Union Pool’s free Sunday concerts are back this summer—here’s who’s playing

There are certain harbingers of summer in New York City: the opening of local beaches like Rockaway; the sounds of the Mister Softee jingle faintly playing from blocks away; the concerning drips you feel from above while walking down the street, hoping to the subway gods that it's an air-conditioner unit and not pigeon poop. And one of our most tried-and-true signals that the warm-weather season has officially begun is when summer concerts return to Union Pool.

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Beginning on Sunday, June 29, the former pool supply store turned iconic Brooklyn venue—beloved for its tin-walled main room, saucy photobooth and spacious courtyard equipped with room for taco trucks and live bands—will bring back its annual "Summer Thunder" series, hosting a slew of free daytime concerts on site every weekend throughout the summer. The 13th annual iteration of the seasonal event will kick off with a show by indie songwriter and New York native Frankie Cosmos, with an opening set by Uruguay-born singer-guitarist Juan Wauters.

Every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., you can head to the bar's back patio to see the likes of genre-blurring experimentalist L'Rain (playing on July 13), folk artist Alex Amen (on July 27) or art-punk legend Ted Leo (on August 3), among many others. This year's lineup is packed with reliably excellent performers, but it still leaves room for surprises: the headliner of the closing show on August 24 has not yet been announced, with the venue simply posting "Watch This Space/Place." Sounds like a clue to us...

As has become summer tradition, the Union Pool "Summer Thunder" shows are free and first-come, first served. They will go on through rain or shine but note that you do need to be aged 21 and over to attend.

Check out the full 2025 lineup below:

• June 29: Frankie Cosmos with Juan Wauters
• July 6: Joe Bataan
• July 13: L'Rain
• July 20: Hannah Cohen
• July 27: Alex Amen
• Aug 3: Ted Leo
• Aug 10: Gunn Truscinski Duo (Steve Gunn/John Truscinski)
• Aug 17: The Hard Quartet
• Aug 24: *Watch This Space/Place*