@averysunshine

Really thrilled about this show I’ve booked at Drom this Thursday.  NYC, this is Avery’s first show since the fall, so if you’re a fan (and you should be if you claim to like a great voice and powerful artistry) you should be here.

As I said previously, get your tickets, since this one might sell out.

Additional links:

• April 12 show information
• Avery*Sunshine official
  

@justabandwidth @analoguetransit

That’s right, fam! Those of you who have last summer’s compilation, The Getaway, have heard Just A Band’s banger “Huff + Puff” and you know it’s still heat! The band is going to finally make its US debut on Thursday, August 25 at Drom in NYC. Kwaku Aning and Jeff Shreiner, better known as Analogue Transit, open the show.

JAB’s NYC show is one of several things they’ll be doing during the time they’ll be in town, one of which is the opening of their art exhibit KUDISHNYAO! at Rush Fine Arts on August 18. The exhibit combines “infectious music,off-beat visuals and social commentary” into a 6-channel video installation.  I’m told that Kudishnyao (pronounced COO-DISH-NY-OW), shouted by children on Kenyan playgrounds for years, is an onomatopoeic word for a bullet ricocheting.  The exhibit is organized by Wangechi Mutu Studios.

And I definitely want to shout out fam at Afropop Worldwide, The Couch Sessions and Society HAE for supporting this show.

Venue info is here on the Drom site.

So, want to check out the show? Click on the artwork below to enter your deets in the form for a chance to win tickets.  We’ve got TWO (2) pair to giveaway, so enter now and keep your fingers crossed!

Additional links:

• Just A Band official
• Analogue Transit official
  

As ever in NYC, there’s lots of music happening.  This Thursday, it’s Sandra St. Victor’s “Naked & Lovely” set.  Then, you can return to the Highline on Saturday for Spyz.

Not only do you get Jimi Hazel, Rick Skatore and Tobias Ralph, but you get the first-ever reunion of the Strength In Numbers lineup that includes Jeff Broadnax (vocals) and Joel Maitoza (drums).  Opening are the ever-talented Apollo Heights.

Highline Ballroom
Doors/Show: 6PM
$10 advance/$15 door

Additional links:

• 24-7 Spyz
• Apollo Heights

@weeksville

The FREE Garden Party series at Weeksville Heritage Center concludes this Saturday with a headlining performance by Theophilus London.

Additional links:

• Theophilus London official
• Phony Ppl on MySpace

@weeksville

Week #3 of Weeksville’s Garden Party series continues.

@sandrastvictor

Starting at the end of the month, you’ll have four(4) chances to see the incredible Sandra St. Victor on our side of ye old pond.  That’s right, in what seems to be an annual event, Sandra does right by her Stateside fans (the East Coast ones, at least) and settles in a for stretch.  The big show seems to be the one above at the Highline in NYC.  She’s also promoting a fifth date in Paris.  Oolala!

The dates:

July 30 – Steve Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra at the World Financial Center NYC
August 4 – SSV Naked & Lovely at Highline Ballroom, NYC
August 6 – SSV acoustic at Adinkra’s House, NJ
August 13 – Live Tropical Fish featuring Sandra St. Victor & Maya Azucena
September 11 – Steve Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra (Paris, France)

Heads up have been given.  Shout out to Fiona Bloom, who’s co-promoting the show.

Additional link:

• Sandra St. Victor official

Weeksville Heritage Center’s Garden Party Series continues this weekend.  Can’t say we didn’t remind you.

@weeksville

Summer in Brooklyn wouldn’t be summer without Weeksville Heritage Center’s annual Garden Party, now would it?  So mark your calendars for another exciting month of free Saturday outdoor concerts.  And, as was the case last year, I’m really thrilled that Boldaslove.us returns as a media partner for this great series.

It’s already been called “the best outdoor bash of the summer” by the NY Daily News. Now in case you’re not familiar, Weeksville Heritage Center documents and preserves the history of the free and intentional 19th century African American community of Weeksville. The historic Hunterfly Road Houses (three historic houses dating from 1840 – 1880s) are original domestic structures of the historic community.

Weeksville and its curator Shawn Peters packed a lot of great music into a short period of time.  If you came through last year, you saw artists like Cody ChestnuTT, Valerie June, Kimberly Nichole, Kameron Corvet, and Blitz the Ambassador. This year will be no less exciting. As was the case last year, there will be delicious food courtesy of local favorties NY Dosa, Wafels and Dinges, Nha Toi, La Table Exquise and Kem’s Jerk.  All events start at 6PM, except for the July 2, which starts at 4pm with a lecture by acclaimed novelist Teju Cole.  Check out the lineup:

Pharoahe Monch has earned a reputation as one of hip-hop’s most gifted lyricists, described as “one of the most socially conscious cats in the game” (XXL), tackling real issues with a”full, flawless voice” (Spin). From his pioneering work as one half of the critically acclaimed alternative hip-hop duo Organized Konfusion, to his solo debut in 1999, the Southside Jamaica, Queens, M.C has gained fans all over the world. Over the course of his career, Monch has collaborated with hip-hop’s greatest and worked alongside a cast of artists as diverse as MosDef, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, Linkin Park, Wyclef Jean, Macy Gray, will.i.am, and Beck. Hot off the heels of his newest album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) via Duck Down Music/WAR Media, Monch will deliver a highly anticipated set.

