Your Guide to the Best Free Summer Concerts in New York City

Learn about some of the best free summer concert series in NYC (including Hudson Square, above).

Who says going out in New New York City has to cost a lot? There are countless free concerts in the summer, and here's a guide to some of the best series going. We'll add additional events here or in future posts.

And see the Oh My Rockness guide to free summer shows for even more no-cost gigs, including McCarren Park shows and the House of Vans concerts. And if you're an early riser, there are the free concerts put on by the "Today" show and "Good Morning America."

SummerStage - The grandaddy of NYC free summer concerts includes free performances in parks in all five boroughs, with spoken word, dance, and film as well as music. Most shows are free, but several paid, ticketed concerts help pay for the free ones. Highlights include Sisqó, John Butler Trio, Bonobo and Cibo Matta, and Dr. John.

Celebrate Brooklyn! - This long-running Prospect Park attraction has become more and more popular (and has snagged increasingly well-known entertainment). Like SummerStage, most shows are free, but a number of big-name benefit concerts help subsidize the freebees. Among this summer's lineup: Janelle Monae, St. Vincent, Dum Dum Girls, and Flea, Laurie Anderson, David Murray, and Patti Smith (that last one is one show, folks!)

Madison Square Music - Skip the big crowds and long lines with this low-key series. Simply walk into the park & sit yourself down on the lawn. Madison Square Music remains one of the undiscovered free-music gems of summer in the City, offering quality acts in a no-frills atmosphere. (Note: you will probably find a long line at the Shake Shack in the park.) Acts this summer include Nicole Atkins and Forro in the Dark and Debo Band. 

Hudson Square Music Festival - Here's a great idea: a series of right-after-work shows that gives you plenty of time for dinner or another concert later on. These downtown gigs start early (around 5:30pm), so you can see some live music and have plenty of time for other plans (or getting home). The venue is a parking lot outside of City Winery (the series' sponsor). Shows include Commander Cody, former X member John Doe, and Drivin' n' Cryin'.

It's free concerts galore in New York in the summer. Get out there and enjoy!

2013 Celebrate Brooklyn Free Concerts Start Tonight with Patty Griffin

Celebrate Brooklyn kicks off June 5th; see music schedule highlights below.

The new season of Celebrate Brooklyn kicks off Wednesday night with acclaimed singer-songwriter Patty Griffin. Starting out with spare, acoustic girl-and-guitar folk arrangements on her first album, Griffin ranged into rousing rock on her second album, and since then has recorded in various styles of Americana, and even gospel.

Griffin is an amazing songwriter (her tunes have been covered by The Dixie Chicks and Emmylou Harris, among others), and this is a great chance to see her free.

All Celebrate Brooklyn shows are held at the Prospect Park bandshell (see here for directions, full summer lineup, and more information). The shows are free, but a $3 contribution is requested for eac show, to help defray expenses.

Here are highlights of the 2013 Celebrate Brooklyn music schedule:

• June 5th - 35th Opening Night Gala and Concert Featuring Patty Griffin, 8:15 p.m.
• June 14th - Mavis Staples / Cody ChesnuTT, 7:30 p.m.
• June 15th - Calexico / Susana Baca / Radio Jarocho & Akoko Nante Ensemble, 7:00 p.m.
• June 20th - Big Boi / Phony Ppl / D-Nice, 7:30 p.m.
• June 28th - Ladysmith Black Mambazo / Aurelio Martinez, 7:30 p.m.
• July 12th - Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich & Fussible / Mexican Institute of Sound / Mariachi Flor de Toloache, 7:00 p.m.
• July 19th - The Waterboys / Alasdair Roberts, 7:30 p.m.
• July 20th - The Lone Bellow / The Low Anthem / Joe Purdy, 7:00 p.m.
• July 26th - Trampled by Turtles / The Devil Makes Three / Brown Bird, 7:00 p.m.
• August 2nd - Jamie Lidell / Dan Deacon / The Stepkids, 7:30 p.m.
• August 10th - They Might Be Giants / Moon Hooch, 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy!

