The Outlook for Live Music in NYC for September

This September, the live music industry will be radically different from any September in history. The end of summer and the start of autumn is usually the time when the industry recovers from the August slump and takes advantage of college students who have discretionary money at hand. Consider the following very unique variables that will impact concerts in September 2021.

Many touring performers were eager to book limited summer tours once the venues reopened. They found that after an initial burst, ticket sales were not entirely what they hoped, as a substantial percentage of fans continued to avoid crowds. Guns N’ Roses, the Eagles, Dead and Company and numerous other major acts did not sell out local arenas and stadiums, for instance. Every act that is about to begin a tour in September is likely looking at these numbers.

Also, the booking of tours is more complicated than ever because COVID-era protocols can change from state to state. In addition to individualized state mandates, some municipalities have their own regulations. Individual venues also can set policies on vaccination requirements and other safety measures. How does a touring band navigate in a sea where the wave patterns change frequently?

New York City, for instance, will enforce beginning September 13 that all indoor entertainment centers, bars and restaurants must refuse entry to any customer who does not show proof of at least one vaccination, no matter how long ago the ticketholder purchased the admission. Unvaccinated non-resident performers and road crew get a pass, however, as long as they wear masks when they are within six feet of anyone. If they are New York City residents, however, the performers and road crew members must be vaccinated. These rules do not apply if the concerts are held outdoors or outside city limits, unless the venue has its own parameters. For more details on the new regulations in New York City, see the earlier article, "NYC's New Indoor Vax-Only Mandate Impacts Music Venues."

The uptick in the transmission of the delta variant and the slowing of vaccination rates are legitimate concerns. Bands who booked concerts and are no longer certain that this is the best time to tour are using “COVID concerns” to ease out of any contracts and postpone or cancel their concerts. At the same time, cautious fan bases seem to be increasingly safety-conscious and more hesitant to purchase advance tickets. No new major concert announcements have been made public in several weeks.

Lake Street Dive at SummerStage Central Park on August 24

Large Concerts Abound in NYC in September

Outdoor music festivals will be beckoning in September. Governors Ball will feature dozens of acts, including Billie Eilish, A$AP Rocky, J. Balvin, Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, 21 Savage, and Ellie Goulding, at Citi Field on September 24-26. Global Citizen also will draw thousands of music fans to a free event starring Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Camila Cabello, Jennifer Lopez, Lizzo, Meek Mill and others in Central Park’s Great Lawn on September 25.

At the Rooftop at Pier 17, concerts by Dr. Dog, Bleachers and Machine Gun Kelly have sold out, and tickets are available for the Front Bottoms, Lord Huron, Flogging Molly with the Violent Femmes, Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Rebelution and Rufus Wainwright. At SummerStage Central Park, Yo la Tengo, Erica Campbell, Valerie June, Antibalas, and Patti Smith will headline free concerts, and Machine Gun Kelly, Dawes, Indigo Girls, and Joyce Manor will headline benefit concerts. At Forest Hills Stadium, King Crimson has cancelled, but My Morning Jacket and Nas will headline concerts.

The Allman Betts Band at the Rooftop at Pier 17 on August 25

Blackberry Smoke at the Rooftop on Pier 17 on August 25

Indoor arenas will host a few concerts. At Madison Square Garden, Maroon 5, New Order and the Pet Shop Boys have cancelled, but Banda MS and Dan + Shay will perform. Barclays Center will have the annual MTV Music Video Awards and Marc Antony.

While a few touring artists are moving their indoor concerts to outdoor venues,  King Crimson did the opposite, cancelling its Forest Hills Stadium show and adding a Beacon Theatre show. Sheryl Crow, Julien Baker, Primus, and the Tedeshi Trucks Band also will headline the Beacon Theatre in September. Il Divo and Widespread Panic cancelled shows there.

