Things to Do in NYC: July 2024 Highlights

Summer vibes in New York City along all the colors of the rainbow

A rainbow over a former skyline of Manhattan. Image: Jason Kuffer

This July marks the end of the Museum of Modern Art’s Before Technicolor, an exhibit and film series of early examples of color on film. That exhibit may be ending, but it goes to show that New York City’s colors of July involve much more than simply red, white, and blue. (For information on viewing July 4 fireworks in NYC, there is a dedicated website.)

Rainbows in particular are a funny thing in July, at least they seem that way in NYC. For a while, they’re mostly found on clearance racks as stores try to offload last month’s pride merchandise. Then as the month lumbers along, they go back to being a pretty decoration that can carry additional meaning. Actual rainbows in the sky are rare, but they’re beautiful and golden—and often in oppressive heat.

In this month’s highlights, I team up with Alexa Weiser of the newsletter City Happenings to present a rainbow of events across New York City. If you are looking for more events still, she deserves additional credit for helping to curate some of the events in the July 2024 Blankman List.

Disclaimer: before going anywhere, please confirm the date, time, location, cost, and description using the listed website. Any event is at risk of being rescheduled, relocated, sold out, at capacity, or canceled. Costs are rounded to the nearest dollar and may change. I try to vet quality and describe accurately, but I may misjudge. All views are my own.

Red

It’s appropriate that the rainbow begins with colors that feel the most representative of summer. (At least when placed in order of decreasing wavelength.) Red-themed events are of course not limited to warm months, but with activities like a baseball game and outdoor movie screening, it’s striking how naturally they fit.

• Every Thursday: Rockin’ Lobster Thursdays at Red Hook Lobster Pound

  • Oceanfront lobster dining with live music; 5–8 pm

  • Dishes are generally $11–$29 (full menu)

  • Red Hook Lobster Pound

  • 97-01 Shorefront Pkwy (Rockaway Park, Queens)

• Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 7: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

  • Regular season MLB [Major League Baseball] game; start time depends on day

  • $60–$443+

  • Yankee Stadium

  • 1 E 161st St (South Bronx, The Bronx)

• Sunday, July 7: Jurassic Park at Rooftop Reds Vineyard

  • Rooftop screening of the 1993 sci-fi Steven Spielberg film with dinner and wine; 8 pm (6 pm happy hour begins); movies every Sunday and Thursday

  • $35 (includes pizza and wine)

  • Rooftop Reds Vineyard

  • 299 Sands St, Building 275 (Navy Yard, Brooklyn)

• Friday, July 26: Red NOT Chili Peppers

  • Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band with pop rock band Scotia Rose opening; 8 pm (6 pm doors)

  • $20

  • Brooklyn Bowl

  • 61 Wythe Ave (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Orange Glou is a store dedicated to orange wines with free tastings every Friday. Image: Sergio Verzier

Orange

Once the vision of a rainbow lineup was decided, Alexa and I each had our moonshots. I was hoping that British doom metal act Orange Goblin was touring the US, and Alexa was hoping that R&B pop duo Emotional Oranges were stopping by New York. Alas, it turns out that bands do not plan world tours based on fledgling email newsletters. However, we are thankful to feature Orange Glou, a wine store that specializes in orange wines. Alexa had featured them once before, and it couldn’t be more fit for summer libations.

• Weekdays: Happy Hour at 67 Orange Street

  • Food and drink specials at a cozy craft cocktail bar; 5–7 pm; every Monday through Friday

  • Drinks are $8–$12, entrees are $10 (happy hour menu)

  • 67 Orange Street

  • 2082 Frederick Douglass Blvd (Harlem, Manhattan)

• Every Friday: Free Tastings at Orange Glou

  • Public tastings at a shop dedicated to orange wines; 6–8 pm

  • Free

  • Orange Glou

  • 264 Broome Street (Lower East Side, Manhattan)

• Saturday, July 13: Silent Mass, Orange Peel Mystic, others at the New Colossus Festival

  • Experimental rock concert (Orange Peel Mystic Instagram); 12–7 pm

  • Free

  • 18th Ward Brewing

  • 300 Richardson St (East Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

• Friday, July 26: Into Another, Orange 9mm, others at Tattoo Arts Convention

  • Post-hardcore metal concert at the first annual tattoo arts convention (Orange 9mm Instagram); 6 pm

  • $35 (concert only; convention access is additional $30)

  • Terminal 5

  • 610 W 56th St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

Yellow

July means sunflowers are finally back in season, and if you’re looking to add some yellow to your home, be sure to check whether your nearest bodega carries them. (Alexa does this every week!) Alternatively, there are a few events around town that let you add some yellow to your life without requiring any plant care.

