New York’s Back, Baby!
• The legendary Clive Davis and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio jointly announced the A-List artists scheduled to perform at the August 21 “Homecoming Concert” to celebrate New York’s reopening — please welcome Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and Jennifer Hudson will be joined by Andrea Bocelli, Jon Batiste, LL Cool J, Kane Brown, Elvis Costello, Earth, Wind and Fire, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Journey, The Killers, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Rob Thomas & Carlos Santana, Cynthia Erivo, Wyclef Jean, Polo G and The New York Philharmonic, who will perform in front of some 60,000 fans on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park, along with special appearances from Jimmy Fallon, Gayle King and Don Lemon and probably some surprise guests as well.
The lengthily titled WE LOVE NYC: The Homecoming Concert produced by New York City, Clive Davis and Live Nation — will air exclusively on CNN; it will also stream on YouTube and be broadcast on SiriusXM.
Speaking with Variety on Tuesday, Davis said, “It’s really a wonderful honor to be given the responsibility to curate this incredible homecoming concert; it’s clearly one of a kind.” Davis added that there is “room for two or three more performers,” but offered no details, other than saying, “We’re trying to make sure that every genre of music is represented, so if we see one that is not fully represented, that give us an opportunity.” Davis also noted that Springsteen will join Patti Smith for a duet — presumably on their 1978 hit, “Because the Night.”
De Blasio announced that proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be required to attend the concert, which is part of a weeklong celebration of the city’s reopening. “This is going to be one of the greatest Central Park concerts in history,” de Blasio said. “This is something for the ages.”
