Ron Delsener Presents

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Ron Delsener Presents

Q&A with legendary club promoter Ron Delsener and executive producer Jon Kamen on July 3

In a career spanning sixty years, concert promoter and impresario Ron Delsener was the name behind virtually every major contemporary music concert in New York City for generations. From promoting 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 bury the hatchet and play the biggest concert of all time in Central Park, Ron Delsener was behind it all. Through a portrait of a mercurial and relentless showman, Ron Delsener Presents takes us behind-the-curtain through the last half century of the live music business, chronicling the tactics that drove live performance from disorganized, low-fi nightclubs to international tours, arenas, stadiums, and, eventually, into a global empire. A transformation that Delsener is in many ways responsible for. Working in a business he helped to create Ron Delsener now in the later stages of his life, still has his hand in the game. Sure, he could stop – he maybe even should but Ron doesn’t know how.

Join us for the opening night of Sounds of Summer 2025 on July 3 for a special evening with the subject of the film and legendary club promoter Ron Delsener and executive producer Jon Kamen.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Q&A with legendary club promoter Ron Delsener and executive producer Jon Kamen Q&A with legendary club promoter Ron Delsener and executive producer Jon Kamen

Q&A with legendary club promoter Ron Delsener and executive producer Jon Kamen

Thursday, Jul. 3 2025, 7:00

  • Since 1964, promoter Ron Delsener has been at the forefront of the outdoor concert scene. He cut his teeth while working for the promoter of The Beatles’ first outdoor concert performance at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens. Other shows quickly followed, featuring Bob Dylan during his controversial early electric period, Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, and Frank Sinatra with Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and the Count Basie Band conducted by Quincy Jones. In 1966, Delsener created and produced the highly successful $1 per ticket concert series at Wollman Ice-Skating Rink in Central Park. During its fifteen-year history, every major contemporary artist appeared at this series, including Joni Mitchell, Louis Armstrong, Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin, and many more. He then began producing the first free popular music concerts in Central Park. In 1983, Delsener was awarded a three-year exclusive contract to renovate the Jones Beach Amphitheatre in Wantagh, Long Island, and present all concert events.
  • Jon Kamen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of RadicalMedia, has built one of the world’s leading producers of premium content across all media platforms. Originally renowned for its success in advertising, Kamen led the company's expansion into a prolific, award-winning creator and producer of television programming, documentaries, live events, and immersive experiences. Notable achievements include Academy Awards for The Fog of War and, more recently, Summer of Soul, as well as Emmys for Hamilton and American Utopia. RadicalMedia continues to produce acclaimed content for platforms such as Netflix, HBO, Disney, Apple, History, and Discovery.

Tickets: $15 (members), $20 (nonmembers)

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This film is part of the Sounds of Summer series.



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