A musical tribute to hip hop pioneer Biz Markie, featuring DJ Cutmaster Cool V, with Emcee Ralph McDaniels is scheduled for Sept.19 at Baisley Pond Park
Aug. 24, 2021 By Ryan Songalia
The borough will wind down the summer season with a free concert series featuring reggae, children’s music with a Latin twist, and hip hop.
The free series, called Queens Live!” is being presented by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and will feature three concerts—with the first taking place in the Rockaways this Saturday. The other two events are scheduled at Travers Park in Jackson Heights and Baisley Pond in Springfield Gardens over the course of the next month.
“After an unprecedented 17-month period of loss, uncertainty and seclusion, we are thrilled to be able to bring families from across Queens together this summer for three incredible evenings of great music, memorable experiences and a sense of community we have all sorely missed,” Richards said.
The event Saturday will take place from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the Rockaway Boardwalk—at Beach 94th Street—and will feature reggae artists such as DJ Jah Wise, DJ Vaughn Allstar, Mighty Redeemer and Johnny Osbourne.
The concert is also part of “Reggae on the Boardwalk,” an event founded in Coney Island by Carter Van Pelt in 2010 that highlights local reggae artists in front of multicultural audiences.
The concert series moves to Travers Park in Jackson Heights on Sunday, Sept. 12 for a family-friendly show by 123 Andres, a Latin Grammy Award-winning husband-and-wife duo.
The pair, Andrés Salguero and Christina Sanabria, won the Latin Grammy for Best Children’s Album in 2016, and will be bringing their act to Queens for an evening of song and dance. The concert begins at 6 p.m.
The 123 Andres show will also be hosted in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and will be part of the Richards’ annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.
The final concert will take place on Sunday, Sept. 19 at Baisley Pond Park in Springfield Gardens, when artists pay tribute to the late hip hop icon Biz Markie, who passed away last month at age 57.
The concert will be hosted by Video Music Box co-creator Ralph McDaniels—known for his hit 1989 single “Just A Friend—and will include Cutmaster Cool-V, who had DJed for Biz Markie.
The show will begin at 6 p.m. and run until 8 p.m.
The free series is being produced by the Queens Borough President’s Office in partnership with NYC Parks and the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College.
