Thanks to all of our fantastic parks, New Yorkers have plenty of choices for where to spend time outdoors during the warm weather months. And besides enjoying picnics, games or just lounging, you can also hear some incredible music performances in NYC parks this summer, and all for free.
Many cultural institutions partner with local parks to bring musical sounds to the public when the weather warms up, and so many have recently been announced that we had to put them all in one, easy-to-read spot so you can start planning out your summer.
Here are all of the free concerts coming to NYC this summer, outdoors:
Bryant Park Picnic Performances
Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America will kick off in late May and run through September on The Lawn! All performances are free and open to the public, with no advanced tickets required. Plus, they will also be live streamed on Bryant Park’s social media and website if you can’t make it in person.
May 2025
- May 30: Electric Root: The Sound of (Black) Music
June 2025
- June 5: Contemporary Dance Limón Dance Company, EMERGE125, KAŌS Dance Collective
- June 6: Contemporary Dance: Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Gibney Company, and SYREN Modern Dance
- June 13: Contemporary Dance: Doug Varone and Dancers + Kyle Marshall Choreography
- June 14: Jazzmobile: The Jimmy Heath Big Band
- June 20: Emerging Music Festival Day One
- June 21: Emerging Music Festival Day Two
- June 26: New York City Opera: Opera Goes to Hollywood
- June 27: New York City Opera: Opera Goes to Hollywood
July 2025
- July 3: New York Guitar Festival: Pedro Cortes Flamenco, Big Lazy, Marel Hidalgo
- :July 4: New York Guitar Festival: Louis Cato, Jackie Venson, Jontavious Willis
- July 11: Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Knights with Julien Labro
- July 18: Carnegie Hall Citywide: La Excelencia
- July 25: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Cécile McLorin Salvant
August 2025
- August 1: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band
- August 8: Carnegie Hall Citywide: Dez Duron
- August 15: World Music Institute: Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East + Gamelan Dharma Swara
- August 16: New York City Circus Festival
- August 22: Belongó: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra
- August 29: Accordions Around the World: Livia Mattos and more
- August 30: The Town Hall: New York Loves Sly! Featuring Steven Bernstein
September 2025
- September 4: New York City Opera: Carmen
- September 5: New York City Opera: Carmen
- September 12: American Symphony Orchestra: New York Profiles
SummerStage
The annual SummerStage lineup is back for the 2024 season, with a massive lineup of free performances coming to all five boroughs! While the event series’ largest stage resides in Central Park, there are plenty of other stages around NYC hosting free shows this summer. Check out some notable shows below, and the full list here:
June 2025
- June 4: Marcus Miller, Tank and the Bangas, and The Soul Rebels
- June 14: The Aussie BBQ with Flewnt and Inkabee, Gordi, Grace Cummings, and more
- June 14: Lettuce and Styles P (Coney Island Amphitheater)
- June 25: Rhiannon Giddens and Lido Pimienta
July 2025
- July 2: Charlotte Day Wilson and The Weather Station
- July 10: Big Freedia, Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington’s MasterZ, and DJ Golden (Herbert Von King Park)
- July 20: The Roots (Flushing Meadows Corona Park)
- July 23: Cymande, Asha Puthli, Zacchae’us Paul presents Jazz Money, and K.Tea
- July 24: Jessica Pratt, Cameron Winter, and Daryl Johns
- July 27: Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, dead prez, Rich Medina, and Maryam Bukar Hassan
August 2025
- August 10: The Originals ft. Rich Medina, Stretch Armstrong and Tony Touch
- August 17: Funk Flex R&B Birthday Picnic
September 2025:
- September 16: Soccer Mommy, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Dummy
Backyard at Hudson Yards
Back by popular demand, Hudson Yards’ return of their free concert series on the Wells Fargo Stage will happen starting in June! The live outdoor concerts happen every Wednesday at 6 pm through August 7 in the Public Square & Gardens. Doors open at 5 pm. See the remaining lineup below:
June 2025
- June 25: Marc Scibilia
July 2025
- July 2: The Knocks
- July 9: Cian Ducrot
- July 16: Paul Russell
- July 23: Alex Sampson
- July 30: Brittney Spencer
August 2025
- August 6: mxmtoon
- August 13: TBA
Battery Park City River & Blues Festival
The long-celebrated NYC summer tradition River & Blues Concert Series is coming back this July…