If you’ve been to a concert in New York anytime in the last 50 years, you’re likely to have seen the words “Ron Delsener Presents” sometime beforehand. That’s because Ron Delsener was one of New York’s top concert promoters for many decades before selling his business to a variety of corporations. Although semi-retired at the age of 90, Delsener broke so much ground when it came to concert promoting and ticketing, pioneering so many things that have become the norm. He was one of the first promoter to book rock stars like David Bowie at Carnegie Hall, and when it came to turning Madison Square Garden into a concert venue, Delsener was there, too.
It makes sense for Jake Sumner’s documentary about the promoter to also be called Ron Delsener Presents, as it covers Delsener’s long history that made him close friends with some of the biggest rock stars in the world. In fact, many of them appear in Sumner’s movie, from Bruce Springsteen to Billy Joel to Simon and Garfunkel (who Delsener famously got to reunite for a massive free concert in Central Park) to Kiss and Bon Jovi, the latter two who owe much of their success to Delsener’s support.
Cinema Daily US spoke to Sumner about how he eventually convinced Delsener to take part in the doc, getting some of the amazing musicians and recording artists to talk on the record about Delsener, getting the rights to use their music and , as well as getting Beastie Boys producer Money Mark to compose music around the artist performances.
Ron Delsener Presents opens in New York City on Friday, May 30 and then will expand to other cities over the coming months, and you can find out when it will be playing near you on the Official Site.
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Director: Jake Sumner
Screenwriter: Dan Crane
Cast: Ron Delsener, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi, Cher, Patti Smith, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Roger Daltrey, Jimmy Buffett, Lenny Kaye
Producer: Margaret Munzer Loeb, Jake Sumner
Production Co: RadicalMedia
Distributor: Abramorama
Rating: Unrated
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 30, 2025
Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: