Thanks to all of our fantastic Parks, New Yorkers have plenty of choices for where to spend time outdoors during the warm weather months. And besides enjoying picnics, games or just lounging, you can also hear some incredible music performances in NYC Parks this summer, and all for free.
Many cultural institutions partner with local Parks to bring musical sounds to the public when the weather warms up, and so many have recently been announced that we had to put them all in one, easy-to-read spot so you can start planning out your summer.
Here are all of the free concerts coming to NYC this summer (so far!), outdoors:
Bryant Park, “Picnic Performances”
Various dates June 1 – September 14 beginning at 7 p.m., the Lawn
June
- June 01 – New York City Opera: La Bohème – 7pm
- June 02 – Jazzmobile: Steve Oquendo Latin Jazz Orchestra- 7pm
- June 08 – Contemporary Dance: Robin Dunn and more TBA – 7pm
- June 09 – Contemporary Dance: Artists TBA- 7pm
- June 15 – Contemporary Dance: Terk Lewis + Kayla Farrish- 7pm
- June 16 – Contemporary Dance: Soles of Duende + Josh Johnson – 7pm
- June 23 – Emerging Music Festival: THUS LOVE, Psymon Spine, Katy Kirby – 7pm
- June 24 – Emerging Music Festival: Ky Vöss, Seramic, Miss Grit, Dead T00th – 5pm
- June 30 – Jalopy Theatre: Michael Daves Quartet ft. Tony Trischka, Yacouba Sissoko, Terrell King – 7pm
July
- July 07 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – 7pm
- July 14 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Tessa Lark + Michael Thurber – 7pm
- July 21 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Magos Herrera featuring The Knights – 7pm
- July 28 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Champe-Soukous Collective – 7pm
August
- August 03 – Ailey Moves NYC: Ailey II – 7pm
- August 04 – Carnegie Hall Citywide: Ndlovu Youth Choir – 7pm
- August 18 – New York City Opera: The Barber of Seville – 7pm
- August 19 – New York City Opera: Alessandro Lora in Concert – 7pm
- August 25 – Accordions Around the World: Diana Burco, Suistamon Sähkö, Ragini Ensemble – 7pm
- August 26 – Roulette Intermedium: 75 Dollar Bill, Ka Baird, Additional Artist TBA – 7pm
September
- September 01 – Classical Theatre of Harlem: Langston in Harlem – 7pm
- September 07 – American Symphony Orchestra: American Expressions – 7pm
- September 08 – New York City Opera: Romeo and Juliet – 7pm
- September 09 – Drom: Gaye Su Akyol (U.S. Debut) – 7pm
- September 14 – Harlem Stage: 40th Anniversary Celebration – 7pm
See more info on their website here.
Hudson River Park
This season three different types of musical events will be offered: Sunset on the Hudson, Jazz at Pier 84, and the Blues BBQ Festival.
Sunset on the Hudson
A free series featuring both established and emerging NYC artists across a broad range of genres. Enjoy this music at 7 p.m. at Pier 45 (West Village) on the following days:
- Every Friday (June 2 – September 1)
Jazz at Pier 84
Listen to smooth tunes in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America. Catch the show at 7 p.m. at Pier 84 (Hell’s Kitchen) on the following dates:
- Every Wednesday (May 31 – August 30)
Blues BBQ Festival, Pier 76 at W 34 St.
Head to the fan-favorite Blues BBQ Festival for beer, BBQ, and blues music. The lineup features artists such as Jackie Venson, Dwayne Dopsie, and Walter Wolfman Washington.
- August 19 / 1p.m. / Pier 76
You can find out more specifics on their website here.
New York Philharmonic, “Concert in the Parks”
- Tuesday, June 13 at 8:00 p.m.: Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx. Enter the park from Broadway, near West 251st Street. Concert site is north of the baseball fields.
- Wednesday, June 14 at 8:00 p.m.: Central Park, Great Lawn, Manhattan. Great Lawn, Central Park, Manhattan. Westside entrances: West 81st or 86th Streets at Central Park West. Eastside entrances: East 79th or 85th Streets at Fifth Avenue
- Thursday, June 15 at 8:00 p.m.: Cunningham Park, Queens. Enter at 193rd Street, near 81st Avenue or Union Turnpike. Concert site is at 193rd Street Field.
- Friday, June 16 at 8:00 p.m.: Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Enter at Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park West at 9th Street, or Bartel-Pritchard Circle at the intersection of Prospect Park West, Prospect Park Southwest, and 15th Street.
- Sunday, June 18 at 4:00 p.m.: St. George Theatre, Staten Island
Hudson Yards, “Backyard at Hudson Yards”
Wednesday at 6 p.m., June 21st – August 9th, in the Public Square & Gardens
Here’s just a sneak peek at the artist lineup so far:
- June 21st – Geese
- June 28th – Thuy
- August 2nd – The 502s
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Americana Music Festival
This music event is an all-day family-friendly event of free live music that includes country, folk, blues, jazz, and more, while celebrating LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists. This event will take place the weekend of Saturday, June 24 from 3 p.m. – 10 p.m. at Pier 6 Liberty Lawn.
Stay tuned for the artist line-up and schedule.
