Everyone's favorite BQE-enthusiast musician will be coming to town this summer for a special outdoor concert. Sensitive indie dude-turned-dayglo prancer Sufjan Stevens will be playing a rare outdoor show at Prospect Park on Tuesday August 2 for the annual Celebrate Brooklyn! festival. And tickets are on-sale now! more ›

File under: things Brooklyn Heights residents will be complaining about. Last year some of the borough's locals rallied against the Movies With A View series at Pier 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park—so if Annie Hall was too loud for them, they're going to be just thrilled to hear about the new Celebrate Brooklyn! Bridge Dance Party coming in May! (After all, these are also the same people who protested a pretty carousel!) The series will run for three consecutive Thursday nights starting at 7p.m., and will include deejays, performances, and even dance lessons. The lineup for the traditional Celebrate Brooklyn! series, entering its 33rd season, will be announced at the first event. more ›

Is there any better big venue live band these days than Sonic Youth? Okay, maybe Radiohead, maybe Phish, and maybe—depending on how their Madison Square Garden debut goes this week—even Arcade Fire. (Yes, we just used Phish in the same breath as Sonic Youth; the crucifixion line forms on the right!) But none of those bands possess Sonic Youth's illustrious history, or restless dynamism, or reckless edge. Frontman Thurston Moore is middle age (his wife/bandmate Kim Gordon's even older!) but after seeing them crush the Celebrate Brooklyn bandshell in Prospect Park Saturday night, it's clear that their particular blend of punk-pop-noise rock is some sort of magical, anti-aging elixir that ought to be bottled and sold worldwide. Don't grow old gracefully; shred it every step of the way with Tonic Youth. more ›

The last time we saw The National they were rubbing elbows with the likes of Julia Stiles in a fancy bank vault after their epic 20-song set at BAM (filmed by the DA Pennebaker)—but last night they were amongst the trees playing to the masses in Prospect Park. And everything was right in the world once again. more ›

To the desperate audiophile strapped for cash, thou shalt not fear: This summer there are free concerts aplenty, featuring names both MTV-friendly and ruthlessly obscure. Just make sure to get there early, to avoid getting shut out (or worse, risk being trampled by a mob). We've selected various shows to look out for, but visit the concert series' websites for full details. Tonight, be sure to check out DJ Brennan Green and Delorean at Stuyvesant Oval's Music on the Oval, or hear Dark Dark Dark provide a live score to the road movie Flood Tide: Remixed at Socrates Sculpture Park! more ›

Though the solstice isn't until tomorrow, let's just bend the rules a little and agree that one of the best concerts of the summer has already taken place, last night under the stars at the Prospect Park bandshell. On a perfectly sublime June night, eight eminently talented musicians gathered to pay homage to Miles Davis's groundbreaking jazz fusion double LP Bitches Brew, which debuted some four decades ago. Last night's brewmasters were led by composer and cornetist Graham Haynes, who was joined by Marco Benevento on keyboards, James Blood Ulmer on hollow body electric guitar, Adam Rudolph on percussion, the amazing Melvin Gibbs on bass, An­toine Roney on clarinet, the explosive Cindy Blackman on drums, and DJ Logic on turntables. more ›

Click through for more on Spoon's big Radio City show, The Walkmen at Bell House, She and Him at Bowery Ballroom, and the return of Celebrate Brooklyn! more ›

Hailed as "America's next great band" by Relix Magazine, psychedelic indie-rockers Dr. Dog will charm your fleas off with their shimmering harmonies, crunchy hooks, and affable grooves. Based in Philadelphia, the group's been a fixture on the NYC indie-rock circuit for years now; some music geeks may even remember them playing as part of a buzz band sandwich at Southpaw with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Dirty on Purpose way back in 2005! That was four years ago, and we're old. But Dr. Dog shows now sign of senility, and Saturday night's headlining slot at Celebrate Brooklyn is their biggest New York appearance yet. It's a free concert, with opening support from Brooklyn’s Matthew Houck, a.k.a. Phosphorescent, and electro-folk band These United States. We recently spoke with Dr. Dog's co-founder Scott McMicken about hippies, hipsters, and Baptists. more ›

Also this week: more ›

Over the years more and more outdoor venues have sprung up out of the lush park land and the not-so-lush concrete spaces of New York. From Central Park Summerstage to the Seaport to McCarren Pool (RIP), there's no shortage of outdoor music venues during the summer months. But now the NY Post is pitting them against each other! They say that while Summerstage used to be "a magnet for denizens of the five boroughs, as well as hordes of tourists," its reign may be challenged as people are beginning to voice complaints of it "being too hot, too crowded, too greedy." more ›

Brooklyn-based alt rock pioneers They Might Be Giants have decided to start sponsoring little league teams, following in the footsteps of other community-friendly entrepreneurs like Hoffman Car Wash and Dick's Sporting Goods. It's another savvy move for the protean Johns, because the free advertising can't help but boost record sales on their growing catalog of children's albums. (The band just won a Grammy for Best Children's album for "Here Come the 123s") more ›

