Brooklyn’s rite of spring–the Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties in Brooklyn Bridge Park–starts tonight. Photo: David Andrako
Once BRIC announces its Celebrate Brooklyn lineup, you know we’re just a few weeks out from a summer of free outdoor concerts. But the actual warm up begins much sooner—tonight in fact–when BRIC brings back its annual Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Now in its fifth year, these Thursday night lawn parties bring together the best dance musicians before the twinkling backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. It’s like a gift for enduring winter—a waterfront park you haven’t enjoyed in forever, now lush and filled with hundreds of your fellow New Yorkers, all ready to get down.
If you love classic soul and R&B, then tonight’s party with The Rhythm Revuelegend Felix Hernandez is calling your name, along with a spot on the dance floor for an epic Electric Slide. The W.A.F.F.L.E. Crew will help you brush up on all the classic moves when they warm up the crowd, and after Hernandez’s turn on the turntables, retro-soul band Sonny Knight & The Lakers closes the show with an energetic set.
Next Thursday May 21, British soul singer Jamie Lidell puts his own experimental spin on vintage soul during what will be a joyous night of partying. DJs JDH & Dave P—who can whip a crowd into a frenzy whether in Coachella, Ibiza or Brooklyn—will heat things up after the Brooklyn United Marching Band steps out and electrifies the night.
A percussive evening of Afro-Cuban jazz closes out the trio of parties on Thursday, May 28, when Grammy award-wining singer and conga player Poncho Sanchez takes the stage with his band for some Mambo madness. The excellent Jose Rivera will get your salsa moves in shape when he arrives early for a free lesson, followed by DJ Bobbito Garcia, aka Kool Bob Love, who’ll get the party started with a mix of Latin, world, and jazz.
When you’re ready for a dance break, food trucks and a waterfront beer garden will be waiting at each party, and the free valet bike parking makes it easy to keep moving all night long. The free fun begins at 7pm each night and ends by 10pm. Get directions to Pier 1 here, and save tonight (May 14), May 21 and 28 to your dance calendar.
