The concert was an immersive experience, with Dayes leading his ensemble through intricate rhythms and syncopated beats, creating a seamless interplay between jazz improvisation and contemporary sounds. His band, composed of talented musicians, added layers of complexity with smooth basslines, atmospheric synths, and melodic piano riffs, which paired perfectly with Dayes’ percussion work.

One of the highlights was his ability to engage with the audience, creating an intimate vibe despite the large outdoor setting. The energy was palpable, as fans responded to Dayes’ ability to shift effortlessly between tight grooves and more free-flowing, experimental sections.

The showcase also saw the introduction of new material, which drew strong reactions from the crowd, reflecting the anticipation around his evolving sound. Dayes’ performance was not only a showcase of technical prowess but also an emotional journey, full of depth and musical exploration. His live performance at Central Park was an unforgettable night for music lovers, blending virtuosic instrumentation with a deep understanding of rhythm and sound.

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Last weekend, SummerStage welcomed The Roots and DJ Scratch, names well known among music aficionados even before the Tonight Show. Founded in Philadelphia in the late ‘80s by Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, The Roots have released nearly a dozen albums, won multiple Grammy Awards, and have been Jimmy Fallon’s house band since 2009.

DJ Scratch (born George Spivey), on the other hand, is a producer and collaborator of Busta Rhymes, Metallica, Wu-Tang Clan, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, among others. Scratch has been winning DJ battles since 1988 (New Music Seminar Battle For World Supremacy) and is a fitting accompaniment for this historic evening.

This evening, no introduction was needed. A band that claims the stage like The Roots earns their spotlight through sound. This is what make hip hop legendary: bars clear as day delivered my Black Thought, every sound perfectly executed by talented musicians. It was an honor to hear them play.

Coming up on SummerStage

July 26: GORILLAFEST featuring Busta Rhymes / ONYX / M.O.P / DJ Drewski & Friends / Scram Jones / Statik Selektah / DJ Perly

July 26: The Saw Doctors

July 27: Femi Kuti & The Positive Force / dead prez / Elida Almeida / Rich Medina / Alhanislam

July 30: The Head and the Heart: Aperture Tour

July 31: Frankie Negrón / Christian Alicea / Funk Salsa Urban

July 31: Summer Dayes 2025 with The Yussef Dayes Experience / FKJ / Venna / Salin

The post In photos: The Roots and DJ Scratch on SummerStage NY appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Marley was joined on stage throughout the evening by Patrice Roberts, Sarkodie, Bobby Konders, and King Cruff. We’ve seen Skip Marley perform on a CityParks stage and much like the previous time this night was a wonderful showcase of talent.

It is a well-known fact that talent runs in the Marley family. Skip made his debut performing “One Love” with his uncle Stephen Marley and has since risen to his own rightful heights. His debut 2020 EP Higher Place was nominated for Best Reggae Album at the Grammys (one of his two nominations). His collaborative single “Slow Down” with  H.E.R. became the quickest and biggest-streaming song in Marley’s family history, and elevated Skip to over 440 million total global artist streams. And the award nominations kept coming.

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Multi-platinum music producer, artist, and DJ Kenny Beats has worked as a producer with the likes of Vince Staples, Skrillex, Freddie Gibbs, Denzel Curry, and Rico Nasty just to name a few. This showcase was definitely a special one, focusing on this record and spotlighting another talent, including a special appearance by Mark Bowen from IDLES who came out to perform a cover of Shania Twain’s 1997 smash “Man! I Feel Like A Woman”.

Re-live the event with us through photos.

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It’s easy to understand why Saba said it over and over throughout the night. It really is hard to believe that such an incredible show in such an expensive city is free of charge—but that’s SummerStage.

theMIND kicked off the night with a bang playing upbeat songs that had the crowd going from the start. His set was followed by Eryn Allen Kane, who brought super personable energy and dazzling vocals. 

Saba (real name Tahj Malik Chandler) headlined the show, starting off the set with “Stoney”. His energy was uplifting and fun, but his lyrics are impactful. Saba made sure to shout out the Chicago natives in the crowd, of which there was an impressive amount. He also kept it real and took time to acknowledge that he felt amazing being on stage, but strange because he has lost so many people that he wished could be in attendance. He also divulged to the crowd that performing with a drummer was something pretty new for him, but it worked seamlessly.

Saba is a genius when it comes to visuals, much like his music, they were lowkey but captivating. A video of an empty kitchen or a deserted sidewalk doesn’t sound like much, but the lighting and the mood created a sense of slightly altered reality, and it was the perfect background for his performance. 

The biggest twist of the night was when Saba performed “Still” from his most recent album, Few Good Things, which was released in February this year. The crowd went wild when he was joined on stage by Smino in the flesh to perform his verse. Saba and Smino are two-thirds of Ghetto Sage – a group that they formed with Chicago native, NoName. 

The trio was incredibly cohesive, creating the perfect balance of the upbeat and relaxing, lighthearted and emotional atmosphere. It was a perfect July night in Central Park, and yes, it was free!

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I think the thing that surprised me the most about Valerie June was her on-stage persona – she was silly – which was a pleasant surprise.

