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Free Outdoor Summer Concerts Throughout Queens
QUEENS, NY(TIP): Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, in partnership with the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College and NYC Parks, announced the full schedule of the fifth annual “Katz Concert Series,” a slate of free outdoor concerts taking place this summer in various locations throughout Queens.
“Summers are all about free concerts in the parks,” said Borough President KATZ. “We’re delighted to continue the partnership and bring this concert series back for the families of Queens.”
“Queens College is delighted once again to partner with Borough President Melinda Katz and NYC Parks in presenting the Katz Concert Series, which showcases wonderful musicians in outdoor venues throughout our borough,” said WILLIAM TRAMONTANO, Interim President of Queens College. “This vital series fulfills the goals of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College, making top cultural programming readily accessible to our students, their families and the Queens community.”
“There’s nothing sweeter than free summer concerts in NYC Parks,” said NYC Parks Commissioner MITCHELL J. SILVER, FAICP. “Borough President Katz’s Concert Series brings communities together to celebrate music and gives everyone a great reason to enjoy all that our parks have to offer.”
The 2019 Katz Concert Series began on June 18 with a Celebrate Jerusalem concert in MacDonald Park in Forest Hills featuring Yoel Sharabi and his band. It resumes Sunday, July 21 in Springfield Gardens and runs through August 25 at other parks in Rockaway Beach, Long Island City, Bayside, Cambria Heights and Far Rockaway, and on the campus of Borough President Katz’s alma mater, St. John’s University.
The full upcoming schedule for the Katz Concert Series can be found below, along with brief descriptions of the scheduled talent. All performances are free admission and will last approximately 90 minutes. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets to these outdoor events.
***PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR COMMUNITY CALENDAR***
SUN JULY 21 AT 5:00PM – SPRINGFIELD PARK – MR. CHEEKS (Hip Hop artist)
@ Springfield Park, Springfield Boulevard between 146th and 147th Avenues in Springfield Gardens
Terrance Kelly, known professionally as Mr. Cheeks, is a Grammy-winning rapper who was born in South Jamaica in Queens in 1971. Before establishing himself as a solo artist in the early 2000s, Mr. Cheeks made a name for himself as a member of the Lost Boyz in the mid- to late ’90s. Mr. Cheeks and the other members of the Lost Boyz practiced a sincere, literate, non-sensational style of New York Hip Hop that garnered substantial critical acclaim.
TUE JULY 23 AT 7:00PM – THE GREAT LAWN AT ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY – QUEENS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
@ St John’s University (Great Lawn), 8000 Utopia Parkway in Jamaica
Queens Symphony Orchestra (QSO) was founded in 1953 by Borough President Katz’s father, David Katz, and is comprised of professional musicians who also perform on Broadway and with the New York City Ballet and other freelance regional orchestras. QSO’s mission is to serve the culturally diverse members of the Queens community.
During this concert on the Great Lawn at St. John’s University, the Queens Symphony Orchestra will explore how various cultures celebrate their fellowship through music. From the classical staples such as Strauss’s waltzes and Dvořák’s Slavonic dances, to the tangos and sambas of South America and popular Chinese tunes, the unending joy of dance music from around the world will be experienced during a concert entitled “Dances that Move the World.”
SUN JULY 28 AT 6:00PM – ROCKAWAY BEACH – YESTERDAY & TODAY (Beatles tribute band)
@ Rockaway Beach, Beach 94th Street and Shore Front Parkway in the Rockaways
Yesterday & Today is an established, professional, fun and entertaining Beatles cover band with a large and loyal following. With its superb harmonies and expert musicianship, Yesterday & Today is able to beautifully recreate all those magical Beatles songs we know and love.
SUN AUGUST 4 AT 5:00PM – HUNTERS POINT SOUTH PARK – DANCE PARTY WITH DJ REKHA (Bhangra music)
@ Hunters Point South Park, Center Boulevard between 50th Avenue and 2nd Street in Long Island City
Rekha Malhotra, known professionally as DJ Rekha, is a London-born musician, DJ, producer, curator, and activist who specializes in Bhangra music, a type of upbeat popular music associated with the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and with the Punjabi diaspora in Europe and North America. DJ Rekha has gained popularity by fusing Bhangra music with international Hip Hop and drumbeats. Her show will also include a live percussionist and a free Bhangra dance lesson.
SUN AUGUST 11 AT 5:00PM – FORT TOTTEN PARK – ALIVE N’ KICKIN’ (cover band from the ‘60s to today)
@ Fort Totten Park, Totten Avenue at Cross Island Parkway in Bayside
Led by co-founder and lead singer Pepe Cardona, Alive N’ Kickin’ has been a mainstay of the tri-state music scene for decades. Their number one hit single –“Tighter, Tighter”–was written and produced by Tommy James of Tommy James and the Shondells, who also wrote and recorded such hits as “Mony, Mony,” “I Think We’re Alone Now,” and “Crimson and Clover.” Tighter, Tighter” sold over a million copies and earned Alive N’ Kickin’ a gold record.
SUN AUGUST 18 AT 5:00PM – CAMBRIA HEIGHTS PLAYGROUND – BARTLETT CONTEMPORARIES (dance band playing R&B, Pop, Hip Hop and Jazz)
@ Cambria Heights Playground, Francis Lewis Boulevard and 121st Avenue between 219th Street and 222nd Street in Cambria Heights
The Bartlett brothers, Charles and Carl, grew up in Queens in the early 1960s. While attending the former Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, Charles and Carl started their dynamic dance band known as the Bartlett Contemporaries and had the distinct honor of performing at the 1964-1965 World’s Fair and at the home of legendary big bandleader Count Basie. With the inclusion of a new generation of members, the band maintains a fresh and current approach to today’s trends in music while covering classic R&B with a next generation sound.
SUN AUGUST 25 AT 5:00PM – O’DONOHUE PARK – DR. K’S MOTOWN REVUE (Motown cover band)
@ O’Donohue Park Bandshell, Seagirt Boulevard between Beach 17th Street and Beach 19th Street in Far Rockaway
This outstanding band of musicians and singers takes you on a realistic journey of the Motown sound that makes you want to sing along. They have kept true to Motown’s roots, and each and every performance of the group transports listeners back to another era. Their audiences, both young and not so young, can’t help dancing to that Motown beat.
Follow Borough President Katz via @QueensBPKatz on Twitter and Facebook.
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