Picnic Performances
Bryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America is a free outdoor festival that welcomes all New Yorkers to experience the city’s vibrant arts and culture. The series provides a platform for extraordinary artists and serves as a vital outdoor venue for a wide array of New York’s cultural institutions. Every summer more than 70,000 people attend a performance on the lawn more than 300,000 watch a free performance livestream. At each event Bryant Park staff lends out hundreds of free picnic blankets, provides thousands of bistro chairs, and offers a curated selection of food and drink to purchase from local vendors. No tickets are required are there are no lines to enter: it’s as easy as a walk in the park.
This summer’s lineup will be announced in April 2023. Check back here for more information. In the meantime, look below to learn more about past seasons of Picnic Performances and watch the livestream archives.
2022 Video Archive
New York City Opera: The Barber of Seville
New York City Opera: Pride in the Park
Emerging Music Festival: Day 1
Emerging Music Festival: Day 2
Carnegie Hall Citywide: Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
Carnegie Hall Citywide: Squirrel Nut Zippers
Carnegie Hall Citywide: Broadway Sinfonietta
Jazzmobile: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Hot Sardines with Nellie McKay
Greenwich House Music School: Mireya + Alea]
New York City Opera Presents La Traviata
Asian American Arts Alliance: Rafiq Bhatia + Ian Chang
Habibi Festival with Joe's Pub
The Town Hall: Eighth Blackbird Celebrates John Cage
New York City Opera Presents Lucia di Lammermoor
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Summer Camargo Sextet
2021 Video Archive
New York City Opera’s Pride in the Park
Joe’s Pub: Mykal Kilgore
Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Knights
Greenwich House Music School: Riley Mulherkar and Ella Bric
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Young Stars of Jazz
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Camille Thurman and the Darrell Green Quartet
New York City Opera - Rigoletto
National Sawdust: Allison Loggins-Hull’s Diametrically Composed
5/27 - New York City Opera: The Barber of Seville
6/3 - Contemporary Dance: AThomasProject + Ephrat Asherie Dance
6/4 - Contemporary Dance: Ariel Rivka Dance + The Missing Element
6/10 - Contemporary Dance: EMERGE125 + Ayodele Casel
6/11 - Contemporary Dance: Ballet Hispánico’s Social Latin Dance Class + Dance Heginbotham
6/17 - New York City Opera: Pride in the Park
6/18 - Contemporary Dance: Juneteenth Celebration
6/24 - Emerging Music Festival curated by AdHoc
6/25 - Emerging Music Festival curated by AdHoc
7/1 - Carnegie Hall Citywide: Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble
7/8 - Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Baylor Project
7/15 - Carnegie Hall Citywide: Squirrel Nut Zippers
7/22 - Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Broadway Sinfonietta
7/23 - Jazzmobile: Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band
7/28 - Ailey II + Ailey Extension
7/29 - Carnegie Hall Citywide: The Hot Sardines Featuring Nellie McKay
8/5 - Greenwich House Music School: Mireya + Alea
8/12 - New York City Opera: La traviata
8/19 - Asian American Arts Alliance: Rafiq Bhatia + Ian Chang
8/26 - Habibi Festival with Joe’s Pub: Esraa Warda, Firas Zreik, Yacine Boularès, and AJOYO
8/29 - The Town Hall: Eighth Blackbird Celebrates John Cage
9/2 - New York City Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
9/8 - Steinway Artists Aaron Diehl + Orrin Evans
9/9 - Jazz at Lincoln Center: Summer Camargo Sextet
9/16 - Accordion Festival
9/17 - American Symphony Orchestra
Borrow a picnic blanket or chair – or bring your own. Bryant Park blankets and chairs are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Attendees may bring their own food or purchase from on-site food and beverage vendors near the Lawn. At most performances, attendees can purchase food from a rotating line-up of local NYC vendors curated by Hester Street Fair.
Performances are cancelled when it is unsafe to be outdoors. In some cases, the Lawn may be too wet to open but the performance may continue. Follow @bryantparknyc for day-of event updates.
COVID-19 vaccinations and masks are not currently required but Bryant Park will continue to monitor and follow updated New York City and New York State COVID-19 guidelines throughout the summer as necessary.