Here We Go Magic headlines the first night of the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party on May 14 (photo by Gregory Mitnick)
The weather is changing just in time for the start of the free summer music season, with concerts in parks, plazas, and other public spaces all over the city. Among those festivals that have announced their schedule are SummerStage, River to River, the BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech, the Lot Music Series in Long Island City, the Today show and Good Morning America series, and Celebrate Brooklyn!, with more to come. Below is the day-by-day lineup through June; keep watching this space as more festivals are announced and July and August dates are added.
Wednesday, May 14
Brooklyn Half Pre-Party, with Porcelain Raft (6:15), Gospels (7:30), and Here We Go Magic (8:45), Pier 2, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Thursday, May 15
Brooklyn Half Pre-Party, with Chaos Chaos (6:15) Radical Dads (7:30), and Oberhofer (8:45), Pier 2, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties: Electro-Jamz Dance Party with Cibo Matto, Javelin, and JD Samson, Harbor View Lawn, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 7:00
Friday, May 16
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Mariah Carey, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Brooklyn Half Pre-Party, with Frances Cone (6:15), Body Language (7:30), and DJ set by Sinkane (8:45), Pier 2, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Thursday, May 22
Celebrate Brooklyn! Dance Parties: African Dance Party with Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and Okayafrica Electrafrique w/ Chief Boima & DJ Underdog, Harbor View Lawn, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 7:00
Friday, May 23
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Lady Antebellum, Central Park, 7:00 am
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Tim McGraw, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Friday, May 30
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Austin Mahone, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Central Park, 7:00 am
Sunday, June 1
Third annual Bushwick Collective Block Party, with Naam, Pampers, Iron Force, Tournament, Fletcher C. Johnson, Such Hounds, Blackout, the Montauk Project, No Way, and Twin Strike, Troutman St. between Wyckoff & St. Nicholas, 11:00 am
Open Air Street Fair, with Jolliff, Johnson & Tice (12 noon), Mountain Animation (1:00), Odetta Hartman & the Jamborees (2:00), and the Harmonica Lewinskies (3:00), Crosby St. between Houston & Prince
Tuesday, June 3
Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival: Wicked Knee, 155 Varick St. back parking lot, 5:00
SummerStage: Ty Dolla $ign, Red Hook Park, 7:00
Janelle Monáe kicks off Celebrate Brooklyn! festival on June 4
Wednesday, June 4
SummerStage: Mark McGuire, Marissa Nadler, Delicate Steve, Red Hook Park, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Janelle Monáe, Prospect Park Bandshell, 8:00
Thursday, June 5
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Pharrell, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Darlene Love, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
SummerStage: Pro Era, Red Hook Park, 7:00
Friday, June 6
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Demi Lovato, Central Park, 7:00 am
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Sara Bareilles, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Saturday, June 7
Big Apple Barbecue Block Party: The Roosevelts (1:00), Black Taxi (2:45), Lissie (4:30), Madison Square Park
SummerStage: Twelfth Brazilian Film Festival of New York: Tribute to Vinicius de Moraes, with Toquinho, DJ Gaspar Muniz, Central Park, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with the Soul Rebels, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, and Lost Bayou Ramblers, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Sunday, June 8
Big Apple Barbecue Block Party: Riders Against the Storm (1:00), Lera Lynn (2:45), JD McPherson (4:30), Madison Square Park
Tuesday, June 10
Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival: Commander Cody, 155 Varick St. back parking lot, 5:00
SummerStage: The Duck Down BBQ with Boot Camp Clik & Friends, Betsy Head Park, 7:00
Wednesday, June 11
SummerStage: Sisqó, Betsy Head Park, 7:00
Thursday, June 12
