Photo by Kieran Frost via Redferns
Weekend Guide: yaeji, Playback, The New York Comedy Festival, and More
Plus: Benji B at Public Records, Brooklyn Folk Festival at St. Ann's, and Second Sundays at Pioneer Works
Something must be in the air, as this weekend brings us not one but two giant festivals (along with the debut of one that could prove to be a future institution). There’s the New York Comedy Festival (with shows all over the city), the Brooklyn Folk Festival, and Playback, the newcomer at BAM that’s turning Fort Greene into a giant watch party for film nerds. We’ve included selections from them all below, but make sure to dig into their full respective slates.
Beyond festivals, we’ve got everything you could possibly need this weekend. If you’re looking to understand the midterms, push musical boundaries, reminisce about peak WB televsion, or just see some adorable cats. Check it all out in the Weekend Guide, below.
Courtesy of Purgatory
Thursday, November 5
New York Times Opinion Writers Unpack the 2026 Midterm Elections @ BPL Central Library
7 p.m.
NYT op-edists will be doing a live taping of its Opinions podcast. If you need help making sense of the midterms (and honestly, who doesn’t?), you can have Michelle Cottle, David French, and Jamelle Bouie guide you through the results.
Once More, With Feeling: Live! 25th Anniversary Show @ Littlefield
8 p.m.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a huge number of unforgettable episodes, but perhaps none more memorable than when Sunnydale turned into the set of a musical with the episode “Once More, With Feeling,” which aired on November 6, 2001. Now, to celebrate the classic episode’s quarter-century birthday, you can watch a troupe of actors and a live band recreate it, either in person or via livestream.
Young Miko: Late Checkout Tour @ Barclays Center
8 p.m.
The Puerto Rican rapper brings her mix of Latin trap and reggaeton to the city’s premier arena. It’s the final date of her tour, so expect her to go all out.
Cabaret for a Cause: Back to School Night @ Purgatory
9 p.m.
LGBTQ elders will get a boost from this Thursday night benefit cabaret across the street from The Evergreens Cemetery. Pull up for a good cause and a good show, featuring local comedians and performers, with all profits going to SAGE USA.
Courtesy of Paragon
Friday, November 6
Natanya: The Attitude Tour @ Baby’s All Right
6:30 p.m.
The English singer has opened for superstars like PinkPanthress and Ravyn Lenae in big venues back home. But you can see her bring her mixture of jazz, pop, and R&B to a more intimate domestic setting tonight.
Playback Presents: Crooklyn @ Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM
7 p.m.
“Playback: The Brooklyn Watch Party” is a two-day celebration of good flicks with good stories behind them at BAM, put together by Spike Lee, Clara Wu-Tsai, and Nicholas Ma. It begins in the only way it possibly could: with a screening of Spike’s Crooklyn, followed by a talkback with Spike, Alfre Woodard, Cinqué Lee, Joie Lee, and Zelda Harris. There will also be guest curators—Questlove, John Turturro, and more, playing and discussing their favorite movies—and a closing street party right outside BAM on Saturday.
Book Launch: Bodega Cats of New York by Dan Rimada @ POWERHOUSE Arena
7 p.m.
Author Dan Rimada and photographer Gulce Kilkis have spent the past four years getting to know the bodega cats of the city (and their owners). The book Bodega Cats of New York is the result of their efforts. Come hear Rimada talk about the project.
Declan Sheehy-Moss x Toast @ Life World
7:30 p.m.
Declan Sheehy-Moss is an incredible mutli-instrumentalist and composer whose music is experimental, energetic, and genre-defying. The same can be said of guitarist Marcus Hidalgo, aka Toast. His work with guitar synths is taking his instrument into new, unexpected directions. Both of them on the same bill is sure to be a mind-blowing evening.
Yaeji’s dance dance revolution @ Paragon
10 p.m.
The Brooklyn-based DJ and producer is bringing her new single to life on Friday night with the support of some heavyweights (DJ Swisha, OSSX, and more), sourced locally and globally. It’s set to take over both floors of the Bushwick club, and the pre-game will feature an actual piece of DDR hardware installed in the venue, pre-loaded, of course, with yaeji’s propulsive hat-tip to the gaming sensation.
