New York City’s longest-running, free outdoor performing arts festival is rolling out the heavy hitters this year with a headlining show featuring Grammy nominee Janelle Monáe and the legendary Grace Jones.
The first concert event for the three-month BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! series will take place June 9 with performances by the trailblazers at Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park.
Fans of 76-year-old Jones — known for seminal club bangers like “Pull Up to the Bumper” and “Slave to the Rhythm” — continue to gravitate to her genre-defying, high-energy style. Ten-time Grammy nom Monáe, an equally impressive singer-songwriter who has become a fashion industry darling, follows in Jones’ footsteps with her own fervent fan base.
Saidah Blount, the executive director of BCB!, described the combination of performers as “a perfect evening of celebrating really strong, creative, dynamic Black women that are putting out the music that they wanted to.”
The theme for this year’s BCB! is “Where Brooklyn Meets… The World,” with an aim to explore the “tapestry of global sounds and stories that define the borough’s cultural landscape.”
A free June 13 concert featuring Haitian artists Mélissa Laveaux, Nathalie ‘TALIE’ Cerin and Riva Nyri Précil performing in the French-Creole dialect is among the 14 free shows taking place at Lena Horne Bandshell throughout the season, running from June 7 through Aug. 16.
Headlining sets from Still Woozy, Dinosaur Jr. and Men I Trust round out four benefit shows that support the nonprofit’s community programs and initiatives. Tickets for those benefit concerts are now on sale.
“I’m really excited about how this lineup really balances a mix of globally focused artists with emerging artists,” Blount said. “We’re really trying to continue this tradition of being a festival that celebrates really excellent performances, high-quality performances, as well as being a new discovery platform for people to find some new music that they love and discover some new local or emerging talent.”
Also this year, a special tribute to late music producer Quincy Jones will take shape in the form of two film screenings on two separate nights. “The Greatest Night in Pop” — Bao Nguyen’s chronicle of the star-studded, Jones-produced recording of “We Are the World” — will be shown on June 27, while July 26 brings a screening of Lena Horne’s final film, 1978’s “The Wiz.”
“There are so many tributes that are celebrating his legacy in music, but we were like, ‘How could we celebrate his influence on film and some of the compositions that he made?” Blount said of Jones, who composed the score for “The Wiz” and produced its soundtrack.
With the recent popularity of the film adaptation of “Wicked,” Blount promised fun for Oz fans of all generations.
“I think [for this screening] … we’re going to do a call out to folks to come dressed in their Emerald City finest,” she said. “People can wear their gold or their green … or come as the Scarecrow. It’s going to be fun for all ages.”
While most of BCB!s performances are free, a membership with BRIC includes benefits like express entry, reserved seating and pre-concert receptions during the summer fest. Members can also enjoy priority booking, discounted tickets and special access to various events throughout the year.
