TONIGHT! RECORD CROWDS EXPECTED IN BROOKLYN: DONNA SUMMER BRINGS MEGA STAR POWER TO SEASON'S "LAST DANCE" FOR 2009 SEASIDE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES IN CONEY ISLAND HOSTED BY BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARTY MARKOWITZ
On Thursday, August 27, the 31st annual Seaside Summer Concert Series at Asser Levy/Seaside Park, hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, will feature the classic '70s and '80s hits of the "Queen of Disco" herself, the legendary Donna Summer. The Seaside Summer Concert Series in Brighton Beach-Coney Island and Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series in Crown Heights have entertained hundreds of thousands of residents over the past three decades and remain the largest free concert series in the New York metropolitan area.
"Music brings us together! In fact, the borough that rocks together flocks together, which is why I have looked forward to hosting free concerts every summer in Brighton Beach-Coney Island for more than three decades and Central Brooklyn for 27 years now," said BP Markowitz. "From Seaside's superstar lineup of Daryl Hall & John Oates Up Close & Personal Tour, Donna Summer, Blondie and Pat Benatar to MLK's Keyshia Cole, Robin Thicke, Teena Marie, The O'Jays, Anita Baker and Sean Paul, stars that perform the world over are thrilled to take the stage in Brooklyn, USA. And even though I always promise that this year's lineup is the most exciting ever, this summer will really be the best!"
An artist who defined the '70s pop music generation, Donna Summer has become one of the world's leading singers and songwriters. The career of the five-time Grammy winner spans a range of musical genres from R&B and rock to inspirational and dance. Born Donna Gaines to a large family in Boston, she developed an early interest in music. From the age of eight, Summer sang in church choirs and city-wide choruses, and by her early twenties she began performing in musical theatre in Germany. While there, she won parts in such highly-acclaimed shows as Hair, Showboat, Godspell and Porgy and Bess. She also met producers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, who produced her first single, "Hostage," which became a hit in the Netherlands, France and Belgium. In 1975, Moroder and Bellotte produced the international hit, "Love to Love You Baby," which rose to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and triggered Summer's triumphant return to the United States as a key figure of the new disco genre. "Love to Love You Baby" paved the way for such Grammy-award winning hits as "Bad Girls" and "Hot Stuff" as well as the Academy Award-winning theme song "Last Dance" from the film Thank God It's Friday, which remains a shining moment of Summer's career.
Seaside Summer Concert Series performances are held Thursday nights at 7:30 pm at Asser Levy/Seaside Park at West 5th Street and Surf Avenue in Brighton Beach, opposite the New York Aquarium. Chair rentals will be available for $5 or concertgoers can bring their own chairs. Martin Luther King Jr. concerts are held Monday nights at 7:30 pm at Wingate Field on Brooklyn Avenue between Rutland Road and Winthrop Street. Seating is limited so attendees should bring chairs. Call the concert hotline for updates at 718-222-0600, or visit www.brooklynconcerts.com.
Seaside Summer Concert Series Schedule
July 16
Salute to 40th anniversary of Woodstock: Creedence Clearwater Revisited, Mountain, John Sebastian
July 23
Gladys Knight, The O'Jays
July 30
Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, Connie Francis, Stewie Stone
August 6
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Up Close & Personal Tour
August 13
Blondie, Pat Benatar, with special guest The Donnas
August 20
Victor Manuelle, Tego Calderone, Arcangel, Maria Torres Dancers
August 27
Donna Summer
Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series Schedule
July 13
Keyshia Cole, Lyfe Jennings
July 20
Love Train The Sound of Philadelphia - The O'Jays, Russell Thompkins Jr. & the New Stylistics, Jerry Butler, Harold Melvin's Blue Notes
July 27
An Evening with Anita Baker, Charlie Wilson
August 3
Robin Thicke, Jazmine Sullivan
August 10
Teena Marie, Jeffrey Osborne, Special Guest Ruben Studdard
August 17
Gospel Night - Dedicated to the memory of Reverend Timothy Wright
Yolanda Adams, Israel Houghton and the New Breed
August 24
Caribbean Night - Machel Montano, "King of Calypso" The Mighty Sparrow
