Nothing beats a sunny summer festival. Warm sunshine, cool breeze, green grass — the right idea for languid lounging. While BK was alive last weekend with festivities including the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival and Bastille Day on Smith Street, the Afropunk Festival lured me in on Saturday to the pristine pastures of Fort Greene Park and then again on Sunday to the Ave — Clinton Avenue that is. I couldn’t help but notice that despite it’s low-end torque, Toyota Matrix added some zip to the event on both days strategically parked on the sidelines. The Afro-punkified custom edition was pure punk rock black and wrapped with the gothic brand logo. At this annual event, it’s all about styling and profiling in delightfully free party spirit, and the Matrix fit in the mix.
The moment turned poetic Saturday afternoon. Gentle wind blew dust in front of the stage, as Detroit’s Dirtbombs wooed the crowd with dirty guitar riffs and vocalist Mick Collins’s reverberating baritone.
A pleasant surprise to see a real-deal Detroit band that’s been at it for over a decade attract a crowd from every corner of the park — the kind of thing that happens when good old-fashioned live music has the ability to charm. I foresee the big time for these hard working Motor City rockers.
The perfect summer weekend continued Sunday, but the ambiance changed from open air fest into neighborhood block party in my very own neighborhood for the segment of Afropunk part 2. And it what a grand block party in full swing — complete with vendors from local boutiques and live performances, and the real essentials – idyllic afternoon classics songs dropped by DJ Rich Medina. Rich had everyone savoring the late afternoon – young and old, fly and extra fly. Sweat was flying. I gotta give it up to Afropunk and the Toyota sponsor for a job well done, making free music accessible and open.
