Signs of recovery: Celebrate Brooklyn concerts return to Prospect Park live

Outdoor festival in 43rd year, now operated by BRIC

June 3, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

A Celebrate Brooklyn! concert in Prospect Park in 2017, showing the series’ popularity. Photo courtesy of BRICartsmedia

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New York City’s, and Brooklyn’s, recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has been slow but determined, as more and more people get vaccines and the rate of new COVID cases goes down.

It started with the gradual phasing-out of restrictions for restaurants and bars, followed by the opening of movie theaters and the announcement that all instruction for the fall school term will be in person.

Live outdoor concerts are now also beginning to be held, and Brooklyn’s foremost live concert series, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, which is 43 years old, is now slated to return to the Prospect Park Bandshell with live, in-person performances.

This year’s festival will take place from Saturday, July 31st through Saturday, Sept. 18 with doors opening at 6 p.m. for all shows, except the for family day performance.

The festival will boast a lineup showcasing musical artists from Brooklyn and around the world including: Neo-soul phenom Ari Lennox; Grandson of the reggae legend Bob Marley and Grammy award-nominated singer/songwriter Skip Marley; Global Afrobeats superstar Mr. Eazi; Multi-instrumentalist Trombone Shorty with his brass funk band Orleans Avenue; Folk-rock icon and climate activist Buffy Sainte Marie and singer/songwriter/advocate Naia Kete for a special evening dedicated to highlighting the impact of climate change; Latino alternative multilingual quartet Ladama; The Brooklyn-based classical Attacca Quartet; Korean-American artist Yaeji, and many more.

The early days of Celebrate Brooklyn!: A Latin band performs at the Prospect Park bandshell. Eagle photo by Raanan Geberer

The 2021 BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival will also offer a movie night featuring the 1973 documentary “Wattstax,” which highlights the 1972 Watts Summer Festival, as well as an evening dedicated to dance co-conceived by Tatiana and BRIC featuring the Passion Fruit Dance Company with DJ sets by Soul Summit Dance Party and St James Joy, a celebration of house music that sprang up during the pandemic.

Additionally, there will be a ticketed benefit concert with British rock band Glass Animals.

“The opportunities we have been afforded to provide a platform for incredible talent from Brooklyn and around the globe, brings up indescribable joy,” said Kristina Newman-Scott, president of BRIC. “This year’s lineup marks a momentous time for BRIC, continuing our tradition of bringing some of the best talent to the Prospect Park Bandshell stage, which we have called home for 42 years. We can’t wait to see everyone there.”

“After the past challenging year, it is such a thrill to welcome the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival back to the Prospect Park Bandshell,” said Sue Donoghue, president of the Prospect Park Alliance. “This is one of our flagship events, and for our community a clear sign of summer. Over the past four decades, this festival has brought a wide range of free music and family programming to Prospect Park, to the delight of the many diverse communities we serve.”

While the festival will remain free of charge, RSVPs will be required to manage capacity, and either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test will need to be shown; however, these terms remain subject to change.

For more information on this year’s full artist lineup and to RSVP, visit BRICartsmedia.org.