New BRIC Series, BRIC House Sessions, Kicks Off with Roy Ayers 2/16

Every Thursday this winter and spring, BRIC's new concert series BRIC House Sessions will explore a wide array of genres - like a playlist come to life - with musicians who are pushing music forward in extraordinary and inventive ways. Spanning two stages, BRIC House Sessions will start with a set by local musicians and DJs on the Stoop overlooking the Gallery, followed by a session with a featured artist inside the state-of-the-art BRIC House Ballroom - one of the best new spaces for live music in Brooklyn. The series kicks off on February 16 with a performance headlined by "godfather of neo-soul" Roy Ayers and featuring an opening set by Shareef Keyes.

Tickets for the concert, which begins with a DJ set at 7pm, start at $15 and may be purchased online at BRICartsmedia.org or via phone at 866.811.4111. The Box Office at BRIC House is open on performance days, one hour prior to the event. BRIC House is located at 647 Fulton Street in Downtown Brooklyn. BRIC House is open weekdays and Saturday at 8am and Sundays at 10am.

Ayers has been a key figure at the nexus of jazz and R&B throughout his 40-year career, and continues to collaborate with younger artists including Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, A Tribe Called Quest and Ice Cube. Ayers music has inspired generations of musicians and listeners across genres, and he is often cited as the most-sampled jazz artist in hip-hop history; remixes of his hit compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," "Searchin," and "Running Away" are still featured on new releases. In the Ballroom, Ayers will perform these hits and more with a band that features Mark Adams on keyboard, Christopher DeCarmine on drums and Trevor Allen on bass guitar.

The funk-hip hop jams from Shareef Keyes will energize BRIC's Stoop for a "get-down and dance" good time. With a magnetic front man and big sound, this band is making a name for itself across New York City, and will set the mood just right for the first BRIC House Session.

BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. The organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects the diversity of New York. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.

BRIC's main venue, BRIC Arts | Media House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio and artist work spaces.

Some of BRIC's most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park, several path-breaking public access media initiatives, including BRIC TV, and a renowned contemporary art exhibition series. BRIC also offers education and other vital programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.

In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences.

BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables BRIC to most effectively reflect New York City's innate cultural richness and diversity. Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.