Peggy Olson Loves Herself Some Sigur Rós

This photo of Escape to Witch Mountain star Elisabeth Moss was taken last night at The Bandshell in Prospect Park, where ethereal ambiance machine Sigur Rós played as part of the ongoing Celebrate Brooklyn series. Did anyone else catch the blonde Mad Men beauty hanging out at the show?

[Via Reddit]

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CELEBRATE BROOKLYN ARTISTS: WILD FLAG AND MISSION OF BURMA

Wild Flag (via smilepolitely.com)

Everyone, put on your rock sunglasses -- or whatever clothing item you wear for the rockness (punk underwear? devil beanie?). Celebrate Brooklyn brings the power chords and downbeats to Prospect Park this Friday with the alt-rock supergroupdom of Wild Flag, and the sweet post-punk of Mission of Burma. NYC punk veteran Ted Leo opens.

But seriously, the dream of the '90's is alive and well here. Wild Flag is a supergroup that actually works, formed from the alt-indie milieu of bands that hit post-Cobain. Carrie Brownstein, who's also pretty great at putting birds on things, fronts the band. Those of you who wore flannel when it was first cool, though, will remember her from Sleater-Kinney, a riot grrrl group out of Olympia, WA formed in '94. Drummer Janet Weiss also hit skins for Sleater-Kinney, and later for indie-idol Conor Oberst and Pavement front-man Stephen Malkmus. The other members, all friends before starting the band, also hail from indie and post-punk groups. Here they are rocking "Future Crimes" in their natural setting (Portland):

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What You Should Know About Celebrate Brooklyn Artist: The Head and the Heart

If you’ve got Feelings (that’s "Feelings" with a capital F, which aren’t to be confused with mere "feelings"), then you’ll probably want to check out The Head and the Heart  play a free show (alongside Lost in the Trees) at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park this upcoming Friday. 

The Seattle-based Head and the Heart has developed quite a following since its formation in 2009, and not just because the band’s name reminds me of a fantastic 30 Rock episode (synopsis: Liz and Jenna “switch” roles when they discover that the tall, handsome man in the elevator with a full head of hair is attracted to plain, thin-lipped Liz and not blonde, hottie Jenna). The Head and the Hair’s success is likely due to their aural mixture of intellect and emotion. And although I’m not sure pensive music videos and throwback arrangements actually equal real sentiment, this band is pretty pleasant on the ears (even if it might just be all surface). I’m guessing their live show on Friday will be pretty pleasant as well.

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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CELEBRATE BROOKLYN ARTIST: CALLE 13

via hispanicallyyours.com

Celebrate Brooklyn keeps the world music flowing after last week's Souad Masi show with an act a little closer to the US -- and a lot closer to NYC. This Friday, Calle 13 will bring some highly-acclaimed Latin American reggaeton/hip-hop straight from Puerto Rico. You've seen the triangle-encased, one-starred flag. You've heard reggaeton's characteristic (some might say annoyingly repetitive) "Dem bow" beat spewing from the MOST AWESOME cars in Brooklyn. These guys have won a record 19 Latin American Grammy awards, and New York is ready for them.

Calle 13, thankfully, expands on that sound, drawing on musical influences from across Latin America and beyond. In their more recent discs, you'll hear Mexican horns, Egyptian and Western strings, and West African music. Off of their 2010's album, "Entren Los Que Quieran," the single "La Perla" highlights the expanded Latin American influences, featuring Panamanian "sonero" singer Ruben Blade: 

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What You Should Know About Celebrate Brooklyn Artist: Souad Massi

via noise.cz

It's not just the countless opportunities to pen passive-aggressive blog posts about strollers: we're lucky to live in Park Slope. Fr'instance, Celebrate Brooklyn brings to the steps of our brownstones one of the best world-music series in the country. That means if we're open to it, we get exposed to talented musicians who aren't even Minnesota transplants to Brooklyn! We get artists like Souad Massi, the genre-bending, courageously political singer-songwriter from Algeria who will occupy (vague political reference!) the bandshell Saturday (doors, 6:30, free show, $3 suggested donation per usual).

Let's start with the sound: Massi's got a malleable voice, stretching from the low, sultry whisper of a love song to stuff calling for some pipes. My female-singer-crush vibes got going pretty quick on first listen. Massi's vocal range works atop a perhaps even more impressive array of musical influences, with  instrumentation, rhythms, and sounds from across the globe -- Algerian and Andalusian musical foundations, Western classical strings, flamenco guitars, and flourishes of Indian and African traditions. Check out the sultry sound of 2003's "Ghir Enta," her vocals enriched by the mysterious quality of the deep drum sounds:

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