Free Music in NYC: Hudson Square Music & Wine Fest Every Tuesday to August 16

From a release:

Free in NYC: 3rd Annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival.
Every Tuesday to August 16, 2011

at the City Winery

Join us for the 3rd Annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival. Held in the courtyard behind City Winery and brought to you by Trinity Real Estate, Great Performances, Hudson Square BID, this FREE series of concerts kicks off June 21 and runs every Tuesday night through August 16, 2011.

Please check out the list of the artists and dates. No tickets needed, just bring yourself and your friends for an early evening of great tunes, great wine and good times.

The shows begin each night at 5:30pm and concludes at 7:30pm, offering the perfect afterwork jumpstart to your week.

June 28 - The New York Gypsy All Stars
New York Gyspy All-Stars is a musical chemistry experiment with explosive staying power. It was born from the very first “loud and proud” New York Gypsy Festival, spotlighting Easter European and Balkan music, and the musical intuition of Serdar Ilhan, festival producer and NYGA manager (Village Voice).

Living up to their name in every way, the NYGA blend traditional Gypsy and Turkish melodies with a scorching jazz and funk backbone, creating a unique sound that satisfies the brain and soul.  The band exemplifies New York in the most eclectic sense possible, hailing from Macedonia, Greece, Turkey and Brooklyn.

July 5 - The Holmes Brothers
Over the course of their 30-plus year career, The Holmes Brothers (bassist/vocalist Sherman Holmes, guitarist/pianist/vocalist Wendell Holmes, drummer/vocalist and brother-in-spirit Popsy Dixon) have been feeding the souls of their devoted and ever-growing fanbase with a joyous and moving blend of blues, gospel, soul, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll and country.

Their amazing three-part harmony singing, mixing Wendell’s gruff and gravelly vocals with Popsy’s soaring falsetto and Sherman’s rich baritone brings the soul and spirit of gospel music into everything they perform. Equally gripping is the rhythmic foundation laid down by Sherman’s bass playing and Popsy’s drumming, perfectly complimenting Wendell’s blues-soaked guitar solos and church-inspired piano playing. The band easily blends Saturday night’s roadhouse rock with the gospel fervor and harmonies of Sunday morning’s church service.

July 12 - Vernon Reid (of Living Color)
Webster's Dictionary defines an artist as "one who professes and practices an imaginative art; a person skilled in one of the fine arts; a skilled performer." By any of these definitions, guitarist and composer Vernon Reid is a true artist, one whose art is a work forever in progress, from his formative years on the downtown New York jazz/funk/punk scene with Ronald Shannon Jackson's Decoding Society, to his leadership of the pioneering multi-platinum rock band Living Colour, to his collaborations with creative spirits ranging from guitarist Carlos Santana and African singer Salif Keita to choreographers Bill T. Jones and Donald Byrd.

July 19 - Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra
The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra is a traditional 11-piece Latin band which plays dynamic, thrilling arrangements of our favorite indie rock tunes. With an ever-evolving set list that includes songs by Yeasayer, Japanther, Animal Collective, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On The Radio, LCD Soundsystem, The Mars Volta, Arcade Fire, and many more, the WSO is taking salsa in new directions with love and respect for the art form.

Led by percussionist/arranger Gianni Mano, (from the Brooklyn Latin-funk legends Radio Mundial), the WSO contains some of the best young players on the scene including a full compliment of horns and percussion. With the attitude of a rock band, and the grooves of classic New York salsa, the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra is redefining salsa for a new decade and resetting the boundaries of the genre. Already garnering international attention and press, the WSO will release a debut album in June 2011.

July 26 - Forró in the Dark
In Brazil, forró literally means party,” says Forró in the Dark’s Mauro Refosco, a member of Thom Yorke's super-group Atoms for Peace and percussionist for David Byrne. “It’s a gathering, a good time. The objective is to make people dance,”  which is exactly what Forró In The Dark have been doing since 2005 at their weekly residence at East Village nightspot Nublu, where their signature blend of down home forró and urban cool have made them one of the city’s must-see buzz bands.  They have also toured extensively in the US, Canada and Europe and supported Gogol Bordello's North American Tour in October/November 2010.

Forró (pronounced fo-ho) is the hip-swiveling, dance floor-filling, rural party music of Brazil’s northeastern states. And Forró in the Dark is the collective of four New York-based Brazilian ex-pats – Mauro Refosco, Davi Vieira, Guilherme Monteiro, and Jorge Continentino who are updating this traditional sound for the 21st century.  Their most recent album Light a Candle was released on Nat Geo Music in 2009 and they are currently recording a new album for release later this year.

August 2 - CCB Reggae All-Stars
Since emerging in 1996, CCB Reggae All-Stars has been tearing up the underground New York reggae scene with sold-out performances at some of the city's hottest venues. Their annual Bob Marley Birthday Tributes and 4:20 cruises are some of the most popular reggae events in the country.

The group's ability to play a wide variety of idioms, an inspired group of special guests, and their celebration of herban life and music have earned CCB legions of inspired local fans, headline status at Boston's Freedom Rally and the Seattle Hempfest, and gigs backing diverse artists from Rita Marley to George Clinton. Bring your tribe and share the vibe!

August 9 - Nicole Atkins
With her throaty vibrato and nostalgic, orchestrated pop songs, singer/songwriter Nicole Atkins brings to mind a blend of Roy Orbison, Loretta Lynn and Jenny Lewis. Atkins was raised in Neptune, NJ -- a town whose influence would later play a large part in her debut album -- and relocated to North Carolina during her late teens to study illustration at UNC Charlotte.

After befriending members of the Avett Brothers and logging several years with the alt country band Los Parasols, she briefly returned to the tri-state area, where a series of open mic performances in Manhattan's East Village helped her hone a sound that was more indebted to pop music than her work with Los Parasols.

August 16 - The Wood Brothers
Oliver Wood (guitar, vocals) moved to Atlanta, honed his guitar and vocal chops, and formed the Southeast blues/rock outfit, King Johnson. His younger brother, Chris Wood (bass, vocals, harmonica), moved to New York City, immersed himself in the city’s lively jazz-improv scene, and formed the internationally acclaimed genre-busting trio Medeski Martin & Wood.

2011 will mark the release of The Wood Brothers’ third full-length studio album, Smoke Ring Halo, to be released on Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Records.  Working with producer/engineer Jim Scott (Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Wilco, Tom Petty), the Woods were able to explore new sounds.

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