Celebrating Community
I’ve never been to Africa And it’s your fault – Swamp Dogg In 1970, the black American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter Jerry Williams, originally from Virginia, changed his name to Swamp Dogg. Recalling this transformation, he wrote, ”I wanted to sing about everything and anything and not be pigeonholed by the industry. Since then I have sung about […]
Hot on the heels of their recent Folk Festival, this June Brooklyn’s Jalopy Theatre and School of Music host the Brooklyn International Music Festival. Now in its fourth year, this slightly more petite festival shines the spotlight on a wide variety of international sounds, all emanating from New York City. Unlike other festivals such as WOMAD where artists from around […]
On June 30, Los Cumpleaños will be playing at Bembé. Known as “Rhythm Section Sundays”, a weekly series that has been consistently voted the best late-night Sunday dance spot for years, this is one of the city’s hidden gems. Co-hosted by in-demand singer Mariella Price Brooklyn and mainstay DJ Mickey Perez, the party features some of the city’s best Latin […]
Three great bands for $5 in a beautiful, old-school venue in Brooklyn is almost unheard-of these days. However, that’s just what Jeannie Fry and the good folks of Red Hook Roxx offer every Friday night at Rocky Sullivan’s. Fry first set foot in Rocky’s about three years ago, when the bar was still at its old location, just a […]
On June 12, Pamelia Stickney (formerly Kurstin) and Brian Dewan will be playing at Barbes, in Park Slope, at 8pm. This duo, collectively listed as Night Pollution, promises to give a unique performance, to say the least. Stickney is one of the world’s leading performers on the Theremin, the bizarre and otherworldly electronic instrument known for its schticky use in […]
There was a time when Brooklyn was an artist’s bedroom community: many musicians only moved here to flee the oppressive Manhattan rents. In the ’80s and ’90s, you and your significant other would tell everyone you were moving out to Brooklyn to a great place with a huge backyard. Friends would come to your first party, agree how cool it […]
Littlefield, the performance space located at 635 Sackett St. in Gowanus, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a week-and-a-half-long festival that featured live music, comedy shows and dance parties. “We couldn’t fit all our history and programing into one week; there were so many people we wanted to work with,” said co-owner Julie Kim. “We hoped we covered all the […]
Hip-hop-country is a musical genre. That statement may seem unusual, but it should shock no one. Both country music and hip-hop have roots in folk music and blues – slaps, chants, rhyme, melody, and rhythm are all intrinsic qualities of both genres. It was only a matter of time before these distant cousins joined forces and skyrocketed to massive, worldwide […]
It’s been 20 years since Eric Ambel, aka Roscoe, first opened his recording studio in South Brooklyn with his musical partner Tim Hatfield. Since then they’ve moved shop several times, and today are located at 231 Norman Avenue in Greenpoint under the name of Cowboy Technical Services (CTS). Though it appears to be a fairly simple room, Ambel states, “We’ve […]
At Pioneer Works, the Germantown-based artist Sally Saul shares whimsical objects of clay and glaze that create a mythos around subjects that are by turns precious and nefarious. The name of the exhibit, “Blue Hills, Yellow Tree,” captures the sort of winding up and down these 34 works curate. It’s a pleasant ride, whose occasionally puzzling pieces remain amusing and […]