Concerts in the Courtyard summer 2018 series starts Friday, June 1

Boston Public Library’s Concerts in the Courtyard series returns Friday, June 1 and runs through Friday, August 31, bringing a range of free music to one of Boston's most beautiful spaces during one-hour concerts throughout the summer. Concerts are held twice each week on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and on Fridays at 12:30 p.m.

Wednesday concerts are presented in partnership with Berklee College of Music and sponsored by Brookline Bank. Concerts will be moved to the newly renovated Rabb Hall in the event of inclement weather.

“Boston Public Library is grateful to Brookline Bank for their generous support, as our free summer music series is much loved by people of all ages,” said David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library. “This year’s artists, a mix of new and returning performers, are sure to entertain and inspire once again.”

June schedule:

Friday, June 1 ● 12:30 p.m. Boston Lyric Opera and Castle of Our Skins join forces to showcase the lives of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., and Paul Robeson through opera and the music of composers Nkeiru Okoye, Adolphus Hailstork, Dorothy Rudd Moore, and Undine Smith Moore.

Wednesday, June 6 ● 6 p.m. Harry Jay and The Bling is known for authentic and energetic live performances, exuberant onstage outfits, and founder Harry Jay’s four-plus octave vocal range and soulful style.

Friday, June 8 ● 12:30 p.m. Santiago Barragán Noguera is a Colombian guitarist, composer, and songwriter who showcases his light touch, lyrical phrasing, and technical qualities as a Latin musician.

Wednesday, June 13 ● 6 p.m. Triple Tea is a cinematic and progressive jazz trio created at Berklee College of Music in 2016 by Tommaso Taddonio (piano), Martin Tamisier (drums), and Carlo De Biaggio (bass). Their original music is influenced by everything from electronic to jazz to film scoring.

Friday, June 15 ● 12:30 p.m. Folk and rock prodigy Emm Gryner has performed at Sarah McLachlan‘s Lilith Fair and sung backup for David Bowie, and Bea’s songs feature strong hooks and evoke a range of emotions.

Wednesday, June 20 ● 6 p.m. Brooks Robertson is a young fingerstyle guitarist who simultaneously plays bass, rhythm, and melody and merges haunting compositions, country rhythms, and jazzy harmonies with funky licks.

Friday, June 22 ● 12:30 p.m. Night Tree incorporates traditions from Irish, classical, Swedish, jazz, klezmer, and Afro-Cuban music. 

Wednesday, June 27 ● 6 p.m. Safiya Leslie flavors her sounds with musical dialects from not only jazz but also her Afro-Caribbean roots.

Friday, June 29 ● 12:30 p.m. Formed in 2016, the Craft Ensemble is comprised of a core string quartet of Boston-based musicians: violinists Colleen Brannen and Amy Sims, violist Amelia Hollander Ames, and cellist Velleda Miragias.

July and August schedule:

• Lula Wiles, Friday, July 6 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Venezuelan Project, Wednesday, July 11 ● 6 p.m.
• John Emil, Friday, July 13 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Bonus Monday Concert: Paulina Voices, Monday, July 16 ● 12:30 p.m.
• One Drop: A Bob Marley Tribute, Wednesday, July 18 ● 6 p.m.
• Jah Spirit, Friday, July 20 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Bonus Saturday Concert: Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Saturday, July 21 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Jose Soto, Wednesday, July 25 ● 6 p.m.
• Area 9 Quartet, Friday, July 27 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Niu Raza, Wednesday, August 1 ● 6 p.m.
• Properly Unprepared, Friday, August 3 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Abigail Lim-Kimberg, Wednesday, August 8 ● 6 p.m.
• Grupo Fantasia Quartet, Friday, August 10 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Tyson Jackson, Wednesday, August 15 ● 6 p.m.
• Boston Saxophone Quartet, Friday, August 17 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Autumn Jones, Wednesday, August 22 ● 6 p.m.
• Cold Chocolate, Friday, August 24 ● 12:30 p.m.
• Mariano Escalona, Wednesday, August 29 ● 6 p.m.
• Boston Lyric Opera, Friday, August 31 ● 12:30 p.m.

About BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY

Boston Public Library provides educational, cultural and civic enrichment, free to all, for the residents of Boston, Massachusetts and beyond, through its collections, services, programs, and spaces. Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library is a pioneer of public library service in America. It was the first large free municipal library in the United States, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children’s room. As a City of Boston historic cultural institution, Boston Public Library today features a Central Library, twenty-five branches, a map center, business library, archival center; extensive special collections of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and prints; and rich digital content and online services. The award-winning renovation of the Central Library in Copley Square, completed in 2016, together with new, renovated and historic branches, provide a transformed library for the next generation of users. Boston Public Library enriches lives, hosting thousands of free educational programs and exhibitions, and provides free library services online and in-person to millions of people each year.  To learn more, visit bpl.org.