THE BIG BUSK Seeks Guitarists For Opening Day Of LCT Out Of Doors 7/27

England's folk singer/guitarist and activist Billy Bragg stirs things up on this side of the Atlantic when he brings his Big Busk to Lincoln Center on Wednesday, July 27 to open New York's long-running, free summer festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, with a community musical happening. Musicians of all ages and abilities are invited to participate-first by helping to select the songs to be performed by the whole group at the evening's concert in Damrosch Park, then by taking part in a massive, sing- and play-along, and along the way, doing a bit of solo busking of their own on Lincoln Center's famed plazas.

Busk (intr. v) to play music or entertain in a public space; from old French busquer, to prowl; from Italian buscare, to procure, gain.

From now until June 20, members of the public can suggest a song and make a case for it by posting the song title, or posting a link to a YouTube video of the song to LC Big Busk Facebook page the by tweeting a selection to @LCOutofDoors (use the hashtag #LCBigBusk); or by uploading a video of themselves playing an acoustic cover song and talking about their song choice on YouTube or Vimeo, then sharing it by posting a link on LC Big Busk Facebook page the Starting June 21, the public can go to the Facebook page to vote for their favorites. At the 7:30 p.m. show in Damrosch Park, the top six songs will be performed by the participating musicians and the entire audience, in a sing- and play-along led by Billy Bragg. Large signs showing chords for each song will be held up on stage as a guide. Here's what it looked like when Bragg led a Big Busk at London's Southbank Centre: Southbank Centre Big Busk video. A group rehearsal for participating guitarists will take place in the afternoon of July 27, and then anyone who brings an acoustic guitar will be invited to busk, performing his/her own material, at designated spots around Lincoln Center's plazas, before concert time. Opening for the Big Busk that evening is The Black Earth Boys featuring Juldeh Camara a new, Afro-Blues-world-roots trio that also includes 2/3 of Les Triaboliques, Justin Adams (guitarist for Robert Plant and producer of Tinariwen) and Ben Mandelson (3 Mustaphas 3, Billy Bragg and the Blokes).

To kick off the process, Billy Bragg has recorded a video explaining the Big Busk to his fans (posted at https://www.youtube.com/user/LCBigBusk), along with a sample of him singing "Me and Bobby McGee", and footage from a recent London rehearsal and performance. For more artist info visit: www.billybragg.co.uk/

A few suggestions
Feel free to choose songs from any style, genre, or era-but so everyone can have fun playing along, the songs should: be familiar songs most people will know the lyrics to; use simple chords guitarists of all levels can play; and include no more than three or four chords. Acoustic guitars only if you want to solo busk and/or perform with the group on July 27. Big Busks in London have included such songs as The Troggs' "Wild Thing," The Monkees' "Daydream Believer," The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset," Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," and Bragg's own "A New England."

Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2011 runs from July 27 to August 14 and includes more than 100 free performances taking place across the plazas of Lincoln Center. More than ten premieres and debuts highlight the three weeks, which have a strong streak of soul, funk and R&B running through them, with generous helpings of jazz, gospel, world, American roots and new music, star turns by giants of their genres-Mavis Staples, Malkit Singh, Laurie Anderson, Tan Dun-and great contemporary dance.

About Lincoln Center Out of Doors
Inaugurated in 1971 under director of community programming Leonard Depaur, Out of Doors began as a small festival of street theater, in collaboration with Everyman Theater (co-founded by actress Geraldine Fitzgerald.) Former Lincoln Center President John Mazzola's vision was "to bring the community to Lincoln Center and bring Lincoln Center to the community." Gradually expanding to include music and dance performances, the re-christened Lincoln Center Out of Doors has grown into one of the largest free performance festivals in the U.S. Over its 41-year history, Out of Doors has commissioned nearly 95 works from composers and choreographers and presented hundreds of major dance companies, renowned world-music artists, and legendary jazz, folk, gospel, blues and rock musicians, many under the auspices of its popular "Roots of American Music" mini-festival, and poets and storytellers as part of the annual "La Casita." It has highlighted the rich cultural diversity of New York City with performances by established ensembles and up-and-coming groups and has partnered with dozens of community and cultural organizations including the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center, Brooklyn Arts Council, Bronx Council on the Arts, Center for Traditional Music and Dance, the Chinese American Arts Council, Americas Society, and Dancing in the Streets.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE and take place on the Lincoln Center campus-Hearst Plaza/Barclays Capital Grove, Damrosch Park, Josie Robertson Plaza, and Broadway Plaza and the David Rubenstein Atrium-located between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues, West 65th Street to West 62nd Street.

Visit LCOutofDoors.org for complete schedule or call 212-875-5766 to request a brochure.

Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2011 is sponsored by Bloomberg and PepsiCo.

Additional support is provided by Toyota, Disney, Zabar's and Zabars.com, Abraham Perlman Foundation, The Weininger Foundation, Inc., Amtrak, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Boise Convention and Visitors Bureau, New England Foundation for the Arts, Great Performers Circle, Chairman's Council, the Friends of Lincoln Center, and Young Patrons of Lincoln Center.

Public support for Out of Doors 2011 is provided by New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Kate D. Levin, Commissioner and New York State Council on the Arts.

Operation of Lincoln Center's public plazas is supported in part with public funds provided by the City of New York.

Endowment support is provided by PepsiCo.

Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

United Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center, Inc.

First Republic Bank is the Official Sponsor of the Fashion Lincoln Center Online Experience.

MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

"Summer at Lincoln Center" is sponsored by Diet Pepsi and The Wall Street Journal.

Lincoln Center Out of Doors is a presentation of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. (LCPA), which serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include Great Performers, American Songbook, Lincoln Center Festival, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Live From Lincoln Center. In addition, LCPA is leading a series of major capital projects on behalf of the resident organizations.

Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375.