Co-presented by the River-to-River Festival and the World Financial Center, Bang on a Can Marathon returns on June 19 with its incomparable mix of genre-defying music, featuring more than 150 astounding musicians and composers from all over the globe. This totally free event features 13 hours of live music beginning at 11am at the World Financial Center.
June 18, hop the Governors Island ferry for Governors Ball, a sprawling music festival whose bill stands out among NYC’s crowded schedule of summer concerts. This year’s lineup, with no overlapping sets, includes Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Empire of the Sun, Big Boi of Outkast, Neon Indian, Passion Pit and many more.
For 10 successful years, the Village Voice produced the free Siren Music Festival at Coney Island. This year, the alt-paper puts a new spin on the sounds of the summer with the 4 Knots Music Festival, a free all-day event on July 16 at the South Street Seaport’s Pier 17. In case you’re wondering, four knots is the speed at which East River waves meet the Seaport. Headliners The Black Angels kick off the event, and acts include Titus Andronicus, Davila 666, Oberhofer and Eleanor Friedberger.
Downtown punk poet-laureate Patti Smith has inspired decades of artists from New York and beyond. With ferocious energy and quiet grace, the dark horse diva, singer, writer and political provocateur has become more than a spokesperson of her generation; she’s a hero whose journey has transformed the world around her. Patti’s July 14 performance at Castle Clinton offers an exclusive chance to feel the force of this dynamic artist.
Plastiq Passion, an all-lady rock/pop quartet, just came off a headlining slot at Staten Island Pride. They’ve performed at The Mercury Lounge, Knitting Factory, Arlene’s Grocery, Webster Hall Studio, Stone Pony and Maxwell’s—and they’ll be promoting their new LP, To Be a Blade of Grass in Cracked Cement, at a slew of gigs in the NYC area through June. Catch them on June 21 at Brooklyn Junior in the Make Music New York fest, or see plastiqpassiontheband.com for their full tour schedule.
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