Brooklyn’s free outdoor concert and dance-party season runs into the fall. Downtown Brooklyn carries September with a run of free plaza shows, from Sounds of the Americas at 300 Ashland to lunchtime jazz outside Borough Hall and a voter-registration dance party at Abolitionist Place; Williamsburg’s Domino Square has two more Salsa by the Water nights with beginner lessons; Dumbo brings bluegrass to the Archway for the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival and Afro-Latin drumming for the Brooklyn Brujeria kickoff; and Brooklyn Bridge Park closes its season with Papi Juice on Pier 6 and Daybreaker’s sunrise-to-sunset festival on Pier 3. BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! and the summer block parties have wrapped for the year — the notes below say where to watch for next season.
Prospect Park
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! at the Lena Horne Bandshell
Free season ended August 29 | Lena Horne Bandshell, 141 Prospect Park West | one ticketed benefit left, Saturday, September 19, 7:30pm
Brooklyn’s free outdoor concert festival closed its 47th free season with Dominican Night on August 29; the only date left is the ticketed benefit with Liz Phair and Sleater-Kinney on Saturday, September 19. Next summer’s lineup usually lands in spring — watch BRIC’s page.
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Papi Juice Dance Party
Saturday, September 19 | 4–10pm | Pier 6 Plaza | Free, registration required | Better with big kids and teens — there’s a bar on site
The last dance party of the park’s season, and a 4pm kickoff makes it the most doable with a family in tow, with the sunset over the harbor built in. DJs Oscar Nñ and Adam R. of the Papi Juice collective, with Precious Renee Tucker and Soul Summit. Register free.
Daybreaker ALIVE Festival
Saturday, September 26 | 6am–8pm | Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge Park | Free, RSVP encouraged | All ages, and alcohol-free — the easiest big dance party on this list with small children
Daybreaker’s first sunrise-to-sunset sober festival in the US: 3,000-plus people arriving at dawn for a day of movement, music, dancing and community on Pier 3, with no bar anywhere on the grounds. Come for an hour or the whole day. Details and RSVP.
DUMBO
Brooklyn Americana Music Festival
Saturday, September 12 | 2–10pm | Dumbo Archway, 155 Water Street | Free | All ages — it opens with a kids show, but there’s a bar on site and the later sets skew grown-up
The 12th annual festival runs September 10–13 across venues from Red Hook to Dumbo, and Saturday the 12th is the free, all-ages day under the Manhattan Bridge — ten acts of Americana, country, folk, blues and bluegrass on the Archway stage, hosted by Jan Bell. Seating is first come, first served, and the Archway Bar is open with drinks for sale. Register on Eventbrite.
- 2pm — Neha Jiwrajka, an all-new kids show
- 2:30pm — Cesar Moreno & Maddie Cody
- 3pm — Diamond Spur Rodeo
- 4pm — Leah Tash
- 4:30pm — Sophie Coyote
- 5pm — The Little Mercies
- 6pm — Taylor Plas
- 7pm — Avery Friedman
- 8pm — Rose Paradise
- 9pm — Dida Pelled
Opening night at Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook on Thursday the 10th is ticketed ($25 in advance), and there are evening shows across the weekend at 68 Jay St Bar, Sunny’s and Superfine. Full schedule.
Noche de Tambores — Brooklyn Brujeria Festival
Friday, September 25 | 5–10pm | Dumbo Archway, 155 Water Street | Free, rain or shine | All ages early on — the night market and drumming run to 10pm, and the evening skews older as it goes
The 9th annual Brooklyn Brujeria Festival opens under the Archway with drumming from across the Afro-Latin diaspora, a 60-plus-vendor magic night market, tarot and oracle readers and art installations. The kickoff night is free; the rest of the festival weekend’s concerts and fiestas are ticketed, with details at brooklynbrujeria.com.
Downtown Brooklyn
Sounds of the Americas at 300 Ashland
Wednesdays, September 9, 16, 23 and 30 | 6–8pm | The Plaza at 300 Ashland, Flatbush Avenue at Lafayette Avenue | Free | All ages — an early evening slot on an open plaza, easy with a stroller
A new outdoor concert series from the Afro-Latino Festival NYC with Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, each Wednesday evening bringing a different blend of music from across the Americas. The organisers describe it as free and open to all. Line-ups and dates
Dancing for Democracy at Abolitionist Place
Tuesday, September 15 | 5–8pm | Abolitionist Place, 225 Duffield Street | Free | All ages — the park has a playground and water play on site
The Vinyl Nights crew brings the sound system to Abolitionist Place for National Voter Registration Day, alongside Brooklyn Org, NYC Votes and the League of Women Voters. Non-partisan, and the playground next to the dance floor makes it the easiest one on this list with small children. Details.
