NEW YORK CITY (CelebrityAccess) — New York City Parks announced that its annual SummerStage concert series will be going digital this year, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The platform, sponsored by Capital One, will launch on June 6th at 7PM EST with a SummerStage original performance by native New Yorker and and “Lights Down Low” artist MAX.
The performance will be featured on the SummerStage Anywhere website and streamed exclusively on the SummerStage YouTube channel.
Other performances scheduled through June include the Latin Alternative Music Conference showcase on June 13th. Hosted by Los Angeles’ KCRW radio DJ Raul Campos, LAMC at SummerStage Anywhere will feature performances by Latino LGBTQ artists pop singer Kany Garcia, hip hop artist Mabiland, indie electro pop musician Javiera Mena and rock band Circo.
SummerStage Anywhere will also host the official afterparty with a DJ Takeover featuring sets from RaulCampos and Latin Grammy winning artist Cheo, formerly of Los Amigos Invisibles.
On June 19, SummerStage Anywhere will mark the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, a commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States with a dance event. Tribute performances will be presented on SummerStage’s Instagram channel and include a performance by Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet Dance Theatre and poet Carl Hancock Rux, and a panel discussion led by Executive Artistic Director of The Billie Holiday Theatre, Dr. Indira Etwaroo.
Closing out the June programming is Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress and activist Angélique Kidjo, who will perform on SummerStage Anywhere’s YouTube channel, followed by a live Q&A session on June 26.
After June, SummerStage Anywhere will continue to host digital content featuring artists who were born in, or who have come to represent New York. The summer series will include weekly content segments including interviews with and performances by artists, neighborhood tours with artists, and arts engagement for youth.
“We are really excited to bring SummerStage to audiences at home through SummerStage Anywhere,” shares Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation. “The arts have been critical during this time of sheltering at home, serving both as a respite and as an important outlet for expression and creativity. And, of course, our city’s parks remain some of the only public resources available for respite as we shelter at home. Both parks and arts create community, and that’s what we need most right now, even if we remain socially distant. So we are hard at work to make sure we can still deliver SummerStage to you, anywhere, while we look forward to gathering together in parks again soon.”
