BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech kicks off a summer of free live concerts June 5—Aug 7

20th anniversary edition of the festival includes performances by vocalists from 20 Feet From Stardom

June 5: Darlene Love June 12: Nicholas Payton presents Black American Music June 19: The Ohio Players June 26: Butler Bernstein & The Hot 9 Juy 3: Davell Crawford July 10: Fredericks Brown July 17: Third World July 24: Bobby Rush July 31: Snarky Puppy Aug 7: Lisa Fischer

Forest City Ratner Companies is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2014 R&B Festival at MetroTech.

BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech Thursdays, 12noon—2 pm, June 5—August 7 Free admission, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center Produced by Danny Kapilian

“New York City’s best daytime festival…”—The Village Voice

Brooklyn, NY/May 5, 2014—BAM announces the 2014 BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech. Now in its 20th year, the festival continues to feature R&B legends alongside groundbreaking emerging artists with 10 free outdoor concerts from June 5 through August 7. This special anniversary line-up will be bookended by performances from two of the principal vocalists featured in this year’s Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom—Darlene Love (Jun 5) and Lisa Fischer (Aug 7).

Event producer Danny Kapilian says, “This year, for the first time, the festival welcomes back four great artists who have graced our stage in earlier seasons. Darlene Love (1996) returns to open this anniversary year, and this time as a recent Academy Award winner. The Ohio Players (2004) bring back their beloved funk, Henry Butler (1999) returns as the star of the incredible new band Butler Bernstein and the Hot 9, and Third World (2001) celebrates Brooklyn's love of reggae and Jamaican culture. Rounding out a memorable summer will be New Orleans' Nicholas Payton and New York’s Snarky Puppy with their own takes on jazz and R&B, Chicago legend Bobby Rush bringing his old-time bluesy soul, and newbies Fredericks Brown and Davell Crawford who will make their BAM R&B premieres. The 20th anniversary season ends with a performance by the incredible Lisa Fischer. It has been an honor and delight to have produced this festival for twenty years, and to bring so much fantastic live music to Brooklyn audiences for free. We offer out gratitude and thanks to First New York Partners and to all of our supporters over the years.”

This year's BAM R&B Festival is part of the inaugural Summer@MetroTech, a summer-long festival presented by Forest City Ratner that will fill MetroTech Commons with culture, sports and innovation. The free lunchtime performances will be held Thursdays at noon at MetroTech Commons, located at the corner of Flatbush and Myrtle Avenues, rain or shine. For more information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org.

For press information on the MetroTech R&B Festival, please contact Baha Ebrahimzadeh at [email protected] or 718.636.4129 x8.

About the artists:

Darlene Love Thu, Jun 5, 12noon—2pm The soaring, powerhouse singer behind classics like “He’s a Rebel” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” Darlene Love has been a music industry icon since the 1960s when she got her start as one of Phil Spector’s go-to vocalists. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who’s performed with the likes of Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, and Sam Cooke, Love was most recently featured in the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom.

Nicholas Payton presents Black American Music Thu, Jun 12, 12noon—2pm One of the great New Orleans jazz stars, Grammy-winning trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Payton’s genre-busting sound explores the common threads running through centuries of black American musical traditions, from gospel and blues to jazz, soul, and beyond. Known for his collaborations with artists like Ray Charles, Dr. John, and Herbie Hancock, Payton takes the classic New Orleans sound in bold new directions with his awe-inspiring chops.

The Ohio Players Thu, Jun 19, 12noon—1:30pm Funk legends The Ohio Players return to MetroTech to deliver their irresistible, white-hot R&B grooves. Since making a splash in the 1970s with chart-topping hits like “Love Rollercoaster” and “Fire,” the ultra-tight veteran ensemble has helped define the classic funk sound, built on driving rhythms, deep, slinky bass lines, and bright horn blasts.

Butler Bernstein & The Hot 9 Thu, Jun 26, 12noon—2pm Acclaimed jazz pianist and singer Henry Butler joins forces with veteran slide trumpeter/downtown scene mainstay Steven Bernstein and his Hot 9 ensemble to forge an adventurous sound that has its roots in Butler’s classic-with-a-twist New Orleans style, while incorporating complex post-bop harmonies and the rhythmic pull of funk. The band displays its jaw-dropping technical virtuosity on beloved New Orleans standards and original compositions alike.

