Get ready to eco-rock with the Dirty Projectors! Citysol’s been running its free annual festival since 2005 at Solar One’s East River- side venue in Stuyvesant Cove Park. The next one, to be held June 26 through 29th, will include quite an artistic bunch of favorites from across the genre board: Dirty Projectors, Ecstatic Sunshine, hip-hop’s Blitz the Ambassador and more. For full details, see below.

Citysol, New York City’s only solar-powered music, art and advocacy festival is pleased to announce its 2008 music program.

The Dirty Projectors, So Percussion and Blitz the Ambassador fill out this summer’s most diverse lineup.

Since 2005, Solar One - NYC’s first green energy, arts and education center located in Manhattan - has steadily established its free outdoor festival Citysol as one of the most exciting summer venues for live independent music, locally produced art and creative activism in the city. In years past, various emerging talents and crowd favorites have performed on the festival’s 100% solar-powered stage, including Les Savy Fav, Deer Tick, Japanther, the members of Antibalas, OCDJ, Menomena and many more.

Citysol 2008, to be held on June 26-29th at Solar One’s East River- side venue in Stuyvesant Cove Park, will feature a truly eclectic lineup of indie rock, modern classical, hip-hop and world music talent. The bill on opening night, Thursday the 26th, will include up- and-coming punk prodigies Care Bears on Fire and NYC-based hip-hop collaboration the A-OK Collective.

The festival’s all-day event on Saturday June 28th will bring together a roster of performers including indie rock acts Dirty Projectors, Ecstatic Sunshine, No Surrender and Shilpa Ray (formerly of Beat the Devil), with world-electronica and conceptual ensembles Burkina Electric and So Percussion, R&B act Selan and Brooklyn-by-way- of-Ghana crossover Hip Hop artist Blitz the Ambassador. Saturday’s program will be MCed by Ant Marshall, host and producer at Current TV and co-founder of the Lyricist Lounge.

Citysol 2008’s music program was co-curated by Alec Hanley Bemis (Cantaloupe Records, Brassland) and the urban marketing and promotions agency Digiwaxx Media. Conceptually, the program focuses on artists who draw inspiration from a wide variety of musical sources, connecting different traditions and techniques, spanning continents and eras to create a more personal and original style that transcends the older practice of cultural appropriation. Whether incorporating elements of Western classical music, African rhythm, hip-hop, folk or rock’n'roll, these bands encourage listeners to open themselves up to new possibilities by presenting these traditions in a fresh and exciting context.

The mission of Citysol is to provide a new venue for creative artistic collaborations, while engaging young New Yorkers in an advocacy campaign to bring about stronger policies in support of clean, renewable solar power in New York State. Festival-goers will be given opportunities to learn about solar potential in the Big Apple, and to direct feedback to their local elected officials right on site. The festival will conclude on Sunday afternoon with workshops and expert panel discussions that will address various aspects of the subject in an accessible manner.

In addition to top-rate live music, Citysol will also host a Friday night stand-up comedy show, Good Clean Fun, featuring local talents Roger Hailes, Tom McCaffery, Baron Vaughn and others. Also, for the third year running, the festival venue will be defined by an original 1500 sq. ft. pavilion, designed and fabricated by the award-winning Brooklyn-based design firm Situ Studio. The pavilion will house the Citysol bar and concession area, and additional space for seating.

Original artistic works by local artists will also be installed on site for the duration of the festival.

www.citysol.org
www.solar1.org