An Insider’s Guide to Celebrate Brooklyn!

Celebrate Brooklyn!, New York’s favorite summer concert series, returns this year with a lineup that is as potent as ever. 2019’s edition features icons of indie rock, a Cuban jazz legend, and a tribute to Marvin Gaye among a host of other performances from up-and-coming stars and pop music luminaries. Here are ten performances you won’t want to miss.

6/12 and 6/13- The National / Courtney Barnett

The National are teaming up with Courtney Barnett for two consecutive nights that promise to be high notes in the Celebrate Brooklyn! concert schedule. Over the course of their two-decade career, The National have developed near-icon status in the indie rock world on the back of their compellingly melancholy sound. Providing the opening entertainment is Courtney Barnett, who returns to Celebrate Brooklyn! after a killer performance at the bandshell in 2018. The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter is known for her clever lyricism, but don’t overlook her shrewd guitar work, which, recalling at times Neil Young and/or Joey Santiago of the Pixies, is pure rock’n’roll.

6/20 – Tank and the Bangas / Cory Henry & the Funk Apostles

Tank and the Bangas come to Brooklyn all the way from N’awlins. Led by Tarriona “Tank” Ball on vocals, they’ve quickly risen to prominence after winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017. Their new school NOLA sound brings together bouncy neo-soul with old-school funk. Ball’s spoken word vocals tie it all together in a compelling package. Not to be forgotten, Cory Henry of Snarky Puppy is a genius on the Hammond B3 Organ and a powerful vocalist to boot. With the Funk Apostles, he takes center stage as bandleader and frontman.

6/22 – Tortoise: TNT / Emily Wells with Metropolis Ensemble

Back in 1998, Tortoise changed the game with TNT, a genre-busting post-rock masterpiece that brought together hints of free jazz, rhythmic groove, funk, krautrock, electronica, and ambient music. In June, they’ll perform TNT in its entirety. Brooklyn-based singer and multi-instrumentalist Emily Wells, whose forward-thinking brand of pop is no less visionary, will kick the night off backed by the Metropolis Ensemble.

6/26 – Chucho Valdés – Jazz Batá / Dafnis Prieto Si o Si Quartet

In a night that brings together the past and present of Cuban jazz, percussionist Dafnis Prieto and his quartet will open for Chucho Valdés. Valdés, the son of Bebo Valdés, himself a towering figure in Cuban music, has been performing since the early 1960s. Over the years, he has won six Grammy and three Latin Grammy Awards and helped define Afro-Cuban jazz. He comes to Celebrate Brooklyn! at the ripe age of 77 for a performance that’s sure to be unforgettable. 

7/5 – Mick Jenkins / Leikeli47 / Leven Kali / Joy Postell

On July 5, Celebrate Brooklyn! will bring together some of the most unique young voices in hip hop and contemporary soul. Mick Jenkins has yet to reach mainstream status, but is nevertheless among the most inspired figures in hip hop. His most recent release, 2018’s Pieces of a Man, takes its name from a Gil Scott Heron album, which should show you where his ambitions lie. His production sounds fresh, even bold, but his intellectual lyricism is rooted in old school hip hop. Brooklyn native Leikeli47, who has worked with everyone from Pussy Riot to Ghostface Killah to MF DOOM, is compellingly mysterious. She is never seen in public without a balaclava or bandana masking her face. Her music is as bold as it is celebratory — her most recent album a testament to her upbringing in Bed Stuy. Down the bill, LA’s Leven Kali and Baltimore’s Joy Postell are both steadily developing a name for themselves as up-and-comers in the contemporary R&B world.

7/13 – Salif Keita / Courtnee Roze

Salif Keita is a towering figure in African music. Known as the “Golden Voice of Africa,” Keita was born a traditional prince of Mali’s Keita Royal Family. Cast out of his family for his albinism, Keita began working as a professional musician in the late 1960s. By the 1980s, he was renowned across the world as one of the most recognizable figures of African music. Before he takes the stage, Courtnee Roze, a masterful percussionist who has worked with Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, J.Cole, and others, will kick the night off with a performance by her band.

7/25 – Surprise Headliner / Nilüfer Yanya

Celebrate Brooklyn! is keeping things mysterious with a surprise headliner on July 25. The intrigue alone makes this show worth attending, given Celebrate Brooklyn!’s pristine track record. Regardless, opener Nilüfer Yanya alone makes this a potentially special night. The prodigious British artist began her music career as a teenager. She has an exploratory ethos and a phenomenal ear for pop melody.

8/3 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon / Lou Reed Tai Chi Day

On August 3, Celebrate Brooklyn! will screen Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a martial arts epic set in 18th century China. A phenomenal flick, no doubt, but the real show takes place before the film, with the first annual Lou Reed Tai Chi Day in honor of the late rock legend. Master Ren Guang-Yi, Lou Reed’s teacher, will demonstrate Chen style tai chi forms, to the soundtrack of Lou Reed DRONES, a sound work featuring Lou Reed’s guitar feedback, along with special guests Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Sarth Calhoun, Stewart Hurwood, and others.

8/9 – What’s Going On featuring Felicia Collins, Toshi Reagon, Siedah Garrett, Keisha Lewis, and others

For one of the final Celebrate Brooklyn! events, an all-star band led by Felicia Collins, a renowned guitarist and vocalist who performed for nearly two decades with David Letterman’s house band, will play Marvin Gaye’s 1971 classic What’s Goin’ On in its entirety. A remarkable concept album that has had an outsized influence on soul music, What’s Goin’ On, a concept album which tells the story of a Vietnam veteran returning home, remains culturally and politically relevant to this day. A once-in-a-lifetime show, to be sure!