Free Concerts in NYC This Weekend: Texas Tornadoes, Tinariwen, Gil-Scott Heron, Apples in Stereo, and More

Above: Tinariwen, the guitar-driven band from Mali, play Central Park SummerStage on Saturday. They got a lot of exposure playing the FIFA World Cup celebration concert; here several of them are seen at the Nice Jazz Festival in 2005. 

Looking for some free music outdoors for this first weekend of summer? Here are a few good choices, from rock and pop to jazz and roots music...

Saturday, June 26th:
* Tinariwen, Omar Souleyman, and Toubab Krewe (African and Middle Eastern pop/rock/folk), SummerStage, Central Park, 3 p.m.
* The Apples in Stereo with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Pier 17, South Street Seaport, 7 p.m.
* The Texas Tornadoes and The Red Clay Ramblers at Celebrate Brooklyn, Prospect Park, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, June 27th
* Bang on a Can Marathon, NYC River to River Festival, World Financial Center Winter Garden, 12 p.m. (An "incomparable 12-hour super-mix of genre-defying music from around the corner and the globe.")
* NYC Revolutions Series: Gil Scott-Heron with special opener Derrick Hodge, SummerStage, Central Park, 3 p.m.