{"id":262977,"date":"2026-06-11T10:23:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/262977\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:23:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T10:23:14","slug":"sheila-e-kicks-off-bric-celebrate-brooklyn-summer-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/262977\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheila E. kicks off BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn summer series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Percussion queen Sheila E.<\/a> brought rhythm and groove to the opening night of BRIC Celebrates Brooklyn!<\/a> in Prospect Park on June 4. The singer and musician kicked off the free summer concert series with her signature blend of funk, jazz, and Latin fusion alongside guitarist Leon Knight and DJ Spinna for an evening that had New Yorkers dancing past the sunset and into the night. \u201cThis is what America looks like, right here,\u201d said Sheila to the crowd.<\/p>\n

\t\t\tSheila E. performing \u201cThe Glamorous Life,\u201d at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park on June 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sheila E.<\/a> has longstanding ties to New York City, recalling her experiences visiting NYC from Oakland, CA, with her father, percussionist Pete Escovedo, to meet Tito Puente, in a previous interview<\/a> with the Amsterdam News. \u201cWherever he was performing we\u2019d go there and hang out, whether it be on the street or in the clubs,\u201d Sheila E. said to the AmNews in September. \u201cThat whole vibe in the community and the people was just amazing \u2026 it definitely is about community, and family, and the food.\u201d BRIC<\/a> has proven itself a central, resourceful institution in the heart of Brooklyn, providing a host of free and accessible programming and space for community members to engage in the arts. Its free summer concert series, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn, is \u201cNew York City\u2019s longest running, free, outdoor performing arts festival,\u201d holding its first event in 1979, according to their website. <\/p>\n

Johnny Knowlwood photos<\/p>\n

Most performances are held at the scenic Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park, where Sheila and an all-star cast of musicians graced the stage. The group performed selects from Sheila\u2019s storied and diverse career, including signature hits like \u201cThe Glamorous Life\u201d and \u201cA Love Bizarre,\u201d nods to her Latin roots with songs like \u201cPlaying in the Band,\u201d funked-out covers of classics like the Beatles\u2019 \u201cCome Together,\u201d and tunes from her tenure working with late musical legend Prince. Sheila took time in her show to pay tribute to the famed singer\/songwriter during renditions of songs like \u201cBaby, I\u2019m a Star,\u201d and \u201cPurple Rain,\u201d eventually coming to tears as she remembered him. \u201cThe legacy he left was his music,\u201d she told the audience. Throughout the night, Sheila E. promoted a sense of togetherness, keeping the audience on their feet and singing along to unifying classics like Sly Stone\u2019s \u201cEveryday People,\u201d and the Burt Bacharach-penned \u201cWhat the World Needs Now is Love,\u201d made famous by Dionne Warwick. <\/p>\n

BRIC has lots of exciting shows this summer, including a benefit show with Patti LaBelle and an evening with Cindy Blackman Santana. For more about BRIC, the festival, and all their available community resources, visit bricartsmedia.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Percussion queen Sheila E. brought rhythm and groove to the opening night of BRIC Celebrates Brooklyn! in Prospect…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-262977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-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\/262977","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=262977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}