Natural Music #7: Summer Concert Preview
Natural Music #7: Summer Concert Preview
A sampling of exciting musical happenings over the next 3 months
Most people, even those who really really love music, don’t go to enough concerts. Sure its a matter of time, and money, but most often I think it’s just a lack of information and not realizing what all is going on. It’s an impossible task to keep tabs on the tens of regular venues and the various one offs always happening.
The regularly updated concert list at the bottom of every post isn’t perfect but its my attempt to address that information gap. This special newsletter transmission was to call out some shows taking place this summer that I think deserve your special attention. I will be doing this quarterly so stay tuned in the fall.
There are promoters in the city that embody this idea (not enough live music) into their event curation like Dripping which does a great job crafting lineups for their Nowadays nights and their annual festival that bridge the gap between live performance and DJs.
29 Speedway is a platform for artists exploring the fringes of interdisciplinary art, featuring forward-thinking improvisational music, live multimedia, and even dance and puppetry into the mix.
Conditioner has also been throwing parties with really strong lineups spanning experimental live music / dj sets and together with 29 Speedway they’ve curated one of the events highlighted below.
There are a also couple great Substack newsletters that regularly feature and cover other live music happening in spheres that I’m not plugged into that I can’t recommend enough:
- a weekly Bklyn Sounds newsletter calling out interesting shows for the week. - keeps a regularly updated Master List of upcoming performances of interest to the new-music community: contemporary classical music and jazz, electronic and electroacoustic music, and idioms for which no clever genre name has been coined.—
That’s all for now though, enjoy the recs below and I hope to see some of you at the shows!
A couple standout shows and tracks from the lineups for the next few months. Many of these shows are free and the first few happen to be this week. A full list of summer shows that I will continue to keep updated is below.
Tue, June 25 - Sen Morimoto, Naima @TV Eye
Naima is potentially the most slept-on discovery I’ve stumbled upon this year. The Queens based artist has just a few hundred monthly listeners but her City Lights EP (highlighted on the last NL) is incredibly vibey, dreamy bedroom r&b perfect for fans of L’rain, Blood Orange, Tirzah, Kelela, or Solange.
Wed, Jun 26 - Horse Lords w/ Leya @ Le Poisson Rouge
Horse Lords is an experimental rock band that makes pulsating music that employs ideas such as minimalist composition, just intonation, polyrhythmic patterning, free jazz and improvisation.
Their 2022 album was described perfectly by one bandcamp comment.
BenPujara - "A jangled euphoric jam like shaking an etch-a-sketch and making Matisse. Masterful."
The band is performing “in the round” at LPR which essentially means performing on a stage surrounded on all sides by attendees and its sure to be an experience.
Fri, Jun 28 - Chanel Beads, Mei Semones @ Bryant Park (7-10pm, FREE)
Chanel Beads is one of the hottest bands coming up in NYC right now. Every show they’ve had has sold out, quickly, and for good reason. When I saw them open for Mount Kimbie they really stole the show for me and I felt more inspired from live music than I had in quite a while.
Shane Lavers incorporates the scrappy sonics of post-punk, the gripping sentimentality of pop tunes, and the spectral artifice of electronic music, blurring the lines through unconventional song structures that build into transcendental climaxes.
Mei Semones is a self described “Jazz influenced DIY artist based” and her recent EP is a wonderful showcase of her unique blend of jazz, bossa nova, and math-y indie rock. Mei’s tender bilingual lyrics float over her intricate guitar work and sweeping string arrangements.
Sun, Jun 30 - Lip Critic @ TV Eye
Noisy, twisted electronic garage punk madness that hits like a freight train with massive sub warping bass lines reminiscent of Death Grips, The Garden and Machine Girl.
Sat, July 13 - MIKE'S YOUNG WORLD IV: EARL SWEATSHIRT / SKAIWATER / STACY EPPS / SIDESHOW / MIKE @Herbert Von King Park [Free]
Local hero MIKE has been steadily building a vibrant hip-hop community of like-minded souls at his annual Young World festival. This year the event returns to Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy with Earl Sweatshirt, who has been the voice of a generation and the face of a corner of hip hop for a decade now.
With a focus on black musicians and creatives, the festival provides a fully accessible afternoon of music, visual art, food, clothes, and children’s activities in Bed Stuy. The ultimate goal is to inspire the next generation of black youth to see creative professions as a viable option and create their own creative communities – thus “Young World.
Thu, Jul 18 - 29 Speedway x Conditioner: Arushi Jain, Contour, Daytona 500, Isabella Koen @ Nowadays
Arushi Jain brings Hindustani classical music alive for a new generation. Armed with modular synths and a beautiful voice, she creates an unorthodox vision of centuries-old traditional music through an ambient lens.
Contour’s latest album in collaboration with Omari Jazz is a lushly spirited, sanguine salvo that meditates on matters of “Black being and nonbeing, life and mourning, and the individual and collective” that floats somewhere between neo-soul and ambient classical.
