NEW YORK – Mayor Bill de Blasio, Media and Entertainment (MOME) Commissioner Julie Menin, and NY is Music co-founder Justin Kalifowitz today proclaimed June is New York Music Month. The first-ever citywide celebration of New York’s diverse and thriving music sector features 30 days of events designed to showcase and support the makers of New York City’s soundtrack. The month-long initiative highlights and cements New York’s status as the music capital of the country, if not the world.
Some highlights of New York Music Month:Quotes from Industry Partners
“At Lincoln Center, we believe music should be a part of all New Yorkers’ lives. That is why we present hundreds of free performances each year in all five boroughs, offering programming that is as diverse as the city,” said Lincoln Center President Debora Spar. “We are delighted to participate in New York Music Month, working with the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment to make it easier for artists and audiences to connect through the power of music.”
“We are thrilled with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment’s efforts to support music in New York City, and delighted to have the 39th annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival be part of the New York Music Month campaign. For almost four decades, BRIC has presented free music from around the world and around the block under the stars at our idyllic home at the Prospect Park Bandshell -- listening, watching, and enjoying the potent culture that our world has to offer. June is the most glorious time of year in NYC, and we can’t wait to see and hear the city and its people come alive, and come together with music.” – Jack Walsh, Executive Producer, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival
“City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage is thrilled to join the Mayor’s Office in celebrating New York Music Month,” said Erika Elliott, Executive Artistic Director of SummerStage. “June marks the launch of free SummerStage shows in Central Park and 15 neighborhood parks across the five boroughs, bringing high quality performing arts to New Yorker's in their own backyards all summer long.”
“NYU Steinhardt and the NYU Music Business Program are thrilled to partner with The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment on the June 1st Sound Development: NYC conference at our historic campus in the heart of Greenwich Village,” said Larry Miller, Clinical Associate Professor and Director, NYU Steinhardt Music Business Program. “We look forward to welcoming a diverse group of leaders in the fields of music, media, technology, real estate and education as we celebrate New York Music Month and the countless ways that music contributes to New York's culture, economy, and quality of life.”
“Music is at the heart of New York's backbone and catapulted Brooklyn from the longtime home of artists & writers into the cultural epicenter of the world that it is today. This is exactly what we aim to showcase at Northside in Brooklyn, and we are thrilled to be part of the first ever New York Music Month!” – Daniel Stedman, Founder and Publisher, Northside Media
“As a music festival by New Yorkers for New Yorkers, we are psyched that the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment has declared June as Music Month New York! NYC is alive with talented musicians and music fans eager for more, and Music Month New York is the perfect way to celebrate and enhance the vital music ecosystem that drives our shared culture.” – James Burke, Executive Director, Make Music New York
“The Museum of the City of New York is proud to celebrate New York Music Month, especially as we launch Rhythm and Power: our new groundbreaking exhibition on salsa as a musical phenomenon and social movement. Music is one of the most vibrant ways the diversity of our great city asserts itself and we welcome New Yorkers and tourists alike to join us and celebrate the rhythms of the city at the Museum this summer.” – Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Menschel Director of the Museum of the City of New York
“Casita Maria is incredibly proud to lead the development of the South Bronx Culture Trail Festival 2017 in partnership with the Bronx Music Heritage Center and Dancing in the Streets, which celebrates the borough's rich and diverse culture with Latin jazz, Bomba y Plena, R&B, Mariachi and Garifuna music and so much more. The Festival is a testament to the rich and plentiful talent in the Bronx, as well as an appreciation to the resilient community that continues to give birth to emerging cultural movements. We are excited that this year the Festival is a part of New York Music Month, organized by the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, the first ever citywide celebration of New York’s rich musical heritage.”—Haydee Morales, Executive Director, Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education
“We welcome all music makers and aspiring musicians to develop their creative practices at our spaces, so this initiative is a huge boon,” said Risa Shoup, Executive Director at Spaceworks. “We’re thrilled to partner with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, NY is Music and all involved to make our music rehearsal spaces free during the month of June as part of this initiative to celebrate and support New York City's vital and historic music sector.”
“The Center and New York City share an unwavering appreciation for arts and culture, and we're thrilled to be a part of New York Music Month to bring music education to our LGBT youth community,” said Glennda Testone, Executive Director of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. “Collaborating on Commissioner Menin’s initiative to bring workshops to The Center throughout June will provide LGBT youth with a connection to music, as an art form and an industry, allowing them to explore music as a passion and potential career path.”
“Sound shapes culture. Music connects people across time and geography. At the Rubin Museum, we are taking a closer look this year at how sound shapes our existence and can become a tool for transformation,” said Patrick Sears, Executive Director of the Rubin Museum. “We’re thrilled that the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is celebrating the many facets of music and culture during New York Music Month. As one of the diverse places to experience sound in New York City, the Rubin Museum is proud to offer free access to our new exhibition The World Is Sound on June 24.”
Quotes from Elected Officials
“New York City has been a national touchstone for music evolution and innovation for generations, and it is exciting to see our local musicians recognized and afforded additional resources for their work through the establishment of New York Music Month,” said City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “From the underground sounds of Brooklyn, to the Latin melodías in my own district of El Barrio and the South Bronx, this month-long celebration will serve to empower community music scenes and educate New Yorkers about the real songs of the city, and the City Council is proud to be a supporter of such a valuable initiative.”
“New York has a long history of musical innovation and our theaters, clubs, studios, and other community spaces have set the stage for countless musicians to connect with audiences here and around the world,” said Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finklelpearl. “New York Music Month provides a thrilling opportunity to celebrate and experience this rich heritage. The inspired partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and Spaceworks will provide local musicians with the space they need to make it here in New York. My agency is a proud supporter of Spaceworks, and it is one of the cornerstones of this Administration’s commitment to expand the supply of affordable workspace for artists living and working in New York.”
“New York City has always been a place musicians come to produce and perform their best work, find inspiration through a city that’s constantly changing and pushing boundaries, and form collaborations with other artists to make music that crosses over the boundaries of culture and genre,” said Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer. “As the Chair of the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Libraries, I’m thrilled to join in proclaiming June as New York Music Month. This month-long celebration will empower amateur and professional musicians alike by providing the resources needed to continue creating and performing in spaces all across our city, from a neighborhood park to the stage of a world-renowned performance center.”
“New York City is known internationally as the center of the music industry and the creative capital of the world,” said Council Member James Vacca, Chair of the New York City Committee on Technology. “Dedicating a month to the celebration of music pays tribute to our history as a place where new genres emerged and musicians cultivated their craft. I look forward to a month of activities where we get to show off the greatest aspects of our city and experience the best of what our city has to offer. I join Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Menin in their appreciation and promotion of music in our city.”