Free Concert Notes: Titus Andronicus, Tokyo Police Club, Lyle Lovett, The Jacksons, & More

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played a great show in Coney Island last night (more on that later), but there are still some high-profile free shows coming up in the next week (including several big ones tomorrow alone). Wherever you are in the NYC area, there's a show near you: in Central Park, Prospect Park, Coney Island, Lincoln Center (the last hurrah of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival), and Hoboken's Pier A, which hosted 15,000 for Mumford and Sons on Aug. 1st.

Titus Andronicus is part of a free concert at Van's in Brooklyn.

Below is a list of what's coming up in the next week; see the websites for more details on performers, set times, directions, etc. (Note: there are other events for Lincoln Center Out of Doors than the ones I've listed. The website has the complete schedule.)

Sat., Aug. 11th: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Abigail Washburn, Central Park SummerStage, 3 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 11th: Lyle Lovett and His Acoustic Group and Aoife O'Donovan, Celebrate Brooklyn (Prospect Park), 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 11th: The Jacksons: Unity Tour 2012 at the Seaside Concerts in Coney Island (West 21st Street and Surf Avenue), 7:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 11th: 29th Annual Roots of American Music Festival at Lincoln Center Out of Doors:

• Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls All-Star Band: Sister Songwriters, 5 p.m.
• The Triple Goddess Twilight Revue: Celebrating the Music of Laura Nyro, 6 p.m.
• Soulful Songwriters Circle: William Bell, Teenie Hodges, and Dan Penn, 7:30 p.m.
• Otis Clay and the Platinum Band, 8:45 p.m.

Sun, Aug. 12th: 29th Annual Roots of American Music Festival at Lincoln Center Out of Doors:

• Tom Paxton, 2 p.m.
• Swamp Dogg, 6 p.m.
• Aloe Blacc, 7 p.m.
• Pardon Our Analysis: An All-Star Gathering for Gil Scott-Heron, 8 p.m.

Thurs., Aug. 16th: Van's House Party with Cursive, Titus Andronicus, Love as Laughter, and Joyce Manor at House of Van's, 25 Franklin St., Brooklyn, 7 p.m. (RSVP here)

Sat., Aug. 18th: Australia Day concert with Husky, Sheppard, High Highs, George Byrne, Maya Jupiter, DJ Ashley Feraude, and Kid Zoom, Central Park, 3 p.m.

Thurs., Aug. 16th:  Gladys Knight and The Commodores at the Seaside Concerts in Coney Island (West 21st Street and Surf Avenue), 7:30 p.m.

Sat, Aug. 18th: Lackawanna Music Festival: Tokyo Police Club, Vacationer, Shinobi Ninja, Body Language, Lights Resolve, We Barbarians, and The Nightmare River Band, Pier A Park in Hoboken, 12 Noon (RSVP here) [UPDATE: There isn't much info at the official site about set times, etc., but this web page lists them. I can't vouch for them, but they sound about right.]

Speaking of free concerts, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts put on a great show last night in extremely muggy conditions in Coney Island (at least it didn't rain). She played a solid assortment of her classic crowd-pleasers, plus a few new songs (so a new album may be in the works). She opened the show with "Bad Reputation" (as usual) and the setlist included "Cherry Bomb," "Victim of Circumstance," "The French Song," "Love is Pain," and "Crimson and Clover." The new songs were called "TMI," "Hard to Grow Up," and "Reality Mentality."

The summer is winding up with a bang; go get out there and see some live music.

Concert Notes: Brooklyn Northside Festival, Clearwater, & More This Week

It's going to be an absurdly full weekend of music in the New York area, and it starts early tomorrow with Laura Marling at Celebrate Brooklyn and the beginning of the Brooklyn Northside Festival. The dB's, who are reunited and back with a new album, play at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday. And there's another great free show on Saturday, when Dawes and Kurt Vile and the Violators play SummerStage in Central Park in the evening.

And there's a solid musical lineup at the Clearwater festival on the Hudson River in Westchester.


Holiday Surprise 1, 2, 3 by Olivia Tremor Control, which is playing the Northside Festival. 

* The music portion of the Northside festival runs from June 14th to 17th (there are also film, entrepreneurship, and art programs). On the slate are Brooklyn bands such as Dinosaur Feathers and A Million Years (who I was impressed by a couple years ago at the Union County [NJ] Festival), as well as national and international acts such as:

Asobi Seksu, Buke and Gass, Caveman, Exitmusic, the Felice Brothers, Grass Widow, GZA, Jens Lekman, Kitty Pryde, Leda, Of Montreal, The Olivia Tremor Control, ?uestlove, The Thermals, These United States, Tinariwen, and Widowspeak, among many others.

Having trouble picking what to see? Check out Free Williamsburg's choices for the best things to see at the Northside Festival. [Update: The Village Voice's "Sound of the City" column put up its guide to the top seven Northside concerts, with videos, on Thursday.]

It all kicks off Thursday at 7 p.m. On the following days, the music starts in the afternoon (4 p.m. on Friday; earlier on Saturday and Sunday). Find the complete Northside music schedule here, and get Northside badge and ticket information here.

* Clearwater's annual Hudson River Revival (Saturday and Sunday) has quite a strong musical lineup this year, with top-notch artists from the festival's traditional roots-oriented genres of folk/Americana, rock, blues, and more. Below are some of the highlights from each day. See the full Clearwater stage schedule here.

Saturday: 

Arlo and the Guthrie Family, Aoife O'Donovan, Donna the Buffalo, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Joan Osborne and the Holmes Brothers, Forro in the Dark, Bela Fleck, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, and Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Sunday:
Deer Tick, Ani DiFranco, David Wax Museum, Jose Conde, Martin Sexton, Alejandro Escovedo, Dawes, Loudon Wainwright III, Jill Sobule, The Klezmatics, Holly Near, Sara Watkins, Ollabelle, and Balkan Beat Box

I'm sure there's a festival or two that I've forgotten about; if I remember what they were I'll post info on them.

Jimmy Cliff Kicks Off 2012 Celebrate Brooklyn Free Concerts June 5th (Schedule)

Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff takes the stage this Tuesday, June 5th to open the 2012 season of free concerts at Celebrate Brooklyn. Tuesday's show begins at 8 p.m.

Celebrate Brooklyn returns this week. Mark your calendars!

The Celebrate Brooklyn concerts take place at the Prospect Park bandshell, near 9th Street and Prospect Park West. Although all the shows below are free, a $3 contribution is suggested. There are some great folk/rock/indie acts such as Cliff, Laura Marling, Keb' Mo, Wild Flag, and Lyle Lovett, but you'll also find Latin, gospel, soul, and R&B. I find that these free shows are good for checking out artists and genres that I might not ordinarily see live. (Listen to songs from the artists at the "Celebrate Brooklyn Shuffle" SoundCloud page.)

Here's the lineup; click on the links for each artist/show to see more details (and, in many cases, videos):

