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Clear your calendar: Summer for the City is back, with Lincoln Center once again turning its Manhattan campus into the ultimate cultural playground.
The fourth annual festival runs from June 11 through August 9 this year, bringing more than 200 events to the city, nearly all of them free or pay-what-you-wish. Expect global dance parties, experimental opera, kids’ storytimes, jazz nights, pop-ups and tons more.
This year’s programming also takes a deeper dive into international artistry than ever before. One major highlight: Brazil Week (July 16–30), a vibrant, two-week celebration of Brazilian culture.
Our can’t-miss pick? "Sixth Sense," a two-venue exhibition of literary, musical and visual works from the Instituto Museu Itamar Assumpção (MU.ITA), the first virtual museum of a Black Brazilian artist. Hosted by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the exhibit honors Assumpção’s legacy in the Vanguarda Paulistana movement with rare archival works. A companion video installation by artist biarritzzz will run in the David Rubenstein Atrium.
Opera gets a shake-up thanks to the American Modern Opera Company’s biggest Run AMOC Festival yet. Among the lineup is "the echoing of tenses," a moving new song cycle by Anthony Cheung, featuring seven Asian-American poets performing their work live, blending text, music, memory and migration into one ambitious finale. The month-long AMOC residency includes 12 performances, and ten of them are New York premieres.
Also back: the BAAND Together Dance Festival, Deaf Broadway’s ASL staging of Waitress and a tribute concert (I Am The Band) spotlighting overlooked women behind pop music’s biggest moments.
The Festival Orchestra returns for its second season under Jonathon Heyward, pairing Beethoven with bold new commissions and even collaborating with the WHO to explore music and mental health.
A rotating cast of food trucks will define the experience as well. If you’re like us and have been fighting for a reservation at chef Kwame Onwuachi’s nearby Tatiana for months, consider getting a tasting of the culinary genius' fare at his Patty Palace stand, which is open throughout the summer and serves the Caribbean favorite.
Bottom line? This year’s Summer for the City isn’t just a festival—it’s a citywide celebration. While most events are free or pay-what-you-wish (the suggested ticket price is $35), you do have to snag tickets in advance. Member pre-sale will start on May 8, while general tickets will be available on May 15 at noon.