Sounds at Sunset
For Brooklyn Bridge Park’s 2023 Sounds at Sunset series enjoy music from an exciting and eclectic lineup.
Stay tuned for the artist line-up and schedule.
Lincoln Center, “Summer for the City”
- Arun Ramamurthy Trio: fusing South Indian Carnatic classical and contemporary jazz into an unpredictably lively instrumental storm of sound: Wednesday, June 7, 7:30p.m. – David Rubenstein Atrium
- Second Moon: One of South Korea’s best known folk pop bands: Thursday, June 8, 7:30 p.m. – David Rubenstein Atrium
- You Are My Friend: A Concert Tribute to Sylvester: This joyous tribute features musical guests like folk musician Anjimile; club/dance music icon Kevin Aviance; golden-voiced house and dance music hitmaker Inaya Day; Grammy-nominated recording artist and Broadway performer Mykal Kilgore; singer-songwriter Dawn Richard; and Chicago house music legend Byron Stingily: Thursday, June 15, 7 p.m. – Damrosch Park
This is just a taste! You can see the full schedule on the Summer for the City website here.
SummerStage
June
- June 3 – HIPPO CAMPUS WITH GUS DAPPERTON
- June 4 –INDIGO GIRLS / LARKIN POE
- June 10 – OPENING NIGHT: ST. PAUL AND THE BROKEN BONES / SAY SHE SHE / MWENSO & THE SHAKES / DJ ALISA ALI
- June 14 – NEW YORK SINGS YIDDISH! THE KLEZMATICS AND SPECIAL GUESTS
- June 15 – SAMMY RAE & THE FRIENDS / RUBBLEBUCKET
- June 17 – THE AUSSIE BBQ: 1300 / AMY SHARK / BUDJERAH / L-FRESH THE LION / PEACH PRC / SPIDERBAIT
- June 18 – BUDDY GUY DAMN RIGHT FAREWELL TOUR / CHRISTONE KINGFISH INGRAM / SAMANTHA FISH / SPECIAL GUEST BOBBY RUSH
- PARK JAMS: A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION OF HIP-HOP
- June 19 – PARK JAMS: A JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION OF HIP-HOP
- June 20 – THE METROPOLITAN OPERA SUMMER RECITAL FEATURING GABRIELLA REYES, RENÉ BARBERA, WILL LIVERMAN, AND DIMITRI DOVER
- June 23 – THE METROPOLITAN OPERA SUMMER RECITAL FEATURING GABRIELLA REYES, RENÉ BARBERA, WILL LIVERMAN, AND DIMITRI DOVER
- June 24 – STANLEY CLARKE N 4EVER / KENNY GARRETT / BRANDEE YOUNGER / DJ LOGIC
- June 25 – (SOLD OUT) DREAMLAND: PRIDE IN CENTRAL PARK WITH PURPLE DISCO MACHINE
- June 26 – THE METROPOLITAN OPERA SUMMER RECITAL FEATURING ERIKA BAIKOFF, THOMAS GLASS, CIERRA BYRD, JUAN JOSÉ LÁZARO
- MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD / TANK & THE BANGAS
- June 28 – MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD / TANK & THE BANGAS
- June 30 – THE METROPOLITAN OPERA SUMMER RECITAL FEATURING ERIKA BAIKOFF, THOMAS GLASS, CIERRA BYRD, JUAN JOSÉ LÁZARO
This is just a taste! You can see the full schedule on the SummerStage website here.
Bric Celebrate Brooklyn!
June
- June 7 – Taj Mahal | Corinne Bailey Rae | The Harlem Gospel Travelers
- June 10 – Family Day: Soul Science Lab | Olivia K and The Parkers
- June 15 – Jake Wesley Rogers | Kara Jackson | Bright Light Bright Light
- June 17 – Juneteenth UNITYFEST 2023
- June 23 – Antonio Sanchez: Birdman Live | Takuya Kuroda
- June 24 – Benefit Concert: NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) | Robert Glasper with Lalah Hathaway & Bilal | BJ The Chicago Kid
- June 25 – BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! at Highland Park
July
- July 1 – Ibrahim Maalouf | Hermanos Gutiérrez | Little Moon
- July 8 – Kelela | Liv.e
- July 13 – Rennie Harris | Decora
- July 14 – Oumou Sangare | Vox Sambou
- July 15 – Marcia Griffiths | Brown Rice Family | Dj Miss Hap Selam
- July 21 – The Chelsea Symphony feat. Lady Jess | Lucrecia Dalt
- July 22 – Ali Sethi | Raja Kumari | Roshni Samlal
- July 27 – The Wallflowers | treya lam
- July 29 – Rickie Lee Jones | Thornetta Davis | Chris Pierce
August
- Aug 3 – Jorge Drexler | Cimafunk | Julieta Rada
- Aug 4 – Indigo De Souza | Vundabar
- Aug 10 – Benefit Concert: The Revivalists and Band of Horses
- Aug 11 & Aug 12 – BRIC Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary Weekend
- Aug 18 – iLe | Divino Niño | Sara Curruchich
- Aug 19 – John Cale | Tomberlin
- Aug 22 & Aug 23 – Benefit Concert: Alex G and Alvvays
- Aug 24 – Closing Night: The Head And The Heart | Izzy Heltai
Learn more on BRIC’s website.