The free Roosevelt Live Performance Series returns to Roosevelt Island this Saturday and Sunday afternoon (12 - 5 PM) at the Riverwalk Commons with Conscious Cycle. What is Conscious Cycle? According to the Roosevelt Live web site:
Conscious Cycle is a filmed interactive art environment that brings artists and community members together in an effort to explore, educate, and learn about Conscious living and life's Cyclical nature. Conscious Cycle consists of the following: We reclaim discarded wood, build a wall out of it, and invite artists to paint the wall, one after the other, while being filmed for a time-lapse movie. Mural themes revolve around Consciousness and Cycles. Throughout the event, djs play music, dancers perform, yogis and tai chi practitioners teach and demonstrate, artists collaborate, and community members are encouraged to interact with the materials and us.
Does not sound like your typical sleepy Roosevelt Island weekend.
UPDATE 7/31 - Scenes from Saturday's Conscious Cycle at Riverwalk Commons:
You Tube Video of Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution
Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Commons area will be hopping and bopping this Sunday afternoon starting at 3 PM to the pageantry and sounds of New Orleans Mardi Gras and Brazilian Carnaval music presented by the Roosevelt Live free summer concert series.
Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra will bring the New Orleans-style Mardi Gras & Nation Beat will bring the Brazilian-style Carnaval as a wave of dance, song, and celebratory culture takes over ROOSEVELT ISLAND in the middle of the East River.
Also at ROOSEVELT L!VE on July 18th: Your Maine “Hook-Up”: Red Hook Lobster Pound will be serving lobster rolls, shrimp rolls and crab cake sliders! Red Hook Lobster Pound takes great pains to deliver the freshest lobster and lobster rolls to the good people of New York City. They drive up to Maine several times a week, to bring home the best that Maine has to offer!
Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra is a 12-piece explosion of righteousness that blends New Orleans party music, Soul in the style of Ray Charles and Al Green, a good helping of jam-bandy Roots Rock and a righteous splash of good, upbeat Gospel without the religious overtones (We like to call it secular gospel)...
...At the heart of Nation Beat's Legends of the Preacher lies a totally original 21st century fusion between thunderous Brazilian maracatu drumming and New Orleans second line rhythms, Appalachian-inspired bluegrass music, funk, rock, and country-blues. Their explosive live show -- which is frequently known to burst into crowd-wide Carnaval-style drumming and singing -- is attracting music fans from a wide demographic: bluegrass and country music fans, Brazilian music lovers, outdoor festival-goers, and pretty much anyone who loves to dance and loves great music...
The same folks who brought last year's fantastic Roosevelt Live Concert Series to the Riverwalk Commons are at it again with a new 2010 Series of Summer Art and Music on Roosevelt Island. From Roosevelt Live:
ROOSEVELT L!VE 2010 BRINGS FREE MUSIC AND ART TO NYC ALL SUMMER LONG!
This summer, the central green lawn at Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Commons will be filled with the sights and sounds of ROOSEVELT L!VE. From an eclectic jazz festival to the perfect summer barbeque, ROOSEVELT L!VE is bringing exciting entertainment to this fantastic spot steps away from the F train stop at Roosevelt Island. Enjoy views of Manhattan from the lawn while experiencing music, art and fabulous fun -all for FREE!
Kicking off the live entertainment series is the First FREE Annual Albert Ayler Festival. This marathon record fair and musical celebration honoring the influential tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler will take place on Saturday, July 10 from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Forty years after his death, Ayler's music continues to inspire artists of all disciplines to delve into jazz, improvisation and beyond, and will be brought to life on stage this summer. With over 30 musicians and 20 record vendors, this festival promises to be the must-see event of the summer for jazz music lovers throughout the city.
For lovers of the visual arts come two innovative projects from FIGMENT, a forum for interactive art by emerging artists. The first installation features HiveMind, a steel sculpture by Deborah Yoon. The HiveMind will be on display in RiverWalk Commons from July 18 - August 14, 2010. On the weekend of July 24 and 25, sound artist Zemi17 will install his Gamelatron in the HiveMind. The Gamelatron is the world's first fully-robotic Indonesian Gamelan orchestra. The combination is mesmerizing.
During the last weekend in July, Conscious Cycle will bring artists together to motivate and dignify conscious living, particularly highlighting life's cyclical nature on Roosevelt Island. Using reclaimed materials from the side of the road, Conscious Cycle will build a canvas wall and invite artists to paint the wall, after and over one another. At the same time, DJs play music, dancers perform, yogis and taiji practitioners teach and demonstrate, artists teach, learned folk talk, and spectators interact. The whole event is videoed for a time-lapse production complete with soundtrack.
The festival culminates with Yelp's So Long, Summer BBQ! On Sunday, September 12, members of the Yelp Community will dine on RiverWalk Bar & Grill's complimentary sliders, dogs and dip as they relax on the lawn and chat with fellow Yelp-ers. This event is RSVP only and brings likeminded individuals together in a picturesque setting, and is the perfect way to end the summer, as well as ROOSEVELT L!VE. Riverwalk Commons -- the site of ROOSEVELT L!VE -- is one of Roosevelt Island's many open green spaces and includes a central green lawn, landscaped gardens, shops, and restaurants. Roosevelt Island features some of New York City's most breathtaking views. Boasting two miles of riverfront vistas along midtown Manhattan, it is truly a hidden gem.
