BEST SMALL VENUE SHOW
Xenia Rubinos at Death By Audio
Wednesday, June 12
$7 at the door
8pm
Death by Audio (49 S. 2nd Street)
Brooklyn singer Xenia Rubinos’ debut record Magic Trix has drawn high critical praise for good reason. Her punchy, genre-defying tunes are punctuated by her smoky, bi-lingual vocals and syncopated, stop-motion drumming. It’s worth checking out just to see how all the sounds she plays with on her album come together live. She plays at Death by Audio with Son Step, Half Waif and Throw Vision.
BEST DATE NIGHT SHOW
Lapland at The Rock Shop
Thursday, June 13
Tickets $8 advance/$10 at the door
7:30pm
The Rock Shop (249 4th Avenue)
Brooklyn songwriter Josh Mease plays airy, warm and hazy music under the name Lapland. His recent self-titled LP is a dreamy, thoughtful collection of songs with warm vocals, and a perfect soundtrack for a romantic Brooklyn evening. Catch him (with Yost and Eksi Ekso) with your sweetheart at The Rock Shop.
BEST FREE SHOW
Mavis Staples and Cody ChesnuTT at Celebrate Brooklyn! Prospect Park Bandshell
Friday, June 14
FREE ($3 suggested donation)
6:30pm gates open/7:30pm show
Prospect Park Bandshell (9th Street & Prospect Park West)
Gospel-soul legend Mavis Staples hits the Celebrate Brooklyn! stage, sharing the bill with Cody ChesnuTT (whose November show at Mercury Lounge was one of the most energetic and inspired performances I’ve seen recently). If the weather’s right, this will be a fun, family-friendly show.
BEST SHOW TO GROOVE AT
Har Mar Superstar at Grand Victory
(Part of Northside Festival)
Friday, June 14
Tickets $12
6pm
Grand Victory (245 Grand Street)
Sean Tillmann may bear a closer physical resemblance to Ron Jeremy than a your typical R&B singer, but Tillmann, who goes by Har Mar Superstar, has brought crowds in his native St. Paul, Minn. to their feet for years. Put on your boogie shoes and check him out at Grand Victory on Friday. He’ll be back in Brooklyn on June 28 for a show at the Knitting Factory.
BEST LINEUP
Calexico, Susana Baca, Radio Jarocho and Akoko Nante Ensemble at Celebrate Brooklyn! Prospect Park Bandshell
Saturday, June 15
FREE ($3 suggested donation)
Gates open at 6pm/Show at 7pm
Prospect Park Bandshell (9th Street & Prospect Park West)
If you didn’t RSVP in time to snag a spot at Northside Festival’s main event at McCarren Park with the Walkmen and Phosphorescent, fret not. Another outdoor stage a few neighborhoods away boasts a broad array of global sounds, from the Latin-leaning Calexico to Afro-Peruvian singer Susana Baca, traditional Mexican son jarocho band Radio Jarocho and pan-African group Akoko Nante Ensemble.
BEST ANTI-BOY BAND SHOW
The Soft Moon at 285 Kent Avenue
Sunday, June 16
Tickets $15
8pm
285 Kent Avenue
Some pretty popular 90s boy bands are playing at Barclays Center tonight. Maybe you’ve heard of New Kids on the Block? But if NKOTB, 98 Degrees and Boyz II Men just aren’t your speed anymore–if they ever were–check out The Soft Moon, a hard and heavy, dark and twisted psych-punk band from San Francisco, who are playing at Williamsburg dive 285 Kent Avenue on Sunday night, around the same time NKOTB and Co. hit the stage at Barclays.