The Kind of ‘Wintry Mix’ We Really Like

Winter has finally caught up with us — and what better way to shake off the chill than taking in some of the hot acts that are playing around Brooklyn this season?

Forecast Calls for Great Music

The newly restored Kings Theatre presents the summer sounds of The Beach Boys on February 9th, while Wilco’s 2016 Star Wars Tour (February  5th and 6th) will keep things warm there before those California lads arrive and Chaka Khan should really raise the temperature on February 19th. We don’t know if there’ll be snow, but the forecast for March 4th and 5th calls for RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles. Buddy Guy, Dweezil Zappa and original Band of Gypsys bassist Billy Cox are among the artists who will bring the “Fire” (and other hits) when Experience Hendrix plays Kings on March 18th. And if you’re looking for sunshine on a cloudy day, The Temptations team up with The Four Tops there on March 19th.

Chaka Khan /photo by Al Pereira

Local Afrobeat sensations Antibalas are heating things up at Brooklyn Bowl with monthly concerts through June. So, if you missed their January gig, you still have five more chances to catch them.

All Kinds of Love

Want to sample some pre-Valentine’s Day confections? Check out the Sugartone Brass Band at BAM on Feb. 6 or, on Feb. 12 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, see the Brooklyn-New Orleans funk combo The Pimps of Joytime (but be careful not to lose your heart to opening act Kendra Morris, a soul chanteuse who frequently crosses the East River to play venues in our borough). Barclays Center hosts Ladies Night R&B Superjam Feb. 12 and on Valentine’s night Maxwell and Nas will headline there. If its love with a capital “L” you’re after, get tickets now for Darlene Love’s April 2 show at Brooklyn College.

Up-and-coming acts, local and otherwise, will be looking for some love at Baby’s All Right, Bar Chord, The Bell House, Jalopy, The Knitting Factory, The Rock Shop, the new National Sawdust and other music venues in our fair borough.

Chase Away the Winter Blues

If you just want to stay home and curl up with some new Brooklyn music, check out such recent album releases as Many Moons, the solo debut of Real Estate guitarist/vocalist Martin Courtney; We Come Apart, Sonya Kitchell’s first full-length recording in eight years; and Traveling Circus, the first CD from No Fuss and Feathers (Flatbush folkie Carolann Solebello and friends). Unleash Me, R&B singer-songwriter Maya Azucena’s long-awaited follow-up to 2011’s Cry Love, should hit the streets any day now. The release of Nas’ Season of Nasir and Fabolous’ The Young OG Project 2 are also reported to be imminent.

Carolann Solebello /photo by Howard B. Leibowitz / B.L.Howard Productions

Lake Street Dive’s new album, Side Pony, is due out Feb. 19. It includes the disco-infused single, “Call Off Your Dogs,” which has been getting significant airplay and YouTube hits. Likewise Lucius’s current single, “Born Again Teen,” is whetting appetites for the indie pop band’s 11-track sophomore effort, Good Grief, set for a March 11 release.

Don’t Worry, Summer Is on Its Way

That stretch of warmer-than-usual weather earlier this month must have put the folks at Celebrate Brooklyn! in a summer frame of mind, because they have already announced the annual music festival’s opening benefit shows. Red-hot Aussie rockers Tame Impala will headline on June 15 and 16 at the Bandshell in Prospect Park.