Katy Kirby (Photo Credit Jackie Lee Young)
Bryant Park Picnic Performances Emerging Music Festival
Eight Exciting New Bands with Stars on the Rise Perform Over Two Days
Curated by AdHoc
First-Come, First-Served Entry All Bryant Park Picnic Performances Are FREE
Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America season of free, live performances continues with Emerging Music Festival, featuring eight up-and-coming bands performing on one of the biggest stages of their careers, curated by AdHoc. The opening night on June 23 includes genre-pushing post-rock from multi-instrumental trio THUS LOVE, New York City dance-rock from Psymon Spine, and indie-rock singer/songwriter Katy Kirby. The second day of the festival on June 24 features five hours of music from four different bands: synth pop from NYC-based producer and songwriter Ky Vöss, catchy R&B and soul with Seramic, reggae- and jazz-tinged folk from June McDoom, indie-pop singer/songwriter Miss Grit, and snarling post-punk from Dead Tooth.
Attendees may bring their own food or purchase from on-site food and beverage vendors near the Lawn. At all performances, attendees can discover new dishes and celebrate classics from the five boroughs with a rotating line-up of local artisanal vendors curated by Hester Street Fair. Stout NYC offers giant pretzels, gourmet popcorn and other light bites as well as a selection of beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase.
Performance Details
THUS LOVE, Psymon Spine, Katy Kirby
Bound by circumstance, identity, and creative spirit, three trans multi-instrumentalists founded THUS LOVE in 2018 in Brattleboro, Vermont. But the shared experience of Echo Marshall (she/her), Lu Racine (he/they), and Nathaniel van Osdol (they/them) runs much deeper, tracing its roots to poor, rural towns where it was difficult to find communities to call their own. That feeling of loss and solitary longing has also, paradoxically, cemented their powerfully close connection in THUS LOVE. The band lived together in a one-bedroom apartment above downtown Brattleboro during the entire recording process of their debut album, Memorial, with Marshall cordoning off a room to build a studio from scratch. Musically, THUS LOVE combines their love of post-punk with a loose, eclectic experimental streak that owes as much to van Osdol’s jazz collection as it does to Marshall’s classical training as a cellist. The band is unafraid to tackle weighty themes with startling intimacy and vulnerability — and with a goal of amplifying the voices of those who continue to struggle. Says Marshall: “What I hope we’re able to accomplish with THUS LOVE is to redirect opportunities to those who haven’t had them and to create communities in the kinds of places where we grew up. We want them to know they’re not alone.”
Psymon Spine’s origins date back to Noah Prebish and Peter Spears meeting in college and finding common ground in their artistic aims: “We wanted to make something that was experimental, but also accessible and satisfying,” Prebish states while discussing the thrust of the band’s origins, citing influences like Talking Heads and Os Mutantes along with the rush of the New York City dance scene. Eventually, Brother Michael joined Psymon Spine, as the trio hashed out the demos for what would become their 2017 debut You Are Coming to My Birthday. “We’ve always wanted to make people feel good with our music, but challenge them too,” Spears explains. And Psymon Spine continued on that aesthetic mission by becoming figures in the Brooklyn dance scene through throwing the immersive art and dance parties of the Secret Friend series. Meanwhile, Prebish’s work in dream-pop band Barrie—who broke out in 2019 with the excellent debut Happy to Be Here following a string of buzz-making singles—led him to meet singer and multi-instrumentalist Sabine Holler, who eventually joined Psymon Spine’s ranks after they both parted ways with the rest of Barrie.
Katy Kirby is a songwriter and indie rock practitioner with a writerly focus on unspoken rules, misunderstandings of all kinds, and boredom. Kirby was born, raised, and homeschooled by two ex-cheerleaders in small-town Texas, where she started singing in church amidst the soaring, pasteurized-pop choruses of evangelical worship services. After high school, Kirby moved to Nashville, where she managed to graduate college with a rapidly expanding circle of artistic allies, an amorphous collection of leftist beliefs, and a few handfuls of songs. After a series of painful failures to complete a record that reflected the temperament of those songs, Kirby finally turned to dear friends and co-conspirators to form a band capable of constructing a satisfying full length.
Ky Vöss, Seramic, June McDoom, Miss Grit, and Dead Tooth
Ky Vöss is an New York City-based American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. By use of stark contrasting lyrics, striking visuals, and synthesized melodies Vöss walks the line between otherworldly and deeply human in a playful concoction of carbonated synth-pop and nostalgic soundscapes.
