From Pop To Swing And Everything Between
Sweet music featuring acts from a variety of genres will fill the summer air at free outdoor concerts planned at public parks and businesses across the Times Newsweekly coverage area in July and August.
Many of the performances are scheduled to take place rain or shine, but other concerts may be cancelled at the last minute due to inclement weather. Readers are advised to contact the event organizers beforehand to make sure the event will take place.
In some venues, seating may be limited and guests are asked to bring their own lawn chair.
Among the events scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, as broken down by neighborhood, are the following:
Middle Village
Cultural music and rock-and-roll will headline the latest installment of the Juniper Valley Park Concert Series which begins this Tuesday night, June 10, and continues over the following three Tuesdays.
Each of the concerts will start at 7 p.m. at the softball field located at the corner of 80th Street and Juniper Boulevard North. No seating is available, so guests should bring their own chairs.
This Tuesday night’s concert will feature Irish-American tunes performed by the Boston Burglars. Sounds of the Sixties will be on stage at the July 17 concert, as performed by the group After Dark.
German Night on July 24 will feature songs from the group Die Spitzbaum. The concert series will conclude on July 31 with Italian Night; the artists for that event have yet to be announced.
The concert series is sponsored by the Juniper Valley Park Conservancy, Queensboro UNICO, Crifasi Real Estate, Barosa Restaurant, State Sen. Joseph Addabbo and City Council Member Eric Ulrich.
For more information on the concerts, call 1-718-651-5865.
Maspeth
All are invited to take part in Maspeth Federal Savings Bank’s 2012 concert series at their main branch in Maspeth, which will feature this year Irish music and performances by tribute bands of two legendary pop music artists.
Andy Cooney, billed as “Irish America’s favorite son,” will perform tunes from the Emerald Isle and other favorites on Wednesday night, July 11. Four weeks later, on Wednesday night, Aug. 8, “Real Diamond” will have the audience swaying to numerous classic Neil Diamond songs.
Then on Wednesday, Aug. 22, favorites from the “Piano Man” will be offered by Big Shot, a tribute band dedicated to Billy Joel.
Each of the concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Maspeth Federal’s main office parking lot, located off the corner of 69th Street and GrandAvenue. Seating is limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis. Guests may also bring their own folding chairs.
Since the seating area will be covered with a tent, the concerts will take place rain or shine. For more information, call Maspeth Federal at 1- 718-335-1300.
Forest Hills
Rock and roll songs with a brassy flair performed by Brass Transit, a tribute band to the rock group Chicago, will be enjoyed by music lovers at a free concert hosted by Maspeth Federal Savings bank’s Forest Hills branch on Wednesday night, July 25.
The performance is scheduled to take place beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the branch located at 101-09 Metropolitan Ave. A limited number of seats is available, and guests are encouraged to bring their own folding chairs.
For more information, call Maspeth Federal at 1-718-335-1300.
Forest Park
The George Seuffert Bandshell at Forest Park will be the place to be for music lovers of all ages as the venue will play host to a number of free concerts over the next few weeks.
Among the acts and shows scheduled are the following:
– Audience members are sure to feel some good vibrations at the concert featuring “All Summer Long,” a Beach Boys tribute band, who will take the bandshell stage on Thursday night, July 12, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by Ridgewood Savings Bank.
– Big band sounds will fill the air as the Swingtime Big Band performs classic tunes from the swing era on Thursday night, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. Astoria Federal Savings Bank is sponsoring the event.
– Latin music will be front and center as the Queens Symphony Orchestra presents “Latin Jazz Heat,” featuring Willie Martinez and La Familia Sextet, on Sunday, July 22, at 5 p.m.
– Rock-and-roll songs from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s will headlining the performance by Wondrous Stories on Thursday night, July 26, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by The Forest Park Trust.
– The Queens Symphony Orchestra will present “La Traiata,” a classical opera by composer Giuseppe Verdi, on Sunday, July 29, at 5 p.m.
– Salsa sounds will fill the air during the performance by the group Swing Sabroso on Thursday night, Aug. 2, at 7:30 p.m. The Forest Park Trust will sponsor the event.
– Audience members will be dancing to a disco beat as Stayin’ Alive, a musical tribute to The Bee Gees, take the stage on Thursday night, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by Maspeth Federal Savings bank.
The Seuffert Bandshell is located on Forest Park Drive off Woodhaven Boulevard; parking and seats are available. For more information, call 1-718-235-4100 or send an e-mail to debby.kuha@parks.nyc.gov.
Highland Park
Caribbean and Latin songs guaranteed to put guests in a dancing mood will be the center attraction at three concerts scheduled to take place at Highland Park in Brooklyn over three consecutive Wednesday nights beginning on July 18.
Leading off the series of concerts will be a salsa performance by Cholo Rivera Y Su Salsa Clasica this Wednesday night. Then on July 25, reggae favorites will be performed by The Anthem Band. The concert series wraps up on Aug. 1 with bachata and merengue music provided by Dior Alexander.
Each of the performances will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the park located off the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and Elton Street in Cypress Hills. City Council Member Erik Martin Dilan is sponsoring all three performances.
Call 1-718-235-4100 or send an e-mail to debby.kuha@parks.nyc.gov for details.
Sunnyside
One of the pioneers of jazz will be celebrated in Sunnyside on Saturday, Aug. 4, with the 12th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorail Jazz Concert, which will kick off the Sunnyside Summer Streets concert series presented by the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District.
The Beiderbecke concert, sponsored by the Sunnyside Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Committee, will take place from 3 to 7:30 p.m. on 46th Street between Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue.
The concert honors Beiderbecke, one of the most renowned jazz musicians of the 1920s and a one-time resident of Sunnyside. He died at his home on 46th Street on Aug. 6, 1931 at the age of 28.
The Sunnyside Drum Corps and David Shenton & The Sunnyside Wolverines are scheduled to perform at the memorial concert.
Then on Saturday night, Aug. 18, residents will be entertained by big band sounds offered by The Music Staff Swing Orchestra. The concert will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. along 46th Street.
Finally, The Jon Bates Band- billed as “a unique blend of extraordinary musicians and vocalists”-will take the stage on 46th Street on Saturday, Aug. 25, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
For more details about the concert series, visit www.sunnysideshines.org.
Astoria
After kicking things off with a concert and fireworks spectacular last Monday night, June 25, the Central Astoria Local Development Corporation’s Waterfront Concert Series will resume next Thursday night, July 12, at Astoria Park.
The Swingtime Big Band will perform classic swing era tunes on July 12. One week later, guests will enjoy classic Ray Charles songs performed by Forever Ray: Whitley & The Hard Times Band on July 19.
Pop music from the 1960s will be performed by the 1910 Fruitgum Company-known for their hit songs “Simon Says” and “1, 2, 3, Red Light” on July 26, and country hits will be performed by the Road House Band on Aug. 2. The series wraps up on Aug. 9 with the group “Bon Journey,” a tribute band performing songs from Jon Bon Jovi and Journey.
The concerts will start at 7:30 p.m. on the Astoria Park Lawn, located on Shore Boulevard between the Astoria Pool and the Hell Gate Bridge. For more information, visit www.centralastoria.org.
