Berklee’s Summer in the City Series Brings Free Concerts to Boston Area
Berklee students perform at the Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the Summer in the City Concert Series
Image by Kelly Davidson
Associate Professor Eguie Castrillo and his band perform as part of the Tito Puente Latin Music Series, which features Berklee Summer in the City artists.
Image by Dave Green
This summer, students, faculty, and alumni from Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee will perform hundreds of free concerts at some of the most notable outdoor venues throughout Boston and the Greater Boston area as part of the Berklee Summer in the City concert series. The series returns with a full roster of live performances for the second straight year, following a scaled-back in-person series in 2021 and a virtual series in 2020.
Performances will take place through early October. The series will feature beloved performance locations throughout the city, such as the Boston Public Library, the Boston Harbor Islands, Brewer Fountain Plaza at the Boston Common, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Prudential Center. Summer in the City performers will also be featured in various spaces in the Greater Boston area, and will be a part of the 2023 Living Art Boston Summer Fest.
The series will present a variety of musical genres, including blues, Latin, jazz, R&B, soul, pop, hip-hop, folk, and classical, as part of its 2023 programming. Notable Summer in the City artists include neo-soul and hip-hop artist Soulboi, indie pop singer-songwriter chrysalis, oud player and composer Bahar Badieitabar, blues and Latin music artist Mercedes Escobar, and jazz performer Jiayi Guo.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with different partners throughout the city to bring music to different audiences and neighborhoods with free Summer in the City performances this year,” said Michael Borgida, director of marketing and external affairs for Berklee. “The concert series is one of Berklee’s best contributions to our local community, with free shows by some of the most talented young artists in the world. In addition to the performers, this series provides opportunities for Berklee students to learn outside of the classroom and gain experience in artist booking, live sound engineering, project management, and street team organization.”
Previous Summer in the City performers have included Beane B.M. '19, Betty Who '13, esperanza spalding B.M. '05, Madi Diaz '07, DOMi B.M. '20, Sierra Hull '11, Ripe, and the Stray Birds.