live

Upcoming Salon Alert! – Fri, 12/2/22, 7pm @ Freddy’s Bar

I’m hosting a salon for the first time in four years! There will be live music and painting, photography, free cookies, plus we’ll be celebrating Brooklyn Transcore and raising awareness for trans rights, all at Freddy’s Bar & Backroom in Brooklyn. SEE YOU THERE!

Support Trans Rights: Click here for actions with Brooklyn Transcore

When: December 2, 2022 at 7pm

Where: Freddy’s Bar & Backroom (627 5th Ave, Brooklyn)

What: Live music and painting, photography, free cookies. No cover, tips for performers encouraged.

Why: In these dystopian days, creative collaborations are more important than ever. Come to our salon to listen, dance, talk, get inspired, eat cookies, and celebrate Brooklyn Transcore. Let’s nourish each other.

Music: Sunshine Nights | The BPRS | Daisy | Rob Bryn of The Wild Yaks | Ellina Graypel & Her Eastern Boys

Photos & Words: Julie Rae Powers

Visual Art: Rob Bryn | Sequoah

The BPRS @ Sunnyvale, TOMORROW, Tues the 11th w/Vassals, The Human Circuit, and Futurist!

Join us TOMORROW, Sept 11th, at 7:30 pm for some grooves and good times with friends at Sunnyvale (1031 Grand St Brooklyn – map here)!


The Human Circuit is an alt-pop, psych-rock band from Austin, Texas with catchy orchestral grooves ranging from the mystic vibes of David Bowie to the intricate arrangements of Arcade Fire.

Vassals is a Brooklyn-based band that embraces the loud/quiet dichotomy of the 90s through the lens of 60s rock and psychedelia.

Futurist is a 5-piece “psychedelic-pop, alternative/art rock” rocket ship launched in Brooklyn, NY, whose unique take on psychedelic rock, dance-able grooves, and earnest songwriting achieves a sound best described as “future-classic.” By virtue of experimentation, a multimedia vision, and an energetic delivery, Futurist creates a wall of sound that inspires and uplifts audiences with their own style and modern mythology.

And in case you don’t know us, duo The Brooklyn Players Reading Society explores the intersection between literature and rock-n-roll, channeling poet songwriters like Lou Reed, Tom Waits, and Laurie Anderson.

Get your tickets here!

Set Times:
8-835 Futurist
8:55-930 Vassals
9:50-10:25 The Human Circuit
10:45-11:20 The Brooklyn Players Reading Society

Doors at 7:30 / $10 / 21+. See yas!

THIS Sat, Sept 9th, The BPRS & Sunshine Nights @ Sidewalk Cafe!

My band, The Brooklyn Players Reading Society, will unite once again with Americana folk rock group Sunshine Nights THIS Saturday, Sept 9th at SideWalk Cafe. Sunshine hits the stage at 9 pm, The BPRS at 10. No cover, $5 suggested donation, DJ after.

I am pissed about Trump’s DACA decision and all this blatant white supremacy and hurricanes and climate change, and when I get mad, I write and make music. I’m so looking forward to playing for y’all this weekend, to let out some of what’s churning inside of me and to also spread out some good, creative vibes. Also, this will be the last BPRS show for awhile, so we sincerely hope to see you there!

BPRS&SunshineNights 9:9:17 Poster

#DefendDACA #HereToStay #Resist

 

The BPRS @ The Dang Crib, THIS Saturday, August 12th!

We’re doing the thing all the cool kids do: playing a house party in Bushwick! We kick off the night at 8 pm followed by some killer local rock bands including our faves, OxenFree. BYOB. See you there – if you’re cool enough! 😉

OxenBrother

The BPRS @ Leftfield, Sat, Oct 22, 10 pm!

The Brooklyn Players Reading Society plays our first show in over a year at Leftfield NYC (downstairs) on Saturday, October 22nd at 10 pm. Bands all night long, featuring The Random Hubiak at 7, Murder Ballads & Ghost Stories w/ Sarah Murdoch at 8, The Violet Hours at 9, rock-n-roll poetry with The Brooklyn Players Reading Society (that’s us!!) at 10, and Amy Bleu at 11. $10 cover, tix at door. 21+. More details and RSVP on our Facebook Event Page.

