Planet Brooklyn Enters the Borough’s Festival Orbit

July 3, 2025 by David K. Moseder

Brooklyn, the music festival capital of New York, is getting another jewel in its crown this summer. Planet Brooklyn, set for August 23-24, will feature dozens of diverse artists performing at Barclays Center, Brooklyn Paramount and Brooklyn Academy of Music, as well as at several outdoor block parties. The “Planet” moniker is apropos given the event’s strong international flavor, while also touting “Brooklyn’s diverse sounds, local flavor, and kinetic energy.”

Machel Montano / photo by Che Kothari /courtesy of Planet Brooklyn Festival

Headlining the festival will be “King of Soca” Machel Montano (Sunday, Aug. 24 at Barclays) and, under the umbrella title Mutha, Afro-Brazilian superstar Ludmilla, supported by acclaimed Chicago rapper CupcakKe and Brooklyn’s own Junglepussy (Shayna McHayle), as well as local DJs Boston Chery and Bodegaparty, among others (Saturday, Aug. 23 at Paramount). Among the other artists on the bill with Montano are fellow Trinidadians Bunji Garlin, Lady Lava, Ravi B and Travis World.

The BAM Free Music Series for Planet Brooklyn features Afro-Cuban jazz singe r Dayme Arocena, Aug.23, and Guinea-born New Yorker Natu Camara, a rock-and-soul singer/songwriter.

Rounding out the weekend experience will be a free, two-day outdoor block party in the streets near the three participating venues. These will feature top DJ/hip-hop talent including Brooklynites Uproot Andy, Mike Nasty, Tony Touch, and Big Bob (Xanadu), and such other New York-based artists as Stonie Blue, Papi Weli, Zeemuffin, DJ Moma and Dos Flakos.

Planet Brooklyn is produced alongside Multiply Creative, a cultural marketing and experiential agency founded in Brooklyn with a mission to create “moments that have a profound cultural impact.” For further details and ticket information, visit planetbrooklynfest.com.

Artists on our Radar

Brayden Baird Is Asking the Big Questions – And Making You Laugh Through the Pain

Brayden Baird -photo courtesy of Mix-Tape Media

After decades of producing and releasing music under various aliases, Brooklyn’s own Brayden Baird is stepping into the spotlight with his most raw and refined work yet. Backed by the Once in a Lifetime Band, Baird’s upcoming LP Lord, why do you do these things to me? is a heartfelt and even satirical exploration of grief, identity, and faith that refuses to follow conventional sounds before its time. Across the ten-track album, Baird weaves catchy humor with emotional vulnerability, building a soundscape that feels intimate and extravagant all at once. His lyrics are clever without being cynical and full of sincerity; this delicate balance places him alongside emerging alt-folk figures like Cameron Winter and Nate Amos. The album kicks off with its title track, a sharp, stomping folk-rock number that wrestles with clever anecdotes and the chaos of unanswered prayers. From there, the songs unravel like chapters in a personal essay. The blending of stories of loss, family, addiction, and self-discovery comes about in just about every track. “Light in the Tunnel” turns a daily subway ride into an anthem of personal awakening. At the same time, “When Will the Sun Rise Again?” delivers a haunting, piano-led meditation on mourning and artistic authenticity. Other tracks showcase Baird’s gift for finding light in unlikely places. “Blue for the Body” is a lively reflection on coping mechanisms based on Gatorade flavors, which Baird says “is intended as a fun jam that people can sing and play along to and make light of the weight of addictions.”. “Pelican” draws on childhood lore amid his father’s mythical stories that untangle complex family bonds. With the accompanying music video for this track, Baird draws on whimsical elements of his father’s storytelling, saying, “In life, it is so easy to hate somebody based on the things they’ve done and so hard to forgive. After all, we are just working with the things we’ve got.” One of the album’s most affecting moments, which comes halfway through “It Kills Me to See You Sick,” channels rage and helplessness into a hushed piano ballad that’s both deeply personal and widely relatable, with Baird recounting the pain and sadness behind the song’s creation as his mom was diagnosed with Cancer as other family members were simultaneously hospitalized. On the last track of the album, “When You Were Castrated,” Baird confronts mortality and estrangement with brutal honesty about his father’s passing, delivering a final note that is at once heartbreaking and cathartic. Baird’s musical world is one of contradictions: funny and tragic, sarcastic and sincere, spiritual and grounded. With Lord, why do you do these things to me?* he’s created an album that doesn’t just tell stories but invites listeners to sit with them, question them, and sing along anyway. Catch Brayden Baird and the Once in a Lifetime Band at their album release show at The Rabbit Hole in Brooklyn on June 26 and stream the whole record on June 20.

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