NYC FREE OUTDOOR CONCERTS -- JULY

(These are just my personal cream of the crop; there is literally at least one exciting free show to check out every single night)

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1. Barrington Levy at the bandshell in Prospect Park, this Friday the 7th. Unbelievably, until fairly recently pretty much all I knew of Levy was "Here I Come (Broader Than Broadway)" -- one of the best and most popular reggae songs of all time -- and his late 90s collaboration with Bounty Killer, "Living Dangerously." Boy, was I missing out! This man has so many great songs. Lately, I've been especially enjoying "Rob and Gone" and "Little Children Cry."

2. Angie Stone and Anthony Hamilton at Wingate Field in Brooklyn (by Kings County Hospital), next Mon the 10th. OK, in my book, neither of these two artists belong in the top tier of the so-called neo-soul genre (at the peak of my pyramid are Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and maybe a couple of others). Still, what Stone and Hamilton may lack in originality they make up for in great singing and crowd-pleasing performances. I have a particular affection for Hamilton's old-fashioned, Southern, Bill Withers-like voice.

3. Al Green at Asser Levy Park in Coney Island on Thursday the 13th. Let me make sure you understand. The greatest living soul singer. For free. In Brooklyn. Nuff said.

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4. Little Brother in Fort Greene (Washington) Park on Tuesday the 25th. It hardly made a splash, but their 2005 sophomore release, The Minstrel Show, was an excellent hip-hop album. I sometimes find their purist Tribe/Pete Rock-esque sound a bit rigid, but Phonte is a monster on the mic.

5. Leela James at the bandshell in Prospect Park on Friday the 28th. Her 2005 debut, A Change Is Gonna Come, didn't quite live up to the hype. But from what I understand -- and from what I hear on her Live in New Orleans EP, available exclusively on iTunes -- her studio recordings only hint at her fire on stage.