On My Radar: Afro-Punk 2009

BAMcinematek and Toyota present

The 5th Annual Afro-punk Festival

featuring Film, Music, Art, Skateboarding and Independence

July 3 – 8 in Brooklyn, NY

Thanks to BFF, I’ve been going to AP shows since 2005. Last year I did a feature on the Afro-Punk festival and community for MTV News. It took six months to pull everything together and was a great learning experience.

Aside from the opportunity to interview inspiring musicians like Tamar-Kali and Janelle Monae, I was able to meet artists of all mediums and make several new friends.

Check out my news brief below and article, then feast your eyes on this year’s lineup.

Afro-Punk Festival 2009
Free and open to the public, Afro-Punk Festival 2009 will spotlight some of the most exciting young artists and bands from the US and abroad, presenting live music and films every night throughout the festival, along with several other key events including:

4th July
Pure Hell
Whole Wheat Bread
American Fangs
Game Rebellion
The Objex
Joya Bravo
& more

5th July
Living Colour
Earl Grey Hound
Tamar Kali
The London Souls
Apollo Heights
Sabatta
& more

6th July
Saul Williams
Janelle Monae
The Dallas Austin Experience
Elevator Fight
Chewing Pic’s
Peekaboo Theory
Blackie
& more

The festival will once again feature an eclectic film program, co-curated by BAMcinématek with Matthew Morgan and James Spooner. Like last year, there will be a skate park and Afro-Punk Block Party with DIY vendors.

I’m dissapointed that this year’s festival won’t be national, but considering the economy it’s a blessing that this event will be happening again in the first place – and still free to the public!

– press release via Girlie Action

I’m Going: SURREAL ESTATE NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY

Wednesday, Dec. 31st – Jan. 1st | 8 PM – 6 AM | SURREAL ESTATE Presents…
NEW YEARS’ EVE PARTY!
Four luscious floors and a silvery rooftop of live music, DJs +
all-nite dance party, a Variety Show with break dancers, a tall
unicycle rider, jugglers, a contortionist, and more! A Polaroid photo
booth and photographer armed with all the Polaroid film left in the
country to snap your pics. All these good times and the general
pandemonium brought to you by the surrealists of Surreal Estate. Stay
awake with us ’til dawn and we’ll make you pancakes! Promise!

| | | 1st FLOOR | | | 10 pm – 2 am | | | BANDS:
TALIBAM!
WHACK
THE PROSULAS
The Balkan Brass Band
KAI ZHANG
MELODIC
(Currently lives in Surreal Estate’s apartments & presents some of his
freshest rhymes at to follow up his recent performance at Sputnik in
Brooklyn!)

| | | 2nd FLOOR | | | 9 – 12 pm | | | VARIETY SHOW:
Tall Unicycle Rider, Juggler, Contortionist!
Prasad the Can Man on the Harmonica
* Emcee’d by Phoenix & Quinnifer Nopez of the Freegan Bike Workshop *

2nd Fl: VIDEO Immersion! VJs bring in the New Year with artful video
projection all night.

2nd Fl: D.I.Y. FASHION SHOW | | | 12 – 12:30 am

| | | 3rd FLOOR | | | 8 – 6 AM | | | DJs + DANCE PARTY
’til the break of dawn
DJ Yo DJ!
DJ Squarepants
DJ hypa
DJ Hotflashes

+ Pancakes for all who are up with us til 6 am!

Percentages of the proceeds from this event will benefit several community-based organizations: Make the Road NY, Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered (GLOBE), Trees Not Trash, the Anarchist Book Fair, In Our Hearts, and FIERCE: Building the Leadership and Power of LGBTQ Youth of Color. Thank you for your support!

Cover charge: $15 ($10 before 11 pm)
No outside alcohol.

Surreal Estate
13 and 15 Thames Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206

ABOUT SURREAL ESTATE
A collectively-operated, community-run living space and events venue housed in two adjacent buildings in Bushwick. They offer many kinds of events open to the community: readings, a local history group, bilingual events and readings (Spanish/English), fundraisers, parties, gallery space for exhibiting artists, a free reading library and cafe, by-donation classes, skill shares, and workshops. They hope to produce a dynamic and creative forum that embraces experimentation in many forms while maintaining a down-to-earth, friendly, welcoming environment.

Please feel free to email them with ideas and suggestions for the new space or to inquire about how you can get involved. If you’re a dancer, an artist, a promoter, a musician, a teacher, an organizer, or just want to find out more about what we’re working on over here, please email them! –surrealestatenyc@gmail.com