• Tuesday, July 2–Saturday, July 6: Yellowjackets

  • Jazz fusion concert (Yellowjackets website); start time depends on day but ranges from 7 pm to 10:30 pm

  • $35–$46, plus $20 food and drink minimum

  • Birdland Jazz Club

  • 315 W 44th St (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

• Through Sunday, July 14: Euros 2024 Matches at The Canary

  • Irish pub telecast of the UEFA European Championship (European association football); matches at 12 pm and/or 3 pm, depending on day

  • Menu entrees are $12–$21

  • The Canary

  • 789 Franklin Ave (Crown Heights, Brooklyn)

• Friday, July 26: The Golden Ball (Le Ballon d’or)

  • Screening of 1994 French and Guinean comedy-drama film about a 12-year-old soccer prodigy; 8:30 pm; part of Films on the Green 2024

  • Free

  • Riverside Park, Pier 1

  • 500 W 70th St (Upper West Side, Manhattan)

• Saturday, July 27: It’s an R&B Thing: Yellow & White Affair

  • R&B music party at Caribbean restaurant with yellow and/or white attire required; 9 pm–3 am

  • $25 entry (full food and drink menu available)

  • Gran Maya Restaurant

  • 3920 Broadway (Washington Heights, Manhattan)

Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn offers walking tours most Friday and Saturday evenings. Image: Rhododendrites

Green

There is no need to escape the city to find greenery. In fact, we were finding so many green options that with a heavy heart, we cut Sierra Green and the Giants—a New Orleans-style soul group performing at City Winery on July 17—to keep to the pattern of four events per color. Alexa bleeds a little green, in fact, and is hoping others will join her in a monthlong celebration of a (hopeful) Celtics NBA Finals win.

• Most Fridays and Saturdays: Green-Wood After Hours

  • Cemetery history walking tour; 7:30–9:30 pm

  • $30

  • The Green-Wood Cemetery

  • 500 25th St (Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn)

• Sunday, July 7: Community Garden Volunteer Green-Up

  • Community garden volunteer work, such as watering plants, remediating soil, and composting food waste; 12 pm; first Sunday of each month

  • Free

  • Green Oasis Community Garden

  • 370 E 8th St (East Village, Manhattan)

• Saturday, July 13: Greenlight Bookstore Sidewalk Sale

  • Special outdoor sale on books, music, and merchandise; 10 am–5 pm

  • Free entry

  • Greenlight Bookstore

  • 686 Fulton St (Fort Greene, Brooklyn)

• Monday, July 22: At This Performance… at the Green Room 42

  • Cabaret performance by Broadway understudies; 7 pm

  • $37–$68

  • The Green Room 42

  • 570 10th Ave (Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan)

Blue

From blues to bluegrass, the color blue has long been associated with music. Here, we rhapsodize New York City in blue with a range of blue artists and bands.

• Monday, July 1–Thursday, July 4: Blue Note Jazz Festival: Joey Alexander

  • Concert series featuring Indonesian pianist Joey Alexander that concludes an annual citywide jazz festival; sets at 8 & 10:30 pm

  • $35 bar / $52 table, plus $20 food and drink minimum

  • Blue Note Jazz Club

  • 131 W 3rd St (Greenwich Village, Manhattan)

• Saturday, July 20: The Blue Dahlia

  • Eclectic indie pop concert (The Blue Dahlia webpage); 8 pm–12 am

  • $20 suggested donation

  • Barbès

  • 376 9th St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

• Wednesday, July 24: T.K. Blue Quartet

  • Saxophone-based jazz performance (T.K. Blue website); 10:30 pm–1 am

  • $35 cover, plus 2-drink minimum

  • The Django (The Roxy Hotel – Cellar Level)

  • 2 6th Ave (Lower Manhattan)

• Tuesday, July 30: Switchfoot, Blue October, & Matt Nathanson

  • Alternative rock concert (Blue October website); 6 pm (4:30 pm doors)

  • $66 general entry; $160+ for special seating/VIP packages

  • The Rooftop at Pier 17

  • 89 South St (Seaport, Manhattan)

The Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn offers a course on July 9 on dyeing with indigo, seen here fermenting. Image: gitane

Purple

The famed seven rainbow colors ending with blue, indigo, and violet is in truth a little subjective. The sequence originally comes from Isaac Newton, whose blue would nowadays be considered cyan and whose indigo would be blue (Waldman, 2002). This July, we ask to unite the indigo/violet divide among us and seek purple citywide harmony.

• Saturday, July 6: Lavender Fields

  • Upbeat indie pop concert (Lavender Fields website); 8 pm

  • Free entry

  • Pete’s Candy Store

  • 709 Lorimer St (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

• Tuesday, July 9: Indigo Dyeing

  • Workshop on creating an indigo dye vat, followed by practice on different fabrics; 6:30–9 pm

  • $85 (includes materials)

  • Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn Studio

  • 505 Carroll St (Park Slope, Brooklyn)

• Friday, July 19: Powerviolets, Noun, Sweet Harm, Big Band

  • Indie rock concert (Powerviolets Bandcamp); 8 pm

  • $14

  • Alphaville

  • 140 Wilson Ave (Bushwick, Brooklyn)

• Friday, July 26–Saturday, July 27: Purple Rain 40th Anniversary Celebration

  • Film screening of Prince’s 1984 movie Purple Rain with dance party tribute; 6:30–10:30 pm

  • Free

  • Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 3 Plaza

  • 334 Furman St (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn)