Brooklyn Comes Alive recently announced its massive artist lineup, with over 100 artists slated to perform 35+ sets across two days in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 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. Fans’ imaginations have been running wild dreaming up what band lineups may be formed from the extensive roster of musicians. The guessing game is always one of the most fun parts of the Brooklyn Comes Alive experience, but today, we’re ready to roll out some more surprises.
Following the previous announcements of “The Road Goes On Forever: Celebrating The Music Of The Allman Brothers Band,” A Tribute To Jamiroquai, Eric Krasno & Friends, and moe.queous, Brooklyn Comes Alive has just announced another exciting set. As reported by Brooklyn Vegan, Kris Myers and Ryan Stasik of Umphrey’s McGee will team up with Mike Gantzer of Aqueous to perform Green Day‘s Dookie & Other Rock Music.
The trio debuted their Green Day tribute during this year’s Summer Camp Music Festival as a special late-night set. Its inaugural performance was a resounding success, with the high-octane performance packing the tent to capacity. At Brooklyn Comes Alive, Myers, Stasik, and Gantzer will similarly work through their energized takes on classics off Dookie, such as “When I Come Around,” “Basket Case,” “Longview,” and “Welcome To Paradise.” In addition to performing Dookie in its entirety, the band will also perform a handful of other rock classics by bands like Ween, Weezer, and The Ramones.
Myers and Stasik spend the majority of their time in the powerhouse rhythm section of progressive jam titans Umphrey’s McGee. Myers joined Umphrey’s in 2003 after the departure of the band’s original drummer—Mike Mirro—and has spent the past fourteen years solidifying himself as one of the best drummers in live music. Trained as a jazz drummer, his versatility is unmatched, weaving his way through the syncopated stew of metal, prog, funk, and alternative grooves that Umphrey’s specializes in.
Stasik, a founding member of UM, is rock solid on the bass, holding down the low end with skill, finesse, and precision. Stasik formerly toured with the 80’s-themed supergroup side project The Omega Moos and has played a handful of shows with his Umphrey’s bandmate (and fellow Brooklyn Comes Alive performer) Joel Cummins and members of TAUK as TAUKing McGee. Outside of these infrequent collaborations, the bassist doesn’t appear that much outside of the friendly confines of Umphrey’s McGee, so his appearance at the festival is a true rarity. Stasik has expressed that “It’s nice to rock out to some three-minute punk tunes with these badass players,” and we couldn’t agree more.
Gantzer—also known as Uncle Mike—is the exciting frontman for Aqueous, one of the best young bands of 2017. He has an absurdly high level of musicianship, which allows him to float between genres with ease as Aqueous whips their way through their progressive songbook. He can play both lead and rhythm parts with perfection, and he’s a great vocalist as well. Gantzer is stoked to bring Dookie to Brooklyn, explaining that “Stasik and Kris both know how to really harness that raw ROCK energy, and performing with them as a balls-out trio is the stuff Rock n’ Roll dreams are made of. Loud, fast, and in your face! We’re ready to re-summon the rock gods and really go all out for Brooklyn Comes Alive.”
We’re so pumped to see what Stasik, Myers & Gantzer have in store for this set. If their set at Summercamp was any indication, this should be one of the most exciting sets at this year’s Brooklyn Comes Alive!
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.
***Tickets Are On Sale Now!***
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.
