Saturday, March 21, The Tanger Center for the Performing Arts will host 19-time Grammy Award winner Tony Bennett.
Bennett’s career spans nearly seven decades and, at 93, he will set the record as the oldest performer ever at The Tanger – not really a tough record to set since he only has to be older than Josh Groban, who performs at the grand opening on Friday, March 20. But it is a record that Bennett may hold until he returns at 94 or 95.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of Bennett’s professional recording career. He made his first record, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” in 1950, as a newly signed artist with Columbia Records. His most recent recording, with long-time friend and musical colleague Diana Krall, “Love Is Here To Stay,” topped the jazz charts and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The album celebrates the music of the Gershwins and includes the Jazz standard “Fascinating Rhythm.” The inclusion of that song on the album was the impetus for a Guinness World Record title for Bennett, who in 1949 under the stage name Joe Bari made his first recording of the Gershwin standard.
Tony Bennett’s daughter, Antonia Bennett, is touring with her father and will open the performance with a collection of jazz/pop standards.
Managing Director of the Greensboro Coliseum Complex Matt Brown said, “To host an iconic performer of the stature of Tony Bennett further adds to the growing excitement surrounding the opening of the Tanger Center. The lineup for our grand opening weekend – with performances by Josh Groban (March 20) and Tony Bennett (March 21) and comedian Jay Leno (March 22) – will provide a spectacular kick off for a state-of-the-art venue that will electrify downtown Greensboro.”
Tickets to see Tony Bennett start at $49 and go on sale to the public on Monday, March 2 at 10 a.m. at TangerCenter.com, Ticketmaster and the Greensboro Coliseum box office.
