Indie-folk rock giants Beirut will headline the third-annual Northside Festival in a four-day music, film and art extravaganza beginning on June 16.
The band will play on the asphalt softball fields at McCarren Park on June 17 — the first time the park has hosted a major concert since its popular pool series closed three years ago.
“It has a 5,000-person capacity and we’re very confident we’re going to sell out,” said Sarah Shanfield of L Magazine, a festival sponsor.
More than 250 bands will rock their way through over 50 festival venues in Williamsburg and Greenpoint.
This year, the bands include Deer Tick, Sharon Van Etten, Twin Sister, Allo Darlin, Ava Luna, Javelin, Delicate Steve and Gabriel and the Hounds.
But it’s not just about the music.
This year the festival will coincide with Greenpoint Open Studios, a full-blown arts event in its own right where hundreds of artists will open their doors for the weekend and a documentary film festival hosted by the popular Williamsburg-based Union Docs.
Borough President Markowitz could not be more excited about the festival’s expansion, declaring that it will draw tourists to Williamsburg “from Brooklyn and beyond.”
Proceeds from the headlining concert will benefit the Open Space Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to improving North Brooklyn’s parks.
