Roots of American Music Weekend: AMERICANAFEST NYC features
Mavis Staples, Margo Price, Joe Henry, and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, August 11–12
Jonathan Wilson and Lucy Dacus Perform July 29
The Star Studded Super Soul Banned opens for Peter Wolf August 3
NEW YORK — Lincoln Center today announced additional artists to the Out of Doors 2018 lineup, with musicians covering genres like country, funk, rock, indie-folk and more. Held in Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park and beyond from July 24 – August 12, Out of Doors is one of the country’s longest-running summer outdoor festivals, offering free music, dance, spoken word and family events to all.
For the fifth year, AMERICANAFEST NYC (August 11-12), presented in association with Americana Music Association®, brings the sounds of roots, country, folk and more to Damrosch Park. Performances include the powerful soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples, prolific producer and vocalist Joe Henry, provocative songwriter and tender-twanged Margo Price, and the country-rock union of Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real.
On July 29, Jonathan Wilson – celebrated musician, songwriter, and sought-after producer – plays his lush psychedelic folk-rock originals for a transformative night in Damrosch Park. Sharing the bill with Wilson is singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, the indie singer-songwriter whose sensitive lyrics and moody guitars catapulted her to universal acclaim with the release of her sophomore album Historian earlier this year.
The Super Soul Banned will join Peter Wolf on August 3, bringing a star powered funk band to the stage. This group was formed by legendary drummer Steve Jordan, who has performed, recorded, and produced with the likes of Keith Richards, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Sonny Rollins, and many more. Jordan is joined on stage by Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys, Ray Parker, Jr., Kool & the Gang’s Ronald Bell among others.
Full programming for the Lincoln Center Out of Doors season is available here.
Every summer, the entire Lincoln Center campus is energized by a plethora of artistic performances and activities at Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the David Rubenstein Atrium. Visit LincolnCenter.org for a complete list of summer programming.
Jonathan Wilson
Lucy Dacus
Sunday, July 29 at 7:30 pm
Damrosch Park Bandshell
With his new album, the psych-rock fantasia Rare Birds, Jonathan Wilson has confirmed his status as a solo artist of big ideas and the deep talent to execute them. When not making his own music, he’s producing Father John Misty, Dawes, and many others; playing guitar in Roger Waters’s band; and hosting legendary jam sessions at his Fivestar Studio in L.A. Wilson shares the stage tonight with another breakout indie artist, Lucy Dacus. A striking voice in the timeless genre of guitar-based songwriting, the Virginia native’s sophomore album Historian was just released on Matador Records to universal acclaim.
Peter Wolf
Super Soul Banned
Friday, August 3 at 7:30 pm
Damrosch Park Bandshell
Known to ’70s FM radio kids and early MTV fans as the lead singer of the J. Geils Band (“Centerfold,” “Love Stinks”), Peter Wolf is a sharp songwriter and eternally hip character who possesses an encyclopedic command of blues, pop, funk, soul, bluegrass, and rock. Super Soul Banned—legendary drummer Steve Jordan’s all-star funk project featuring Kool & the Gang’s Ronald Bell, the Beastie Boys’ Mix Master Mike, guitarist Ray Parker, Jr., and artists that have played with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Sonny Rollins—are the perfect traveling companions for Wolf’s “tour de force excursion through the landscape of American music” (All About Jazz).
Annual Roots of American Music Weekend
AMERICANAFEST NYC
Mavis Staples
Joe Henry
Saturday, August 11 at 7:30 pm
Damrosch Park Bandshell
For the past six decades, American music icon Mavis Staples has been a beacon of spiritual fortitude for artists from Bob Dylan to Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, whose third collaboration with Staples If All I Was Was Blackwas released to critical acclaim in 2017. Tonight, she brings us together with the power of her voice and a message of strength, perseverance, and love that is as vital today as it was when she and her family sang alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. Grammy-winning producer and singer-songwriter Joe Henry, who has worked with Allen Toussaint, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello, and many others, adds his poetic storytelling to this inspiring evening of song.
Margo Price
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Sunday, August 12 at 7:00 pm
Damrosch Park Bandshell
With her infectious blend of Nashville country, Memphis soul, and Texas twang, Margo Price is “one of the most compelling country talents to come out of Nashville in recent memory” (Vulture). She brings unflinching honesty and vivid songcraft to nuanced portraits of men and women just trying to get by, evoking everyone from Waylon and Willie to Loretta and Dolly along the way. Price splits the night with singer-songwriter Lukas Nelson (Willie’s son) and his band. On tour with Neil Young in recent years, they’ve built a devoted following for their distinctive brand of cosmic country soul.
All events are FREE; no tickets required.