Summer in NYC teems with fun, heat, and excitement, and there is nothing that encompasses all three of these qualities like a summer concert. With thousands of concerts to choose from, and festivals such as Governors Ball and Electric Zoo, summer fun can leave your wallet aching and dry. Luckily, for students lacking a handsome, continuous income, New York is chockfull of free concerts during these hot months.
A popular venue for free music fests lies downtown in South Street Seaport. Nestled comfortably east of the Financial District’s towering buildings, the Seaport Music Festival has brought a collection of talented artists (including Animal Collective, Abe Vigoda, The XX, and Asobi Seksu) to its famous Pier 17 for ten years. This year, artists such as Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Ex-Cults have been announced, with still more to come. A great facet of this particular music festival is the spacing between the acts. Instead of all these bands playing clogged together over a day or a few days, some bands begin playing on the first Friday in June, with the other acts playing on the subsequent three Fridays. That’s already enough concerts to hold you over until July.
But if your insatiable desire for free concerts continues, South Street Seaport will be holding an all day festival after the Seaport Music Festival culminates. Sharing the beautiful seaside venue, the 4Knots Music Festival is guaranteed to melt your face off. Fast, punkie, and unrelenting, the 4Knots festival features a group of musicians whose genres range from punk to psych rock. Artists Kurt Vile, Parquet Courts, The Babies, and The Men shine in this year’s lineup, so get ready for a fast-dancing, sweaty, and fun time.
The most popular summer venue in NYC, however, is undoubtedly the Central Park Summer Stage. In the next few months, the Summer Stage will host about twenty shows, more than half of which are free. The stage will see bands like Twin Shadow, The Airborne Toxic Event, and Django Django. Music from all genres will play, so if certain acts don’t strike your fancy, don’t fret, because there will be plenty more to catch.
If you want to hang in a borough other than Manhattan, there are free concerts for you as well. The Northside Festival has acts playing across venues around Williamsburg and Greenpoint in Brooklyn. With an integration of film and music, and boasting over 300 bands set to play from June 13th to 16th, the Northside Festival is an art-lover’s dream. Unfortunately, the festival works like NYC’s fall CMJ festival, with an array of free events but some premiere showings that cost money. But if you pick and choose carefully, you can attend the festival without dropping a dollar, like if you go to see The Walkman or Solange (Beyonce’s sister) for free with an RSVP at McCarren Park.
nycgo.com
There are too many opportunities for inexpensive fun, so be sure not to miss out. Make a plan, gather up some friends, and head out this summer to enjoy warm weather, good company, and great music!
Alejandro Font, Student at NYU.
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