Brooklyn Voices – December 2015

December 4, 2015 by

When we ran into former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz during a promotional event at the Brooklyn Marriott last month, he expressed confidence that the new Coney Island Amphitheater will open on West 22nd Street and Surf Avenue in time for the 2016 summer concert season. The venue has been a long-time dream for Markowitz, who is now VP of Borough Promotion & Engagement for NYC & Co…

Marty Markowitz

Marty Markowitz – photo by Howard B. Leibowitz /B.L.Howard Productions

….Kudos to Crown Heights native Stephanie Mills for her return to The Wiz, this time as Auntie Em in NBC’s live TV production. The Grammy Award-winning singer was The Wiz‘s original Dorothy on Broadway, a role she played for more than 1,600 performances…

Roosevelt Dime _band_04-l

Roosevelt Dime / photo by Kate Reeder

 

 

 

 

It’s a Holiday Soul Party is the aptly titled new Christmas album (with a nod to Hanukkah) from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings...Amy Helm’s tour in support of her first solo album, Didn’t It Rain, will include a Jan. 14 show at Brooklyn Bowl. Helm’s former Ollabelle bandmate Byron Isaacs, who planted his Texas roots in Brooklyn soil several years ago, produced the album, co-wrote most of the songs with Helm, and is part of her current live trio, the Handsome Strangers…

Lake Street Dive_Kyra Kverno photo (2)_2014

Lake St. Dive/ photo by Kyra Kverno

….Fort Greene’s Roosevelt Dime is reportedly hard at work on their new recording, the follow-up to 2014’s Full Head of Steam. We can “expect to hear some big things coming soon,” says the band, which blends Americana, R&B and bluegrass with a touch of New Orleans swamp pop…Side Pony, the new album from soulful pop quartet Lake Street Dive, is scheduled for release on February 19. You can get a taste of it by listening to the track Call Off Your Dogs now on YouTube…DRW The Band, an Americana-based group led by Williamsburg’s Walter Kenul and Dante DeLemos, is currently recording their third album, American Nomads, at DeLemos’ studio. They are also working on a single, A Revelation’s Gonna Come, which has attracted the interest of Lady Gaga’s former music producer, Joseph Vulpis.
Notable Quote: “You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.” — audience at Carnegie Hall, Thanksgiving weekend, during Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant 50th Anniversary Tour.