Live Music Pics 7/9 - 7/15
Photo via Brooklyn Raga Massive
With all the rain in the forecast, and the preponderance of outdoor shows in the city, PLEASE do not forget to contact the venues (or check their social media) to make sure that the event is not canceled due to inclement weather. Also: Please remember to check with individual venues about their vaccination requirements and proof for attendees, and whether RSVPs are required to buy tickets at the door. (I’ve now been burned by this on a couple of occasions)
The 6th Annual Brooklyn International Music Festival takes place Friday (7/9) through Sunday (7/11) at the wonderful Jalopy Theatre & School of Music in Red Hook, and is, as always, a three-day primer on great global forms, performed by local musicians of the borough’s many immigrant communities. A massive reminder of just how diverse the space we occupy is.
Personal shout out to Willie Martinez and The NYC Salsa All Stars (playing Friday), as well as Neel Murgai and Mir Naquibul Islam of Brooklyn Raga Massive (Saturday). Also streaming. Check the full schedule. (315 Columbia Street, Friday 8 pm/Saturday 5 pm/Sunday Noon, $25)
The Soapbox Gallery in Prospect Heights has two potentially wonderful, extremely different jazz shows this weekend.
Friday (7/9) evening sees the record release party for Melt All the Guns, a heady composition-driven trio date led by drummer Devin Gray, with trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Angelica Sanchez.
Saturday (7/10) evening promises to be an Afro-Cuban jazz party with trumpeter Peter Rodriguez, scion of the city’s Nuyorican soul sound (his father was the great salsa singer Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez), whose quintet also features drummer Rudy Royston and tenor saxophonist John Ellis. (636 Dean Street, 8 pm, $25)
Drenochrome
Until this weekend, the brand new outdoor at H0L0 has only really been tested by really good DJs. Saturday (7/10) afternoon it plays hosts to two great New York City experimental (when they wanna be) rock bands: the dreamy cosmic-pop duo Widowspeak, and the more hard-charging jammers, Oneida. A potentially great gathering of the borough’s lysergic-minded, indie rock tribes. (1090 Wyckoff Avenue, Noon - 5 pm, $16)
Down the road from H0L0, the crucial Bushwick (some say Ridgewood) DIY space Trans-Pecos is again booking shows.
Saturday (7/10) night they’re hosting a showcase of the new Brooklyn-based label/community, Black Science Fiction. And it is an incredible line-up of young Black musickers with a broad palette of aesthetic interests, including the singer duendita, Philly-based rapper Ivy Sole, double bassist/composer Matthew Jamal and drummer/producer Tcheser Holmes. This one’s gonna be REALLY good. (915 Wyckoff Avenue, 6 pm, $15)
This is not a drill. Yes, according to the website of Mama Tried, the wonderful little Sunset Park bar with the outdoor space shadowed by the Gowanus Expressway, this Wednesday (7/14) will mark the opening night of an occasional residency by the great saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, son to the most revered couple in the history of American music, Alice and John. Is Ravi playing solo or with a group? Not sure. But safe to say, if you’re nearby, you might wanna swing by. See you there! (787 Third Avenue, 7 pm, $TBD)
Drew Bjorklund
On the evening of Wednesday (7/14), the good folks behind the Brooklyn Americana Festival are taking over the Superfine space in the center of DUMBO to produce “The Hootenanny,” a fund-raiser to pay for the production of the (at large free) festival, which will take place in September. The benefit evening will be headlined by the great singer Queen Esther. The price is hefty, but there are free drinks for early arrivals. (126 Front Street, 6 pm, starts at $50)
Mary Lattimore
four/four is an organization that pairs choreographers and dancers, with musickers of all stripes, in an attempt to bridge the gap between their artistic practices. Their Open Air series at Greenwood Cemetery in South Slope kicks off on Wednesday (7/14) and Thursday (7/15) with a potentially incredible collaboration, with movement directed by the choreographer Loni Landon and music by experimental harpist Mary Lattimore. (500 25th Street, 6 pm, $25)
The weekly, free Get Back concert series produced by DUMBO’s St. Ann’s Warehouse returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park on Thursday (7/15) and will feature Jerome “Blind Boy” Paxon, who is regarded as a masterful contemporary practitioner of the old-timey country blues sound. (Brooklyn Bridge Park, 7p, Free)
Reminder: If you are a Brooklyn (or greater New York) artist, label, venue or musicker organization that is releasing new music, or producing (Brooklyn) events, or just making noise that you want to spread through the community, please drop us a line at music@bklyner.com. We’d love to hear it — and potentially put it on.