Lincoln Center Out of Doors is an annual Summer festival of diverse music, dance, and spoken word artists at Lincoln Center. There is usually a spoken word section at Teatro Pregones in the Bronx.
It’s a great chance to get a look at some different artists. Muchas Gracias to Lincoln Center for giving diversity a strong voice.
Shows are free, but go early because they are packed. For more information, visit www.lincolncenter.org/out-of-doors
2018 Lincoln Center Out of Doors
Lincoln Center Out of Doors is July 25 – August 12, 2018.
2017 Lincoln Center Out of Doors
July 26 – August 13, 2017
There is a lot of good performance throughout the festival. This is the Latin part.
Nosotros Festival
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center on Thursday, July 27 at 7pm.
This is the “Us” Festival. It captures a variety of perspectives on who we are as multicultural Americans in English, Spanish, Spanglish and the language of music and the body. These artists all have interesting personas as well.
We are proud to be American (and a range of other things too). We are processing our American-ness through our Latin-ness. Even though that is hard to digest sometimes, I don’t think any of us would have it any other way.
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Led by Bronx-born New York Puerto Rican singer Alynda Segarra, Hurray for the Riff Raff released their latest album The Navigator last December.
It’s kind of downbeat American Folk-Rock with occasional Latin tinges that speaks of alienation and the struggle to fit in. Latin or Anglo? Whichever you decide, it seems like someone will immediately contradict you.
www.hurrayfortheriffraff.com
Las Cafeteras
This Chicano band from East LA mixes Son Jarocho, a regional folk music of Veracruz on the Mexican Caribbean, with a little of everything. That makes them All-American, doesn’t it?
It’s an unusual take. Mexico had African slaves, but they were mostly absorbed into the general population. Today African
They take a very light-hearted perspective to the very serious issue of being perceived as an outsider inside your own country. Las Cafeteras is easy to relate to and lots of fun.
www.lascafeteras.com
Helado Negro
This is Electro-Pop performance art concept created by an Ecuadorian-American singer from Miami now in Brooklyn. Roberto Carlos Lange is something of a Latin Bowie.
www.heladonegro.com
Xenia Rubinos
The Cuban-Puerto Rican Brooklynite goes all over the place from Experimental Rock to R&B to Punk to Latin.
www.xeniarubinos.com
Felipe Luciano
This Afro-Puerto Rican from East Harlem was one of the co-founders and Chairman of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican-American community movement of the 1970s. He used his word skills to become an award-winning journalist.
@FelipeJLuciano
La Bruja
www.labrujamusic.com
Bonafide Rojas
This Puerto Rican New Yorker from the Bronx came up through Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Nation in the late 1970s. That puts him at the birth of Hip-Hop.
www.bonafiderojas.com
La Casita
Hearst Plaza in Lincoln Center
Saturday, August 5 at 12 noon.
This is an afternoon of poetry, music, and stories from artists at the forefront of preserving and extending LGBTQ, women’s, civil, immigrant, and human rights. It is curated by Caribbean Cultural Center Director Melody Capote.
Poetry: Safia Elhillo, Denice Frohman, Patricia Spears Jones, Quraysh Ali Lansana, Venessa Marco, Tracie Morris, Urayoán Noel, Gabriel Ramirez, Paul Tran, and Crystal Valentine
Music: Haleh Liza, James Lovell, Melvis Santa & Ellas-Son, Orquesta Criolla Nacional de Puerto Rico, Mapeyé, and Be Steadwell
MC: Baba Israel
La Casita Pregones
Teatro Pregones
Sunday, August 6 at 2:30pm
We do it again in the Bronx. “Pregones” are street-vendor songs. They are old-school shout-outs.
Caribbean Cultural Center: Talking Drums
Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center
Sunday, August 6 at 7pm
Poet Staceyann Chin hosts drum groups from Caribbean, Japanese, African, and Native American musical traditions. In our own unique ways, we are all doing pretty much the same thing around the world. That’s humanity.
The drummers are: Baba Clarke, Grupo Agoluna, Legacy Women, Los Pleneros de la 21, SilverCloud Singers, Soh Daiko, and Something Positive
Spanish Harlem Orchestra & Edmar Castaneda
Wednesday, August 9 at 7:30pm
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra led by Oscar Hernández is a two-time Grammy Award winning hard Salsa big band. We are going to dance.
www.spanishharlemorchestra.com
Colombian Edmar Castaneda (Castañeda) opens the evening. He is the Chick Corea of the Andean harp. Castaneda’s ten fingers release a chorus of angels from his harp.
www.edmarcastaneda.com
Natalia Lafourcade & Vagabon
Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center
Friday, August 11 at 7:30 pm
Lafourcade is a Mexican star of the Latin Alternative (Rock en Español) scene.
www.lafourcade.com.mx/en
Vagabon opens the evening with indie Rock by Cameroon-born New Yorker Lætitia Tamko.
Traveller, Flaco Jiménez & Amanda Shires
Hearst Plaza in Lincoln Center
Saturday, August 12 at 2:00 pm
Six-time Grammy-winning accordionist Flaco Jiménez is an old-timer who plays lively Tejano music. You may have heard of the Texas Tornados.
