New York City’s summer has you sweating profusely for all of 2 minutes, before all of a sudden, it’s winter.

Again.

For like, 8 months.

So I decided to make the trek from my new digs in East Williamsburg all the way to Central Park, before the city’s SummerStage Festival draws to a close and all of a sudden watching a gig under the stars requires flying south with my tail between my (really cold) legs.

Having spent the past four months gallivanting around the US before setting up shop at my final destination, dazzling New York City, all things free are trs enticing. The SummerStage Festival has offered more than 100 free performances in parks throughout New York’s five boroughs, and best of all, this weekend it bought Dominican born, Bushwick-raised, George Lewis Jr. AKA, Twin Shadow.

Chicago native DJ Mano, and Pitchfork praised Autre Ne Veut had an eager audience vibing, and as the New York sun melted into Central Park’s thick canopy, Twin Shadow emerged, wait for it… shadowed! The dark stripes over the bands faces were just as mesmerising as the colourful visual display behind them, proven by an audience that was mostly silent when not chanting in time with the band.

Mystery continued as Jr. layered the basslines and percussion contrastingly, slowly opening his set with “The One” in a restrained tempo, before lifting the tempo to introduce an as-yet unnamed, but beautifully put together track to come on a new album. Finishing with an homage to his previous guitars’ owner Eddie Van Halen, with a beat that had New Yorkers swinging their hips all the way out of Central Park, Twin Shadows rocking rendition of ‘Panama’ had everyone, even Jr. asking himself, why would you choose to live anywhere else?
 

Words & Pic by our new US correspondent Leilani Williams (oh we fancy huh?)