Afropop's Summer Festival Roundup

Feature June 4, 2014

As part of our Summer Concert Preview, we've pulled together a list of the best Afropop friendly concerts going down across the country. So if one of these is near you? Consider making the trip, and you're likely to catch some GREAT music. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.06.59-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-18767" alt="GrassRoots" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.06.59-PM.png" height="200" width="542"></a> <a href="http://www.grassrootsfest.org/festival/ ">GrassRoots Festival</a> GrassRoots is a four day music festival held annually in upstate New York. Musicians represent genres such as bluegrass, reggae, country, Americana, jam band, rock 'n' roll, hip-hop and rockabilly. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.35.39-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-18787 aligncenter" alt="SummerStage Festival" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.35.39-PM.png" height="298" width="576"></a> <a href="http://www.centralpark.com/guide/activities/concerts/summerstage-festival.html">SummerStage Festival</a> SummerStage is a free festival of the arts held annually in parks across the city. This year's festival will include over 100 music, theater and dance shows. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.44.37-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-18790 aligncenter" alt="Celebrate Brooklyn" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-12.44.37-PM.png" height="301" width="456"></a> <a href="http://bricartsmedia.org/performing-arts/celebrate-brooklyn">Celebrate Brooklyn!</a> Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of New York's leading summer cultural attractions. Held annually in Prospect Park, the festival promotes Brooklyn's performing arts scene and attracts upwards of 250,000 attendees. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.05.11-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-18794 alignleft" alt="Lincoln Center Out of Doors" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.05.11-PM.png" height="351" width="645"></a> <a href="http://lcoutofdoors.org">Lincoln Center Out of Doors</a> Out of Doors is the country's longest-running free outdoor festival. Spanning three weeks, it celebrates world-class music, dance and spoken word at the Lincoln Center plazas. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.10.08-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18795" alt="Midsummer Night Swing" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.10.08-PM.png" height="305" width="610"></a> <a href="http://midsummernightswing.org">Midsummer Night Swing</a> Midsummer Night Swing is one of New York's great open-air dance parties. Dance bands from around the world represent genres from swing and salsa to R&B and disco in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.16.05-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18796" alt="LAMC" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.16.05-PM.png" height="376" width="595"></a> <a href="http://www.latinalternative.com">Latin Alternative Music Conference</a> LAMC is a major conference that showcases Latin music from rock, hip-hop and electronica scenes. It's a six day event that provides networking opportunities to alternative artists and labels. Concerts, parties and exhibitions are held at venues throughout New York. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.39.43-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18797" alt="Smithsonian Folklife Festival" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.39.43-PM.png" height="257" width="387"></a> <a href="http://www.festival.si.edu/2014/Kenya/">Smithsonian Folk Life Festival - Kenya</a> The festival is an international exposition held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. This year's Kenya: Mambo Poa program will celebrate the people of Kenya and their culture. Festivalgoers will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from Kenyan craftspeople, athletes, dancers, musicians, and more. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.54.05-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18801" alt="Nuits d'Afrique " src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-1.54.05-PM.png" height="359" width="568"></a> <a href="http://www.festivalnuitsdafrique.com/en">Nuits D'Afrique de Montreal</a> Nuits D'Afrique celebrates old and new, local and international artists. For eleven days, festival goers experience music from diverse cultural backgrounds--from Montreal to Timbuktu, the Caribbean, and Latin America. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-2.05.17-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18802" alt="Chicago SummerDance" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-2.05.17-PM.png" height="402" width="623"></a> <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_summerdance.html/">Chicago SummerDance</a> Every summer, Chicago's Grant Park is transformed into an urban dance space. This year's event will feature 44 live bands, and attendees can take part in dance lessons beforehand--for free! <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-2.11.55-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18804" alt="Colors 2013" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-04-at-2.11.55-PM.png" height="305" width="455"></a> <a href="http://accfea.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=schedule">Concert of Colors, Detroit</a> Every summer, over 100,000 people come together to celebrate the racial and ethnic diversity of metro Detroit. Musical genres represented include pop, Celtic, soul, indie rock, bluegrass and Latino. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/samba.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18833" alt="samba" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/samba.jpg" height="296" width="400"></a> Samba Mapangala on Tour <a href="http://www.msac.org/folklife-festival" target="_blank">Maryland Traditions Festival, Baltimore</a> <a href="http://www.festival.si.edu/visitor/schedule.aspx" target="_blank">Smithsonian Folklife Festival</a> <a href="http://www.lowellfolkfestival.org/" target="_blank">Lowell Folk Festival, Lowell, MA</a> The Congolese legend, Samba Mapangala is touring the U.S. this summer, making appearances at festivals throughout the country. Follow him from one festival to the next for an enriching musical experience! <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Kusun-Ensemble-001.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18842" alt="Kusun-Ensemble-001" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Kusun-Ensemble-001.jpg" height="300" width="400"></a> <a href="http://globalquerque.org/" target="_blank">¡Globalquerque!, Albuquerque</a> Celebrating its tenth anniversary, ¡Globalquerque! will be finishing off this year's summer on a celebratory note. Taking place at Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center, the festival takes place on September 19 and 20, the two last days of the season. Their lineup this year features groups from Ethiopia, Argentina, La Réunion and Mauritania, among other talented artists from around the globe. <a href="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-09-at-1.20.54-PM.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-18888" alt="globalFEST @ Bonnaroo" src="https://afropop.test.ejaedesign.com/migrated-uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-09-at-1.20.54-PM.png" height="326" width="616"></a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1411863159064778/">globalFEST @ Bonnaroo</a> globalFEST will again host a stage at this year's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, held for four days every June in Manchester, Tennessee. Groundbreaking artists will include Seun Anikulapo Kuti and The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar with special guests Billy Martin, Marc Ribot and DJ Logic.