I first became aware of Valerie June in 2013 by listening to her first album Pushin’ Against a Stone, it was an album that grabbed my attention right away. The record is a blend of many genres, it is country and bluegrass like on “Tennessee Time,”  it is classic soul like “Wanna Be On Your Mind,” it’s rock, blues, and occasionally it is folk. One might even argue that the record has a genre identity crisis but in my humble opinion, Valerie June is not here to be just one thing, she is an artist beyond genre. And though the album is many things, the overarching word I would have used to describe Valerie June’s music would have been “serious” so when I saw Valerie June at Summerstage in Central Park, it was very surprising to me that the main word I wanted to use now was “fun”. 

New York’s very own, Hollywood Anderson opened the show and set a chill vibe for the evening. Anderson’s music is silky smooth, and like Valerie June, he is a multi-genre artist with flavors from the soul, folk, jazz, and hip-hop. Despite there being a full band on stage (guitars, keyboards, drums, saxophone, flute) Anderson’s set felt intimate, like a friend’s backyard BBQ at the end of THE summer. It was, or so I thought, the perfect appetizer for what I expected to be a similar vibe from June’s set.

During the break the stage was decorated with flowers – flowers on monitors, amps, and the floor – this was the first clue that we may be in for a surprise. The show started with a 3-piece brass and woodwind section stepping into place on the right and two string players joined them on the opposite end. The Center stage was occupied by guitar, bass, and drums, rounding out nicely with a pedal steel player. As the band took their positions they began humming a kind of “om” note – a settling drone to hone our attention and dial us into the same frequency.

The synchronized humming continued for a while, maybe it was a minute or two, maybe it was five. Someone in the band invited the audience to hum along with them and some of the audience joined in. As male voices and female voices took turns being louder in the mix, the humming rose and fell several times in volume and timbre. Then Valerie June appeared.  

She took the stage draped in a pink chiffon cape that enveloped her completely, her hair was adorned with flowers – a picture of femininity and mother nature. At this point, we were all greeted by a large smile, a playful expression that seemed to indicate she might not be a symbol at all, but a kid playing dress-up. Maybe she was both. This duality would be consistent throughout the show. 

Between songs, Valerie June spoke of her own brand spirituality, the artsy kind with unknown amounts of Brooklyn-signature irony (where she does, in fact, reside). June talked about lightly, with the affable cheeriness and southern hospitality of someone from Tennessee (where she is, in fact, from).

At one point, Valerie talked about a time she was in her kitchen in Brooklyn, and she heard a voice tell her she had a light in her:  “Is that you David Bowie?” she jokingly shared her reaction. Listening to the voice she entered into a trance of color, she went to turquoise and fuchsia – an iridescent place – realizing that everybody has a light in them. It was this experience that led her to write “Astral Plane”.

June resembled Dolly Parton, and that bubbliness made her philosophical musings a thing to accept. At a different time, I would have maybe rolled my eyes at such spiritual rhetoric, being a dutiful, cynical New Yorker, but after the year and a half we’ve all had, I took it all in and accepted her invitation to be part of this moment.

She spoke about time and the lack of it and discussed the transience of the present moment. The show and stage decor became a visual metaphor for Valerie June’s view of life. The flowers on the stage had exposed stems as a reminder that their time was finite, these flowers will die.  As the show went on, she shed layer after layer, and by the time we got to the exciting battle between fiddle and trumpet during “Working Woman Blue,” she was down to sequin shorts and a tank top, looking like an actual light. As she rocked out during her climactic cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” the last remnants of her costume, the flowers in her hair, one by one flung asunder. Her stage metamorphosis embodied transformation and the transience of the present. And not in a sullen way, but in a joyous Valerie June way.

Near the beginning of her set, she had asked the audience, “Hollywood Anderson is the King, and if he’s the King, that makes me…?”  “The Queen!” the audience yelled. “The Queen,” she agreed. “Or The High Priestess,” she posited but with a wry giggle.  She’s the High Priestess or maybe the musical love child of Otis Redding and Patti Smith. I don’t know, and it doesn’t really matter. I’m in my fuchsia turquoise place. 

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Last week Tycho performed a cool end-of-the-summer evening show at Central Park’s SummerStage. Upon entering, the venue was lined with promotors offering an odd combo of freebees: hangover cure tablets, granola bars, and ice cream sandwiches. The space let in a breezy evening air that paired perfectly with L.A. duo Poolside’s opening act, which saw the crowd through a laidback city sunset.

The audience filled in significantly as we awaited the headliner. Tycho’s Scott Hansen stepped on the stage all dressed in white and jumped into his accessible track “A Walk” from the 2011 release Dive. The night sky set a perfect backdrop to his visual accompaniments of crashing waves, southwest desert scenes, and kaleidoscope colors. Flashing lights flanked the stage, blinking and shifting between rainbow hues in rhythm with the beat, illuminating both the artist and the clouds of vape smoke floating over the crowd.

The highlight of the show proceeded once he introduced his special guest, Saint Sinner. Her white-blonde hair glowed against the light and she serenaded us with Weather hit “Pink and Blue” as well as the more mellow track “Japan.” Between songs, Hansen beamed, admitting that playing to us in Central Park was a “dream come true.” No doubt, Tycho’s California vibes add a dreamy quality to any scene. That night at Hansen’s show, the dream was the low-fi calm of Tycho’s live set reverberating out from the heart center of otherwise busy New York City.

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