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Nicholas Payton presents Black American Music, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Celebrate Brooklyn! Celebrate Ornette: The Music of Ornette Coleman Featuring Denardo Coleman Vibe, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Friday, June 13
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Train, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Paramore, Central Park, 7:00 am
Thee Oh Sees are playing a free show at the Northside Festival on June 14
Saturday, June 14
Northside Festival: Thee Oh Sees (advance RSVP required), McCarren Park, 2:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Ozomatli’s Ozokidz, Prospect Park Bandshell, 4:00
SummerStage: Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, La Mecánica Popular, Little Louie Vega, Central Park, 6:00
Sunday, June 15
SummerStage: Black Coffee Live, with DJ Spoko, Celebrating 15 Years of Okayplayer, Central Park, 6:00
Tuesday, June 17
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Little Mix, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival: TBA, 155 Varick St. back parking lot, 5:00
SummerStage: John Butler Trio and Allen Stone, Central Park, 5:30
Wednesday, June 18
Bryant Park After Work: The Universal Thump, Fountain Terrace, Bryant Park, 6:00
Mad. Sq. Music: Nicole Atkins, Madison Square Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Salute to Hip Hop, with DJ Bent Roc, Chubb Rock, Dana Dane, Special Ed, Herbert Von King Park, 7:00
Thursday, June 19
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: the Ohio Players, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
SummerStage: Algebra, Herbert Von King Park, 7:00
Friday, June 20
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Jennifer Lopez, Central Park, 7:00 am
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Fall Out Boy, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
SummerStage: Jason Samuel Smith, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Jamal Jackson, Herbert Von King Park, 7:00
River to River: Original Music Workshop’s Ex-Situ Series with Terry Riley & Friends, Federal Hall, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Amos Lee and Lake Street Drive, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
The Dum Dum Girls will be celebrating in Brooklyn on June 21 (photo by Malia James)
Saturday, June 21
River to River: Pete M. Wyer’s “And Death Shall Have No Dominion,” 11:00 am
SummerStage: ChoreoQuest, All Levels Open Dance Master Class with Jamel Gaines, Herbert Von King Park, 7:00
River to River: Original Music Workshop’s Ex-Situ Series with Claire Chase & Svet Stoyanov, Federal Hall, 7:00
SummerStage: Fete de la Musique -M- Émilie Simon, Central Park, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Dum Dum Girls, Hospitality, and TEEN, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Saturday June 21
and
Sunday, June 22
SummerStage: Brooklyn Family Day, with Barolosolo Cirkus Company, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 3:00 & 7:00
Sunday, June 22
River to River: Bang on a Can Marathon, Brookfield Place, Winter Garden, 2:00 – 10:00
SummerStage: Buika, Marques Toliver, Central Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Whistle!: A Tribute to Frankie Knuckles with screening of Hands to the Sky, Herbert Von King Park, 7:00
Monday, June 23
River to River: Original Music Workshop’s Ex-Situ Series with Kimmo Pohjonen & Jeffrey Zeigler, Pier 15, 7:00
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Amber Wagner, Jamie Barton, Russell Thomas, and Dan Saunders, Central Park, 8:00
Tuesday, June 24
SummerStage: Our Latin Thing, New Swing Sextet, Crotona Park, 7:00
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts: The Knights, works by Luigi Boccherini, Andrew Norman, Charles Ives, and Timo Andres, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 7:30
River to River: Ethel with Special Guest Kaki King . . . and Other Stories, Brookfield Place, Winter Garden, 7:30
Wednesday, June 25
Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival: John Doe album release party, 155 Varick St. back parking lot, 5:00
Bryant Park After Work: Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra, Fountain Terrace, Bryant Park, 6:00
Mad. Sq. Music: Ester Rada & Maya Azucena, Madison Square Park, 6:00
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Amber Wagner, Jamie Barton, Russell Thomas, and Dan Saunders, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Chuck Chillout, DJ Hollywood, Brucie B, Chief Rocker Busy Bee, and LA Luv and 4th Quarter Boyz, hosted by Mick Benzo, Crotona Park, 7:00
Thursday, June 26
