BAM announces May BAMcafé Live lineup Featuring performances as part of BAM & WNYC’s RadioLoveFest and th the 38 annual DanceAfrica celebration No cover! No minimum! Friday and Saturday nights Brooklyn, NY/April 2, 2015—Now in its 15th season, BAMcafé Live (30 Lafayette Avenue)—the performance series curated by Darrell M. McNeill, associate producer, music programming— announces its lineup for May. Highlights include Royal KhaoZ’s blend of reggae rhythms with smooth R&B and Indie-folk sextet 5J Barrow as part of RadioLoveFest, and JUMP N FUNK with Rich Medina and The Marksmen as a part of the 38th annual DanceAfrica celebration. BAMcafé Live events have no cover charge and no drink minimum. For information and updates, call 718.636.4100 or visit BAM.org. JUMP N FUNK is North America’s original Afrobeat party started by DJ Rich Medina and dedicated to the late Nigerian icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Medina’s aim is to raise global awareness for the genre while also driving home the party spirit. Friday & Saturday night schedule Fri, May 1—Lily Virginia Sat, May 2—Todd Sickafoose’s Tiny Resistors Fri, May 8— Royal KhaoZ* Sat, May 9—5J Barrow* Fri, May 15— Ayelet Rose Gottlieb Sat, May 16—Gifrants and SEGWE Sat, May 23—JUMP N FUNK with Rich Medina and The Marksmen** Fri & Sat, May 29 & 30—Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool 20 Years Revisited*** * part of RadioLoveFest, curated by Terrance McKnight **part of the 38th annual DanceAfrica celebration ***part of Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell! Host: Phillip Andry House DJ: DJ Idlemind “The Appropriate Agent” For press inquiries, contact Baha Ebrahimzadeh at 718.636.4129 x 8 or [email protected]. About the artists Fri, May 1 at 10pm Lily Virginia With her ethereal yet powerful vocals, singer-songwriter Lily Virginia seamlessly blends indie folk Americana with catchy pop hooks for a sound that’s equal parts Bon Iver and Fleetwood Mac. Her candid, confessional lyrics convey a raw vulnerability as her songs move from hushed and intimate to rousing and anthemic in the space of a breath. She takes the stage at the BAMcafé in advance of her upcoming album, Play Me Twice. Sat, May 2 at 10pm Todd Sickafoose’s Tiny Resistors A Bay Area native, Todd Sickafoose spent some years in Los Angeles studying bass with Charlie Haden and composition with the late, great Mel Powell. Known for his extensive collaborations with artists like Ani DiFranco and Andrew Bird, bassist and composer Sickafoose makes wondrously inventive, jazz-meets-post-rock soundscapes. As performed by a six-piece band that features Jenny Scheinman on violin and Grammy-nominee Alan Ferber on trombone, his lushly orchestrated compositions consist of ever-changing sounds and moods. Fri, May 8 at 9pm Royal KhaoZ Hailing from Jamaica, Royal KhaoZ blends reggae rhythms with smooth R&B for a sound that’s both groove inducing and soulful. Having shared the stage with roots legends like Third World, The Wailers, and Michael Rose, this four-piece band boasts no less than three powerhouse vocalists, plus a rock-solid rhythm section. The group’s debut album, Life: The Journey (2012) has led them to numerous east coast venues, including BB Kings, Lucille's, The Chance Theater, The Bearsville Theater, Club Helsinki, Stephen Talkhouse, and The Shrine NYC. In 2014 they were declared the Bronx champions of WNYC’s 2014 Battle of the Boroughs. Royal KhaoZ is a part of RadioLoveFest. Sat, May 9 at 9pm 5J Barrow Indie-folk sextet 5J Barrow draws inspiration from the Greenwich Village revival scene of the 1950s and 60s to fuse music and storytelling in a joyous sound. Evoking dusty Americana with acoustic guitars and down-home violin, their songs go from hushed and intimate to raucous and rousing in the space of a breath. As the 2014 winners of WNYC’s Battle of the Boroughs, 5J Barrow was recently named “Best Band in New York.” The evening’s performance is a part of RadioLoveFest. Fri, May 15 at 9pm Ayelet Rose Gottlieb Israeli-born vocalist and composer Ayelet Rose Gottlieb draws on jazz, Middle-Eastern, and Jewish musical influences to forge an exhilaratingly eclectic sound. At once cutting-edge and rooted in tradition, she will perform her signature mix of jazz music and thought provoking text. A frequent collaborator of forward-thinking artists like John Zorn, pianist Anat Fort, and the ETHEL string quartet, Gottlieb will share both original works and covers that she re-imagines via her one- of-a-kind sensibility. Sat, May 16 at 9pm Gifrants and SEGWE For over thirty years, Boston-based singer and guitarist Gifrants has been combining the sounds of his native Haiti with thrilling dashes of jazz and pan-Caribbean music. The resulting compositions set soothing melodies to seductive rhythms. For this performance, Gifrants is accompanied by his backing band SEGWE, comprised of some of Boston’s leading jazz luminaries. Sat, May 23 at 10pm JUMP N FUNK with DJ Rich Medina and The Marksmen To help celebrate the 38th annual DanceAfrica celebration at BAM, JUMP N FUNK brings North America’s original Afrobeat party started by DJ Rich Medina and dedicated to the late Nigerian icon Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Medina’s aim is to raise global awareness for the genre while also driving home the party spirit. Fri & Sat, May 29 & 30 at 10pm Stolen Moments: Red, Hot + Cool 20 Years Revisited Acclaimed saxophonist Jay Rodriguez joins Grammy-nominated jazz legends Groove Collective and special guests to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the touchstone album and documentary, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. Named 1994’s record of the year by TIME Magazine, the album, along with an accompanying film, was a watershed work in exploring the impact of AIDS on the African-American community, bringing together jazz greats like Herbie Hancock and Donald Byrd with hip-hop artists like The Roots and The Pharcyde. This special, two-night celebration revisits a landmark piece of cultural history with many of the musicians who made it immortal. Stolen Moments is presented in conjunction with Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell! Credits Viacom is the BAM 2015 Music Sponsor. Pepsi is the Official Beverage of BAM. Additional support for BAMcafé Live is provided by Con Edison. BAMcafé Live receives endowment support from the BAM Fund To Support Emerging and Local Musicians, created in part with a major gift from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust. Programming in BAM Lepercq Space is supported by The Lepercq Charitable Foundation. 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; Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; 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 Council Member Laurie Cumbo; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. 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. General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org. .