Having so far released two critically acclaimed EPs (Found and I Got You), Seramic (Marcus Foster) showcases a powerfully unique and varied range of influences, which has led the Sunday Times to state that his sound is a mix of “Prince meets D’Angelo meets Tom Waits meets Joe Cocker.” Combining his love for Prince, gospel, & soul singers of the 70’s and 80’s mixed with 90’s hip hop & RnB, Seramic’s infectiously catchy songs infuses tradition and innovation, creating a bold, fresh, and distinctive sound, that lifts you up, makes you want to move and can’t help put a smile on your face. Armed with an army of new singles, films, EP’s and with an album on the way, describing this new body of work as “Bill Withers on acid,” 2023 is set to be a big year for Seramic. “The new revolution is coming.”
Growing up in South Florida in a Jamaican household, June McDoom was raised around reggae music, which echoed throughout every room of her childhood home. Later, she discovered and nourished her own deep love for folk music and songwriting of the 1960’s and 70’s. While studying in New York City for a degree in Jazz Performance, her musical palette expanded to include the more intricate influences of jazz and early soul. Realizing that her favorite vintage folk music lacked artists with similar identities as her own, it became increasingly important for McDoom to carve a unique musical space – to push folk music towards a new and different audience.
New York-based musician Margaret Sohn (they/she) created Miss Grit to function as an outlet for their own analysis and expression of self. Called a “polymath” by NME in early 2019, their process is introspective, their vision precise. Sohn produced Follow The Cyborg, her debut full length album, entirely in her home studio, and mostly in solitude with several guest collaborators joining — Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Aron Kobayashi Ritch of Momma, and close friend and fellow songwriter Pearla.
After an early stint drumming and singing in Haybaby (Tiny Engines), Zach James began writing and self-producing folk records in his bedroom, donning the name The Silver Spaceman. The project evolved into a post-punk band featuring Andrew Bailey (DIIV) on lead guitar. It snarled and simmered around darker textures, miles away from its early folk routes. James looked to his darkened smile and rechristened the project Dead Tooth. They gained momentum opening for bands like Hand Habits, The Space Lady and Current Joys. After recording their second EP entitled Pig Pile, the pandemic disembodied the band as it did so many others. Sad, yet ambitious to keep the momentum going and release the EP, James rebuilt the project from the ground up. He added an EWI/Sax player and relinquished his own live guitar duties for a frontman stage persona. The new crew was quickly picked up by Rough Trade Publishing and Trash Casual Records. Shortly after, they went on to win OWL Winter Madness (a 16 band, 5-week-long “battle of the bands” at Brooklyn’s legendary rooftop venue Our Wicked Lady). They then found themselves playing SPIN Magazine’s SXSW showcase alongside The Lemonheads, Bass Drum of Death and Pom Pom Squad. SPIN wrote of SXSW, “If there was someone who really broke out … it was Brooklyn’s Dead Tooth.”
Complete Line Listings
June
June 01 – New York City Opera: La Bohème
June 02 – Jazzmobile: The Steven Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra
June 08 – Contemporary Dance: Robin Dunn + The Lite
June 09 – Contemporary Dance: Dance Heginbotham + Jennifer Muller/The Works + Joffrey Concert Ballet Group
June 15 – Contemporary Dance: Terk Lewis + Kayla Farrish
June 16 – Contemporary Dance: Soles of Duende + Josh Johnson
June 23 – Emerging Music Festival: THUS LOVE, Psymon Spine, Katy Kirby
June 24 – Emerging Music Festival: Ky Vöss, Seramic, June McDoom, Miss Grit, Dead Tooth
June 30 – Jalopy Theatre: Michael Daves Quintet Ft. Tony Trischka, Yacouba Sissoko, Terrell King
July
July 07 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
July 14 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Tessa Lark + Michael Thurber
July 21 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Magos Herrera Ft. The Knights
July 28 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Champe-Soukous Collective
August
August 03 – Ailey Moves NYC: Ailey II
August 04 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Ndlovu Youth Choir
August 11 – Joe’s Pub: Shaina Taub
August 18 – New York City Opera: The Barber of Seville
August 19 – New York City Opera: Alessandro Lora in Concert
August 25 – Accordions Around the World: Diana Burco, Suistamon Sähkö, Ragini Ensemble
August 26 – Roulette Intermedium: Immanuel Wilkins, 75 Dollar Bill, Ka Baird
September
September 01 – The Classical Theatre of Harlem: Langston in Harlem
September 07 – American Symphony Orchestra: American Expressions
September 08 – New York City Opera: Romeo and Juliet
September 09 – Drom: Gaye Su Akyol (U.S. Debut)
September 14 – Harlem Stage: 40th Anniversary Celebration
Follow Bryant Park
Website: https://bryantpark.org
Twitter: @bryantparknyc
Instagram: @bryantparknyc
Facebook: facebook.com/BryantParkNYC
YouTube: youtube.com/BryantParkNYC
Location and Subway Directions:
Bryant Park is situated behind the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan, between 40th and 42nd Streets & Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Take the B, D, F, or M train to 42nd Street/Bryant Park; or, take the 7 train to 5th Avenue.
Discover more from City Life Org
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.