30 must-see concerts and summer festivals in the NYC area

Summertime in New York means a movable feast of musical events, from intimate concerts to gargantuan stadium shows and everything in between. Whether you’re looking for a blockbuster bill starring Beyoncé or Drake, a farewell show by a blues icon, a free event with a buzzy upstart or something else altogether, you’ll find something to suit your taste among this tally of surefire shows.

“LPR 15”

May 30-June 29

(Le) Poisson Rouge, Greenwich Village

Hard to believe it’s been 15 years since Justin Kantor and David Handler opened the audacious nightclub (Le) Poisson Rouge at the former site of a fabled jazz space, the Village Gate, and turned New York City on its ear with a borderless approach to booking. That philosophy is reflected in the club’s anniversary series, comprising two-night stands with dreamy alt-pop band Panchiko (May 30-31) and regal doom-metal trio YOB (June 12-13); trendsetting artists like Kevin Barnes (June 4), The Antlers (June 7) and Zola Jesus (June 22); an epochal double bill pairing art-rock trailblazers Faust and Pere Ubu (June 19); a reunion show by noisy improvisers Yellow Swans (June 29) — and so very much more. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Hot 97 Summer Jam

June 4

UBS Arena

For almost 20 years, the iconic music festival Summer Jam has played various New Jersey venues during the first week of June. But this year, seemingly for the first time since 2002, Summer Jam is happening in the birthplace of hip-hop, New York. It makes sense: Hip-hop turns 50 years old in August, so this is a curtain-raiser for a jam-packed summer. Bronx superstar Cardi B tops the bill in Elmont – yes, it’s Long Island, but right on the Queens border. French Montana, Ice Spice, Fivio Foreign, Lola Brooke and Lil TJay are also appearing, and legendary local trio The Lox are cooking up a special anniversary performance. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

Pan-Afrikan Peoples Arkestra

June 4

National Sawdust, Williamsburg

This is a historically rare East Coast visit by a Los Angeles neighborhood free-jazz big band. The Arkestra, founded by pianist Horace Tapscott in 1961, has long been a Black L.A. institution, providing a social space for the city’s African-American community and a training ground for generations of musicians while also developing a public improvisational style every bit as important as the art music made by the likes of Ornette Coleman. Tapscott passed away in 1999, and the Arkestra is now guided by drummer Mekela Sessions, whose saxophonist father, Michael, remains in the group. The mix of old and new cohort is a wonderful trick; getting everyone to Brooklyn for their first-ever NYC show, with Taja Cheek (a.k.a. L’Rain) opening, seems epic. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

The Governors Ball Music Festival

June 9-11

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens

Hip-hop is represented strongly in this year’s Governors Ball, which sets up shop this year for the first time in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Lizzo headlines on Friday, Kendrick Lamar does the honors Sunday, and support bills throughout the fest include Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice, Joey Bada$$, Lil Baby, Lil Nas X and Pusha T. But the festival also offers an eclectic mix of other performers, including Odesza (headlining on Saturday), Haim, Snail Mail and Black Midi, among many others. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

Vision Festival

June 13-18

Roulette, Brooklyn

Now in its 27th year, New York’s pre-eminent festival devoted to creative music of the tradition commonly referred to as “free jazz” always feels like an underdog punching above its cultural weight. As always, its 2023 program honors the past: French bassist ​​Joëlle Léandre will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, the music of Alice Coltrane and Don Cherry will be performed by devoted ensembles (led respectively by drummers Hamid Drake and Kahil El’Zabar), and Coltrane bassist Reggie Workman fronts an all-star big band. Yet Vision also spotlights a new generation of spirits, this year including saxophonist Devin Brahja Waldman, marimba player Patricia Brennan, violinist eddy kwon and violist Melanie Dyer. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

“You Are My Friend: A Concert Tribute to Sylvester”

