebrate Brooklyn! 2023 opening night is fast approaching on June 7! Possibly Brooklyn’s and NYC’s most cherished festival, it is one of the longest running, outdoor music festivals in NYC. Featuring performance art, music, dance, film, and spoken word, it is a truly happening music festival on NYC’s summer roster. It addresses multiple genres, from classical, rock, jazz, latin, creole, folk, rap, gospel, and the undefinable. Celebrate Brooklyn! simply has it all. It provides an invaluable service to Brooklynites and all NYC citizens by being sponsored mostly by suggested donation. Celebrate Brooklyn! guarantees access to quality entertainment to all New Yorkers, whatever their financial means.
Parks and green spaces are indispensable in densely populated cities.
Even city planners in ancient times understood this. Indeed, Babylon was famous for its hanging gardens. There was no concept of mental health in ancient times. But people in earlier history understood the importance of greenery in cities. Natural elements are especially crucial to the well-being and health of people living in cities. The way a city or a park looks speaks volumes of whether it is thriving or declining. Prospect Park was withering in the 1970s, and some people realized something needed to be done.
The lush, green Prospect Park we know today has seen rougher days.
All of NYC was facing a fiscal crisis in the 1970s. Prospect Park was showing signs of extreme neglect and decrepitude at the time. Parts of the park were littered, sparse and bare. Needless to say, it was a place you wouldn’t want to stay in too long after sundown. Many seedy characters roamed through it. It was the Wild West in the middle of Brooklyn. Thus the Prospect Park Alliance and Celebrate Brooklyn! were born to provide a much needed overhaul.
Some tenacious individuals came together to provide needed stewardship for Prospect Park.
The Prospect Park Alliance was formed in 1979 to address the declining state of the park. They worked together with the city government to beautify Prospect Park again. The visitor rate had precipitously dropped by the 1970s. At that point visits to Prospect Park had declined to less than two million annually. The Prospect Park Alliance and the city were doing good work, but Prospect Park still had a problem. It was a place visitors approached with trepidation and many wouldn’t even visit it at all. Prospect Park needed a new reputation, and this is where Celebrate Brooklyn! came to the rescue.
Celebrate Brooklyn! was initiated in an effort to revamp Prospect Park.
As previously stated, Prospect Park had exceedingly low visitor numbers in the 1970s, just under two million. Nowadays visits to Prospect Park are up over eight million annually. Celebrate Brooklyn! was initiated in an effort to catalyze a Brooklyn art scene and Prospect Park’s rebirth. It gave people a reason to come to Prospect Park. It was founded by the then “Fund for the Borough of Brooklyn”, which is now BRIC, or Brooklyn Information and Culture. BRIC is a non-profit arts organization. It sponsors Celebrate Brooklyn! and provides public access television and a performance space in downtown Brooklyn.
Celebrate Brooklyn! presents the best of the best in world-class entertainment.
Over 2000 artists and ensembles from NYC and around the world have played here. It hosts a wide, diverse array of musical and artistic disciplines. The shows are mostly musical, but there are also other types of performances. Celebrate Brooklyn! has had gravity-defying acrobatic shows. The Alvin Ailey Dance Company has done numerous shows there. There is always one movie screening with a live orchestra as accompaniment.
Each year Celebrate Brooklyn! attracts roughly 250,000 attendees.
There are multiple seating options. There are sections of seating available at the stage area, but there is also a large, unassigned grassy area. Trees fill the canopy of the darkening twilight sky, with stringed lights connecting from them to the stage. You can bring a tote with a blanket and a bottle of wine, or load up a cart with everything you need.
Over 2000 artists and groups have performed at Celebrate Brooklyn!
The likes of Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar, Laila Downs, the Kronos Quartet, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Chaka Khan, Talib Kweli, JG Thirwell, They Might Be Giants, and many more have graced the stage at Lena Horne Bandshell for Celebrate Brooklyn! In all there will be 25 shows for nearly two months. This is only a small portion of all of the amazing shows scheduled. Let’s take a look at some of the anticipated acts for the Celebrate Brooklyn! 2023 season.
Celebrate Brooklyn! Opening Night: Taj Mahal, Corinne Bailey Rae, and The Harlem Gospel Travelers, Wednesday, June 7 at 6:00 pm.
Taj Mahal hails from Harlem in Northern Manhattan. He is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in the blues. His music seamlessly blends traditional blues and avant-garde sounds.
Corinne Bailey Rae is a soulful R&B singer/songwriter. Her music tells a story and exquisitely displays her artistry and craft.
The Harlem Gospel Travelers will be opening. They are a trio who draw deeply from gospel quartet traditions of the 50s and 60s. DJ Tara will have feet thumping before the show and between sets.
