New Summer Free Concert Series Live At The Gantries starts tomorrow!

New Summer Free Concert Series Live At The Gantries to Feature An Array Of Queens Artists

Queens, NY – Celebrating the rich musical and ethnic tapestries of Queens in boisterous style, Live at the Gantries, the borough’s newest free summer performance series, will kick off later this month in Long Island City on June 24th.

The free, outdoor performances will feature some of the borough’s most celebrated entertainers, from Afro-Brazilian jazz musicians to Japanese punk rockers, with acts for audience members of all ages. Live at the Gantries’ nine nights will take place on Tuesdays at 7 o’clock at Gantry Plaza State Park, a 2.5-acre waterside oasis between 49th and 50th Avenues along the East River. The series will run from June 24th to August 26th.

From the industrial zone-turned state park, audience members will be able to enjoy breathtaking views of the midtown Manhattan skyline, including the Empire State Building and the United Nations’ headquarters. The park boasts four piers, manicured gardens, a mist fountain and the restored, historical gantries that once loaded and unloaded railcar floats and barges.


Event Schedule:

June 24 - Corina Bartra, Afro-Brazilian Jazz

Corina Bartra is a vocalist-percussionist who has studied rhythms from around the world and incorporated various influences into her music. She is known for blending original jazz compositions with the rich, magical traditions of Afro-Peruvian and Brazilian music.

July 1 - The F# Miners, Irish Traditional Music

The F# Miners have been playing together for two years influenced by the likes of Planxty and The Bothy Band. Instrument line-up consists of uileann pipes, whistles, bodhran, banjo and guitar. They play every Thursday at Maguire's Pub in Woodside.


July 8 - Blue Pipa, Chinese Folk Music

Along with her accompanying musicians, Min Xiao-Fen of Blue Pipa is renown for her exploration of traditional and modern music from all cultures. Famed for her virtuosity and fluid style on the pipa, she has recorded and performed with Björk.

July 15 – Bliminal, Indie Rock

A self-described “band of vagabonds that gathers together to exchange thoughts of radical sound,” the Astoria-based group lists among its influences Pavement, The Darkside and Sergio Leone.

July 22 – Calpulli Mexican Dance, Traditional Mexican Dance

Calpulli celebrates the rich regional traditions of Mexico by telling stories through colorful dance pieces. Their fresh, vital repertoire honors not just Mexico's past, but also the lives of its emigrants in the United States. The performance-based program will include didactic information and interactive exercises for the young and young at heart.

July 29 - York College Summer Big Band

The student jazz ensemble performs annually at the CUNY Jazz Festival at City College and was featured in Weltreisen on the German television station ARD in April 2006. The members of the workshop perform regularly throughout the borough.

August 5 - Mahina Movement, Folk, Rock and Rhymes

Drawing on their African-American, Chicana and Tongan heritages, the members of this threesome fuse folk, blues, hip hop, poetry and dance in their performances. Through their music, they aim to address social and political injustices.

August 12- No event scheduled.

August 19 - Zikrayat, Arabic Music and Belly Dancers

This Long Island City-based ensemble considers improvisation a critical element of their performances. With a classical Takht lineup of oud, nay, violin, qanun, riqq and tabla, in addition to folk instruments like buzuq, mizmar and rababa, Zikrayat captures the original spirit of Arabic music. The group’s dancers focus on authentic Egyptian Raqs Sharqi.

August 26 - Noirceur and Uzuhi, Punk

Flushing-based Uzuhi is known as the Japanese acoustic punk rock band. Uzuhi means Sun in Japanese, a name chosen because of the band’s strong belief that music has no borders. Fellow punk rockers Noirceur describe themselves as wanting to let everyone know they’re around playing original songs and having fun.

Directions to Gantry Plaza State Park:

Via New York Water Taxi:

Take the New York Water Taxi from either the West 44th Street, Chelsea Piers, Greenwich Village, World Financial Center, Battery Park, South Street Seaport, Fulton Ferry Landing or East 34th Street piers to Hunter’s Point. Exit the Water Taxi Beach parking lot to 2nd Street. Make a left on 2nd Street. Make a left on 50th Avenue towards the city until you reach the river.

By subway, take the No. 7 train to the Vernon Blvd.-Jackson Ave. Station. Walk on 50th Avenue to the East River. The park is in front of the Citylights Building.

By car from the Queensboro Bridge or Queens Boulevard, turn south on 21st Street. Turn right on Jackson Avenue. Make another right on 48th Avenue and a left at the Citylights Building. Make a final right on 49th Avenue. (No street parking available at the park itself.)