Free Summer Concerts in Glorious NYC Open-Air Locations

Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced that the City of New York will host free concerts in each of the five boroughs as part of NYC Homecoming Week. The full line-up of artists who will perform at each of the NYC Homecoming Week concerts will be announced in the coming weeks. So far, de Blasio announced only that Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Journey and Jennifer Hudson would be part of the program in Central Park.

The NYC Homecoming Week concerts schedule is as follows. The public can receive emails with updates by registering here.

• Monday, August 16th at Orchard Beach in The Bronx
• Tuesday, August 17th at Richmond County Bank Park in Staten Island
• Thursday, August 19th at Brooklyn Army Terminal in Brooklyn
• Friday, August 20th at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens
• Saturday, August 21st at The Great Lawn, Central Park in Manhattan

“Joining one of the greatest Central Park concerts in history will be momentous concerts in each borough featuring renowned artists who have made New York City proud,” said de Blasio. “It’s time to celebrate our city, support our local businesses, and have an incredible Summer of New York City.”

Free Summer Concert Series

Global Citizen also promises a major free concert in Central Park's Great Lawn on September 25. What little information is available now can be found on the website here. Meanwhile, many other free outdoor music programs are already underway. Here are some of the best New York outdoor music festivals in the summer of 2021.

SummerStage in Central Park will headline the Sun Ra Arkestra, the Originals with Slick Rick, Tito Nieves, the Funk Flex Birthday Concert with Genuwine and others, the Met Opera, Marc Rebillet, Antibalas and others. SummerStage also is presenting concerts at Marcus Garvey Park and the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk. The schedule and details can be found here.

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival will start later than usual with its concert series at the Prospect Park band shell. Ari Lennox will headline the first concert on July 31, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, Skip Marley, Junglepussy, Lido Pimienta, San Fermin, Son Little, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are among the performers at later shows. More information is available here.

Bryant Park Picnic Performances will present Chris Thile and special guests, the Knights, Adrienne Warren and Friends, Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective, Camille Thurman and the Darrell Green Quartet, the Limón Dance Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the New York City Opera, the Classical Theatre of Harlem and other events. The schedule is available here.

Little Island has several performances spaces. In late July, the Amph will host performances by Shaina Taub & Community, Phil Kaye & the Westerlies, the Missing Element, and the Afro-Latineers. The August Festival will feature 35 concerts; that schedule will be published on July 27. Little Island also presents shows in the Glade and the Play Ground. The venue's website is a bit challenging, but the calendar can be explored at this link.

Restart Stages at Lincoln Center has shows in various locations on its campus, including the Damrosch Park Bandshell, the Josie Robertson Plaza, and the Lincoln Center Theater. Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Anthony Hervey Trio, Burnt Sugar and other acts will perform until the program closes in late July. View the schedule here.

Hudson River Park hosts several music series, including Sunset on the Hudson, Jazz at Pier 84, and Contemporaneous. Alsarah and the Nubatones will appear at Pier 26, After the Storm will be at Pier 64, the Big Takeover will perform at Pier 84, Koku Gonza will sing at Pier 45, Coco & Breezy will dj at the 14th Street Park, and so on. For the full schedule, visit the website here.

The Brooklyn Public Library hosts a Classical Interludes series, featuring chamber ensembles and soloists performing classical and contemporary repertoire, and a Swing Series, which turns the library entrance at Grand Army Plaza into an outdoor dance party. See the schedule here.

Live at the Archway featured live music under the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO, curated by Jan Bell of the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival. Concerts are also presented nearby on Washington Street. The concerts are on Fridays at 5 p.m. The full schedule is here.

Madison Square Park’s Music on the Green features young musicians from Carnegie’s Ensemble Connect performing classical, folk, jazz and Latin music in the Oval Lawn on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. through August 11. For more information, visit the web page here.

The Third Street Music School has had concerts in Abe Lebewohl Park on Thursday afternoons in June and July and has one more to close out the program. The Arturo O’Farrill - Latin Jazz Group will perform on Thursday, July 29 at 12:30 p.m. Details can be found here.

The photographs on this page celebrate the free concerts that happened in downtown Manhattan during the early part of July 2021.

Sister Nancy at the Amph in Little Island on July 18

Paul Beaubrun at the Amph in Little Island on July 18

Stephanie Chou at the Glade in Little Island on July 18

Jasmine Rice LaBeija outside the Public Theatre on July 11

The Eyal Vilner Big Band at Washington Square Park on July 18

Jeremy Pelt at Marcus Garvey Park on July 9 (photograph by Seth Okrend)

Jay Hoggard at Grant's Tomb on July 14 (photograph by Seth Okrend)

The Meetles in Tompkins Square Park on July 18

The A Train at Cooper Square Plaza on July 5

The Eric Paulin Quartet at Tompkins Square Park on July 11

Scott Stenten at Tompkins Square Park on July 8

Flowmingos at Washington Square Park on July 9

The East Village All-Stars at Jackson Square on July 9

JANEX outside DuaKafe on July 10

Matt Cross outside the East Village Social on July 11

The Desmond Barrett Trio outside Cheese Grille on July 3

Dave Scott at the Nexus Flea Market on July 10

Andrew Kalleen at Washington Square Park on July 11

The New York Serenaders at Washington Square Park on July 18

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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 July 2021 calendar.