The City Parks Foundation in New York City has announced the official lineup and schedule for the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage concert series, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026.<\/p>\n
Unveiled on Tuesday (April 28), the lineup includes a slate of groundbreaking artists, including Mavis Staples, De La Soul, Spoon, Laurie Anderson, and Ang\u00e9lique Kidjo. Additional acts set to appear at variou shows over the course of the summer include Bilal, MIKE\u2019s Young World with Max B, Julieta Venegas, Edem, Black Country, New Road, Horsegirl, Shabaka, Kokoroko, Trueno, Luedji Luna featuring Liniker, Shaggy, WayV, and Charlie Aponte.<\/p>\n
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The concerts will take place primarily at SummerStage\u2019s flagship venue, Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. But shows will also be held at other parks around New York City, including Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, Herbert Von King Park in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, and Crotona Park in the Bronx. Performances will also take place in Staten Island, with the official site to be determined at a later date.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am thrilled to announce our 2026 SummerStage lineup and mark our momentous 40th anniversary,\u201d Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, stated in a press release.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis season\u2019s exceptional mix of artists truly embodies why Summerstage has become such a beloved music destination for the past four decades, and reflects our city\u2019s rich cultural diversity. We are excited to continue the tradition of bringing memorable live performances to NYC\u2019s parks and celebrating our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The theme of the SummerStage\u2019s 40th anniversary celebration is to \u201chonor the past and future,\u201d with special events and websites highlighting landmark moments and performances since SummerStage\u2019s launch in 1986.<\/p>\n
Joe Killian, SummerStage founder and City Parks Foundation board member, marveled at the growth and impact that the annual event has had on the local community over the past four decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cForty years ago, I had a simple idea: that world-class music and performing arts belonged to everyone, not just those who could afford a ticket. Four decades later, I\u2019m genuinely moved by what SummerStage has meant to our city and what we helped build together with our fans,\u201d Killian, who will be honored with the SummerStage Icon Award, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSummerStage has been the cultural backbone of NYC since 1986, bringing artists from across the globe to share their sounds and stories with our neighbors in their local parks. We\u2019ve curated bold commissions, unexpected collaborations, and showcased rising stars, and New York has shown up every single time. The tremendous loyalty and support from SummerStage\u2019s fans is the fuel that keeps us going. As we step into this 40th season, I\u2019m not just proud of where we\u2019ve been, but I\u2019m also excited for the moments still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rafael Espinal, Commissioner of the NYC Mayor\u2019s Office of Media and Entertainment, echoed those sentiments, highlighting SummerStage\u2019s role in giving New Yorkers access to live entertainment in their own communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to support SummerStage by presenting two free shows this season. This is what New York does best, world-class music in our parks, open to everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cAt a time when affordability is a real challenge, live music shouldn\u2019t be a luxury, it\u2019s essential. It supports audiences, and it supports the artists and crews who keep this city\u2019s music scene alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opening night of the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage concert series will take place June 10, and feature a performance by Grammy Award-winning singer Ledisi in association with Blue Note Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n
Other standout SummerStage events include The Metropolitan Opera Summer Recital Series (June 15), Duck Down Music\u2019s 30th anniversary celebration of Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C. (July 9), a Bastille Day celebration (July 12), The Latin Alternative Music Conference (July 29), Funk Flex\u2019s Birthday R&B Picnic (August 7), The Soapbox Presents: Run It Back, The Art of the Sample Vol. II (August 22), and The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (August 28-30).<\/p>\n
See the full Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Best of Rolling Stone<\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City Parks Foundation in New York City has announced the official lineup and schedule for the Capital…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[67761,84032,22456,84033,84034,39141,18901,9,24,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-212856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-40th-anniversary","tag-charlie-aponte","tag-city-parks-foundation","tag-groundbreaking-artists","tag-joe-killian","tag-laurie-anderson","tag-mavis-staples","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}