Bklyn Sounds 7/23/2025—7/29/2025

This week's events include Moodymann + Inner City at Detroit X Bklyn rollerskating jam / Cécile McLorin Salvant / Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer / DrumsnButta X Creative Music Studio festival / ++

Clockwise from upper left Tcheser Holmes, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Kenny “Moodymann” Dixon Jr., Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer.

As usual, lotsa great things happening in fair gotham this week. Please pass on the newsletter to someone you think would enjoy it. Dada Strain is a labor of love and community building, one I know works for—and brings value to—many people. (I see the stats and hear the feedback. Thank you!) But it is also a service, and a laborious one at that. Just as I hope that when you go hear music with a $uggested charge and add what you can/ what is fair to the pot, I hope you would consider doing the same here. When I brought the listings from behind the paywall in January, I was working on the premise that this would inspire readers to subscribe. A great deal of things have changed over the past seven months, from the energy circulating out in the world (exhausted and enraging) to the integrity of the platform I publish Dada Strain on (an issue I’m in the process of addressing). What has not changed is the work and the value(s) I put into Dada Strain. If you receive the newsletter and use it, please consider upgrading your subscription. Thank you in advance.

THIS WEEK’s SHOWS:

Wednesday marks a pair of events celebrating the 35th anniversary of one of NYC’s cornerstone musicking orgs: Giant Step. Co-founded by Jonathan Rudnick and Maurice Bernstein (the latter of whom still runs the joint), Giant Step has produced dance parties and live shows at the intersection of rhythm and improvisation since the rave/acid jazz era and continue to get it right far more often than not, even as its becoming establishment. Their (almost) annual jam in Central Park will feature sets by the reunited Cymande, Back Brits who helped created London’s Black Atlantic grooves in the 1970s (and whose records are staples in discerning hip-hop, house and disco crates); the 80 year-old Indian-American fusion-jazz vocalist Asha Puthli; the young hip-hop-jazz polymath Zacchae’us Paul; and the young DJ K.Tea. (Wed 7/23, 6p @ Central Park Summerstage, Uptown - FREE) Followed by an after-party featuring one of NYC’s DJing “mayors,” the mighty DJ Spinna, with special guest Mark Ronson, whose lifelong skills behind the decks sometimes get overshadowed by the ubiquity of “Uptown Funk.” Don’t let them. (Wed 7/23, 10p @ Nublu, Manhattan - $20-$25) Happy Birthday Giant Step!

Among the first albums that Chicago’s International Anthem released after opening a base of operations in LA was Recordings from the Åland Islands, a wondrous glacial excursion into pastoral ambiance by synths maven Jeremiah Chiu and strings player Marta Sofia Honer. Its arrival spelled a continuing development of the label’s sound, but almost more importantly, it added Chiu to IA’s community mix, where his modular-synth work has become key. (His additions to a live Makaya McCraven ensemble set earlier this year at Public Records made the whole thing sound like it's coming from outer space.) Chiu and Honer have an excellent new album called Different Rooms which adds some of those community members as guests. The show is free, and even in the weird “pop-up venue” confines of LC’s campus, offers intrigue. (Thurs 7/24, 8p @ The Underground, Lincoln Center, Uptown - FREE)

An exquisite cross-generational jazz double-bill. Arturo’s son, the trumpet/flugelhorn player Adam O'Farrill is already established as one of the city’s in-demand young accompanists, his writing and arranging reputation enhanced by this year’s For These Streets, a chamber-like work full of horns, vibes and electric guitar. Though there’s no guarantee that’s what he’ll be playing at The Owl. Also appearing is the excellent drummer Allan Mednard’s all-star Trio, with Carmen Quill on bass and Angelica Sanchez on piano. (Thurs 7/24, 8p @ The Owl, Prospect-Lefferts - $15suggested). And should you seek Adam’s roots, his father, legendary Afro-Latin jazz pianist/arranger Arturo O'Farrill, reunites with old downtown partner Roy Nathanson, himself a mentor to a great number of young NYC players, at Bar Lunático. (Tues 7/29, 9p & 10:15p @ Bar Lunático, Bed-Stuy - $10suggested)

