Music of New York City - Festivals, Holidays and Parades

Festivals, Holidays and Parades

New York City has a long history of using music in various festivals and parades, though the vibrant local music scene has meant that festivals aren't as big a draw as in many cities, since residents are near major sources of live music all the time. The diverse groups of immigrants living in New York have each brought with them their own holiday traditions. As a result, major festivals of music in New York include the Chinese New Year celebrations, Pulaski Day Parade and the St. Patrick's Day Parade run by the Ancient Order of Hibernians; New York is home to the largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the world, a tradition that has continued since 1762 due to the large Irish population in New York. Irish folk music and folk-rock are the major styles at the two-day Guinness Fleadh festival. The College Music Journal Network's annual Music Marathon has been held since 1980, providing a major showcase for new music. Central Park SummerStage, a series of free concerts presented by City Parks Foundation and hosting performers of many kinds, is also a major part of New York's summer music scene, which also includes the July Intel New York Music Festival. There are numerous New York jazz festivals, including the Texaco New York Jazz Festival, Panasonic Village Jazz Festival, the JVC Jazz Festival, and the free Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. City Parks Foundation also presents CityParks Concerts each summer, a series of thirty free concerts in ten parks across all five boroughs of the city.

Additionally, New York hosts the yearly ElectricZoo festival, second only to Miami's Winter Music Conference as a mecca for house and electronic music fans in the United States. It also holds the annual Dance Parade which brings together all types of dance-oriented music from across the world (both traditional and contemporary) in a combined parade down Fifth Avenue.