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How to Get Tickets to Summer for the City

There are three ways to get tickets to Summer for the City at Lincoln Center, depending on the venue and the programming. Please refer to the dedicated event page of the show you’d like to attend to confirm ticketing options.

Free General Admission

For free events, over half the venue capacity is aways available for General Admission. Just show up; no tickets needed! Entry to most Summer for the City performances and events is available for FREE via General Admission—first-come, first-served. Learn more »

Free Fast Track

In addition to General Admission, we’re offering a FREE Fast Track option for the majority of Summer for the City events held at Damrosch Park, The Dance Floor, The Underground at Jaffe Drive, the David Rubenstein Atrium, and other select venues. Fast Track reservations are available every Monday at noon for that week's events!
• By booking Fast Track for events ahead of time, guests can access the Fast Track line at the venue which gives them priority entry to that event.
• While event admission is not guaranteed, Fast Track ticket holders will have priority over the General Admission line up until 10 minutes before show time (please note: show time for social dances on The Dance Floor is the start of the dance lesson). We recommend arriving an hour before show time to ensure entry into the event.
• Please check the event's dedicated web page to confirm if Fast Track is available for the performance you'd like to attend.
Learn more »

Choose-What-You-Pay

All tickets to most mainstage indoor events are available on a Choose-What-You-Pay basis; day-of general admission will not be offered for these shows. All Choose-What-You-Pay events have a suggested ticket price of $35 and the option to pay more or less. There is a $5 per ticket minimum. Find Choose-What-You-Pay shows here »

Box Office Hours

Call CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 from Monday–Friday 10:00 am–6:00 pm (EST).

Book in-person at the Alice Tully Hall box office (Broadway and 66th Street) or the David Geffen Hall Welcome Center from Monday–Saturday 10:00 am–6:00 pm and Sunday noon–6:00 pm.

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Early music band Ruckus and AMOC* member Keir GoGwilt celebrate the legacy of Niel Gow (b. Perthshire, 1727-1807), one of Scotland’s most important musicians, with the New York premiere of a dynamic folk-baroque feast of Scottish dance music. Weaving together these jubilant, hard-driving and nostalgic tunes into large-scale dramatic forms, Ruckus and GoGwilt bring the 18th-century tradition of blending folk and art music to the present day. The evening is a collaboration between Nadia Sirota’s Living Music Underground and American Modern Opera Company’s Run AMOC* Festival, which transforms the Lincoln Center campus with a bold slate of boundary-pushing productions.

Program

Program Note

– Keir GoGwilt

This concert is an assemblage of airs, songs, and dance tunes drawn from collections published under the name of Neil Gow—a Perthshire-born Scottish fiddler who lived from 1727-1807. Gow’s fiddle-playing was widely respected and earned him the patronage of the Duke of Atholl. At the time it was rare for a folk musician to make a living from playing (though Gow was originally trained as a weaver); most Scottish musicians such as the dancing master James Oswald turned to classical music publishing to pursue professional careers. Gow’s reputation as a genius fiddler was noted by several writers including Robert Burns. His reputation as an authentic Scottish musician gave his name a certain cache amongst English, French, and German audiences captivated by literary depictions of an ancient Celtic world, popularized in James MacPherson’s purported collections and translations of epic poetry by the Gaelic bard, Ossian. Neil Gow’s son, Nathaniel, understood and capitalized on this Romantic, European image of Scottish otherness—it was Nathaniel Gow who in fact assembled and published the Neil Gow collections in Edinburgh around the turn of the 19th century, deliberately blurring the lines between ancient and contemporary tunes.

This Romantic imagination for Scottish folklore also had the effect of marking Scottish music as primarily “folk”—a categorical distinction foreign to the hybrid variations of Scottish and Italianate classical music played out in the 18th-century dance hall. The Gow collections include a continuo bass line and classical instruments like the harpsichord and cello. And the fact that the tunes were notated indicates their use for a musically literate audience, even as audiences for the music encompassed a range of social classes. These collections represent the canonization, monetization, and professionalization of folk music through print culture. They preserve a snapshot of an already centuries-long process of musical hybridity and exchange.