2015 Lincoln Center Out of Doors
Lincoln Center Out of Doors July 22 – August 9, 2015
About Lincoln Center Out of Doors
Lincoln Center is New York City’s main performing arts center. Like New York City Center, NYC’s original performing arts center, Lincoln Center wants the arts to be accessible to everyone.
Maybe we can’t afford to take the entire family to the Metropolitan Opera, but we can take our entire extended family to Lincoln Center Out of Doors. A lot of the summer programming is designed for us with many events for families.
We salute Lincoln Center’s leadership for respecting New York City’s diversity. The immigrant experience is tough, but Lincoln Center really is for all of us. Thank you.
About Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2015
Highlights of Lincoln Center Out of Doors include:
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- Wednesday, July, 22 ~ Lincoln Center Out of Doors opens with a rare appearance by R&B studio band, the Muscle Shoals All-Star Band
- Thu, July 23 ~ Mexican audio-visual group Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible
- Fri, July 24 ~ Guatemalan-American folk singer Gaby Moreno
- Fri, July 24 ~ Bessie-winning dance company Dorrance Dance: The Blues Project with Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely
- Sat, Jul 25 ~ National Dance Day 2015
- SAT, JUL 25 at 7pm with Randy Newman, Wycliffe Gordon, & Lil Buck. Watch it live.
- Wed, Jul 29 ~ Cuban-American band The Mavericks and Mexican-American band Orkesta Mendoza
- Thu, Jul 30 ~ Brazilian bands Leitieres Leite & Orkestra Rumpilezz, Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of the Spirits, and Forró in the Dark
- Fri, Jul 31 ~ AFROPUNK ~ Vintage Trouble, Lion Babe, The Skins
, The Triptych documentary
- Fri, Jul 31 ~ Experimental classical music by Chargaux
- Thu, Aug 6 ~ the Latin sounds of We Like it Like That! A Boogaloo Celebration
- Sat, Aug 1 ~ African-American poets in La Casita
- Sat, Aug 1 ~ A Celebration of the Life of Geoffrey Holder about the great African-American Renaissance man
- Sat, Aug 1 ~ A mix of Modern and Afro-Caribbean dance from Garth Fagan Dance, Carmen de Lavallade, and The Ebony Ecumenical Ensemble
SUN, AUG 2 Hearst Plaza 1pm ~ Heritage Sunday Opening Doors: Celebrating Immigrant New York ~ featuring Abdoulaye Diabaté and Super Manden (Malian), Boodoosingh Tassa Drummers (Trinidadian), Calpulli Mexican Dance Company (Mexican & Aztec), Csűrdöngölő Folk Ensemble (Hungarian), and Ikhlaq Hussain (Indian).
SUN, AUG 2 La Casita is at Pregones Theater PRTT 2:30pm in the Bronx (see separate article)
SUN, AUG 2 Damrosch Park 7pm ~ featuring Ache: Lavagem da Rua NY, Tatau (former lead singer of Araketu), Alexandre Cortes de Barros, a section of Baianas, members of the Afoxe of Filhas de Gandhy, drummers from Brazil, Something Positive from Trinidad, Legacy Circle from the Dominican Republic, Ashe Dance from Haiti, Amma McKen, and Grupo Oriefun from Cuba
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5 Experimental Rock & Roll featuring Dither with Lee Ranaldo, Yo La Tengo, & Mark Stewart ~ Matmos Damrosch Park 7:30pm
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6 We Like it Like That! A Boogaloo Celebration ~ Joe Bataan, Ray Lugo and the Boogaloo Destroyers with special guests Richie Ray and Pete Rodriguez ~ ABAKUÁ Afro-Latin Dance Company ~ DJ Turmix Damrosch Park 7pm. Free! ~ WATCH IT STREAMED LIVE ~
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 denitia and sene. play soft electronic R&B in Hearst Plaza at 7pm. Free.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 The Fairfield Four and the McCrary Sisters sing the a cappella gospel roots of Rock and Rhythm and Blues in Damrosch Park at 7pm. Free!
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 Kasey Chambers, Sam Outlaw, and The Quebe Sisters play classic country music at 2pm.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 the Watkins Family Hour house band is joined by Sean & Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek, special guest Fiona Apple and more. Justin Townes Earle.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9 Singer-songwriter Iris DeMent is inspired by hymns, gospel, early folk music, and the Soviet poet Anna Akhmatova at Hearst Plaza Lincoln Center at 3pm.
The 2015 Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival closes with the Texan Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Damrosch Park Lincoln Center at 7pm.
After exploring the many cultural influences that make us American, Lincoln Center Out of Doors closed the season with a weekend of the Annual Roots of American Music Americanafest NYC. After all of this season’s great performance, we see American folk music and dance differently than we did before. Some of it came from England, Ireland, and Scotland through the Country Dance. Some of it came from France and Germany through the Contredanse. But we don’t sound quite like England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, or France any more.
The big difference is the deep roots of our American music that come from Africa through the Blues. We all say, “this is our music” and it is, but whatever colors we put in our music the Blues is the one thing that unites us all.
Maybe at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. As Duke Ellington said, “It’s all music.”