• Tues., June 5th - Jimmy Cliff - 8 p.m. (NPR Music will webcast this show)
• Sat., June 9th - AfroCubism (a collaboration of all-star Malian and Cuban musicians / Alsarah & The Nubatones - 7:30 p.m.
• Thurs., June 14th - Laura Marling / Michael Kiwanuka / Willy Mason - 7 p.m.
• Sat., June 16th - Balkan Beat Box / Chico Trujillo / Nation Beat - 6:30 p.m.
• Thurs., June 21st - Mary Mary / Latice Crawford - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., June 22nd - Keb' Mo' / Natalia Zukerman - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., June 23rd - Bud Light Music Series: Lyricist Lounge 20th Anniversary featuring Ghostface Killah / Camp Lo / Astro / & More - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., June 29th - Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue / The Brooklyn Steppers / Dayna Kurtz - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., June 30th - Angélique Kidjo's Women Waging Peace with Special Guests Laurie Anderson / Sibongile Khumalo / Somi - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., July 7th - Souad Massi / Simon Shaheen - 7:30 p.m.
• Sun., July 8th - Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert: Sweet Honey in The Rock - 4 p.m.
• Fri., July 13th - Bud Light Latin Music Series: Celebrate Brooklyn & LAMC present Calle 13 / Ana Tijoux / Ritmo Machine - 7 p.m.
• Fri., July 20th - Machel Montano / BélO - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., July 21st - Bud Light Latin Music Series: Arturo Sandoval / Arturo O'Farrill & The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., July 27th - The Head and the Heart / Lost in the Trees - 7:30 p.m.
• Fri., August 3rd - Wild Flag / Mission of Burma - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., August 4th - The Del McCoury Band / Cahalen Morrison & Eli West / Spirit Family Reunion - 6:30 p.m.
• Fri., August 10th - Bud Light Music Series: Little Dragon / Frankie Rose / Voices of Black - 7:30 p.m.
• Sat., August 11th - Lyle Lovett and His Acoustic Group / Aoife O'Donovan - 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate Brooklyn also includes a number of benefit concerts (some, if not most, may be already sold out). And there are some free shows that I haven't listed above (movies, ballet, etc.) See the Celebrate Brooklyn home page for the full lineup.

Tonight: The Feelies, Real Estate, & Times New Viking Play Celebrate Brooklyn

The Feelies perform "Too Far Gone."

The Garden State takes center stage at tonight's Celebrate Brooklyn show as the longtime indie band The Feelies headlines a free gig in Prospect Park. The band, which originated in the Passaic County town of Haledon, will be preceded on the bill by Real Estate (from Ridgewood, NJ) and the lo-fi sounds of Columbus, Ohio's Times New Viking.

The Feelies formed in the late '70s and their quirky sound was credited with influencing R.E.M. and other bands. The Village Voice was said to have named them "The Best Underground Band in New York" before their debut album, "Crazy Rhythms," even came out. (And that album was named by Rolling Stone as one of its "Top 50 Albums of the 1980s.) The band became dormant in the early '90s after releasing several albums, but has sporadically recorded and played out since then.

In recent years The Feelies have established a tradition of playing a run of a few shows at Maxwell's in Hoboken, the club they frequently played in their heyday. (See an article of one of this year's Feelies shows by rock critic Ann Powers. She also links to a review of the reissues of their first two albums, which explains The Feelies' sound.) The New York Daily News also has an article on The Feelies and tonight's Celebrate Brooklyn show.

The Feelies now have a new album, "Here Before," on Hoboken's Bar/None Records.

If you can brave today's sweltering weather and get out to Prospect Park, this will be a great show to see.

Details: The Feelies, Real Estate, and Times New Viking at Celebrate Brooklyn
7 p.m. (doors 6 p.m.), Prospect Park bandshell, 9th Street & Prospect Park West (See directions here)
Free, but $3 donation requested.

Free Summer 2011 Concerts: Celebrate Brooklyn

The free summer concert season is almost here, and I'll be posting info on the schedules for them as they become available. Celebrate Brooklyn recently posted its full schedule for the summer of 2011 on its website (it was previously only in a PDF of a press release). As usual, there's a strong and varied slate of musicians (I've posted some highlights below), as well as a few money-raising paid shows. (Most of the benefit shows have already sold out, although there are still tickets available for Sufjan Stevens on Aug. 2nd and for Cut Copy with Foster the People and Midnight Magic on Aug. 11th.)

