Hundreds of people listened to Richie Havens sing “Freedom” in Prescott Park last summer, 40 years after he first sang it at Woodstock.

This year, the acts are different but the freedom is still there. Just bring your own blanket or lawn chair to any of the many outdoor concerts on the Seacoast. Summer concert series featuring local and national bands take place in Portsmouth, Greenland, Exeter, Rochester, Dover, Hampton and Salisbury, Mass., and South Berwick, Maine.

The Prescott Park Arts Festival in Portsmouth presents musicians from around the globe on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., beginning June 30 with the traditional sounds of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band. The suggested donation is $8.

Chris Smither will play folk with New Orleans roots at the park on July 7. Following weeks will include sets from the Red Stick Ramblers, Crooked Still, The Waybacks, Judy Collins, Livingston Taylor, The Wailin’ Jennys and David Francey. The series comes to a close with British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson on Aug. 27. 

The third annual Greenland Summer Concert Series kicks off at the bandstand on Thursday, June 24 at 6 p.m. with the Riverboat Stompers, Boston’s proponents of New Orleans-style jazz. Guests can expect a mix of familiar Dixieland tunes, tongue-in-cheek love songs, hand-clapping gospel and patriotic favorites from the seven-piece band.

The outdoor shows in Greenland take place on alternate Thursdays through Aug. 19. Other performers include Soulmate on July 8 at 6 p.m., the Black Brook Band on July 22 at 6 p.m., the All Together Band on Aug. 5 at 5:30 p.m., and the Good Memories Big Band on Aug. 19 at 5:30 p.m. This year, attendees will receive a “Concert Supporter Button” for a seasonal donation of $20 or more.     

The annual concert series at Swasey Parkway in Exeter features bands from throughout New England on Thursday nights. Show times are 6:15 to 8:15 p.m., except during the American Independence Festival on July 17, when local group The Amorphous Band plays at 6:45 p.m. and fireworks follow at 8:45 p.m.

Other music includes the Boston Horns on June 24, psychedelic-era tunes by Mellow Yellow on July 1, danceable rock by The Shifters on July 8, classic hits by SoulMate on July 15, Latin dance music by Combo Sabroso on July 22, and reggae by Islandside on July 29.

In Rochester, the seventh annual Summer Music Series, held in the gardens of The Governor’s Inn and Café, offers acoustic music, rock and folk roots.

Acoustic Fridays on the front lawn is new this year, with music from 6 to 9 p.m. Presentense plays on June 25, then Poor Howard & Bullfrog on July 9, and Jim Tyrrell on July 2.

The Inn’s Sunday Garden Concerts feature blues, bluegrass, folk and Americana from 4 to 7 p.m. Wooden Eye plays on June 27, then the New England Bluegrass Band, Okratones, Dan Walker, Charlie and the Freak Show, the Elsa Cross Band, Truffle and more play during the following Sundays through Sept. 26.

The 24th season of the Cochecho Arts Festival in Dover opens at 11 a.m. on Sunday, July 4, at the Rotary Arts Pavilion in Henry Law Park with a daylong celebration of the Fourth of July. Musical includes Mike Morris at 3 p.m., the Dan Walker Band at 4:15 p.m., and headliner Livingston Taylor at 7 p.m. A fireworks display will be at 9:15 p.m. There will also be other events, displays, vendors and demonstrations in Henry Law Park.

The festival’s Friday Night Concert Series continues with local and regional music through the summer, starting with the New Legacy Swing Band on July 9, then The Boston Horns, Amy Petty, The Cassavettes, Sneeky Pete and, finally, the Jumbo Circus Peanuts on Aug. 13. This year’s concerts will also feature local artisans and food vendors.

Also, the Tuesday Children’s Series features music, dancing, puppeteers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists and theater.

The Dover festival also includes the Shark in the Park lunchtime concerts, featuring popular rock bands from the area on Thursdays at noon beginning July 8 at Henry Law Park with Big John and the Twins and continuing with Rosie, The Digbees, Monkey Bar, Truffle, and The Jen Thayer Band.

New to the festival this year is a Wednesday Market Series with acoustic music from 3:30 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday from July 7 through Aug. 8 at the relocated Farmer’s Market in front of the Chamber Visitor Center at 550 Central Ave. in Dover.

Visitors can support the Cochecho Arts Festival with a button for $10, which also allows for discounts at some local businesses.

There is entertainment every night during the height of the season, July and August, at the Hampton Beach Seashell Stage on Ocean Avenue. Country music is on Thursday nights, and other genres include old and new rock, jazz, blues, big bands and military bands, said Glen French, who books the music.

There will be live outdoor concerts and fireworks displays every Saturday night through Labor Day from June 26 to Sept. 4 this summer at Salisbury Beach in Massachusetts. The “SurfSide Live!” series features regional and nationally recognized bands on a beachfront stage, followed by fireworks launched from a barge over the ocean. Music starts at 7:30 p.m. and fireworks follow at 10 p.m.

On June 26, the B-Street Bombers play at the annual Sand & Sea Festival. The experienced 10-piece high-energy band has both male and female vocals and a four-piece horn section. On July 3, it’s Sugarfoot and the Brass Kickin’ Horns, then U2 tribute band Joshua Tree on July 10, James Montgomery on July 17, East Coast reggae band Hot Like Fire on July 24, The Brew on July 31, Evan Goodrow on Aug. 7, Entrain on Aug. 14, the Adam Ezra Group on Aug. 21, Bonerama on Aug. 28, and Beatlejuice on Sept. 4.

In South Berwick, the annual Hot Summer Nights concert series features mostly local musicians beginning on Thursday, July 8, with classic cover band PB & J. The series continues on the lawn of South Berwick’s Central School with Marty England and friends on July 15. Hometown hero Slaid Cleaves returns for a show on Friday, July 23. Susie Burke and David Surette will join Kent Allyn on July 29. Sobopalooza, a performance entirely of young musicians, takes place on Aug. 5 at 5 p.m. Rhythm Method performs on Aug. 12, and Wooden Eye concludes the series on Aug. 19.

The series in South Berwick will benefit from a newly purchased sound system. All shows except Sobopalooza run from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and also feature opening acts. In case of rain, the shows move across the street to First Parish Federal Church.