Lincoln Square Kicks Off Free Summer Concert Series, 7/14

Lincoln Square heats up this summer with an eclectic series of free outdoor concerts at Richard Tucker Park. Music lovers are invited to bring lunch, join friends and relax at the lively oasis at Broadway and 66th Street to enjoy a taste of New York's "underground" music scene. The Summer Concert Series at Richard Tucker Park will be held every Wednesday at Broadway and 66th Street from now until September 1 from Noon until 2:00 p.m. and will feature a diverse mix of talented and creative performers with a range of styles and weekly themes:

July 14 We Got the Beat
July 21 Street to Bayou
July 28 Classic Lunch
August 4 Andes to the Pampas
August 11 Jazz World
August 18 Dynamic Duos
August 25 Lift your Voice
September 1 Blues Finale

This weekly series of free lunch time performances is presented by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit's Music Under New York (MUNY) program with support from Cabot Creameries. Through these live performances at Richard Tucker Park, we celebrate New York City's diversity of music and cultures and remember the great opera star, tenor Richard Tucker (1913-1975) who worked as a cantor before joining the New York Metropolitan Opera for a thirty-year career. Richard Tucker Park is located at Broadway and 66th Street and is a major subway stop on the 1 line. New this year: In addition to great music, many concerts will feature restorative stretch with Yogaworks and cheese samples from Cabot Creameries.

About the Lincoln Square BID - The Lincoln Square BID is a not-for-profit tax-exempt organization whose mission is to make Lincoln Square cleaner, safer, and more beautiful, and to undertake various improvement projects. Efforts are focused on supplemental sanitation and security services; the beautification of public spaces, malls, and parks; and the promotion and marketing of the area's diverse business and cultural offerings. The Lincoln Square BID acts as a catalyst working with business, community and city partners to promote positive change in Lincoln Square. For more information, please call 212.581.3774 or visit www.lincolnsquarebid.org.

About Music Under New York (MUNY) - Music Under New York is one of many visual and performing arts programs administered by MTA Arts for Transit - a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. For 20 years, MUNY has provided customers in the transit system with daily music performances. At present, more than 100 soloists and groups participate in MUNY with over 7000 annual performances at 25 locations throughout the transit system. For more information, please call 212-878-7250 or visit www.mta.info/mta/aft.

For details on performers, please see below .

July 14 We Got the Beat

Najib Bahri Noon - 12:30pm
Tunisian percussionist, Najib is inheritor of the Andalucian music tradition, master on Darbouka (goblet drum), Bendir (frame drum), and Riq (tambourine) in the Maghrebi classical and folk styles. He began playing at age 8 with his father and uncles in theatre and attended the National Conservatory of Music at 16. Over the years, he has researched different world rhythms and accompanied some of the most prestigious musicians of the Arab world. He also leads the musical group El Amal (Arabic for "Hope") and offers a unique sound which is coined "North African Dance Grooves".
www.n-bahri-rhythms.com

Peter Joseph Paul 12:30 - 1:15pm
A Hi Tech One Man Band, Peter Joseph Paul plays full complex drumbeats with his feet, plays guitar and sings, and occasionally uses a harmonica during the solo sections of cover and original songs. He utilizes 24 bit sound samples of real drums, percussion, sound effects, and musical instrument samples. He has a repertoire of over 1,200 cover songs in every genre as well as original compositions. He performs in the subway and throughout New York City. www.peterjosephpaul.com

SisterMonk 1:15 - 2:00pm
Gypsy funk, Arabesque trance, deep Latin grooves, and soulful vocal and instrumental performances create the uniquely powerful experience that is SisterMonk. Their music probes provocative themes with mystical poetry and storms of rhythmic passion. Adventures on the road less traveled, through wilderness homesteading, zen meditation, tribal musical culture, raw food, and Tai Chi inspire SisterMonk's songs of epic beauty, mystery, and epiphany.
www.sistermonk.com / www.facebook.com/sistermonk

July 21 Street to the Bayou

Gabriel Aldort, aka Galdort Gumbo Noon - 12:30pm
Beginning his musical journey in Topanga, California, Gabriel has been influenced by a wide-range of styles and artists, including Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Billy Joel and Elton John. At age 17, Gabriel discovered the musical genre that influenced his playing for years to come: the Blues, particularly New Orleans Stride and Boogie Woogie Dr. John, James Booker, Randy Newman and others, which have become a staple in the patchwork quilt of his musical stylings. Today, he continues to juggle a schedule of musical scoring, live performance, and managing New York City's blues club, Terra Blues. www.galdortmusic.com

Irving Louis Lattin 12:30 - 1:00pm
Chicago native, pianist, guitarist, singer, songwriter, solo artist, and leader of the band Chicago Fire, Irving's deep basso can also hit the high notes. He has toured Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean islands over the past 20 years, as well as doing commercial voice work for Viagra, Modell's sporting goods, Chevy trucks, and a character voice for the Playstation game "Parapper the Rapper." He writes personal songs as donated gifts for hospitalized children for "Songs of Love" with the motto that "music is medicine." Irving's R&B and soul repertoire keeps him a regular at B.B. King's Blues Club... the fire still burns! chisoulsongs@hotmail.com

Tin Pan 1:00 - 2:00pm
From the secret sound that emerges from a hidden city's corner comes the soundtrack of the speak-easy, reflecting on dancing into the night and waking up to start again. Using instruments from the Mississippi Delta string-band tradition and the style of a New Orleans street party, Tin Pan presents acoustic roots music boiled down to the heart of Americana. Performing over two hundred times a year and entertaining tens of thousands from all over the world, the band's singer, Jesse Selengut, says, "I'm so happy to see the music I love getting such a great response. When I see little kids dancing with their grandparents and we get all the couples smiling and moving . . . that's when I know the music is working." www.tinpanbluesband.com

July 28 Classic Lunch

Shogo Kubo Noon - 12:30pm
From the age of 10, Shogo has studied classical guitar under Mitsutoshi Tanaka in the Andres Segovia tradition. In 1994, he debuted in the Obihiro New Musicians Concert. After traveling to Spain, studying guitar, he joining the Emilio Pujure Institute of Music and took part in international music seminars. Years later he returned to Japan, instructed at Hokkaido Newspaper Cultural Center, and then went on to teach guitar in primary and intermediate schools in Oceania, New Zealand, and Australia. Since immigrating to the United States in 2002, he has performed across the country, in Canada and the UK, including Direct at Merkin Concert Hall, "Sopranos License to Trill", "International Enchantments," and many other venues. His CD releases include "Cielo Abierto" and "Aranjuez." www.shogokubo.com

Luellen and Jim 12:30- 1: 00pm
Luellen Abdoo has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, and New York Virtuosi, and in the rock and pop world with Bon Jovi and Jay and the Americans, and has recorded with Aerosmith. Tailoring a special repertoire as the "Wedding Violinist," Luellen is co-founder of the Synergy String Quartet and artistic director for the NYC Ballet Musicians and Friends, a chamber music series that takes place in Saratoga Springs, NY. Jim Graseck, the "recklessly romantic" violinist, is known and loved by New Yorkers for making his music and virtuoso performances accessible - whether in the subway or Carnegie Hall. He has been a soloist with orchestras in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina with numerous TV appearances, including the Tonight Show, the Morning Show, Prime Time Live, and VH1's Behind the Music. His film credits include "OneTrue Thing," starring William Hurt and Meryl Streep. Jim is also a member of the Synergy String Quartet. www.synergyquartet.com / www.recklesslyromantic.com

The Hopkins Entertainment Group 1:00 - 2:00pm
Founded on the beliefs and principles of its members to bring classical music to as many people as possible, the string quartet interacts and communicates with their audiences. This attitude is in reaction to the often held stigma of the general population that classical music is boring. The Hopkins Entertainment Group believes the music can be fun, entertaining, and appealing to diverse people. They are dedicated to performing pieces from Bach through commissioned works by living composers, and broadening the horizon of classical music and incorporating works of different genres in performances are at the forefront of the group's mission. www.hopkinsent.com

August 4 Andes to the Pampas

Gimagua Noon - 12:30pm
Gimagua, made up of twin brothers Guillermo and Gabriel Ariza, strum and step their way through rumba, flamenco, cumbia, and Afro-Cuban rhythms. Identical twins and real showmen, the duo is originally from Columbia. Both are guitarists and singers and have yet to meet a crowd they cannot win over. Gimagua has received wide media coverage and appeared on Sabado Gigante, El Show de Cristina, Despierta America on Channel 11, and various other programs in New York City.

Flamenco Y Sol 12:30- 1:15pm
Sol, the "La Argentinita" dancer and singer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has performed with the Metropolitan Opera for the past two seasons in Zeferelli's production of La Traviata. Since 2006, Sol has been on tour throughout the US, Mexico, France, and Spain with numerous flamenco companies. Recently, she received a scholarship for a summer intensive project at Jacob's Pillow and from the Cristina Heeren Foundation to study flamenco song in Seville. Cristian Puig, who accompanies Sol, was born in Buenos Aires to flamenco dancer and guitarist parents. He studied guitar classically in the conservatory and learned flamenco from his father. He has composed and worked with Pilar Rioja, Andrea Del Conte Danza Espana and Flamenco Puro, and others, and continues to perform, compose, instruct privately, and sing in the traditional and modern flamenco style. www.flamencoysol.com / www.cristianpuig.com

Raices 1:15 - 2:00pm
Andean flute player Edgar Paucar created the group Raices in 1992. With members from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, the group has the desire to express feelings of nostalgia and their longing for their homelands. They have performed at Symphony Space, Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Town Hall, the National Museum of the American Indian, and numerous festivals. Edgar has been the acting grand master of the Inti Rami festivities in New York for the last few years. www.raicesgroup.com

August 11 Jazz... World

Jason Green Noon - 12:30pm
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Jason began playing blues and jazz in his hometown and by 21 had made it a full time career. In 2000 he joined delta blues legend Big Jack Johnson, touring major jazz and blues festivals nationally and internationally. For five years in New York City, Jason has worked with other groups and fronts for his own band, Jason Green and the Labor of Love. www.jasongreenguitar.com

Maxidekalu 12:30 - 1:15pm
Mohamed Kouyate and Cheick Bary come from the same musician, story-telling family in Grio, Guinea. They grew up learning and playing music with their relatives. Cheick, the lead singer in a number of bands in their country, learned guitar in the Ivory Coast. Mohamad is also a guitarist and sings background when the two perform together. They play a fusion of African music and mandingo, the popularized hi-life jazz style of West African. The duo also lead a seven piece band when performing at the Grand Dakar in Brooklyn and St. Nick's Club in Harlem. mandingokings@yahoo.com

Donald Malloy & Sight 1:15 - 2:00pm
TrumPeter Donald Malloy, from Cleveland Ohio, moved to New York after completing his master's degree at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. His eclectic approach to music has provided him performances with such acts as Billy Hart, Geri Allen, Gary Bartz, and Victor Lewis and others. He leads his cutting edge band, Sight, which deals with music from the deep roots of our history and the modern sounds of today. Donald uses the African spiritual songs of the Orisha and combines it with jazz, drum, and bass, turning out music deeply rooted in the groove that speaks to the soul. Their new album "The Mothers" will be released January 2011.
www.donaldmalloyjazz.com

August 18 Dynamic Duos

Heth & Jed Noon - 12:40pm
The Indie duo brothers are known for transforming public spaces into sound labs, combining live looping and beat boxes to create an electronic folk/rock soup they call "Jambient Rock." Relix Magazine describes their sound as falling somewhere between Keller Williams, Jack Johnson, and Pink Floyd. When they're not subway performing, you can find them playing at the Mercury Lounge and the Living Room. The two are writing a memoir about their life and experience busking, which deals in part with performing in the subway, to be released in spring of 2011 on Soft Skull Press. www.hethandjed.com

Dagmar 12:40 - 1:20pm
Front man and award-winning songwriter, guitarist/vocalist Jim Bauer and extreme vocalist/percussionist Meghan McGeary have taken art-rock and free-folk underground to the subways of New York City and the streets of Boston. Their third CD, "Door No. 3," is hot off the press! They began working together in 2001when Meghan was cast in another of Jim's song cycle creations, a Dada-inspired romp and love rectangle called "‘The Blue Flower" with music best described as "Kurt Weill's tete-a-tete with Hank Williams," and they joined MUNY. A new production of the musical/play will bloom at the end of the year at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA. www.theblueflower.org / www.dagmartheband.com

