Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s beloved Open Stages festival returns to Park Slope on May 9th — and this year, anyone with a stoop and a musician friend can join in.
At a Glance:
A neighborhood music festival returns to Park Slope this spring
Performances pop up on stoops, sidewalks, and local spots
A new program lets residents host their own stage
Features a mix of students, local bands, and rising performers
Free to attend, with a bigger mission supporting music programs across NYC
Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
Like so many things in Brooklyn, it started on a stoop. In May 2021, when New York was starting to come back to life after more than a year of pandemic isolation, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music decided to do what musicians have always done when things get hard: play. Instead of staying indoors, they spilled out onto the sidewalks of Park Slope with their equipment and called it Open Stages.
The festival reflects a lesson we learned during the pandemic, when music became one of the ways people stayed connected, as we saw in Italy, when people sang to each other across apartment buildings (which was actually captured in a song by Dave Matthews during that time called “Singing From the Windows”). It was a simple human connection when we all felt so distant.
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Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
Open Stages was born from the same grief and isolation, and the natural human instinct to gather. Now it’s become an annual ritual in Park Slope and a reminder that music not only uplifts everyone, but unites us, too.
Five years later, that scrappy, impromptu outdoor gathering has become one of Brooklyn’s most anticipated spring traditions.
This spring, on Saturday, May 9th, from 3-6 pm, the Conservatory brings it back again, with more than 15 stages scattered across the neighborhood, on stoops and sidewalks, in playgrounds and cafés, and it’s all free.
Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
Who’s Playing
Students from the Conservatory’s Suzuki, Community Music School, Studio Collective, and Music Therapy programs will all perform. So will neighborhood favorites Yesterday’s News, and The DaFunkies, a neurodiverse teen rock band that has quickly become a crowd favorite. Stay tuned because more artists are being announced weekly.
Last year, over 200 paid musicians played all over the neighborhood, on stoops, in schoolyards, parks, gardens, and even sidewalks, and more than 9,000 people showed up throughout the afternoon.
Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
This Year, You Can Host One Yourself
New this year, Community Stages lets Park Slope residents host their own spot and be part of the festival. If you’ve got a stoop and know a musician, or are one yourself, you can fill out an application, and your block could end up on the official festival map.
“As a nod to the incredible talent that exists right here in Park Slope, we’re excited to add something a little different this year, showcasing homegrown performers with our Community Stages,” says Chad Cooper, Executive Director, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
It’s a smart extension of the festival’s original spirit, which is that music belongs to the neighborhood, not just to the professionals. Cooper put it plainly — the Conservatory wants to be “a resource for musicians at every stage, from amateur to professional.”
Courtesy of BKCM’s Open Stages
It’s Free and Also a Fundraiser
Admission is free, but Open Stages also raises money for the Conservatory’s programs, which go well beyond Park Slope. BKCM runs music education and music therapy at 90 schools and community organizations across all five boroughs, reaching about 7,000 people a year. The festival helps keep that work going.
The Conservatory is also expanding. A new space, a few blocks away at One Prospect Park West, will roughly double how many New Yorkers they can serve and will be home to a dedicated Music Therapy Institute, with support from Billy and Alexis Joel’s Joel Foundation.
For more information, visit the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
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