5 Years of Summer Concerts

Rock gods. Pop stars. Beloved bands and hilarious comedians. They’ve all graced The Rooftop at Pier 17 and treated NYC crowds to some of the most memorable live music and entertainment in recent years. Five years, to be exact. This year, the Summer Concert Series celebrates its fifth anniversary, and to celebrate, we’re taking a look at the highlights of the incredible run the venue with views as epic as its lineups has had so far.

2018: The Big Launch

The Rooftop at Pier 17 opened as New York City’s newest live music venue in the summer and the 1.5-acre space was an immediate hit, with the Brooklyn Bridge as a backdrop, and panoramic views of the city’s landmark in every direction. The venue also offered fans an open-air yet intimate setting to see their favorite artists in action, with a capacity for 3,500 for general admission shows. The inaugural season of The Rooftop’s Summer Concert Series kicked off with Amy Schumer and Kings of Leon, followed by a summer full of A-List talent like Diana Ross, Trevor Noah, Slash, and many other new and well-known names. The string of 23 shows closed with a show by Thievery Corporation on October 12.

2019: The Magic Continues

The second season of the Summer Concert Series got going in May 2019, hot on the heels of The Rooftop being named “Best New Concert Venue” of 2018 at the 30th Annual Pollstar Awards. Passion Pit brought the Manners 10th Anniversary Tour to The Rooftop for two nights—May 19 and 21—and the ensuing dates were filled with headliners including comedy faves The Lonely Island, soul musicians Trombone Shorty & Ben Harper, and rock legends, the Steve Miller Band. This was also the year that Billie Eilish’s star power was reaching an all-time high, and she brought her world tour to The Rooftop in June.

2021: The Comeback

After a hiatus in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, anticipation was high for a rousing return to The Rooftop in the summer of 2021. Across 30 dates and 20 sold-out shows, music-lovers and artists welcomed each other back with gusto. Pop warrior Kesha performed a sold-out show, and hip-hop legends The Fugees took to the stage for their first live show in more than 15 years. Other highlights of the 2021 lineup included Stars And Strings—a country-rock observance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 that featured Darius Rucker, Zac Brown, Chris Young, Lee Brice, and more; the hip-hop and pop-punk power of Machine Gun Kelly; and two sell-out nights by Southern rock/alt-country superstars Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit.

If summer 2021 was a comeback, the summer of 2022 was an even stronger example of New York City’s trademark grit and energy returning. The year’s Summer Concert Series kicked off on The Rooftop on May 12, with the dancehall sounds of Koffee. Over 60 subsequent dates, the series took music fans on a journey through a wide variety of genres, with standout performances by Devo, The Offspring, Blondie, Tash Sultana, Billy Strings, Flogging Molly, Greensky Bluegrass, Franz Ferdinand, 5 Seconds of Summer, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, Elvis Costello and Bikini Kill, among many others.

2023: The Biggest Series Yet

If you joined us on The Rooftop this summer, you already know how epic it was. The season began on May 3, with rockers Coheed and Cambria, and featured plenty of other crowd favorites including DJ Trixie Mattel over Pride weekend, T-Pain, Jenny Lewis, Tate McRae, Pixies and Modest Mouse, Macklemore, Eric Nam, and many more.

If you were one of the thousands of New Yorkers or visitors who hit The Rooftop for any of these amazing shows, thank you for making the venue such a success — and a place so many bands, singers, DJs and other performers love to return to again and again. Thanks, too, to all those who have graced the stage and entertained our crowds against the city’s iconic skyline. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Here’s to an awesome five years — and to more good times ahead. We hope you’ll all come back yet again for another incredible season in 2024 for the magic of live music on The Rooftop at Pier 17.

For details and new additions to The Rooftop at Pier 17’s slate of upcoming performances, visit here. Tickets are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com.