Great music is in front of you with the East River and the Midtown Manhattan Skyline in the background. Open air is above with parkland on both sides. And if that’s not enough, several food trucks are behind you.
Live at the Gantries kicks off with Cheo on Tuesday, July 9, at 7 pm. The annual series then continues with a diverse selection of bands on consecutive Tuesdays until Aug. 13.
It’s all free. It’s all live. It’s all at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City. It’s all priceless.
Cheo, who also goes by José Luis Pardo and DJ Afro, is a multi-talented musician and producer with a Latin Grammy and several Grammy nominations. On July 9, the Venezuela native will entertain with Salsa, Boogaloo, Soul, Disco, Bossa Nova, and Funk.
The audience can rest for a week. Then, Calvin Johnson & Native Son offer New Orleans Second Line Jazz and Funk on July 16.
Family-friendly and high energy, this group’s infectious sounds, rhythms, and melodies are guaranteed to start a dance party. Johnson plays a mean saxophone with Stephen Walker on trombone, Antoine Drye on trumpet, Andrew McGowan on piano, Jason Clotter on bass, and Errold Lanier on drums.
Here’s the rest of schedule. Please remember that all concerts are scheduled for 7 pm.
July 23: Super Yamba Band (Afro-Beat and Afro-Funk)
Brooklyn-based Super Yamba Band ignites the hottest Afro-Funk dance parties in town, featuring the legendary Kaleta, whose guitar chops earned him decades of touring and recording with the likes of Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Lauryn Hill.
July 30: Fabio Rojas Quintet (Latin Jazz)
Now based in NYC, Fabio Rojas is a drummer and film composer from Venezuela. His ensemble – Greg Osby on alto sax, Gustavo D’Amico on tenor sax, Kevin Harris on piano, Dan Loomis on bass – will present a repertoire of original compositions, characterized by improvisation and rhythms that embody the essence of Modern Jazz.
Aug. 6: Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East (Bollywood Meets Cowboy Music)
Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East creates rhythms that intertwine with Hindustani vocals, saxophone, and guitar. Jain gets inspiration from Bollywood classics and Spaghetti Westerns, Punjabi folk traditions, and Jazz.
Aug. 13: Lulada Club (All-Female Salsa)
Vocalist and director Andrea Chavarro has assembled an all-female Salsa band infused with vibrancy that gets the crowd dancing.
Organized by the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, Live at the Gantries is supported by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Mathis-Pfohl Foundation. It’s also supported by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Max and Selma Kupferberg Family Foundation. Support for all Kupferberg activities is provided by New York Community Bank and Resorts World NYC.
Images: Live at the Gantries