Free live outdoor music (and dance, and theater) are one of the key elements that make New York City summers worth the wait through the long winter. For the past six months you hunkered down and hibernated in your apartment with fleeting amounts of vitamin D and ever-growing heat bills, contemplating moves to warmer climates and cheaper towns and now it has paid off: City Parks Foundation has released this year’s SummerStage lineup, and it’s reliably filled with big and small acts spanning the genres to perform across the boroughs for the affordable price of free.
This year there will be over 100 performances in 16 neighborhood parks, only three of which are in Brooklyn: Dumbo’s Brooklyn Bridge Park, Red Hook’s Coffey Park, and Brownsville’s Betsy Head Park. There are only shows in Brooklyn in the months of June and July, although SummerStage spans May to September.
Highlights from the beyond Brooklyn lineup contingent include They Might Be Giants, Young the Giant with special guests Cold War Kids and Joywave (ticketed, $45), GZA, Regina Spektor (ticketed, $55), UCB All Stars feat. Sasheer Zamata, Mon Laferte / Princess Nokia, Yo La Tengo and PJ Harvey (ticketed, $49.50).
Here’s who City Parks has lined up for us this year in Brooklyn (all shows listed below are free):
_______
JUNE
The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Dumbo
Wednesday, June 14, 7 to 9pm
Digable Planets
Coffey Park, Red Hook
Wednesday, June 21, 6 to 9pm
Margaret Glaspy / Alexander F
Coffey Park, Red Hook
Thursday, June 22, 7 to 9pm
Just Blaze
Coffey Park, Red Hook
Friday, June 23, 7 to 9pm
Denzel Curry
Coffey Park, Red Hook
Saturday, June 24, 5 to 7pm
KRS-One / DJ Chuck Chillout
Coffey Park, Red Hook
Sunday, June 25, 4 to 7pm
Rare Essence with special guest DJ Kool / Felix Hernandez Rythm Revue
Betsy Head Park, Brownsville
Wednesday, June 28, 7 to 9pm
Vivian Green / Music with a Message / GrandWizzard Theodore
Betsy Head Park, Brownsville
Thursday, June 29, 6 to 9pm
Ginuwine / Boogie Blind
Betsy Head Park, Brownsville
Friday, June 30, 7 to 9pm
________
JULY
Everyday People
Betsy Head Park, Brownsville
Saturday, July 1, 6 to 9pm
DJ Premier and Friends
Betsy Head Park, Brownsville
Sunday, July 2, 7 to 9pm