SummerStage Turns 40
In June of 1986, the first ever SummerStage show kicked off with a bang, as avant-garde Afrofuturist Sun Ra Arkestra touched down at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park. Both the park and our city’s cultural landscape have been forever changed. In the 40 years since, SummerStage has presented thousands of global artists to audiences numbering over seven million, bringing hundreds of free live performances to neighborhood parks across the city. Whether you’ve been with us since that very first show or you joined us for the first time last summer at one of our 70+ performances, be it with Jon Batiste, The Roots, Marcus Miller, or Soccer Mommy, it’s been our honor and our joy to dance, sing, and groove with you, and we can’t wait for you to see what’s in store for our birthday bash in 2026.
Click here to read the press release about our upcoming 40th season.
40 in Focus: SummerStage through the Lens of Photographer Jack Vartoogian
On view: June 12-August 21
Opening Reception: June 16, 6pm-8pm
From 1987 to 2019, celebrated NYC photographer Jack Vartoogian captured hundreds of SummerStage performances across Manhattan parks, from Central Park to Marcus Garvey Park and Tompkins Square Park. This selection of intimate, rarely seen imagery gives viewers a look back at past decades of outdoor live music in New York City, a peek behind the curtain with never-before-seen backstage photos and honors those artists who have passed on. From the earliest performances with Sun Ra Arkestra and Mavis and Pop Staples, to legendary artists in memoriam like Tito Puente and Hugh Masekela and backstage shots of Buddy Guy and Darlene Love, this exhibition celebrates not only a photographers commitment to documenting performance but also celebrates a 40 year legacy of SummerStage.
This free exhibition is presented by City Parks Foundation in collaboration with NYC Parks Art & Antiquities department.
An opening reception will be held on June 16 from 6pm-8pm, offering light refreshments, music, and an exclusive exhibition poster while supplies last.
Celebrate With Us!
We want your SummerStage photos! Whether you’re a long-time fan or are just discovering the festival, we’d love to see the show through your eyes. Submit your photos here for a chance to be featured on our social media pages, on the big screens in the venue this summer, and more!
Plus, what’s a birthday celebration without gifts? Stay tuned for special giveaways and contests all season, including surprise VIP upgrades in Central Park, swag giveaways, trivia prizes, and much more.
A HISTORY OF SUMMERSTAGE: 1986 - PRESENT
SummerStage’s first show with Sun Ra Arkestra at the Naumburg Bandshell
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, fresh from Paul Simon's Graceland tour, played to over 7,000 people
Performers included Youssou N'Dour, Jonathan Richman, Quentin Crisp, and gospel great Marion Williams
Spoken Word series launched with performances by Studs Terkel, Sonia Sanchez, Jayne Cortez, John Sayles and Amiri Baraka
SummerStage moved to Rumsey Playfield (its current home); David Byrne made his first appearance, while Curtis Mayfield played one of his last; free concerts in neighborhood parks launched, named CityParks Concerts
Al Green, Yo La Tengo and more perform
Performances include Sonic Youth's first appearance, the return of Sun Ra Arkestra and a performance by Tito Puente
WoodyFest, a celebration of Woody Guthrie's 80th birthday, with Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie; Patti Smith made her first New York appearance in over a decade at a word event; and additional performances by Tito Nieves, La India, Joan Baez and Angelique Kidjo
City Parks Foundation officially took over the management of SummerStage; performances included The Neville Brothers, The Cranberries
Performances include the U.S. debuts of Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi and Ali Hassan Kuban & The Nubian Band plus Solomon Burke
Yoko Ono takes the stage at Rumsey Playfield
James Brown, Chaka Khan and Morrissey all perform in Central Park
Lisa Loeb, bell hooks, Common, CeCe Winans, and New York Grand Opera, and more perform
Performances from Vernon Reid, Chaka Khan, Jane Siberry, Duncan Sheik, and others paid tribute to Joni Mitchell
Premieres of SummerStage-commissioned dance pieces by Elizabeth Streb and Ronald K. Brown, additional performances include Milly Quezada and Les Nubians
Performances from Cowboy Junkies, Manu Chau, Gogol Bordello and more
