Now in its 47th year, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! presents 15 free concerts and three benefit shows under the theme Radical Joy, a summer built around the idea that the full richness of New York City’s cultural life is here for everyone, free of charge, in the heart of Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
“We live in a time of uncertainty, with lots of forces fulling people apart,” Wes Jackson, president of BRIC said in a statement. “Our response is Radical Joy. It’s the idea of choosing to come together as a community\u2013 or neighbors, families, friends, strangers\u2013 on a summer night in Brooklyn, around music, for free. That shared experience, of being with people who are all there for the same reason, is worth protecting. It\u2019s a sense of belonging to something greater. That is what this festival is, the radical joy that comes from entering that space.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2026 season opens on June 4, with Sheila E., one of the most accomplished live performers of her generation, joined by funk rocker Leon Knight and internationally recognized DJ Spinna. The season closes Sept.\u00a019 with a benefit show featuring two of alternative rock’s most enduring and influential acts: Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney.<\/p>\n
![\"screen-shot-2026-05-06-at-10155-pm\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/screen-shot-2026-05-06-at-10155-pm.png;w=960.png\"\/)
\nThee Sacred Souls at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!. Photo: Supplied\/BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, Toby Tenenbaum
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Among the season’s highlights:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sheila E.<\/a> (June 4, Opening Night) kicks off the summer with a funk and soul dynasty spanning four decades. Drummer, percussionist, vocalist, and bandleader, Sheila E. has been a defining force in R&B and pop since the 1980s.<\/p>\n \u2022 Patti LaBelle<\/a> (June 26, Benefit Show) brings one of the greatest voices in American music to Prospect Park in a show that marks a significant first for BRIC: a major artist booked directly by the festival, without a corporate promoter partner. For fans, it is a chance to see a legend. For the industry, it is a statement about what independent presenting can achieve.<\/p>\n \u2022 Juneteenth (June 19) is programmed as a family affair in the most literal sense. Infinity Song<\/a> and Victory Boyd<\/a> are siblings, the Boyd family, sharing a stage and a sound rooted in the same household. Annie and the Caldwells<\/a>, a Mississippi family band led by matriarch Ms. Annie Caldwell, completes a bill where family is not just a theme. It is the lineup.<\/p>\n \u2022 Royel Otis<\/a> (July 18, Benefit Show) makes their Brooklyn debut. The Australian indie duo from Sydney has built a devoted international following with a sound that moves fluidly across indie rock, new wave, and psychedelic pop.<\/p>\n \u2022 Cindy Blackman Santana<\/a> (July 24, Jazz Night) headlines an all-women jazz lineup alongside Mexican vibraphonist and composer Patricia Brennan<\/a>, and Luc\u00eda<\/a>, the 24-year-old Veracruz-born vocalist who won the 2022 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Blackman Santana is one of the most accomplished drummers of her generation, with a 40-year career as bandleader, recording artist, and live performer.<\/p>\n \u2022 Yola<\/a> (Aug.15, Americana Night) headlines BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!\u2019s America 250 celebration, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Grammy-nominated British Nigerian singer-songwriter has become one of the genre’s most essential voices. She’s joined by Dom Flemons and the Traveling Wildfires<\/a>, along with Brooklyn-based Pitchfork breakout Cleo Reed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022 Aaliyah Day<\/a> (Aug.\u00a08) honors the late R&B icon who was born and raised in Brooklyn. The full lineup has not yet been announced; additional details will be released in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n \u2022 Sasha Velour’s Nightgowns<\/a> (Aug. 21) brings the genre-defining drag performance series to the free outdoor stage. Nightgowns is theater with a drag sensibility, and the Lena Horne Bandshell is its natural home.<\/p>\n \u2022 Common<\/a> (Aug. 28) performs as part of The Action Lab\u2019s Harry Belafonte Fellowship<\/a>, bringing one of Hip-Hop’s most enduring civic voices to the Bandshell in an event that is as much a cultural moment as a concert.<\/p>\n \u2022 Liz Phair<\/a> and Sleater-Kinney<\/a> (Sept.\u00a019, Benefit Show, Season Closer) close the summer with one of the most compelling pairings in alternative rock. Both artists have defined independent music for thirty years and show no signs of slowing.<\/p>\n Additional performances include\u00a0Family Day with Antibalas <\/a>and The Center for Fiction<\/a> x Brooklyn Conservatory of Music<\/a> x Katie Yamasaki<\/a> (June 13); a reggae-influenced lineup with Wayne Wonder<\/a> and Grammy-nominated Lila Ik\u00e9<\/a> (June 20); Habibi Fest featuring EMEL<\/a>, Nesrine<\/a>, and Mai Egizouli<\/a> alongside a full lineup of SWANA artists (July 10);\u00a0the New Soul Night with CARRTOONS<\/a> ft. Hail\u00e9 Supreme<\/a>, Sofia Vald\u00e9s<\/a>, and Julia Zivic<\/a> (July 31); and\u00a0globalFEST<\/a> with DakhaBrakha<\/a>, Yeison Landero<\/a>, Sally Baby’s Silver Dollars<\/a>, and Sunju Park (Aug.\u00a07).<\/p>\n \u201cEvery show this season was built with intention to reflect the full range of who Brooklyn is and what moves us,” said Saidah Blount, executive director of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn. “We want you to come for someone you love and leave having discovered someone new. Bring a blanket, bring your people, and join us for a night under the stars.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 season opens on June 4, with Sheila E., joined by funk rocker Leon Knight and internationally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[87442,98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-222202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-bric-celebrate-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}