Free/Cheap: Outdoor Concerts this Weekend and Next Week (June 27-July 2)
Now I don’t want to jinx myself, but I think the weather has turned. And that means one thing — I want to ditch the inside of my shoe box apartment for the great outdoors. And while I’m in the great outdoors, I want to listen to some great music. I was riding my bike past SummerStage last night. Ziggy Marley was playing on my first loop of the park, and 45 minutes later, 311 was playing on my third. It was a small taste of what is only to come for the rest of the summer.
I don’t know about you, but I want more outdoor concerts. So here are the offerings in NYC for this weekend and next week (Saturday, June 27th – Thursday, July 2nd). All concerts are free unless otherwise noted:
- Summerstage (Rumsey Playfield, Central Park. East side between 69th and 72nd Streets)
- Saturday, June 27 – 3-7 pm - Istanbul Live: The Sounds and Colors of Turkey featuring Mazhal-Fuat-Ozkan, Painted on Water featuring Sertab Everer & Demir Demirkhan, and the NY Gypsy All-Stars with Hushru Serilendrici and Special Guests. I have been obsessed with Turkish music ever since I visited Istanbul and Central Anatolia last fall. I suspect Sharon and I might be the only people on the lawn, but that’s okay. More space for me! And there will be Turkish food and art in addition to music.
- Sunday, June 28 – 3-7pm – Ledis/Esperanza Spalding and Jonathan Batiste. For the jazz lovers out there.
- Tuesday, June 30 – 5:30-10:00pm – Explosions in the Sky, the Constantines and Castanets. This is a benefit concert to support SummerStage this summer, so tickets to this event cost $25.
- Celebrate Brooklyn Concert Series (Prospect Park Bandshellm, Prospect Park W and 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY)
- Saturday, June 27 – 7pm – Dr. Dog, Phosphorescent, and these United States will be mixing up a folk, blues, indie rock, soul and bluegrass fusion. $3.
- Harlem Meer Performance Festival (Charles A. Dana Discovery Center @ 110th Street between 5th and Lenox Avenues, inside Central Park)
- Sunday, June 28 - 2-4pm - Jazz Museum in Harlem All Star Big Band. More for the jazz lovers this week!
- Madison Square Music (Madison Square Park Oval Lawn, East 24th Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway)
- Wednesday, July 1 – 6pm – Madison Square Park’s Bluegrass and Blues Night. The Claire Lynch Band, and Missy Raines & The New Hip will be rocking for the bluegrass portion. For the BBQ portion, Hill Country BBQ will have an in-park BBQ pit.
- BAM’s R&B Festival at Metrotech (Metrotech Commons, Corner of Flatbush & Myrtle Avenues, Brooklyn, NY)
- Thursday, July 2 – 12:00pm – Toshi Reagon will be performing what has been described as a blend of gospel, funk, and R&B. 12:00pm is a wonky time, but if you have a flexible schedule or are unemployed, its worth an appearance.
- Summer in the Square (Union Square Park)
- Thursday, July 2 – 6:00pm - Elissa Peimer will perform an indie pop rock fusion.
Head’s Up/Relatively Inexpensive: 20 Wines for $20 Wine Event at Vintage Irving
Next week, Tuesday, June 23, 2009, Vintage Irving (118 E. 15th Street @ Irving Place) is featuring a wine tasting which simply cannot be beat in terms of price: 20 wines for $20, including both red and white selections.
There are two seatings at 7pm and 9pm, and parties will have the option to purchase food at either seating.
You can RSVP online.
Head’s Up: Things Left Behind Part II (did I mention there will be wine?)
My good friend, and favorite artist, Kelly Murphy’s show Things Left Behind is tomorrow. I’ve posted on this about a hundred times in the past week or so, (see here and here) and a full review awaits next week, so I won’t say anything more except that I will be there, and you should be going as well.
I know your fingers are tired, so here’s the info again.
Things Left Behind with the G-Train Salon
Urban Alchemist Design Collective
343 Fifth Street @ Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
7-8 pm – cocktails
8:00-8:30 – discussion and Q & A with the artist
Head’s Up/Free: Kiss My Face Give-Away at Whole Foods Union Square
This hardly falls into the cultural realm, but while you are traipsing the city, educating yourself on art, listening to music, and sipping glasses of wine, your lips might get a bit dry. You can hardly let yourself be expected to go to hell just because you’re a worldly human being. So listen up…
On Monday, June 15th from 3:00-7:00 PM, Kiss My Face will be doing a promotion at Whole Foods in Union Square (4 Union Square South, 212.673.5388), where they will swap your current lip balm for their all natural version for free. I am not 100% certain which of their lip balms will be available, but here’s their entire line.
