We are delighted to announce our Summerstage event for 2009 as it is one of the highlights in our calendar each year. Previously, we have been honored to present the likes of Femi Kuti, Seu Jorge, Jamie Lidell, Janelle Monáe and Gilles Peterson.

This year promises to be really special. We have the legendary Q-Tip headlining with his full live band, new boys Chester French, Sweden's Little Dragon and from London, holding it down on the decks, Benji B.

Expect, as always, a great day of eclectic music, Giant Step's vibes and the beautiful people that you can only find in a city as diverse as New York.

Q-Tip
Modern hip hop and R&B music can both arguably be divided into pre- and post-A Tribe Called Quest, and the musical efforts of its lead MC and producer Kamaal Ibn John Fareed - better known to the world as Q-Tip. ATCQ's 1990 debut, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, introduced Q-Tip's iconoclast stance. In 1999, he dropped his first solo album Amplified, featuring the career-defining hip pop hits "Vivrant Thing" and "Breathe and Stop." Produced primarily by Q-Tip with plenty of live instrumentation and a love fixation, 2008's The Renaissance marks the return of one of the most recognizable voices and individualist figures in all of hip hop.



Chester French
A they, not a he, consisting of young friends D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey, Chester French seek to prove that pop music can be at once challenging and accessible. And with their debut album Love the Future, the duo has made a bold statement that's as delightful as it is ambitious. The glorious "She Loves Everybody" mixes sensibilities equally drawing on Motown and power-pop.



Little Dragon
Led by Yukimi Nagano, an American/Japanese/Swedish vocalist who's sung with Koop and José González, Gothenberg's Little Dragon bands together her childhood friends Håkan Wirenstrand on keys, Fredrik Wallin on bass and Erik Bodin on drums. With an amazing live set and an absolutely essential self-titled debut album (released in Japan and Europe), Little Dragon's R&B-influenced electronica is simply marvelous. Their sophomore album, Machine Dreams, is due out in August.

Download "Fortune" (via IM // UR) (right-click, save as)



Benji B
Benji B is a highly influential British DJ and radio presenter with a weekly radio show, Deviation on BBC 1Xtra. Benji's DJ sets blend tunes from various genres of underground soul music from broken beats, hip hop, deep house, UK garage, jazz, soul and Detroit techno.

Q-Tip's MySpace  |  Chester French's MySpace  |  Little Dragon's MySpace  |  Benji B's MySpace