Bryant Park Picnic Performances Returns for Summer, and Celebrates America’s 250th Birthday

Photo by Ryan Muir

In partnership with some of New York’s most beloved cultural institutions, Bryant Park has curated a wide-ranging lineup for its open-air stage, including Grammy-winning artists, one of Broadway’s current leading ladies, and more.

Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America, the free outdoor performing arts festival in the heart of Midtown, returns May 28 with its most expansive season yet as it celebrates America’s 250^th anniversary. Featuring an American opera showcase with New York City Opera, a special concert for America’s birthday with Carnegie Hall, first-ever Brass and Choir Festivals, as well as performances by artists from around the globe, Bryant Park hosts an unforgettable summer of free events for all New Yorkers. 

In total, 24 performances will span music, dance, opera, circus, and more, culminating in a special anniversary tribute concert on September 11. With more than 87,000 in-person attendees and over 440,000 livestream views in past seasons, Picnic Performances remains one of New York City’s most beloved and anticipated summer traditions.

“Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is a gateway to the city’s vibrant cultural scene,” said Dan Biederman. “Many visitors arrive having never seen professional opera singers, ballet, or a circus before. We are excited to continue providing these experiences free of charge so that everyone has the opportunity to experience New York’s world-class artistry.”

Reflecting New York City’s rich cultural life, the series creates an outdoor setting where performances are available to all. Beyond the park, the reach extends even further through 14 free multi-camera livestreams and a series of PBS television episodes, bringing the magic of live arts to broader and more diverse audiences than ever before.

Free bistro chairs and picnic blankets are available for visitors on a first-come, first-served basis. Local vendors curated by Hester Street Fair will have an array of delicious food options to be enjoyed during the performances. Guests are also welcome to bring their own food and non-alcoholic beverages to create a perfect picnic experience under the city skyline.

For a full schedule and more information on Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America, in addition to other summer programming at the park, please visit bryantpark.org.  Additional media support is provided by public radio stations WQXR and WBGO.

“Picnic Performances showcases extraordinary talent while creating a vibrant, welcoming space where the community can come together to experience live music, dance, and more for free,” said Connie Verducci, market executive, Bank of America New York City. “We look forward to another New York City summer partnership with Bryant Park, a jewel in the heart of Manhattan, that celebrates the best of our city’s arts and culture.”

The 2026 summer lineup will feature an exciting mix of performances in collaboration with various cultural institutions and bring together an eclectic mix of artists – see the full list here: 

JAZZMOBILE 

Thursday, May 28 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | Wycliffe Gordon and Friends

Jazzmobile, a pioneering nonprofit dedicated to bringing jazz to the public, opens the Picnic Performances season with acclaimed trombonist Wycliffe Gordon. Known for his virtuosic technique and deep roots in traditional jazz, Gordon leads an electrifying set alongside his ensemble.

NEW YORK CITY OPERA

Friday, May 29 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | American Classics

Friday, August 7 at 7 PM – 8:15 PM | Celebration of Ella Fitzgerald with Latonia Moore

New York City Opera celebrates the best of American opera and musical theater featuring selections performed by renowned vocalists and instrumentalists.

City Opera returns in August with a special performance by three-time Grammy Award-winning soprano Latonia Moore, celebrating the timeless music of “The First Lady of Song”.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Thursday, June 4 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | Carolyn Dorfman, Terk Lewis, White Wave Dance

Friday, June 5 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | Ballet for the Wild with vildwerk.

Thursday, June 11 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | It’s Showtime NYC, SOLE Defined, Robin Dunn

Contemporary Dance, curated by Tiffany Rea-Fisher, kicks off with an evening of modern dance, headlined by Carolyn Dorfman Dance. The evening also includes innovative artists Terk Lewis and White Wave Dance.

Ballet takes center stage on June 5, as a collective of artists – including Buglisi Dance Theatre, New York City Ballet soloist Victor Abrue, Joffrey Concert Group, and more – perform works inspired by the natural world.

The series concludes with a high-energy celebration of percussive and hip hop dance, featuring It’s Showtime NYC, SOLE Defined, and Robin Dunn.

WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE 

Friday, June 12 at 7 PM – 9 PM | Pedrito Martinez, Cyro Baptista, Kaoru Watanabe, Suphala, Sunny Jain, Glen Velez, Batalá, and Adam Rudolph 

Celebrating its 40th anniversary season, World Music Institute reimagines its legacy series, World of Percussion, for the Bryant Park stage. Since 1989, the series has hosted global percussion luminaries including Zakir Hussain, Don Cherry, Shankar, and Foday Musa Suso. On June 12, master musicians explore the intricate rhythms of Indian tabla, the thunderous power of Japanese taiko, and the dynamic energy of an all-women Brazilian percussion ensemble.

JOE’S PUB 

Thursday, June 18 at 7 PM – 9 PM | Joan As Police Woman, Britton & The Sting

Celebrate Pride Month with a dynamic double-bill of groundbreaking artists. Joan As Police Woman (Joan Wasser) is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who defies easy categorization. Her collaborative spirit has led her to work with Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Anohni & The Johnsons, Tony Allen, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, David Byrne, and many other notable musicians around the world.

Britton & The Sting is a funk liberation band led by Tony Award-winning artist-activist Britton Smith, creating music that celebrates radical authenticity and collective joy. The band is composed of world-class musicians—each a star in their own right—who perform with major artists across the country.

THE UNSUNG COLLECTIVE

Friday, June 19 at 7 PM – 8:15 PM | Starburst

Harlem-based chamber orchestra The Unsung Collective marks Juneteenth with works by contemporary black composers, Jessie Montgomery and H. Leslie Adams.

CARNEGIE HALL CITYWIDE

Friday, July 3 at 7 PM – 8:15 PM | The Knights

Friday, July 10 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM |Aisha Jackson 

Friday, July 17 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas

Friday, July 24 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | NYC Ska Orchestra

Friday, July 31 at 7 PM – 8:30 PM | El Laberinto del Coco

Celebrate America’s birthday with a performance by the intrepid chamber orchestra The Knights—a self-described “fellowship of adventurous musicians” with a fervent following at Carnegie Hall and across New York City. Led by Colin Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen, they bring a program that fuses classical music with numerous American influences in true “Knightsian” fashion.

Catch a free outdoor concert by Broadway favorite Aisha Jackson, whose recent career highlights include her acclaimed performance as Daisy in The Great Gatsby and her performance opposite Anika Noni Rose in Wonderful Town. After making history as the first Black woman to play Anna on Broadway in Frozen, Jackson brought the joy of Anna and other Disney princesses to audiences worldwide in Disney Princess: The Concert.

Experience zydeco, the fast and furious, accordion-driven Creole dance music of South Louisiana. With its trademark rubboard percussion, electric guitars, and R&B influences, this is an exciting and modern roots music that’s nearly impossible to resist—and from festival stages to Louisiana dance halls, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas has been one of the most celebrated zydeco bands of the past 40 years.

Take in the joy of a live performance by the NYC Ska Orchestra, which blends big-band jazz, soul, and R&B with the iconic Jamaican music styles of ska, mento, rock steady, reggae, and more. Led by celebrated trumpeter, singer, arranger, and educator Kevin Batchelor, this 20-piece big band also features legendary Jamaican percussionist-vocalist Larry MacDonald and Jamaican master drummer Carl Wright, who together have worked with Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Lee “Scratch” Perry, the Skatalites, Toots and the Maytals, and many others.

Enjoy a concert by Afro–Puerto Rican bomba fusion innovators El Laberinto del Coco, led by master percussionist Hector “Coco” Barez. Blending jazz, funk, reggae, and numerous Latin influences with traditional bomba elements and instruments such as the barril and cuá, the band expands the boundaries of bomba while staying true to its intoxicating essence. Experience a high-energy sonic tapestry that has attracted fans around the world.