You Bred Raptors? 1:20 - 2:000pm
Born somewhere between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods, You Bred Raptors? emerged from fossilized Trilobites unearthed by shifting plate tectonics. The duo's reputation grew and tales of dropkicking Neolithic men and taming wooly Mammoths spread like the whooping cough. Now, situated on the continent of Pangea in Queens, NY, the band includes Epileptic Peat and Diabetic Josh, sports an 8-string bass, glokenspiel, toy piano, and drums. Serenading milkmaids, cavemen, and blacksmiths alike with experimental folk music, You Bred Raptors? have firmly planted their talons in the soil. Their debut EP "Lex and Tim" is now available. www.epilepticpeat.com/ybr.html

August 25 Lift Your Voices

The Park Project Noon - 12:45pm
This trio of singers, inspired by early roots rock, R&B of the 50s and 60s, and classic rock and soul of the 70s and 80s, add their voices to the mix. A backing vocalist since age 13 who has performed on 12 CDs to date, Daniel Rivera is an audio engineer and producer. AC Black is a composer, arranger, guitarist, and vocalist who has performed solo and with various bands at the famous CBGB's, Bitter End, and Village Gate. And Skip Mitchell is a songwriter and a veteran of Doo-Wop, soul and blues, who has sang with the All City Choir and has performed at the Apollo and Village Gate. The Park Project has been performing in Washington Square Park for nearly 14 years and has recently taken their show underground! www.myspace.com/theparkproject

Nicola 12:45 - 1:15 pm
Nicola is a Billboard-featured New York City front-woman, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. She has charted on over 200 national radio stations over the past few years and independently released four CDs. Nicola's hybrid brand of sultry alt/folk/rock has racked up an impressive list of rock and pop credentials: ABC & NBC News, Music Under New York, MTV, vh1.com, Women Who Rock magazine, Songwriter Universe magazine, and National Songwriters Hall of Fame. Last year, Nicola was featured and showcased in Billboard Magazine's "Underground LP" section for Noteworthy Emerging Artists about to break. www.nicolanicola.com and www.myspace.com/nicola

Select Blendz 1:15 - 2:00pm
This group of a capella, soul, R&B, and gospel singers formed three years ago and is comprised of Raisin Harvey Cain, Rome Jerome Cohen, George Ellington, Billy William Chavis, Tommoraw Mortimer, and bass player Todd Grunder. Among them they have performed with the Soul Shakers, Andre Williams, the Commodores, Black Ivory, the Delfonics, the Continental Four, Wynton Marsalis, NOra Jones, and Jason Mraz, and have performance movie credits include Married to the Mob and Everyday People. Thus the name Select Blendz! http://www.myspace.com/selectblendz

September 1 Blue Finale

El Street Cafe Noon - 12:45pm
Formed in 2000, this trio plays a bluesy-style of roots music with a wide range of song styles. Consisting of George Morales on drums and harmonica, Jerry Scaringe on upright bass and Pete Margolis on guitar, each of the musicians can also be found performing in any number of New York City area blues bands. El Street Cafe has performed over the years with MUNY and played in various venues outside of the subway, including Gracie Mansion for the Commissioner of the Arts and Mayor Bloomberg, outside of the Metropolitan Opera House for the Ford Motor Company, and outside of Yankee Stadium. El Street Cafe once held a regular gig at Arthur's Tavern in the West Village and lately can be found playing a couple of times a month in the LIRR Terminal at Penn Station on Wednesdays or Sundays. www.myspace.com/elstreetcafe

Mississippi Delta Blues 12:45 - 2:00pm
From Sylvia's to BB King's, before audiences above ground and below, at festivals from Clarksdale, Mississippi to Toulouse, France, and Moscow's first blues festival, on numerous tours of Japan, and in recordings at the famEd Checkers Club, Mississippi Delta Blues has become a blues legend! A son of the Delta, Floyd Lee's recordings range from digging into the past and preaching of the soul in "Mean Blues," to brooding menace in "Blues: Mississippi, Tokyo, Ain't Doin' Nothin' Wrong," and a legacy in "Full Moon Lightin." The DVD of the same name documents these recording sessions and Floyd's travels south in search of his family and his past. We hear the music of a living legend when Delta Blues kicks into gear! He's back at Richard Tucker Park by popular demand. www.floydlee.com

For more information, please contact the Lincoln Square BID at 212.581.3774 or info@lincolnsquarebid.org.