Turkish Music in NYC: Istanbulive 3
Turkish music in New York Central Park
Turkish music will be showcased in New York third year in a row on Friday, June 17. The concert will be held in Central Park SummerStage and this time, unlike the first two concerts in 2009 and 2010, it will be an evening concert starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 10:00pm. The admission will be free and music fans are advised to arrive early, as crowds are expected.
Turkish music: From Istanbul to New York
This year’s Istanbulive concert will feature the renowned Turkish singer Zulfu Livaneli and the Turkish alternative rock band maNga from Istanbul, joined by New York’s own NY Gypsy All Stars that recently returned from a very successful tour in Turkey. Zulfu Livaneli has been singing traditional Turkish folk rhythms for four decades and is also a political figure in Turkey. This will be maNga’s first New York appearance, although the Turkish band has loyal fans in both Turkey and all across Europe. 2009 and 2010 marked two consecutive successful years for maNga’s music career and the group extended its fan base outside of Turkey with the Best European Act Award by MTV Europe in 2009 and the impressive second place ranking at the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest in 2010. maNga successfully blends Anatolian melodies with rock and electronic music.
Serdar Ilhan and Mehmet Dede, the two founders and producers of Istanbulive concert series, showcased Turkish music in New York very successfully in 2009 and 2010 and approximately 12,000 New Yorkers combined attended the first two concerts. The first Istanbulive concert in 2009 featured the all time favorite Turkish band Mazhar Fuat Ozkan and the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest winner Sertab Erener, and over 6,000 music fans stayed till the very end of the hours long concert despite the pouring rain. The following year, Istanbulive 2 featured the Turkish pop singer Kenan Dogulu and the Turkish rock band Duman from Istanbul. The success of the first two concerts promises Istanbulive 3 to be a good showcase of Turkish music and culture in NY this year as well.
Turkish Music Concert in Central Park
Summerstage in Central Park
The countdown has started for this weekend’s Turkish music concert at Central Park Summerstage. The concert, which the Turkish American community has been looking forward to after last year’s successful first concert, will start at 3:00 pm on Saturday, July 3rd and will feature some famous singers and bands from Turkey, including Kenan Dogulu, Duman, Ilhan Ersahin and Sukriye Tutkun. Last year’s concert was a huge success with close to 7,000 Turkish music fans and most people sang with Mazhar Fuat Ozkan for hours despite the pouring rain.
Istanbulive II, the official name of this year’s concert organization, presented by Serdar Ilhan and Mehmet Dede, is intended to bring the sounds and colors of Istanbul, the 2010 European Capital of Culture, and Turkey to New York. Please check out the below given website for more information on this Turkish cultural event: