NYC Summer 2007

Where to begin? I don't know. So here, in no meaningful order, is my rundown of summer events in NYC, 2007. (Pardon the bias toward music events. No offense intended toward other forms of entertainment). All events are free unless noted otherwise.

Big Apple BBQ Block Party
Weekend of June 9, Madison Square Park; noon-6pm on Sat/Sun.

Celebrate Brooklyn
An appetizing lineup as always. These concerts are set in a bandshell on the west side of Prospect Park at about 10th street. Suggested donation is $3. Most of the shows are on Thur/Fri/Sat. The series begins with the Neville Brothers on June 14. Manu Chao (June 26 and 27) and Ani (July 18) pass through for benefit concerts ($30, plus $9 if you do it through ticketmaster). July 28 is the Boricua Festival, which, if you like salsa at all, is going to be fun.

Central Park SummerStage
After the Joss Stone benefit concert, the season kicks off with Cassandra Wilson and Olu Dara on June 15. Don't miss Ozomatli on June 30th! Neko Case and Eric Bachmann stop by on July 20, and August 11 is Celebrate New Orleans day.

Byrant Park Movies
The ultimate cliche of NYC summer events, perhaps; but hey, bring a deck of cards and get pizza from somewhere nearby and it's a wonderful way to spend an evening. Concerts start after sunset on Mondays, but the real start is at 5pm when the lawn at Bryant Park opens and people rush in to claim their real estate. Arrive much later than 6 and you can forget about getting a seat on the grass. And don't sit in the back or you won't be able to hear, seriously. The series begins on June 18 with Annie Hall -- which, aside from being a good movie, is cool because the character grew up in the house under the Thunderbolt at Coney Island (may its remains rest in peace).

Brooklyn Bridge Park Movies
Brooklyn movies are more low-key. You get there when you get there, and there'll probably be a seat, though again the back is too distant to hear. The setting -- on the Brooklyn waterfront, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, is TDF. The season kicks off with The Princess Bride on July 5. Take the F to York Street, or the A/C to High Street. Oh, also, there's the famous pizza at Grimaldi's right nearby (19 Old Fulton St) or the cheap burritos and such at Pedro's (Jay St @ Front St).

Midsummer Night Swing
Outdoors at Lincoln Center, with a dance floor. If you know how to swing, I tip my hat. You pay to get on the main dance floor, or you can join the crowd out in the plaza beyond. Big band music is fun. Runs June 19 - July 21.

River to River Festival
Wow, they always have quite a lot down in the southern reaches of Manhattan. And an astonishingly annoying website. Anyhow, Joan Armatrading (with a new album just out) is at the World Financial Center after work on June 12. The New Pornographers are at Battery Park on July 4. And a whole bunch more.

Siren Music Festival
One Saturday every year, Williamsburg relocates. No, really. It's called the Siren Music Festival, aka Hipsters Invade Coney Island. It's July 21 this summer. If you want to fit in, you need to wear pants, no matter how hot it is. And you need a different haircut, probably. Anyhow, to be fair, last year, Scissor Sisters was (were?) great. I couldn't say the same about Tapes 'n Tapes, though, whoever the heck that was. I don't know who the people are this year. Think of it as a day at Coney Island -- swimming, beaching, hot doging, beering, rollercoastering, and such, with a little bit of weird music on the side, and you'll have fun.

New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks
Berlioz, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky this year. Prospect Park is July 10 and Central Park is July 11. There's a second concert in Central Park, including Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, on July 17.

The MET in the Parks
Including La Boheme in Central Park on June 12 and Gounod's Faust (whatever that is) in Prospect Park on June 19. They say it's hard to get a spot in Central Park unless you show up way early.

Hudson River Park
So much to do out on the river. Tuesday and Fridays are music, mostly jazz. It looks real nice. Sunday nights are dance music. The movies (Wednesdays for 'grown-ups' and Fridays for 'kids') include Happy Feet (August 19) and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (August 24).

Blues and Barbecue Festival
The BBF, on August 19, is one of the Hudson River Park events, but deserves its own listing. They don't have this year's program listed yet; it's always good. Basically you sit out on a pier all sunday afternoon, eat barbecue and listen to five different blues acts. Bring a lot of sun lotion and hats.

GMA Summer Concerts
If you have the energy to get to Bryant Park by 7am, I salute you. Lots of big names.

Madison Square Music
This is my favorite summer event in NY. The shows, at 7pm on Wednesdays, are very low key and you can get a spot real close to the stage if you like. There are often cute babies running around. The music, mostly jazzy or folky, is consistently good. If you don't have time to brave the line at the Shake Shack, grab a slice at Broadway and 27th. First show is June 20. If there's one show not to miss, it might be organist Dr. Lonnie Smith and his trio (July 11).
At the bottom of that page, you can also see their lineup for Saturday afternoon concerts, which run from August into the fall.

See you in the parks!