Two jazz singers, playing shows at either end of the popularity spectrum, headed in different creative directions. Over the past decade-plus, Cécile McLorin Salvant has become a lodestar in the discussion of contemporary jazz singers, a classicist with enormous range and skill, whose playful attack has also marked her as an experimenter in style and form, if not always repertoire. Well, the upbeat jazz-house-minded music of her newest single, “Oh Snap,” seems to blow the pretense of stuffy tradition completely out of the water. It’s a joy. Now I wonder what the rest of the music is all about. (Fri 7/25, 7p @ Bryant Park, Manhattan - FREE) Young singer-pianist Eliana Glass comes out of a more experimental underground community, with an approach grounded in alternative and idiosyncratic traditions (minimalist atonalities, foreign scales) even within what may be construed as “jazz.” But something about her debut album, E, that feels classic, especially the songs. (Fri 7/25, 7p @ Public Records, Gowanus - $25-$30)

What began as an inspired one-off remix, has blossomed into a fuller collaboration between the experimental metal supergroup SUMAC and the mighty Moor Mother. Earlier this year, the quartet released The Film, a massive, noisy narrative that feels operatic and apocalyptic, adding Camae’s verses to an (at times) overwhelmingly distorted lens. As much a one-off curio for the metal crowd (RIP Ozzy!), as a natural progression of where Moor Mother Goddess has been comfortable going her entire career. Fatboi Sharif’s (at times) unhinged on-stage delivery seems like an apt opener here. (EDIT: previously had the right presenter but wrong location of the show. This is updated. Apologies!) (Fri 7/25, 8p @ Roulette, Downtown Bklyn - $35adv/$45)

Edition 023 of the crucial Midwest-meets-NYC Lifesavers party takes a (kinda) turn towards Miami; that’s where the electro-bass project Alpha 606, whose live set is the night’s headliner, is currently based. (“Kinda” because the seminal “electrónica Afro-Cubano” records Alpha 606 dropped, were on one of Detroit’s grand labels, Interdimensional Transmissions.) Also: live music from the Palestinian beatmaker in NYC, Haykal; plus DJing from Marios and SLICK DOWN (sola system, Love Higher, and wahala.wav), an NYC Black electronic music collective. (Fri 7/25, 10p @ Bossa Nova Civic Club, Bushwick - FREE before 11p/$10)

A year on from its grand opening, the Bushwick club-cum-rink, Xanadu Roller Arts, presents a program that feels like its cornerstone purpose: Wheel House: A Celebration of Movement is a two-day skating festival soundtracked by classic Detroit DJs and young Bklyn selectors. And the line-up they’ve gathered is deeply impressive. Friday’s program features sets by Motor City greats, Kevin Sauderson’s Inner City and Ladymonix, as well as locals Donis and The Level Party. Saturday’s program consists of music by Bklyn’s own Toribio, Lauren Flax, and DJ Voices, plus an appearance from Moodymann, the totemic Detroit house producer/skater whose role in the roller revival among hipsters has been pivotal. Have fun y’all, but please be careful out there. (Fri 7/25 & Sat 7/26, 7p @ Xanadu, Bushwick - $32-$45)

Speaking of Cesar Toribio… One of Dada Strain’s favorite Bklyn DJs is having quite the summer. Just completed a couple of European treks (one of which included his Glastonbury debut), Toribio has three big gigs this weekend. In addition to the above, his Bring Dat Ass party takes over Good Room on Friday with a smart minimalist bill: the mighty Uptown Vinyl Supreme crew spins all night in the Bad Room, while Toribio spends the evening tag-teaming with the mighty Photay in the main space. And if you’ve ever seen these two (musically very different) DJs go at it together, you know shit gets wacky. (Fri 7/25, 10p @ Good Room, Greenpoint - $15-$20) Then on Sunday, it’s a pairing some of us have clamored for: Public Service x Mister Sunday, Toribio + Mickey + Justin + Eamon, two of Bklyn’s great Sunday parties uniting in a big old-fashioned blow-out. Hoping for intergenerational community vibes. Bring the kids! (Sun 7/27, 3p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - FREE for the first 200 (via Public Service) with RSVP / $30-$35) Highest Recommendation!