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Butler Bernstein & the Hot 9, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
SummerStage: D.I.T.C. featuring Lord Finesse, A.G., Diamond D, DJ Boogie Blind, and Large Professor, Crotona Park, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Warpaint and Yellowbirds, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Friday, June 27
Toyota Concert Series on Today: Phillip Phillips, Rockefeller Plaza, 7:00 am
Good Morning America Summer Concert Series: Afrojack, Central Park, 7:00 am
River to River: Fronteras: New & Old Sounds from Latin America & the Caribbean, with Piñata Protest, Kuenta I Tambu (KIT), Helado Negro & SLV, the Uplands, South Street Seaport, 4:00 – 9:30
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Shovels & Rope, Valerie June, and Shakey Graves, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Saturday, June 28
SummerStage: Club Classics Live! featuring Sam Sparro, Ultra Naté, Kevin Aviance, Company Freak, Alfa Anderson, Luci Martin, and Norma Jean Wright, with special guests and DJ set by Andre Collins, 3:00
River to River: Fronteras: New & Old Sounds from Latin America & the Caribbean, with Bélo & Curupira , the Uplands, South Street Seaport, 5:30 – 9:30
Celebrate Brooklyn! with Luciano and Sandra St. Victor & Oya’s Daughter, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Sunday, June 29
River to River: Fronteras: New & Old Sounds from Latin America & the Caribbean, with Sergio Mendoza y la Orkestra and Rey Vallenato Beto Jamaica, the Uplands, South Street Seaport, 1:30 – 5:00
SummerStage: Jon Batiste and Stay Human and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Central Park, 3:00
Tuesday, July 1
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Mary-Jane Lee, Ginger Costa-Jackson, Yunpeng Wang, and Dan Saunders, Crotona Park, 7:00
Wednesday, July 2
See/Change: DJ Ben the Beyonder, South Street Seaport, 5:00
Bryant Park After Work: Stephen Clair and the Millionaires, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Thursday, July 3
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Davell Crawford, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Pier/Party: Mike Verge (12 noon), Chris Bergson Blues (3:00), Dandy Wellington & His Band (6:00), South Street Seaport
SummerStage: Freedom Party, with Herbert Holler, DJ Cosi, and Marc Smooth, Central Park, 6:00
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Mary-Jane Lee, Ginger Costa-Jackson, Yunpeng Wang, and Dan Saunders, Clove Lakes Park, 7:00
Friday, July 4
Pier/Party: USO Show Troupe (1:30), Hungry March Band (4:00), Twin Forks ft. Chris Carrabba (8:00), South Street Seaport
Saturday, July 5
Pier/Party: Sam Barnes Bluegrass Review, South Street Seaport, 1:00
SummerStage: Teddy Afro, Noura Mint Seymali, HaHu Dance Crew, Central Park, 3:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Robert Glasper Experiment Featuring Talib Kweli, Glenn Kotche, and Aja Monet, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
On Stage at Kingsborough: Hot Summer Nights — Jeremy Davis & the Fabulous Equinox Orchestra: The Great American Swagger, Kingsborough Bandshell, 8:00
Tuesday, July 8
SummerStage: Andrew Bird & the Hands of Glory, Luke Temple, Central Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Tony Vega, St. Mary’s Park, 7:00
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Mary-Jane Lee, Ginger Costa-Jackson, Yunpeng Wang, and Dan Saunders, Jackie Robinson Park, 7:00
Wednesday, July 9
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with David Berkeley, One New York Plaza, 12:30
Bryant Park After Work: Defibulators, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
SummerStage: The Latin Alternative Music Conference, with Beatnuts, Ana Tijoux, Bodega Bamz, and DJ Tony Touch, Central Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Jose Alberto “El Canario,” St. Mary’s Park, 7:00
Thursday, July 10
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Fredericks Brown, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Broadway in Bryant Park: STOMP, Rocky, Wicked, If/Then, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with Amber Rubarth, Grace Building, 1114 Sixth Ave. at 41st St., 12:30
SummerStage: The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series, with Mary-Jane Lee, Ginger Costa-Jackson, Yunpeng Wang, and Dan Saunders, Socrates Sculpture Park, 7:00
SummerStage: Domingo Quinones, St. Mary’s Park, 7:00
RiverRocks: Wild Beasts, Mutual Benefit, DJ Bill Pearis, Pier 84, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Illya Kuryaki & the Valderramas, Choc Quib Town, RVSB, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Friday, July 11
New Music in Bryant Park: World Time Zone, Sybarite5, Upper Terrace Steps, 6:00
Seaport Music Festival: Protomartyr, Alvvays, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Vote, It Ain’t Illegal Yet!, with Burning Spear, Vernon Reid, Maya Azucena, Roger Guenveur Smith, Carl Hancock Rux, Rosario Dawson, and Ramya Ramana, directed by Nelson George, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Saturday, July 12
4Knots Music Festival, with Dinosaur Jr., Mac DeMarco, Those Darlins, Speedy Ortiz, Radkey, Viet Cong, Nude Beach, Juan Wauters, Re-TROS, and Dead Stars, 1:00 – 8:00
SummerStage: The Latin Alternative Music Conference, with Babasónicos, Juana Molina, La Santa Cecilia, Central Park, 3:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Alloy Orchestra: live score to He Who Gets Slapped (Victor Sjöström, 1924), Stephane Wrembel, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
On Stage at Kingsborough: Hot Summer Nights — John Beasley’s MONK’estra, Kingsborough Bandshell, 8:00
Sunday, July 13
SummerStage: Bronx Family Day, with David Gonzalez’ Aesop Bops! Funky Fables, Kids Junk Orchestra, *Secret Agent 23 Skiddoo, St. Mary’s Park, 4:00
SummerStage: Celebrating Fifteen Years of Okayplayer, with Bonobo and Cibo Matto, Central Park, 6:00
Tuesday, July 15
SummerStage: Ismael Miranda, Rebel Tumbao, Queensbridge Park, 7:00
Live at the Gantries: Solomon Hicks, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:00
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 7:30
Wednesday, July 16
Bryant Park After Work: Howard Fishman and the Biting Fish Brass Band, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival: No BS! Brass Band (6:00), Lake Street Dive (7:00), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (8:30), Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place
SummerStage: J Holiday, Queensbridge Park, 7:00
Mobb Deep will get deep on July 17 in Queensbridge Park
Thursday, July 17
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Third World, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
See/Change: Jazz Franchise, South Street Seaport, 12 noon
Broadway in Bryant Park: Pippin, Chicago, Les Misérables, Atomic, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with the Sea the Sea, Grace Building, 1114 Sixth Ave. at 41st St., 12:30
See/Change: Dandy Wellington & His Band, South Street Seaport, 6:00
Lowdown Hudson Blues Festival: James Carter Organ Trio (6:00), the Robert Cray Band (7:00), John Hiatt & the Combo (8:45), Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place
SummerStage: Mobb Deep, Queensbridge Park, 7:00
Friday, July 18
See/Change: Devon Marie and the Band Pineapples, South Street Seaport, 12 noon
New Music in Bryant Park: Cassatt Quartet, Greg Osby Group, Upper Terrace Steps, 6:00
Seaport Music Festival: Calvin Love, Las Rosas, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Bebel Gilberto, Vinicius Cantuaria, and Netsayi, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Saturday, July 19
SummerStage: Brasil Summerfest, with Lenine & the Martin Fondse Orchestra: The Bridge, Maíra Freitas, Tutu Moraes, Central Park, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Deltron 3030, Nomadic Massive, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
On Stage at Kingsborough: Hot Summer Nights — Carole J. Bufford in Speak Easy with Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks, Kingsborough Bandshell, 8:00
Sunday, July 20
SummerStage: Catalan Sounds on Tour, with Mishima, Txarango, and DJ sets by Headbirds, Central Park, 3:00
SummerStage: Queens Family Day, with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Rashida Bumbray, Michael Mossman & Copland Jazz, Queensbridge Park, 4:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: A Memorial Concert for Pete and Toshi Seeger, with Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow, Holly Near, Paul Winter Consort, Martha Redbone, Dar Williams & Dan Zanes, Guy Davis, Tom Chapin & the Chapin Sisters, David Amram with Adira & Alana Amram, George Wein, Michael Moore, and many others, hosted by Kitama Cahill-Jackson, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 4:00
Monday, July 21
