Rite Of Summer Music Festival 2018 Season Announced

Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg are thrilled to present the eighth season of the Rite of Summer Music Festival, taking place Summer 2018 on Governors Island, New York City. Rite of Summer will present free outdoor concerts from May through August. In a locale The New York Times has called a "Playground for the Arts," the aim of the Festival is simple: to present the highest quality live performances, and to bring free contemporary classical music to as many people as possible in a relaxed, fun, outdoor setting.

This season's spectacular line-up kicks off on Saturday, May 19th with Sandbox Percussion performing works of Steve Reich, Andy Akiho, Victor Caccese, Jonny Allen, and Alex Weiser. Next up on Saturday, June 9th is Ensemble Connect including music of Jennifer Higdon, Charles Wuorinen, Osvaldo Golijov, and a New York premiere by Andy Akiho commissioned by Carnegie Hall. On Saturday, July 7th, DITHER performs a program of Eve Beglarian, Josh Lopes, Lisa Renée Coons, Gyan Riley, James Moore, and Taylor Levine. And on Saturday, August 18th, Collaborative Arts Ensemble presents Letters of the American South, music by Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, Johnny Cash, Aaron Copland, Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, and more.

Rite of Summer shows will be presented twice the same day, at 1pm and 3pm, for each respective date in Colonels Row. Audiences should feel free to walk by, stop and listen, lay down a picnic blanket and relax, eat lunch, mingle, and take in these engaging live performances.

Governors Island is a short 8-minute ferry ride from the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan, located at 10 South Street (Subway: 1 to South Ferry; R to Whitehall Street; 4/5 to Bowling Green) and a 3-minute ride from Brooklyn Bridge Park, where ferries leave from Pier 6 on weekends only (Subway: 2/3/4/5 to Borough Hall; R to Court Street). Concerts are free; ferries are $3 after 12pm (free from 10am-12pm on weekends). For a full ferry schedule, please visit www.govisland.com.

For more information, visit www.riteofsummer.com.