New York Kids Music Summer Concert Series in the Parks

Some of your best entertainment this summer will be found for free in parks all around New York. New York City parks are filled with music, performances, and fun just for families and kids of all ages. Madison Square Parks' Mad Sq Kids is perhaps the best well known summer kid festival with free children's concerts twice a week throughout the summer, but there are others that you may not have heard of and aren't publicized much outside of their own neighborhoods. We're giving you the inside scoop on the under(play)ground summer music scene in New York City this summer.

Most of these summer concert series' start in mid-June, but a couple start as early as Memorial Day. Check each site for their full schedule of events, but note that some haven't even planned out their entire summer yet, so you might have to check back later on. 

A Clearing in the Forest is a really cool series that takes place in Central Park’s most intimate natural playground, The Peter Jay Sharp Children’s Glade, and the Great Hill. Both are located inside Central Park at West 106th Street. A Clearing in the Forest is a summer-time series of free multicultural performances and family art workshops and offers an interesting range of programs each week. The series starts Memorial Day Weekend with a great Family Bash, led by performers Bash the Trash, a fun musical group with an environmental message that makes musical instruments out of garbage. 

Madison Square Parks' Mad. Square Kids kicks off their season early with a Kids Festthe last weekend of May and then has concerts in the park every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Kid-friendly performers engage their audience with live music, storytelling and more. Bring the kids swim suits for after the show because Madison Square Park Playground has a great water feature too and, of course, then there's lunch at the Shake Shack.

Union Square Park’s Summer in the Square Festival has live music, dance, kids programming, yoga and more every Thursday, all summer long. Kids in the Square kicks off June 18th with Baby Loves Disco, and happens every Thursday at 12pm. 

The Bryant Park Film Film Festival is pretty well known, but did you know that Bryant Park hosts events every day of the week in the summertime and most of it is very kid friendly? There are films, storytime readings, and Classic Kids, which are performaces of classical music by (and for) NYC kids. Thursdays at 12:30 is Broadway in Bryant Park. The lineup for Broadway in Bryant Park is TBA. On Saturdays children enjoy their favorite books and activities inspired by them in the Word for Word series. On some Saturdays and Sundays there is also Flaubert Frog sing-a-long and games by the carousel. Check out the full schedule.

The Central Park Sandbox Program is a kids music festival that takes place in 16 playgrounds throughout the Park from July 7th through August 15th. With two concerts a day, every day, it's your best bet for free kids entertainment without the crowds. The performers are all teaching artists and include the Central Park Brass and GlobalArts to Go, storyteller Dan Kitrosser, and the not to be missed Moey’s Music Party with hits like New York City Kid and I Gotta Go Potty.

Hudson River Park Summer Performance Series hosts kids concerts every Thursday at 10:30 at Pier 1 (70th St) as well as other family friendly activities. Enjoy music, storytelling & theater for kids up to age 7 from an eclectic group of NYC favorites. 

But if you really want the Under(play)ground music scene the place where it's really at is the little neighborhood parks. These concert series aren't widely publicized outside of their own neighborhoods, but slick parents know where to find these hot venues:

Carroll Park Concert Series: With Audra Rox!, Astrograss, and Starfish and Putumayo Kids Picnic Playground Tour featuring Jay Mankita, the Carroll Park concert series clearly rocks.

Washington Market Park’s 2009 Summer Family Concert Series hosts kid concerts every Thursday evening. Families can picnic on the lawn while listening to family-friendly acts like Brady Rymer.

The Summer Sundays Series in Travers Park in Jackson Heights brings shows like the Swedish Marionettes' "Sleeping Beauty," jazz, Audra Rox, and more.

Find more summer fun in our Summer Activity Guide