Photo: Daviston Jeffers Electronic/experimental folk outfit Phosphorescent is playing 99 Scott tonight, an indoor/outdoor venue that is almost much a draw as Phosphorescent frontman Mathew Houck, a Brooklyn-based musician whose Georgia roots come through in the slight twang of his singing. It should be a fun, mellow show, with food by Mission Chinese and a full bar, in a beautiful industrial space in Bushwick with a sprawling patio. Tickets are $40 and the evening begins at 7pm with two opening acts. It’s worth checking out the full lineup of this series produced by MeanRed; they’re longtime, eclectic
Catch Manhattanhenge without the crowds on Thursday
Sure, you could be part of the hordes standing in the middle of the street to get the perfect shot of Manhattanhenge. But you could also venture to Roosevelt Island and take in the view from the beautiful FDR Four Freedoms State Park. The park is staying open late on Thursday for the occasion (until 9 pm), so swing by when you’re done with work and feel free to settle in for the night. Once you’ve gathered enough content for your Instagram, you can partake in a free sketching workshop, check out a pop-up library focused on diversity, and explore an interactive photo installation. There will also be beer, wine and…
Where to celebrate July 4th in Brooklyn
If you want to see the Macy’s fireworks display over the East River without leaving Brooklyn, your best bet at this point is to get to Brooklyn Bridge Park realllly early (read this before you go) or find a friend with a rooftop you can safely climb out onto—most of the parties hosted by businesses that have especially good vantage points are already sold out. (And the ones that haven’t sold out yet cost a pretty penny, like Pilot, where a seat starts at $400.) But if you were just wondering what to do with yourself on the 4th, never fear, we’ve found lots of ideas for ways to …
A thousand free concerts on the longest day of the year
Friday marks the Summer Solstice, which means that it’s time for the citywide Make Music New York festival to return for its 13th year, and the schedule is jam-packed with hundreds of music events taking place in outdoor public spaces in all 5 boroughs from the North Bronx to the southernmost tip of Staten Island. From 10am to 10pm, you can hear every kind of music, from metal to opera to ska to ragtime to hip hop, and it’s all totally free. You can search the massive list of offerings by neighborhood or genre…
Fireworks abound on Friday night
Hop the train to Coney Island on Friday night to cheer for our own Brooklyn Cyclones as they face their fiercest rivals, the dreaded Staten Island Yankees, on opening day at MCU Park. The game starts at 7pm, tickets start at just $14 apiece, and you should stick around after the game for the free fireworks show. On the other hand, you can see a gorgeous fireworks display without traveling to the southernmost edge of the borough by attending one of my favorite summer events: the New York Philharmonic concert in Prospect Park, which is free and starts at 8pm. Grab a picnic dinner …
Lady Wray at Industry City
City Farms’ summer concert series at Industry City kicked off its season this week, and Friday night brings R&B and hip hop singer/songwriter and Missy Elliott protegee Lady Wray to the stage for an 8pm show in the courtyard with opener 79.5. Unlike some of the other outdoor concerts I’m looking forward to this summer, this one will leave your frozen drinks fund relatively intact, as tickets are just $18. If you want to keep the party going afterwards, swing by Mama Tried, a laid back new cocktail bar in the unlikeliest of places, nestled under the BQE amidst the XXX shops and live poultry…
Jump, jive, and wail on Friday night
Kick off the long weekend by trying something new on Friday night—a swing dancing class and dance party at Brooklyn Swings in Williamsburg. From 7-7:30pm, a pro instructor will teach the class a short solo routine (note that you don’t need a partner to participate), and then the whole group will dance the night away until 10pm. The class fee is on a sliding scale from $5-10, and if you need any more incentive, there will be free cookies! More ideas for Your Ideal Week
Enjoy yoga with a view on Thursday
It’s officially rooftop season, baby! Well, some days it feels like it is, anyway. Pod Hotel Brooklyn is kicking things off on Thursday with its first rooftop class of the summer: yoga. Led by a CorePower Yoga instructor, the one-hour Power Vinyasa class starts at 6pm on the Williamsburg hotel’s sweet roof. But don’t worry if you’re not a yogi (or if you’re not even sure what Power Vinyasa means, like a certain writer who shall remain nameless). The free class is meant for all levels
