Arts & Entertainment

Editor's Picks: Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park!

Patty Griffin, Mavis Staples, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Big Boi

BRIC Arts has released its 2013 summer lineup of concerts in Prospect Park, and the list is quite amazing.   

Although there is certainly more than enough of something for everyone, here are Bed-Stuy Patch’s picks for the can’t-miss shows in June, kicking off June 5:   

Patty Griffin
, Wednesday, June 5, 8:00 p.m
Since her debut in 1996 with Living with Ghosts, Patty Griffin has continued to release critically acclaimed albums steeped in Americana, love, sadness, apparitions, and salt-of-the-earth characters. Continually evolving, Griffin's success across genres has been recognized with a Grammy nomination for her second album 1,000 Kisses and the “Best Traditional Gospel Album” Grammy award for Downtown Church in 2010. Besides her solo work, one can also hear her music while she is touring with Robert Plant’s Band of Joy or on songs which have been covered by industry icons like Emmylou Harris, Bette Midler, and Dixie Chicks. Although she is now a seasoned veteran of the Americana music scene, her songs still retain the intimacy and earnestness of a lovelorn teenager’s diary. They will make you smile, cry, and long for a day gone by 

Wynton Marsalis
, Saturday, June 8, 4:00 p.m. 
Wynton Marsalis performs with his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a kid-friendly performance that’s sure to get everyone in the family rocking, swaying and making a joyful noise. This jazz icon showcases the Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert, a celebration of the groundbreaking children’s author (and notable Brooklynite). As always, Keats' stories will be read during the break—this time, by Mr. Marsalis himself. Stroller parking, ice cream, and stylistic authenticity will be available on site.   

Mavis Staples and Cody Chessnut,
 Friday, June 14, 7:30 p.m. 
Mavis Staples's voice “possesses a sultry, burnt-sugar glow…she turns a simple pop song into a lament that could move a listener to tears." (NPR) The church-infused soul legend won a host of new fans with her 2010 Grammy-winning Jeff Tweedy collaboration, You Are Not Alone, and she remains "one of the world's mightiest gospel pop singers." (Time) Staples shares the bill with the iconoclastic genius Cody Chesnutt, who combined funk, soul, hip hop, rock, and blues on his 2002 double album, The Headphone Masterpiece, went quiet, and then returned a decade later in stunning form with last year’s Landing on a Hundred.  

Big Boi
, Thursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m. 
Sir Lucious Left Foot, Daddy Fat Sacks, General Patton, Hot Tub Tony, The Son of Chico Dusty: Big Boi is a man of many personae, and may be Southern rap’s greatest ambassador. For nearly two decades—from the early days of Outkast through platinum albums to last year’s collaboration-heavy Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors—he’s remained “one of the singular talents hip-hop has to offer.” (XXL) Local upstarts Phony PPL will open the show, and hip-hop Renaissance man D-Nice will spin.   

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
, Friday, June 28, 7:30 p.m. 
The legendary Ladysmith Black Mambzo still led by its indomitable founder Joseph Shabalala, first won international fame through its work on Paul Simon’s 1986 album, Graceland, but the group has been active for more than half a century. Today they are the living embodiment of Zulu song, and a mobile academy of South African culture. “It isn’t merely the grace and power of their dancing or the beauty of their singing that rivets the attention, but the sheer joy and love that emanates from their being.”      

Other amazing acts, including Grouplove, Calexico, Amadou & Mariam, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and Os Mutantes, also will perform throughout the month of June.   

For a full list of this summer’s Celebrate Brooklyn lineup in Prospect Park, visit BRIC’s website here.


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