Jason Mraz to Join The New York Pops For One Night Only Performance at Forest Hills Stadium

The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke,will join multi-GRAMMY Award winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame Honoree Jason Mraz for his final summer tour stop on August 17, 2023 at Forest Hills Stadium. This one-night-only performance—also the conclusion to Mraz’s The Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride tour and the only tour stop with full orchestra—will feature Jason Mraz and his band performing selections from his two-decade career. Tickets to the concert in Queens are on-sale now.

The New York Pops’ appearance at Forest Hills Stadium is generously supported by Morgan Stanley.

Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, Mraz’s eighth studio album, was recently released on June 23 and is available everywhere. His summer tour by the same name runs from mid-July to mid-August. Throughout the album, there are hints of Mraz’s formative releases, including his 2002 debut Waiting For My Rocket to Come and 2005’s Mr. A-Z, but it ultimately finds a kinship with 2008’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The new songs, which are unabashedly pop, see Mraz reuniting with numerous collaborators, including L.A. band Raining Jane and producer Martin Terefe, who helmed the 2008 breakout album. The songs grapple with the emotions and experiences that come with being in your mid-life, a time that is often ignored by pop songwriters. Its optimistic, inspiring sensibility reflects the musician’s overall approach to being in the world. It is, in fact, full spiral, reflecting the past but becoming something new.

The New York Pops’ Kids in the Stadium program, supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, will offer more than 1,000 Queens children and their families, plus seniors, an opportunity to attend for free. 

The New York Pops’ 2023-24 season of performances in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall includes 21st Century Broadway on Friday, October 27, 2023 featuring Jeremy Jordan, Hailey Kilgore, Javier Muñoz, and Elizabeth Stanley; One Night Only: An Evening with Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara on Friday, November 17, 2023; The Best Christmas of All with Norm Lewis on Friday, December 22 and Saturday, December 23;Gershwin: A Century of Rhapsody in Blue on Friday, February 9, 2024 featuring Montego Glover and pianist Lee Musiker; and Hitsville: Celebrating Motown on Friday, March 15, 2024 featuring Bryan Terrell Clark and Valisia LeKae.

Concert Information

Jason Mraz
AND HIS SUPERBAND
With THE NEW YORK POPS
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. / Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Forest Hills Stadium

Tickets are available at ForestHillsStadium.com. Forest Hills Stadium is conveniently located just steps from the E, M, F, R subway trains at Forest Hills-71st Ave as well as the Forest Hills Long Island Rail Road station.

About the Artists

Jason Mraz is a two-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter and Songwriters Hall of Fame Honoree, most famously known by his hits, “I’m Yours” and “I Won’t Give Up.” His non-profit, the Jason Mraz Foundation, supports programs focused on inclusive arts education and the advancement of equality. Established in 2015, Mraz Family Farms is committed to peace in the world through organic regenerative agriculture, fair trade, and kind words. Mraz released his eighth studio album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, on June 23.

The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Under the dynamic leadership of Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music. The orchestra performs annually at Carnegie Hall and at Forest Hills Stadium, a 14,000-seat historic concert venue in Queens, NY. Through its PopsEd music education programs, The New York Pops fulfills its dedication to lifelong learning by collaborating with public schools, community organizations, and senior centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. PopsEd allows thousands of New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to participate in fully customizable music programs that blend traditional education with pure fun, both in the classroom and through remote learning. Follow The New York Pops on Facebook (facebook.com/thenewyorkpops), Instagram (@thenewyorkpops), and Twitter (@thenewyorkpops).

Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America's leading conductors of popular music and is in his second decade as Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he is Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras.

Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Dallas, Detroit and the Ravinia Music Festival.

On stage, Reineke has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, R & B, Broadway, television and rock including Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Ne-Yo, Cynthia Erivo, Sutton Foster, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton and Ben Folds, among others. In 2017, National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” featured Reineke leading the National Symphony Orchestra performing live music excerpts between news segments — a first in the show’s 45-year history. In 2018, Reineke led the National Symphony Orchestra with hip hop legend Nas performing his seminal album "Illmatic" on PBS's Great Performances.

As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Reineke’s work has been performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare was used to commemorate the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.

Jason Mraz is living full spiral. It’s not full circle, exactly, because he’s changed and his experiences have changed, but on his 8th studio album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride, the musician has found himself returning to a familiar junction in space. Throughout the album, there are hints of Mraz’s formative releases, including his 2002 debut Waiting For My Rocket to Come and 2005’s Mr. A-Z, but it ultimately finds a kinship with 2008’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. The new songs, which are unabashedly pop, see Mraz reuniting with numerous collaborators, including L.A. band Raining Jane and producer Martin Terefe, who helmed the 2008 breakout album. The songs grapple with the emotions and experiences that come with being in your mid-life, a time that is often ignored by pop songwriters. Its optimistic, inspiring sensibility reflects the musician’s overall approach to being in the world. It is, in fact, full spiral, reflecting the past but becoming something new.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez