Celebrate Brooklyn: June 12th - August 9th!

Oh my, did I really forget this music and arts festival? My apologies--to myself, because what a diverse line up they have this year. There's "a lot of depth" on that stage as the sportscasters have grown fond of saying. Beth Orton, Miriam Makeba, Salif Keita, the African Guitar Festival, Mark Morris Dancers, Caroline Chocolate Drops, Dixie Hummingbirds, Crooklyn Dodgers Reunion, Lila Downs, performers from the Latin Alternative Music Conference. And it's all FREE!

(OK Starbucks is footing the bill, so you'll probably end up paying for it with those expensive coffee purchases if you go in for that stuff.)

I could go on, but I won't... except to ask who's kicking off Celebrate Brooklyn this year? He's a complicated man and no one understands him but his woman... Yeah, yeah... but remember all the other records he made? Those arrangements of horns and strings paired with languid Memphis funk to make a whole new sound? Plus of course all that great album cover art, and can't forget those inside photos. CD art just can't compare to what some folks used to do with the surface area of an album cover, as well as the inside goodies (fold out posters!) that sometimes were found after you got it home and ripped off the cellophane.

Oh well, here's a little visual ode to those days.