ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest is back! Featuring four weekends of musical fun, and even a new app-site to use as a guide, this massive event will showcase music talent across multiple venues, for free, from July 24 through August 16.
Founded in 2017 by Max Power, the ROCK! AWAY! festival will once again transform Rockaway Beach into a beachside creative playground featuring emerging and established talent from New York City and around the world. With a mission to champion underground culture and community access, the festival spotlights artists across outdoor stages and neighborhood venues. Max Power chose the Kraken as this year’s festival mascot, reflecting the many tentacles this festival reaches across the peninsula.
“‘Release the Kraken’ seemed a fitting theme for the ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest. The Summer Fest should be thought of as a release of energy and creativity at Rockaway Beach,” Max Power said. “ROCK! AWAY! started as a love letter to Rockaway Beach: a place where DIY grit, art, and pure live energy collide. 2026 is our biggest vision yet. We’re scaling up while keeping the soul intact: free shows for the community and the kind of beachside magic you can only find here.”
The shows will stem from the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater on Beach 94th Street to Riis Beach Co. at Bay 9 in Riis Park, Beach 116th Street and the boardwalk to The Rose Den and more. Music genres include pop, folk, jazz, rock, punk, indie, blues and even reggae performed by more than 40 bands and musicians. The festival will also feature art activations and community-forward events.
A full schedule, plus descriptions and samples from each artist can be found on the festival’s new app-site: maxpowerrockaway.com Over the last six months, Max Power aka Matt Preis and his brother, Michael Preis, have been developing an app-site (an app-like website that will eventually be an app), that provides a full guide to the ROCK! AWAY! Summer Fest and other Rockaway events, with the hopes that it can be a year-round resource. Create an account and you can save events, videos and follow artists, as well as play the “Release the Kraken” Scavenger hunt.
This year’s festival is sponsored by NYC Parks, Happy Jack’s, IN-YC, Riis Beach Co, Rockaway Beach Country Club, Bandnada, Banks Do BK, Jupiter Club. To donate or become a sponsor, head to: www.rockawaysummerfest.com
For more updates, follow @rockawaymusicfest and @maxpowerpresents on Instagram.