The sad news is that Brooklyn is losing two fun, free events. The one-day Village Voice Siren Festival on Coney Island is no more; the Voice has announced that in its place is it starting up a similar all-day event called 4Knots, to be held in the South Street Seaport area.

Also in Coney Island, the Seaside Summer Concerts series is no more. It had been the focus of noise complaints by a nearby synagogue, and apparently it lost its right to use the park it had used. Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz has vowed to relocate the series elsewhere in the borough, though I'm not sure that will mean any free shows for this summer.

But to keep things focused on the positive, here's a listing of some of the rock/pop highlights from the 2011 Celebrate Brooklyn schedule. Some of the ones I'm most interested in seeing are the Freedom Rides Project with Rosanne Cash and others; Court Yard Hounds (Marty Maguire and Emily Robison, two of the Dixie Chicks); the Latin bill of Los Lobos, Hello Seahorse!, and Zigmat; the show featuring New Jersey bands The Feelies and Real Estate as well as Times New Viking; and Ra Ra Riot.

• Fri., June 10 - Andrew Bird (Opening Night Gala)
  
• Thurs., June 16 - Hal Willner’s Freedom Rides Project featuring Rosanne Cash, Toshi Reagon, Steven Bernstein & many more
  
• Fri., June 17 - The Books, Junip, and Doveman
  
• Sat., June 25 - The Heavy, The London Souls, and Superhuman Happiness
  
• Thurs., June 30 - Justin Townes Earle, the Punch Brothers, and the Hackensaw Boys
  
• Thurs., July 7 - Court Yard Hounds and the Abrams Brothers
  
• Fri., July 8 - Los Lobos, Hello Seahorse!, and Zigmat
  
• Sat., July 23 - The Feelies, Real Estate, and Times New Viking
  
• Sat., July 30 - Dr. John & the Lower 911, Chuck Brown, Red Baraat
  
• Fri., Aug. 5 - Ra Ra Riot, Delicate Steve, and Buke and Gass
  

Later on I'll have information for other free summer concerts in NYC including SummerStage, the downtown River to River Festival, and others.

Metric Headlines Free Brooklyn Concert Thursday

Metric played a sold-out show at Manhattan's Terminal 5 a few months back, but on Thursday, August 5th they'll be crossing the East River to headline a free concert in Brooklyn.

The outdoor show, the latest in the annual Celebrate Brooklyn series, has Emily Haines and band leading a trio of female (or female-fronted) acts. Also appearing on the bill are Holly Miranda and Joan as Police Woman.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7. Find out more details about the free Metric concert at Celebrate Brooklyn at show's the event page. (Although the show is free, a $3 donation is requested.)

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it to the free Metric concert, but the good news is that it's because I have tickets to see Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden Thursday. That show, which also features Spoon on the bill, now has Canadian singer, composer, and violinist Owen Pallett as the the opening act, so it will be quite an evening for Canadian musicians in New York.

Celebrate Brooklyn Announces 2010 Free Concert Schedule

The two biggest free-concert series in New York, SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn, have both released their summer 2010 schedules. I listed some SummerStage highlights yesterday, and now here is the full Celebrate Brooklyn schedule of free concerts.

All shows are free, though attendees are encouraged to kick in a suggested donation of $3.00. Concerts are held at the Prospect Park bandshell. Weeknight shows begin at times from 7 - 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday shows usually begin at 3 or 4 p.m., though shows with many acts may start as early as 2 p.m. As always, see the complete 2010 Celebrate Brooklyn schedule for times, schedule changes, directions, and more.