SummerStage: New Songs of Justice: An Evening Honoring Pete Seeger, with Anti-Flag, Toni Blackman, the Chapin Sisters, Rebel Diaz, Steve Earle, Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, James Maddock, Elizabeth Mitchell and Dan Zanes, Mike + Ruthy, Nyraine, Amanda Palmer, Michael Glabicki, the Tony Lee Thomas Band, and DJ sets by Kool Herc, Central Park, 6:00
Tuesday, July 22
Live at the Gantries: Dahka Band, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:00
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts: The Knights, works by Gyorgy Ligeti, Bela Bartok, Sufjan Stevens, Ljova, and Igor Stravinsky, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 7:30
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Behind the Goove — Welcome Party for A Batalha do Passinho, with DJ KS*360, David Rubenstein Atrium, 8:00
Wednesday, July 23
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with Keith Everett & the Orange Morris, One New York Plaza, 12:30
Bryant Park After Work: Morley, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Larry Harlow’s Hommy: A Latin Opera and Michael Stuart y Su Tremendo, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30
Thursday, July 24
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Bobby Rush, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Broadway in Bryant Park: Phantom of the Opera, Piece of My Heart, Cinderella, Avenue Q, Bullets over Broadway, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with Jason Myles Goss, Grace Building, 1114 Sixth Ave. at 41st St., 12:30
RiverRocks: Teenage Fanclub, Honeyblood, Saint Rich, Pier 84, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Wordless Music, with Nickel Creek, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Friday, July 25
New Music in Bryant Park: Diane Moser Quintet, Guidonian Hand, Upper Terrace Steps, 6:00
Seaport Music Festival: Torres, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (Lee Hirsch, 2002), Neo Muyanga & William Kentridge’s Second-Hand Reading, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Friday, July 25
and
Saturday, July 26
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: John Luther Adams’s Sila: The Breath of the World, Hearst Plaza, 6:00
Saturday, July 26
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Family Day: Deep Roots of Rock and Roll, with musical direction by Toshi Reagon, with Black Rock Coalition Orchestra and special guests, Hearst Plaza, 2:00
SummerStage: Celebrating 15 Years of Okayplayer and Federation Sound, with Chronixx & the Zincfence Redemption, Junior Reid, the Rice and Peas Crew, Central Park, 3:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Roberta Flack and Davell Crawford, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30
On Stage at Kingsborough: Hot Summer Nights — Swingadelic with guest vocalist Gina Fox, Kingsborough Bandshell, 8:00
Sunday, July 27
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: globalFEST for Families, with Banda de los Muertos and M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, Hearst Plaza. 1:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: globalFEST, with BaianaSystem, Red Baraat, Emiline Michel, and Emil Zrihan, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 5:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: globalFEST, with Charanjit Singh, DJs Ushka and Ripley, Baiana Play Som, Jaffe Drive/Toll Porte-cochère, 5:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: globalFEST, with M.A.K.U. Soundsystem, Banda de los Muertos, and Debauche, Hearst Plaza, 5:45
SummerStage: The Rock Steady Crew 37th Anniversary Concert, Central Park, 7:00
Tuesday, July 29
Live at the Gantries: Kevin Batchelor’s Grand Concourse, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:00
SummerStage: The Felix Hernandez Rhythm Revue, Clove Lakes Park, 7:00
Wednesday, July 30
Bryant Park After Work: Ayo Awosika, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Amel Larrieux, Avery*Sunshine, and the Jones Family Singers, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 6:30
SummerStage: The 40th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, with Lisette Melendez, Coro, and George Lamond, hosted by Mick Benzo, Clove Lakes Park, 7:00
Thursday, July 31
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Snarky Puppy, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Broadway in Bryant Park: Rock of Ages, Once, Heathers, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
For the Sake of the Song: A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, with Milton, Grace Building, 1114 Sixth Ave. at 41st St., 12:30
