Free Music in NYC: Budos, Kaki, Easy Star

STUYVESANT TOWN AND PETER COOPER VILLAGE PRESENT MUSIC ON THE OVAL
Free Outdoor Summer Concert Series Showcase Local and International Musicians Starting Wednesday, June 10

Kaki King

Music on the Oval, a unique outdoor summer concert series, will bring the sweet sounds of rock, funk, reggae, and soul to the famed Stuyvesant Town Oval every Wednesday night from June 10 – July 15. Sponsored by Verizon, Music on the Oval will feature free family-friendly concerts at 7:00 p.m. New Yorkers and visitors will groove to a different pre-show DJ each night starting at 6:00 p.m.

The Stuyvesant Town Oval sits at the center of a scenic park surrounded by 80 acres of beautiful lawns and trees. Residents and visitors come to the Oval to picnic on the lawn, play Frisbee, and stock-up on fresh produce at the Greenmarket, which returns this summer. It is located between 16th and 18th Streets and Avenues A & B and the entrance is off First Avenue and 16th Street. For more information the public can call (212) 598-5296 or visit www.stuytown.com.

Music on the Oval 2009 Schedule

• June 10 – The Budos Band – Based in Staten Island, Daptone recording artists Budos Band have become one of New York’s finest exporters of Afro-tinged classic soul, musically beloved (and employed) by local queen Sharon Jones and international superstar Amy Winehouse. Daptone family’s DJ Honeydripper will kick off the night.

• June 17 – Phenomenal Handclap Band – The group combines the best attributes of Brooklyn’s underground music scene, circa 2009: the chops to emulate an encyclopedic knowledge of rock and pop history, plus the love of disco to make the whole thing boogie-able. DJ Duane Harriott will warm up the crowd.

• June 24 – Easy Star All-Stars – New York’s hometown reggae heroes, Easy Star All-Stars have gained themselves an incredible worldwide following by locking a rocksteady Jamaican groove to the classic songs of Pink Floyd, Radiohead and the Beatles. Easy Star’s solo keyboard phenom Ticklah will start the night off with a special DJ set.

• July 1 – Jay Reatard – Using a never-ending barrage of under-three-minute pop nuggets, Jay Reatard gloriously upholds Memphis, Tennessee’s greasy garage-punk tradition; his upcoming Matador Records debut ensures the tradition’s fine future. DJs Doug Mosurock and Mr. Vacation also like their rock music fun and funky! • July 8 – Forro in the Dark – From the international state of the Lower East Side, comes Forro in the Dark, the Big Apple’s pre-eminent practitioners of forro, a northeastern Brazilian party music, part samba and part country soul, that’s been setting Nublu a-dancing since 2002. (David Byrne approved!) DJ Probus will get things started.

• July 15 – Kaki King – Led by guitar heroine Katherine King (whose shredding skills have been utilized by the likes of Foo Fighters and Tegan & Sara), Brooklyn’s Kaki King veers between progressive, loud rock and roll jams, and melodically beautiful acoustic excursions. Justin Carter and Raspberry Jones’ DJ sets have been known to be equally eclectic.