Midsummer Night Swing Week Two

Get those dancing shoes shined up and ready.

This is the second week of the annual three-week Midsummer Night Swing, with dancing to live bands outdoors under the stars in Lincoln Center.

This is the 30th anniversary of Midsummer Night Swing, with another great rotating roster of local and international Swing, Salsa, Disco, Pop and R&B bands.

Advance tickets are $18 with tickets at the door priced at $20, and there are discounts for multi-ticket purchases, which you can share with friends.

The dance floor opens at 6pm with a FREE one-hour lesson beginning at 6:30, followed by live music from 7:30 to 10pm. 

When the band takes a break between 8:30-9p, a DJ takes over.  You can leave the dance floor to get something to eat or drink from one of refreshment booths around the dance floor, or stay and continue dancing to the music.

This is a friendly social dance scene, and you don’t need to bring your own dance partner.  Just ask somebody to dance.  That’s what I do – unless somebody asks me first.

Here are the details:

Tuesday, July 2nd

Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Lounge

Crowd favorites Joe McGinty & The Loser’s Loungemake their annual return to Damrosch Park to celebrate the golden era of disco. Put down your phone, grab a subway token, and hustle the night away like it’s 1979.

• Style:Disco
• Dance Instructor: Alessandra Marconi teaches Hustle

• DJ:Bill Coleman

After Hours Silent Disco

At 10:00, when the sound system turns off, the dance party keeps going as DJ Bill Coleman, Rita Houston of WFUV, and DJ Rimarkable broadcast directly to your headphones until 11:30. Wireless headset is free with your ticket; $5 at the door for Silent Disco only.

Be sure to bring an ID or credit card to leave as a “deposit” on the headset.  You’ll get it back when you return the headset.

• DJs :Bill Coleman, Rita Houston of WFUV, and Rimarkable
• After hours: Silent Disco powered by Quiet Events

Wednesday, July 3rd

Sisterhood of Swing Seven

Following the wildly successful Midsummer Night Swing kickoff last summer, trailblazing trumpet player and bandleader Bria Skonberg returns to Damrosch Park with yet  all-star project. This year’s combination of talented and swinging musicians promises to deliver an unforgettable evening of 1930s–‘40s style classic swing.

• Style:1 930s-40s Classic Swing
• Dance Instructor: Shana Maria Weaver teaches Lindy Hop
• DJ: Heather Flock

Thursday, July 4th

Bobby Valentín Orchestra

There will be musical fireworks from this true Fania all-star. The multi-instrumentalist bandleader and arranger Bobby Valentín is one of the most respected musicians on the Latin music scene, having collaborated from a young age with artists such as Celia Cruz, Tito Rodriguez, Ray Barretto, Charlie Palmieri, and more.

Celebrate the true spirit of American independence at an evening of classic salsa with the “Rey del Bajo” (“King of the Bass”) and his orchestra.

• Style: Salsa
• Dance Instructor: Carlos Konig teaches Salsa
• DJ: DJ Broadway

Friday, July 5th

Joe Battaglia & The New York Big Band

For more than 20 years, trumpet player Joe Battaglia and his 16-piece big band have been playing fresh arrangements of everyone’s favorite rumba, foxtrot, cha cha, and other ballroom styles. Well known by dance lovers around town for his longstanding gigs at Tavern on the Green, the Rainbow Room, and the Edison Ballroom, this native New Yorker and his New York Big Band keep dancers gliding around the floor with a melodic sensibility that “showcases Battaglia’s lyrical and sweet sounding horn”

• Style: Ballroom
• Dance Instructor: Sandra Cameron teaches Foxtrot, Swing, and Rumba
• DJ: Gene Eagle

Saturday, July 6

Charles Turner & Uptown Swing

Young jazz vocalist and bandleader Charles Turner III—winner of the first-annual Duke Ellington Center for the Arts vocal competition, among other accolades—has quickly made his mark in the New York City jazz scene, playing regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s late-night dance sessions, Ginny’s Supper Club, Smoke, and more.

Turner slides effortlessly from crooning jazz melodies to hard swinging standards to down-and-out blues, all backed by a flawless five-piece rhythm and horn section. There’s no time like the present to hear from the new generation of swing ambassadors.

• Style: Swing, Jazz, Blues
• Dance Instructors: LaTasha Barnes and Joshua Mclean teach Lindy Hop
• DJ:Odysseus Bailer

We’ll have the final week of Midsummer Night Swing performers for you next week.