this week in music

WHITNEY BLOCK PARTY

The Meatpacking District welcomes the Whitney to the neighborhood at all-day block party on May 2 (photo © Nic Lehoux)

Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort St.
Saturday, May 2, free, 11:00 – 8:00
212-570-3600
whitney.org

The Whitney is celebrating the opening of its new home on Gansevoort St. with a block party on May 2, featuring live performances, interactive installations, workshops, and free admission to the museum, where you can check out the inaugural exhibitions “America Is Hard to See” and, on the roof, “Mary Heilman: Sunset.” At the block party, you can take the mic in Trisha Baga’s “Whitney Idol Karaoke,” catch K8 Hardy and Ryan McNamara’s pop-up, site-specific The Poseurs, a Dance, trade your own smile recipes for canned smiles in Nari Ward’s “Sugar Hill Smiles,” get your groove on at My Barbarian’s “Classical Music Dance Party,” make forts, monsters, and other cool things at Friends of the High Line’s “High Line Builders,” learn about the history of the Meatpacking District from local purveyors Jobbagy Meats, help Lize Mogel construct a scale model of New York in “Crowd-Sourced City,” and hang out at Ei Arakawa and Shimon Minamikawa’s “Cyber Café.” Live performances include Gobby in Bed-Stuy Love Affair’s “Gate,” spoken-word DJ Mark Beasley, the Ethyl Eichelberger cover band the Eichelburglers, Jacolby Satterwhite’s “Ein Plein Air: Diamond Princess” with Camp & Street, Tracie Morris with Mr. Jerome Harris and Jemman, and a Tribe Called Red.

INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY

Multiple locations in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan
Saturday, May 2 free
bookstoredaynyc.com

More than two dozen independent bookstores in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens are participating in Independent Bookstore Day on May 2, with signings, readings, lectures, film screenings, art exhibits, children’s activities, giveaways, games, food tastings, discussions, and, in several cases, free beer, to steer you clear of Amazon and B&N. Guitarist Gary Lucas will be performing live at bookbook on Bleecker St. Paul Durham, Matt Myklusch, Michael Northrop, Dianne K. Salerni, and Josh Lieb join together for a Fantastic Middle Grade panel at Books of Wonder. Amy Hest, Chris Raschka, Deborah Heligman, and Cynthia Weill are among a dozen authors and illustrators who will be at Bank Street Book Store. Housing Works will host a Kidlit Game Show emceed by C. Alexander London. Colm Tóibín, Eileen Myles, Joseph O’Neill, DJ Spooky, Said Sayrafiezadeh, and others are among the literati taking part in a marathon Langston Hughes reading at McNally Jackson. Jon Scieszka will lead a Mad Scientist Party at the Community Bookstore, followed by an evening celebration with Paul Auster, William Corbett, and Felix Harr. The powerHouse Arena will launch Luke’s Lobster’s Real Maine Food, with sample treats. And Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman will be team captains in a game of Pictionary at the Astoria Bookshop during this first-ever national Independent Bookstore Day.

WFMU RECORD FAIR

Annual WFMU Record Fair moves into Brooklyn Expo Center this weekend

Who: Bambi Kino, Olivia Neutron John, Conspiracy of Beards, Tin Sandwich, Daniel Kahn, Danny Kroha, Todd-O-Phonic Todd, the Baseball Project, Michael Shelley, Fool’s Paradise with Rex, Miriam, Billy Jam, and more than 150 record and CD dealers
What: WFMU Record Fair
Where: Brooklyn Expo Center, 79 Franklin St. between Noble & Oak Sts.
When: May 1-3, $7, 4:00 – 7:00 Friday, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm Saturday & Sunday (early admission Friday at 4:00, $25)
Why: Because there’s still nothing like spinning that black circle. In addition to tons of vintage vinyl and CDs for sale from all musical genres, the annual WFMU Record Fair will feature screenings of such cult classics as Francis Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13, Dan Lucal’s Dance of the Clones, Tim Smith’s Sex and Broadcasting (followed by a Q&A with Smith), Christopher Kirkley’s I Sing the Desert Electric, Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson’s Radio Unnameable, Selma Vilhunnen’s Song, Cate Giordano’s Heritage, Olivia Wyatt’s The Pierced Heart & the Machete, and Philippe Garrel’s The Inner Scar.

GRATEFUL DEAD MEET-UP AT THE MOVIES 2015

Who: The Grateful Dead
What: Fifth annual “Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies”
Where: AMC Empire 25, AMC Loews Kips Bay 15, Regal Union Square Stadium 14
When: Monday, May 4, $12.50, 7:00
Why: Fathom Events’ “Classic Music Series” continues with a screening of the the Grateful Dead’s never-before-shown July 19, 1989, concert at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin. For the finale of a three-night stand, Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland, and Bob Weir played a two hour and fifty-minute set that included such gems as “Sugaree,” “Mexicali Blues,” “Deal,” “Box of Rain,” “The Wheel,” and our personal favorite, “Terrapin Station.” In past years, the cinema series screened 4/21/72 in Bremen, 8/27/72 in Oregon, and 7/18/89 at Alpine Valley.

