Damrosch Park

Behind Lincoln center lies a beautiful spot for concerts, dance performances and theatre in Lincoln centers’ damrosch park. The bandshell and stage is quite big and you have lots of options whether you prefer sitting in the large amount of seats, dancing all the way upfront in the area between the seats and stage, standing along the sides, and/​or standing/​sitting in the large area towards the back behind the seating area where they have some yummy food options such as hill country bbq, super fresh and creamy gelato, and other booths. Going on now is Lincoln centers’ annual out of doors three week series of awesome live music of every type. tonight was the awesome Muscle Shoals allstars consisting a bunch of the famed muscle shoals studio’s musicians who helped create so many of the classic soul, funk, rock and more tunes we still listen to today. Watch the incredible documentary that came out last year called Muscle Shoals and you’ll be blown away by the countless hits and music stars who came to record at this hallowed legendary studio. Stars like Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Bob Seger, The Rolling stones, Aretha Franklin, Betty Lavette and so many others just had to come and record there. thereby creating so many hit songs that it’s spellbinding and almost unbelievable til you see the magic that happens at this world famous studio in Alabama. The documentary Muscle Shoals is by far one of the best music films ever released. You’ll be almost shocked and surprised when you see that the band behind so many of the soul classics recorded there consisted of a bunch of white cats backing some of the greatest black musicians the world has ever known. Tonight was amazing to see these studio musicians come out to perform two hours worth of many of the hit songs they helped create. Some of the singers who came to help recreate the classic tunes were Sam Moore of Sam and Dave, Betty Lavette, and Jim Hall. It was awesome to see the musicians perform many of the hit tunes they helped bring to life. You have three more weeks to get down to damrosch park and see a ton of incredible shows that are going on most nights. Go to
or Google Lincoln center out of doors to see the full schedule. Bands such as The Mavericks, Vintage Trouble, Yo la tengo, as well as The Rocky horror picture show, world class dance troupes, and all day and night happenings are going on in this packed schedule for the next three weeks. Don’t miss it! And believe me. you MUST see the documentary — Muscle Shoals if you’re like me and you love classic Soul music. Aretha recorded some of her funkiest and most soul stirring songs at this studio.

Pretty phenomenal during any season, even when it’s empty and silent (and awesome enough to warrant 2 listings).

Bloomberg Ain’t All That Bad
I attended the ‘Out of Doors’ concert which our beloved mayor Bloomberg sponsors. Bloomberg may be criticized for his conservative policing policies of our Gotham city or his overly close and constricting oversight of our educators. However, he does some good for the community.
For instance, a free concert in Damrosch park starring Jason Isbell, Nick Lowe and some older rock and roll legends. The concert commenced at 6pm and went on until 9:45pm. The dry and moderately warm weather was perfect for the outdoor venue. Hill Country BBQ was on site to sell some hog. I was pleasantly surprised to see a portable bar that served $ 7 beers and $ 11 glasses of wine. They offered some sad looking sangria as well. For the beers, they had Stella, Hoegaarden, Corona, Heineken, and Miller. A thirst quenching cold brew or two? don’t mind if I do.
The guitars, drums, keys, and even an occasional fiddle brought a different tune to the usual grey city sounds of car horns and chatter. People of all ages, from toddlers, teens and even liquored up grannies were dancing all their worries away. There was an eighty year old lady sitting next to me who wouldn’t stop screaming, «woo woo woo!“and furiously clapping every two minutes. It’s miraculous how music can have the power to make the old feel so young, at least for that relishing moment. Cheers to the Bloomberg corporation for bringing music to the city streets!

WIND ME UP, CHUCK!
I’ve kept my teenage apathy for Damrosch Park since going to High School behind Lincoln Center. That is, until Chuck Brown, the Godfather of Go-​Go himself, performed at the Bandshell for Midsummer Night Swing.
The park, in the southwest corner of the Lincoln Center pavillion, has plenty of space to sit under shade trees, wide walkways, a gelato stand (not bad), and — get this– outdoor BARS with beer and liquor most nights in July. Hang out and drink all you want, wherever you want, with no crowds, lines or smoking bans. You can hear the music everywhere, and there’s a pretty good view of the stage (without paying) if you’re in the proximity.
Because we love Chuck, for a mere $ 15 each, we got onto the dance floor (no drinks allowed?!) and busted loose right next to the stage for hours. How they got the man, the legend, to unleash his DC sound on us fortunate few, is beyond me. It was also hysterical to watch people try to swingdance to pure funk.
Sadly, it’s a 10:00PM last call at the Damrosch bars, but you can drink there like it’s your backyard until then. It’s a heck of an experience.