The show will go on — albeit a few days later — for opening night of the 45th Annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! festival.
Headliner Taj Mahal is on board to take the stage after opening night was initially canceled due to the hazardous conditions caused by the Canadian wildfires earlier this week.
Wes Jackson, president of the nonprofit arts institution that produces the free event, announced Friday that the Grammy-winning blues great has re-routed his touring schedule to perform a concert on Monday, June 12 at Prospect Park’s Lena Horne Bandshell. The Harlem Gospel Travelers will be on hand to serve as the opening act, with DJ Tara keeping the fun going before the show and between sets.
The original kickoff, which included British soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae, was scheduled for Wednesday but was canceled — like other local activities — due to poor air quality that engulfed the city.
“Taj Mahal is a longtime friend of BRIC, who has played the Bandshell four times throughout the years,” Jackson told the Us.Mistertruth. “Rescheduling our opening night to get him back in the spotlight where he belongs was a no-brainer.”
“It was important for us to reschedule not only to give Taj and our other artists their moment at the Bandshell, but to bring our community together around a shared love and appreciation of music,” Jackson added. “Creating joyful experiences is more important than ever these days, and that philosophy is at the heart of what we do at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! every summer.”
To commemorate the 45th anniversary of the festival, Jackson and his team are hosting Family Day on Saturday, June 10, featuring Afro-futurist griots Soul Science Lab and Brooklyn-based openers Olivia K and The Parkers.
The three-month concert series lineup also includes rock band The Wallflowers, R&B crooners JOE and Stokley (of Mint Condition fame) and Jamaican dancehall superstar Marcia Griffiths — known for her iconic 1983 remake of Bunny Wailer’s “Electric Boogie.”
Hip hop innovator and Alvin Ailey choreographer Rennie Harris’s PureMovement dance company and Grammy-winning Malian Wassoulou musician Oumou Sangarè are among the performers making their debuts at the 2023 festival.
This year’s event has the theme of “looking to the future, while honoring the past.”