The Downtown Ithaca Alliance is thrilled to officially announce the Surprise Guest Artist for the CFCU Summer Concert Series. Hip hop legend Talib Kweli will be taking the stage at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on the newly redesigned Ithaca Commons on Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM. The concert will be free, all ages, and rain or shine. This very special installment comes with talent support from GreenStar Natural Foods Co-op and the Cornell Hip Hop Collection.
Hailing from Park Slope, Brooklyn, Kweli made his underground debut in 1995 and in the ensuing two decades has earned global recognition as one of the most lyrically gifted and socially aware rappers on the scene. He is also well known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow Brooklynite Mos Def in their East Coast rap duo Black Star, as well as his genre-bending collaborations with the likes of Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Justin Timberlake, Norah Jones, and Gary Clark, Jr.
Confirmation of Kweli’s upcoming performance in downtown Ithaca comes just days after a surprise album drop; Kweli surprised fans with a twelve-track compilation of rarities and B-sides titled Train of Thought. His most recent studio album, Gravitas, garnered four-star reviews from XXL and HipHopDX and charted on the Billboard 200.
Recent tracks by Kweli have been added to the CFCU Summer Concert Series playlist at bit.ly/SummerConcertSeriesPlaylist. For more updates on the concert, keep in touch via Facebook (/downtownithaca), Instagram (@downtownithaca), Twitter (@downtownithaca), and our new iPhone app (available via PocketSights on the iTunes App Store).
The CFCU Summer Concert Series is a program of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance (Ithaca Downtown Business Improvement District, Inc.), a State of New York chartered 501c3 not-for-profit organization charged with the revitalization, development, promotion, and management of downtown Ithaca. Other series sponsors include Green Street Pharmacy, The Haunt, The Dock, Six Mile Creek Winery, Seneca Beverage Company, and Cornell Community Relations