Davell Crawford Thu, Jul 3, 12noon—2pm NYC-by-way-of-New Orleans singer and pianist Davell Crawford performs soul-shaking ballads in the gospel and blues tradition that recall Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. With his brash, outsized personality, Crawford has been dubbed the “Prince of New Orleans” and was seen at BAM as a featured guest star in Dr. John’s 2012 performances.

Fredericks Brown Thu, Jul 10, 12noon—2pm Up-and-coming Brooklyn/New Zealand outfit Fredericks Brown is a showcase for singer/songwriter Deva Mahal’s (daughter of blues legend Taj Mahal) mighty, soulful vocals. With thoughtful, literate, imagery-laden lyrics, Mahal spins captivating narratives accompanied by keyboardist Steph Brown, who combines jazz-like intuition inspired by her native New Zealand.

Third World Thu, Jul 17, 12noon—2pm International reggae sensation Third World has been a force in the Jamaican music industry since the 1970s release of their classic album “96 Degrees in the Shade” on the legendary Island Records label. Since then the band has forged a pioneering sound by combining roots rhythms with soul, funk, and R&B influences, as exemplified by their irresistible hit single "Now That We Found Love.”

Bobby Rush Thu, Jul 24, 12noon—2pm Bobby Rush embodies R&B at its unfiltered best. He began as a bluesman on Chicago’s West Side before transitioning to clubs that better accommodated his increasingly bawdy style, captured in songs like “Bowlegged Woman, Knock-Kneed Man” and “Chicken Heads.” These days, Rush continues to turn heads and ears, having released the funky Look at What You Gettin’ in 2008 and headlining the New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2011.

Snarky Puppy Thu, Jul 31, 12noon—2pm Winners of this year’s Grammy for Best R&B Performance for “Something,” their breakout collaboration with soul icon Lalah Hathaway, New York-based collective Snarky Puppy is a sprawling jazz-funk orchestra led by bassist Michael League. They create lush, exuberant instrumental soundscapes that offer an imaginative take on fusion, spicing up their joyous jams with thrilling dashes of Latin rhythms and prog-rock flourishes.

Lisa Fischer Thu, Aug 7, 12noon—2pm Co-star of the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, Lisa Fischer has been one of the music industry’s most in-demand vocalists for three decades and counting. From singing back up for the likes of Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, and Chaka Khan, to releasing a Grammy- winning solo album, to performing regularly with The Rolling Stones since the early 90s, Fischer uses her dazzling, multi-octave range to convey infinite emotion.

Credits First New York Partners is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2014 R&B Festival at MetroTech.

Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council of the Arts.

BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader.

BAM 2014 Winter/Spring Season supporters: Bank of America; Brooklyn Community Foundation; Con Edison; The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Aashish & Dinyar Devitre; The Irene Diamond Fund; Ford Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Frederick Iseman; Suzie & Bruce Kovner; Leon Levy Foundation; Toby Devan Lewis; McKinsey & Company, Inc.; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mikhail Prokhorov Fund; Stavros Niarchos Foundation; The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation; Martha A. & Robert S. Rubin; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Skirball Foundation; Robert L. Turner; Time Warner Inc.; Viacom; The Wall Street Journal; The Winston Foundation, Inc. In The Raw is the Zero Calorie Sweetener of BAM. Pepsi is the official beverage of BAM. Yamaha is the official piano for BAM. Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from Mayor Bill De Blasio; the New York City Council including Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras , Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council, and Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader.

Directions MetroTech Center is situated in the Civic Center / Borough Hall area of Downtown Brooklyn. The BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech concert stage is located on the lawn at MetroTech Commons.

By Subway: 2, 3 to Hoyt Street and walk two blocks north on Bridge Street 2, 3, 4, 5 to Borough Hall station and walk five blocks east R to Lawrence Street Station A, C, F to Jay Street/MetroTech, exit at Myrtle Promenade.

By Bus: The B25, B26, B38, B41, B45, B51, B52, B54, B61, B63, B67, and B75 all stop within a three-block radius of MetroTech Center.

By Car: Public parking is available at One and Two MetroTech Center. The entrance to Parking Lot P is on Lawrence and Bridge Streets between Willoughby Street and the Myrtle Promenade or at The Gallery at MetroTech. The entrance to the Parking Lot is at the intersection of Flatbush, Willoughby, and Gold Streets.

Please call 718.636.4100 or visit www.BAM.org for more information about the BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech.

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