To coincide with the Drawing Center's exhibition, In the Medium of Life: The Drawings of Beauford Delaney, the Soho gallery presents a free concert by the legendary trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and his N'da Kulture ensemble, with Tom Chiu on violin, Joe Fonda on double bass and concert flute, Luke Stewart on bass, and Eli Keszler on drums. Wadada and Delaney knew each other in the late ‘60s in Paris, and Smith will be debuting a new musical composition entitled “Beauford Delaney: The Artist Untitled Red Bar” created especially for the occasion. (Sat 7/26, 7:30p @ Drawing Center, Manhattan - FREE w/RSVP)

It’s been a pleasure to watch Honey Bun and Lovie’s Soul Connection party, which books primarily femme DJs of color, keep on growing, platforming more and more local DJs whose voices continue to elevate the current moment in NYC nightlife. This Public Records takeover seems like their biggest soiree to date. Sam Honey Bun takes on the sound room with Spirits in Motion (the uptown house duo of Montana Monti and Nadeeah Eshe). Lindsay Lovie welcomes the recent Soulection addition Soul Sugar in the atrium. While ራሄል [Rachel] adds the all-vinyl vibes upstairs. (Sat 7/26, 11p @ Public Records, Gowanus - $20-$30)

Breaking News! London house don Luke Solomon—whose Classic Music (established in 1994 with Chicago’s house don, Derrick Carter) was central to my love for big-room bangers, and whose set at WMC circa Y2k feels forever seared in my late-night DNA—is calling fair Gotham home for at least a couple of months. Solomon now works with Beyoncé and shit, but there is no doubt he can still rinse a small club with the best of them. Especially at…Gabriella??? Get there early! (Sat 7/26, 10p @ Gabriela, W’burg - FREE before 10p/$20cash)

One reason Irreversible Entanglements drummer Tcheser Holmes is among my favorite musickers in the city is that he doesn’t spread himself too thin playing everywhere all the time, but when he puts himself into a project, the intention is deep and thorough. Tcheser’s DrumsnButta pairs up with the Creative Music Studios organization (now chaired by another of the city’s great musickers, violinist gabby fluke-mogul) to present Wellness, Beats & Peace Day Festival, an early Sunday afternoon program in Gowanus with an incredible cast of friends, family and community: Miriam Parker, Melanie Dyer, Charles Burnham, Tomin, Justine Lee Hooper, Arturo Valdez, Keenyn Omari, Brown Buddha, Wavy Bagels, KeiyaA, and, of course, gabby and Tcheser. Highest Recommendation! (Sun 7/27, 11:30a @ iBeam, Gowanus - $20)

Prime bill of Afrobeat, global and revolutionary rhythm music. Fela’s eldest son Femi Kuti and his band, The Positive Force, have been carrying on the legacy of the Black President for over three decades now, filled with big sounds and big rhythms. The Bklyn rap duo dead prez are forever embedded in the imagination of every hip-hop fan of a certain age who watched the music curdle away from its political potential. (Read: Timm.) Cape Verdean singer Elida Almeida continues the development of the Black Atlantic groove. Alhanislam is a Nigerian poet who writes and speaks on Pan-Africanist themes. And DJing the festivities is the inimitable Rich Medina. Highest Recommendation! (Sun 7/27, 6p @ Central Park Summerstage, Uptown - FREE)

Three foundational statesmen of New York City’s creative and free music of the past half-century—reeds player Daniel Carter, multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore, and bassist William Parker—come together as Black Chamber Folk Music, an occasional ensemble name that betrays the melodies and the attack they use as inspiration on such evenings. Supported by Watergh0st, the solo project of Chuck Roth, one of the city’s crucial young electric guitarists. (Sun 7/27, 7p @ The Sultan Room, Ridgewood - $20-$25)

