SOUNDTRACK OF NYC
MUSIC FESTIVAL
A Day of Culture: From Lincoln Center to Prospect Park. Connecting Two NYC Icons Through Music
Last Saturday, we had the chance to experience two of New York City’s most iconic cultural spaces through one shared thread: music. From the global sounds of globalFEST at Lincoln Center's Summer for the City, to the explosive energy of Gogol Bordello at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, it was a day that showed just how deeply connected New York’s cultural scene really is.
Even though the lineups had no official connection, the artists performing at both events shared something powerful — a spirit of rebellion, cultural fusion, and storytelling through sound.
GlobalFEST at Lincoln Center: A World of Sound
Singer Gaye Su Akyol at GlobalFest Damrosch Park Stage. Lincoln Center, NYC. Photo: Pablo Herrera (TMN).
The afternoon started at Lincoln Center, where globalFEST returned for its 4th summer edition as part of Summer for the City. The festival took over the entire outdoor campus with a bold, female-forward lineup curated by artists from around the world.
We saw a stunning set by Gaye Su Akyol, a psychedelic Turkish folk singer whose performance felt both modern and rooted in ancient tradition. (We highly recommend watching a piece of her set here.)
Later, BCUC, from Soweto, South Africa, delivered a mix of Afropunk, funk, and spiritual intensity that pulsed through the crowd. Other highlights included El Laberinto del Coco from Puerto Rico, blending bomba rhythms with four powerful female voices and deep baritone sax, and Natu Camara, whose voice and stage presence made you stop and really listen.
On the Hearst Plaza stage, curated by Afro-Indigenous roots artist Martha Redbone, we caught intimate and moving sets by Thea Hopkins, Claudia Acuña, and Taina Asili — each one offering a different perspective on resistance, heritage, and identity through music.
GlobalFEST is known for celebrating global sounds, but it’s more than a music event. It’s a reminder that culture doesn’t come from one place — it travels, shifts, and evolves. It connects people.
Celebrate Brooklyn! & Gogol Bordello: A Riot of Sound
Gogol Bordello at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Phot by Pablo Herrera (TMN).
From Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the trip wasn’t short. But riding the subway through the city gave us a different kind of perspective — one you only get underground. Different neighborhoods, languages, rhythms, and styles packed into a single ride. That’s New York.
By the time we reached BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, the shift in energy was immediate — louder, rawer, just as powerful. Gogol Bordello was already igniting the stage.
Known for their high-voltage shows and rebellious spirit, Gogol Bordello is more than a band — they’re a symbol of New York’s immigrant heartbeat. Their "gypsy-punk" sound mixes languages, cultures, and politics into a kind of organized chaos that could only be born in a city like this. Every performance feels like a protest, a celebration, and a reunion at the same time.
Seeing them in Prospect Park, outdoors and surrounded by people from all walks of life, reminded us how public spaces can become cultural landmarks — not because of their size, but because of what happens there.
Two Stages, One City
This is how we connected two major cultural spaces in one day — Lincoln Center and Prospect Park — through music, and without even trying to make the connection. These moments just exist in NYC. You move from one neighborhood to another, and you carry the sound with you.
We saw how different cultures, languages, and histories can coexist in the same city — and often in the same song. From the heart of Manhattan to the fields of Brooklyn, what united the day was a shared love for music that speaks to who we are.
A Day of Culture: From Lincoln Center to Prospect Park. Connecting Two NYC Icons Through Music. Video by Pablo Herrera (TMN).
Thank you to globalFEST, Lincoln Center, and BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! for supporting our work at Teens Media Network. These events are more than performances — they’re spaces where young people like us get to learn, document, and grow. And they help us see how culture isn’t just something to watch — it’s something to take part in.
FEELING INSPIRED?
Become a TMN member and join the community powering the next generation of creators.
Get exclusive content, support young and independent journalism, learn alongside emerging talent, and be part of a movement that believes in the power of ideas.
TMN exists thanks to people like you!
Share this post:
