De Blasio announces star-studded Central Park concert lineup, compares event to Woodstock
Mayor Bill de Blasio rolled out the lineup for the end-of-summer Central Park show celebrating New York City’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing the internationally broadcast “concert of a lifetime” to Woodstock.
The mostly free Aug. 21 “homecoming concert” — produced by Clive Davis and featuring Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Jennifer Hudson and Paul Simon — will also star Carlos Santana with Rob Thomas, Elvis Costello, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Killers, LL Cool J, Journey, Kane Brown, and Wyclef Jean, among others, de Blasio announced Tuesday. Jon Batiste, Andrea Bocelli, Barry Manillow, The New York Philharmonic, Polo G, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds among others will perform as well, the mayor said.
“Maybe you could compare it to Woodstock, but this is unprecedented,” de Blasio said at a press briefing held remotely in the Bronx, labeling the performance in the Great Lawn “the concert of a lifetime.”
“I have never heard of a concert with that kind of lineup,” the mayor boasted.
“It will celebrate a spectacular range of musical genres, styles and eras, while including some of the most iconic artists in the history of modern music,” said Davis.
CNN will cover the concert internationally, Big Apple restaurateur Danny Meyer said.
“This will be the most amazing reminder of why you love your city. This is truly going to show the pride that New Yorkers have for their own city and remind all of us why we chose to be here in the first place,” said Meyer.
Eighty percent of tickets at the show will be free of charge, 20 percent are available for VIP purchase, and all attendees at the concert will be required to show proof of vaccination, officials said. Only one vaccine dose is required, because of the protection even a single dose provides, de Blasio said,
Because of the vaccination requirement, the concert will be limited to people over 12 years old, according to the mayor.
Previously, the outdoor concert was slated to have vaccinated and unvaccinated sections, but that setup was nixed amid concern about the spread of the Delta variant amid flagging rates of vaccination.
About 60,000 people can fit on the Great Lawn, officials said.
In a statement, an NYPD spokesman said officers will make sure those among the expected large crowd are “safe and can enjoy themselves.””The NYPD handles large scale events, including numerous concerts in Central Park on an annual basis, and ensures attendees are safe and can enjoy themselves,” said spokesman Edward Riley. “This concert will be no different.”
Tickets for the 5 p.m. show can be obtained beginning Monday at 10 a.m. at nyc.gov/homecomingweek, and CitiBank credit card holders can start buying tickets a few days earlier, on Thursday at 10 a.m., according to the mayor’s office.
The Central Park production, first announced on June 7, won’t be the first show set in the 843-acre Manhattan greenspace. Simon & Garfunkel’s performance on the Great Lawn in 1981 was viewed by over 500,000 people inclding broadcast, who heard the duo perform their hits.
And in 1983, Motown star Diana Ross performed in a free concert in Central Park that was broadcast on Showtime.
