Forget sweaty nightclubs—summertime means dancing in the streets, at the park, and by the pool. Save your money for frozen cocktails and check out our list of this summer’s hottest concerts with the coolest prices—free or close to it. From indie rock to Mozart, tunes will be blasting all across NYC this summer, so get up off that tanning bed and boogie down.
Celebrate Brooklyn
95 Prospect Park West (@ 5th St.)
Prospect Park Bandshell 718.768.0855
Nothing sets the mood for a summer fling like the deep, sensuous voice of Isaac Hayes, so grab your main squeeze du jour and head to Hayes' June 12 performance for the opening night gala of Celebrate Brooklyn. For a suggested donation of $3, take sonic journeys around the globe with the diverse artists from Argentina to Zimbabwe slated to play this concert series running through August 9.
Rumsey Playfield (W. 72nd St. or E. 69th St.)
Central Park 212.360.2756
Sure, it might be hard to tear your ogling eyes away from all those shirtless hunks playing soccer in Sheep’s Meadow, but with this year’s Summerstage line-up featuring Vampire Weekend on June 14, there might be more to free entertainment than staring at investment banker’s six-packs. Other highlights include Thievery Corporation on June 26, Gilles Peterson on August 3, and Battles on August 16.
Various locations
With all the rocking and rolling you’ll be doing this summer, the time may come when you’ll need a little highbrow culture to counter those highball cocktails. No matter your borough, the New York Philharmonic is coming to a park near you this summer. Forget those hefty Carnegie Hall prices, these outdoor concerts are free, so grab a bottle of wine and a picnic basket and enjoy symphonies under the stars (well, under the neon lights of the Empire State Building, anyway).
Various locations
Forget East Hampton and Sag Harbor, this summer it’s all about the Hudson and the East River. With this free, eco-friendly music festival taking over downtown Manhattan, you don’t have to trek out to Long Island to party by the water. Stuck in the city for the Fourth of July? You won’t want to miss indie rock legends Sonic Youth in Battery Park—even though it’s free, tickets are required (available June 12) because this will definitely reach capacity.
West 10th St. & Stillwell Ave.
Coney Island
Screaming children, fat guys eating hot dogs, and carnies usually aren’t the recipe for a New Yorker’s idea of a good time, but even the highest-heeled will be clacking their way down the Coney Island boardwalk on July 19 for this Village Voice-sponsored all-day rock out. Catch some of the summer’s highest-profile performers like Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Broken Social Scene, and The Helio Sequence. With two stages running non-stop from noon to 9 p.m., stick around to watch the sun go down—just make sure to stay hydrated (on beer, that is).