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: José González and yMusic, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 6:30
SummerStage: Joe Bataan, Boogaloo Assassins, DJ Turmix, Clove Lakes Park, 7:00
Friday, August 1
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: A Celebration of Jenneth Webster, with Mingus Dynasty, Taylor 2, Yoshiko Chuma & the School of Hard Knocks (with Robert Black), Elder Edward Babb of McCollough Sons of Thunder, Pauline Oliveros, Elaine Summers, the Skymusic Ensemble conducted by Carman Moore, Imani Uzuri’s Mosaic (with guests Morley, Haleh, and Martha Redbone), Ologundê, Brooklyn Jumbies, Chinese American Arts Council, Hungry March Band, LaTasha Natasha Nevada Diggs, and special guest speakers, Hearst Plaza, 4:30
New Music in Bryant Park: Different but the Same, Del Sol Quartet, Upper Terrace Steps, 6:00
Seaport Music Festival: Snowmine, the Casket Girls, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Jimmy Bosch y Su Estrellas, Pedrito Martinez Group Featuring Ariance Trujillo, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Kes the Band will be celebrating Brooklyn in Prospect Park on August 2
Saturday, August 2
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: La Casita, with live music by Acardenchados, Arooj Aftab, Soni Moreno, Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernández, Ologundê, and Orquesta SCC, and poetry by Jennifer Celestin, Louise Sky Dancer Halfe, Jamaal May, Tony Medina, Lenelle Moïse, Jessica Care Moore, Taqralik Partridge, Ramya Ramana, and Frank X Walker, with MC Baba Israel, Hearst Plaza, 12 noon
SummerStage: Dr. John & the Night Trippers, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Central Park, 3:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Kes the Band, Kuenta i Tambu, DJ Dr Wax, Steel Sensations, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:00
Sunday, August 3
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Heritage Sunday, Echoes of the Divine: Arts of the Turko-Persian Diaspora, with Ahmet Erdogdular, Shashmaqam, Quraishi, and the New York Crimean Tatar Ensemble, Hearst Plaza, 1:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: La Casita, with live music by Acardenchados, Arooj Aftab, Soni Moreno, Sonia Olla & Ismael Fernández, Ologundê, and Orquesta SCC, and poetry by Jennifer Celestin, Louise Sky Dancer Halfe, Jamaal May, Tony Medina, Lenelle Moïse, Jessica Care Moore, Taqralik Partridge, Ramya Ramana, and Frank X Walker, with MC Baba Israel, Teatro Pregones in the Bronx, 3:00
SummerStage: Gregory Porter & Revive Big Band led by Igmar Thomas, Central Park, 7:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Tribute to Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, featuring the Cita Rodriguez Orchestra and Pete Rodriguez with Tito Allen, Herman Olivera, Karen Joseph, Willie Torres, Eddie Montalvo, Ray Martinez, and the Alma Moyo Drummers with special guest star Johnny Pacheco, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:00
Tuesday, August 5
SummerStage: Tipica 73 with guest Adalberto Santiago, Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra, East River Park, 6:00
Live at the Gantries: And You and I, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:00
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts: Christina & Michelle Naughton, works by Darius Milhaud, John Adams, Maurice Ravel, and Igor Stravinsky, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 7:30
Wednesday, August 6
Bryant Park After Work: ABIAH, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights at 104th & Fifth — Throwback, with DJ D’Marquesina, DJ Grand Master Caz, breakdancers the NBS Crew, video projections and sidewalk art by the Murcielagos Fumando Collective, and discussion with Perla de Leon, 6:00
SummerStage: Mobile Mondays Live, the Salsoul Edition featuring Joe Bataan, First Choice, Double Exposure, Instant Funk, and Ladies of Skyy, East River Park, 7:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, and Robert Ellis, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30
Thursday, August 7
BAM R&B Festival at MetroTech: Lisa Fischer, MetroTech Commons at MetroTech Center, 12 noon
Broadway in Bryant Park: Jersey Boys, 50 Shades! The Musical, Cabaret, Revolution in the Elbow of Ragnar Agnarsson Furniture Painter, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
SummerStage: Mykki Blanco, East River Park, 7:00
RiverRocks: Temples, Here We Go Magic, Spires, Pier 84, 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Altan, Maura O’Connell, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with Tift Merritt, David Rubenstein Atrium, 7:30