Daytona 500 is the duo of DJ Deadname and Eva Loveless, two important individuals in the brooklyn bass scene that I wrote about in May. I’ve yet to catch them but I have no doubts they’ll deliver a percussive, dextrous excursion into the low end for this 29 Speedway x Conditioner showcase.
Thur, Aug 1 Anastasia Coope, Chanel Beads (DJ) @
Anastasia’s recent debut is an album of heady, forward thinking pop music that might be described as freak folk by some. It’s sparse and quant at times but full of pleasantly unusual earworms with melodies float around a room like “What Doesn’t Work What Does” and “Woke Up With No Feet”.
Sat, Aug 3 - The Body & Dis Fig w/ Cel Genesis @ Le Poisson Rouge
The Body and Dis Fig find kinship in reimagining what it means to make “heavy music”. Their debut album highlighted back in the march transmission is the perfect synthesis of two forces, twisting melodicism and intoxicating rhythms, layering a dense miasma of distortion with intense beats and a soaring voice clawing its way towards absolution.
I’m unfamiliar with Cel Genesis but two bandcamp comments on their latest album compliment the live experience enough that I’m intrigued.
“See them perform live if you want to experience a true rebirth.”
“One of the best live performances I’ve ever experienced.”
Fri, Aug 9 - Tirzah, Loraine James, Purelink @ Knockdown Center
Tirzah had to cancel half of her North American tour in 2023 after getting sick but she returns to Knockdown Center August 9th alongside UK experimental composer, producer and singer Loraine James, and ambient-dub-techno trio Purelink. Three of the best doing it today and surely not one to miss.
Tue, Sep 17 - Perfume Genius @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
It’s not exactly summer but Perfume Genius is an incredible performer and this will sell out. He moves with grace on stage fully displaying his passion through expressive movements as he delivers stunning vocal performances. This tour is in support of the 10th year anniversary of his excellent break-out album ‘Too Bright’.
Full NYC Concert List (updated 8/7)
Sun, Aug 11 - Robber Robber, This is Lorelei @ Baby’s All Right
Wed, Aug 11 - Activity • Frances Chang @ Union Pool
Mon, Aug 12 - WILD NOTHING, PEEL DREAM MAGAZINE @ Elsewhere
Fri, Aug 16 - MomaPS1 Warm Up: Kode9 | Cashu | SoFTT
Fri, Aug 16 - Helado Negro @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sat, Aug 17 - King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Aug 17 - Music at MoMA: Jlin and Suzi Analogue [free w admission]
Sun, Aug 18 - Big Brave @ TV Eye
Sun, Aug 18 - Washed Out @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Aug 22 - Ojerime @ Cafe Erzulie
Aug 21-27 - Jeff Rosenstock @ Warsaw
Fri, Aug 23 - Pure Bathing Culture @ Union Pool
Fri, Aug 23 - Casey MQ w/ 7038634357 @ LPR
Sat, Aug 24 - DAZEGXD (EXHIBITION MODE RELEASE SHOW), QUINN @ Elsewhere
Mon, Aug 26 & Tue, Aug 27 - Childish Gambino, WILLOW @ Barclays Center
Fri, Aug 30 - Yara Bey @ The Sultan Rooftop [Free]
Wed, Sep 4 - Crumb @ Brooklyn Paramount
Thu, Sep 5 - Okay Kaya @ Xanadu
Sun, Sep 8 - Manchester Orchestra / Militarie Gun @ Starland Ballroom
Mon, Sep 9 - MARIKA HACKMAN, ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND @ Elsewhere
Mon, Sep 9 - Charly Bliss @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Tue, Sep 10 - St. Vincent / Yves Tumor @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Sep 10 - The Beths @ Sony Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - MAVI / Pink Siifu @ Webster Hall
Thu, Sep 12 - Hans Zimmer @ MSG
Sat, Sep 14 - JPEGMAFIA / Jane Remover @ Terminal 5
Sept 14-19 - Claire Residency @ Webster Hall
Sun, Sep 15 - Weird Science: Container / Nose Drip @ TV EYE
Sun, Sep 15 - The Killers @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sun, Sep 15 - PJ Harvey @ Terminal 5
Tue, Sep 17 - Perfume Genius Too Bright 10th Anniversary & Julianna Barwick @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri, Sep 20 - Magdalena Bay @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri, Sep 20 - Sarah Davachi @ LPR
Sat, Sep 21 - Special Interest @ Le Poisson Rouge
