News, Reviews, Interviews & More

An eclectic mix of artists paid tribute to Simon & Garfunkel at New York’s Rumsey Playfield in Central Park last night. The seated gala officially opened Central Park’s 25th anniversary SummerStage concert series, which features a mix of free and ticketed shows in Rumsey Playfield and other areas of the city each summer. Widespread Panic, David Byrne, RatDog, String Cheese Incident, moe., Gov’t Mule, Burning Spear, Femi Kuti, the Disco Biscuits, Susan Tedeschi, Vampire Weekend, the Jayhawks, Guster, Soulive, John Scofield, Umphrey’s McGee, Matisyahu, Phoenix, Jack Johnson, G. Love, Robert Randolph and Bruce Hornsby are just some of the bands that have played SummerStage shows in recent years.

Simon & Garfunkel’s music has been synonymous with Central Park since the duo’s historic reunion concert in 1981. The free show took place north of Rumsey Playfield on Central Park’s Great Lawn and drew an estimated 500,000 fans. Paul Simon staged a similar solo concert in Central Park in 1991. Though they did not perform, both Simon and Art Garfunkel attended last night’s event.