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Freedom Love-Fest researches, selects, and features an array of free and affordable entertainment in NYC. Whether you make $200K or more, or $30K or less, FLF understands that you may have a plethora of bills and financial responsibilities, an upcoming costly wedding or vacation, saving for a rainy day, or just a lover of frugality, whatever the case might be, FLF was created to help you enjoy NYC culture, art, and entertainment at little or no expense.
FLF is a celebration, a love-fest, for people who are financially free to enjoy everything NYC has to offer.
Dear FLF Friends,
Freedom Love-Fest will kick-off the Summer of Love 2009 with 2 Free Live Music Concerts in Madison Square Park and Washington Square Park on Sunday, June 21st. Along with Obliqsound, our favorite indie-music label, Freedom Love-Fest volunteered to help celebrate the 3rd Annual Make Music New York festival ; 'the largest music event ever to grace Metro New York' and host a line-up of great indie-artists in beautiful and tranquil Madison Square Park and the lively hub of the city, Washington Square Park.
SUNDAY JUNE 21, 2009
MADISON SQUARE PARK
Location: Broadway and East 23rd Street, NYC
1:00 pm: Dapp Theory – www.myspace.com/dapptheory
Awarded the Chamber Music America's New Works commission in 2006 and voted Rising Star Keyboardist by Down Beat Magazine in 2004, leader and pianist/composer Andy Milne is one of the most important and respected young voices in jazz today. With Dapp Theory, Milne combines the talents of percussive poet John Moon, saxophonist John Beaty, bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Kenny Grohowski, collectively re-drawing the boundaries of jazz.
2:30 pm: Sarah Lemieux - www.myspace.com/supersuperblue
Sarah’s influences run the gamut, from Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon and Koko Taylor, on through Jimi Hendrix and Bonnie Raitt, to Bjork, Daniel Lanois and Pierre Bensusan. After studying performance at NYU, she added a little indie-rock to her mix, lending her vocals to bands like Brother Love, Dayna Blitz’s Hapikrak, and Toke Squealy.
Photo by Carsten Fleck
4:00 pm: Michael Olatuja - www.myspace.com/olatuja
British/Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja debuts his vision as producer, composer, arranger and performer on Speak, his new album which debuts July 28 on Backdrop/ObliqSound. The album features musical influences and guests from each spot Olatuja has hit around the globe, including his childhood in London and Lagos, Nigeria, and professional years in London and New York. Olatuja incorporates such hallmarks of traditional African music as the talking drum and hand drums (conga and djembe), call-and-response vocals and the Yoruba language, while working comfortably with musical vocabularies more familiar to Western ears: neo-soul balladry, modern jazz, deep groove, R&B, and gospel.
WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK'S TEEN PLAZA
Washington Square South and LaGuardia Place, NYC
5:00 pm: Matt Jones – www.myspace.com/mattjonesnyc
Matt Jones's rich, deep voice projects every note, ensuring all within ear shot receive a proper introduction to his lovingly crafted songs.
Photo credit: Carsten Fleck
5:30 pm: John Shannon - www.johnshannonmusic.com
Guitarist, vocalist and songcrafter John Shannon combines ethereal vocals and textured guitar on his soul-searching debut solo album American Mystic. The guitarist for Sonya Kitchell's ground-breaking new album Words Came Back To Me , leader of evolutionary instrumental group Waking Vision , and former electric guitarist for psychedelic Sufi trance rocker Haale , Shannon's solo sound is organic, tender and quietly captivating.
6:15 pm: Pimps of Joytime – www.myspace.com/pimpsofjoytime Hailing from Brooklyn and New Orleans, The Pimps of Joytime's members traffic in a funk style laden with elements of soul, punk, Afro-Caribbean, afrobeat and rap.
7:00 pm: DJ MoFunk and All Ceeing of I Power – www.myspace.com/djmofunk
Hip-Hop producer, DJ, and MC has "beats all day and night for the real heads out there. This is Hip Hop in its true essence...the Breaks.
7:30 pm: The Smyrk – www.myspace.com/thesmyrk
After a brief hiatus in late 2008, The Smyrk returned to the national scene with a bang at the annual SXSW music festival in Austin, TX. The band, based in New Haven, CT, made waves in 2007 with an EP produced by Incubus bassist and former Roots guitarist Ben Kenney. With a loyal international following, two CMJ showcases under their belt, airtime on MTV, and a current single produced by Bryan Russell (Envy on the Coast, Straylight Run, Coldplay), The Smyrk is back and better than ever and planning to record new material this year.
Videos of the Artists Performing in Madison Square Park and Washington Square Park:
Sample Playlist of Music by the Artists Performing in Madison Square Park and Washington Square Park:
Make Music New York 2009
About MMNY Co-Host for Madison Square Park and Washington Square Park, Obliqsound: www.obliqsound.com