Juneteenth UNITYFEST 2023, Saturday, June 17 at 6:30 pm.
Juneteenth is a celebration reminding us of the importance of rising above our adversity. Participate in the Juneteenth UNITYFEST, a night of music and storytelling, celebrating Black Americans’ deep, rich history. The Robert Randolph Foundation will be co-presenting with BRIC, and seven-time Grammy nominee JOE will be present. There will be an opening performance by former Mint Condition frontman Stokley.
Antonio Sachez: Birdman Live / Takuya Kuroda on Friday, June 23 at 6:00 pm.
Celebrate Brooklyn! always has one movie screening with a live orchestra. This year it is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman. Antonio Sánchez will be performing his original score live. Takuya Kuroda will be opening.
Antonio Sánchez is a jazz drummer and four-time GRAMMY winner. His score for Birdman was lauded as nuanced and beautiful.
Takuya Kuroda will be opening. He straddles multiple genres, blending jazz, funk, and hip-hop, producing funky tunes.
Ibrahim Maalouf / Hermanos Gutiérrez / Little Moon on Saturday, July 1 at 6:00 pm
Join Celebrate Brooklyn! in welcoming NPR Music’s Tiny Desk’s Grand Winner and honorees. Every year NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series scouts for the best emerging talent across America.
Ibrahim Maalouf is a distinguished French-Lebanese trumpeter in the global music genre. He has received accolades for his ingenious, avant-garde mixes, and is an NPR Tiny Desk Concert alum.
Hermanos Gutiérrez are a guitar duo who will take you on a journey through time with their intricate melodies.
Little Moon is the grand winner of this year’s Tiny Desk Concert Series. They are a band from Utah mixing folk, pop, and indie rock.
Rennie Harris / Decora on Thursday, July 13 at 6:00 pm.
Every year there is at least one dance show. This years dance show is NUTTIN’ BUT A WORD by Rennie Harris Puremovement Street Dance Theater. Decora will be providing an opening dance performance.
Rennie Harris was born and reared in Philadelphia. She is a leading authority in the dance world. She believes that any story about hip-hop is incomplete without dance.
Decora employs language and visuals to convey his message, using electronic music, rap, and poetry to reinforce his performance.
The Chelsea Symphony feat. Lady Jess / Lucrecia Dalt on Friday, July 21, at 6:30 pm.
The Chelsea Symphony has a radical commitment to democratizing the hierarchical world of classical music. Members are rotated through soloist, conductor, and composer positions. Understandably their unorthodox approach makes them standout. They will be doing their renditions of Grace Williams’ “Calm Sea in Summer” and Max Richter’s The New Four Seasons – Vivaldi Recomposed.
Lady Jess is a violinist and will be leading The Chelsea Symphony. She has performed with the likes of Earth, Wind, and Fire, St. Vincent, and Beyoncé.
Lucrecia Dalt will open the evening with her experimental tones.
The Wallflowers / treya lam on Thursday, July 27, at 6:30 pm.
Continuing his father’s legacy, Jakob Dylan’s band The Wallflowers gives a knod to an older rock sound, while leading rock into the future. The Wallflowers have been rocking for more than 30 years.
treya lam will open the evening with her poignant, politically charged lyrics focusing on grief and injustice.
Indigo De Souza / Vundabar on Friday, August 4 at 6:30 pm at Celebrate Brooklyn!
Indigo De Souza’s lyrics delve headfirst into themes of grief and impermanence. Her confrontations with uncomfortable truths are simultaneously warm and inviting.
Vundabar is a band from Boston. Their lyrics focus on nostalgia, yet their sound is firmly in the present.
Benefit Concert: Alex G and Alvvays on Wednesday August 22 – Thursday August 23 at 6:00 pm.
Celebrating the release of their third album, Blue Rev, the Canadian, indie band Alvvays will be performing two nights in a row. Alvvays will headline with a set of Benefit Concerts on Wednesday, August 22 and 23 at 6:00 pm.
Alex G is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter. Honing his reputation with intimate, lo-fi pop, he combines strong melodies with an impulsive performance. He will be opening each night.
Closing Night: The Head And The Heart / Izzy Heltai on Thursday August 24 at 7:00 pm.
Having played at Celebrate Brooklyn! in 2012, The Head And The Heart will be closing the sublime 2023 season. Their rich harmonies combined with their nuanced acoustic melodies make them perfect for the last night.
Izzy Heltai will be opening with her grand, yet paired down and intimate music.
brooklynites.NYC is so grateful for your visits and input. Please stay tuned.
Read our article about the cherished Brooklyn institution, BAM:
https://172-234-236-52.ip.linodeusercontent.com/the-brooklyn-academy-of-music/