BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! 2018 Lineup Announced

FORT GREENE – The annual performing arts series, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, returns for its 40th year offering a diverse and eclectic lineup of events throughout the summer.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival (Photo: David Andrako)

Each year, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! offers a mix of music, film, dance, and multimedia works by artists from around the world, as well as food and other wares created by local artisans and vendors. Some highlights this year include free concerts at the Prospect Park Bandshell headlined by the likes of Common (June 5), The Breeders (August 11), Aimee Mann and Superchunk (June 21), Fischerspooner (June 23), Mala Rodríguez (July 13), Rhye (July 7), Kronos Quartet (July 14), Anoushka Shankar (July 20), Tinariwen (July 27), BADBADNOTGOOD (August 2), Noname (August 3), Tarrus Riley (August 4), Gary Clark Jr. (August 9), Godspeed You! Black Emperor (August 10), and many more.

Of the 31 performances on the calendar from June 5 though August 11, 25 are free (with a $5 suggested contribution at the gate). BRIC will present 21 music concerts, two dance performances, and two “Music & Movies” events featuring outdoor film screenings accompanied by live music.

The remaining six shows are benefit concerts, whose ticket sales go toward supporting the Festival’s free events. This summer’s benefit shows include performances by The Decemberists (June 13), Vance Joy/Alice Merton (Juen 14), Grizzly Bear/Spoon (June 20), Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (July 19), Courtney Barnett/Julien Baker/Vagabon (July 25), and Good Vibes with Jason Mraz and Brett Dennen (August 7).

The 2018 season will kick off on Tuesday, June 5 with a free BET-sponsored opening night concert by the award-winning musician and actor Common. A gala event will follow the premier concert to honor BRIC President Leslie Griesbach Schultz who is stepping down after 13 years with the organization.

“For four decades—since the summer of 1979—the Festival has represented the best of what Brooklyn and America can be: a welcoming supercollider of ideas and cultures, informing and enriching each other,” Schultz said in a statement announcing the new season of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn. “We are grateful for all the support BRIC receives to keep the festival free and accessible to all New Yorkers.”

The BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival is part of BRIC’s year-long 40th anniversary celebration. The award-winning NYC arts-and-media organization is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn. Along with BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, the organization’s programming includes a contemporary art exhibition series, Brooklyn’s Public Access initiative, Brooklyn Free Speech, and BRIC TV. BRIC also offers educational programs at its Fort Greene headquarters, BRIC House.

To see the full schedule of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! events, go to bricartsmedia.org.