BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival returns to Prospect Park for its 45th anniversary season starting on Wednesday, June 7. This year’s opening night will feature blue legend Taj Mahal, British singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, and gospel trio The Harlem Gospel Travelers. As always, it’s free to attend, and RSVP is open now.

BRIC has also announced the free closing night on Thursday, August 24, which will feature The Head and the Heart and Izzy Heltai. RSVP is open for that, as well.

The lineup of free shows, which is still to be announced, will have a curator this year for the first time: Taja Cheek, aka L’Rain. “I have been going to BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! my whole life and having an opportunity to be a part of the team is nothing short of a dream come true,” she says. “Collaborative curatorial work is so special — more important than any individual contribution are the conversations we have with each other about artists we’re excited about, the ways we push each other out of our comfort zones, and the new music we learn about along the way.”

So far a few benefit shows have been announced for 2023 in Prospect Park, including Alex G and Alvvays on August 22 and 23, The Revivalists and Band of Horses on August 10, and NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge), Robert Glasper with Lalah Hathaway and Bilal, and BJ The Chicago Kid on June 24. Stay tuned for more.