Surveying New York\u2019s July concerts, we\u2019d be remiss to not mention three major gigs by American icons up front: Paul Simon\u2019s first appearances in a decade at Queens\u2019 historic Forest Hills Stadium \u2014\u00a0not far from where he grew up in Kew Gardens \u2014 on July 8 and 9, and Jay-Z\u2019s massive three-nighter at Yankee Stadium on July 10, 11 and 12, featuring celebrations of “Reasonable Doubt” and “The Blueprint” and a third show billed as \u201cExtra Innings.\u201d And FYI, some guy named Bob Dylan will also be at Forest Hills on July 21.<\/p>\n
But just in case you\u2019re in the mood for something a little more under-the-radar, we present our monthly array of genre-spanning picks.<\/p>\n
St. Vincent with the New York Philharmonic \u201cIt really was one of the greatest experiences of my life,\u201d Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, said recently<\/a> of performing with an orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall last year. \u201cYou just get to bathe in beauty for an hour-and-a-half, two hours.\u201d She commemorated the experience with a live album, released this past spring, and she\u2019s now taking it on the road, performing across North America with local orchestras, including the venerable New York Phil. Clark has always favored a huge, richly textured sound, but this setting, where swelling strings and pounding brass meet her patented guitar snarl, feels like the ultimate realization of her epic art-pop ambition.<\/p>\n Steve Gunn + Wendy Eisenberg + Evan Wright Wendy Eisenberg has been sending listeners mixed messages for around a decade now. The guitarist and vocalist is an expert improviser with a penchant for rough edges and abrasive, unsettling textures, but they\u2019re also a committed songmaker. Earlier, Eisenberg releases reveled in the tension between these impulses, but their recent self-titled album is their most straightforward release yet, a set of lovely folk-pop tunes infused with subtle weirdness. These songs should make an idyllic night at Rippers on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk, where Eisenberg will co-bill with Steve Gunn, another guitar luminary whose work bridges the beautiful and the gently bizarre.<\/p>\n King Woman Kris Esfandiari, leader of the San Francisco doom metal band King Woman, pulled off an impressive feat on her 2021 album, “Celestial Blues,” offering gothic beauty and harrowing brutality in perfect balance. The artist grew up in the Charismatic Christian faith, in which, as she once put it<\/a>, \u201cexorcisms and demons and angels\u201d were a part of everyday life, and through this project, she \u201cfound my final peace with religion.\u201d Expect an entrancing and possibly ritualistic vibe as she revisits the album at this fifth-anniversary show, presented in the round.<\/p>\n MIKE\u2019s Young World For indie-rap phenom Michael Bonema, better known as MIKE, who spent his teenage years in Brooklyn, staging his free Young World festival in Bed-Stuy\u2019s Herbert Von King Park holds a special significance. \u201cI think one of the most sacred things of it, to me, is the fact that everybody could come for free and we can enjoy it in a place like Herbert Von King, where I\u2019ve walked past that park, bought weed in that park, done so much surrounding that park,\u201d he said of the event in 2024<\/a>. Think of this year\u2019s Young World as a smaller-scale counterpart to Jay-Z\u2019s Yankee Stadium shows, showcasing MIKE\u2019s playful yet incisive style alongside an appearance by Max B, a veteran Harlem MC re-emerging after serving a lengthy prison sentence; and up-and-comers including Thirteendegrees, Eris the Planet and Salimata. (Another big, free park show for your summer hip-hop calendar: De La Soul and Pete Rock at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park on July 17.)<\/p>\n Goodhaven Queens Percussion Concert 2026 with Gamelan Yowana Sari + Ryan Sawyer Shaker Ensemble + Farafina Every underground scene needs its lifers, and here in NYC, drummer John Colpitts, better known as Kid Millions, is one of the most indispensable. For around 30 years, anywhere something cool and interesting has been going down in the city\u2019s fringe music world, there\u2019s a good chance that he\u2019s been involved, whether performing with his long-running band Oneida or, more recently, curating eclectic community-friendly free gigs at the Seuffert Bandshell in Queens\u2019 Forest Park. This installment is a feast of international percussion, including Gamelan Yowana Sari, a local collective performing new works in the enchanting Balinese gamelan tradition; the vibrant Malian sounds of Farafina; and Ryan Sawyer\u2019s Shaker Ensemble, which stages immersive performances based around the rattle of the leader\u2019s maracas.<\/p>\n Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock and Tyshawn Sorey It\u2019s been around a decade since we got a glimpse of the trio of pianist Kris Davis, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Back in the 2010s, when they put out two striking albums under the group name Paradoxical Frog, these three were all already major names on the cutting edge of jazz, and their individual reputations have only grown since then, with each becoming a star bandleader (with Sorey in particular making a major mark in the world of classical music, even winning a Pulitzer in 2024). Even if you\u2019re unfamiliar with any of them, this stint at NYC\u2019s most illustrious jazz club offers a chance to embark on a wondrous sonic journey with three virtuosos who value patient exploration as much as fiery intensity.<\/p>\n Cindy Blackman Santana + Patricia Brennan Septet + Luc\u00eda Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana emerged in the late \u201980s playing jazz with a fierce, hard-hitting approach that recalled her heroes like Tony Williams and Art Blakey. Then, in the early \u201890s, she started a lengthy stint laying down the beat for Lenny Kravitz. (Readers of a certain age may remember her from the \u201cAre You Gonna Go My Way\u201d video.) These days, she makes time for both pursuits, drumming behind her husband, Carlos Santana, and leading her own group, where she revels in the gritty glory of classic fusion, mixing jazz, rock, funk and more into a highly potent sound. She previews her upcoming album, “Coherence,” on a bill that also includes a septet led by the brilliant vibraphonist-composer Patricia Brennan and the up-and-coming Mexican jazz singer Luc\u00eda.<\/p>\n
David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center
July 2<\/a><\/p>\n
Rippers
July 10<\/a><\/p>\n
Le Poisson Rouge
July 10<\/a><\/p>\n
Herbert Von King Park
July 11<\/a><\/p>\n
Seuffert Bandshell, Forest Park
July 19<\/a><\/p>\n
Village Vanguard
July 21-26<\/a><\/p>\n
Lena Horne Bandshell, Prospect Park (Celebrate Brooklyn)
July 24<\/a><\/p>\n