NEW YORK GUITAR FESTIVAL

Friday, August 14 at 7 PM – 9:30 PM | Raphaël Feuillâtre, Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque, Ziggy & Miles, Gabrielle Leite

Saturday, August 15 at 7 PM – 9:15 PM | The Messthetics, Gyan Riley, Pierre Bensusan

Hosted by WNYC’s John Schaefer, this two-day celebration highlights global guitar culture, especially here in the States.  The first evening, “A Carnival Of Classical Guitar,”  sees virtuoso Croatian-born guitarist Goran Ivanonic and Pakistani-Chilean guitarist Fareed Haque come in from Chicago, while Brazilian guitarist Gabrielle Leite is now based in New York.  The following night brings “The Misbehaving Guitar”:  Gyan Riley, currently touring with Paul Simon, and the punk-jazz sounds of The Messthetics hint at the extraordinary range of guitar music in America at 250.  But the festival also embraces a whole world of guitar playing, with musicians from North Africa, South Asia, and Australia.  Whatever you think the guitar sounds like, prepare to be surprised. 

CHOIR FESTIVAL

Friday, August 21 at 7PM | Artists To Be Announced

Bryant Park hosts its first-ever Choir Festival, highlighting the vocal ensembles of NYC and communal song.

EMERGING MUSIC FESTIVAL

Saturday, August 22 at 6PM | Artists To Be Announced

The park’s annual celebration of rising indie, rock, folk, soul, and pop bands returns, curated by AdHoc.

ACCORDION FESTIVAL

Friday, August 28 at 7 PM – 10 PM | Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs, Saami Brothers, and Chicha Libre

The annual festival, curated by Ariana Hellerman, returns with leading Cajun musician and key figure in the ongoing renaissance of Louisiana French culture, Jourdan Thibodeaux, renowned Pakistani group Saami Brothers who are keepers of a nearly 800-year-old musical legacy of Khayal and Qawwali, and Brooklyn torchbearers of 1970s psychedelic chicha, Chicha Libre.

PARALLEL EXIT

Saturday, August 29 at 5 PM – 6 PM | Sunset Circus

Enjoy an hour-long theatrical circus experience for families from NYC’s Parallel Exit, featuring performers from Cirque du Soleil, Big Apple Circus, and more.

ASIAN AMERICAN ARTS ALLIANCE 

Thursday, September 3 at 7 PM | Grace Kelly, Ashni

Rising star saxophonist, singer, and composer Grace Kelly—known for her work as a band member on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert—brings her signature blend of electro-pop and jazz to the Bryant Park stage. 

Ashni is a singer, songwriter, and pianist. Weaving jazz, R&B, and pop, with a thread of the North Indian folk music she grew up with, she explores our relationship to self, our communities, and our natural world.

BRASS FESTIVAL

Friday, September 4 at 7 PM – 9:30 PM | New Breed Brass Band, Aberdeen, Brass Queens

Bryant Park’s first festival dedicated to all things brass, headlined by two-time Grammy nominees, the New Orleans-based New Breed Brass Band.

DANCE PARTY ALL-STARS

Thursday, September 10 at 7 PM – 9 PM | Alfredo De La Fé All Star Band, George Gee Swing Orchestra

Picnic Performances showcases two extraordinary bands who have performed as part of Bryant Park Dance Party. Curated by Talia Castro-Pozo, the event begins with salsa and swing dance lessons on the Upper Terrace at 6pm. Then, at 7pm, dance along to music from two high-energy bands.

Renowned salsa and latin jazz violinist Alfredo De La Fé brings his band, which blends traditional classical techniques with Afro-Cuban and Caribbean rhythms. This concert marks the 60-year anniversary of De La Fé’s professional career, which has included collaborations with Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and other salsa icons.

The George Gee Swing Orchestra has been at the forefront of the modern swing resurgence for over four decades. Lindy Hoppers around the country and the world are captivated by Gee’s high-energy shows.

TRIBUTE TO THE 25th ANNIVERSARY of SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Friday, September 11 at 7 PM – 8:15 PM

Commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11 with a moving program of classical music and reflections. Artists TBA.

About Bryant Park Corporation

Bryant Park Corporation (BPC), a private not-for-profit company, was founded in 1980 to renovate, finance, and operate Bryant Park in New York City. In addition to providing security, sanitation, and horticultural services, BPC offers restaurants, food kiosks, world-class restrooms, and a wide range of free events throughout the year. The Midtown Manhattan park is visited by more than 20 million people each year and is one of the busiest public spaces in the world. Visit bryantpark.org for more information and a calendar of events. BPC’s website, bryantpark.org, offers more detailed information and a schedule of upcoming events.