Live Nation Entertainment has announced its has become the exclusive booking partner for Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage, a nonprofit festival experience in New York.
Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is a broadly accessible, free outdoor performing arts festival. SummerStage presents nearly 90 free and benefit performances every year.
As part of the deal, the live entertainment company will now be responsible for booking all ticketed benefit concerts between June and October at the flagship Rumsey Playfield site in New York’s Central Park.
SummerStage was introduced almost 40 years ago and since then, over six million people have come to enjoy live music in New York. The live shows bring together renowned artists and rising stars in Central Park and local neighbourhood parks.
Live music incorporates all New York genres including salsa, jazz and hiphop alongside others such as indie, reggae, Afrobeat, soul, contemporary dance and more.
SummerStage presents free performances throughout all five boroughs of New York and works with promoters such as Live Nation to present benefit events in Central Park.
Heather Lubov, executive director of City Parks Foundation, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Live Nation for our 2023 and 2024 SummerStage benefit concerts in Central Park.
“These ticketed concerts help support our free performances in parks across New York City. Live Nation has a fantastic roster of artists whom we are certain will follow in the SummerStage tradition by including some of the most important legacy artists and today’s hottest young musicians, attracting New Yorkers of all ages, while also helping raise money to keep the majority of our festival free-of-charge for everyone.”
SummerStage’s flagship venue in Central Park reopened following a $5.5m (£4.7m/€5.4m) transformation, which included a new larger stage and sound system, enhanced stage and venue lighting, LED screens, new and raised seating areas, additional concession areas and improved dressing rooms and production spaces.
This year, the venue also renovated its VIP space with an expansion of the member lounge to include a covered seating area and an additional viewing deck. Future places include an upgrade to its electrical systems and to improve ground stabilisation.
Stacie George, senior vice-president booking, Northeast, Live Nation, said: “Being a New Yorker for over 10 years now, I’ve spent plenty of nights at SummerStage shows and have witnessed first-hand the significant upgrades City Parks Foundation has implemented to the venue over the last three years.
“It’s truly an honour and a privilege to book the most prestigious play in New York City’s Central Park and we’re already looking ahead to the 2023 summer season, aiming to make it the best one yet.”