Summerstage
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2025 New York SummerStage Line-Up Includes Soccer Mommy, Roots, Rakim, James Blunt, Femi Kuti & More
Written by djfrosty on April 23, 2025
New York’s City Parks Foundation announced the lineup for its 2025 season of Capitol One City Parks Foundation SummerStage series of shows on Wednesday (April 23). The series of 70 free and benefit concerts and performances will bring music to Central Park and 13 other neighborhood parks across all five boroughs this summer, kicking off on June 4 with a New Orleans-inspired show featuring Marcus Miller, Tank and the Bangas and the Soul Rebels in association with the Blue Note Jazz Festival.
The rest of the eclectic roster for the 39th edition of SummerStage will feature jazz, hip-hop, rock, salsa, reggae, Afrobeat, soul and pop artist, as well as DJs and contemporary dance performers from around the globe.
“I am thrilled to announce our 2025 SummerStage lineup, a stellar reflection of what makes our festival so unique and beloved,” said Heather Lubov, executive director of City Parks Foundation in a statement. “The huge variety of artists we’re presenting and the parks where we’re located reflect our city’s demographic and cultural diversity, but they also serve to unite us as neighbors and as lovers of music, regardless of our differences.”
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Among the other acts slated to take the stage are: The Roots, Soccer Mommy, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, Rakim, Celia Cruz Centennial Celebration, Big Freedia, Camilo, Jessica Pratt, Bob Sinclair, IZA, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Awich, Frankie Negrón, La Sonora Poceña and Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues, among others.
This season’s events will take place in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, Herbert Von King Park and The Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, St. Mary’s Park and Crotona Park in the Bronx, Stapleton Waterfront Park on Staten Island, and SummerStage’s flagship venue, Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Performances are free and open to the public, with the exception of the ticketed benefit concerts in Central Park.
Other 2025 SummerStage highlights include:
- The Aussie BBQ: a June 14 celebration of sounds from Down Under featuring father-son hip-hop duo Flewnt and Inkabee, indie pop artist Gordi, singer-songwriter Grace Cummings, EDM duo PINES, garage rockers The Grogans and a special appearance from beloved children’s music group The Wiggles.
- Nordic Next: a June 15 show with sounds from Nordic nations featuring singer-songwriter Jakob, Swedish indie-folk singer Sarah Klang and Danish art-pop violinist/singer Astrid Sonne.
- New York Sings Yiddish: a June 30 showcase of Yiddish music and folklore with sets from multi-instrumentalist Zalman Mlotek and klezmer/jazz fusion band Frank London’s Klezmer All-Stars.
- Canadian music showcase: a July 2 show featuring Toronto R&B singer Charlotte Day Wilson and folk-rock band The Weather Station.
- Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC): July 9 show with Colombian Latin pop band Morat, with punk/reggaeton band Planta Industrial and a July 12 show with Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo and Colombian pop singer and 2024 Latin Grammy best new artist winner Ela Taubert.
- Big Freedia: the New Orleans bounce queen will take the stage at Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn with Black trans femme choreographer Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington.
- Bastille Day Celebration: a July 13 showcase with performances from house DJ Bob Sinclair, hip-hop brother duo Big Flo & Oli, singer-songwriter Patrick Bruel and pianist/singer ESTL.
- The Roots: The Philly hip-hop collective and Tonight Show house band will play Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens on July 20.
- Femi Kuti: a July 27 show with the Nigerian superstar and his band, the Positive Force, along with New York rap crew dead prez — celebrating their 30th anniversary — and poet Maryam Bukar Hassan.
- Frankie Negrón: Tropical/salsa star Negrón will play the Bronx’s Crotona Park on July 31.
- Taiwanese Waves: an August 3 showcase celebrating indigenous Taiwanese culture with contemporary dance company Bulareyaung Dance Company, indigenous Paiwan pop star ABAO and singer-songwriter Enno Cheng.
- Rakim: The legendary New York MC will take the stage at Stapleton Waterfront Park on Staten Island on August 9.
- Celia Cruz Celebration: the tribute to the legendary Queen of Salsa’s centennial on August 9 will feature Cuban singer/pianist Aymée Nuviola and Afro-Cuban singer Brenda Navarrete.
- La Sonora Ponceña: The Puerto Rican salsa band will play Stapleton Waterfront Park on August 10.
- Soccer Mommy: indie rock band will close out the Central Park season on Sept. 16 with help from Hurray for the Riff Raff and Dummy.
The series will include celebrations of New York’s cultural communities with guest curators including MIKE’s Young World V — with July 12 sets from Roc Marciano and The Alchemist — DJ Rekha’s Basement Bhangra Beyond dance show with London-based Punjabi singer Tara Lily on July 19 and Coney Island’s NEMS’ second GORILLAFEST hip-hop show on July 26. In addition, legendary DJ Funk Flex will celebrate the sounds of hip-hop and R&B across the boroughs on Aug. 1 (the Bronx), Aug. 16 (Coney Island) and Aug. 17 (Central Park) and DJ/producer King Britt will host his Blacktronika Festival with back-to-back shows in Central Park (Aug. 16) and Marcus Garvey Park (Aug. 17).
SummerStage will put the spotlight on a number of female artists as well, with bluegrass/Americana singer Rihannon Giddens playing Central Park on June 25, Indian-American singer-songwriter Asha Puthli taking the stage on July 23 and folk singer Jessica Pratt performing on July 24.
Other artists who will perform as part of the season include: Lettuce with Styles P (June 14), Chris Tomlin (July 11), Cymande (July 23), The Originals featuring Rich Medina, Stretch Armstrong and Tony Touch (Aug. 10) and various artists at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (Aug. 22). For the full line-up click here.