TSQ LIVE 2023
Every summer, TSQ LIVE invites artists, performers and cultural producers to share their work in one of the world’s most iconic public places. Marking our biggest season to date, this year’s lineup features over 80 free, open-air events across two stages, with DJ sets, live concerts, dance workshops, and more. The program brings together arts and cultural partners from over a dozen New York-based institutions and collectives, including Pioneer Works, NEW INC, Children’s Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Ailey Extension, New York Live Arts, OTA Entertainment, Soul Summit Music, Rash Bar, and Elsewhere.
DJ SETS
Curated by Rash Bar, Soul Summit, & Elsewhere
Presented by Nasdaq
Tuesdays | 5pm, Broadway & 43rd St
Tune in on Tuesdays to hear NYC-based DJs bring their expert craft to music lovers and passersby in Times Square. The series will kick off with a euphoric summer soundtrack presented by Brooklyn-based Rash Bar, followed by programs from DJ collective Soul Summit Music and Brooklyn venue Elsewhere.
Rash Bar NYC is a club and performance space located in Bushwick, dedicated to putting on and supporting emerging queer, local and community artists and musicians, primarily New York’s many electronic music scenes.
Brooklyn-based Soul Summit Music, consisting of DJs Jeffrey Mendoza, Sadiq Bellamy and Tabu, is best known for their soulful Sunday afternoon festivals in Fort Greene Park. Over more than a dozen summers, the collective has built a devoted following for their joyful and inclusive dance parties.
Elsewhere is a Brooklyn venue and nightclub dedicated to new music, presenting underground and unbound music with love since 2017. Across three floors, Elsewhere is a space for all New Yorkers to experience expansive sonic offerings, spreading the joy of radical music.
LIVE MUSIC
CROSSROADS CONCERTS
Presented by Nasdaq
Select Wednesdays in May & June | 5pm, Broadway & 43rd St
In celebration of the broad range of live events regularly on offer in Times Square, TSQ LIVE will feature live music brought to you by an array of neighbors across the district, including Swing 46, M Social, Russian Samovar, Brickhouse NYC, and Jasmine’s Caribbean Cuisine.
THE COMMUTER SERIES WITH PIONEER WORKS
Presented by Nasdaq
Wednesdays | 5pm, Broadway & 43rd St
Brooklyn-based leading nonprofit cultural center Pioneer Works, known for their experimental music program and residency, will curate and present a series of musical performances featuring past, current, and future musicians-in-residence across all genres, including Michael Foster, Gelsey Bell, Corrine Jasmine, Veronica Avola, Greg Fox, H x H (Lester St. Louis & Chris Williams), Kwami Winfield, Ciarra Black, Brent Arnold, and Issei Herr.
- Wednesday, June 28: Fox, Frye & Associates
- Wednesday, July 5: The Manhattan Review of Unnatural Acts or NYRoCS
- Wednesday, July 12: Ciarra Black
- Wednesday, July 19: Brent Arnold: Solo Cello & Electronics
- Wednesday, July 26: Soless Dialtone
- Wednesday, August 2: Issei Herr
- Wednesday, August 9: Corrine Jasmin
- Wednesday, August 16: The Chutneys
- Wednesday, August 30: H x H (Lester St. Louis & Chris Williams)
- Wednesday, September 13: Avola
Pioneer Works is an artist and scientist-led nonprofit cultural center in Red Hook, Brooklyn that fosters innovative thinking through the visual and performing arts, technology, music, and science. Its mission is to build community through the arts and sciences to create an open and curious world.
JAZZ IN TIMES SQUARE
Curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center
Thursdays | 5pm, Broadway & 46th
On Thursdays, Jazz at Lincoln Center brings New York City’s world-renowned jazz scene to Broadway, creating the feeling of an intimate club amidst the sights and sounds of Times Square. In keeping with its mission, the organization will present a dynamic array of musicians including Christopher McBride, Mariel Bildsten Septet, and Roxy Coss Quartet.
- Thursday, May 4: Tito and Tito Centennial: Curtis Brothers Quartet
- Thursday, May 11: Chien Chien Lu and Richie Goods
- Thursday, May 25: Christopher McBride
- Thursday, June 1:Charenee Wade
- Thursday, June 8: Miki Yamanaka
- Thursday, June 15: Dayramir Gonzalez
- Thursday, July 6: Winard Harper and Jeli Posse
- Thursday, July 13: Mariel Bildsten Septet
- Thursday, July 20: Naledi Masilo [in honor of Nelson Mandela's Birthday Celebration]
- Thursday, July 27: Roxy Coss
- Thursday, August 3: Grace Fox Big Band
- Thursday, August 17: Simon Moullier Quartet
- Thursday, August 31: Endea Owens and the Cookout
The mission of Jazz at Lincoln Center is to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for Jazz through performance, education and advocacy. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest artists spanning genres and generations, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands of performance, education, and broadcast events each season in its home in New York City and around the world, for people of all ages.
CARNEGIE HALL CONCERTS
Musical performances curated by Carnegie Hall
Friday, June 9 & Friday, June 16 | 5pm, Broadway & 46th
In June, Carnegie Hall celebrates sensational sounds from across the country and around the globe with two free concerts in Times Square. Performances include eclectic Colombian rhythms by singer, songwriter, and accordionist Gregorio Uribe, and the unique multi-tonal sounds of Trio Fadolín, a string ensemble composed of Sabina Torosjan on violin, Valeriya Sholokhova on cello, and Ljova on the fadolín.
