Talib Kweli. (Photo by Chance Yeh/PatrickMcMullan.com)Over the past five years, the Northside Festival has gone from being a plucky little outer-borough music event to Brooklyn's own answer to SXSW -- albeit with less of a focus on charcoal-grilled meats. The festival takes place over the course of eight days in Kings County (you thought one puny week could contain this?), featuring a film festival, technology panels and lots and lots of music. This year's artists include Talib Kweli, Albert Hammond Jr., Chvrches and soul singer Charles Bradley to name a few, plus DJ sets by the likes of Questlove and Animal Collective. It's a lot to take in, but here's a good place to get started.
The Next Industrial Revolution
Fortune writer Erin Griffith interviews Bre Pettis, co-founder and CEO of the Brooklyn-based consumer 3D printing powerhouse Makerbot. Over the past five years, the company has grown from a DIY project to arguably the best-known name in the world of 3D printing, devoted to bringing the next industrial revolution to home desktops.
Wythe Hotel Event Space, 80 Wythe Ave., June 12th 2:30PM
Talib Kweli, Res, NIKO IS
The legendary emcee and one-half of hip-hop super-duo Black Star, Talib Kweli, returns home to Brooklyn, accompanied by a nine-piece orchestra and his frequent collaborator, Philadelphia indie-soul singer Res.
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., June 12th 6PM, $15 Advance, $20 Day of
Downloaded: The Story of Napster Screening
One-time Wyld Stallyn Alex Winter directed this look at the file-sharing service that completely upended the music industry, pulling together interviews with everyone from Henry Rollins to former RIAA head honcho, Hilary Rosen.
Wythe Theater, 80 Wythe Ave., June 16th, 7PM Free with RSVP
Sharon Van Etten, Shilpa Ray
If there's a moral to Sharon Van Etten's story, it's this: when someone from TV on the Radio tells you to move to New York to pursue a career in music, you do it. Van Etten got those words of encouragement after handing a CD-R of her work to TVOTR's Kyp Malone, leaving a string of stunning, critically acclaimed solo records in her wake.
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 North 6th St., June 12th 8PM, $20
Animal Collective DJ Set
We can't tell you for sure which particular animals will be collecting after hours at Brooklyn's swankiest bowling alley, but it's sure going to be worth the $10, whoever it is. And besides, new state laws mandate that you see at least one member of AC live once a year in order to maintain residence in Brooklyn -- and it's already June.
Brooklyn Bowl, 61 Wythe Ave., June 13th, 11PM $10 Advance, $12 Day of
The Past is a Grotesque Animal Screening
A Kickstarter-funded documentary focused on the weirdest band of weirdos, The Past is a Grotesque Animal explores the life and times of Of Montreal and its frontman Kevin Barnes, who has remained at the group's core throughout nearly two decades of ever-evolving psychedelic strangeness.
Nitehawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Ave., June 19th 7:30PM $13
Thee Oh Sees, Blind Shake, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard
The San Francisco psych-noisemakers leave the garage and head to the early-summer sunshine of McCarren Park.
McCarren Park, June 14th 2PM, Free w/ RSVP
Dead Milkmen, Rasputina, MC Breath
You kicked yourself for not going to see them the first time around -- or maybe you just called up your parents and cursed them out for not having had you earlier. Either way, punk's funniest band has gotten back together to finally end your on-going cycle of torment.
Warsaw, 261 Driggs Ave, June 14th, 7PM, $25
Swearin', Radiator Hospital, Flesh Wounds, Bent Shapes
Swearin's 2012 self-titled debut was good, but dammit if the Philadelphia band didn't blow if out of the water with the ray of indie-pop sunshine that was last year's Surfing Strange.
Glasslands, 289 Kent Ave., June 15th, 9PM, $12
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton Screening
Since 1996, LA-based Stones Throw Records has been one of underground hip-hop's most influential labels. Featuring interviews with Kayne West, Mike D, Tyler the Creator and more, this doc attempts to pin down one of music's most important and hardest to define labels.
Wythe Theater, 80 Wythe Ave., June 19th 8PM, $13