SummerStage at 40: A Lineup That Spans Mavis Staples to MIKE’s Young World

The free concert series occupying Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield every summer has built a quiet kind of legacy. Since 1986, SummerStage has put Bob Dylan, Celia Cruz, and Sun Ra in front of audiences without a ticket price. For its 40th anniversary season, the City Parks Foundation announced a lineup on April 28 that doesn’t try to top that history. Instead, it maps the city’s listening habits across six decades.

Mavis Staples and De La Soul sit at the top of the bill—two acts whose influence now runs through entire genres. Laurie Anderson and Angélique Kidjo are there, too, alongside indie mainstays Spoon. But the season’s shape comes from the billing beneath them. MIKE’s Young World, a recurring New York rap event, gets a SummerStage edition with Max B. Shabaka and Kokoroko represent London’s jazz diaspora. Black Country, New Road and Horsegirl anchor the current art-rock wave. Trueno and