It Happens Every Spring
As the last few weeks of winter give way to spring and the temperatures slowly rise, the forecast calls for hot acts and warm sounds, with perennial favorites and blossoming newcomers cropping up in Brooklyn’s musical garden.
March comes in like a lion with the likes of Drive-By Truckers at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on the 7th, Slavic Soul Party at Barbès on the 8th, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea at Union Hall on the 13th, and Wyclef Jean at Brooklyn Bowl on the 22nd.
We don’t know if there’ll be April showers in Brooklyn, but it will be pouring music here. Barclays Center hosts a pair of events sure to draw thunderous applause: The 31st Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place there on April 8, and 1999 inductee Bruce Springsteen arrives with the E Street Band on April 23 and 25 for the U.S.A. finale of “The River Tour.” May highlights at Barclays include Justin Bieber, May 4-5, and British rockers The 1975, May 17.
Bruce Springsteen, Jake Clemons, Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren / photo by Frank Stefanko
Two New York artists who have reigned for more than 55 years – Dion and Ronnie Spector – will storm the Kings Theatre together on April 9. The first bird of spring, Andrew Bird by name, alights there on April 7 and, waiting in the wings, the hip-hop choreography of “Let’s Dance: The Tour” takes the stage on April 30.
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts hosts a couple of real class acts: Darlene Love on April 2 and, on April 9, “Rhythm Revue: A Latin Soul Celebration” featuring Joe Bataan and DJ Felix Hernandez. Daptone Records’ The Budos Band headlines at Brooklyn Bowl on April 1 and 2, while Antibalas continues their monthly residency there on April 20. The hip “boy band brass band” Lucky Chops play The Knitting Factory on April 8 and 22. The sextet, which has been recording songs at Virtue and Vice Studios in South Williamsburg, includes a pair of Brooklynites, Daro Behroozi and Kevin Congleton.
Spring is the season of new growth – and there’s no place more fertile than Brooklyn for nurturing up-and-coming local talent, such as jazz-rock trio Morning Bound, who play the BAMcafé on March 25; Vic Thrill, former lead singer for The Bogmen, coming to Pete’s Candy Store on March 26; punk band Nude Beach rocking out at Live at Shea Stadium in East Williamsburg, April 14; and Crown Heights singer-songwriter Shaeera Tariq, performing every Wednesday night in April at The Way Station.
Picks for Fans of Pickin’
The sight of new, green grass beginning to sprout reminds us that bluegrass is alive and well in our borough, as are folk, country and Americana. There’s plenty to “pick” from here. In addition to the Bluegrass Brunch most Sunday afternoons at Brooklyn Bowl and the Brooklyn Traditional Slow Jam every third Sunday at Branded Saloon, upcoming shows include Flying Fingers Jug Band, March 24, at Jalopy; Underhill Rose, March 29, at Hill Country; folk icons John Prine and Iris DeMent, April 8, at Kings Theatre; and the 8th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival, April 8-10, at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn Heights.
Ronnie Spector / photo by Howard B. Leibowitz -B.L.Howard Productions
Shamrock Sounds
Shortly before spring officially begins, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Among the myriad of Brooklyn bars and clubs where patrons can enjoy Irish pub music on March 17, The Way Station presents the “Scotch-soaked Celtish folk-rock” of The Waysties. Our borough’s love of this genre isn’t limited to a single day, of course, so that same venue will host Three Pints Shy on April 12. Led by Brooklyn’s own Jonathan Siregar, accompanied by Robbie Taylor, David Anthony , Seth Morgan and David Mikovsky, this raucous quintet has made numerous previous appearances at The Way Station and will no doubt continue to pop up there in the future. Another Brooklyn native, Chris Byrne, co-founder of seminal Celtic rock band Black 47, plays traditional Irish music with The Lost Tribe of Donegal every Saturday night at Rocky Sullivan’s.
To paraphrase freely from an old Irish blessing: May love and music light your days and warm your heart wherever you may roam…in Brooklyn!