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It happens every year—Memorial Day approaches, we revel in the joy of shorts and sunshine, and then we blink and it’s August. Somehow, there's only one more week of Celebrate Brooklyn! performances (the last free show is Tune-Yards this Saturday, and the season closes with a benefit show from Willie Nelson & Family and Old Crow Medicine Show August 12). But dry those end-of-summer tears: there are enough great open-air shows left for another entire season. Here are the five we're most excited for.
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Tune-Yards and Shabazz Palaces
Merrill Garbus, who performs as Tune-Yards, brings a joyful sound to modern pop. Her songs are percussive and up-tempo, shouty and visceral, weaving in influences from African funk and electronic music. Rap group Shabazz Palaces brings a warped take on the bass-heavy grooves of early ’90s hip-hop. Prospect Park Bandshell; Sun 8 at 7:30pm; free
Roy Ayers
Ayers saw moderate success in the 1970s, mixing jazz, soul and funk, but his laid-back grooves are still influential—they’ve been sampled by everyone from Nas to Mary J. Blige and have inspired neo-soul singers D’Angelo and Erykah Badu. Ayers’s best-known song is “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” so get ready to scream, “It’s true! I do! Please don’t let it go away!” . Marcus Garvey Park; Aug 12 at 7pm; free
Afropunk Festival
This fest always has an excellent lineup, but this year’s is especially inspired, with legends like Lenny Kravitz and Grace Jones, who ruled early ’80s New York with a mixture of reggae, disco and new wave. Young up-and-comers from the worlds of hip-hop (Danny Brown), jazz (Thundercat), R&B (SZA, Kelela) and blues (Gary Clark Jr.) also step into the spotlight. Commodore Barry Park; Aug 22,
23; festival pass $80
Andrés
MoMA PS1’s Warm Up has a heavy hitter still to come. The multitalented Andrés makes immaculate, effervescent house-music-sweeping tracks that are always danceable. He doesn’t perform often, so this edition of the popular party is definitely worth heading to Long Island City for. MoMA PS1; Aug 22 noon–9pm; $18
RL Grime, Young Thug, Mr. Carmack
It’s hard to think of a better way to wave goodbye to summer than this triple bill at SummerStage. RL Grime is known for electronic music that builds to huge liberating peaks. Young Thug is one of the most exciting young rappers working right now (Drake and Kanye West both count themselves as fans), and Mr. Carmack mixes hip-hop, R&B and dance music with a warmth that’ll keep summer alive just a little longer. Central Park SummerStage; Sept 17 at 7pm; $30–$35.
—Written by Elias Leight