Celebrating Music and Culture at Bronx Summer Jam 2026

Bronx Summer Jam returned to Bronx Park East on June 20, bringing music and vibes to the park. The annual music festival is celebrating its fifth year with the community with live performances, food, and vendors on-site.

For eight hours on Saturday, the lineup of performances featured artists from The Bronx and across New York City. A range of genres created a musical space in the park, from hip-hop, R&B, alternative rock, and jazz covers. The festival was held in the Oscar Comras Memorial Mall section, which has historically been used for summer concerts before.

For the first time, the event was able to get local businesses involved in the event. This included three food vendors, a free book program, and selling merchandise for mental health awareness. Even the musical lineup came with a first in featuring Latin artists.

Organizers Fernando Michael and Chris Vasquez worked to bring the event together. Vasquez pointed out that the park location is an important part of how they connect with the Bronx community. “It’s accessible for a lot of people to get to, it’s an open-air park, families and people of all ages come here to enjoy the music.”

The park is big enough that families barbecuing, taking their kids to the playground, or simply going for a walk. During the festival, many people stopped to watch a few performances and be a part of it. Vasquez also added, “I think you could be not attending the festival per se, but also be a part of the festival. So it is kind of building more community around the area.”

Artist Chris Pain brought a little Bronx history to the park, getting people off their feet as he sang under a pop and R&B fusion. Some dedicated fans were in attendance, wearing a t-shirt that showed how much they loved Pain’s music.

Rapper Saay Park came to the festival to perform, but not without Bronx natives Kony Brooks and Teddy Grahams, who joined his set. The triple threat gave a set full of hip-hop, R&B, and some dancehall. 

In between performances, guest DJ Disco Cunadera brought some house music to the park. As she swayed along to the rhythms of her own set, people also danced to her set, getting into her vibes.

Rock singer Kaymars brought some headbangers to the park. The Dominican artist introduced herself as our “favorite rockstar” before diving into some tunes with her band. 

The total lineup of artists included 10 artists and 3 guest DJs, featuring a range of different genres of music. This included rock band Bedlam Barrio, Cori Bratz, Nenny Melodias, Jhoni Hood, Rainey, Lee Burgos, and DJs Bojaq and Mota.

Co-organizer, Fernando Michael, said that with every year, they find a way to make the festival grow. In only five years, he has seen the community impact the festival has brought to the local community.

“People look forward to this day. People are coming to us and saying this is what we need in the borough, this is what we’re looking for in the borough. Spaces like this are rare, but we wanna do this.” 

The event ended with a group photo of everyone who came out to the event, including the people who came to stop by and be a part of it. For one day out of the summer, it’s a chill vibe with good food and good people.