Preview: SummerStage 2017

Back in 1986, the City Parks Foundation created SummerStage in the spirt of Central Park’s original purpose — to serve as a free, public resource to help culturally enrich the lives of New Yorkers through live concerts, dance performances, and other cultural events.  And the festival’s first few years revealed relatively humble beginnings as its first few years of live programming were at Central Park’s Naumberg Bandshell; however, with artists such as Sun Ra Arkestra and legendary South African vocal act Ladysmith Black Mambazo and an impressive list of others playing those first few years, Summerstage, SummerStage quickly developed a reputation for presenting one of the most diverse array of artists across a variety of cultures, genres and styles — and they’ve continued to do so throughout its 30 plus year history. Over the past handful of years, SummerStage’s organizers have expanded the festival beyond Manhattan with shows hosted in parks, bandshells and and makeshift stages across the city’s other five boroughs, and from covering the festival throughout most of the history of site, it’s a wonderful afternoon or evening with your friends and neighbors; plus, there’s nothing like catching acts that keep you in touch with your inner child.

2017’s SummerStage season will begin in earnest on June 3rd with the legendary and imitable Mavis Staples, a national fucking treasure if you ask me, with contemporary blues artist Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely Good Music to round out a night of soul, gospel and blues at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield. And the rest of the lineup for his year continues an incredible run of must-see acts. Some other highlights will include:

• The 3rd Annual Only In Queens Festival at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park featuring George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic with Main Source, Chloe x Halle, DJ Marley Marl and Roxanne Shante on June 11th
• Digable Planets at Brooklyn’s Coffey Park on June 21st
• Indie folk pop singer/songwriter Margaret Glassy at Coffey park on June 22nd
• The legendary KRS-One and Chuck Chillout at Coffey Park on June 25th
• Old school hip-hop legends Slick Rick and Grand Wizzard Theodore will rock Queens’ Springfield Park on July 7th
• Contemporary ballet company BalletX will perform their acclaimed piece “Big Ones” to the music of Amy Winehouse at Rumsey Playfield on July 26th
• The Wu Tang’s The GZA at Staten Island’s Corporal Thompson Park on July 23rd
• Latin Grammy Award-winning salsera La India at The Bronx’s St. Mary’s Park on July 28
• Jadakiss at The Bronx’s Crotona Park on August 6th
• Brasil Summerfest, featuring current and up-and-coming Brazilian artists at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield featuring iconic samba vocalist Elza Soares and up-and-coming artist Liniker e os Carmelos on August 5th
• The Russell Simmons / Mos Def-backed series Def Poetry Jam will host a reunion in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park on August 20th
• Renowned jazz artist Joshua Redman and his quartet playing at the 25th Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at the Lower East Side’s Tompkins Square Park on August 27th

And of course, there are a handful of benefit shows presented by The Bowery Presents at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield to help support City Parks Foundation’s continuing efforts to present free arts programming to New Yorkers and that lineup is equally impressive.

• Elvis Costello and The Imposters with Gov’t. Mule on June 15th
• Umprhey’s McGee with Aqueous on July 7th
• PJ Harvey on July 19th
• Regina Spektor on July 27th
• All Time Low with SWMRS, Waterparks and The Wrecks on July 31st
• The Revivalists with White Denim on August 10th
• Young the Giant with Cold War Kids and Joywave on September 13
• The War on Drugs on September 22nd

SummerStage will also be expanding its family-friendly pre-show workshop offerings this year to include dance classes, beatboxing lessons and introductions to DJing and Latin percussion. These interactive workshops will take place prior to elect SummerStage shows throughout the summer and all ages are encouraged to come out to your local park to participate. This year, the pre-show workshops will being with a DJ lesson from Scratch DJ Academy and a beatboxing tutorial with beatboxer Exacto before Digable Planets’ Coffey Park show — and other workshops will include salsa dance lessons in St. Mary’s Park and a poetry class in Marcus Garvey Park.