Sun, Sep 22 - Rapsody @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Astrid Sonne + Christelle Bofale @ Public Records
Mon, Sep 23 - Luna Li @ Bowery Ballroom
Mon, Sep 23 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records
Wed, Sep 25 - The Armed / H09909 @ Pioneer Works
Wed, Sep 25 - Mk.gee @ Terminal 5
Wed, Sep 25 - JOHN GLACIER, IFE RADIO, ANYSIA KYM @ Elsewhere
Wed, Sep 25 - NABIHAH IQBAL, SUGAR MILK @ Elsewhere
Fri, Sep 27 - IDLES, The Walkmen @ Forest Hills Stadium
Sat, Sep 28 - Objekt, See Mask, ADAB @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sun, Sep 29 - Mica Levi, Still House Plants, claire rousay @ Knockdown Center Ruins
Sun, Sep 29 - Mk.gee @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Oct 1 - Nilüfer Yanya @ Brooklyn Steel
Tue, Oct 1 - Erland Cooper w/ Clarice Jensen @ LPR
Wed, Oct 2 - The Softies @ Public Records
Wed, Oct 2 - Tropical Fuck Storm @ Warsaw
Wed, Oct 2 - A. Savage (of Parquet Courts) @ Union Pool
Thu, Oct 3 - Toro y Moi @ Knockdown Center
Thu, Oct 3 - Hotline TNT @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed, Oct 2 - Duster @ Webster Hall
Mon, Oct 7 - Kishi Bashi @ Warsaw
Wed, Oct 9 - Half Waif & Lori Sax @ Brooklyn Made
Wed, Oct 9 - Public Memory, Mint Field @ TV Eye
Thu, Oct 10 - Moses Sumner, Mustafa, & more @ Knockdown Center
Fri, Oct 11 - Nia Archives & hitech @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat, Oct 12 - Haru Nemuri @ Elsewhere
Tue, Oct 15 & Wed, Oct 16 - Fontaines DC @ Brooklyn Paramount
Tue, Oct 15 - Xiu Xii @ LPR
Fri, Oct 18 - LSDXOXO (live) @ National Sawdust
Fri, Oct 18 - The Voidz @ The Apollo
Fri, Oct 18 - Vince Staples @ Terminal 5
Sat, Oct 19 & Sun, Oct 20 - Orville Peck @ Brooklyn Paramount
Sat, Oct 19 - Hania Rani @ Warsaw
Sat, Oct 19 - CHANEL BEADS, LUCY (COOPER B. HANDY), FEARDORIAN @ Elsewhere
Fri, Oct 18 & Sat, Oct 19 - ANOHNI and the Johnsons @ BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Sun, Oct 20 - Sega Bodega @ Knockdown Center
Mon, Oct 21 - The Void @ Knockdown Center
Mon, Oct 21 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre
Tue, Oct 22 - Air performing 'Moon Safari' @ Beacon Theatre
Tue, Oct 22 - HOMESHAKE, Freak Heat Waves @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Wed, Oct 23 - Chris Cohen @ Baby's All Right
Thu, Oct 24 - Massive Attack @ Forest Hills Stadium
Thu, Oct 24 - Osees @ Warsaw
Fri, Oct 25 - Naima Bock @ Union Pool
Fri, Oct 25 - Contour @ National Sawdust
Sat, Oct 26 - American Football @ Warsaw
Sun, Oct 27 - American Football @ Warsaw
Tue, Oct 29 - Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn @ National Sawdust
Wed, Oct 30 - Cassandra Jenkins @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu, Oct 31 - Touche Amore @ Warsaw
Fri, Nov 1 - Cursive @ White Eagle Music Hall
Thu, Nov 7 - Spirit of the Beehive @ Warsaw
Fri, Nov 8 & Sat, Nov 9 - Lankum @ Warsaw
Sat, Nov 9 - The Garden @ Brooklyn Paramount
Mon, Nov 10 - Caribou, yunè pinku @ Brooklyn Mirage
Mon, Nov 11 - Laura Marling @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Nov 13 - Pond, Fazerdaze @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu, Nov 14 - Slow Pulp, Hannah Jadagu @ Webster Hall
Fri, Nov 15 - Slow Pulp, Full Body 2 @ Webster Hall
Fri, Nov 15 - A.G. Cook @ Knockdown Center
Sat, Nov 16 - Ratboys @ Warsaw
Mon, Nov 18 - Slowdive @ Brooklyn Paramount
Mon, Nov 18 - Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief) @ King's Theatre
Wed, Nov 20 - Crack Cloud @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Nov 20 - Porches @ Brooklyn Steel
Thu, Nov 21 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor @ Pioneer Works
Thu, Nov 21 - Caribou, Yune Pinko @ Brooklyn Mirage
Sat, Dec 7 - Billy Woods and Kenny Segal Perform Hiding Places
Thu, Dec 12 - Mono @ Pioneer Works
Sat, Jan 25 - Porridge Radio @ Warsaw
Playlists
quick plug for these regularly updated playlist
It would be amazing if you could share this newsletter with a friend that wants more live music in their life and comment what shows you’re most excited for this summer below.
Thx for reading!!!
- Aleksander