June 15

Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center

If you’ve ever broached a disco dance floor, you’ve likely heard Sylvester’s 1978 period classic, “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real).” For a long time, that song, plus his Bay Area LGBTQ+ activism and death from AIDS in 1988, were the primary markers of Sylvester James Jr.’s popular biography. But as queer archives update American cultural history, his full majesty – as bandleader and gospel singer, drag and performance artist, disco diva and gender transgressor – are coming into full view. This free Pride Month event saluting Sylvester’s deep catalog will include performances by art-R&B singer Dawn Richard, ballroom icon Kevin Aviance, folk singer Anjimile and house music legend Byron Stingily. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

The Musical Box

June 16-17

Palladium Times Square

Calling Canadian quintet The Musical Box a Genesis tribute act is about the same as calling the New York Philharmonic a Beethoven cover band: not inaccurate, but barely scratching the surface. Founder Sébastien Lamothe, singer Denis Gagné and their mates approach their chosen canon with forensic fealty, using period instruments and costuming, while at the same time serving notice that the young Genesis was a punchy band, essentially The Mars Volta of their day. These shows are the end of an era, the Musical Box playing for the last time Peter Gabriel’s enigmatic swan song, the 1974 concept album “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” from start to finish, with the actual slide projections Genesis used, only a few yards off Broadway. Uncanny. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Re:SET

June 16-18

Forest Hills Stadium, Queens

The problem with many festival bills is that artists often play simultaneously on multiple stages, forcing fans to decide who to see when favorite artists perform at the same time. That won’t be an issue at Re:SET, a new high-concept affair announced earlier this year by Bowery Presents, because every artist is guaranteed an individual set during events that start at 3 p.m. and wrap up by 10. This year’s inaugural lineup includes LCD Soundsystem, boygenius and Steve Lacy. If I were forced to choose, I’d rally to see the June 18 bill, when Lacy headlines with James Blake, Toro y Moi and Fousheé in support. And the festival is just one highlight of a strong season marking the stadium’s 100th birthday. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

Buddy Guy

June 18

Central Park Rumsey Playfield

Tickets aren’t cheap for this SummerStage benefit concert, produced by the Blue Note Jazz Festival – but then, there’s only one Buddy Guy, and if the “Damn Right Farewell Tour” billing is to be believed, there won’t be many more chances to catch this iconic Louisiana-born Chicago blues artist widely viewed as one of the greatest-ever electric guitarists. Another venerable artist, singer Bobby Rush, is billed as a special guest, and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, the brilliant young singer and guitarist from Clarksdale, Mississippi, is on hand to prove the blues tradition is in sure hands. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Mister Sunday: Theo Parrish

June 18

Nowadays Outdoors, Ridgewood, Queens

Every summer Sunday in the outdoor garden of Nowadays, a club on the edge of Ridgewood, Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter throw a late-afternoon party that’s become a destination for dancers from all over the world. Usually Harkin and Carter are the ones on the turntables, guiding the dance floor through a hand-picked selection of disco, house, rock and soul records. (They’re very good at it.) But if you choose only one Sunday to go out to Nowadays, do it the day that Detroit DJ Theo Parrish takes over the decks. Parrish, a house and funk music legend, is the Coltrane of the mixing desk, and there’s no better place in New York to experience him taking those rhythmic risks. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

The Cure

June 20-22

Madison Square Garden

Cure frontman Robert Smith did his level best to shame Ticketmaster into collaborating in making the veteran goth-pop band’s latest tour affordable for diehard fans, with nary a “Platinum” or “dynamically priced” ticket to be found. This should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen Smith at work in recent years, leading a charged lineup (including David Bowie sideman Reeves Gabrels on lead guitar) through shows lasting three hours or more, chock full of big hits and deep cuts plied through multiple encores. It’s an extraordinary experience, and this year’s tour is enhanced by Scottish post-punk quintet The Twilight Sad in the opening slot. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Dead & Company

