National will take the stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House on Feb. 22 and Feb. 23, there are 175 shows that comprise “Brooklyn Next,” and you can be sure to find your new favorite band at one of them.
Held across the borough at venues like Grand Dakar Cafe in Clinton Hill, Southpaw in Park Slope and Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg, the series — now in its second year — is designed to create a sense of community between the up-and-coming bands of Brooklyn and BAM, one of the borough’s cultural behemoths.
Groups like Turntables on the Hudson (playing a Feb. 20 party at Southpaw) and The A-Bones (playing Feb. 23 at Magnetic Field in Brooklyn Heights) are drawn into the clubs thanks to a grant that makes it possible for smaller venues to pay the bands more than just a cut of the bar’s business.
“It seems like BAM’s mission is to nurture the Brooklyn music scene,” said Andy McDowell, owner of Pete’s Candy Store. “There are a lot of great acts that aren’t necessarily getting the kind of attention or pay that they should, and this provides for the bands to perform. It’s also a chance to attract acts that might not play at a place as small as ours.”
Similarly, in putting the series together, BAM is able to work with nightclubs and musicians that it might not otherwise have a chance to, such as the White Rabbits (pictured) which will play the BAMcafe on Feb. 16.
“Brooklyn Next” runs through Feb. 24 at venues around the borough. Prices vary. For information, call (718) 636-4100 or visit www.bam.org.
