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SummerStage 2020 is Free and Virtual

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

NYC SummerStage goes virtual in 2020 Normally, SummerStage is a program of more than 100 FREE live concerts and dance performances by local NYC entertainers in NYC parks in all five boroughs, including Central Park.

Since this is not a normal year, NYC SummerStage goes virtual in 2020, available to anybody anywhere, not just in NYC, with FREE streaming concerts and performances by both local and national entertainers,

The first SummerStage Anywhere concert is Saturday, June 6, with an original performance by native New Yorker and pop phenom MAX, performing a love letter to New York. He has been called a “Young Pop God” by GQ,.

Throughout the month of June, SummerStage Anywhere features performances each weekend, on the SummerStage Anywhere website and streamed exclusively on the SummerStage YouTube channel at 7pm.

SummersStage is sponsored by the City Parks Foundation and funded by Capital One, as is the 2020 virtual version.

MAX was named a “top popstar to watch” by Billboard and was nominated for Best New Pop Artist at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards. The Billboard top-pop star’s double platinum hit single “Lights Down Low” earned half a billion streams globally

On June 13, the Latin Alternative Music Conference brings its annual showcase digitally to SummerStage Anywhere.

Hosted by Los Angeles’ KCRW radio DJ Raul Campos, LAMC at SummerStage Anywhere will feature an exclusive showcase from key voices in the Latino LGBTQ community including pop singer Kany Garcia, hip-hop artist Mabiland, indie electro pop musician Javiera Mena and rock band Circo.

These artists from Colombia, Chile and Puerto Rico will come together with original performances on LAMC’s Twitch channel. 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 celebrate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, the nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, with a digital day of dance.

Tribute performances will be presented on SummerStage’s Instagram channel culminating in a performance on SummerStage’s YouTube channel, featuring 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 on June 26 is Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress and activist Angélique Kidjo. SummerStage alumna Kidjo will bring her Afropop world fusion sound to an exclusive performance on SummerStage Anywhere’s YouTube channel, followed by a live Q&A session.

In July and August, SummerStage Anywhere will be home to a one-of-a-kind digital content series highlighting genres that were born in or deeply represent New York — hip-hop, salsa, jazz, global, indie, contemporary dance.
 
The summer series will include weekly content segments including interviews with and performances by iconic artists, neighborhood tours with artists, and arts engagement for youth.
For a full schedule of upcoming programming, visit summerstageanywhere.org.

“We are really excited to bring SummerStage to audiences at home through SummerStage Anywhere,” said 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.”

“SummerStage artists purposefully reflect the communities we serve, celebrating the great history and diversity of NYC culture — something that we are very proud of year after year,” said Erika Elliott, SummerStage’s executive artistic director. “Through SummerStage Anywhere, we will be able to showcase a uniquely New York City festival experience, authentically rooted in the neighborhoods in which our shows are typically held while curated for a far-reaching global audience. We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to bringing you SummerStage Anywhere.”

As an independent, nonprofit organization, City Parks Foundation relies on its donors to help make SummerStage possible.

Support from donors will help secure the future of SummerStage as New York’s largest free outdoor performing arts festival.

To make a donation, visit cityparksfoundation.org/give.

Capital One is the title sponsor of the 2020 SummerStage festival. Disney is a sponsor of SummerStage family programming.

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