June 21-22

Citi Field, Queens

When founding Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann declared he’d sit out a tour already announced as the final trek for this stadium-ready alumni act, you might have anticipated a downcast tour. But if you caught Dead & Company in their live-streamed concert at Cornell University on May 8 – the anniversary of perhaps the most hallowed Dead gig ever, in that same venue – then you know drummer Jay Lane has lent the group a hefty dollop of fresh mojo. Ageless frontman Bob Weir isn’t leaving the road anytime soon… in fact, he’ll play Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival at Forest Hills Stadium in September. But what I’ll miss most about this outfit is how singer-guitarist John Mayer and keyboardist Jeff Chimenti play with and to one another with such palpable respect and affection. Need a miracle? Here it is.

– Steve Smith

The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies of Real Creative Energy) Live with LL Cool J

June 27

Barclays Center, Brooklyn

June 28

Prudential Center, Newark, NJ

If you require any more proof that the summer of 2023 is a watershed season for hip-hop shows, look no further than these two huge shows by trailblazing Queens-bred rap icon LL Cool J, touring as an arena headliner for the first time in 30 years. He’ll have America’s favorite house band, The Roots, plus DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Z-Trip on all of his tour stops, bolstered by a jaw-dropping rotation of guests including Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah, Rakim, Common, MC Lyte, Method Man & Redman, Big Boi, Ice T, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, De La Soul and others. Seriously, there’s no going wrong no matter which of these acts turns up – and you’ll get another chance to see some of them in August when Rock the Bells hits Forest Hills Stadium: see below. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Burna Boy

July 8

Citi Field, Queens

Afrobeats superstar Burna Boy seems to have a thing for setting records: in April 2022 he became the first Nigerian artist to headline Madison Square Garden, and the first African performer ever to sell out that storied arena. (He also popped up on a star-studded AfroPunk bill in September.) Now, just a little over a year later, Burna Boy includes a Citi Field stop on his global tour of colossal sports venues – thereby becoming, it’s claimed, the first Nigerian artist ever to headline a show at a U.S. stadium. One thing’s certain: He projects enough sheer charisma to reach the cheap seats. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Kelela + Liv.e

July 8

Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park, Brooklyn

BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! is one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. It kicks off in June, but the specific show that should be on everyone’s mind happens in July when Kelela and Liv.e play a free show. Both artists have been hitting stages all over the world to promote their newly released albums “Raven” and “Girl in the Half Pearl.” It seems most fitting for them to take over the stage back-to-back as each artist has done their part in pushing the limitations of R&B sonically. For more information visit here.

– Precious Fondren

T-Pain

July 11

The Rooftop at Pier 17, Lower Manhattan

Back in the aughts, the Grammy-winning singer and rapper T-Pain plied his signature sound on loads of popular songs, like “Bartender,” “I’m Sprung” and Kanye West’s “Good Life.” He’ll surely dip into that back catalog, along with tracks from his newly released album, “On Top of the Covers,” when he plays The Rooftop at Pier 17. Prepare for breathtaking views of the Brooklyn Bridge – and, from the right angle, the Statue of Liberty, too. It’s a ticketed concert, and it’ll happen rain or shine. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

Toshi Reagon & Bernice Johnson Reagon: “Parable of the Sower”

July 14-15

David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center

The impressive cultural march of science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler’s apocalyptic prophecy, “Parable of the Sower,” is about to hit the concert hall in operatic form – and, as with this book’s other intellectual space conquests, it feels right on time. With music, book and stage direction created by the mother-daughter team of renowned folk singer-songwriter Toshi Reagon, co-host of the Butler podcast “Octavia’s Parables,” and civil rights scholar/social activist Bernice Johnson Reagon, a founder of the legendary a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock, “Sower” arrives at Geffen Hall for a two-night premiere under the direction of Eric Ting and Signe V. Harriday. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

