Grace Jones and Janelle Monáe at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! at Lena Horne Bandshell
On Monday, June 9, 2025, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival kicked off their 47th season with a benefit concert at Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park featuring Janelle Monáe and the legendary Grace Jones. The show was presented by Live Nation as a part of Blue Note Jazz Festival and featuring fantastic performances by Monáe and Jones, with Janelle returning to the stage for the end of Grace’s set during her penultimate song, “Pull Up to the Bumper.” Despite going past the 10:30PM curfew, Grace returned to the stage to perform her final song the set, “Slave to the Rhythm,” where she sang and hula hooped before the show came to an end.
I’ve had multiple chances to see Grace perform in the past but hadn’t until this show, plus I missed Janelle’s tour for The Age of Pleasure in September 2023 as I was out of town at the time on my first vacation since February 2020. I was initially planning to head to Washington, DC to catch both acts together (the D.C. show was announced weeks before BRIC revealed this addition to their series and I bought a ticket when they went on sale), and I’m so grateful this strong bill, taking place during Pride month, also happened in my hometown, saving me a multi-hour commute. Although I wasn’t scheduled to work at the bandshell yesterday evening, I couldn’t not bring my gear and capture images of the iconic Janelle and Grace, which can be found in the above gallery. I’ll be back at the park on Friday for the first free concert of the season (details can be found on their schedule here).