Where Brooklyn Meets the World: BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 2025 Unites Global Sounds

June 2, 2025 by Michela Arlia

This summer, Brooklyn’s cultural heartbeat returns with the 47th season of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! — a free, open-air performing arts festival transforming the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park into a global stage. From June 7 through August 16, the 2025 season carries the theme “Where Brooklyn Meets… The World,” spotlighting the borough’s role as a vibrant crossroads of international music and culture.

Celebrate Brooklyn! Stage/ photo courtesy of B.L.Howard Productions

The festival officially kicks off on June 9 with a powerhouse benefit concert featuring the legendary Grace Jones and genre-defying Janelle Monáe. This opening night will set the tone for a season rich in diversity and artistic discovery.

Free performances begin June 13 with a celebration of Haitian musical heritage, headlined by Mélissa Laveaux, Nathalie “TALIE” Cerin, and Riva Nyri Précil. Other highlights include the 3rd annual Juneteenth celebration on June 19, the Habibi Festival on June 20, and two tributes to Quincy Jones on June 27 entitled “The Greatest Night in Pop” and “A Tribute to Quincy Jones: The Wiz” on July 27.

The lineup also features indie favorites like Buscabulla and punk legends Gogol Bordello. Benefit concerts include Still Woozy on July 12, Dinosaur Jr. with Snail Mail on July 17, and Men I Trust on July 18.

Saidah Blount/photo by Skye/courtesy of This Is Dope PR

To close out the festival on August 16, Nick Hakim will bring his unique blend of R&B and soul with his music, leaving audiences feeling like they are in an intimate and this-world setting. Emmy-winning drummer, rapper, and producer Karriem Riggins will open with a DJ set you won’t want to miss.

The Crowd at Club Quarantine -Celebrate Brooklyn! / photo by Al Pereira

The Crowd at Celebrate Brooklyn! / photo by Al Pereira

Executive Director Saidah Blount has been previously quoted with the Prospect Park Alliance to emphasize the festival’s mission, saying, “The Lena Horne Bandshell transforms into a global gathering place—where rhythms, stories, and cultures from around the world meet to form Brooklyn’s creative heartbeat.”

With over a dozen free shows and four ticketed benefit concerts, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 2025 offers a summer of music, dance, and community.

Artists on our Radar

Ciao Malz: Music With a Storyteller’s Charm

WFUV NY Slice Session- photo by Gus Philippas for FUV

Brooklyn’s indie scene is home to countless rising talents, and one that stands out is Connecticut-born, Brooklyn-based artist Malia DelaCruz better known as Ciao Malz . A self-taught musician and engineer, Malz has a gift for crafting indie pop songs that are both clever and unpolished in the best way. Her latest release, Safe Than Sorry, a four-track EP released in December 2024, showcases her evolving approach to songwriting and collaboration. Growing up surrounded by classic rock, folk and indie music, Malz was drawn to the art of storytelling. “I like songs that feel lived-in, a little rough around the edges but full of heart,” she tells Brooklyn Roads. The DIY nature of indie music was a revelation that made her realize that imperfections could be part of the sound. That perspective shaped her songwriting process, which she describes as intuitive and sometimes surprising, “It’s hard for me to tell where the songs are going at first, but the choruses are catchy.” After attending college in Queens, Brooklyn quickly became her creative home. “There’s always new and different music playing from cars, coffee shops, even the fish supply store,” she says. Playing alongside the borough’s talented musicians has kept her inspired and motivated. Among Brooklyn’s many venues, Union Pool holds a special place for her, for its intimate performance space. First featured on WFUV’s NY Slice in 2021 and once again on March 20, 2025 with her warm, dreamy single, “Always Be My Maybe,” Malz has played venues like Baby’s All Right, Bowery Electric and Pianos NYC. Her latest EP came together in an unexpected but organic way. While working on other artists’ music, she asked a band to stick around after a session to help flesh out some of her songs. “We were able to turn them into full songs pretty quickly,” she recalls. The experience shifted her perspective on collaboration, as she comments, “in the past, I had done everything myself, but after making that EP, I think of it differently.” Ciao Malz is an artist worth watching. For those looking for music that’s deeply personal and full of heart, she’s one to have on your radar.

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