Leftfield NYC is located at 87 Ludlow Street – map here. Also, check out this dancing monkey.

bprsmonkey-1

Pictures from Mother Tongue with Jade Sanchez-Ventura, Caedra Scott-Flaherty and The Brooklyn Players Reading Society @ Sidewalk Cafe

We had such an amazing night at Sidewalk Cafe last Tuesday! Huge thanks to my amazing, talented mama writer friends, memoirist and Mutha Magazine columnist Jade Sanchez-Ventura and fiction author Caedra Scott-Flaherty, to my husband, David Stanley Fine-Firesheets, for bringing his beautiful energy to The Brooklyn Players Reading Society, to the babies for being so good and cute, to Sidewalk for having us, and to all of YOU for supporting us. We’re turning this into a regular reading/music series at Sidewalk featuring parents who are still committed to their art despite the little monsters sleeping under their beds, so stay tuned for future updates.

P.S. Domenica Ruta very sadly had to cancel due to a sick baby but will be appearing at a future event.

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TONIGHT! Mother Tongue: Words w/The Brooklyn Players Reading Society, Domenica Ruta & More @ Sidewalk Cafe, Tuesday, March 29th!

Please join us tonight, Tuesday, March 29th, from 6:30-8 pm at Sidewalk Cafe for Mother Tongue, a night of words across genres and topics delivered by new mamas who are still committed to their art despite the little monsters sleeping under their beds.

mothertongueThe evening features memoirist Domenica Ruta (author of NY Times best-seller With or Without You), memoirist and Mutha columnist Jade Sanchez-Ventura, fiction author Caedra Scott-Flaherty, and percussive poetry by The Brooklyn Players Reading Society (with yours truly on vox and hot new papa David Fine-Firesheets on bongos).

Readings from 6:30-8 pm, live bands to follow. No cover, donations appreciated. Please RSVP at our Facebook Event Page. Sidewalk is located on Ave A at the corner of 6th St (map here).

Hope to see you there!

P.S. For those of you on the fence, Lew will be there. You know you wanna squeeze his little Buddha belly.

The Brooklyn Players Reading Society Updates and Live Pics

IMG_4767Big news on the musical front: The Brooklyn Players Reading Society has become a duo! It seemed like everyone in the band was experiencing some major life changes all at the same time, so Dave and I decided to take a step back and revisit our initial intentions. Why did we write these songs in the first place? What was our original concept? Why are we currently playing these songs? What do we actually want to be doing with our music?

Through stepping back like this, Dave and I remembered that BPRS was founded on the idea of saying something, of using words in various forms to get a message out. We wanted to set these words to music, to use sounds, rhythms, and melodies to highlight our message and stories. While developing our songs with a full band was an amazing and important experience, we realized that our original idea got a bit lost along the way. Rewriting our songs so that they work as a duo and also reflect our mission has taken time, but we’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process and feel like we’ve finally gotten to the heart of our music.

Meanwhile, the little guy inside has been growing rapidly, wiggling around and kicking up a storm during practice (dancing along?). I’m curious to play the songs for him once he’s out to see if he recognizes them. He’s certainly heard them enough at this point! But obviously, his arrival means Dave and I will be taking a break from regular practice and gigging while we sort out life with a baby. So, we decided to take full advantage of the time we have now and made our debut as a duo last Sunday, March 22nd at The Sidewalk Cafe, an NYC staple that has supported poetry and spoken word artists for decades now. I was quite nervous beforehand – singing AND playing keys is very different than just singing! But we had a blast and overall felt very good about sharing our musical vision with our friends and new fans. Hope you enjoy the pics, and huge thanks to everyone who came out. If you missed us, don’t worry – we’ve also been busy working on some demo recordings with plans to release them this summer. Stay tuned!

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