Oxford University Press's
Academic Insights for the Thinking World

What’s your go-to summer concert?

It’s that time of year again! Summer concerts are warming up and festivals are in full swing. Cities around the world are putting on some of the best shows for locals and tourists to enjoy. Check out what concerts Oxford University Press employees love attending every year. You just might stumble upon your new favorite band.

Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York – All summer
“I’d suggest the (mostly) free summer concert series in Prospect Park at the band shell for us broke Brooklyn-ites!”
Samantha Zimbler, Global Product Marketing Associate

Celebrate Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York – All summer
“I live a couple of hundred yards from the band shell in Prospect Park, home to Celebrate Brooklyn, and I try to get to as many performances as I can every summer. I love the variety of music, I love the performers, and I love being outside, but I especially love the way it draws my neighborhood outside together. This summer’s lineup is spectacular.”
Anna-Lise Santella, Senior Editor, Grove Music Online & Music Reference

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado – All summer
“My favorite summer concerts are at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. It’s a beautiful natural amphitheatre with amazing views, which makes for a truly breathtaking experience. As long as it doesn’t rain or hail, that is.”
Victoria Davis, Global Assistant Product Marketing Manager, Digital

Shaky Knees Festival, Atlanta, Georgia – 8-10 May 2015
“The Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta this summer was quite a treat. We got to see such legendary bands as The Pixies, The Strokes, Flogging Molly, and Neutral Milk Hotel, along with a number of others for a very reasonable price. Highlights included bluegrass mosh pits, delicious popsicles, and friendly encounters with music lovers from across the globe.”
Megan Rose and Molly Rose, Marketing Associates, Institutional Marketing

La Fête de la Musique, France – 21 June 2015
“For over thirty years, town centers across France play host to a whole range of musicians from all over the world. The La Fête de la Musique in Paris though, is unbeatable. The already extraordinary city transforms into a concert hall and every street, square, and park pulses with the sound of music. Meanwhile revelers dance, talk, and picnic on good food and chilled rosé.”
Callum Watts, Global Online Product Marketing

Cowley Road
Photo of the Cowley Road Carnival, July 2007 taken by Damian Cugley. CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Cowley Road Carnival, Oxford, UK – 5 July 2015
“The Cowley Road is the most multicultural part of Oxford and despite the very real clash of cultures, students and born-and-bred locals, they’re all part of a larger community that for some reason works. Every year, those that love the Cowley Road converge for the carnival to listen to live music as diverse as electro swing, Pink Floyd cover bands, and reggae. Thankfully, there’s always plenty of jerk chicken and shish kebabs available to soak up the free-flowing beer!”
Joe Couling, Marketing Assistant

Father Cry $$$ Tour – 13 July 2015
“Rapper Father, founder of a misfit collective known as Awful Records (loved by industry star Drake), combines club hip-hop with ghostly melodies and is taking the rap world by storm with his 2014 breakout song, “Look At Wrist” featuring ILOVEMAKKONEN. The tour also presents some of the 15 other members of the group including up and coming Playboi Carti who was noted on Complex Magazine’s ’50 Best Songs of 2015 So Far.'”
Vanessa Martin, Marketing Intern

Mostly Mozart Festival, New York City – 25 July-22 August 2015
“Not only for Mozart mavens, this festival features a first-rate house ensemble, an amazing array of guest artists, as well as varied, engaging, and smart programming.”
– Dan DiPaolo, Assistant Editor, Grove Music Online and Oxford Reference 

Warm Up 2016 MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York – 25 July 2015
Warm Up and MoMA PS1 is an NYC summer staple and is an anticipated music series presenting the best local and international experimental music across a range of genres, including up-and-coming and established artists. Highly anticipated Skepta will be the highlight of the 25 July installation and is one of the main reasons why this foreign, mutant genre called Grime is finally being recognized in the States.”
Vanessa Martin, Marketing Intern

Nicki Minaj Presents The Pink Print Tour – 26 July 2015
“This tour is definitely going to cause one to shed a couple pounds. The Pink Print Tour is dazzled by several breakout rap and R&B artists: Tinashe, Dej Loaf, Meek Mill, and Rae Sremmurd. Queen Nicki will truly be the star of the show performing several hits off her highly regarded album The Pink Print while gracing the audience with her charismatic and eccentric personality.”
Vanessa Martin, Marketing Intern

Ratking and Bishop Nehru Summerstage, New York City – 5-6 August 2015
Ratking is an NYC-based rap group whose influence spans from the youthful energy and DIY ethics of punk rock, the hard hitting lyrical flows of late 90s and early 2000s New York rappers a la Cam’ron and RZA. Their live performances are energetic and unique as the entire group’s personality shines through when they perform.”
Vanessa Martin, Marketing Intern

Flogging Molly's Nathen Maxwell & Matthew Hensle, August 2014 by Martin Bergann. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Flogging Molly’s Nathen Maxwell & Matthew Hensle, August 2014 by Martin Bergann. CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Afropunk Fest, Brooklyn, New York – 22-23 August 2015
“There’s really no better way to spend a summer day in Afropunk Fest. The music is great, the looks are on-point, and there’s even a few dance circles throughout the day.”
Ayana Young, Global Digital Marketing

Lotus Fest, Bloomington, Indiana – 24-27 September 2015
“Hands down my favorite festival is the Lotus Fest in Bloomington, IN. I’ve been going almost every year for the past ten years. Lotus Fest combines an incredible range of ‘traditional’ world music genres—from Tuval throat singers and Finnish fiddlers to Swedish hip hop and Latin/Brooklyn washboard swing—into a weekend-long event that literally takes over downtown Bloomington. Performers are brought in from across the globe. Churches, bank parking lots, and movie theaters are transformed into performance venues. I found my all-time favorite band at Lotus in 2005 – Balkan Beat Box. What has impressed me most every year is the high energy created by the mix – the juxtaposition of musical styles, cultural profiles, and joy in musical experience in this down-home cosmopolitan town.”
Suzanne Ryan, Editor in Chief, Humanities

Which festivals and concerts would you add to the list?

Image Credit: Music festival by Eva Rinaldi. CC BY-SA via Flickr.

Recent Comments

There are currently no comments.