Shame on me for being so down in the dumps it took me until last week to fully wrap my head around longtime jazz funkateer Antony Tidd’s Atelier Harlem project, which since May has been staging incredible weekly improvising sessions at a brownstone on Malcolm X Blvd, as part of his Guggenheim fellowship. He’s closing the program with three nights by Anthony Tidd’s Afro Creative Ensemble, a massive sextet that includes ShaRize (vocals), Greg Osby (alto sax), Mark Shim (tenor sax), Matt Mitchell (piano), Tim Angulo (drums) and Tidd playing bass. (Mon 7/28—Wed 7/30, 8p @ Atelier Harlem, Harlem - $10-$25adv/$20)

MORE RECOMMENDED EVENTS:

• Eris Drew b2b Mark Farina (Wed 7/23, 9p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - $20-$25) - two excellent progressive house (in a good way) DJs going all night long, probably perfect Phish after-party for some of you.

• Obongjayar (Thurs 7/24, 8p @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, W’burg - $25-$35) - while the categorization of Steven Umoh as a Nigerian R&B singer in London is not wrong, it is reductive; his falsetto is otherworldly, the music behind it sonically eccentric, and the songwriting/storytelling next-level.

• PS1 Warm Up (Fri 7/25, 4p @ MoMA PS1, Long Island City - $20-$30) - this week, the best institutionally spent booking dollar$ in NYC bring in UK bassline cornerstone DJ Q, Brit rapper John Glacier, Montreal noise producer Tati au Miel, and Nigerian producer Sarz.

• Ralph Alessi’s Fluffle (Fri 7/25, 6p @ Barbés, Park Slope - $20) - veteran trumpet player and composer brings in a massive quartet into the backroom, with Matt Mitchell (piano), Chris Lightcap (bass), and Tim Angulo (drums).

• Prospect Series House Show (Fri 7/25, 8p @ 1923 8th Ave, Park Slope - $15-$20suggested) - another night of music at Jonathan Moritz’s house, and this one includes a trio of saxophonist Jose Fernando Solares, bassist Brandon Lopez and flutist Samantha Kochis. Go to a house show, treat yourself.

• Dreamcrusher + Meadow Le’Elle featuring pole by Wiskey + Bitchmachine + Shiloh Blue + SSPS (DJ) (Fri 7/25, 7p @ Intercom, Ridgewood - $10-$30NOTAFLOF) - a big noisy DIY night at one of my new favorite spots in Ridgewood.

• Heart Beats (Fri 7/25, 7p @ Mood Ring, Bushwick - FREE) DJ PayPal + DJ Manny (Fri 7/25, 10p @ Mood Ring, Bushwick - $10adv/$15) - great back-to-back programs at Mood Ring: new beats played by the beatmakers early - footwork/juke late.

• livwutang + Wata Igarashi (Fri 7/25, 10p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - FREE w/RSVP/$30-$35) - no-nonsense techno by a pair DJs who push things forward, out of the dark.

• Tarka Mela feat. Innov Gnawa + Lapgan + UPROOT ANDY + DJ Raqx (Sat 7/26, 5p @ The Sultan Room, Bushwick - $30-$35) - excellently diverse global rhythms bill, stretching from Morocco to South Asia to Black Atlantic.

• Regis + Joey Beltram (Sat 7/26, 10p @ H0L0, Ridgewood - $20-$25) - …and another great techno bill, this one with two classic producers.

• Samir Langus & friends (Sun 7/27, 6p @ Barbés, Park Slope - $20suggested) - speaking of gnawa…the mighty sentir-playing, ballad-singing bandleader is celebrating his birthday in Bklyn this year, and inviting friends to join the festivities.

• Palladium - The Music of Wayne Shorter (Sun 7/27, 6p @ The Underground, Lincoln Center, Uptown - FREE) - celebrating the Library for the Performing Arts’ acquisition of the jazz legend’s archive, a long-running (and Wayne-approved) ensemble performing his music, helmed by producer Jesse Markowitz, and featuring a who’s who of NYC players.

• Phony PPL (Mon 7/28-Tues 7/29, 7:30p @ Cafe Erzulie, Broadway & Myrtle - $35) - one of Bklyn’s rock-soul staples moves into Erzulie for a short residency.