Patti LaBelle headlines BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! benefit concert
TheGrio...
Labelle was honored with a proclamation before treating fans to decades of R&B and soul classics.
Patti Labelle, known as “The Godmother of Soul,” returned to Brooklyn Friday night as the headliner for the annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Benefit Concert, where music, community and culture took center stage.
The event was held at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park to celebrate the nonprofit’s 47th season serving communities across New York City. Ahead of her performance, LaBelle, 82, was presented with a special honor recognizing her contributions to music and culture.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, New York Attorney General Letitia James and several other current and former elected officials joined BRIC President Wes Jackson in presenting LaBelle with a proclamation from the Office of the Public Advocate recognizing her decades-long career and enduring legacy, according to an official news release.
The Philadelphia native opened her set with the 1991 gospel-R&B classic “When You’ve Been Blessed” before transitioning into fan favorites including “If You Asked Me To,” “Somebody Loves You” and “If Only You Knew.” Throughout the performance, audience members stood, sang along and danced as LaBelle performed hits spanning decades of her career.
LaBelle’s performance also featured “Love, Need and Want You,” “The Right Kinda Lover,” “On My Own,” “Isn’t It a Shame,” “Music Is My Life,” “Talk About Love,” “Let ‘Em Know,” a medley of “You Are My Friend” and “Over the Rainbow,” before closing with her signature hit, “Lady Marmalade.”
MORERNBPLEASE, the New York City-based day-and-night party series, opened the show and kept the crowd energized between sets with a mix of classic and contemporary R&B and hip-hop.
Lady Wray, the critically acclaimed retro-soul singer, later took the stage, performing hits including “Piece of Me,” “Under the Sun,” “Melody” and “You’re the One.”
Friday’s show was one of three ticketed benefit concerts in the 2026 BCB! season. Proceeds support BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!’s free summer programming and the broader range of free-to-low-cost initiatives offered by BRIC Arts & Media year-round for the Brooklyn community.
BRIC is a New York City nonprofit arts and media organization that has supported artists and communities through performances, media and educational programs for nearly 50 years. The evening celebrated that mission while honoring LaBelle, whose decades-long career continues to bring generations of fans together through music.