Arts Brookfield’s annual summer music festival, the Lowdown Hudson Music Fest, returns to the heart of downtown New York for its seventh summer on July 18 and 19. Bringing fun, lively, world-class musical talent to the picturesque Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place, this year’s festival will be headlined by rapper and producer Common on Tuesday and quirky veteran rockers OK GO on Wednesday. Both shows are free to attend and open to the public. In keeping with the summer festival vibe, shows are standing room only and will feature a festival bar.
The two-day festival is a summer highlight in Lower Manhattan, drawing more than 15,000 attendees annually. Previous headliners have included legends The Roots, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Los Lobos, Neko Case, and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.
“We are thrilled to be adding Common and OK GO to our list of outstanding Lowdown Hudson Music Fest headliners,” said Karen Kitchen, Vice President, Arts Brookfield. “Lowdown has become an eclectic summer music festival staple in New York. The Waterfront Plaza is the perfect setting for this annual communal party for music lovers, with all the creative dining and shopping options of Brookfield Place.”
Grammy and Academy Award winning rapper, actor, producer and poet Common opens the festival on Tuesday, July 18. Common’s illustrious career began in 1992 with the release of Can I Borrow a Dollar? and he is now one of the most well-known voices in modern rap and R&B. In 2003, Common won his first Grammy Award: Best R&B Song for “Love of My Life” with Erykah Badu. Its popularity was matched by May 2005’s Be, which was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Common was awarded his second Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, for “Southside (featuring Kanye West)” in 2007. Common won the 2015 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song “Glory” from the 2014 film Selma, in which he co-starred as Civil Rights Movement leader James Bevel.
On Wednesday, July 19, high-energy pop-rock pioneers OK GO take the stage. Formed as a quartet in Chicago in 1998 before relocating to Los Angeles, OK GO (Damian Kulash, Tim Nordwind, Dan Konopka, Andy Ross) have spent their career in a steady state of transformation. On their most recent EP, the band worked with longtime producer and friend Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Weezer, MGMT), while also enlisting a new collaborator in veteran Tony Hoffer, (Beck, Phoenix, Foster the People) to create their most comfortable and far-reaching songs yet.
For more information about the 2017 Lowdown Hudson Music Fest at Brookfield Place NY, visit artsbrookfield.com/lowdown.
ABOUT ARTS BROOKFIELD
Arts Brookfield presents exciting, world-class cultural experiences to hundreds of thousands of people for free each year in both indoor and outdoor public spaces at Brookfield Property Partner’s premier office properties in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Washington, D.C., London, Toronto, Perth and Sydney. From concerts, theater and dance to film screenings and art exhibitions, Arts Brookfield brings public spaces to life through art. Learn more about us at artsbrookfield.com.
ABOUT BROOKFIELD PLACE
Brookfield Place New York is the apotheosis of luxury shopping, dining and cultural arts in downtown Manhattan. The complex is uniquely positioned just south of Tribeca along the Hudson River waterfront. International fashion houses including Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry, Omega, Ermenegildo Zegna, and contemporary fashion brands such as Diane von Furstenberg, Theory, Michael Kors, Vince, Paul Smith, and Lululemon make Brookfield Place Downtown Manhattan’s most sought-after shopping destination. An 85,000-square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue women’s department store opened Fall 2016, in addition to a dedicated Saks Fifth Avenue men’s store, which opened its doors at Brookfield Place in Winter 2017. Best-in-class dining options include Hudson Eats, a curated collection of 14 chef-driven fast-casual eateries; Le District, a 30,000-square-foot French-inspired marketplace and signature restaurants including Amada and Parm. Del Frisco’s Grille will open in 2017, further diversifying the robust dining experiences at Brookfield Place NY. Complemented by the renowned cultural programming of Arts Brookfield, Brookfield Place NY is leading the transformation of the area as the premier destination for residents and visitors alike. For more information, please visit: brookfieldplaceny.com.