SummerStage will begin in June and will continue until October.

We have been working closely with the NYS Department of Health on our plans to keep audiences and artists healthy and safe this summer. We will be following all recommended safety protocols, including requiring that all patrons have either received a vaccine or have received a negative COVID test within 72 hours prior to attending the performance.  We will also conduct health screenings onsite prior to entry.

Tickets and timed entry will eliminate crowding as audience members arrive.  We’re very sorry, but this year, we cannot allow any stand-by lines.  If you do not have a ticket or a reservation, you will not be allowed admittance.

Once inside our venues, we will: require all visitors to wear masks at all times unless they are eating, assign seating in pods that are at least 6 feet apart from each other, add hand sanitizer stations throughout the venue as well as extra cleaning protocols, and ensure unidirectional traffic flow throughout the venue.  In addition, in Central Park, you will be able to order all food and drink to be delivered to your seat through contactless transactions.

Our friendly ushers and security guards will be walking through the venue to ensure that everyone is abiding by these rules, which will keep everybody safe.  Please be nice to them and to your fellow audience members by following the rules!

Performances this year may be shorter to eliminate intermissions; that way everyone will be able to stay in their seats and enjoy the performance.

As crowds exit at the end of each show, we will ask all audiences to leave row by row, rather than all at once.

We look forward to welcoming you back safely!

We expect to be back in at least two locations:

Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield, East 71st Street and East Drive, New York, NY 10021. 

Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park, 124th Street and Fifth Avenue,  New York, NY 10027). 

Other venues may be announced throughout the summer.

All ages are welcome! Parents, please be aware that some performances may contain content or language that is not suitable for smaller children.  

This summer, we will require registration for free tickets, and every ticket will have an entry time assigned, which may be up to two hours before the show time, in order to allow everyone to enter safely and without crowding. Please be sure to arrive on time to prevent crowding.

If you pick an early entry time, don’t fear! You’ll be one of the lucky audience members to enjoy DJ sets, short films and other fun stuff until the show starts.  It will be worth it - we promise.

For our 2021 season, we will require tickets or RSVPs to attend all performances (free and benefit shows). To ensure everyone gets an equal chance to attend a free show, we will issue tickets through a lottery system. More details to follow.

SummerStage also offers benefit concerts at our Central Park venue and these require a ticket purchase. You can locate those shows, noted as Benefit, on our calendar. Please note that re-entry is not permitted to these shows once you exit the venue.

Sorry, we do not offer bag or coat check. We apologize but cannot be responsible for items left outside the venue. 

Professional gear including video cameras or cameras are not permitted at SummerStage in Central Park events. To apply for a press pass, click here.

Food is absolutely allowed and you may bring factory sealed plastic bottles, but glass bottles are not permitted in any NYC Parks. 

Sorry, alcoholic beverages are not permitted in NYC Parks and the distribution/sale of unauthorized materials is banned. You can buy beer and wine in our Central Park venue, as long as you drink it within our gates.

Yes in Central Park.  More details to follow.

Central Park performances will have assigned seats.  

In Marcus Garvey Park, amphitheater seating is available, and all patrons will select assigned seats in pods.

Smoking or vaping of any kind are prohibited in all NYC parks.

Yes, all SummerStage events have restrooms and accessible facilities.  Central Park will include individual units with running water; Marcus Garvey Park will include portalets. Both locations will be sanitized regularly and between each use.  

All SummerStage events are rain or shine unless the weather poses a danger to audiences or performers. Small umbrellas are permitted inside our Central Park venue. We may need to cancel if conditions are dangerous - lightning, high winds or flooding, for example.  We will make announcements on Facebook, Twitter and our website in the event we need to cancel.  It is unlikely that shows will be rescheduled.

Should we need to cancel a Benefit Concert, refunds may be available depending on the circumstances of the cancellation. For more information regarding cancellations of ticketed events, contact AXS at 888-929-7849. 

SummerStage is produced by City Parks Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization. Capital One is the title sponsor of SummerStage. 

City Parks Foundation (CPF) is dedicated to invigorating and transforming parks into dynamic, vibrant centers of urban life through sports, arts, community building and education programs for all New Yorkers. Our programs — located in more than 400 parks, recreation centers and public schools across New York City — reach 310,000 people each year. Our ethos is simple: thriving parks mean thriving communities.

For more information about our work, please explore the menu bar above on this website.

For artists, we’ll contact you if interested. Thanks!

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor at SummerStage, please contact bmcnamara@cityparksfoundation.org. 

If you are a community based organization interested in partnering with SummerStage, please contact esherrod@cityparksfoundation.org.

Absolutely! SummerStage in Central Park is the perfect venue for corporate outings, private events, celebrations and more. Our rental specialists will help you find the right package. 

To learn more about venue rentals, contact events@cityparksfoundation.org.

As a volunteer at SummerStage, you will help greet guests and answer questions all while enjoying a great performance! Email Volunteer@CityParksFoundation.org for more information and to sign up today.

Please check our Work for Us page for openings.

In 2020, we announced digitally streamed performances with Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Anywhere in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We presented more than 80 free exclusive digital performances in 2020 that you can watch from anywhere on our YouTube page. We're thrilled to continue SummerStage Anywhere in 2021, visit SummerStageAnywhere.org to watch our latest performances and visit our YouTube page to watch archival performances from our season

In 2021, all free, in-person performances at SummerStage will be live-streamed on SummerStageAnywhere.org, rights permitting.  

If you have a question you still need assistance with, please contact summerstage@cityparksfoundation.org or for up-to-date information visit us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you have any questions on-site, visit our information booth on site at any SummerStage show.