July 11, 2012 @ 6:00PM – 9:30PM
Blues Downtown, http://www.artsbrookfield.com/new_york/world_financial_center/event_304.htm
World Financial Plaza, North Cove, Outdoors

Celebrate the Blues downtown at the World Financial Center’s waterfront Plaza as new stars join great legends for a two-day musical tribute to the history and continuing legacy of the Blues on July 11 – 12, 2012.

BUDDY GUY – At age 74, Buddy Guy is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a major influence on rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a pioneer of Chicago’s fabled West Side sound. He has been awarded 23 W.C. Handy Blues Awards (the most any artist has received), the Billboard magazine Century Award for distinguished artistic achievement, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and 6 Grammy Awards, including “Best Contemporary Blues Album” for his 2010 album Living Proof. Rolling Stone ranked him in the top 30 of its “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

QUINN SULLIVAN – Quinn Sullivan is a 12-year-old blues guitar prodigy who has toured with Buddy Guy and been featured on several national television shows, including Ellen, Oprah, The Today Show, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

JOHN MAYALL – John Mayall is often referred to as the “Father of the British blues.” Founded in the 1950s, his band, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, has served as a launching pad for such legendary artists as Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, Peter Green, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood, Mick Taylor, and many more.

July 11, 2012 @ 7:00PM – 8:30PM
Madison Square Music, http://madisonsquarepark.org/music
Madison Square Park

Nellie McKay is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums. McKay has won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum in the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera and performed onscreen in the film PS I Love You, as well as writing original music for the Rob Reiner film Rumor Has It and contributing to the New York Times Book Review. Her music has also been heard on the TV shows Weeds, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Privileged and Nurse Jackie. Her music is as tuneful and clever as the best of the Great American Songbook—part cabaret, part sparkly pop. “Ms. McKay has gone beyond the concept of covers or even interpretation and provided a model of how to re-contextualize old songs to tell a new story,” (Wall Street Journal).

July 11, 2012 @ 8:30PM – 10:30PM
River Flicks, http://riverflicks.com/
Hudson River Park Trust
Pier 63 (on the Hudson, near West 22nd Street).

MONEYBALL, PG-13, 2 hr. 13 min.
Based on a true story, Moneyball is a movie for anybody who has ever dreamed of taking on the system. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s and the guy who assembles the team, who has an epiphany: all of baseball’s conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane will have to outsmart the richer clubs. The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership, recruiting bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It’s more than baseball, it’s a revolution – one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he’s tearing out the heart and soul of the game. — (C) Sony Pictures

July 12, 2012 @ 12:30pm
Dana Leong Trio
One New York Plaza
One New York Plaza at Water and Whitehall Street

The Dana Leong Trio, featuring Dana (cello/trombone/laptop), John Shannon (guitar) and DJ Icewater (turntables), is the latest incarnation of Dana’s ever-expansive compositions, bringing together an exciting electro-acoustic blend of jazz, classical, and pop. The trio recently performed at Orange County Performing Arts, the 2011 Blue Note Jazz Festival in New York City, and the Sleepless Night Miami Beach festival in November 2011.

Presented by Arts Brookfield.

July 12, 2012 @ 6:00PM – 9:30PM
Blues Downtown,  http://www.artsbrookfield.com/new_york/world_financial_center/event_305.htm
World Financial Plaza, North Cove, Outdoors

Celebrate the Blues downtown at the World Financial Center’s waterfront Plaza as new stars join great legends for a two-day musical tribute to the history and continuing legacy of the Blues on July 11 – 12, 2012.

Neko Case – Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Neko Case has developed a sound all her own: a mix of country, gospel, torch, and pop, and her five full-length solo albums (not to mention her two live collections and Canadian Amp EP) have won her critical acclaim and countless devotees.

Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires – 63-year-old Charles Bradley released his debut album No Time For Dreaming in 2011 and has since gone on to win accolades for his haunting, soulful voice, and is one of the leading lights on the esteemed label, Daptone Records.

