Three generations of alternative music rock Central Park.

One of the most important bands to emerge from the mid-‘70s New York punk scene, Television was founded on the double-guitar attack of leader Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd. But where most guitarists of the time specialized in extended jam snooze-fests, Verlaine and Lloyd pioneered an angular, yet tuneful, style largely stripped of blues references and heavily indebted to the garage rock of the ‘60s. Television was the first band to play regularly at CBGBs, and its success encouraged the club to book other unknown acts like Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie and Talking Heads.

Fake newsman Stephen Colbert’s favorite band The Apples in Stereo are back after a hiatus of nearly five years with all creative guns blazing. Led by songwriter Rob Schneider (co-founder of the Elephant 6 collective that included ‘90s low-fi stars Neutral Milk Hotel), The Apples specialize in a sunny power pop that owes as much to Sonic Youth as it does The Beach Boys. Their new album, New Magnetic Wonder, is their most intricate and ambitious yet.

One of the city’s most groundbreaking new bands, Dragons Of Zynth combine punk, dub, funk, soul and heavy metal in a way so fresh it’s been given its own name: Afrotek. Critics have described the group’s live shows as “insane” and “bonkers,” though the band itself prefers to call them “audio-physio-psychic” experiences. Said performances have attracted a number of well-placed fans, including fellow sonic explorers TV On The Radio, who helped produce the Dragons’ debut album Coronation Thieves.