Toyota Summer Concert Series

by Neil Pond
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Already, the sounds of summer are ringing throughout New York City’s famous Rockefeller Plaza. With the kickoff of the 2008 Toyota Concert Series on TODAY, the NBC morning show has lit the fuse on its 13th annual series of live weekly outdoor musical performances by the biggest stars of pop, rock, country, soul and hip-hop.

Staged on the plaza just outside the studio windows of the award-winning morning show, this year’s series features a who’s who of hit-makers and hot newcomers, including Coldplay, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Kenny Chesney and a reunion of New Kids on the Block (see at the end of the article).

“It’s a mix and balance of old and new, classic and contemporary,” says Jim Bell, executive producer of TODAY. “It really runs the gamut, in much the same way as the show does a lot of different topics. We try to cover a lot of things on the TODAY show, and I think the musical acts reflect that, as well.”

Held each Friday through Aug. 8, the concerts attract thousands of plaza onlookers and millions of TODAY’s at-home viewers.

“It really has become this sort of morning TV institution,” says Bell. “The energy that it brings to the show and the crowd it brings to the plaza have become TODAY show signature elements. It’s funny—as much television as we’ve produced week in and week out, I don’t think there’s anything quite so highly anticipated as the concerts. It’s the kind of thing everybody enjoys, regardless of who the artist is. It always gets a good crowd, a good energy and it’s a fun, fun event.” The artists approach the gig with high degrees of anticipation, as well.

“This is the third time I’ve done the series,” says pop/R&B singer Chris Brown, whose “With You” recently became his fifth Top 10 hit single. “It’s always fun because the crowd is always amped, and it gets me more excited. This performance will be better than the last two!”

“We can’t wait to see our fans and have some fun!” adds Gary LeVox of country supergroup Rascal Flatts, which is scheduled for July 11.

The plaza’s striking modernist architecture and world-famous decorative elements (including the dazzling, gold-gilded statue of Greek god Prometheus and its companion piece, a two-ton Art Deco sculpture of the Titan Atlas, the “bearer of the heavens,” stoically holding up the world) make it a unique place to stage a concert. The relatively small size of the surface area—relative to the dramatic vertical rise of the surrounding skyscrapers—creates the feel of something close up and even cozy, says Bell. “It’s pretty intimate, like going to see a band in a little club as opposed to a sports arena or a giant stadium. The artist is right there, tucked into the canyons of Rockefeller Center.”

The logistics of putting on a live, televised musical show every Friday for a period of 16 weeks bring some challenges, the producer admits.

“A part of what makes it great is also part of the peril, and that’s the live component,” he says. “Anything could go wrong at any minute.” Not the least of the risks, he says, is the fact that most musicians aren’t exactly attuned to pre-dawn rehearsals and 5:30 a.m. soundchecks. “Frankly, I think it’s safe to say that most of the artists, if not all, are not accustomed to performing at the hour we have them perform,” he says with a chuckle. “We’re asking them to play a trick on their circadian rhythms. That’s a tough hurdle in some cases.”

Bell can’t recall any performer ever oversleeping and missing the gig, but there have been other moments of drama and uncertainty. British superstar Sir Elton John once kept everyone guessing about how many songs he was going to perform. “He played a couple and we hoped he was going to do three,” says Bell. “But we were told that the best way to get him to play a third song was not to ask him to play a third song, which was a little odd.” Sir Elton played his two songs and TODAY went to a commercial break “not really knowing if we would come out on the other side with a five-minute hole to fill. Fortunately, Elton decided to play the third song and all was well.”

The summer concert series has provided many memorable moments over the years for other reasons, too. “One of the most explosive things I can remember is the day Ricky Martin came on,” says Bell about the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer, who played the series as he was in the middle of a worldwide, 70-million-album-selling hot streak. “You book these things weeks and months in advance, so who can tell that magic combination of things that’s just going to rocket somebody to the top? Between the time he was booked and the time he actually played, he was about the hottest thing anywhere.”

Bruce Springsteen was exuberant and explosive. Fans started gathering for Bon Jovi a full 24 hours before the band struck a single chord. Jimmy Buffett had what seemed like most of Manhattan singing along to his good-time, cool-breeze party mix of tropical-flavored tunes. Established superstars Sting, Janet Jackson, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, James Taylor, Barry Manilow, Chicago, and Earth, Wind and Fire thrilled the crowds with signature songs and smash hits, while newcomers KT Tunstall, James Blunt and Beyonce gave their audiences a taste of musical greatness to come.

“Some of the music is probably more like what your kids are listening to than you are,” says Bell. “But each week, you’re going to be entertained either by someone tried and true that you know and love, or someone new that makes you go, ‘Wow!’”

“Everybody gets swept up in it,” he says. “It’s Friday, it’s summer, and you’re excited to let go a little and have some fun.”

Watch the 2008 “Toyota Concert Series on TODAY” Fridays through Aug. 8.

Music for Every Taste

Tune in to see and hear the following acts on the 2008 Toyota Concert Series on TODAY

APRIL
Alecia Keyes - 21

MAY
Neil Diamond - 2
Mary J Blige - 9
New Kids on the Block - 16
Alanis Morissette - 23
B-52s (Special Memorial Day Concert) - 26
Donna Summer - 30

JUNE
Chris Brown - 6
Kenny Chesney - 13
Rihanna - 20
Coldplay - 27

JULY
Ashlee Simpson - 4
Rascal Flatts - 11
Natasha Bedingfield - 18
Miley Cyrus - 25

AUGUST
Sheryl Crow - 8
*Additional performances will be announced throughout the season.