Ibeyi, Sudan Archives & Orion Sun @ Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park (pics)
After the 2019 season of BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park began with Patti LaBelle last week, it continued with the first free weekend show of the season on Saturday (6/8). Part of the American Express Women in Music Series, the lineup included two of the most prominent indie/soul crossover acts, Ibeyi and Sudan Archives, and well-matched support from Orion Sun.
Philly’s Orion Sun opened, and mentioned during her set that it was her first visit to Prospect Park. She mostly sang over pre-recorded tracks, mixed by DJ Haram at times, but also picked up a guitar for a bit later on during the set. Sudan Archives followed and, as usual, stuck primarily to her unique setup that features her electric violin, loop pedals, and samples. She was great.
Ibeyi headlined, and the crowd was clearly excited for them. As soon as they came on stage, the seated VIP section up front was completely full, with people standing along the sides and aisles, and quite a few people dancing. Eventually, fans started lining up along the rail to get closer to the sisterly duo, who have a playful dynamic on stage. Lisa-Kaindé primarily handles vocals and keys, while her sister Naomi Diaz handles the percussion, usually in the form of the cajón. They were joined at times by a small group of singers from The New York Soulful Singers, and when they would all come to the edge of the stage and encourage the audience to sing with them, it was very uplifting.
Pictures of all three acts are in the gallery above. The free BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival shows continue with Calexico and Iron & Wine (6/21), Tortoise playing TNT (6/22), Liz Phair/Ted Leo (6/29), Mick Jenkins/Leikeli47 (7/5), Oddisee (7/6), I’m With Her (7/18), Broken Social Scene/Nilufer Yanya (7/25), and more. Full schedule here.
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words & photos by Ellen Qbertplaya
