Brooklyn Comes Alive is a Breath of Fresh Air in the Bustling New York Festival Scene
Brooklyn Comes Alive will return bigger and better to the trendy neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in just a few weeks. The unique setup is a welcome deviation from the archetypal festival that the scene has begun to mass-produce. With influence taken from the cultural, neighborhood-centric New Orleans Jazz Fest, and a lineup overflowing with exclusive collaborations and tributes, Brooklyn Comes Alive has what it takes to stand out.
In recent years, as festival season comes around, we are introduced to a slew of premier events vying for the attention of live music lovers in a sea of ever-growing competition. Choosing among several fests to spend your weekend isn’t the worst problem to have. It’s plain to see that the demand for music and arts events is peaking. Cities continue to catch on to the benefits of hosting a hip festival that drives tourism and paints their town as a place for artsy-types to flourish. But increasingly, new festivals seem to be born out of little more than a desire to join the popular scene and compete to reap the rewards.
An open field, four or five stages, muddy camping and food trucks combined with a formula-following lineup (i.e., a few large pop acts, a bunch of indie newcomers, a sprinkle of late-night electronica or jam bands with a hint of hip hop for good measure) and voila! We have a festival! Of course, there is nothing wrong with this tried-and-true festy recipe. But, if live entertainment groups and event coordinators want to continue to churn out festivals at the rate we have been seeing, it’s high time for some fresh concepts.
Take The Wild Honey Pie presents Welcome Campers, for example. Set in Massachusetts, Welcome Campers takes the musical and camping elements of your average festival and adds bunk beds, kayaking, kickball, swimming, campfires and much more to create the ultimate adult summer camp. Welcome Campers provides a standout atmosphere and a festival experience unlike that which many of us longtime fans are used to.
New York State is now home to an expansive list of live music events from camping festivals like Mountain Jam, Taste of Country, Mazzstock Music Festival, MAYfest, Angry Orchard Harvest Festival, and, of course, plenty of weekend events like Governors Ball, Electric Zoo, Panorama, The Meadows, The Greatest Day Ever! and Global Citizen. There are hardly enough weekends in a summer to accommodate all of them, yet NYC simply needs Brooklyn Comes Alive.
Like New Orleans, Brooklyn is home to a rich and unique culture all its own. A community-based festival similar to New Orleans Jazz Fest makes perfect sense in Williamsburg, and nothing like it currently exists in the New York festival scene. We have the location. We have the atmosphere. Finally, we have a lineup that cannot be replicated thanks to the tributes and collaborations that Brooklyn Comes Alive will bring to the stages. It is exactly what the scene must start offering; something that fans cannot get anywhere else.
I can just about guarantee that none of us has yet to witness a Jamiroquai tribute led by members of The Motet, Trey Anastasio Band, RAQ and Electric Beethoven. Where else do you plan on seeing members of Umphrey’s McGee, moe., the Gregg Allman Band, Snarky Puppy and guitar prodigy Brandon “Taz” Niederauer come together to pay their respects and honor the legendary Allman Brothers Band? Musicians from Umphrey’s McGee and Aqueous will be hitting the stage together to play songs from Green Day’s Dookie. The influence of New Orleans on this festival will be amplified by an absolutely triumphant three-piece collaboration of George Porter Jr., Henry Butler and John Vidacovich. This is only a taste of the one-of-a-kind experiences that Brooklyn Comes Alive will be offering music fans.
Just about every festival utilizes multiple stages. But Brooklyn Comes Alive takes things a step further by utilizing multiple addresses. Three of Williamsburg’s most beloved venues will host a diverse, genre-spanning lineup. One ticket allows attendees access to come and go as they please from Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bowl and Schimanski, inviting them to carry the electric vibes of the festival out into the streets with them as they travel from venue to venue. Brooklyn will quite literally come alive this September.
To sum it up, if you attend Brooklyn Comes Alive, you will witness never-before-seen (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) collaborations celebrating both the music and the neighborhood. Don’t miss out on a lineup that will only come around once. The epic event will take place on Saturday, September 23, and Sunday, September 24. Hurry up and grab your tickets now!