Congolese-Belgian singer/rapper Baloji and his band blend the lilting, melodious, guitar sounds of traditional Congolese music, rumba, Nigerian afro-funk, soukous, and what he calls retro-futuristic tradi-modern style with lyrics that weave socio-political stories about life in Kinshasa and Belgium.

Meshell Ndegeocello was born Michelle Johnson in Berlin, Germany, and raised in Washington, DC. Her records, eight to date, have offered lyrical ruminations on race, love, sex, betrayal, God and power. She has simultaneously embraced and challenged listeners with her refusal to be pigeon-holed musically or personally. A vast array of influences have informed all of her albums, including her latest—Devil’s Halo, which includes traces of her native go-go, hip-hop, rock, R&B, new wave and punk.

Celebrated for her musicianship as a bass player, Ndegeocello brings her signature warm, fat, and melodic groove to Weeksville, in the borough she now resides. She has collaborated with the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Alanis Morrisette, James Blood Ulmer, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tony Allen, John Medeski, Billy Preston and Chaka Khan, among others.

Indie singer/songwriter/keyboardist Muhsinah’s sound includes gripping vocals, inspired wordplay and thoughtful composition. The classically trained, Washington D.C. native toured with Common last year and is featured on his track “Changes.” For her Weeksville set, Muhsinah will perform songs from her forthcoming album Gone, due out this summer.

Originally from Nigeria, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Keziah Jones burst on the scene in 1993 with his first album, Blue Funk is a Fact which included Rhythm Is Love, a single that became a worldwide hit and exhibited many of the musical directions that Jones would take during his career, from blues to funk via rock, pop and Afrobeat. Based in Brooklyn, while keeping up his Lagos-Paris-London shuttle trips, Keziah Jones has toured around the world. Jones covered U2’s One on the compilation In The Name of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, he has also worked with Les Nubian and Amadou and Miriam. His fourth studio album, Nigerian Wood, was released in 2007.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, emerging artist Sophia Urista has been seen all around New York brandishing herunique blend of soul, blues and rock and roll at venues such as Sugar Bar and Le Poisson Rouge. The Brooklyn-based artist cites Tina Turner, Bjork, Etta James and Janis Joplin as influences.

Since his first mixtape in 2008, Trinidad born, Brooklyn-raised MC Theophilus London has worked with Mark Ronson, Damon Albarn, Solange Knowles, DaveSitek and Ellie Goulding. Mashing a sharp mix of 80′s electro-soul and synth pop with smooth lyrical delivery and straightforward rhymes, London’s voice is a refreshing glimpse into the future of hip-hop music. His debut album–Timez Are Weird These Days–is set for release this summer. Recorded over the last year in Stockholm, New York and Los Angeles, London worked with a number of different producers including Ariel Rechstshaid (Foreign Born, MURS, Glasser), Jokke of The Teddybears, John Hill (Santigold) and Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio.

The Brooklyn-based band Phony Ppl produce what they call “Feel Good Music,” a seamless blend of hip-hop with rock and jazz elements. The eight-member band—all comprised of young adults under the age of 21—will perform music from the upcoming LP, Morning Music.

Stay tuned for Q&A’s with some of the artists in the series.

Additional link:

• Weeksville Heritage Center

So, y’all realize I’ve been tryna holla at you about this since last October.  The Apollo run sold out, and so did the show at Le Poisson Rouge.  And I even showed you a reasonable facsimile of Karma Mayet Johnson’s defining rendition of “It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s, World”.

Which is all to say, if you haven’t seen this, really, do yourself a favor and check it out for FREE on either Friday or Saturday night at Herbert Von King Park, or Von King Park, for those of you in Brooklyn!

Showtime both nights is at 8pm, and it’s definitely a show you can take the kids to.

@analogueTRansit

Kwaku Aning (l) and Jeff Shreiner  take over BAMCafe tomorrow night at 9pm.  There’s some really strong songwriting going on here, so if you’re that, great duo vocals and a sound that straddles the analog and the digital, then you know where you need to be tomorrow night.

More info on the BAM site.

Additional link:

• Analogue TRansit official