Brooklyn Comes Alive announced its massive artist lineup last week, with over 100 artists slated to perform 35+ sets across two days in the heart of Williamsburg. This year, the event is expanding to two days, September 23rd and 24th, and will take over three of Brooklyn’s premier venues—Brooklyn Bowl, The Hall at MP, and Music Hall of Williamsburg—all within a 10-minute walking radius. While figuring out which musicians will team up for the festival’s signature one-off sets has become one of the most fun parts of the Brooklyn Comes Alive experience, we’re ready to roll out some more surprises.
Following this week’s announcement of “The Road Goes On Forever: Celebrating The Music Of The Allman Brothers Band,” Brooklyn Comes Alive shares a second, completely different, collaborative set: A Tribute To Jamiroquai featuring members of The Motet, Trey Anastasio Band, and RAQ. This special set will pay tribute to Jay Kay and his iconic band Jamiroquai, a band that took over America in the late ’90s with a slew of classic dance/funk albums like Traveling Without Moving and Synkronized. Of course, the group is most famous for its mega-hit single, “Virtual Insanity,” as well as classics like “Canned Heat” and “Space Cowboy.”
The band for this tribute set will be made up of a who’s who of jam-funk icons. Todd Stoops, keyboardist extraordinaire from RAQ and Electric Beethoven, will team up with FIVE members of The Motet—Joey Porter, Dave Watts, Ryan Jalbert, Lyle Divinsky, and Garrett Sayers—as well as trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick and trombonist Natalie Cressman of Trey Anastasio Band.
Stoops opened up about what the tribute means to him, explaining “After the passing of [Jamiroquai keyboardist] Toby Smith, we realized a proper tribute was in order and that Brooklyn Comes Alive would be perfect!”
Divinsky adds, “This lineup playing this music?!?! This is a guaranteed crushfest with a supreme funk family playing an incredible catalogue. We all feel so blessed for the chance to come together and make magic happen; and magic will surely happen.”
The 2017 Brooklyn Comes Alive lineup features members of Umphrey’s McGee, moe., The Disco Biscuits, The String Cheese Incident, Trey Anastasio Band, and so many more. Iconic legends such as John Scofield, George Porter Jr., Cyril Neville, DJ Premier, Johnny Vidacovich, and Henry Butler will join members of nationally-touring bands such as GRAMMY-winners Snarky Puppy, The Meters, Primus, Soulive, Lettuce, The Motet, Lotus, Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters,Yonder Mountain String Band, The Russ Liquid Test, SunSquabi, Pendulum, Destroid, The Crystal Method, Midnight North, Aqueous, Kung Fu, Electric Beethoven, and more. Check out the full lineup of artists below, and stay tuned for upcoming announcements about bands, supergroup formations, and special tribute sets.
Each ticket grants attendees in-and-out access to all three venues, creating the feeling of an indoor music festival all within the heart of Williamsburg. In true Brooklyn Comes Alive-fashion, a brunch set will kick off the music each day, and performances will continue into the early hours of the morning with special late-night performances.
To find out more about ticketing, VIP options, and lodging, head to the festival website.
