ANNOUNCING LINCOLN CENTER OUT OF DOORS 42nd SEASON
JULY 25-AUGUST 12, 2012

100 FREE PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS ACROSS THE PLAZAS OF LINCOLN CENTER

17 World, US and NY Debuts, Premieres and Commissions, Including:
* Phil Kline's dreamcitynine - festival-long GPS-based audio app installation plus live performance
* Art meets sport this Olympics summer with Kimmo Pohjonen's Accordion Wrestling
dance theater piece featuring the accordion experimentalist and ten Finnish wrestlers
Los Irreales de Ondatrópica - Quantic and Frente Cumbiero lead an intergenerational all-star gathering of Colombian musicians
* Celebrated Turkish psych-folk icon, singer Selda Bagcan, highlights Istanbulive
* The Bad Plus: On Sacred Ground - Re-envisioning Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring
* Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble - German minimal techno group's chamber orchestra
* Polyglot Theatre's Tangle - site-specific, audience-created installation and kids' "play space"

AND...
Marking the 40th Anniversary of "Soul and the Center," Lincoln Center's Landmark Festival of African-American Artists
With: * Black Rock Coalition's Pardon Our Analysis
Nile Rodgers * Lenny Williams * Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company * Otis Clay * Aloe Blacc
* Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls All-Stars * Swamp Dogg
Celebrating The Music That Shaped the Culture:
Laura Nyro, Frisner Augustin, Tite Curet Alonso, Gil Scott-Heron, Sister Songwriters, Irish American Songbook

That summary with highlights comes directly from Lincoln Center who also just posted the entire 2012 Lincoln Center Out of Doors schedule at their site.

I think I personally became aware of Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls through their many benefit events, for instance the one Titus Andronicus played earlier this year at Mercury Lounge. To quote the camp's mission page:

"Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls is a non-profit music and mentoring program that empowers girls and women through music education, volunteerism, and activities that foster self-respect, leadership skills, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration."

This summer the camp is presenting Rock Camp for Girls and Ladies Rock Camp, a version of their camp for adult women (ages 19+).

The next adult summer program (that you can still sign up for) is taking place from August 12-14 in Downtown Brooklyn at the Urban Assembly School of Music & Art. According to the website:

Ladies Rock Camp is an intensive, three-day music and mentoring program for adult women. The "grown-up" version of the summer camp for girls, the program brings together women from different walks of life and all levels of musical experience for a long weekend of instrument lessons, songwriting, band practice, and workshops, all culminating in a showcase concert at a professional music venue. Sliding scale tuition makes the program accessible to women from all income levels.

Basic tuition is $425, though you can save money by signing up with a friend, or by applying for reduced admission. They also have installment payment plans. More details at their site.

Want to go for FREE? We're giving way one free admission to all three days of the next Ladies Rock Camp. You just need to be at least 19 years old and female to enter. Contest and more details below.

Continue reading "Willie Mae Rock Camp offers an adult program in Brooklyn (win free admission)"

Titus Andronicus @ 285 Kent - New Years Eve (pic by DoubleBen)

"Hello friends. Happy New Year to all. I hope that it is a healthy and prosperous one for you all, thus far. We were fortunate enough to ring in our new year on a positive note with all of our old Jersey buddies this past Friday night - thanks to all of you who came out to that show, and our sincerest apologies to those who had their belongings tampered with or carried off by unseen malefactors. There is some lesson here about personal responsibility and looking after the good of the community, but I will leave it to you to decode - smart kids like you shouldn't have too much trouble.

If you were at the show, you also maybe heard me saying something about how it was our dearly beloved bassist Ian Graetzer's last show with the band. Well, the reason that I said that was that it was true - Ian isn't in the band anymore. Shocking, I know, considering that Ian has been in the band since the very beginning (in fact, he and I were the two guys who decided to form the group) and been present for every glorious victory, every bitter defeat, and all the innumerable, interminable hours in between. Not anymore, gang.

"What is the deal?" you may be asking, "Do you guys, like, hate each other now or something?" No, we don't hate each other. In fact, the months since Ian announced his departure plans (yes, the months!) have been some of the happiest and friendliest in all of our organization's history..." [Patrick Stickles]

As already discussed, Titus Andronicus played a sold out New Years Eve show at 285 Kent in Brooklyn. That's a picture of the festivities above. Was your stuff stolen?

UPDATE: Or did you just leave it behind?

Titus's next NYC show will also definitely sell out. That's because it's taking place at Mercury Lounge. Tickets for the February 10th Willie Mae Rock Camp For Girls benefit are on sale. No word on who will be playing bass. All Titus dates below...

Continue reading "Titus Andronicus played NYE (they lost their bassist, people lost stuff), playing Mercury Lounge (tix on sale)"

UPDATE: the May 31st benefit show at Bell House has been postponed

The 3rd annual Willie Mae-Ra-Thon is a four-day, all-Brooklyn music extravaganza with 20 diverse and talented bands taking the stage at Brooklyn venues such as Union Pool, The Bell House, and the newly opened Bruar Falls. Participating bands include legendary indie rock bands Antietam and Babe the Blue Ox, art punk upstarts Taigaa! and Pterodactyl, experimental funk ensemble Burnt Sugar and Brooklyn noise-pop faves Parts & Labor, among others.

The Willie Mae-Ra-Thon runs from Thursday, May 28th through Sunday, May 31st. All shows are 21+. The annual event is organized by the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls Advisory Board, which is made up of camp volunteers, camper parents, and other members of the Rock Camp community.

Another Willie Mae benefit coming up this summer is Ladies Camp, an 18+ weekend version of its rock school. Three day sessions start on Friday, July 24th and Friday, August 7th at Urban Assembly School of Music & Art, in Downtown Brooklyn.

The camp is also putting on a Spring Carnival on Saturday May 30th and Sunday, May 31st at 163 Plymouth Street in DUMBO. More info on that, and the Mae-Ra-Thon, below...

Continue reading "Willie Mae rock camp Mae-Ra-Thon benefit & carnival - shows by Parts & Labor, Antietam, Pterodactyl & more "