Celia Cruz performs at SummerStage
SummerStage awarded the Municipal Arts Society's Certificate of Merit and the Indigo Girls performed at Rumsey Playfield during the NYC blackout power outage
Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer winner Toni Morrison and Pulitzer winner Edward P. Jones performed readings from their novels
Sun Ra and Patti Smith return to SummerStage, additional performances from MC5, Femi Kuti, Barrington Levy, and The Killers
Free dance and theater programs in neighborhood parks launch called CityParks Dance and CityParks Theater
Comedy Central came to SummerStage with comic Dave Attel
Newcomer indie darlings Vampire Weekend performed and SummerStage celebrated the 25th anniversary of hip-hop’s "Video Music Box"
First appearance by The Metropolitan Opera (featuring Paulo Szot) at SummerStage
City Parks Foundation re-branded the festival to include the free music, dance, film and theater performances taking place in all five boroughs, performances this season included Common and Alvin Ailey Dance Theater
"Everybody Loves the Sunshine" celebrated the 70th birthday of famed jazz, funk and soul pioneer, Roy Ayers with additional performances from Hugh Masekela and Emmylou Harris
Celebration of Woody Guthrie's 100th birthday, with Arlo Guthrie
40th Anniversary of Hip-Hop Culture celebration in Central Park with DJ Kool Herc
Performances from Beck, Gregory Porter, Blood Orange, Bonobo, and more
Featured performances from Tedeschi Trucks Band with special guest Sharon Jones; Tony Award winner George Faison presented The Wiz: A Celebration in Dance and Music; and additional performances from The Roots with special guest Common, Jorge Drexler, and Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito 25th Anniversary Radio Show Live
Kamasi Washington plays Central Park and Comedy Central returns with Trevor Noah
Icons Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Yo La Tengo, Ginuwine, and Digable Planets graced the stages
SummerStage presented an opening night performance from GRAMMY-winner Gregory Porter. San Fermin, Talib Kweli, and Las Cafeteras also participated in the season
SummerStage unveils $6M renovation of the flagship venue at Rumsey Playfield with an opening night by performer Emily King
SummerStage Anywhere launched online in response to the global pandemic, presenting 80 free digital performances featuring Femi Kuti, Ayodele Casel, Angelique Kidjo, Waxahatchee, and Shabaka Hutchings
SummerStage Festival reopened in-person program with the premiere of Questlove’s Academy Award-winning documentary, Summer of Soul in Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem
Herbie Hancock opened the season alongside Keyon Harold. Performances included Black Midi, Caribou, Saba, and Sons of Kemet
St. Paul and the Broken Bones played to a capacity opening night crowd. Marisa Monte, Mdou Moctar, The Comet is Coming, and Nick Hakim performed throughout the rest of the season
Sun Ra Arkestra returns, and the season also includes Kim Gordon in Central Park, with Common and Pete Rock performing a free show in Brooklyn’s Herbert Von King Park on the eve of their album release.
Pop-up performances filled to capacity from Jon Batiste and Black Coffee in Central Park. The Roots returned for a blow-out show in Queens’ Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
SummerStage kicks off its 40th anniversary year
ADDITIONAL SUMMERSTAGE SUPPORT
Generous private support for SummerStage is provided by Sleeping Phoenix Foundation, The Thompson Family Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Rick and Danielle Arnstein, Elizabeth Sarnoff and Andy Cohen, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation, The Shubert Organization, Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, and NYU Community Fund. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Council under the leadership of Speaker Julie Menin with special thanks to Council Member Oswald Feliz, Council Member Kamillah Hanks, and Council Member Chi Ossé. SummerStage is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Capital One is the title sponsor of Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage. Supporting Sponsors Subaru, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Yeti, New York Lottery, Sixpoint, Narragansett Beer, Wölffer Estate Vineyard, Sunboy, Archer Roose, United Airlines. SummerStage extends its gratitude to Joe Killian, Founder and Executive Producer of SummerStage (1986–1993).