Wow- Ward, Watt and Cline, Aug 1 Central Park

[Northern Wish]

Central Park SummerStage 2009 is Here

TV on the Radio

Celebrating its twentieth anniversary, City Parks Foundation is pleased to announce the 2009 season schedule of its flagship free performing arts festival, Central Park SummerStage. Internationally acclaimed for presenting world-renowned and emerging talent from around the globe and New York City's own backyard, the Central Park SummerStage season promises to be as electrifying as ever with a calendar chock-full of culturally diverse programs in multiple disciplines including music, dance, word, film, and comedy.

To kick off this year's (FREE!) Central Park SummerStage season, a special collaborative program starring Josh Ritter performing orchestrated arrangements from his catalog backed by the fabulous New York Pops will featured on Friday, June 12. Other free shows include: Oumou Sangare and Les Nubians on Sunday, July 5; Juana Molina and Curumin on Wednesday, July 8; Q-Tip and Chester French on Saturday, July 18; Alpha Blondy and Lee "Scratch" Perry on Sunday, July 19; Bettye LaVette and Budos Band on Friday, July 24; M. Ward, Mike Watt and Nels Cline on Saturday, August 1; and Boys Noize on Saturday, August 8.

Special benefit fundraiser events (read as: not free) include: TV on the Radio and Dirty Projectors on Friday, June 5; 311 and Ziggy Marley on Thursday, June 25; Explosions in the Sky and Constantines on Tuesday, June 30; as well as Matisyahu and Umphrey's McGee on Thursday, July 9.

Complete details including a list of all SummerStage events is available at www.summerstage.org.