Friday, August 8
New Music in Bryant Park: Claudia Quintet +1, Lincoln Trio, Upper Terrace Steps, 6:00
Seaport Music Festival: Black Bananas, Shockwave Riderz, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Asian Dub Foundation: THX 1138, Taylor McFerrin, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with Cassandra Wilson, and the Campbell Brothers: A Sacred Steel Love Supreme featuring visuals by Brock Monroe, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 7:30
Saturday, August 9
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with the Devil Makes Three, Old 97’s, and John Fullbright, Hearst Plaza, 1:30
SummerStage: Motown Gospel Revue featuring Tasha Cobbs, Smokie Norful, Pastor Charles Jenkins, Vashawn Mitchell, Kierra Sheard, and Micah S., Central Park, 3:00
The LOT LIC Music Series: Streets of Laredo, Walking Shapes, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with Rosanne Cash, the Lone Bellow, and Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 6:00
Celebrate Brooklyn!: St. Vincent, San Fermin, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Heroes of American Roots: From the Historic Films Archives, rare archival footage, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 1:00 & 4:00
Sunday, August 10
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC Roots Sympoisum, with Heroes of Americana: From the Historic Films Archives (introduced by Joe Lauro); Talkin’ Blues: Music Makers Relief Foundation’s Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Ironing Board Sam, Dom Flemons, and Tim Duffy in conversation with Coleman “Spike” Barkin; and SiriusXM’s “Buddy & Jim Show” with Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale, David Rubenstein Atrium, 1:00
SummerStage: Passenger, Laiam Bailey, and DJ Natasha Diggs, Central Park, 3:00
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: Americanafest NYC, with Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, and Bobby Patterson Music Maker Blues Revue featuring Dom Flemons, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, and Ironing Board Sam, Damrosch Park Bandshell, 5:00
Tuesday, August 12
SummerStage: Joe, Marcus Garvey Park, 7:00
Live at the Gantries: Zikrayat, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:00
Naumburg Orchestral Concerts: The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Paul Schoenfield, and Carl Maria von Weber, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 7:30
Wednesday, August 13
SummerStage: Bobby Sanabria and screening of Chico & Rita (Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba & Tono Errando, 2010), Marcus Garvey Park, 6:00
Uptown Bounce: Summer Nights at 104th & Fifth — Remix, with DJ D’Marquesina, DJ Grand Master Caz, Kelly Peters and his Generation X Hip Hop Dancers, video projections and sidewalk art by the Murcielagos Fumando Collective, and El Museo founder Raphael Montañez Ortiz in conversation with Chon Noriega, 6:00
Bryant Park After Work: Miwa Gemini, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Thursday, August 14
Broadway in Bryant Park: Matilda, On the Town, Mamma Mia!, Motown the Musical, Bryant Park Lawn, 12:30
Friday, August 15
SummerStage: Byron Cage, Marcus Garvey Park, 7:00
Seaport Music Festival: Boogarins, Jacco Gardner, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Saturday, August 16
The LOT LIC Music Series: Taylor McFerrin, Jennah Bell, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
SummerStage: Blood Orange with guests Moses Sumney and Sean Nicholas Savage, Central Park, 7:00
Sunday, August 17
SummerStage: Harlem Family Day, with Shine and the Moonbeams, Moona Luna, Kojo Odu Roney & Friends, B-Love’s Hip Hop Jazzy Groove, and DJ KS*360, Marcus Garvey Park, 4:00
SummerStage: The Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s Fortieth Anniversary Celebration, with DJ Rahsaan and screening of Our Latin Thing (Leon Gast, 1972), East River Park, 6:00
SummerStage: Bellatrix! A Soul Train Tribute to Women in Music, with Ubiquita Sound System, Marcus Garvey Park, 7:00
SummerStage: WBLS Sixth Annual R&B Fest, with Musiq Soulchild, Central Park, 7:00
Wednesday, August 20
Bryant Park After Work: Thiefs, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Friday, August 22
SummerStage: “The Marriage of Latin Music & Jazz,” musical discussion with Joe Conzo Sr., the New School, 55 West Thirteenth St., 6:30
Seaport Music Festival: Dead Gaze, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Saturday, August 23
