Summer in the City: Free Outdoor Concerts Are Coming

Announced today, Bryant Park will become New York City's latest outdoor venue to present free music, dance and theater to an entertainment-starved public. From June to September, Picnic Performances will host 25 programs from some of the city’s most prominent institutions and performance groups.

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic will open Bryant Park’s summer 2021 season with four performances starting on June 9. Chris Thile, the mandolin player and Live from Here radio show host, will close the series on September 20. That final concert will celebrate the Town Hall's 100th anniversary. Pre-Covid, Thile broadcasted many of his radio shows from the Town Hall stage.

Chris Thile at a Live from Here broadcast from the Town Hall on December 7, 2019

Carnegie Hall, Harlem Stage, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, National Sawdust, and the Town Hall will be among the venues bringing talent to the park stage. The Classical Theater of Harlem, the Greenwich House Music School, the Limón Dance Company, Music from the Sole, and the New York Chinese Cultural Center are among the cultural organizations that will participate in the programming.

The full calendar will be posted in the near future. According to a New York Times article today, singers from the New York City Opera will perform a Pride concert on June 18. Elisa Monte Dance will perform on August 20 with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Tickets for all events are free but must be reserved in advance. Most events will also be live-streamed.

In accordance with current New York State regulations, attendance will be limited to 200 ticket-holders. More people will be admitted if state regulations are relaxed. Staff will conduct temperature checks and escort the ticket holders to their socially-distant seats. At present, proof of vaccinations or negative virus tests will not be required.

Locos por Juana at Bryant Park on August 1, 2018

More Free Outdoor Concerts

SummerStage announced yesterday that it would resume free concerts at the Rumsey Playfield in Central Park and Marcus Garvey Park this summer. The concerts will feature hip-hop, Latin, indie rock, jazz and global music. The programming also will include contemporary dance programs. Events will follow all state and local regulations regarding large-scale outdoor events, including limited capacity and socially distanced seating. Admittance will require a free ticket, proof of vaccine and/or negative COVID test, and on-premises wellness screenings. All in-person performances will be live-streamed on SummerStageAnywhere.org, rights permitting. The only specific program listed so far is not free, a benefit concert by Dawes at the Rumsey Playfield on September 17.

Dawes at the Beacon Theatre on February 5, 2019

A New York State-sponsored series, NY PopsUp!, will continue to host free performances with little notice, many of which will be in outdoor spaces. Some performances will have performers indoors playing to sidewalk audiences. Among the upcoming performances will be a program much like the Live from Here radio program featuring Chris Thile, members of Lake Street Dive, Louis Cato, Timo Andres and Carl Hancock Rux at the East River Park Amphitheater this coming Saturday at 2 p.m.

New York City opened applications for its Open Culture program in March, but no programs have been announced. Lincoln Center announced in February that it would present Restart Stages utilizing 10 outdoor stages, but no start date or program listings have been announced. Similarly, Little Island is said to present 300 performances beginning in June, but neither an opening date nor a performance schedule has been published.

COBU at the Theater for the New City on April 10

The Theater for the New City will close its Open 'Tho Shut series this coming Saturday afternoon. These one-hour variety shows have entertained audiences standing socially-distanced on the sidewalk. The final show will feature Phoebe Legere and Crystal Field singing “Being Who You Are," Justin Rodriguez and Natasha Velez in a musical set, Kenya Wilson reading an excerpt from a play by Alicia Foxworth, and COBU, all-female Japanese Taiko drumming and dance troupe.

Similarly, the Merkin Hall's Open Storefronts classical concerts have been happening daily from an otherwise empty storefront near Lincoln Center. They also are scheduled to close at the end of April. The schedule is revealed daily at the Kaufman Music Center website.

In Brooklyn, Industry City will have a spring series of free concerts and even yoga. The calendar can be seen here. We shall see if these events will extend into the summer months.

Musicians jamming in Washington Square Park on April 10

Max Lee (right) on bass jammed with a drummer in Washington Square Park on April 10

Washington Square Park is a magnet for musicians. The 15-piece Eyal Vilner Big Band resumed its Sunday afternoon series on April 4. Leroy Webb and Flowmingos are among the many musicians who have performed around the park's fountain in recent weeks, but these events are usually spontaneous and not announced.

Musicians have been playing impromptu performances in midtown Manhattan at Central Park and Madison Square Park. In Brooklyn, busking musicians are flocking to McCarren Park and Prospect Park.

The Eric Paulin Quintet at Tompkins Square Park on April 14

Historically, busking musicians also have gravitated to Tompkins Square Park to play for tips. Pinc Louds, the Meetles, Dirty Circuit, the Eric Paulin Quartet, Leo Coltrane, BB Y.T.K., the [Insert Name Here] Trio, Ayla Hugs, John Sully, Nora Balaban and Scott Newman have performed in various parts of the park in recent weeks.

The Shadow Press, an anarchist newspaper that has presented concerts in Tompkins Square Park for many years, has secured permits for 12 multi-artist hardcore punk and rock concerts from April to October. Madball, Murphy's Law, Bloodclot, and the Capturers will perform on April 24. Antidote NYHC, Kings Never Die, the Last Stand, Crazy Eddie, the Car Bomb Parade, and Reaching Out will perform on May 8. Urban Waste will headline on May 22. Details will be forthcoming for afternoon shows on June 13 and 26, July 10, August 7 and 8, September 11 and 25, and October 9 and 30.

Finally, there is the bar and restaurant circuit. Many restaurants still do not charge for entertainment, although is the expectation is that those in attendance will purchase food and drink. In many cases, the musicians play indoors and the public can be either indoors or outdoors. The 11th St. Bar, the Anyway Café, Baby Brasa, Cafe Wha? (outdoors), Caravan of Dreams, the Corner Bistro, Fiddlesticks Pub, Fine and Rare, the Flatiron Room, Groove, Joey Bats Café Lower East Side, the Juke Bar, Karvouna Mezze, Marshall Stack, Mona's, Pinky's Space, the Red Lion, Rue-B, and Sour Mouse NYC are among the downtown Manhattan bars and restaurants that typically do not require a cover charge for the live music. The musicians gladly accept tips, however.

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The Manhattan Beat's Everynight Charley Crespo covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. For a list of Manhattan venues that are presenting live music regularly, swing the desktop cursor to the right and click on the pop-up tab "Where to Find Live Music." For a listing of this month's upcoming live concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's calendar.