New York City: festival season 2012
- By Hazel Sheffield -
- Jun 04, 2012
Summer is upon us, and with it myriad opportunities to see your favourite bands play live - often for free. New Yorkers are privileged to live in a city of 24-hour entertainment with a constant stream of stellar live acts passing through. But there's something particularly special about the festival - the chance to dance in the grass, catch more than one show in a day, and be part of a proper community of music lovers. The options go from free evening concerts to sprawling industry showcases. We've selected ten of the best in a two-week series of previews that starts now, below.
Catalpa Festival
July 28th and 29th
$139.99 for the weekend without travel pass
The organisers of the first Catalpa Festival have set themselves the mission of addressing what they see as a void in creative, cutting-edge music events in New York City. Just how do they hope to do so, you ask? With bumper cars, a giant sculpture shooting balls of fire 30 foot into the sky, and an inflatable church of sham marriages, of course! There's music too, from The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg, and Brits The Big Pink. Catalpa will take over the tiny Randall's Island, previously famous for its poor houses and mental asylums, in July.
Governors Ball
June 23rd and 24th
$180 for the weekend without travel pass
Also on Randall's Island, Governors Ball can't promise fireballs, but it does pledge no overlapping sets so you have no excuse for missing acts on the predominantly electronic line up. In its second year, Governors Ball will host Modest Mouse, Chromeo, Passion Pit and Duck Sauce across two stages. Indie royalty Beck and Fiona Apple are also down for sets, for those who prefer their open air dancing with a side of guitars.
Northside
June 14-17
Limited advance tickets still available for $80
This Brooklyn festival will be tackling music, art, film and entrepreneurship. They've transformed a 40,000 square foot factory in Williamsburg into a conference centre for a trade show and everything. Their approach to music is more showcase than 4-day mashup in a field, but there are a fair few acts worth catching across Brooklyn's venues, including garage rockers Crystal Stilts, veteran dream popstars Asobi Seksu and beguiling goth twins Zambri.
Celebrate Brooklyn
June 5 - August 7
FREE
Celebrate Brooklyn is a series of free concerts in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, that has been running for a whopping 34 years this summer. You won't find any fancy festival gimmicks here, just good old-fashioned outdoor shows including Sigur Ros, Wilco, Hot Chip and Laura Marling in the Prospect Park bandshell. And it's all free.
CBGB Festival
July 5-7
Badges start at $69.00
Under the guise of an emerging artist showcase, the founders of the legendary punk venue will be bringing Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Wyclef Jean and others to 20 venues across Manhattan and Brooklyn on July 5-6, followed by a big concert on the Central Park Summerstage on the 7th.
By Hazel Sheffield. Blogs at HazelSheffield and tweets at @hazelsheffield
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