WFUV Summer Music Guide 2024
Soaking up the tunes in Newport (photo by Laura Fedele/WFUV)
Text your music buddies and sync your calendars, there's a lot of great music coming up this summer. Here's a list of some events we're most looking forward to (in chronological order); you can pick up a pocket-sized print version wherever you see the WFUV tent or table out at a show.
Skip ahead to: The Rooftop At Pier 17 | Stone Pony Summer Stage | Forest Hills Stadium | SummerStage, Central Park | BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival | Wilco's Solid Sound Festival | The Capitol Groove | Caramoor’s American Roots Music Festival and American Roots Evenings | Battery Park City River & Blues Series | Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City | Great South Bay Music Festival | Newport Folk Festival | Falcon Ridge Folk Festival | Newport Jazz Festival | Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival | See.Hear.Now Festival
The Rooftop At Pier 17
Where: Pier 17, South Street Seaport, New York City
When: Now-September 14
FYI: One of NYC’s favorite outdoor venues at South Street Seaport with dazzling views of downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Shows include:
6/16 Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue with Neal Francis; 6/21 Something Corporate; 7/11 moe.; 7/12 Michael Franti and Spearhead; 7/17 Old Crow Medicine Show; 7/23-24 Two Door Cinema Club; 7/25-26 O.A.R. and Fitz and the Tantrums; 7/27 The Japanese House; 8/15 The Stray Cats; 8/16 Andrew Bird and Amadou & Mariam; 9/4 Crowded House
Stone Pony Summer Stage
Where: Asbury Park, NJ
When: Now-August 18
FYI: The legendary Stone Pony’s Summer Stage has a huge season of outdoor shows in Asbury Park with something for everyone. Fun to listen to music from the beach.
Shows include:
6/12 Gary Clark Jr.; 6/13 Band of Horses; 6/14 Lake Street Dive; 6/15 Shadow of the City: Bleachers; 6/19 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists; 6/28 Silversun Pickups; 6/29 Orville Peck; 7/4 moe.; 7/5 Relix Presents Yonder Mountain String Band, Railroad Earth and Leftover Salmon; 7/19 O.A.R. with Fitz and the Tantrums; 7/26 Two Door Cinema Club; 8/3 The Struts and Barns Courtney; 8/16 The Gaslight Anthem; 8/18 Slaughter Beach, Dog; 8/28 Umphrey’s McGee; 9/1 Waxahatchee, Tim Heidecker, Snail Mail; 9/18 Stars: Set Yourself on Fire (20th Anniversary Tour)
Forest Hills Stadium
Where: Forest Hills, Queens, NY
When: Now-October 19
FYI: Forest Hills Stadium is located near the LIRR and E, F, M and R subway lines. Look for the WFUV Clubhouse between portals 3 and 4.
Shows include:
6/4-5 & 6/7-8 Hozier with Allison Russell; 6/15 Pixies and Modest Mouse with special guest Cat Power; 6/29 Goose; 8/16-17 King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard with Geese and DJ Crenshaw; 8/25 Pitbull with T-Pain; 9/13 The National and The War on Drugs with special guest Lucius; 9/18 Kings of Leon and Phantogram; 9/20-21 Khruangbin with Men I Trust; 9/22 The Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour; 9/27 IDLES with The Walkmen; 10/18-19 Sturgill Simpson
SummerStage, Central Park
Where: Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, New York City
When: Now-October 3
Tickets: Entry on a first-come, first-served basis for free shows. Tickets required for the benefit concerts (*).
FYI: SummerStage’s closest park entrance is 69th Street and 5th Avenue. Street parking is tough on the east side, but if you’re up for it, it’s not too bad a walk from the West Side.
Shows include:
6/1 Free Opening Night with Andra Day; 6/13 Kim Gordon, Sun Ra Arkestra; 6/16 Corinne Bailey Rae and Dixson; 6/20 The Yussef Dayes Experience; *6/24 Caifanes and Café Tacvba; *6/27 Ethel Cain and Teethe; *6/28 Pride Disco: DJ Trixie Mattel + Amanda Lepore; 7/1 Madison Cunningham and La Lom; 7/7 Ezra Collective and Celeste; *7/11 Counting Crows; *7/17 The Saw Doctors, 7/24 Arooj Aftab, Sid Sriram, Emel; *7/31 Blue Note Presents: Robert Glasper feat. Yebba; 8/4 Galactic feat. Irma Thomas; 8/18 Funk Flex Birthday Party with Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh; *8/21 Gaslight Anthem; *8/23 The Roots, Jungle Brothers, Digable Planets; 8/27 Snail Mail, Tim Heidecker, Fenne Lily; *9/17 Squeeze with Boy George, *10/3 Brittany Howard, Michael Kiwanuka with Yasmin Williams
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
Where: Prospect Park Bandshell, Brooklyn, NY
When: June 22-August 2
Tickets: Most shows are free.
