by Pete Matthews(All photos by Pete Matthews)

Indie folk singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers played the first of two sold out benefit shows last night at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! The massive crowd - mostly female teens and tweens - sang along to all of Bridgers' upbeat hits, including "Motion Sickness" and "Kyoto", while quietly listening to her more somber "dirges", such as "Funeral" and "Moon Song." This tour is in support of Bridgers' sophomore release, "Punisher" (2020), delayed by two years because of the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

"A true ego death is putting out an album and not being on tour," Bridgers told Rolling Stone last month. "I didn't realize how much I relied on people screaming at me every night. It's just super-weird."

Among those in Bridgers' tight backing band was the versatile violinist Rob Moose, who has lent his talents to dozens of new music and indie projects over the past decade, trumpeter JJ Kirkpatrick, and drummer (and frequent collaborator) Marshall Vore. 

L.A. girl pop trio MUNA - who are signed to Bridgers' label, Saddest Factory Records - got the crowd going with their own high-octane set. Bridgers joined them onstage for their hit "Silk Chiffon," which Bridgers co-wrote and performs with them on the release.

Tickets for tonight's show are available on the resale market here. Setlist and photos below.

Phoebe Bridgers Setlist: 

• Motion Sickness
• DVD Menu
• Garden Song
• Kyoto
• Punisher
• Halloween
• Smoke Signals
• Funeral
• Chinese Satellite
• Moon Song
• Scott Street
• Savior Complex
• ICU
• Sidelines
• Graceland Too
• I Know the End
• Encore:
• Georgia

It's that time again when the music moves from inside to outdoors, and after two years of shutdowns and half-full lineups, everything feels back in full swing this summer. It's about f*cking time! Following is a rundown of some of the highlights.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn (June 8-August 6) The best (mostly) free fest in NYC opens at the Lena Horne Bandshell tonight (6/8) with jazz fusion star Kamasi Washington and his outsized band. Other highlights include the magical singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers (6/14-15), Kronos Quartet and Roomful of Teeth (7/14), and neo-soul legend Erykah Badu (8/5). (Note: both Phoebe Bridgers and Erykah Badu are ticketed benefit concerts.)

SummerStage (June 11-August 31) Central Park's Rumsey Playfield opens this weekend (6/11) with a free show by the legendary Herbie Hancock with trumpeter Keyon Harrold. Other (mostly paid) highlights include a New Orleans blowout led by Trombone Shorty (6/13), George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (6/15), Belle and Sebastian (6/16), Sons of Kemet with Makaya McCraven (7/31 - free), and a two night stand with Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen and Julien Baker (8/20-21).

Brooklyn International Music Fest (June 10-11) This two day festival at Red Hook's Jalopy Theatre highlights the rich and vibrant diaspora of musicians living and working in NYC, from Africa to China and everywhere in between. Tickets and info here.

NY Phil Concerts in the Parks (June 14-19) The Phil's annual parks concerts return after a two-year absence to each of the five boroughs with a program of Wagner, Bruch and Dvořák - along with music by a pair of Very Young Composers - led by Music Director Jaap van Zweden. Followed by fireworks. 

Brooklyn Americana Music Festival (June 24-26) American folk and bluegrass music gets its due at this three day festival, with a Friday ticketed show at Jalopy and free outdoor stages in DUMBO and Brooklyn Bridge Park over the weekend.  

Well, it's been a rough couple of months here in NYC. Just when we thought we were almost done with COVID-19, it came roaring back around Thanksgiving, shutting down bars, restaurants - and lots of live music. This month alone has seen the cancellation of both the PROTOTYPE opera festival (they say it's "postponed") and the Winter JazzFest Marathon (which is now the "Virtual Marathon," which started this week.) Not to mention seemingly half the shows I see listed on Ohmyrockness.

The city's opera and concert halls, on the other hand, have largely kept their doors open, which is ironic given the relative size of their auditoriums and potential risk of infection. Guess some folks like to freak out more about Omicron than others. (Full disclosure: I caught COVID just before Christmas, and experienced relatively mild symptoms for about a week. Thank you, Pfizer!)

One of those venues that's persevered is Carnegie Hall, which has navigated this year's various COVID-related travel restrictions by filling its three stages with soloists, chamber groups, and the occasional local orchestra. To be frank, it's not been a banner year of programming thus far. BUT, things are ramping up quickly here in 2022, with stalwarts such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, and the Emerson String Quartet all set to perform in the coming weeks. 

Safety is of course a top priority at Carnegie, and was in clear evidence Thursday night by the line snaking around the corner of 57th and 7th to check ID's and proofs of vaccination. Fair warning: all tickets now come with a designated entry time and one of several designated entrances, though I'd recommend getting there at least a half hour before curtain regardless of what your ticket says. And, for God's sake, don't forget your mask!