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SummerStage
Photograph: Courtesy Nick Childers

SummerStage 2024 in Central Park guide to dates and tickets

Make the most of SummerStage 2023 with our guide to New York City’s biggest free summer music festival.

Shaye Weaver
Written by
Shaye Weaver
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When the city heats up, so too does SummerStage, one of the most anticipated summer concerts known for its free tickets and stellar line-up. The City Parks Foundation series is a juggernaut among warm-weather concert presenters, booking everything from classic New York hip-hop artists in outer-borough NYC parks to big-name indie-rock bands on the Central Park mainstage. The festival has even expanded to film screenings and dance performances.

The scope of Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage 2024 is so vast we wouldn’t blame you for being a bit bewildered by the whole thing.

So, here’s a quick FAQ to get you started with SummerStage 2024

When is SummerStage?

SummerStage is kicking off May 17 with a benefit concert featuring James Arthur but its first free concert and opening night is on June 1 with Andra Day in association with Blue Note Jazz Festival. SummerStage runs through October 20. 

Events happen just about every week of the summer including free concerts, dance performances and film screenings.

Where is SummerStage?

Events happen at many of the city’s parks in all five boroughs. The iconic SummerStage mainstage in Central Park, situated at Rumsey Playfield, houses plenty of gigs. But the series is by no means a Manhattan-centric affair, with concerts taking place all summer at parks and outdoor spaces throughout NYC.

This year, it’ll be at Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, Tompkins Square Park in the East Village, Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy and The Coney Island Amphitheater on the boardwalk in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, Crotona Park in the Bronx and the Stapleton Waterfront Park in Staten Island.

Who is playing SummerStage?

The official line-up, which is right here, includes artists T-Pain, Snail Mail, Madison Cunningham, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Metropolitan Opera, Trixie Mattel and Amanda Lepore, Counting Crows, Ghostface Killah, The Gaslight Anthem and more.

How do I get tickets to SummerStage?

As always, the majority of SummerStage’s offerings are 100% free. There are a handful of choice benefit gigs, though. Visit cityparksfoundation.org/summerstage to get yours.

Are there seats at SummerStage Central Park?

Yes! They are first-come, first-served.

SummerStage 2024

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