[MUSIC]
Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. We'll end today by launching a little miniseries for the end of every show during the drive, looking ahead to the cultural events coming up this summer in New York City. One of the highlights of every summer is seeing the lineups of artists set to perform at SummerStage in Central Park. The BRIC celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park's bandshell. We're going to start with those and do other things on subsequent days. Who doesn't love a free concert in the park on a warm summer night, right? We'll start this miniseries with those. Joining me now is WNYC and Gothamist arts and culture reporter Ryan Kailath. Hey, Ryan. Happy almost summer concert season.
Ryan Kailath: Hey, Brian. Yes, this week doesn't feel like it, but we'll get there soon.
Brian Lehrer: Let's start with SummerStage. When's opening night?
Ryan Kailath: Let's see. Opening night is June 4th, so coming up not too far away. It's going to be a New Orleans-themed celebration. Got the jazz great Marcus Miller. Listeners may be familiar with the old NPR Tiny Desk winners from New Orleans, Tank and the Bangas, who we've had in a few times. Also the brass ensemble The Soul Rebels. That should be a pretty good opening night party.
Brian Lehrer: That's a nice threesome. Big Marcus Miller fan, by the way. I've seen him several times.
Ryan Kailath: Oh, excellent.
Brian Lehrer: He's been a guest on the show. I could listen to him playing bass all day. Give me then next, an idea of the scope of genres at SummerStage as the season goes on, if you can.
Ryan Kailath: Oh, yes. SummerStage seems to get bigger and bigger and wider and wider in terms of scope. They've got this festival this year called Blacktronika. That's going to be in mid-August. This started in London, actually, in the early aughts. It's a roving festival that celebrates not just Black musicians, but musicians of color broadly in electronic music. Speaking of broad genres, this is going to have traditional techno, it's going to have funk. You've got Vijay Iyer, the jazz musician that, again, a lot of our listeners probably know prolific and around New York a lot. The Sonic Messengers, Moor Mother. Jazz and electronic is just one of the many things SummerStage touches.
Brian Lehrer: SummerStage, if I understand correctly, is not just happening in Central Park this year. There are also going to be concerts in the other boroughs identified, labeled, branded as SummerStage?
Ryan Kailath: Yes, that's been going for a few years, but I think people are still just getting familiar with that because we all think, obviously, of SummerStage as the iconic Central Park location. I do think something new this year is you're getting a lot of the bigger musicians in the other boroughs. It was often relegated to smaller stuff. This year, we've got Big Freedia, also a classic New Orleans artist. They are playing Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy. The Roots, another favorite here, they're playing Flushing Meadows Corona Park. You're seeing big artists spreading out across the five boroughs this year.
Brian Lehrer: There is some controversy surrounding SummerStage this year. We should say two artists, Kehlani and Noname, had their sets canceled for seemingly political reasons. Is that the right way to put it?
Ryan Kailath: In the case of Kehlani, I think absolutely. No name, we actually haven't learned about why. Still trying to figure that out. Kehlani, so she's a pop singer-songwriter, very popular. Also a very vocal critic of Israel right now and the war in Gaza on social media and statements at concerts, et cetera. Perhaps it's not surprising. Reportedly, Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro sent a letter sternly worded to the City Parks Foundation, which throws SummerStage, on its face, expressing concerns about safety issues at the concert. Obviously, people have been reading between the political lines, whether it's really about safety or not. The foundation did cancel that concert.
Brian Lehrer: Let's head over to Brooklyn now. I see Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe are starting off the summer concerts in Prospect Park?
Ryan Kailath: Yes. I have to say, BRIC, which throws the Celebrate Brooklyn festival. They've gotten some flack in recent years about, "Oh, it's not as good as it used to be. You're not getting the same big names you used to." Well, this should dispel that. Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe, obviously, they're co-headliners, but those are about as big of names as you can get. Also similar to SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn, which is beloved long summer tradition, especially for Brooklynites, has something for everybody this year. I can talk about bands, genres.
Brian Lehrer: A broad range of genres there. Go ahead.
Ryan Kailath: Yes. In the classic rock stuff, you've got maybe somebody who represents every decade. Gogol Bordello is playing Dinosaur Jr., a big '90s band, Snail Mail, who are kind of indie darlings today, so it's kind of an indie music from across the decades.
Brian Lehrer: I love Gogo Bordello with some East European roots and putting all kinds of things together. How about the Juneteenth celebration? This is the third year with dedicated festivities for the holiday. Trump can't cancel a Juneteenth celebration in Brooklyn. Who are you looking forward to seeing perform there?
Ryan Kailath: I feel like as a nation, we're still figuring out what to do on the new federal holiday, like July 4th, Memorial Day, Labor Day. Everybody's got traditions. Maybe Juneteenth in the park can be New York's tradition for Juneteenth. They are having a performance by the funk stalwarts Ghost-Note that I'm very looking forward to.
Brian Lehrer: What about the film component of Celebrate Brooklyn? Do you have a list of movies yet that'll be on the big screen in the park?
Ryan Kailath: Yes, they don't do the ongoing every-week movie screening. They usually do a big one. They did a big Spike Lee thing. It was perhaps last year or the year before. This year, very fun. They're doing a Quincy Jones double bill of movie screenings. June 27th, they're screening the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which is about Quincy Jones, who produced the star-studded We Are the World recording that probably some of us remember from the mid-80s. July 26th, another Quincy Jones joint. They're screening The Wiz, which he soundtracked.
Brian Lehrer: 20 seconds. Any advice for folks attending Celebrate Brooklyn, SummerStage, kinds of concerts in the parks for the first time? Are lawn chairs a good idea? Do you recommend heading early for good spots? Any quick tips, real quick?
Ryan Kailath: Yes, those are both great suggestions. As a longtime veteran of these, I think the best thing you can go in is with an attitude of, "This is a free show, and wherever I end up, it's going to be fine. It's a nice night in the park. Let me enjoy myself whether I'm up close, far in the back, and not worry too much about elbowing people out of the way to try to get the best seat." You're just going to have a good time no matter what.
Brian Lehrer: WNYC and Gothamist arts and culture reporter Ryan Kailath. Thanks for giving us the scoop on this year's SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn.
Ryan Kailath: Fun to do it. Thanks, Brian.
Brian Lehrer: That's The Brian Lehrer Show for today. Stay tuned for All Of It. Alison has pastry chef and entrepreneur Dominique Ansel today to talk about his new bakery Papa D'amour, which blends French and Taiwanese baking techniques. Actor Wunmi Mosaku discusses her role as a spiritual healer in the vampire movie Sinners. Authors Adrian Miller and Deborah Chang join to discuss their book about various presidents, proclivities for Asian cuisine, and the White House chefs who cooked for them.
Poet and author Ocean Vuong discusses his new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, about an unlikely friendship between a young man and an elderly woman at the fringes of society. All coming up with Alison right after the latest news.
Copyright © 2025 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information.
New York Public Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline, often by contractors. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of New York Public Radio’s programming is the audio record.
