Backyard at Hudson Yards Concert Series
Through June 3 at Wells Fargo Stage at Hudson Yards, Manhattan; hudsonyardsnewyork.com/backyard-hudson-yards.
The stage at the Public Square of this retail-residential-cultural hub in Midtown West will offer free concerts featuring Warren G on May 20, Busta Rhymes on May 27 and Jordin Sparks on June 3. Admission is first come first serve and starts at 5 p.m. Other Backyard events of note this season include monthly Mozart for Munchkins performances, starting on May 16, and Carnegie Hall Citywide’s presentation of the film “Beauty and the Beast,” with a musical prelude from Ensemble Connect, on May 30.
Battery Park City Summer
Through Aug. 28 at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, Rockefeller Park and other locations in Lower Manhattan; bpca.ny.gov.
The green spaces in Battery Park City provide a magnificent setting for concerts and celebrations of all kinds — Juneteenth, the Swedish Midsummer Festival, the River & Blues series, the City of Water Day — with their views of the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty. Those vistas also make the neighborhood’s parks the place to be for this year’s U.S. Semiquincentennial events, like the Sail 4th 250 Parade of Tall Ships on July 4 and Battery Dance’s “America 250: Moving Together” on July 25. Ailey II closes out the summer programming at Wagner Park with a performance followed by a movement workshop.
Summer on the Hudson
Through Sept. 30 at Riverside Park South and West Harlem Piers Park, Manhattan; nycgovparks.org.
Need something to do on a random summer day? With hundreds of events to choose from, this Riverside Conservancy and NYC Parks series gives plenty of options, including forest bathing sessions, evening yoga, sunset concerts and children’s entertainment. Among the standouts this season are the Hudson Classical Theater Company performing plays such as “Uncle Vanya” near the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument starting on May 28, the Fly NYC kite festival in August and the West Side County Fair in September.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Summer Programming
Through Oct. 17 at Brooklyn Bridge Park; brooklynbridgepark.org.
This park continues to offer cultural experiences on par with its breathtaking views. Woody De Othello’s “Guardian Spirit,” a collection of four bronze sculptures and three redwood totems, is now on display at Pier 1. Papi Juice, a D.J. collective, will host Saturday night dance parties on June 6, July 11 and Sept. 19 at Pier 6, where reading parties for the more bookish among us will be held on June 7, Aug. 2 and Sept. 20. Brooklyn Americana Music will bring a night of country, folk and bluegrass on July 24, and Herbert Holler’s Freedom Party will take the disco outdoors on Aug. 29. The Movies With a View series will return on July 2, as will the Hindu lamp ceremony at Pebble Beach, on Aug. 8, and the Harvest Festival, which will wrap up the season in October.
Photoville Festival
May 16-30 at Brooklyn Bridge Park and other locations throughout the city; photoville.nyc.
The Museums Special Section
Starting small and scrappy 15 years ago in Brooklyn Bridge Park, with a handful of shipping containers bringing top-flight photography to the masses, this festival has become a summer go-to and has expanded its footprint, with installations throughout the five boroughs. This year, there are more than 85 exhibitions of news, art and experimental photographs not only under the Brooklyn Bridge, but also at other outdoor spaces like the South Street Seaport and Astoria Park in Queens.
Intrepid Summer Movie Series
May 22-Aug. 28 at the Intrepid Museum, West 46th Street and 12th Avenue, Manhattan; intrepidmuseum.org.
Opening on Memorial Day weekend and then screening on the last Friday of June, July and August, the museum’s free film series this year honors the nation’s 250th birthday with the titles “Top Gun,” “Independence Day,” “National Treasure” and “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.” Movies are shown on the flight deck beginning at sunset. Admission is first come first served.
Shakespeare for the City
May 22-Sept. 8 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Manhattan, and other locations throughout the five boroughs; publictheater.org.
This year’s free Shakespeare programming from the Public Theater begins with a bilingual production of “Romeo and Juliet” that runs from May 22 to June 28 at the Delacorte. There on May 30 from noon to 5 p.m., Shakespeare in the Park’s mascot, Romeo the Raccoon, will be on hand for the Summer Kickoff Celebration, which will feature giveaways and treats. From June 4 to 28, the Mobile Unit will bring “As You Like It” to parks around the city, and from July 25 to Aug. 23, “The Winter’s Tale” will be at the Delacorte. The season will wrap up there as Public Works’ “Public Record” attempts to capture the city’s zeitgeist in live tapings of more than 100 participating performers from Sept. 4 to 8. To find out ways to score tickets, go to the website.
Bryant Park Picnic Performances
May 28-Sept. 11 at Bryant Park, Manhattan; bryantpark.org.
Every Friday evening this summer, as well as some Thursdays and Saturdays, there will be entertainment on the lawn of this Midtown oasis. The season kicks off with the swinging sounds of Wycliffe Gordon and Friends on May 28, followed by New York City Opera’s presentation of American classics on May 29. Contemporary dance dominates in the first weeks of June, with performances by Carolyn Dorfman Dance and others. In July, Carnegie Hall Citywide presents acts such as the Knights and NYC Ska Orchestra. And August brings events such as the New York Guitar Festival, the Emerging Music Festival and the Accordion Festival. The season ends with a memorial concert in honor of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11. Also happening at the park this summer are Paramount+ Movie Nights, which will return on July 13, and the Reading Room series, which features talks, “StoryTime With Cali Co Cat” and Read on the Lawn Day (June 1 at 6 p.m.).
SummerStage
May 30-Oct. 1 at various city parks; cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage.
Since its founding in 1986, this annual series has expanded to include parks throughout the boroughs. The concert series offers something for everyone, including the Metropolitan Opera Summer Recitals in June, a Bastille Day celebration in July and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August. Among this year’s marquee names are Laurie Anderson on June 26 and Mavis Staples on July 16 at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park, De La Soul on July 17 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, and Doug E. Fresh on July 31 in Crotona Park in the Bronx. Many performances are free and first come first served, but some charge admission.
Sugar, Sugar!
June 3-25 at Domino Park, Brooklyn; dominopark.com.
This performing arts festival returns to the Williamsburg waterfront, transforming Domino Park into a stage for experimental dance, theater and music on Wednesday and Thursday nights in June. Among the lineup highlights this year are Amando Houser’s satirical odyssey “DeliaDelia! The Flat-Chested Witch!” (June 3-4), Isa Spector’s take on Euripides, “Dionysus at the Equinox” (June 10-11), and Kat Sotelo’s birthday extravaganza “Is This Beautiful or Am I Tired?” (June 24-25).
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!
June 4-Sept. 19 at the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park, Brooklyn; bricartsmedia.org.
This year’s theme is “Radical Joy,” and it amounts to what BRIC Arts Media is calling the most female-forward lineup in the festival’s 47-year history. Sheila E. kicks off the season, which is loaded with celebrations like the Habibi Festival, headlined by Emel; globalFest featuring groups from Ukraine, Columbia and Korea; and Lyricist Lounge’s 35th Anniversary. Among the benefit concert performers are Patti LaBelle on June 26 and Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney on Sept. 19. Most events are free and first come first served. Tickets to the benefits can be purchased on BRIC’s website.
Concerts in the Park
June 9-14 at locations throughout the five boroughs; nyphil.org/parks.
Since 1965, the New York Philharmonic has provided these free summer serenades. This year, Elim Chan will lead the orchestra in a program that includes Copland, Berlioz and Ravel at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on June 9; on the Great Lawn in Central Park on June 10; at Cunningham Park in Queens on June 11; and at Prospect Park in Brooklyn on June 12. Performances begin at 8 p.m. and conclude with fireworks. On June 14, an indoor concert featuring Clarinet Quintets from Mozart and Brahms will be at St. George Theater on Staten Island starting at 2 p.m.
The Museum Mile Festival
June 9 on Fifth Avenue from 84th to 109th Streets, Manhattan; elmuseo.org/events.
It’s among the best block parties of the summer: From 6 to 9 p.m. on the second Tuesday of June, a celebration of New York City culture floods the stretch of Fifth Avenue that contains some of its most notable museums. Hosted this year by El Museo del Barrio, that institution and its neighbors, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Jewish Museum, will fling open their doors and entertain visitors with free performances and activities indoors and out. Other cultural institutions, like Museum of Modern Art and Villa-Albertine, will be on hand in pop-up booths along the avenue. (A word to the wise: Expect long lines to get into the museums, especially the popular ones. Arrive early and go to your top pick first.)
Summer for the City
June 10-Aug. 8 at Lincoln Center, Manhattan; lincolncenter.org.
Since 2022, Lincoln Center has provided hundreds of free and pay-what-you-wish cultural events for two months every summer. Its biggest draw is the dance floor on Lincoln Center’s plaza, where multiple times each week bands playing genres such as swing, salsa and disco give visitors a reason to groove. The series also features performances from the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center and the BAAND Together Dance Festival. This year’s other highlights include an array of events tied to the World Cup, Glenn Branca’s Symphony No. 13 for 100 electric guitars, an outdoor screening of the documentary “Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity” and SqueakyFest ’26, which showcases the talents of the city’s funniest disabled comedians.
River to River Festival
June 19-Sept. 27 on Governors Island and Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, Manhattan; lmcc.net/river-to-river-2026.
Now in its 25th year, this festival established in the aftermath of Sept. 11 honors the city’s resilience and creativity with a few months of cultural programming. This year, on Governors Island, the lineup will include Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born’s movement piece “my tongue is a blade” on June 19 and 20 and the 5th of July Weekend Spectacular from the Catch performance series. At Wagner Park, there will be a concert from Esperanza Spalding on Aug. 8 and a commissioned work from the choreographer Bill T. Jones on Sept. 10, 12 and 13. At the Governors Island Arts Center, Leslie Wayne’s landscape paintings of melting icebergs and multimedia pieces on climate science will be on view from July 24 to Sept. 27.
Battery Dance Festival
Aug. 10-16 at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, Manhattan; batterydance.org.
For a week in August, starting at 7 p.m., New York’s longest-running free dance festival presents troupes with local and global roots on a stage at the edge of Manhattan, with the setting sun as a backdrop. This year’s lineup includes companies such as Soles of Duende, Bodysonnet, Jon Lehrer Dance Company, Estúdio Movimento em Foco and, of course, Battery Dance.
