Central Park will be the center of the music world Saturday when Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and more take the stage for NYC Homecoming Week.
The star-studded “WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert” on the Great Lawn in Manhattan’s most famous park will help celebrate the reopening of New York City amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The concert is produced by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Clive Davis and will also feature performances by Jennifer Hudson, Andrea Bocelli, The Killers, Journey, Cynthia Erivo, Patti Smith, Maluma, Barry Manilow, LL Cool J and more.
“This is going to be an historic, monumental moment for all New Yorkers and all Americans,” Mayor de Blasio said last month.
“I’ll put it plainly: You’re going to want to be here. This is truly once in a lifetime and we thank Clive Davis, Live Nation and Danny Meyer for all their efforts to help make this possible. This is a celebration of our city, of every working family who faced incredible challenges last year and overcame. This is a celebration for you.”
Simon is especially at home on the Great Lawn, having playing a hugely successful show with Art Garfunkel in 1981 a solo concert in 1991 he called “The most memorable of my career.”
Saturday’s show begins at 5 p.m. EDT, with gates opening at 3 p.m. EDT. Tickets are on sale now for the event, which will also be broadcast on CNN.
It comes after four free shows across the other boroughs take place between Monday and Friday for the “It’s Time for Hip Hop in NYC” concert series, which was organized by the Universal Hip Hop Museum. Big Daddy Kane, Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, Kool Moe Dee and George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars are among the headliners for those concerts.
Davis promises Saturday’s show in Central Park is a concert people won’t want to miss.
“There is absolutely no place more special than Central Park to celebrate the reopening of New York City,” the Brooklyn native said in a statement. “I consider the Mayor’s request a true honor; and, with Live Nation, we are curating an unforgettable show befitting of this historic occasion.”