Times Square is getting its summertime soundtrack back as TSQ LIVE, the Times Square Alliance’s free performance series, returns for a fifth season this May and runs through September. The Broadway plazas will once again double as an outdoor stage, with free concerts, dance classes, DJ sets and family programs scheduled for both lunchtime passersby and nighttime crowds.
Where and When
Organizers are structuring TSQ LIVE as a weekly rhythm for the neighborhood: DJ sets on Tuesdays, new lunchtime concerts and free dance classes on Wednesdays, jazz and institutional presentations on Thursdays, and the Summer Friday concert series plus family playdates on Fridays. Those details and the full calendar are outlined by the Times Square Alliance.
Lineup Highlights
Local coverage from W42ST notes that the season’s offerings include jazz performances, Caribbean flavored showcases, house DJs and family programming. Deputy editor Catie Savage reports that the mix is designed to catch both office workers on their lunch break and visitors lingering into the evening.
As Gothamist reported, the series will feature more than 80 free events across two public plazas. TSQ LIVE will partner with institutions such as Carnegie Hall Citywide, Jazz at Lincoln Center and Alvin Ailey Extension, leaning on those organizations’ existing free concert programs to bring marquee moments to the pedestrian plazas.
“TSQ LIVE exists at the intersection of music, culture, community, and public space,” Joe Papa, the Times Square Alliance’s senior director of events and programming, said in the group’s announcement. That line underscores the Alliance’s push to keep performances ticket free and squarely in public view for both out of town visitors and New Yorkers, according to the Times Square Alliance.
How To Take Part
Ailey Extension will lead free, all levels dance classes on select Wednesday evenings and asks participants to reserve a spot through Ailey Extension. Performers who want to land a TSQ LIVE slot can apply through the series’ open call form, with the organizers’ registration hosted on Typeform. Events are free and open to the public, with schedule updates and additional artist announcements posted at TSQ.org/LIVE and on the series’ social channels as the season rolls on.