FYI: Bring a blanket or a chair for maximum enjoyment. Note that parking can be challenging around Prospect Park.
Shows include:
6/19 Juneteenth UNITYFEST 2024 in conjunction with the Robert Randolph Foundation; 6/22 NPR/WBGO Tiny Desk on the Road show with Thee Sacred Souls; 6/29 Fishbone; 7/6 film ”Do The Right Thing”; 7/27 Watchhouse; 8/2 Meshell Ndegeocello
Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival
Where: MassMOCA, North Adams, MA
When: June 28-30
FYI: This biennial festival takes over MassMOCA and we are always happy when it comes around. Curated by Wilco. Plus art exhibits, pop-ups and other surprises.
Artists include:
Friday: Wilco (special set), Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Horse Lords, Courtney Marie Andrews, Horsegirl, Mikaela Davis, Song Exploder with Hrishikesh Hirway and Jeff Tweedy, Sylvan Esso (DJ set),
Saturday: Wilco, Dry Cleaning, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, John Hodgman’s Comedy Cabaret, Water From Your Eyes; Soul Glo, Ratboys, Etran De L’Aïr; Young Fresh Fellows, Joanna Sternberg, Sylvan Esso (DJ set), and more
Sunday: Jeff Tweedy & Friends, Iris Dement, Wednesday, Young@Heart, Miracle Legion, Autumn Defense, Saccata Quartet (feat. Nels Cline, Darin Gray, Chris Corsano and Glenn Kotche), Mikael Jorgensen, and more.
The Capitol Groove
Where: Bushnell Park, Hartford, CT
When: June 29-30
Artists Include:
Saturday: My Morning Jacket, The Revivalists, Shakey Graves, Trampled by Turtles, Ozomatli, Say She She, The Cap Groove All-Stars
Sunday: Dispatch, The Head and the Heart, Guster, Trevor Hall, Tank and the Bangas, The Suffers, Vincent Lima
Caramoor’s American Roots Music Festival and American Roots Evenings
Where: Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Katonah, NY
When: Festival: June 29th; Roots nights: July 12, August 3, 9
FYI: The festival has day and evening sessions with performances in various locations around the gorgeous grounds. Caramoor is family-friendly — bring a blanket and chairs for the day performances on the field.
American Roots Music Festival artists include: Madison Cunningham, Lizzie No, Solomon Hicks, Fantastic Cat, Rissi Palmer and Poor Monroe.
American Roots Evenings include: 5/11 Jake Blount; 7/12 Lost Bayou Ramblers; 8/3 Rhiannon Giddens; 8/9 Ollabelle
Also scheduled: 6/16 Charles Turner & Uptown Swing; 6/22 Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; 7/6 Kiki Valera y su Son Cubano; 7/11 Owls; 7/13 Sutton Foster; 7/18 René Marie & Experiment in Truth (Music of Harry Belafonte); 8/16 Mokoomba; and more.
Battery Park City River & Blues Series
Where: Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City, New York City
When: July 11- August 1
FYI: Admission is free. Music starts around 7pm on Thursday nights in July. A great lineup with the gorgeous backdrop of Rockefeller Park. Don’t forget a picnic!
Shows include:
7/11 Los Lobos; 7/18 Hurray for the Riff Raff; 7/25 Leela James; 8/1 Abraham Alexander
Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City
Where: Lincoln Center and various spaces, New York City
When: July 12-August 10
Tickets: Most events are free or pay-what-you-can.
FYI: “Summer for the City” includes over 200 events for New Yorkers.
