Five Boroughs Music Festival Opens Season with Biribá Union, September 12 & 13

New York City's Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) kicks off its 2024-25 Season with the debut of Biribá Union on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at Bronx Music Hall and Friday, September 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. at Flushing Town Hall.

Comprised of Grammy Award-winning cello player, singer, and composer Mike Block, progressive Hip-Hop artist and multi-instrumentalist Christylez Bacon, and Uruguayan electric bass player and composer Patricia Ligia, Biribá Union performs a program that blends original music with global influences drawing from Brazilian, Bluegrass, Jazz, Classical, Hip-Hop, Funk, and Pop styles for a “refreshingly new sound” (WSLR Radio). The trio has been praised by BNN as “a beacon of artistic innovation and collaboration, showcasing the transformative power of music to unite and inspire … a much-needed reminder of the beauty that emerges when we come together to celebrate our differences.”

Carrying on its mission to make great chamber music programming accessible to all of New York City's five boroughs, 5BMF continues its season of diverse programming with Ivalas Quartet in a program titled Fate and Yearning on Thursday, October 17, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sugar Hill Museum of Art & Storytelling. 

Concert Information

5BMF Presents MIKE BLOCK WITH BIRIBÁ UNION
Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.
Bronx Music Hall | 438 E 163rd St, Bronx, NY 10451
Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36821/production/1210679 

Friday, September 13, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Flushing Town Hall | 137-35 Northern Blvd | Flushing, NY 11354
Tickets: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/flushing-town-hall-and-5bmf-present-birib-union 

Program:

Program TBA

Artists:

Mike Block, cello/vocals
Christylez Bacon, beatbox/guitar/rhymes
Patricia Ligia, electric bass/pandeiro/vocals

About Biribá Union 

Biribá Union features Mike Block (Cello, Vocals), Christylez Bacon (Beatbox, Guitar, Rhymes), and Patricia Ligia (Electric Bass, Pandeiro, Vocals), forming a dynamic trio that blends original music with global influences, creating a fresh and accessible sound. Each member draws from their diverse backgrounds, such as Brazilian, Bluegrass, Jazz, Classical, Hip-Hop, Funk, and Pop styles, synthesizing them through original compositions and songs that highlight their improvisational spontaneity and high-energy stage presentation. https://www.biribaunion.com/.

About Five Boroughs Music Festival

Since 2007, Five Boroughs Music Festival (5BMF) has brought virtuosic chamber music performances of the highest caliber to every borough of NYC, cultivating new audiences for the genre and encouraging music lovers to look beyond Manhattan for outstanding performances. Lauded as “imaginative” by The New York Times, “enterprising” by The New Yorker, and “vital” by WQXR's Operavore blog, 5BMF's commitment to musical outreach and diverse programming has distinguished it as a standout presence in the New York City arts community from its earliest days.

5BMF's artist roster of over 600 individual performers and ensembles is comprised of talented emerging artists and distinguished musicians alike, representing a diverse range of musical genres and styles. Its more than 70 venues are just as eclectic and have included performing arts spaces, cultural centers, and historic New York City landmarks such as Federal Hall, Pregones Theater, Flushing Town Hall, King Manor Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society, the Alice Austen House, and the Staten Island Museum, to name merely a few.

As champions of new music, 5BMF has commissioned over 70 composers and presented world premieres of their works all across New York City, most notably the borough-wide tours of its quinquennial commissioning project, the Five Borough Songbook Volumes I, II and III. 5BMF's outreach initiatives continue to expand every year and have included program-related interactive lectures and discussions, public masterclasses with world-renowned performing artists, and free public programming. Learn more at www.5bmf.org.