SummerStage's Final Central Park Shows Bring Big Names, Free Concerts

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Summer may be winding down, but SummerStage isn't quite ready to pack up.

The outdoor music festival is heading into the final stretch of its 40th anniversary season, with nine more shows scheduled in Central Park through Oct. 1, including performances by Young Thug, Danny Elfman, Of Monsters and Men and Charley Crockett.

The lineup includes a mix of free performances and ticketed benefit concerts.

The final run kicks off Sept. 2 with a free celebration of Verve Records' 70th anniversary featuring six-time Grammy winner and Bronx native Samara Joy alongside 11-time Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride.

Mei Semones & Friends, featuring aron!, Liana Flores and John Roseboro, will perform music from the landmark 1964 album "Getz/Gilberto," while Sparklmami will open the night with a DJ set.

The Marcus King Band will take the stage Sept. 12 for a ticketed benefit show, followed by rapper Young Thug and NAV on Sept. 13.

Composer and former Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman will perform Sept. 15. Elfman, known for his decades-long collaboration with filmmaker Tim Burton, will perform music spanning his film scores, rock career and solo work.

Another free show arrives Sept. 17 with "New York Sings Yiddish: Passing the Torch to a New Generation," featuring young Yiddish performers alongside YidLife Crisis and Frank London's Klezmer All Stars.

On Sept. 22, Young the Giant and St. Lucia will headline "Music for Action," a free Climate Week NYC concert aimed at raising awareness about the connection between climate change, growing tick populations and tick-borne diseases.

Of Monsters and Men will follow on Sept. 23 with opener August Ponthier.

SummerStage will close its milestone season Oct. 1 with country and Americana singer Charley Crockett's "Age of the Ram Tour," featuring Durand Jones and the Indications. The ticketed benefit concert will mark the festival's final performance of 2026.

Here's the remaining Central Park schedule:

• Sept. 2, 6 p.m. — Samara Joy and Christian McBride Celebrate Verve's 70th Anniversary — Free
• Sept. 12, 6 p.m. — Marcus King Band with Penelope Road — Benefit
• Sept. 13, 7 p.m. — Young Thug with NAV — Benefit
• Sept. 15, 7 p.m. — Danny Elfman — Benefit
• Sept. 17, 6 p.m. — New York Sings Yiddish — Free
• Sept. 18, 7 p.m. — Yeat with Glokk40Spaz — Sold out
• Sept. 22, 6 p.m. — Young the Giant and St. Lucia — Free
• Sept. 23, 6 p.m. — Of Monsters and Men with August Ponthier — Benefit
• Oct. 1, 6 p.m. — Charley Crockett with Durand Jones and the Indications — Benefit

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.