July 23, 2024
Arooj Aftab / Sid Sriram / EMEL / DJ Rekha
6:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
This star-studded triple bill in Central Park features the first-ever Pakistani Grammy winner, an Indian film music superstar and Tunisia’s voice of the Arab Spring. Like many children of the diaspora, Arooj Aftab straddles the old world and the new, studied and trained in modern sounds but carrying the spirit and tradition of her ancestral home in her bones. The first-ever Pakistani artist to win a GRAMMY broke out with her 2021 album Vulture Prince, a stunning collection of minimal compositions drawing from jazz, folk, Hindustani classical, and Urdu ghazals. She’s since found kindred spirits in Vijay Iyer and Shahzas Ismaily, whose unplanned, improvised performance revealed a natural chemistry that coalesced on their collaborative LP Love in Exile. Sid Sriram is an Indian Carnatic musician, producer, and star of Indian film music, whose latest LP Sidharth is a collaborative effort with Def Jam producer Ryan Olson and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon that explores intersections of Carnatic music with his R&B and indie rock influences. The third headliner is EMEL (Emel Mathlouthi), the Tunisian/American, New York City-based artist, producer, and activist whose protest song “Kelmti Horra” (“My Word is Free”) became an anthem for the Tunisian Revolution and the Arab Spring. Her newest 100% woman-made album MRA (meaning ‘woman’ in Arabic) is a multi-genre and multilingual meld where African trap, batucada, Arabic reggaeton, hip hop, and drum n’ bass rub shoulders seamlessly with vibrant melodies and empowering lyrics that seek to amplify and strengthen the voices of women worldwide.
ABOUT SUMMERSTAGE
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is one of New York’s most beloved, broadly accessible, free outdoor performing arts festivals. SummerStage annually presents more than 80 free and benefit performances in Central Park and neighborhood parks throughout the five boroughs to 217,000 fans. With performances in genres that represent the cultural fabric of New York City ranging from jazz, hip hop, Latin, global, indie and contemporary dance, SummerStage fills a vital niche in New York City’s summer arts festival landscape. Since its inception nearly 40 years ago, more than six million people from New York City and around the world have enjoyed SummerStage.
Location: Rumsey Playfield in Central Park 
Manhattan Directions to this location
Cost: Free
Picnic Performances: Carnegie Hall Citywide
Michael Olatuja & Lagos Pepper Soup
Friday, July 26, 2024
7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
One of today’s most inventive bassists, the London-born, Lagos-raised Michael Olatuja has worked with Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Angelique Kidjo, Shakira, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Hugh Masekela, Terence Blanchard, and Joe Lovano, and many others. He’s also a major presence in the bands of Broadway, films scores of directors like Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more. In this outdoor performance, he shares selections from his acclaimed Lagos Pepper Soup album and brand-new songs that blend energetic Afrobeat, jazz, and funk into what Olatuja calls “a zesty, sonic stew that honors the ancient Xulu word ‘umbuntu,’ which means, ‘we are all connected.’”
Location: Bryant Park Stage in Bryant Park
Cost: Free
Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is a free outdoor festival that welcomes all New Yorkers to experience the city’s vibrant arts and culture. The series provides a platform for extraordinary artists and serves as a vital outdoor venue for a wide array of New York’s cultural institutions.
Photos: NYC Parks