- Friday, June 9: Gregorio Uribe (plus trio)
- Friday, June 16: Trio Fadolin
Carnegie Hall's mission is to present extraordinary music and musicians on the three stages of this legendary hall, to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience, to provide visionary education programs, and to foster the future of music through the cultivation of new works, artists, and audiences.
SUMMER FRIDAY CONCERTS
Fridays | 6pm, Broadway & 46th
Check out the buzziest up-and-coming talent from New York City and beyond with these free concerts on Fridays in Times Square. Highlights include a punk rock show by arts organization NEW INC, as well as performances by singer/songwriters Madison Watkins, Brooke Alexx and NYC’s own Julia Wolf.
PUNK SHOW
Curated and presented by NEW INC
Friday, September 15 | 5pm, Broadway & 46th St
For one day only, punk music takes over Times Square! Curated and presented by the New Museum’s cultural incubator NEW INC, this live punk show features an electrifying lineup that embodies the cross-disciplinary fusions found in the past, present, and future of punk music.
Expanding on the New Museum’s commitment to new art and new ideas, NEW INC is the Museum’s cultural incubator supporting creative practitioners and small businesses working across art, design, technology. Now in Year 9, NEW INC’s membership model continues to support a diverse range of creative practitioners with a values-driven program and safe space for gathering and developing new creative projects and businesses.
DANCE
DANCE IN TIMES SQUARE
Dance Workshops presented by Ailey Extension
May 5, 12, 26; June 2, 30; August 10 | 5pm, Broadway & 46th
Alvin Ailey comes to Times Square for a series of free outdoor dance classes led by Ailey Extension instructors and NYC performance artists. Fun for all ages and all levels of dance experience, these high-spirited and participatory workshops range from Broadway jazz to New York-style mambo, West African dance, and more!
- Friday, May 5: West African Dance with Maguette Camara (featuring live drumming)
- Friday, May 12: NY Style Mambo with Katherine Jimenez
- Friday, May 26: Zumba® with Jose Ozuna
- Friday, June 2: Broadway Jazz with Judine Somerville
- Friday, June 30: Hip-Hop with TweetBoogie
- Thursday, August 10: Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary Celebration
Ailey Extension was founded to continue Alvin Ailey’s legacy that “dance came from the people and should be delivered back to the people” by offering open dance classes that are accessible to all people in a welcoming, non-competitive environment. Ailey Extension enriches the lives of the community around us locally and internationally through dance classes, workshops, student performances, panel discussions, and private group classes with prominent dance instructors and musicians from around the world. Join Ailey Extension either online or in-person at the Ailey Studios for dance and fitness classes open to dancers of all levels, from absolute beginners to professionals.
LIVE DANCE: /Time: Study III
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company co-presented with New York Live Arts
Wednesday, June 7 | 6pm, Broadway & 46th St
Culminating its 40th Anniversary celebration, the world renowned Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company makes its Times Square debut with /Time: Study III. Featuring the outstanding performers of the company and guest musicians, this piece marks the third annual New York Live Arts presentation in Times Square. Performance support has been provided in part by Playhouse 46 at St. Luke’s.
OTA IN TIMES SQUARE
2nd OTA in Times Square Ball
Monday, August 28 | 5pm – 9pm, Broadway & 46th St
OTA Entertainment brings the art of voguing back to Duffy Square with the 2nd OTA in Times Square Ball. This live voguing competition is a celebration of Black queer culture and an invitation to the public to experience New York’s historic ballroom scene.
OTA Academy: The Runway Experience
August, TBA | 5pm – 9pm, Broadway & 46th St
An institution within the ballroom, runway and voguing community in New York, OTA Entertainment introduces OTA Academy: The Runway Experience in Times Square. Leading up to their 2nd ball in Time Square, OTA offers a light runway course led by the legendary OTA Royal Court for a mini impromptu ball that is truly “Open to All”.
Founded by Leggoh JohVera around the principle of “Open To All,” OTA Entertainment is an inclusive, intergenerational community of creatives that welcomes all forms of artistic self-expression.
ART
Urgent Futures
Miguel Braceli in collaboration with Children’s Museum of the Arts
Thursday, Sept 21 | 5pm, Broadway & 46th
Socially engaged artist Miguel Braceli designs a participatory art project to collect, discuss, and stage children’s voices and their most critical questions of our time. Through a collective performance developed in conjunction with local public school students, Braceli will transform Times Square into a youth assembly–making space to actively engage with urgent concerns for the future.
Miguel Braceli is an artist, architect, and educator. His practice is focused on participatory art projects in public space; working at the intersection of art, architecture, and social practices; exploring geopolitical and local conflicts.
Children’s Museum of the Arts unites children and artists to create and share ambitious works of art with their communities and the world. Born out of an artist’s SoHo studio in 1988, Children’s Museum of the Arts (CMA) has built a living collection of over 2,000 works by children from over fifty countries dating back nearly a century, while connecting young New Yorkers to art and artists.