Queens Borough President Donovan Richards announced Wednesday that the Queens Live! concert series will be returning Saturday, June 25, at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, headlined by Action Bronson. The concert will be hosted by Video Music Box founder Ralph McDaniels.
Saturday’s Queens Live! concert will be held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s New York Pavilion from 4 to 7 p.m. Those interested in attending Queens Live! are encouraged to arrive by 3:30 p.m. Queens Live! is free and open to the public and will also be livestreamed on SummerStageAnywhere.org. The event comes courtesy of QBP Richards and Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage.
“Queens Live! isn’t just back for a second year, but it’s coming back bigger and better,” Richards said. “I couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage team to bring Queens’ own Action Bronson to his home borough in what should be a fantastic free afternoon of music. We’re going to start our summer off right and I look forward to seeing all of you in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 25.”
In addition to acting as the founder and curator of Video Music Box, McDaniels has a lot of experience as a director and producer for some of the biggest hip-hop artists over the last 30 years. He has directed or produced over 400 music videos, including “C.R.E.A.M.” by the Wu Tang Clan, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” by Nas and “Roxanne-Roxanne” by Roxanne Shanté. He also acted as a co-producer for the films “Juice” and “Roxanne Roxanne,” as well as several documentaries.
Queens native Ariyan Arslani, better known as Action Bronson, has released six studio albums. His latest, “Cocodrillo Turbo,” released last April, has received widespread critical acclaim. In addition to making music, Action Bronson is a former chef. He has applied his knowledge of cuisine to his popular food and travel documentary television and web series since 2016.
Promotion for the Queens Live! concert is funded in part thanks to a grant from the NYC & Company Foundation. This is just one of almost 90 free shows hosted across New York City by Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage. In addition to Action Bronson, other artists scheduled to perform at the upcoming concert include Statik Selektah and Karen Y Los Remedios.
QBP Richards held a series of Queens Live! concerts in 2021 as well on Aug. 23, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19. Some of last year’s performers included DJ Jah Wise, DJ Vaughn Allstar, Mighty Redeemer and Johnny Osbourne at the first show, 123 Andres at the second show and Cutmaster Cool-V at the third show, which also paid tribute to the late legendary New York rapper Biz Markie.
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage has been providing New Yorkers from across all five boroughs with free concerts for almost 40 years. The performances, ranging from jazz, hip-hop, Latin, global, indie and contemporary dance, are meant to represent the cultural fabric of the city. More than 6 million people have attended these performances over the years.
SummerStage Anywhere was launched in 2020 as a way to continue entertaining its audience. With everyone forced to stay isolated at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SummerStage Anywhere provided free digital performances spanning all genres of music to viewers all around the world.