ROOSEVELT L!VE attendees can use their metro cards on the F train to Roosevelt Island, which will let them out steps away from the Riverwalk Commons performance venue.
ROOSEVELT L!VE is sponsored by Riverwalk Court, Related Companies, The Hudson Companies Inc., and Time Out New York.
Roosevelt Island Saturday's at the Riverwalk Commons are going to be a lively and entertaining place this summer.
Riverwalk Commons For Saturday's Diane Birch Roosevelt Live Concert
Saturday's Roosevelt Live Concert with Diane Birch was simply a great time for everyone who attended. The day was sunny and beautiful and Ms. Birch was spectacular.
It is easy to see why she will become a huge star very soon. I hope she remembers Roosevelt Island then and comes back to play another show. Really, why do the David Letterman show again when you can play Roosevelt Island again?
Diane Birch after Roosevelt Island Concert
Just kidding about playing the Letterman show. She can do both! Ms. Birch remarked that Roosevelt Island was New York's Best Kept Secret.
During the show, I noticed a gentlemen video taping the concert and asked him to upload it to You Tube. I think he did and if so. thanks very much
You Tube Video of Diane Birch performning Choo Choo
More You Tube Videos of Diane Birch performing at Roosevelt Island here.
The Prospect Park Bandshell should be a fun place to spend your Friday night. The swamp boogie accordion master Buckwheat Zydeco and his band take to the stage tonight and share the bill with the Holmes Brothers, whose harmony-filled blend of American roots music jumps from church to the juke joint.
I saw Buckwheat Zydeco performing several years ago at the Montreal Jazz Festival and had a wonderful time.
Email this Event Add to Calendar Come to Coney Island's 19th Annual Sand Sculpting Contest and Unity Day Celebration! Try your hand at building the best sand sculpture--there will be cash prizes for the best sculptures by kids and adults. If that's not enough, there will be international entertainment, dancing, live music, clowns, face painting, and information tables.
Roosevelt Live will also be presenting Jones Street Station with Diane Birch on Roosevelt Island's Riverwalk Commons starting at 4 PM:
After an appearance this week as musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and the release of her hit album Bible Belt, rising Billboard star Diane Birch (dianebirch.com) will be playing a free concert at the Roosevelt L!VE. Opening the show, will be Brooklyn's own Jones Street Station, who recently took part in a hugely successful summer tour with Ben Kweller.
Celebrated folk singer Judy Collins will perform this summer on Governors Island as part of Trinity Wall Street’s Folks on the Island concert program. Free ferries to Governors Island will leave every hour, on the hour, starting at 10 a.m. from the Battery Maritime Building in lower Manhattan, adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry. For travel directions and more information,...
Another suggestion - RIOC has produced a great self guided tour map (PDF File) of Roosevelt Island for any visitor or resident looking to stroll the Island and learn something more about it. There will also be Light Jazz performed outside of The Trellis restaurant on Friday and Saturday evening, weather permitting.
The MTA is reporting no Roosevelt Island F Train subway advisories this weekend and neither is RIOC with Tram advisories but there will be a parking advisory for the Motorgate Garage and adjacent Main Street.
You Tube Video of Leah Siegel Performing The Motorcycle Song
On Saturday afternoon at 4 PM, come enjoy a free Roosevelt Island concert on the Riverwalk Commons behind the F Train Subway station as part of the Roosevelt Live Summer Concert series . Leah Siegel is performing and is described as follows by The L Magazine:
In NYC songwriting circles — that scene that seems to exist at places like Joe's Pub and the Living Room, where Norah Jones' career trajectory is everyone's goal — Leah Siegel has been an artist to watch for quite a few years now, with her soulful, elegant songs that sit somewhere between the sparse weirdness of indie-folk and the straightforward palatability of regular folk
Chana Rothman uniquely fuses Lilith-esque singer/songwriter folk mentality with progressive worldbeat in two languages. Like an eclectic '07 Rickie Lee Jones/Joni Mitchell, her politics, her obvious bohemianism and her delicate vocal phrasing push her sound into a delicious mix that also incorporates reggae and hip hop
New York City has the best free outdoor summer music in the entire world. Better than France, better than China, even better than Spain. So don't miss it.
and has a Summer Preview of New York City concerts.
For those who happened to miss last Saturday's Roosevelt Live event at the Riverwalk Commons, or were there and just want to see themselves dancing with the Pink Haired Girls to the music played by the Vintage DJ - a video for posterity.
It was a beautiful day and fun for all. Good job by the organizers!
Fun Roosevelt Island Day activities also took place at the traditional Good Shepherd Plaza Block Party event and blogger Lateral Window has a photo montage.
More image from Roosevelt Island Day below. I always liked the Half-Moon as a kid but I'm much too big for it now. Too bad.
On Saturday afternoon at 4 PM, come enjoy a Roosevelt Island Dance Party Extravaganza on the Riverwalk Commons behind the F Train Subway station as part of the Roosevelt Live Summer Concert series . According to the Roosevelt Live web site:
Immerse yourself in an audio time warp. Jonathan Jacobs a.k.a. The Vintage DJ brings you a MOD 1960s Dance Party of EPIC proportions. With the help of his dancers, The Sho'Nuffs, The Vintage DJ will teach you a sassy selection of popular dances from the era! From The Monkey to The Swim, from Motown to Boogaloo, this swingin' cat will have you shakin' and shimmyin' the afternoon away.
Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.
The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.
