Six Free Shows to Check Out at SummerStage This Season

SummerStage logo. Credit: Big Picture Media

SummerStage officially kicked off its 2018 season this past weekend, bringing live music to New York City’s parks. This year’s festival boasts more than 100 free outdoor shows at parks across the city’s five boroughs.

Some of this week’s diverse offerings include a symphonic take on David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ (6/9 in Central Park), a night of Yiddish Klezmer “under the stars” (6/13 in Central Park), the Metropolitan Opera Summer Series (6/9 in Central Park, 6/13 in Brooklyn Bridge Park), bluegrass artist Rhiannon Giddens (6/16 in Central Park) and Kool & the Gang (6/16 in Flushing Meadows Corona Park). The full line-up of shows can be found at the City Parks Foundation’s website.

The City Parks Foundation has been presenting SummerStage for more than three decades. Bringing “the best music from around the world to New York’s many and varied communities,” the summer-long festival’s programming includes a diverse range of musical, dance and cultural arts events in an effort to turn the city’s parks into “gathering spaces in which to experience world class culture.”

With SummerStage in full swing, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look at some of this year’s free musical offerings. Here are six upcoming shows that you won’t want to miss.

1.       Big Daddy Kane: Big Daddy Kane will be celebrating the 30^th anniversary of his debut album, ‘Long Live the Kane,’ this year with a free show in his home borough of Brooklyn at the Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island. Hosted by fellow New York rapper Doug E. Fresh, the show will also include music from Finisher Mister Cee, as well as some “very special guests.” (6/20, Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island)

2.       Broken Social Scene: Fresh off the release of last year’s ‘Hug of Thunder,’ indie rock collective Broken Social Scene will be hitting the Central Park stage to headline a special Canada Day show. Other Canadian artists set to perform include folk artists Melissa Laveaux and The East Pointers. (7/1, Central Park)

3.       Oh Wonder: Last year, UK duo Oh Wonder released their outstanding sophomore album ‘Ultralife,’ expanding their reach beyond their home country. Their upbeat indie-pop is fun and delightful to experience. Up-and-coming pop star Sasha Sloan will be opening the show. (7/9, Central Park)

4.       Ginuwine: Ginuwine has been melting hearts with his smooth R&B vocals since the mid 1990s. This July, the singer, who is currently working on his eighth studio album, will be bringing back all the nostalgia when he takes over Staten Island’s Corporal Thompson Park.  He’s joined by Staten Island natives The Ladies of Pink Diamond and DJ Stacks. (7/22, Corporal Thompson Park)

5.       Porches / Sunflower Bean: New York continues to foster incredible rising stars, with indie-pop artists Porches and Sunflower Bean being brilliant examples of this. Both artists have been creating a lot of buzz around their shows over the last few years not just locally, but nationally as well. Catch both Porches and Sunflower Bean this summer as they take the stage in East River Park to show off their talents. Crumb is slated to open the show. (8/11, East River Park)

6.       Angélique Kidjo: SummerStage ends their run with a bang this year with the legendary Angélique Kidjo playing the final free show of the summer. The Beninese singer has released 15 albums over the last 35 + years, blending her African roots with various other genres, including reggae, pop, rock and jazz. Her latest endeavor is a complete cover of Talking Heads’ 1980 album ‘Remain in Light,’ which she puts her own spin on. She will be joined by the Resistance Revival Chorus, who she performed with during the Women’s March on Washington in 2016. (9/27, Central Park)

This year’s SummerStage line-up continues the festival’s more than 30-year history of bringing the best of world culture and music to New York City. Through music, dance and performance art from outstanding new acts to veteran performers, the city will be putting on one of its most diverse programs ever.

Check out some of our free show picks above and let us know which free SummerStage shows you’re excited for this summer.

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Find a diverse range of music at Vinyl Bay 777. Long Island’s favorite new independent record shop has thousands of titles to choose from spanning a wide array of genres. Check out their selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at their Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added to their selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.