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister – Led by brother and sister Rob and Rachel Kolar, He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister also includes tap dancer Lauren Brown and cellist Satya Bhabha. Together, they create a mix of folk, glam and western swing, and their live performances are full of dancing, humor, nostalgia, and great vibes.

July 12, 2012 @ 6:00PM – 7:00PM
River Rocks, http://riverrocksnyc.com/RR1.html
DAN DEACON AND JOHN MAUS
Pier 84

Among New York City’s quintessential free outdoor summer concert series, Hudson River Park’s RiverRocks marks its 14th season this July and August with a new location on Pier 84, and performances by an array of established and breaking artists.

Baltimore-based musician Dan Deacon is well known for his live shows with frenzied audiences feeding off looping music. His songs are intense and epic and at the same time down to earth and welcoming.

Minnesota native John Maus taps into gothic ‘80s synth-pop sounds. Maus utilizes synthesizers, tensely strung bass lines and chasing drum machines as the backdrop for his deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocals.

Baltimore’s Roomrunner performs “bunge rock, avant chunch, grunge” music replete with fuzzy, noisy odes to the 90s. The band’s two EPs released this past year, are making Nirvana fans very happy.

July 12, 2012 @ 7-8:30pm
River & Blues: Shemekia Copeland
Wagner Park

The Queen of the Blues, Shemekia Copeland, recently performed at The White House with BB King, Buddy Guy and Mick Jagger in a patriotic tribute to American Blues music. Enjoy classic Blues tinged with soul, gospel, and funk.

July 12, 2012 @ 7:00pm
George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
Rockefeller Park
Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City at the corner of River Terrace and Warren Street

One of the most influential names in R&B and funk music, George Clinton is the leader of Parliament/Funkadelic (or P-Funk), a collective of wildly talented musicians who revolutionized soul music in the 70s by incorporating influences from Hendrix, Zappa, and Sly. George and P-Funk have been rocking steady for more than 50 years with hit songs like “Flash Light,” “Mothership Connection,” and “Chocolate City.” In 1997, George Clinton and 15 other members of the group became the largest band yet inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, proving that they are epic in both size and sound. Clinton has been a particular influence on Prince, and recorded several albums for his Paisley Park record label. Come down to Rockefeller Park and join One Nation Under A Groove, getting down just for the funk of it.

Presented by Battery Park City Authority.

July 13, 2012 @ 7:00pm – 8pm
Pier 45
The Baby Soda Jazz Band

July 13, 2012 @ 8:00pm
Pier 17, The Seaport
Eleanor Friedberger with Ex Cops

Eleanor Friedberger is an exceptional songwriter, a fearless performer, and one of the sweetest alto voices in music. A masterful wordsmith, Friedberger mashes up colorful, complicated lyrical lines into beautiful refrains, often describing whirlwind New York moments within her narratives. Her performances are delivered with passionate vocal phrasing and excellent manipulation of melody, never ceasing in her explorations of sound. Although Friedberger is known for her role as the lead singer of The Fiery Furnaces, one of music’s most interesting and dynamic bands, she is just as comfortable playing alone on a stage with an acoustic guitar as she is fronting a band.

July 14, 2012 @ 1:30pm – 8:00pm
Pier 17, The Seaport
4 Knots Festival
http://microapp.villagevoice.com/4knots/2012/index.php

July 14, 2012 @ 7:00pm
Ecstatic™ Summer: A Far Cry Orchestra with Oneohtrix Point Never & David Lang
World Financial Center Winter Garden
World Financial Center Winter Garden, 200 Vesey Street

Pulitzer Prize-winning composer (and co-founder of Bang on a Can) David Lang’s hour-long, slowly-evolving work for strings, Darker, is the starting point for a live re-imagination by Oneohtrix Point Never (Daniel Lopatin), who will real time loop and electronically process the live string sound of A Far Cry Orchestra back over and on to themselves.

Daniel Lopatin will also present his own work with selections from of his critically acclaimed albums (Returnal and Replica) specially arranged for A Far Cry Orchestra.

Ecstatic™ Summer is a production of New Amsterdam Presents in association with the Kaufman Center.
Presented by River To River Festival and Arts Brookfield.