Summerstage: La Mega Seventh Annual Tropical Fest, featuring Alex Sensation, Central Park, 3:00
The LOT LIC Music Series: Small Black / Kevin Morby, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
SummerStage: Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, with the Wallace Roney Orchestra, Lionel Loueke, Melissa Aldana, and Kris Bowers with special guest Chris Turner, Marcus Garvey Park, 3:00
Sunday, August 24
SummerStage: Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, with Kenny Barron, Cindy Blackman Santana, Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, and Brianna Thomas, Tompkins Square Park, 3:00
Wednesday, August 27
Bryant Park After Work: Black Bottom Revue, Fountain Terrace, 6:00
Friday, August 29
Seaport Music Festival: Joanna Gruesome, Big Ups, Fulton & Water Sts., 7:00
Saturday, August 30
The LOT LIC Music Series: Fredricks Brown, Silver feat. Eddie Henderson, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
Saturday, September 6
The LOT LIC Music Series: Hollis Brown, Jonny Fritz, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
Saturday, September 13
The LOT LIC Music Series: Widowspeak, Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
Saturday, September 20
The LOT LIC Music Series: Sugarman 3, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, Daptone Records Family DJs, 43-29 Crescent St., Long Island City, 3:00
In 1965, French Nouvelle Vague auteur Agnès Varda said about her third film, Le Bonheur, which translates as Happiness: “Happiness is mistaken sadness, and the film will be subversive in its great sweetness. It will be a beautiful summer fruit with a worm inside. Happiness adds up; torment does too.” That is all true nearly fifty years later, as the film still invites divided reaction from critics. “Miss Varda’s dissection of amour, as French as any of Collette’s works, is strikingly adult and unembarrassed in its depiction of the variety of love, but it is as illogical as a child’s dream,” A. H. Weiler wrote in the New York Times in May 1966. “Her ‘Happiness,’ a seeming idyll sheathed in irony, is obvious and tender, irresponsible and shocking and continuously provocative.” All these decades later, the brief eighty-minute film is all that and more, save for the claim that it is illogical. In a patriarchal society, it actually makes perfect, though infuriating, sense.
Kôbô Abe and director Hiroshi Teshigahara collaborated on five films together, including the marvelously existential Woman of the Dunes in 1964 and The Face of Another two years later. In The Face of Another, Tatsuya Nakadai (The Human Condition, Kill!) stars as Okuyama, a man whose face has virtually disintegrated in a laboratory accident. He spends the first part of the film with his head wrapped in bandages, a la the Invisible Man, as he talks about identity, self-worth, and monsters with his wife (Machiko Kyo), who seems to be growing more and more disinterested in him. Then Okuyama visits a psychiatrist (Mikijirô Hira) who is able to create a new face for him, one that would allow him to go out in public and just become part of the madding crowd again. But his doctor begins to wonder, as does Okuyama, whether the mask has actually taken control of his life, making him as helpless as he was before. Abe’s remarkable novel is one long letter from Okuyama to his wife, filled with utterly brilliant, spectacularly detailed examinations of what defines a person and his or her value in society. Abe wrote the film’s screenplay, which tinkers with the time line and creates more situations in which Okuyama interacts with people; although that makes sense cinematically, much of Okuyama’s interior narrative, the building turmoil inside him, gets lost. Teshigahara once again uses black and white, incorporating odd cuts, zooms, and freeze frames, amid some truly groovy sets, particularly the doctor’s trippy office, and Tōru Takemitsu’s score is ominously groovy as well. As a counterpart to Okuyama, the film also follows a young woman (Miki Irie) with one side of her face severely scarred; she covers it with her hair and is not afraid to be seen in public, while Okuyama must hide behind a mask. But as Abe points out in both the book and the film, everyone hides behind a mask of one kind or another. The Face of Another is having a special screening May 17 at 3:00 at the Museum of the Moving Image and will be followed by a conversation between Nakadai and Terrence Rafferty; advance tickets are available now.