The larger ballrooms will reopen in September. Bayside, Beartooth, Juanes, Madeon, Thievery Corporation, Caifanes and Tinashe will perform at Terminal 5. Durand Jones & the Indications, End of the World, Black Pumas, Squirrel Mommy, Big Freedia, Walk the Moon, and New Found Glory will be at Brooklyn Steel. Mau y Ricky will be at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Jeff Tweedy will open Brooklyn Made. The Brooklyn Bowl will reopen with the Wailers, Ghost-Note, Dopapod, John the Martyr, the Infamous Stringdusters, Tank & the Bangas, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, White Denim, Neal Francis, Reignwolf, the Bottom Dollars, the Connells, and Kendall Street Company.

Midtown venues with mixed seating and standing areas are seeing increased schedules as well. The Gramercy Theatre lost Clannad but will have Soulfly, Omah Lay, Leonid & Friends, Spider Gang, P.O.D., Cold Hart, Watsky, Butcher Babies, the Dan Band, Sub Urban and Nascar Aloe. Sony Hall will present Yung Bleu, Modern English, Julian Marley, Jay Electronica, Marcy Playground, the Dead Daisies, Slick Rick, the Average White Band and others.

Combust at Irving Plaza on August 14

Madball at Irving Plaza on August 14

Downtown's Mid-Size Venues & Smaller Clubs

Webster Hall will headline concerts by Azealia Banks, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Sleigh Bells, Nouvelle Vague, the Bogmen, August Turns Red, Moon Taxi, the Bob Mould Band, Nick Hakim, Cold Cave, Capella Grey & Friends, Sarah Jarosz and Sturgill Simpson. Apocalyptica, Lacuna Coil and the Frames cancelled. The venue also has late-night dance parties on weekends starring Ekali, Audien, Lost Kings and others.

Dark Tranquility cancelled, but otherwise Irving Plaza will have concerts by Avatar, Dusty Locane, Guided By Voices, Colter Wall, Ben Folds, J.I., the Hu, Tesla, Middle Kids, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Role Model, Cheap Trick, Myles Kennedy, Yung Nudy, and Amigo the Devil. The Bowery Ballroom will present Emily King, the Bellwether Syndicate, Kelly Lee Owens, Nation of Language, Caveman, the Sounds, A Place to Bury Strangers, the Felice Brothers, Duckwrth, Noga Erez, Andrew W.K., Dashboard Confessional, MUNA, the Milk Carton Kids, Ant Clemons, Patrick Droney, and Heartless Bastards. The Residents cancelled what would have been the reopening of le Poisson Rouge; otherwise, the venue will host Wrabel, Unleash the Archers, John Splithoff, Gary Lucas, Thurston Moore, Ben Abraham, Knocked Loose, Vieux Farka Toure and others.

Tom Guerra at the 55 Bar on July 20 (photograph by Seth Okrend)

UNLTD! at Groove on July 28

City Winery NYC will host Matishayu, the Mountain Goats, Paula Cole, At Stewart, Reckless Kennedy, Cracker, Toad the Wet Sprocket, John Hiatt, O-Town, Marc Roberge and others. The venue also has brunch performances on weekends. A smaller space upstairs, the Loft, with have Poppa Chubby, Wesley Stace, Crystal Bowersox, James Maddock and other artists.

In the East Village, check the live music schedules for the 11th St. Bar, the Anyway Café, Berlin, the Bowery Electric, Caravan of Dreams, Club Cumming, drom, Hermana NYC, the Juke Bar, Mona's, Nomad, Nublu, Otto's Shrunken Head, Pinky's Space, the Red Room at KGB Bar and Rue-B. In Greenwich Village, visit the 55 Bar, Baby Brasa, the Bitter End, the Blue Note, Cafe Wha? , Cellar Dog, the Corner Bistro, Fiddlesticks Pub, Groove, Mezzrow, the Red Lion, Small's, and Terra Blues for live music. On or below Houston Street, Arlene's Grocery, the Canary Club, the Delancey, Django, the Ear Inn, Five & Dime, Marshall Stack, Mercury Lounge, the Parkside Lounge, Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall, and Sour Mouse NYC will have live music on many nights in September.

The Nat Osborn Band at Rockwood Music Hall on July 29

Start the Week Over at Berlin on July 28

Level Up at the Red Lion on July 29

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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 August and September 2021 calendars.