Court Yard Fridays brings together pioneering music legends of diverse genres representing cultures from around the world. The concert series starts on June 8 with house and techno powerhouse Worldtown Soundsystem and opening act, Staten Island's own Grounded4Life, from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm.
The concerts continue on June 15 with funk and brangra guru Red Baraat and opening act, Staten Island Steel Pan Orchestra. AfroLatin music impresario Papo Vázquez joins the lineup on June 22, and the UTA All Stars, hailing from the Universal Temple of the Arts, headline on June 29.
Check out the latest episode of Staten Island Arts’ radio show Creative Endeavors to get a taste of the music that will be performed.
Before and after the concert, enjoy delicious meals at the Court Yard Fridays restaurant partners using the promo flyer distributed at each show. Receive 20% off at Chang Noi Thai, Everything Goes Book Cafe, Fork & Grooves, Marie's 2, and The Burrito Shoppe. Get one complimentary glass of wine with your meal at Enoteca Maria.
Court Yard Fridays is a pilot project of the Future Culture initiative by Homer Jackson, Lynn Washington, and Kevin Washington. Staten Island Arts and the Design Trust for Public Space launched Future Culture to foster community connections and shape a vision for culture on the North Shore of Staten Island.
RAIN SITE: Join us up the hill at the Brighton Heights Reformed Church, 320 St. Mark’s Place at Fort Place.
Concurrently, a sound sculpture walk is cuarated by artist Volker Goetze as another pilot project of the Future Culture initiative. Sonic Gates includes seven sound sculptures and a mural created by Staten Island artists Scott Van Campen, Alassane Drabo, DB Lampman, Jeremy Munson, Lina Montoya, and Arthur Simms. The artworks range from a 17-foot-long wind harp on Bay Street that plays itself, to a drum totem for weekly drum circles in Tompkinsville Park, to a 90-foot-long mural of the endangered Right Whale at a bus shelter that pays homage to Staten Island’s maritime heritage. The installations will launch on July 14 with a celebratory event.
Court Yard Fridays and Sonic Gates are made possible through the generous support of the New York City Department of Small Business Services and Neighborhood 360, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, Thornton Tomasetti, Citizens Committee for New York City, and the 100 Gates Project.