Friday Night Dance with Public Service at 300 Ashland
Friday, September 18 | 5–8pm | The Plaza at 300 Ashland, Flatbush Avenue at Lafayette Avenue | Free | All ages, though it skews grown-up as the evening goes on
Toribio and Mickey Pérez DJ a set built on New York block-party and park-jam tradition, running fifty-odd years of American dance music alongside African, Caribbean and South American rhythms, powered by the Karlala sound system. Details.
Lunchtime Jazz at Columbus Park
Tuesdays, September 8, 15, 22 and 29 | 12–1:30pm | Columbus Park, outside Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street | Free | All ages — a weekday noon slot, so easiest with under-fives
The Brooklyn Borough President’s office and the Jazz Foundation of America put local jazz musicians on the lawn outside Borough Hall on four Tuesdays in September: Steve Cromity on the 8th, the Gene Ghee Quartet on the 15th, the Carol Sudhalter Quintet on the 22nd and Pablo Rosario and his Latin Jazz Messengers on the 29th. Bring lunch. Details and dates.
Fall Into Step at Brooklyn Commons Park
Thursdays, September 10, 17 and 24 | 12–2pm | Brooklyn Commons Park, MetroTech Center | Free | All ages
A lunchtime dance series with a rotating cast of companies: Ajna Dance Company on the 10th, Batingua Dance on the 17th and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana on the 24th. This one is closer to watching than joining, and short enough to hold a young audience. Details and dates.
Lunchtime Concerts with BQE Strings at Willoughby Plaza
Mondays, September 14, 21 and 28 | 12–2pm | Willoughby Plaza, Willoughby Street at Pearl Street | Free | All ages
A quartet of conservatory-trained string players reworks current pop hits as chamber music, which is to say the kids recognise the songs and the parents do not mind the arrangement. Details and dates.
Return of the Buffalo: Tatanka Owe Akupi
Friday–Saturday, September 18–19 | performance times to be announced | Abolitionist Place, 225 Duffield Street, and plazas across Downtown Brooklyn | Free, no tickets | All ages
A concert that roams: St. Ann’s Warehouse walks a herd of 50 life-size buffalo puppets through Downtown Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan over two days, with marching bands, gospel choirs and dancers performing at each stop — Rhiannon Giddens, Laurie Anderson, Pilobolus and the Brooklyn United Marching Band among them. Times and routes had not been posted when we checked. St. Ann’s Warehouse.
Fort Greene & Clinton Hill
Fort Greene Park Jazz Festival
Saturday, September 12 | 3–7pm, rain date September 13 | Fort Greene Park | Free | All ages
An afternoon of live jazz on the lawn to close out the season. Bring a blanket. Event details.
Two notes for the neighborhood. Fort Greene Park’s big summer dance parties — Soul Summit on August 9 and Spike Lee’s BK Loves MJ block party on August 29 — are done for 2026; the Conservancy’s calendar is where next summer’s dates will land. And Clinton Hill’s St. James Place block party, thrown by father-and-son DJs Saint James Joy, held its 2026 edition on July 25 and closed the summer at Domino Park’s Labor of Love on September 6; their schedule is the place to watch for a fall party.
Bed Stuy
Bed Stuy’s summer street parties have wrapped for 2026: STooPS’ Summer Festival on Decatur Street ran August 8, the Hancock Street Block Party August 15, and the Billie’s Summer Music Series on Restoration’s plaza ran through the summer. For next year’s dates watch STooPS and the Billie Holiday Theatre.
Williamsburg Domino Park
Salsa by the Water
Wednesdays, September 9 & 23 | 6–9pm, beginner lesson 6:15pm, live music from 7:15pm | Domino Square, 12 South 3rd Street | Free | All ages, and the beginner lesson is a genuinely good first dance class for kids
The best free dance night in north Brooklyn: a beginner salsa lesson with Nieves Dance Studio at 6:15pm, then live bands and open dancing on the plaza until 9pm. Ocho Con Clave plays September 9 and Orquesta de Nieves closes the season on September 23. RSVP free.
Bay Ridge
Summer Stroll on Third Avenue and the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra’s parking-lot concert wrapped in August. The Merchants of Third Avenue’s next street day is the Third Avenue Festival on Sunday, September 27, 10am–6pm, with stages the length of the avenue — it is in our festivals guide, and their event page has the details.
Do you want all local parenting news in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter now!
Updated: September 8, 2026.