I don’t promote anything I don’t like, and I’m a big fan of Kiss My Face. A lot of their products don’t contain parabens, which are used as preservatives in most commercial cosmetics and toiletries (many, not all, check the labels before buying if you are concerned). Parabens are chemicals which mimic estrogen and which studies have recently found may be linked to breast cancer in women. For the record, the lip balms are paraben free. Kiss My Face also does not test on animals, and has otherwise eco-friendly and socially responsible corporate values, which I actively seek out in a product.
Good bye Aveeno SPF 15 Lip Balm, Helloooooo Kiss My Face. See you guys in Union Square. Oh, and don’t get greedy. One per customer, and the promotion goes on only as long as supplies last.
Free: For the musically inclined, outdoor concerts this week…
What’s up with New York City being the new St. John Newfoundland & Labrador (I could have just said it was the new Seattle, but I am histrionic). I have St. John on the brain because it was the random city I’d never been to that I had to write about for my travel writing class. It is apparently the rainiest city in Canada, and the average July temperature is 68 degrees Farenheit. Getting the picture now?
Anyway, despite whatever shenanigans mother nature is choosing to play on us these days, summer is almost here. And that means… music festivals! And music festivals are….FREE! Yay!
So here’s a listing of the ones that are going on this week:
- Summer favorite, Central Park Summerstage kicks off Friday, June 12 with Josh Ritter and the New York Pops playing from 8:00 – 10:00 pm. On Saturday, June 13, from 3:00 – 7:00 pm Smoky Norful, Tye Trippel & G.A., and American Idol winner Ruben Studdard ($5 suggested donation) will be performing Gospel. I actually do kind of like Gospel, probably because its pretty histrionic, until you actually listen to the words and realize that they’re just singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus over and over again (with a line about not being able to wait to go home to Jesus).
- If you’re unemployed, freelance, or have a flexible schedule, catch a concert at BAM’s ongoing R&B Festival at Metrotech Park, held outside in Metrotech Park. New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint will be playing at 12:00 noon, tomorrow, Thursday, June 11th, and I love me some New Orleans, so I’m very sad I can’t go. Someone go and I can live vicariously through you.
- Vision Festival, an avantjazz festival, which started on Tuesday, June 9 and goes through Monday, June 15. Times start between 7:00 and 7:30 pm each night. Tomorrow night the show is on the Abrons Main Stage at 466 Grand Street. Check the website for artists and times.
- If you’re an early bird and don’t mind crowds and screaming tourists, check out the Toyota Concert Series on the Today Show, held every Friday in Rockefeller Center from 7-10am. They recommend showing up 1-2 hours early. This week, Friday, June 12th, Black Eyed Peas are performing. Although the temptation to see Fergie pee her pants is fierce, I won’t be going to this one. And this is why: this combines three things I hate: crowds, Rockefeller Center, and getting up early. I will only consider my ban for New Kids on the Block. Hear that Donnie Wahlberg? I’d get up at 4:00 am for you — that’s saying A LOT.
- This is not really a music festival per se, but there will be Blues, soul, country, and rock & roll, at the Snapple Big Apple Barbeque Block Party going on this Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 in Madison Square Park (E. 23-26th Streets between Madison and Broadway/Fifth Avenues). The music is going to be a big part of the atmosphere of this event and I will definitely be there, in part to get my $8 plate of Hill Country and/or Dinosaur BBQ (other BBQ vendors are listed here). Admission is free to the event and the bands, you only have to pay for beverages and food. Click here for the line up. I’m going to go to this one on Sunday and I’ll post a review next week.
Well, that’s it for free concerts for this week. If anyone knows of additional concerts, feel free to post them in the comments or send me an e-mail, and I will update the post.
Head’s Up: $3 Coupon to the Museum of Sex
Although I love to maintain an air of mystery and suspense, later this week I will be reviewing the Museum of Sex (233 Fifth Avenue @ 27th Street). Please, get your minds out of the gutter. When I went there three years ago, I didn’t know what to expect, but its actually very tasteful. At any rate, because this coupon is about to expire (5.6.09 [Saturday] to be exact), I didn’t want anyone to miss out before I do my review, so… here’s a $3 off coupon for admission to MoSex (as it is affectionately called). Have fun!
Admission is normally $14.50 + tax for adults, $13.50+tax for seniors and students.
