Hundreds of free live shows are slated to come to New York City as live performances continue to resurge.
From May 14—Aug. 14, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LPCA) will host hundreds of free events for New Yorkers to enjoy as a part of their Summer of the City program. The three-month initiative takes a new approach to LCPA’s summer season that activates the entire campus under one banner.
Summer of the City is presented as a part of Festival of New York. The initiative builds on the success of Lincoln Center’s 2021 Restart Stages, which attracted an audience of more than 250,000 in person guests created an outdoor performing art center so that the arts could continue during the pandemic
“One of the most basic jobs of the arts is to help heal. This summer we will do exactly that, with moments to rejoice, reclaim, and remember within a city transformed,” said Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of LCPA, appointed in August 2021. “This season is rooted in our fundamental programming values: offering artistic and civic programs reflective of the City of New York, a majority of them free; prioritizing collaboration and first asking artists and their communities what they want from Lincoln Center; being a home for experimentation; and inviting New Yorkers to actively participate in what we will create together.”
“The season Shanta and the team have curated captures the moment and so much more—incorporating beloved programming of Lincoln Center summers past into something fresh, new, and thoroughly New York,” said Henry Timms, President and CEO of LCPA. “We all seek a remedy for the upheaval and pain of the past two years. Art can help provide it: from group singalongs to celebrations of important milestones missed or truncated. We must empower ourselves to let joy back in, together.”
Over the course of three months, Summer of the City will host a number of events under three central themes: Rejoice, Reclaim, Remember. With the huge line-up of musicians, artists and performance artists, Summer for the City aims to animate every corner of the outdoor campus across 10 stages, as well as some of the indoor venues.
Summer of the City has been curated to help deepen Lincoln Center’s service to the Latinx/e, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ communities, and there will also be expanded offerings for families with young children. The season will also feature events that center around and celebrate deaf and disabled individuals, Deaf Broadway’s Sweeney Todd, ILL-Abilities, Inside/Out presented by Ping Chong, and an Evening of Access Magic, featuring a Silent Disco, as well as adapted dance classes throughout the summer, and incorporating live captioning, Music: Not Impossible wearable technology for Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members during select performances, and ASL-interpretation and sensory-friendly elements throughout the season’s offerings. The LPCA campus will also host dozens of pop-up performances, wellness events, blood drives, graduations, voting engagement events and more throughout the summer.
Entry for all Summer for the City shows at Damrosch Park, The Oasis on Josie Robertson Plaza, the David Rubenstein Atrium, The Deck, Hearst Plaza, and The Speakeasy on Jaffe Drive will be available for free via General Admission on a first-come, first-served basis. An option for free advanced reservation will be available as well for select events held at Damrosch Park, The Oasis, and Hearst Plaza, which allows guests to get priority access to events. Event admission is only guaranteed until 10 minutes before showtime. Performances at the Alice Tully Hall and the Rose Theater will be ticketed on a Choose-What-You-Pay basis.
For more information and to see a full line-up, visit SummerForTheCity.org.
