Ron Delsener is a name people in the New York tri-state area know even better than that of the mayor.
Ron is the most famous and colorful rock concert promoter of all time. In the 60s, 70s, 80s, we didn’t see a major show put on ny anyone other than “Ron Delsener Presents.”
Now Jake Sumner has made a rockin’ doc about Ron’s legendary history in the music business. Abramorama has just picked up “Ron Delsener Presents,” produced by Radical Media, and will release it May 31st to the Quad Theater in New York, and then across the country.
This wholly enjoyable film and the obsessive raconteur includes interviews with no less than Jon Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Cher, Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Lenny Kaye, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Gene Simmons, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt and many more.
The lithe, spry now 85 year old Ron is still hitting shows all over town, staying out late and partying with the stars. A couple of years ago, I was in the packed Bowery Ballroom to see the Pretenders, and there was Ron (with Capitol Theater own Peter Shapiro, more than 30 years younger) descending the rickety staircase from the VIP mezzanine!
Sumner says: “Ron’s personal story tracks the tale of live music from a cottage industry, to the dominant cultural force and global business it is today. He is probably one of the only living sources of the live music business’s entirety, or at least a version of it.”
From The Beatles at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, to bringing David Bowie to Carnegie Hall and Patti Smith to the Palladium, to somehow convincing Simon and Garfunkel to come back together to play the biggest concert ever in Central Park, Ron was behind it all.
Attention NY rock fans: Ron will be part of Q&A’s at the Quad during opening week. I’ll probably go to all of them! Get your tickets now!
