SummerStage Concert Series Goes Digital With Angelique Kidjo, LAMC and More
By Variety Staff
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – SummerStage concerts in New York’s Central Park have been a city ritual for decades, but like so many things in 2020, this year’s series is moving online: Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage today announced the launch of its digital series, SummerStage Anywhere.
The platform will launch on Saturday, June 6th at 7PM EST with a SummerStage original performance by native New York singer Max. The performance will be featured on the SummerStage Anywhere website and streamed exclusively on the SummerStage YouTube channel. Throughout the month of June, SummerStage Anywhere will feature performances each weekend.
On June 13, LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference) will bring its annual showcase digitally to SummerStage Anywhere. Hosted by Los Angeles’ KCRW radio DJ Raul Campos, LAMC at SummerStage Anywhere will feature an exclusive showcases from pop singer Kany Garcia, hip-hop artist Mabiland, indie electro pop musician Javiera Mena and rock band Circo. These artists from Colombia, Chile and Puerto Rico will come together with original performances on LAMC’s Twitch channel. SummerStage Anywhere will also host the official afterparty with a DJ Takeover featuring sets from Raul Campos and Latin Grammy winning artist Cheo, formerly of Los Amigos Invisibles.
On June 19, SummerStage Anywhere will celebrate the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth, the nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, with a digital day of dance. Tribute performances will be presented on SummerStage’s Instagram channel culminating in a performance on SummerStage’s YouTube channel, featuring Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet Dance Theatre and poet Carl Hancock Rux, and a panel discussion led by Executive Artistic Director of The Billie Holiday Theatre, Dr. Indira Etwaroo.
Closing out the June programming is Grammy Award-winning Beninese singer-songwriter, actress and activist Angélique Kidjo. SummerStage alumna Kidjo will bring her Afropop world fusion sound to an exclusive performance on SummerStage Anywhere’s YouTube channel, followed by a live Q&A session on June 26.
Following June, SummerStage Anywhere will be home to a digital content series highlighting genres that were born in or deeply represent New York — hip hop, salsa, jazz, global, indie, contemporary dance. The summer series will include weekly content segments including interviews with and performances by iconic artists, neighborhood tours with artists, and arts engagement for youth.
For a full schedule of upcoming programming, visit summerstageanywhere.org .
“We are really excited to bring SummerStage to audiences at home through SummerStage Anywhere,” said Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation. “The arts have been critical during this time of sheltering at home, serving both as a respite and as an important outlet for expression and creativity. And, of course, our city’s parks remain some of the only public resources available for respite as we shelter at home. Both parks and arts create community, and that’s what we need most right now, even if we remain socially distant. So we are hard at work to make sure we can still deliver SummerStage to you, anywhere, while we look forward to gathering together in parks again soon.”
“SummerStage artists purposefully reflect the communities we serve, celebrating the great history and diversity of NYC culture — something that we are very proud of year after year,” shared SummerStage’s Executive Artistic Director Erika Elliott. “Through SummerStage Anywhere, we will be able to showcase a uniquely New York City festival experience, authentically rooted in the neighborhoods in which our shows are typically held while curated for a far-reaching global audience. We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to bringing you SummerStage Anywhere.”
Capital One is the Title Sponsor of the 2020 SummerStage festival. Disney is a sponsor of SummerStage family programming. Private support is provided by The Thompson Family Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Shubert Organization, and the New York Community Trust NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund. SummerStage is also supported, in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is generously provided by our dedicated SummerStage Members.
Media partners include iHeart Radio featuring Lite FM, Power 105.1, 103.5 KTU, Q104.3, and Z100, WFUV and DoNYC.
