DNAinfo Story By Smriti Rao, Reporter/Producer
JACKSON HEIGHTS—Music lovers looking to enjoy an outdoor show can get their fix in Jackson Heights this summer, with intimate concerts featuring classic rock, Asian Drums and Latin Jazz artists every Sunday.
For the ninth year, local artists will gather as part of the “Summer Sundays in the Park” series at the Play Street outside Travers Park on 78th Street between 34th Avenue and Northern Boulevard to perform for small crowds, organizers said.
“Queens—and Jackson Heights in particular—is known and lauded for its diversity,” said Edwin Westley, the president of the Jackson Heights Beautification Group. “So why not celebrate that diversity through music?”
More than 150 people are expected to enjoy the free shows, which kick off at 5 p.m. each Sunday and run through Aug. 26.
Upcoming performances include the classic rock cover act Urban Street Gypsys on July 15, Latin Jazz by Issa Cabrera & Trio on July 22 and rock and pop performances by Once Again and Music with a Message.
While the small shows may lack the razzle-dazzle of bigger series such as “Celebrate Brooklyn” in Prospect Heights—which drew big-ticket names like Algerian superstar Souad Massi and Palestinian artist Simon Shaheen this summer—organizers are confident the Travers Park concerts will draw friends, family and fans of the artists who live in and around Jackson Heights.
Pooh-poohing Brooklyn as “overrated,” Westley called Queens a “well-kept secret.”
“The more concerts we have, the more people will come to us,” he said.
For more details of the artists and a full performance schedule, go to www. jhbg.org