There Goes the Neighborhood, TV On The Radio’s one-day music festival was an evening of laughter, joy, dancing, and much needed community in Brooklyn. It was billed as “A celebration of community, music, arts & culture in Brooklyn through the eyes of TV on the Radio”. The band of long-time Brooklyn fame curated a strong lineup of musicians, with comedian Hannibal Burress emcee-ing the event. The event took place at the concrete jungle of a venue Under the K Bridge, a unique outdoor stage nestled beneath the Kosciuszko bridge overpass with local food trucks and park space, full of Brooklyn charm.

The first performance of the festival started around 5pm as experimental pop artist SPELLLING, took the stage. Singer Tia Cabral performed many songs from her recent album Portrait of My Heart as fans began to fill up the venue. The was the first of many to thank TV on the Radio for organizing such a special event and inviting her to perform.

Hannibal Burress took on the role host in between musical performances, addressing the crowd and riffing while the next artists’ team set up the stage. He kept the audience’s spirits high between sets and performed jokes about the venue, and the city of New York. Burress told the crowd he had recently moved back to the city and bought a nightlife venue, which he said would host an afterparty after the festival concluded.

Moor Mother was the second group to perform, led by their frontwoman, poet and activist Camae Ayewa. The group began their set with an electric guitar riff of the US national anthem, subverted with political statements spoken over the instrumentation. Their performance style was unique and haunting in the giant concrete venue, with trumpets, synths, and poetic rhyming spoken words echoing over the crowd. The group’s ambient instrumentals included trumpet, harp, a conch shell, and an instrument shaped like an animal horn. Ayewa expressed her gratitude for the event saying “What a beautiful day to be together. We forget how powerful we are together.” Her poetic lyrics echoed this sentiment as well, often addressing the power of the people in fighting against a corrupt authority.

As the crowd under the bridge continued to grow, Sudan Archives was the next artist to perform. The multi-talented artist is known for her signature violin playing combined with her powerful singing voice. She performed solo but made full use of the stage, prancing and twirling around the space with a quiver of violin bows on her back and a violin on her shoulder. Sudan Archives performed songs from her upcoming third album, THE BPM, which will be released on October 17th. She also treated her fans to some songs from her previous album, including one of her biggest hits Selfish SouI. As if the stage itself was still not enough space for her performance, she also ran into the audience and joined her fans on the barricade while singing her song Freakalizer. As the sun set, the event started to feel more like a big block party in the unconventional venue.

Sudan Archives at There Goes The Neighborhood Festival September 13 2025 by Bobby Nichola lll

Hannibal Burress did nearly half an hour of stand up before the next artist came on, and even incorporated the on-stage screen into his set. Hannibal talked about his love of all music, especially international music in languages he doesn’t speak. He played clips of a catchy Thai performance by a group of children, and played a clip from a song he recently recorded, seemingly titled “I’m the Tallest Person at this Mexican Party”. An unspoken comedic touch to Hannibal’s hoisting was that he had on a different shirt each time he came on stage, including merch from SPELLLING and TV On The Radio.

The penultimate act of the festival was the DJ Flying Lotus, the stage name of filmmaker, producer, and musician, Steven Ellison. Ellison played his tracks from the center of a large LED screen on the stage that showed stylistic animations and illustrations. Now that the sun had set, the concrete venue seemed to transform once again to an underground nightclub, with booming electronic beats, and thousands of bodies in motion.

When TV On the Radio finally took the stage for their headlining performance, energy in the crowd was at its highest. The crowd was awash in nostalgia for 2003 as the band kicked off their set with one of their oldest songs, Young Liars. TV On the Radio has been a band for nearly 25 years, and after taking a few years off of performing before the pandemic, made their return to touring in 2024. Their unique blend of early 200’s indie rock, r&b and post-punk is perfectly suited for live performance, and allows for a good variety of pacing and instrumentation throughout their set. The band re-released their debut record Desperate Youth, Bloodthirty Babes in 2024 as they kicked off their new era of touring and performing as a group again. Towards the beginning of the set, one of the vocalists explained his gratitude for the band’s long-running career. He said “That’s what happens when you get old you can invite everyone in. Everyone performing tonight is someone I’ve wanted to hear for so long.” Similar to other artists of the evening, many of TV On the Radio’s songs have themes of empowering their listeners and fighting for what’s right. Front-man Tunde Adebimpe introduced a song by saying “this song is against facism.

Well they’re all against facism” to enthusiastic audience applause. He also expressed support for a number of pressing current-day causes like immigration, and protecting our neighbors right here in Brooklyn. One of the most energetic songs of their set was the punk rock hit Wolf Like Me, during which the audience was full of flailing arms and joyful singing.

Words by Kimmy Curry
Photography by Bobby Nicholas lll

Flying Lotus at There Goes The Neighborhood Festival September 13 2025 by Bobby Nichola lll

TV On the Radio is currently on tour through the rest of the fall. Order tickets HERE