Boiler Room NYC

July 15

Avant-Gardner

Boiler Room is one of global dance music’s indestructible brands: a popular party live-streamed on YouTube from club spaces around the world, capable of turning local artists, DJs and producers into superstars in the span of a closely watched hourlong set. Boiler Room visits NYC annually, and each event is a crash course for ravers and rave-adjacent alike. Among the lucky to get the nod for this year’s 10-and-a half hour broadcast from the Bushwick megaclub are 8uletina, a DJ whose breakbeats are adorned with Middle Eastern melodies; Rose Kourts, a fearlessly funky techno DJ; and Cakes Da killa, a queer house music rapper who should already be bigger than Boiler Room. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

Drake + 21 Savage

July 17, 18, 20, 21

Barclays Center, Brooklyn

July 23, 25, 26

Madison Square Garden

Their collaborative album, “Her Loss,” topped the charts late last year, and now Canadian superstar Drake and Southern rapper 21 Savage are taking their act out on the road. They’ll bring their “It’s All a Blur” tour to New York City for four dates in Brooklyn and three more at the Garden. Back in January, Drake brought a spectacular show to the Apollo Theater, where he sang well over 40 songs from his extensive catalog. Here’s hoping these upcoming shows will be no different. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

Ali Sethi + Raja Kumari

July 22

Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park

Ali Sethi is among this year’s real breakthrough stories: a classically trained queer Pakistani singer and writer whose silky tracks fire up dance floors, enhance TV shows and blow up on TikTok. Sethi caused a sensation at the Coachella Festival when he performed his signature song, the instantly infectious “Pasoori,” with Indian-American singer and rapper Raja Kumari … and since Kumari’s on this BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! bill, you’re pretty much assured to see the magic repeat in person. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Beyoncé

July 29-30

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

If any bill warrants being billed as the show of the summer, it’s the highly anticipated Renaissance World Tour from Beyonce. The former Destiny’s Child singer opened the trek in Europe earlier this month – as fans all over the world may have seen already, since dedicated members of the Beyhive streamed the opening nights on Instagram. Excitement for the concert has been building since the singer dropped her latest album, “Renaissance,” last summer, partly because unlike past Beyoncé projects, this one didn’t come with accompanying visual features to hold fans over. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

King Britt’s “Blacktronika” Festival

July 30

The Nursery, Gowanus, Brooklyn

In 2019, Philadelphia producer/DJ King Britt relocated to San Diego for a faculty position in the UCSD music department. One of the courses King created there, “Blacktronika: Afrofuturism in Electronic Music,” features lectures by musicians from across the spectrum of Black music, from jazz to techno. It became a runaway smash, prompting Britt – who’s still very active in his own music-making, having recently collaborated with composer Tyshawn Sorey remixed John Legend – to introduce a one-day “Blacktronika” festival in San Diego and Los Angeles. Now he’s bringing it to a new outdoor space adjacent to popular Gowanus club Public Records, and even though the performers haven’t been announced, we’ll be there. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

The Comet Is Coming + IBEYI + AceMo

Aug. 2

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park

This unstoppable three-tier bill of electronic and improvised music from around the world is among the new-music highlights of this season’s great SummerStage program. London’s The Comet Is Coming is a supersonic rave-jazz trio, its power source supplied by saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, with future beats by keyboardist Danalogue and drummer Betamax. IBEYI is a Parisian polylingual sister duo of Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz, whose pan-global influences extend from West Africa to the Caribbean, and reflect in soulful vocals-plus-drum machine songs. DJing in-between them is AceMo, aka Brooklyn resident Adrian Mojica, among the generational club stars in the making. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

globalFEST

Aug. 5

Multiple venues, Lincoln Center

As the name implies, this free day-long event is where musicians from all over the globe come to mix it up, now on Lincoln Center’s dime. But forget about the coddled safety of so-called “world music.” The folks behind globalFest have long proved astute at throwing unsuspecting listeners into the deep end, and this year’s program is no different. Haiti’s RAM is a mizik rasin band whose atonal rara horns are the secret link between vodou rhythms at Kanaval and punk rock. Jupiter & Okwess, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital of Kinshasa, create Afropop with highly digital overtones. And Argentinean electronic music chanteuse Juana Molina is a supreme modernizer of pop and torch songs. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

Rock the Bells 2023

Aug. 5

Forest Hills Stadium

There’s something powerfully poignant about seeing trailblazing Long Island combo De La Soul as a headliner at this annual hip-hop happening, just months after founding member David Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove, Plug 2 or just Dave) died much too young. But hip-hop is celebrating a half-century this month, and De La Soul deserves this turn in the spotlight alongside fellow headliners Queen Latifah and Ludacris. The support is is a veritable hall of fame, boasting Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Swizz Beatz, Cold Crush Brothers and many more. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith

Brent Faiyaz

Aug. 6

Rumsey Playfield, Central Park

Brent Faiyaz’s profile has been rapidly rising ever since he appeared on GoldLink’s song “Crew” in 2017. The R&B singer has garnered support both inside and outside of the music industry for remaining independent instead of signing to a major label. Supporting his 2022 sophomore release, “Wasteland,” Faiyaz brings his “F*ck the World, It’s a Wasteland” tour to Central Park. It’s a ticketed SummerStage benefit and already sold out at the source, but resale tickets are available from the usual sources. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

50 Cent

Aug. 9

Barclays Center, Brooklyn

It might take a lot more than 50 cents to nab a ticket for this veteran Queens rapper’s upcoming tour, but it’ll be worth the investment. Curtis “50 Cent" Jackson is hitting the road for a trek billed as “The Final Lap,” marking the 20th anniversary of “Get Rich or Die Tryin,’” his 2003 debut album, touring throughout the summer and well into the fall. Brush up on your favorite “Get Rich” tracks, like “Patiently Waiting” and the birthday anthem “In Da Club,” ahead of what’s sure to be a nostalgic evening of rap. (Details here.)

– Precious Fondren

J.PERIOD: “Live Mixtape: Gods & Kings Edition” + Rakim & Rapsody

Aug. 9 & 12

Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center

As befits a New York-born culture that came to dominate the planet, hip-hop is taking over the city to celebrate its 50th birthday in August, and these two free events — part of a week-long hip-hop celebration at Lincoln Center — feel crucial for both heads and bystanders. The mixtape being rap music’s pre-Internet distribution of choice, it makes sense that J. Period, one of the city’s pre-eminent 21st century mixtape DJs, would be master of ceremonies on Aug. 9. But rap talent is the real reason you should come: Rakim, a.k.a. “The God M.C.,” was the first rapper to turn hip-hop lyricism into a next-level improvisational artform, and Big Daddy Kane is another Golden Era original, a member of the legendary Juice Crew. Rakim returns on Aug. 12 for an encounter with Rapsody, a next-generation classicist. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

Arthur Verocai

Aug. 11

Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center

Here, free of charge, is the New York live debut of a septuagenarian Brazilian producer, arranger and guitarist whose career found a second wind when experimental hip-hop producers and European jazz collectors discovered his work. Since Verocai’s self-titled 1972 debut album was reissued in the early 2000s, it’s become a constant in rare-groove DJ crates and a source of many rap samples, and Verocai himself has become an on-call resource for experimentally minded soul, jazz and electronic musicians who love weird orchestrations as much as he does. At Damrosch Park, with help from Jazz Is Dead and World Music Institute, Verocai will lead a 30-piece orchestra through a recreation of that now-classic LP, guaranteeing a heavy crowd of sambistas and trainspotters. (Details here.)

– Piotr Orlov

AfroPunk Brooklyn Fest 2023

Aug. 26-27

Brooklyn

Just where the next installment of this long-running showcase for Black music, culture, fashion and activism will turn up this year is a mystery at the moment – and so is this year’s lineup. But the brand has a powerful legacy and a history of memorable shows, so we’re marking the dates on our calendars. (Details here.)

– Steve Smith