Coney Island’s Free Summer Concert Festival Is A Go!
The official! After a one-year hiatus, Coney Island’s free Seaside Summer Concert Festival will be returning to MCU Park this summer — this time hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams.
The popular concert series will kick off its 36th season on Wednesday, July 22, with JT Taylor “The Voice”, formerly of Kool & the Gang, according to the Brooklyn Concerts website. Starship featuring Mickey Thomas will perform on Thursday, July 23, and the festival will close out on Friday, July 24 with Latino Music by the Sea, featuring Eddie Santiago and N’KLABE.
Adam said he was pleased to host the Seaside shows as well as the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field in East Flatbush.
“Let the music play once more, from Brooklyn’s center to its shores!” said Borough President Adams. “I am honored to host the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series for the second straight year, and I am doubly excited to host my first year of Seaside Summer Concerts 2015 Festival at MCU Park, which will be a one-of-a-kind music festival. These shows are emblematic of the commitment to bringing our communities together in a celebration of the spirit that makes us One Brooklyn.”
All shows are free to the public and begin at 7:30pm and will occur on three consecutive evenings beginning Wednesday, July 22. MCU Park is located at 1904 Surf Avenue.
The Seaside series — long supported by former Borough President Marty Markowitz — has been running for 35 years, drawing stars like John Legend, Joan Jett, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, regularly attracting crowds of more than 10,000 fans.
It was long held at Asser-Levy Park, but the concert series was moved to West 21st Street in 2011 after controversial plans to build an amphitheater at the park’s location spurred lawsuits that enforced sound laws at Asser-Levy. The venue plans eventually moved as well, and construction is now under way toturn the Historic Childs Restaurant building adjacent to the boardwalk into a concert venue.
After the free concert series didn’t happen last year, local elected officials — including Councilman Mark Treyger and Councilman Jumaane Williams — lobbied for an extra $80,000 in the city’s fiscal budget to bring the series back.
“I am thrilled to have helped bring free summer concerts back to Coney Island on behalf of the thousands of residents who look forward to this great southern Brooklyn tradition,” said Treyger. “This is shaping up to be an especially exciting summer in the People’s Playground, so I invite New Yorkers to enjoy a concert and some of the many dining and entertainment options that makes Coney Island such a unique neighborhood. My thanks to Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for working with me to secure funding that will help bring the music back to Coney Island and to Borough President Adams for his role in making these concerts a reality again this summer.”
Seaside’s executive producer Debra Garcia thanked the borough president and council members for resuscitating both the Coney Island and the Flatbush concerts.
“The Seaside Summer Concerts 2015 Festival at MCU Park and the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series would not have been possible this season without the generous support of our corporate sponsors and the additional funding from Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the Brooklyn Delegation of the City Council, especially Council Members Mark Treyger, Jumaane Williams, and Laurie Cumbo,” said executive producer Debra Garcia. “We are thrilled to present these free concerts that have become a tradition for all New Yorkers.”
More information on the Seaside Summer Concerts 2015 Festival and the 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series is available at www.brooklynconcerts.com.