WAILING CITY: Live Music Schedule For Celebrate New London Sat July 12

Live Music Schedule For Celebrate New London Sat July 12

*Last updated 7/12/25 10:45am

Sat July 12, 2025

New London Cultural District

https://celebratenewlondon.com/
Facebook Event Page

Join us on Saturday, July 12 for a celebration of all things New London, culminating in the largest fireworks display in New England over the Thames River brought to you by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. Enjoy live music at two outdoor stages and various venues throughout the Cultural District. Visit our downtown businesses for diverse cuisine or hit some of the food trucks scattered throughout the festival. Shop and experience our Creative Village, a collaboration between The Annex, The Golden Owl and The New London Arts Council. This marketplace on State Street near Parade Plaza will feature the work of area artisans and makers, live painting, and other interactive experiences.

Celebrate New London will feature 2 stages for a wide variety of live music on Saturday July 12 starting at 2pm and running through 9pm. One stage will be located at Custom House Pier on the downtown waterfront. The second stage will be at Parade Plaza across from the strain station at the intersection of State and Bank streets. Admission is free of charge. Food trucks will be available at both venues. Alcohol will not be served. No open alcohol is permitted.

Parade Plaza Stage

(1pm) Coast Guard Jazz Band presents The Beacons
(2:30pm) Brad Bensko Band

(3:30pm) Pencils Down
(4:20pm) Smoke The World & Friends
(5:30pm) The Pretty Graves
(6:30pm) Taino Productions Presents Salsa on Parade with Jovanny & Roberto ys su Orquesta,

DeeJay Leo and dance lessons by Jason Pepin

Custom House Pier Stage
(2pm) Soulshot w/ Andy Bassford & Duke Robillard
(3:30pm) Bank Street Groove
(5pm) Frank Colmenares
(6pm) Apathy presents Shorelife
(7:45pm) Braiden Sunshine & The Collective

Lower State Street
(12-8pm) Creative Village: (Live Art / Interactive Activities / Music)
DJ Frank Lo / DJ Sir Round Sound / DJ Ben Jammin'

Diamond Pizzeria

DJ's (all day)

Thames River Gallery
(12-3pm) The Toneshifters

Blue Duck
(2-3:30pm) Don Diederich & Friends

(4-7pm) Big Lux & Tony Marshall

(7pm) DJ Cribb

Hygienic Art Park
(3pm) Steve Elci & Friends
(8pm) What Up Funk Band

Telegraph Autonomous Zone

(3-8:30pm)

DJ Lord Lewis

Grumpy Danger Sound

DJ Charlie Chaplin

Heavy Sound Vision

Tuskers

(21+)
(3-6pm) Andre & Eddie

(6-9pm) The Metromatics ft. Ron Donovan

The Social
(7:30pm) Geoff Mitchill Band (outside back lot bar)

(8pm) The Franklin Brothers (inside)

(9:45pm) Xenos (outside back lot bar)

Lighthouse Inn
(6-9pm) Sean Higgins

Golden Owl
(7pm) Natalie Paige & Meera Raphael

On The Waterfront
(7pm) Dave Schena

Tox Brewery

(21+)

(Before & after fireworks) Brad Bensko

33 Golden
(21+)

(9pm-2am) DJ Brian Carter w/ opening set by DJ PupStar

Oasis Pub
(21+)
(After fireworks) DJ Chumzilla & DJ Frank Lo

DONATE

Thank you for allowing Wailing City to be your go-to resource for live music in New London county, CT! We appreciate your support over the last 19 years! Wailing City is curated out of love for our music scene and our goal has always been to support and celebrate our local musicians, venues and live music fans. We are a local music blog and not a business, so we do not receive compensation for any of the work put into this site or our social media pages. Please consider donating to support our efforts so that we may continue to bring you consistent and up-to-date local music info!

LOVE & PRESS

"We really love and appreciate all you do for the New London community with Wailing City – good on ya and thanks for caring!"
- Stuart Fensom / My Druthers (band)

"I just wanted to thank you for all you do for the local music community. I have tonight off so I went to the wailing city site to see who was playing. It’s amazing all the work you put in for all the local musicians and venues and I just wanted to thank you."
- Phil Smith (musician)

"...my new best friend Meghan Killimade, who's site Wailing City, lets me find all the latest local bands -- where they are playing and the times -- has suddenly been a big help in letting me find some events outside of my usual box!"
- Stephanie Shawn "Bar Fly Journals"
(Sound Waves Magazine)
Published December 2024

"Wailing City is this absolutely fantastic local music blog here in CT. They've been the place to go to find out what's happening, what's new and why you should care for well over a decade. Graciously, they interviewed us about the new album, the book, the film and all that. While touring throughout the years, we've sometimes felt like 'one foot in, one foot out' with the local scene, but they've always made us feel right at home. Thanks Wailing City."
- Pocket Vinyl (band)

"There are a staggering 64 documented live music performances in my home of New London county, CT today alone! The population of this county is only 268,805 and it is only 772 square miles. That is an incredible saturation of venues hosting live music and is a stark contrast to places I've lived in the past! You would be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the country that has so much live music. Amazing really! Thank you for the hard work documenting and promoting Wailing City!"
-Travis Hyll (musician)

"Wailing City appreciation post: true champions of the New London county music scene. Follow them!"
-Dirt Pile (band)

"We wanna take a minute to shout out our friends over at Wailing City for always helping to spread the word about our shows. They've been curating the most comprehensive live music calendar for SECT since 2006. If you don't already, give them a follow."
- 33 Golden Street (venue)

"Wailing City should be your first check in for all local music schedules. Thank you so much for all your efforts in promoting the scene!!
- David Schena (musician)

"Wailing City has been keeping the calendar up to date since I first started going to shows 20 years ago. We’re lucky to have Meghan volunteer her time to help keep the scene going!"
-James Burke (musician)

"With a little footwork and a short drive I managed to visit three live music shows on Bank Street last night... New London ROCKS...and all made possible searching out local music on Wailing City... thanks Meghan."
- Don Diederich (musician / local music fan)

"If you don't have ears, then it's possible you're not aware that southeastern Connecticut - specifically New London County - has an incredibly vibrant music scene. Over the years, it's gone from a hotbed of indie rock to an area of musicians, fans and venues that support a complex and varied number of artistic styles. The wailingcity.com web site - newly and lovingly redesigned - is a tremendous resource. A labor of affection and devotion conceptualized in 2006, wailingcity.com boasts artist bios, reviews and interviews, a club and band data base and calendars, videos, audio streaming, and cross-referenced links on all of the above - as well as lists of music services such as instrument instruction, record and retail stores, related media and periodicals, festival information, and so on. It's the brainchild of musician/artist Meghan Killimade, (and contributors), and they do a terrific job."
- RICK KOSTER (The Day) Published April 03, 2014

“Wailing City, is, as of now, probably the most successfully comprehensive listing on local and area shows in Southeastern Connecticut on the Internet; the folks at Wailing City are doing an excellent job of making sounds from the underground.”
-Ben Johnson (The Day) Published July 27, 2006

Live Music Schedule For Celebrate New London Sat July 12

ABOUT

FOLLOW & TAG!

CONTRIBUTE / SUBMIT

DONATE

CONTACT / FAQ