June/July/August shows and concerts include multicultural outdoor dance, theatre and music performances, including: the immersive AR experience “The Bridge” (featuring Nona Hendryx); National Black Theatre’s “The Dream that Will Be”; 6/27 Le Jazz Est Mort; 7/24 Danny Lipsitz and The Brass Tacks Ballroom Orchestra; 7/30-31 Carlos Miguel Prieto conducts Haydn and Ginastera, feat. J’Nai Bridges
Plus musical storytimes for children, dance workshops, yoga, movement and tai chi classes, comedy showcases, events for neurodivergent audiences, immersive virtual exhibits, PEN talks, and silent discos featuring Joe McGinty’s Loser’s Lounge, DJ Bill Coleman, Cruz, and others on New York City’s largest outdoor dance floor.
Great South Bay Music Festival
Where: Patchogue, NY
When: July 18-21
FYI: The festival returns to Shorepoint Park in Patchogue for the 14th year. It’s the longest-running four-day music, food, and craft festival on Long Island.
Artists include:
Thursday: Joe Bonamassa, Jim Messina, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Kerry Kearney Band
Friday: Pepper, Streetlight, Manifesto, Badfish, Tropidelic, Oogee Wawa
Saturday: Dark Star Orchestra, The Disco Biscuits, Dogs in a Pile, Dopapod, Karina Rykman
Sunday: Yes (“Epics and Classics”) featuring Jon Anderson, the Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward; Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre, Start Making Sense
Newport Folk Festival
Where: Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI
When: July 26-28
FYI: If you’re at the festival, stop by the FUV booth, say hi, and pick up some swag and kindness. Newport Festival Foundation’s generosity towards music education is important and vital.
Artists include:
Friday: Adrianne Lenker, Allison Russell, Billie Martin, Black Pumas, Buck Meek, Guster, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, MUNA, Sir Woman, Shovels & Rope, Steve Poltz, Wednesday
Saturday: Bertha: Grateful Drag, Billy Bragg, Chaparelle, Craigie & Slim, Elle King, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Joan Baez (poetry readings), Killer Mike, Orville Peck, Reyna Tropical, Rhiannon Giddens, Samm Henshaw
Sunday: Briscoe, Dropkick Murphys, Friko, Jobi Riccio, La Lom, Mighty Poplar, Mitch Rowland, November Ultra, Palmyra, Sierra Ferrell, Tinariwen
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Where: Goshen Fairgrounds, Goshen, CT
When: July 26-28
FYI: Three days of folk music, camping, vendors, and dancing in Goshen, Connecticut.
Artists include: Nerissa & Katryna Nields, David Jacobs-Strain & Bob Beach, Tony Trischka, Vance Gilbert, Adam Ezra Group, and many more.
Newport Jazz Festival
Where: Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI
When: August 2-4
FYI: The festival’s genre-defying lineup has something for everyone.
Artists include:
Friday: André 3000, Kamasi Washington, Brittany Howard, Cory Wong, PJ Morton, Galactic with Irma Thomas, Moonchild, Chef Adjuah
Saturday: Dinner Party (feat. Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington), Elvis Costello, Thievery Corporation, Terrace Martin, Samara Joy, Terrace Martin + Calvin Keys, Lianne LaHavas
Sunday: Nile Rodgers & Chic, Laufey, Robert Glasper, Christian McBride’s Jam Jawn (Special Guests TBA), Meshell Ndegeocello, Shabaka, Kassa Overall
Hudson River Park Blues BBQ Festival
Where: Pier 76, New York City
When: Saturday August 10
FYI: This annual day-long celebration of The Blues and stellar BBQ make the perfect summer day hang. And it’s free!
Artists include:
Alexis P. Suter, Blackcat Zydeco featuring Dwight Carrier, Sheryl Youngblood, Joe Louis Walker, Altered Five Blues Band
Plus a second stage presented by the Jazz Foundation of America
Sea.Hear.Now Festival
Where: Asbury Park, NJ
When: September 14-15
FYI: Stages on the beach, plus surfing competitions and great photo exhibits by Transparent Clinch Gallery while you’re there.
Artists include:
Saturday: Noah Kahan, The Black Crowes, 311, The Revivalists, The Hives, Grace Potter, Sierra Ferrell, Peaches, Guster, Ziggy Alberts, Robert Randolph Band, Joe P, Passafire, Sonic Blume
Sunday: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Gaslight Anthem, Trey Anastasio Band, Norah Jones, Kool & The Gang, Action Bronson, Gogol Bordello, Larkin Poe, Joy Oladokun, The Aces, Eggy, Illiterate Light, Bertha, Sunshine Spazz, Rachel Ana Dobken
