The Founder of Fort Greene Fest

After sensing that the artistic character of the neighborhood needed to be preserved, Peter Tulloch created one of the most star-studded free concerts in the borough.

June 25 will mark the fifth year of Tulloch's Fort Greene Fest, which has featured marquee names like Common, Erykah Badu and Mos Def.

“There aren’t too many neighborhoods in the city that actually feel like a neighborhood. This one does,” said Tulloch. “With that in mind the festival was born…an event where everyone can get together and realize their mutual interests.”

Tulloch moved to Fort Greene in the mid-1990s from Jamaica, where his next-door neighbor growing up was the bass player for Bob Marley — the instrument that Tulloch plays for a living.

In fact, Tulloch has played with an assortment of musicians that would make for a heck of a concert bill: C+C Music Factory, Reel 2 Real, and El General.

“There was a time when seven out of 10 people you would run into on the street were involved in the arts,” he said. “Rosie Perez would be walking her dogs, Biggie Smalls was over on Carlton [Avenue] and Spike Lee would be on the street shooting a movie.”

But that scene didn't last forever. As prices in the neighborhood rose and artists began going elsewhere, Tulloch came up with the idea of a food, film and music festival that would highlight all that Fort Greene had to offer while also nurturing the community.

Now the event is more important than ever, he said.

"When that arena [the Barclays Center] is built who knows how many artists are still going to be around!" Tulloch said. "We have to do 'branding' to a certain extent."

Plenty of changes are on the horizon, but Tulloch has already fallen victim to rising rents in the neighborhood.

He had to close his music studio at DeKalb Avenue and Cumberland Street, called Output Studio, in 2006.

"I got priced out!" he said with a laugh.