While the Woodstock crew tries to work out the logistics of having their 40th anniversary concert in Prospect Park, the folks at Celebrate Brooklyn! have announced some of their summer show lineups, including an Opening Night Green Gala & Concert to kick it all off. On June 8th you can attend the eco-friendly Gala for anywhere from $325 to $10,000, which includes a reserved seat to the concert (Mr. David Bryne), cocktails, dinner, and a dance party, and they ask that you wear summer cocktail attire (that sounds so Gatsby!). Those pinching their pennies can pay $0 to $3 (suggested donation) for non-reserved seats to the concert portion of the evening. Not a bad deal! more ›

Bob Dylan will be playing to a sold out crowd at Prospect Park tonight, and while some ticket gouging is going on at various online outlets, you can probably hear the mumbling of the folk legend outside the perimeter of the venue for free. Will Dylan be returning to one of his old stomping grounds? There seems to be some uncertainty about him living in Brooklyn Heights. While he alluded to spending time there (allegedly at "Capulet's, the late-lamented Brooklyn Heights cafe") and even mentioned living there in his song Tangled Up in Blue ("I lived with them on Montague Street/In a basement down the stairs/There was music in the cafes at night/And revolution in the air"), he could have very well just been crashing at a friend's pad. Although, he is listed as a notable resident on the ever-so-reliable Wikipedia. Former resident or not, this is his first concert in New York City in two years. more ›

The highly idiosyncratic yet surprisingly catchy experimental rock band Deerhoof has been called "one of the most original rock bands to have come along in the last decade." And that's not coming from some dude's blog, that's the New York Times talking. Yet though they've been around since the early '90s, describing their music is still vexing, so we'll kindly refer you to their website, where YouTube clips abound. It's also in your best interest to attend their free performance this Friday night at the Prospect Park band shell, that is if you like your summer nights spiced up by unpredictable sounds. more ›

The summertime free music options keep on rolling out. Not to be outdone by the recent Summerstage announcement or River to River's Wire kick-off, Brooklyn's answer to free in-park music stepped up this week to show what they've got. The Celebrate Brooklyn series runs all summer long at the Prospect Park Band Shell, and will kick off with a free Isaac Hayes show on June 12th. From there, they'll host a number of free (well, $3 recommended donation) shows, with everyone from Medeski Martin and Wood to Ghostland Observatory performing. Even if you're not in the mood to actually attend one of these shows, there are few better ways to spend a summer evening than setting up a picnic outside the gates and listen from afar. You can see the entire lineup here. more ›

READING: Check out today's interviewee, Peter Yarrow, tonight at Barnes and Noble where he'll be performing and signing the recently published Puff, the Magic Dragon book. C'mon, you know you've always wanted to hear that song live! more ›

EVENT: If you haven't taken a trip back to the Summer of Love yet, head over to the Whitney tonight for the exhibit and enjoy their Whitney Live event. DJ Scientific and Dana Leong will be providing the tunes. more ›

Here's a heads up on sunny summertime shows. Sure, after the first week we'll be complaining about the heat, the smell of the city as it melts, and the lack of shade...but it's always nice to have some music to look forward to. So stock up on the SPF for the following shows: more ›

Last night we made our way to Red Hook for the Tag Team anniversary party. Can't really beat a night at The Hook, free food AND ice cream, full open bar and live music. Especially when the live music is provided by Broken Social Scene. more ›

Prince also played GMA at Bryant Park this morning and will be playing Butter tonight. Details: more ›

Here at Ask Gothamist HQ, we've received tons of questions about fun summer activities, like the recent question about the New York Philharmonic Outdoor Concert Series. more ›

[Ed: Like clockwork, music picks from prodigious music blogger Coolfer. Also check out more at Gothamist Events.] more ›

My boyfriend's birthday is over July 4th weekend. I am looking for ideas of things to do or places to go to in NYC to celebrate that will make his birthday memorable. I want to stear clear of the traditional ways to celebrate - going out to dinner or getting together and going to a bar/club. Any help is appreciated! more ›

According to the Times today, the Gray Line tourbus company will be running a route around the borough of Brooklyn. The tour will run two hours, covering the area from Downtown to the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Brooklyn Botanic Gardens in Prospect Heights. The tickets cost $35, and are available from their website. more ›

There's all sorts of good stuff going on down at the Prospect Park Bandshell for Celebrate Brooklyn, but the one night you don't want to miss is Saturday, June 28th. That's when Hal Willner's Leonard Cohen Project comes to town with everyone who is cool in the world. Now it's not just that Gothamist has always been a huge Leonard Cohen groupie ever since back in College Days, or that the Bandshell is deep in our old Park Slope stalking grounds- no- there's more: Rufus Wainwright is putting in an appearance. Celebrate Brooklyn! 2003 [Via 601am] more ›