It is possible to trace the transformation of certain tunes in the collection across printed and recorded sources. For example, “The Broom of Coudenknowes,” which appears in Nathaniel Gow’s collection, The Vocal Melodies of Scotland (1816), also appears in John Playford’s dance manual of 1650, simply called “Broome.” The tune appears again in Richard Brome’s comic opera, The Northern Lasse (1632), in the Italian violinist Francesco Geminiani’s arrangements of Scottish melodies (1749), and in a recording by Silly Wizard (1978). Another song in the 1816 collection, “Lord Gregory,” also known as “The Lass of Roch Royal” or “The Lass of Augrim,” appears in many recordings including one by Peggy Seeger. The song portrays the anonymous lass as the ill-fated mother of Gregory’s illegitimate child. In the instrumental version provided in the Gow collection, only the basic meter and contours of the melody remain. Contemporary recordings of “Galla Water” such as the one by Old Blind Dogs (1992) more closely resemble the melody written down in the Gow collection. However, certain notated ornaments, counterpoints, and expressive markings in the printed version of “Galla Water” reveal the editorial preferences of Nathaniel Gow, who perhaps felt the need to legitimate the songs to an audience accustomed to reading classical music.

It is harder to track down recorded versions of the instrumental jigs, reels, strathspeys, and airs. “Lady Charlotte Murray’s Jig” has a number of different names and has been recorded by contemporary folk musicians including the Chieftans (“O’Mahoney’s Frolics,” 1989) and Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill (“The Cat in the Corner,” 1997). Jordi Savall’s two-volume release, The Celtic Viol (2009, 2010), includes selections from Nathaniel Gow’s collections, perhaps conjuring the mythologized Scottish past through the viol’s unique timbres and tunings. Laura Risk’s recent performances of “Neil Gow’s Lament” also bridges baroque conventions, ethnographic and archival knowledge, and a living practice of Scottish and Québécois fiddling. These examples attest to the ways in which the Gow collections continue to keep alive a vibrant hybridity between folk, popular, and baroque music-making.

Given that Ruckus is a baroque continuo band, some of the 18th-century Italianate influences visible in Gow’s collections are baked into our sound: gut strings, short bows, and instruments like the harpsichord, baroque bassoon, and viola da gamba. Rather than accepting the notated versions in Gow’s collection as authoritative texts, we play these melodies with an ear to their cumulative historical and contemporary soundings, and we have performed these tunes in both concert and dance hall settings. Precisely because these books played a significant role in the selective canonization of Scottish folk music, it has been a gratifying journey to work our way through and beyond these texts, and to find a sound unique to our own hybrid paths through these musical traditions.

Featured Artists

Ruckus is a shapeshifting, collaborative baroque band with a visceral and playful approach to early music. Described as “the world’s only period-instrument rock band” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Ruckus’ core is a continuo group, the baroque equivalent of a jazz rhythm section: guitars, keyboards, cello, bassoon and bass. The NYC-based ensemble aims to fuse the early-music movement’s questing, creative spirit with the grit, groove and jangle of American roots music, creating a unique sound of “rough-edged intensity” (New Yorker). The group’s members are among the most creative and virtuosic performers in North American early music. Together, they tour widely across the country. Ruckus is the house band for Hudson Hall’s baroque opera productions, directed by R.B. Schlather. Of Giulio Cesare in 2025, The New York Times’ Zachary Woolfe wrote: “Ruckus aptly describes itself as a band: it’s that tight, and that wild.” Ruckus’ next production at Hudson Hall will be Handel’s final opera, Deidamia. In March of 2025, the band released The Edinburgh Rollick (featuring violinist Keir GoGwilt) bringing new life to the tunes of Neil Gow, one of Scotland’s most important 18th-century composers. Praised as “a perfect meeting of folk repertoire and ancient instruments “ (Le Canard Folk), it will come to NYC in January 2026 at Music Before 1800. Next season Ruckus joins Davóne Tines in a collaboration entitled “What is Your Hand in This?” The program, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, asks: How can we passionately address wrongs while coexisting as a people? Can we find compassion for others? Can we find compassion for ourselves? The repertoire spans early American hymnody, Handel’s Messiah, Benjamin Carr’s Federal Overture, abolition-era songs, mid-20th century protest songs, and features commissions from Carnegie Hall and Hudson Hall. It will make its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall in January 2026.

