Archive | February, 2010

The Flaming Lips at SummerStage – tix on sale this Friday!

16 Feb

The Flaming Lips to perform Central Park SummerStage benefit on 7/26

 

SummerStage 2010 is going to be one for the record books for sure.  While the FREE season of Central Park SummerStage won’t be announced until sometime in May, benefit concerts, which support the free programs at Central Park SummerStage are beginning to trickle out.  We’re super excited to welcome The Flaming Lips from Oklahoma City, OK to the park on Monday, July 26.  These iconic rockers have been cranking out some of the most wonderfully weird music out there and their live shows are the stuff of legends.  I hope Coyne & Co. bring their giant man-sized bubble with them.  Or maybe they’ll surprise us with something even more kooky.  Long ago, the writer of this post was fortunate enough to dress up in a furry/sweaty/smelly unicorn costume at the Beacon Theatre and shake it on stage with the Lips.   That experience still holds as one of the most memorable shows for me.  Oh, and if you haven’t picked up their latest, Embryonic, put it on your list now.  It’s a deliciously frenzied sonic masterpiece.

For more information on tickets visit www.summerstage.org

City Parks Foundation Congratulates Teen Tennis Champs Sabrina Bragerton-Nasert & Caleb Williamson!

10 Feb

CPF Tennis, UK tournament
Caleb Williams far left and Sabrina Bragerton-Nasert far right earned a FREE trip to compete in UK tennis tournament

   Both Sabrina and Caleb are participants of City Parks Foundation’s (CPF) free, citywide CityParks Tennis presented by Chase youth sports program.  In August, Sabrina and Caleb competed against more than 150 children from all over NYC in CPF’s annual Chase Aces Tournament at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, winning 1st Place in the Girls & Boys 14 and Under divisions respectively. As a result of their wins, these two dedicated teens earned an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in an international tennis tournament in the UK against peers from London, England, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Dublin, Ireland, and Madrid, Spain.  The competition, called the Will To Win Dubai Duty Free Grand Prix took place on January 30 and 31.  Both Sabrina and Caleb placed 3rd in the competition.   

Congratulations Sabrina and Caleb! Thank you for representing the United States in the competition.  We’re all very proud of you and wish you continued success in the sport of tennis.

 The CPF Family!

To learn more about free sports programs in parks throughout NYC visit www.cityparksfoundation.org.

The Black Keys to perform Central Park SummerStage benefit concert

3 Feb

Tickets go on sale 2/5

City Parks Foundation welcomes The Black Keys to Central Park SummerStage. The Akron, Ohio-based duo will perform a benefit concert to help support the free programs of Central Park SummerStage, presented by Bowery Presents. Tickets are $35 and go on sale Friday, February 5. 

The Black Keys broke out in 2002 with their debut release, The Big Come Up, winning over fans ever since with their energetic, high-volume live shows. The Chicago Tribune said, “Akron duo The Black Keys created a mighty ruckus at a sold-out Riviera Theatre…” and the Orange County Register lauded the “raw and relentless fury of their riveting set at House of Blues Anaheim,” going on to say that “…it felt like we had all been transported to a dive bar in some swampy corner of Mississippi. And it felt good. Damn good.”  In 2008 the duo released their fifth studio album, Attack and Release, produced by Danger Mouse.  With Danger Mouse, The Black Keys didn’t veer uncomfortably far from the elemental rock & roll territory they’d mined so effectively on previous albums like their 2006 Nonesuch debut, Magic Potion, or their Fat Possum discs, Rubber Factory (2004) and Thickfreakness (2003).  In November 2009, the band released a collaborative album under the moniker BlakRoc featuring some of the biggest names in hip hop including Mos Def, Raekwon, Ludacris, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, spearheaded by music producer Damon Dash.  In late ’09 the band headed back into the studio to record their sixth studio album to be released later this year.

To purchase tickets visit www.bowerypresents.com.