Steel Magnolias on stage
On Friday night, skip Times Square and get your theater fix in convenient Park Slope instead. The Gallery Players’ current production of everyone’s favorite ode to female friendship forged in a Southern beauty parlor, Steel Magnolias, is running now through April 28th, and tickets are $25. I’ll always have a soft spot for this tearjerker, and if I don’t get a last minute invitation to a seder (hint, hint, y’all), I might just spend the evening with Truvy, Clairee, Ouiser, and the girls. More ideas for Your Ideal Week here ⇨
Indie rock trio Ex Hex returns with another scorcher
Ex Hex (Michael Lavine) Certainly one of the most anticipated albums of this year is Ex Hex’s It’s Real (Merge Records), the follow-up to the all-female indie rock’s trio 2014 debut Rips. If you loved Rips‘ runchy guitar riffs, catchy hooks, and references to ’70s glam rock and ’80s pop metal, then you won’t be disappointed with It’s Real. All killer and no filler while turning up the volume level to 11, the…
Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher at The Bell House
It’s not often that East Coasters have an opportunity to see the very funny comedians Natasha Leggero and Moshe Kasher perform live, so if you’re free on Friday you should consider heading over to The Bell House to catch the LA-based couple’s late show at 10:30pm (added after the first slot sold out). Meet a friend for dinner first at one of the many great restaurants nearby, like Claro or Ugly Baby, and you’ve got
Fact and Fiction at the Spring/Break art show
Shona McAndrew, “Sometime Last Night,” 2019, at the Spring/Break art fair. Paper mache, acrylic. Photo: Regina Bresler Much like Fashion Week and Fleet Week, we are entering another themed week in the NYC event ecosystem: art fair season. While commonly referred to as Armory Week, over the past 15 years half a dozen fairs have popped up as viable contenders to the main art show, vying for the attention of press and collectors over the course of a dizzying four days of art. The youngest and buzziest addition to the landscape is Spring/Break, which enters its eighth season at 866 UN Plaza and runs through March…
Dollywood hits Brooklyn
Looking for a fun way to get your Friday night going after working 9 to 5 all week? Head to The Bell House for a night to celebrate the inimitable Dolly Parton at 8pm. Dollylujah, the winter edition, features Doll Parts, Brooklyn’s premiere Dolly cover band, as well as musician Karl Blau and other special guests. Tickets are only $15 and there’s no need to go wandering around in Gowanus afterwards in search of food, because there will be a variety of snacks for sale from the front
Jim Carrey is one of the self-taught artists at the Outsider Art Fair this weekend
The 27th annual Outsider Art Fair hits the Metropolitan Pavilion this weekend, and Friday after work seems like a good time to check out this collection of work created by artists without formal training or connections to the mainstream art world. This year’s 67 exhibitors include Valentino Dixon, who was recently freed from prison after serving 27 years for a crime he didn’t commit, and Jim Carrey, who rose to fame for uncanny impressions and pretending to talk out of his butt and is now getting attention for his political drawings. The show is open until 8pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a day pass will run you
Maybe it IS your first Rodeo?
Here’s something totally unexpected for your Friday night plans: the 13th annual stop of the Professional Bull Riding Majors tour at MSG. Sure, it may be hard to imagine pyrotechnics, rodeo clowns, buckin’ broncos, and the top 35 bull riders in the world competing in something called “Unleash the Beast” happening in such close proximity to the Macy’s flagship and K-Town karaoke, but such is the kind of random mishmosh that makes New York the remarkable place that it is. If
Plan your NYC or Hudson Valley wedding at Wedding Crashers
Got engaged over the holidays? You are going to need a few things for your fabulous wedding, and we can help in that department. Our 10th annual wedding fair, Wedding Crashers, returns Sunday, March 17, 2019, and early bird pricing on tickets runs through Jan. 2. You’ll meet over 60 of the city’s most talented and creative wedding vendors, from planners to caterers to food trucks to floral designers to DJs to photographers to photobooths. You might even win an incredible raffle prize like …