Sizzling Summer Sounds: The Return of Celebrate Brooklyn!
Kamasi Washiington / photo courtesy of Strategic Heights Media
The 44th annual Celebrate Brooklyn! summer concert series is set to kick off in Prospect Park on June 8. More than three dozen artists representing a variety of musical genres will take the stage of the Lena Horne Bandshell during the eight-week-plus season.
A Pensive Maxi Priest /photo by Rob Blackham /courtesy of Ndless Entertainment
Opening night is a coast-to-coast affair, with Los Angeles-born multi-instrumentalist Kamasi Washington headlining, supported by Chicago R&B singer Ravyn Lenae and Brooklyn’s own DJ Reborn. August 6th closing night’s headliner is Nigerian singer/songwriter Yemi Alade, emblematic of the strong international flavor of this year’s Celebrate Brooklyn! festival.
Performers representing other nations include British reggae fusion sensation Maxi Priest (with Brooklyn’s Pan Evolution Steel Orchestra opening), New Zealand pop band The Beths, supported by Canada’s Charlotte Cornfield; Colombian singer/songwriter Fonseca, winner of five Latin Grammy Awards; and – how’s this for international – Berlin-based Norwegian-Brazilian singer Charlotte Dos Santos, opening for L.A.’s Chicano Batman.
Crumb / Photo by Third Pupil / courtesy of Orienteer PR
Back on the local front, Brooklyn’s own Crumb, a psych-rock/dream-pop quartet with two full-length albums under their belts, headlines a concert, while up-and-coming local poet Aja Monet shares a bill with acclaimed Chicago rapper Vic Mensa.
Launching Celebrate Brooklyn’s 2022 benefit concert series is iconic L.A.-based singer/songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, a multiple Grammy nominee and winner of several independent music awards. Among her Brooklyn connections are collaborations she has done with Matt Berenger/The National, Kid Cudi and 2017 CB! benefit headliner Conor Oberst. Bridgers headlines June 14 and 15, followed on the 16th by Afrobeats icon Davido, who blends traditional African elements with his own brand of mainstream pop.
Khruangbin / photo by Pooneh Ghana / courtesy of Shore Fire Media
The final two benefits are headlined by Khruangbin, August 4, and Erykah Badu, August 5. Khruangbin is a three-piece band from Houston, Texas, with Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. They blend elements of funk, psychedelia, and surf rock, among other influences. Arguably the biggest name in this year’s CB! Lineup, Badu has recorded a number of gold and platinum albums and multiple top-10 R&B singles over the last 25 years, earning her the well-deserved sobriquet “Queen of Neo Soul.”
Rounding out the season is NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest; Juneteenth Unityfest; Cirque Kalabenté family show; Kronos Quartet‘s A Thousand Thoughts and Ragmala Dance Company‘s Sacred Earth.