Live Music on Pavement: Taking It to the Streets

More than 100 traditional folk, old-time, blues, roots, bluegrass and Americana musicians will perform today in a free, all-acoustic jamboree on almost 20 porches scattered throughout Governors Island. Zach Williams, Roger Manning, Jason Trachtenburg, Sean Kershaw, Phil Gammage, Cardboard Rocketship, Carl Banks, Bobby Blue the Balladeer, Rew Starr, Violizzy, Gina Healy, and Jim Flynn will be among the performers.

Now in its eighth year, Porch Stomp is an annual volunteer-run music celebration produced in association with the not-for-profit Make Music New York. Porch Stomp invites musicians to team with performing arts organizations to use the historic porches of Nolan Park as a space for performance and education. All events are free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Governors Island is accessible by ferry from Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Central Park is resuming its role as a summer music hub this year. Mayor Bill De Blasio has committed Clive Davis to book multiple marquee artists for a free music festival in the Great Lawn in Central Park on August 21. The mayor said the concert will be part of a "Homecoming Week" to celebrate the city's revitalization. No artists have been announced yet. The Global Citizen Festival also will return to Central Park's Great Lawn this year, although neither the date nor the program has been announced. SummerStage also is hosting its outdoor concerts in Central Park and other locations throughout the city.

Unlike last year, outdoor music series are plentiful this summer. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is hosting concerts with its Restart Stages program in the Damrosch Park Bandshell and Hearst Plaza. Bryant Park launched its Picnic Performances on June 9. Music on the Green concerts will happen every Wednesday from July 7 through August 11 on the Oval Lawn of Madison Square Park. Little Island began its concert series in the Amph on June 19. The Washington Square Music Festival brings free concerts to Washington Square Park in June. The Third Street Music School Settlement started its Thursday lunchtime concert series in Abe Lebewohl Park on June 24.

Musicians typically choose to play safely before friends, family and fans. In recent weeks, however, many local musicians of various genres have been playing to strangers on the streets of Manhattan. It is a rare and daring breed of musicians who are clever in finding new places to present their music and ambitious in attracting the attention of passing pedestrians. Here are some of the musicians who may stop you in your tracks as you are moving through downtown.

Josh Rubinstein at Cooper Square on June 25

Macchio + Morita with Cobra Kai outside S'Mac on June 24

Bobby Harden w. his Soul Purpose Quartet at Battery Park Plaza on June 24 (photograph by Seth Okrend)

Jane Cohen performed outside the Beacon Theatre on June 22

Dorian Lake (far right) in the graveyard outside St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery on June 20

New York Serenaders at Washington Square Park on June 20

Mimi & the Podd Brothers at Washington Square Park on June 20

Matt Cross outside the East Village Social on June 20

Anne Husick at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Gina Healy and Angello Olivieri at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

SoulCake at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Candy John at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Maya Cristina Caballero at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Susan Mitchell at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Puma Perl & Friends at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Jennifer Blowdryer at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

Kit Krash at the 6th St. & Avenue B Community Garden on June 18

EveryTing on St. Marks Place on June 5

Nostranders at Tompkins Square Park on June 18

This guitar, tuba and snare drum trio does not have a name yet, but they played on West Third Street on June 2

High and Mighty Brass along lower Second Avenue on May 14

The East Village All-Stars along First Avenue on May 27

Zack Heru in a 14th Street subway station corridor on May 15

Gonzalo Salvo on a 14th Street subway platform on May 15

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The Manhattan Beat covers New York City's live music developments as they happen. All photographs are by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise. 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 upcoming concerts for live audiences, visit The Manhattan Beat's June or July 2021 calendars.