Celebrate Brooklyn 2010 free concert schedule:
* Wed., June 9 -  Opening Night Gala - Norah Jones
* Sat., June 12 - Allen Toussaint, Davell Crawford
* Thurs., June 17 - Eugene Mirman & Pretty Good Friends
* Fri., June 18 - JG Thirlwell's Steroid Maximus, Dr. Lonnie Smith
* Sat., June 19 - Bitches Brew Revisited with Graham Haynes, James Blood Ulmer, DJ Logic and more
* Thurs., June 24 - Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club® featuring Omara Portuondo / Nelida Tirado
* Fri., June 25 - Kid Koala: Short Attention Span Theater vs. The Slew / Hess Is More
* Sat., June 26 - Texas Tornados, Red Clay Ramblers
* Thurs., July 1 - Zoom: Zvidance, Son Lux with Lottdance
* Fri., July 2 - Fab 5, Uzalo
* Thurs., July 8 - Itutu: Armitage Gone! Dance featuring Burkina Electric
* Fri., July 9 - Ozomatli, Fidel Nadal / Toy Selectah
* Sun., July 11 - OkayAfrica with The Roots, Talib Kweli and more
* Sat., July 17 - African Festival with Konono No. 1, Omar Pene, Super Diamono and more
Thurs., July 22 - The Chaplin Mutuals: Carl Davis / The Two Man Gentlemen Band (Music & Movies, with Brooklyn Philharmonic)
* Fri., July 23 Bomba Estereo, La Secta Allstar / Rita Indiana
* Sat., July 24 - Field of Dreams (Un Mundo Nuevo): Andres Levin & The Bruce High Quality Foundation
* Thurs., July 29 - MI21: Mother India 21st Century Remix with DJ Tigerstyle / Falu (Music & Movies)
* Fri., July 30 - The Swell Season, The Low Anthem
* Sat., July 31 - Sonic Youth, Grass Widow / Talk Normal
* Thurs., August 5 - Metric, Joan as Police Woman / Holly Miranda
* Fri., August 6 - House of Usher: Marco Benevento, White Magic (Music & Movies)
* Sat., August 7 - Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Budos Band and more
* Sun., August 8 - Brady Rymer, Elizabeth Mitchell (family concert)

Celebrate Brooklyn is also holding four benefit shows to raise funds for the program: Passion Pit, June 29 (sold out); Rufus Wainwright, July 20; The National, July 27 (sold out); and The Dead Weather, July 27.

Free Summer 2009 Concerts in New York City

With the economic meltdown in full effect, New York's wide range of free summer concerts couldn't have come at a better time. The grandaddy of the free shows is Central Park Summerstage, but there are also good series elsewhere, including Celebrate Brooklyn and the Madison Square Music series. See the links below for dates and performers.

Central Park Summerstage - mid-Park at around 72nd St.
Performers include Josh Ritter and The New York Pops, Juana Molina, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, the Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital, Bettye Lavette, M. Ward, and Ginuwine, as well as spoken word and comedy

Celebrate Brooklyn - Prospect Park bandshell
Performers including David Byrne, Femi Kuti and Positive Force, Dr. Dog, Robert Cray, and Los Amigos Invisibles

Madison Square Music - Madison Square Park, between 23rd and 26th Streets and between Fifth and Madison Avenues
Performers include Loudon Wainwright III, The Duhks, Jonatha Brooke, Don Byron, and The John Scofield Trio

Hudson River Park's Riverrocks series - Pier 54, Hudson River and 14th St. Only three free concerts in the Riverrocks series this summer, but they're good ones: Matt & Kim on July 9th; Ted Leo & the Pharmacists on July 23rd; and Yeasayer on August 13th.

Hudson River Park also offers free jazz and classical music concerts, and free movie nights (for adults and for kids); see the link for event dates and times.

The Brooklyn Summer Seaside Concerts in historic Coney Island feature a number of big-name acts in Asser Levy park. Coming up in August: Blondie, Pat Benatar, and The Donnas on August 13th, "Salsa by the Sea" on August 20th, and Donna Summer on August 27th.

The City Parks Foundation presents other concerts in all five boroughs throughout the summer, see the schedule at this link. There are also dance performances, theater, familiy events, and more; check the Web site of the City Parks Foundation for details and listings.

(Another source of information for free concerts: the NYC Free Concerts Web site.)