Grammy Award winning artist Common will headline opening night of the 40th anniversary gala and concert of the Brooklyn Information & Culture (BRIC) Celebrate Brooklyn! festival June 5 at Prospect Park Bandshell. He will take the stage at 8 pm
Common, a socially-conscious hip hop performer and actor who has become a prominent voice in hip hop’s new millennium renaissance, is one of many artists to perform at Celebrate Brooklyn! concerts from June 5-30, according to BRIC, the host of one of New York’s largest running, free outdoor performing arts festivals.
The hip-hop recording artist will perform works from the “Can I Borrow a Dollar” album he debuted in 1992, and many others.
Christened Lonnie Corant Jaman Shuka Rashid Lynn, Jr., and known fully as Common Sense, the poet-performer maintained a significant underground following into the late 1990s, after which he gained notable mainstream success through his work with the Soulquarians, according to reports.
The author of “One Day I will Make Sense”, who won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2015 Academy Award, for Best Original Song for “Glory” is expected to thrill his audience.
Other free upcoming concerts include, Los Lobos, June 10, at 3 pm; The Jayhawks, June 16 at 7 pm, June 21, Aimee Mann at 7:30 pm, R+R Now Ft. Robert Glasper and others at 7:30 pm, June 23, Fischerspooner at 7:30 pm; The Blues Project featuring Dorrance Dane, June 28 at 8 pm, and Branford Marsalis/Roger Guenveur Smith and others, June 29 at 7:30 pm.
The festival is dedicated to nurturing and supporting new works from artists in all genres. Every year a small group of artists are selected to support in the development of new works. The commissioned projects are presented in the Festival’s upcoming summer season.
Previous commissions include work from Alloy Orchestra, BQE Project, Brave New World Repertory Theater, Sean Curran and many more, according to BRIC.
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