New York’s City Parks Foundation (CPF) has announced its virtual SummerStage Jubilee benefit show, which will feature performances by Trey Anastasio, Sting, Norah Jones, Rufus Wainwright, Leslie Odom Jr., Rosanne Cash, Emily King, PJ Morton, and more. The hour-long benefit will feature highlights of the various City Parks Foundation programs as well as notable advocates for CPF’s work including tennis icon Billie Jean King. The show will air for free across SummerStage social channels as well as the Live For Live Music Facebook page on Thursday, September 17th at 8:00 p.m. ET.

SummerStage Jubilee Live Stream

UPDATE [8/25/20]: Trey Anastasio was spotted in Central Park on Sunday recording his segment for the City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage Jubilee benefit stream:

 

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We’re getting ready for our SummerStage Jubilee benefit concert – streaming on 9/17. Here’s an on-location BTS shot with guitarist, singer-songwriter, and founding member of #phish @treyanastasio (left) after his shoot for our benefit concert with our film director, Jake McAfee (center), and SummerStage founder, @joekillianimpresario (right). Learn more (at the link in our bio!) about City Parks Foundation’s commitment to parks and to the New York City community and how to tune in to our FREE benefit concert on Thursday 9/17 at 8 PM ET also featuring filmed performances by @theofficialsting @norahjones @rufuswainwright @leslieodomjr @mrslev @emilykingmusic @pjmorton and others! UPDATED TO REFLECT SAFETY GUIDELINES FOLLOWED: This photo was taken on a closed set which has a COVID Protocol Officer, temp check on arrival and a required clearance form listing COVID test results. All talent and staff on set wear PPE except when in front on the camera. — #phish #treyanastasio #dinnerandamovie #phish2020 #SummerStage

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Through its Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Festival, City Parks Foundation is the largest presenter of free arts and cultural programs in New York City parks, and serves 300,000 New Yorkers each year through arts, education, sports, and community building initiatives. The organization is dedicated to offering diverse programming to encourage residents to use and care for their local parks and green spaces, to bring these public spaces to life, and make them accessible for all.

Related: Trey Anastasio Brings The Quartet, Not The Trio, To Central Park For Fantastic Pre-Phish Appetizer [Photos/Videos]

At a time when public programs have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City’s parks have remained open as some of the only public assets available to all. City Parks Foundation’s programs have not stopped and have been available both in-person and online during this time. The 2020 SummerStage Jubilee Benefit Concert will help support these free parks programs and ensure they can continue, from free tennis and golf instruction to experiential, science-based lessons, to buying tools and bulbs for volunteers to beautify local parks and providing training, microgrants, and coaching to facilitate their local advocacy. Donations will also help ensure SummerStage, New York City’s largest free music festival, and SummerStage Anywhere, its virtual festival, will remain free and available to all New Yorkers.

“We are thrilled to offer this stellar line up for music fans across New York and the globe,” said David Barse, City Parks Foundation Board Chairman, via press release. “This benefit concert will help support the important work that City Parks Foundation does in every community, park and green space we serve in New York City. Although the concert is free, as is our usual SummerStage festival, we hope that viewers will feel motivated to support our work and make donations to keep that work going during these challenging times.”

Added Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation, “Our city’s parks are our most democratic spaces, our backyards and our living rooms, places where communities gather and enjoy, and never have they been more essential. City Parks Foundation exists to encourage New Yorkers to use their parks, so we are excited to welcome such notable performers and to be part of our benefit concert to help support our work. We are grateful for their commitment to parks and to the New York City community.”

SummerStage founder and entertainment industry stalwart Joe Killian will serve as the executive producer of the virtual SummerStage Jubilee. “I am beyond honored to produce and bring our annual celebration of the work done by City Parks Foundation to people all around the world through this year’s extraordinary digital Jubilee benefit concert,” shared Killian. “I started the SummerStage series in 1986 with a vision of free music in Central Park and am thrilled to help sustain that through this special event.”

Tune in to the City Parks Foundation’s digital SummerStage Jubilee on Thursday, September 17th at 8 p.m. ET on the SummerStage Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch pages. For more information, visit CityParksFoundation.org.