FIRST SATURDAY — KEHINDE WILEY: A NEW REPUBLIC

Kehinde Wiley, “Shantavia Beale II,” oil on canvas, 2012 (Collection of Ana and Lenny Gravier. © Kehinde Wiley. Photo by Jason Wyche, courtesy of Sean Kelly, New York)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, April 4, free, 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

You know L.A.-born, New York–based artist Kehinde Wiley has made it, since one of his works is featured in the hit show Empire. Wiley’s new show at the Brooklyn Museum, “Kehinde Wiley: A New Republic,” is the centerpiece for the May edition of the institution’s free First Saturday program. The free evening will feature live musical performances by Chargaux and Zebra Katz and DJ sets by Juliana Huxtable and Total Freedom; a curator talk by Eugenie Tsai about the Wiley show; a Wiley-inspired three-dimensional frame-making workshop; pop-up gallery talks; an interactive space curated by Browntourage combining entertainment and activism; a screening of Jeffrey Dupre’s short 2014 documentary Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace; and a Wiley-inspired dance performance of Leaders of the New School by Art of Legohn. In addition, you can check out such exhibitions as “Revolution! Works from the Black Arts Movement,” “Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks,” “Diverse Works: Director’s Choice, 1997–2015,” “The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago,” and “Chitra Ganesh: Eyes of Time.”

NORTHSIDE FESTIVAL FREE TICKET ALERT: THE VERY BEST / HEEMS

Who: The Very Best & Heems
What: Free outdoor concert as part of Northside Festival
Where: McCarren Park, Brooklyn
When: Friday, June 12, free with advance RSVP, doors at 2:30, music at 5:30
Why: Tickets have just been made available to the hot double bill of the Very Best and Heems, who will be playing a free Northside Festival show at McCarren Park on June 12. In addition, Against Me! will be taking the stage on June 13. The Northside Festival runs June 8-14 in venues throughout Greenpoint and Williamsburg, featuring art, music, film, and technology talks. Among the more than four hundred participating bands are Zola Jesus, Built to Spill, Neko Case, Sleigh Bells, Best Coast, Ex Hex, Hard Nips, and Life Size Maps.

SAKURA MATSURI 2015

Large crowds will gather to see the blooming cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden this weekend (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brooklyn Botanic Garden
900 Washington Ave. at Eastern Parkway
Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26, $20-$25 (children under twelve free), 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
718-623-7200
www.bbg.org

It’s been a ridiculously cold and long winter, but springtime finally seems to be here, and with it comes one of our favorite annual festivals, the Sakura Matsuri at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The weekend celebrates the beauty of the blossoming of the cherry trees with live music and dance, parades, workshops, demonstrations, martial arts, fashion shows, Ikebana flower arranging, a bonsai exhibit, Shogi chess, garden tours, shopping, book signings, Japanese food, and more. Below are just some of the highlights of this always lovely party, with many events going on all day long.

Saturday, April 25

The Battersby Show: Beginner Cosplay Crafting, with Charles Battersby, Ann Milana, Lady Ava, Mink-the-Satyr, and Uncle Yo, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 12 noon

Sogetsu Ikebana Demonstration, with Yoko Ikura and Shoko Iwata, auditorium, 1:00

Dancejapan with Sachiyo Ito, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 1:15

Ukioy-e Illustration Demonstration with Artist Jed Henry, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 2:00

Samurai Sword Soul, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 2:15

Urasenke Tea Ceremony, auditorium, 3:00 & 4:15

Takarabune Dance, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 3:15

Hanagasa Odori Parade with flower hat dance by the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 4:15

Akim Funk Buddha’s Urban Tea Ceremony, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 5:00

Sunday, April 26

Children’s Suzuki Recital, Brooklyn College Preparatory Center, auditorium, 11:30

Awa Odori Parade, with Takarabune Dance, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 12 noon & 3:00

The Battersby Show: What Is Cosplay? with Charles Battersby, Aleta Pardalis, Dokudel, Mario Bueno, Uncle Yo, and YuffieBunny, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 1:00

Rock and Roll Love book signing with Misako Rocks!, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 2:00

Sohenryu-Style Tea Ceremony with Soumi Shimizu and Sōkyo Shimizu, auditorium, 2:30

Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York performs Minbu dances, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 3:00

Magician Rich Kameda, J-Lounge at Osborne Garden, 4:00

NY Suwa Taiko Kids All Stars, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 4:15

The Sixth Annual Sakura Matsuri Cosplay Fashion Show, with original music by Taiko Masala, Main Stage, Cherry Esplanade, 5:15