Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park To Host Free Summer Concerts, Events

HARLEM, NY — Seven free concerts and other cultural events are coming to Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park this summer as part of the citywide SummerStage series, organizers announced Tuesday.

The popular program centers on Central Park but also fans out across the five boroughs to neighborhood venues like the Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, and of course, Marcus Garvey, which has hosted SummerStage events in years past.

Festivities kick off on June 17, with a screening of Questlove's Oscar-winning documentary "Summer of Soul," about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which was held at Marcus Garvey. It's the second consecutive year that the film will be screened in the park, in honor of Juneteenth.

Subsequent performances at Marcus Garvey will feature jazz concerts — including the annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August — as well as a musical tribute to Harlem-based critic Greg Tate, who died in December.

Here's the full rundown:

• Friday, June 17, 7:30 p.m.: "Summer of Soul (....or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
• Thursday, Aug. 18 7 p.m.: The Last Poets / Impact Repertory Theatre & The Harlem Bomb Shelter / DJ Greg Caz in association with Jazzmobile
• Friday, Aug. 19, 6 p.m.: OMAR Edwards | Tap Master / LaTasha Barnes Dance in association with Jazzmobile
• Saturday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m.: MAROONS & SUFFRAGETTES: A GREG TATE TRIBUTE CONCERT CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF BURNT SUGAR/DANZ A Tate Family program featuring Burnt Sugar/Danz, Burnt Sugar The Arkestra Chamber, Harriet Tubman, Resistance Revival Chorus, Bardo Steppers, and DJ Reborn
• Sunday, Aug. 21, 4 p.m.: Red Alert & friends feat. Case and Wil Traxx
• Friday, Aug. 26, 7 p.m.: CPJF - Jazzmeia Horn and Her Noble Force / Calvin Booker On Tap & Friends in association with Jazzmobile
• Saturday, Aug. 27, 3 p.m.: CPJF - Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet / Buster Williams & Something More / NIKARA presents Black Wall Street / Vuyo Sotashe

"We are so happy to be back in local neighborhood parks after a two-year hiatus and to be able to once again build our newly refurbished flagship concert venue in Central Park," said Heather Lubov, executive director of City Parks Foundation, which runs the program, in a statement.

"Parks have always been neighborhood gathering spaces, but the pandemic brought to light just how absolutely critical parks are to our city's health."

See here for a digital brochure or here for a full schedule of 2022's SummerStage events, which includes around 90 shows around the city.

Related coverage: NYC SummerStage 2022 Lineup Unveiled For 90 Outdoor Concerts