MONOBLOCO, NAILAH BLACKMAN & DJ PATRICKTOR4
Sunday, June 26, 2022
4:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Flushing Meadows Corona Park Grand Central Parkway/Whitestone Expressway
(Between 111 St. and College Point Blvd., Corona, NY 11368)
Additional performances by Batalá, Boom Boom Room TT, and Kaisokah Moko Jumbies. The program will kick off at 4:00 PM with a percussion workshop by Monobloco. A former SummerStage alum, Monobloco is Brazil’s most exciting street band. Known for their loud performances at parades during Carnival, attracting hundreds of percussionists from the audience, they will bring their stage show to Queens. Their high-energy performance incorporates various rhythms and musical styles through the beat of samba, including traditional “marchinhas de carnaval” (carnival marches), Luiz Gonzaga’s forró, and even baile funk. Trinidadian soca artist Nailah Blackman comes from a strong Caribbean musical lineage — her grandfather ‘Ras Shorty I’ is credited with creating the Soca genre, his successful attempt to revitalize the iconic Calypso music of the island. Her debut EP Reels gives a modern electro-R&B twist to the sounds of soca from Trinidad and Tobago. With support from DJ Patricktør4, born in Bahia, who deconstructs the ethnic plurality that shapes Brazil’s musicality. The day will encompass a true carnival atmosphere, with live performances by Batalá – the leading all-female Afro-Brazilian percussion ensemble led by Black women from New York, known for high-energy performances, Boom Boom Room TT, a percussion duo from the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and Kaisokah Moko Jumbies, a stilt dancing group that educates children and adults about the art of stilt walking.