Frontyard FM Presents: Get on Up @ Friends and Lovers
10 p.m.
The Frontyard FM team is getting out of the garden this weekend with a new event series; great news for anyone that likes to go late in the Crown/Prospect Heights borderlands. It’s billed as “a monthly (ish) dance party featuring our favorite jazz, funk, disco, and house music,” and that sounds like a damn good way to cap the work week.
Courtesy of Public Records
Saturday, November 7
I Play Rocky with Live Q&A @ Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn
4:15 p.m.
Director Peter Farrelly and lead actor and actress Anthony Ippolita and Annasophia Robb will be on hand to screen their new film, which depicts the real-life hardships Sylvester Stallone went through to make his classic underdog story Rocky.
BRIC and The Immigrant Artist Biennial Present: Memories of Disruption @ BRIC House
5 p.m.
Emerging new media and performance artists (Ivana Dama, Lita Vinueza, Andrew Yong Hoon Lee, Maya Jeffereis, and Simon Liu and Charlie Perez-Tlatenchi) are turning BRIC into a site of disruption this weekend. They’ll show their work, centering on themes of the aftershocks of colonial and imperial intervention. The event is part of The Immigrant Artist Biennial.
Ami Taf Ra and Kamasi Washington @ Elsewhere
7 p.m.
Vocalist Ami Taf Ra and saxophonist Kamasi Washington had a very productive pandemic, working together to create Taf Ra’s most recent album, The Prophet and the Madman. The record is, Taf Ra says, a “metaphysical conversation” with Khalil Gibran, in particular his works The Madman and his best-known book The Prophet.
Seth David @ The Woodshop
11 p.m.
The Chicago producer and DJ is the inventor of what he calls “R&Bass.” He brings together 2000s-style R&B melodies with modern bass-heavy dubstep to create something all his own. Superave., AG, Badtrip, and Subsacred open up.
Benji B and Cosmo, Louise Chen and Hidden Spheres, and Francis Harris & Tal @ Public Records
11 p.m.
It’s a big night in the three main chambers of the Gowanus club complex. Benji B and Cosmo are in The Sound Room; Louise Chen and Hidden Sphere are out front in The Atrium; and Francis Harris & Tal will be holding down the decks Upstairs. Pick a door, any door; you can’t miss.
Courtesy of Pioneer Works
Sunday, November 8
Second Sundays @ Pioneer Works
Noon
After this weekend, there will be just one Second Sunday left on the calendar year. But don’t sleep on this penultimate installment of the November edition of the free all-ages monthly at Pioneer Works; there’s solargazing, a guided “Internet Walk” around Red Hook, mathematicians working through complex proofs, and whatever the “Octo-Mobile” is, along with live music and food and drinks, of course.
Composition @ Wonderville
2:30 p.m.
This unique event is a series of talks, performances, and demonstrations by people that demonstrate the intersection of music, art, math, and coding. Whether it’s a drummer using math to examine how his percussion peers groove or a math professor using calculus to get the perfect synth sound, everything you see here is guaranteed to give you a new perspective.
Josh Sharp: An Hour Of Crowd Work In The Round @ The Bell House
4 p.m.
Sharp is riding a career high, following his hit one-man show “ta-da!” Now he’s back with something completely different. As you might have guessed from the title, he’ll be doing…an hour of crowd work in the round. This show is part of the New York Comedy Festival.
Speaking of festivals, the Brooklyn Folk Festival is back. This year’s iteration has a ton of amazing shows, including a tribute to archivist Alan Lomax on Thursday that looks unmissable. Also unmissable is this bill, which brings together the man of many names, Will Oldham (aka Bonnie Prince Billy) and Doulnay, an NYC group that puts a modern spin on Turkish standards.
Coney Island Clown Skool Class Kickoff Show @ Coney Island USA
7 p.m.
Coney Island Clown Skool is a week-long intensive training program for people who are serious about being funny. This year’s iteration begins with a special show put on by alumni and instructors.