Keir GoGwilt is a composer and violinist who was born in Edinburgh and grew up in New York City. In past seasons he has soloed with groups including the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Chinese National Symphony, Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. A founding member of AMOC, he has performed original, collaboratively-devised music, dance, and theater works at 92NY, Baryshnikov Arts Center and the Ojai Music Festival. This season he released “The Edinburgh Rollick,” with Ruckus Early Music, featuring Scottish fiddle music from the Niel Gow collections. The recording has been noted for its “improvisatory spirit” (The Strad) and “deep stylistic understanding” (Early Music America). Other season highlights include a premiere of his new piece for the JACK Quartet at Santa Fe Chamber Music, and his “Zarabanda Variations” at Lincoln Center.

Fiona Gillespie is a Classical and folk singer and instrumentalist. She manages and performs with the Celtic/early music band The Chivalrous Crickets and Scottish historical ensemble Makaris, as well as directing the nonprofit Hearthsong Folk Arts, which produces events focused on folk heritage education in music, dance, crafting and seasonal celebrations. Fiona appears regularly as a clinician, leads community sings and dances, and teaches Kindermusik. She collaborates this season with The Baroque Orchestra of Colorado, Apollo’s Fire, Fire and Grace, Skylark Vocal Ensemble, Musica Sierra, Elm City Consort, Folk College and more.

THIS EVENT HAS PASSED

Venue

The Underground at Jaffe Drive

Jaffe Drive, New York, NY 10023

For ticketing, call CenterCharge at 212-721-6500 from Monday–Friday 10:00 am–6:00 pm (EST)

For general inquiries, call Guest Experience at 212-875-5456 or email [email protected].

The Underground, a cabaret-inspired performance space, is tucked away on Jaffe Drive, located below Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza. The space includes a pop-up bar and stage.

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Let the rhythm lift you!

What's on today, July 18th

5:00 pm

Hearst Plaza

7:00 pm

Damrosch Park

7:30 pm

Film Screening and Discussion

9:00 pm

The Dance Floor

UPCOMING SHOWS

Saturday, July 19 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian

Saturday, July 19 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with The Juilliard School

Hearst Plaza

Saturday, July 19 at 12:00 pm

The Garden at Damrosch Park

Saturday, July 19 at 5:00 pm

Breaking Boundaries in Ballet

The Garden at Damrosch Park

Saturday, July 19 at 6:00 pm

Saturday, July 19 at 7:30 pm

A Crowd-Composed Concert

Saturday, July 19 at 8:00 pm

Damrosch Park

Saturday, July 19 at 9:00 pm

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with Brasil Summerfest

The Dance Floor

Sunday, July 20 at 6:00 pm

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

The Underground at Jaffe Drive

Monday, July 21 at 1:00 pm

Tuesday, July 22 at 7:30 pm

Jonathon Heyward Conducts Brahms’s First Symphony

Mayer | Clyne | Brahms Lincoln Center Presents

Wednesday, July 23 at 11:00 am

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Wednesday, July 23 at 1:00 pm

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Wednesday, July 23 at 4:00 pm

Wednesday, July 23 at 5:30 pm

Wednesday, July 23 at 6:00 pm

The Dance Floor

Wednesday, July 23 at 7:30 pm

Jonathon Heyward Conducts Brahms’s First Symphony

Mayer | Clyne | Brahms Lincoln Center Presents

Wednesday, July 23 at 8:00 pm

The Funniest Humans I Know Vol. 6

The Underground at Jaffe Drive

Wednesday, July 23 at 8:00 pm

In American Sign Language by Deaf Broadway

Damrosch Park

Wednesday, July 23 at 8:00 pm

With DJ Bill Coleman

Lincoln Center Presents In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

The Dance Floor

Thursday, July 24 at 11:00 am

Thursday, July 24 at 11:00 am

Thursday, July 24 at 1:00 pm

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The Juilliard School

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with Brasil Summerfest

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

Mayer | Clyne | Brahms
Lincoln Center Presents

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Mayer | Clyne | Brahms
Lincoln Center Presents

Lincoln Center Presents
In collaboration with The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts