It’s summer, y’all (temps almost broke 90 today so we can officially say that now), which means it’s time to get your butts out there and see some live music and DJs. North Brooklyn is awash with options this year, some of them free and some of them not so free, but all of them are awesome. We’ve got rooftop parties, music festival afterparties, soul and rap legends, indie bands, pizza and tacos galore. Also, booze. Check out our roundup of this season’s seriously massive music lineup.
GOVERNORS BALL AFTER DARK | Various venues around North Brooklyn & Manhattan Governors Ball is back again this year on June 2-4, and the epic music fest is also serving up some awesome night shows too, and most of them happen to be right here in North Brooklyn. Some shows are already sold out, so either jump on some Craigslist tickets or try to snag some for the shows with tix still left!
Here’s the lineup of shows in our ‘hood:
Thursday June 1: CHARLES BRADLEY @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 8pm // Sold Out
Friday June 2: RÜFÜS DU SOL (DJ SET) @ SCHIMANSKI (54 N 11th St) //10pm // Sold Out MUNA @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 1130pm // $20 tickets ROOSEVELT @ BROOKLYN BAZAAR (150 Greenpoint Ave) // 11:59pm // $16 tickets WELLES @ KNITTING FACTORY (361 Metropolitan Ave) // 1130pm // $12 tickets MARK RONSON X KEVIN PARKER @ OUTPUT (74 Wythe Ave) // 10pm // $15-25 tickets
Saturday June 3: THE AVALANCHES @ BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Ave) // 1130pm // Sold Out PARQUET COURTS @ VILLAIN (307 Kent Ave) // 11pm // $20 tickets ROYAL BLOOD @ WARSAW (261 Driggs Ave) // 11:59pm // Sold Out YG, CHARLI XCX & ANIK KHAN @ SCHIMANSKI (54 N 11th St) // 10pm // $25-30 tickets THE ORWELLS @ KNITTING FACTORY (361 Metropolitan Ave) // 11:59PM // $15 tickets
Monday June 5: FRANZ FERDINAND @ WARSAW (261 Driggs Ave) // 8pm // Sold Out
* Geeks Who Drink @Bar Schimmi (60 North 11th St) 6pm, FREE, A homegrown Pub Trivia Quiz modeled after those in Ireland and the UK. Quizzes cover everything from celebrities in trouble to wordplay to bad television, More info =) The Juice Comedy Variety Show @ Union Pool (484 Union Ave) 8pm, $5, The Juice is a comedy variety show including some of the best stand up, improv, & sketch, hosted by Carmen Christopher, Buy tix ♫ Talib Kweli LIVE with full band! @Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe Ave) 8pm, $17-20, Buy tix Greenpoint Film Festival (Thursday, May 4th- Sunday, May 7th) @ Wythe Hotel (80 Wythe Ave), various times from 5/4-5/7, passes from $10, Buy tix
THURSDAY 5/4
# Spring Spirits: Mezcal and the Taste of Oaxaca @ MOFAD (62 Bayard St) 6:30pm, $60, An evening of Oaxacan food and drink to usher in Cinco de Mayo. Learn more about the production of mezcal, its diversity of flavors, and the important role insects have played in Mexican cuisine long before guacamole with grasshoppers appeared on American restaurant menus, Buy tix
♦ The Art Party @ Brooklyn Bazaar (150 Greenpoint Ave) 7pm, $50, A wonderful evening of art, music, online art auction, drinks and hors d’oeuvres supporting the arts for children at PS 34, Buy tix ♦ Saving Jamaica Bay Screening @ North Brooklyn Boat Club (437 McGuinness Blvd) 7:30pm, $5, A great movie about nature and a wildlife refuge in NYC you have to see, More infoContinue reading →
We’re so close to Spring (or at least have had our fair share of trickster spring weather), and people are starting to come out of hibernation and onto the streets, amped up to see live music. This month brings us some fantastic options every single night. Here are our top music picks for every day we have left in March! Get your tickets now, before this stuff sells out.
Reverend Vince Anderson & His Love Choir, photo via Facebook
Tuesday, March 7th Buke & Gase Improv Residency
Don’t miss out on this experimental indie rock series from Brooklyn duo Buke & Gase. This particular show will feature Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto as their special guest! Union Pool, 484 Union Ave. | 8pm, $10-12 ticketsContinue reading →
Simply put, Swedish New Wave quintet The Sounds rocked Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave.) last Tuesday night. As their first stop in NYC during their North American tour celebrating the ten year anniversary of their hot sophomore album, Dying to Say This to You, Tuesday’s show may as well have been a stop on the original album release tour, gauging by the energy in the room, from band and audience alike.Continue reading →
Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah at Brooklyn Bazaar (Photo: Erik Keithley)
Why waste your time sitting around at a laundromat when you could be experiencing all that our awesome neighborhood has to offer! Instead of killing time waiting for your jeans to dry, head over to your app store, download the WashClub appand schedule a laundry pickup! WashClub comes right to your door for pickup and drop off—they offer tailoring services, dry cleaning and basic laundry. So there’s no reason you should be spending your precious time doing any of the above when WashClub can tackle it!
So if you want to leave the fluorescent lighting, the heavy bags & bottles of detergent in the past, here’s 10 way-more-fun-than-laundry things you could be doing in Greenpoint:
1. Catch a show at Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave.), and try some of their delicious pierogis over a couple of beers! With some great shows coming up—like Dragonette, The Struts and Austra—there are plenty of options no matter what kind of jams get your soul moving!
2. Get your bowl on over at The Gutter (200 N. 14th Street)! In addition to bowling, they’ve got special events every week, including trivia, and not to mention a full bar for all of your drinking needs! Continue reading →
The Grand Victory is closing this weekend so I’m going to use this week’s post to highlight final shows there, for your last hurrah (or oi-oi rebel shout).
Last, we clue you in to some shows beyond this weekend that you should ticket up now before a sellout, like for Erykah Badu and Angel Olsen. Continue reading →
It could be easy to dismiss Wye Oak as another band for the denim shirt crowd—mellow, buttery dream-folk churned to the point of blandness. But the Baltimore duo, who played at Warsaw in Greenpoint Tuesday night, have some seriously un-bland musical chops—they’re kind of a reverse White Stripes, and that’s a good thing. Where The White Stripes had grit and a lack of polish, Wye Oak sound and look totally put together, as if they’ve walked out of a J Crew catalogue, if J Crew was trying to lean into the indie musician angle this season.
Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner have been making music together for 10 years, so their on stage collaboration is truly comfortable. Musically, they finish each others’ sentences. Andy keeps the rhythm rolling, simultaneously playing synths with one hand and drumming with the other, while Jenn is the mouthpiece for the band (Andy isn’t even mic’d) and shreds on the guitar. The pair are truly making gender-balanced rock: even though the vocals are female, their music isn’t feminine. Most of the time Jenn’s voice is melting into the back of the soundscape, creating a lush, oceany resonance. And when her voice isn’t buried back there, she sounds like a nymph-like ghost. It’s haunting, romantic and powerful music. Continue reading →
WEDNESDAY 2/17 ☺ The Black Swan Featuring Chicago @ Annoyance Theater (367 Bedford Ave) 8pm, $10, A staged version of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan combined with showstopping numbers from the Broadway hit Chicago, More info * PussyPower Presents Yas Kweens @ Kinfolk (94 Wythe Ave) 9pm, FREE, Watch the premiere of the new season of Broad City with music, DJs, surprise guests, swag bags, and more, RSVP
THURSDAY 2/18 ♦ Working Rhythms @ Reverse (28 Frost St) 7pm, FREE, An interactive music installation in which visitors play and mix rhythm bases and sound loops, More info * RAW Artists Brooklyn Presents Futures @ Warsaw (261 Driggs Ave) 7pm, $20, Independent film screenings, pop-up galleries, fashion shows, live performance art, and more, Buy tix
Sure, you may have been a regular at Lomzynianka before they closed inexplicably “for renovations” a few months ago. And, sure, you’re always at Cafe Riviera in the mornings for a coffee and a pączek. But, did you know that there’s a way to dive deeper into Polish culture right here in Greenpoint?
For the past year a half, Greenpoint: The Transition has been bringing a little slice of Polish culture to our neighborhood by way of workshops, food tastings, musical performances, fun activities, and street fairs. Recently, we caught up with Marta Pawlaczek, who helms The Transition, to talk about the ‘hood, the food, and, of course, the changes. Continue reading →
Some of you may be old enough to remember the Reagan-era “this is your brain on drugs” TV ad, the one that shows an egg frying in a pan.
I can now personally report to you the effect on the brain of three straight days and nights of manic sun-baked body-slamming and the occasional 3 AM audio epiphany that you will encounter at the Northside Festival music series. To continue the frying egg analogy, my brain at this point, is kind of like a ridiculously tasty three-egg omelette oozing melted cheddar and mushrooms. It’s a happy sensation.
OK, before I go jump a school bus and drive that thing to Tampico to go hurl empty beer cans at a ranchera band playing on a chicken wire-protected stage, I have a final obligation to you my readers to guide you to the best bands playing on this, the final day of music. Continue reading →
