New York Music Month

New York Music Month returns in June (free shows, musician rehearsal space, more)

The NYC Mayors Office has declared June New York Music Month for the third year in a row. The full schedule of programming has been announced, and it includes free concerts, a conference on music and technology, access to rehearsal space for musicians, weekly music history walking tours, weekly workshops by and for the LGBTQ community, and more. View the full schedule here.

The 2019 edition of NYMM includes some new additions to the schedule, starting with CityFM, a new WNYE radio show and podcast produced by co-sign and Raspberry Jones. It’s set to explore “NYC’s music culture, emerging artists and trends, and upcoming events told through the lens of what’s happening around the city in Summer 2019,” and you can listen on Fridays at noon from June-August on 91.5 FM.

The Mayors Office of Media and Entertainment and NYC Parks have also teamed up to present a new series of free concerts in parks throughout The Bronx and Queens during June. Here’s the schedule:

Bronx
June 8, 7-9 pm: Bobby Sanabria, Playground 52
June 15, 1-3 pm: Uptown Vinyl Supreme, a DJ Collective, Ana Garcia, DJ Perly and Grandmaster Caz, Poe Park
June 22, 5-7 pm: Yasser Tejeda, Franz Sigel Park
June 29, 7-9 pm: Therapi Band, Stars and Stripes Playground

Queens
June 1, 1-3 pm: The Dirty Sock Funtime Band, and Alex and the Kaleidoscope, MacDonald Park
June 9, 3-6 pm: British Dependency, Mr. Kool, and Paul Brown, St. Alban’s Park
June 15, 7-9 pm: Orquesta Afinke, Gorman Park
June 22, 1-3 pm: The History of Rock and Roll Band, MacNeil Park
June 29, 7-9 pm: Disco Unlimited, Hunters Point South

More details about these shows here.

A new songwriting competition, Songathon, will give songwriters 24 hours to write a song, then perform alongside other competitors, to an audience who will vote on their favorite. Attendance is free to the public on Sunday, June 30 at Galvanize in Manhattan. Sign up to participate here.

The final new addition to NYMM is the inaugural Sound Thinking NYC Career and College Exposition, held on June 19 at Viacom, which is open to middle and high schoolers interested in learning how to start a career in music production. More info here.

As it has previously, up to eight hours of free rehearsal space will be available to NYC-based musicians in June at one of Spaceworks 20 locations. More information about claiming a slot here.