The day after Dave Matthews releases his RCA solo debut, “Some Devil,” the Dave Matthews Band will play a benefit show in New York’s Central Park that is expected to draw upwards of 100,000 people.
Full details of the Sept. 24 event will be announced Friday (Sept. 12).
America Online is sponsoring the show and is using it to hype the newest version of its software, AOL 9.0. The concert, which RCA will tape for an immediate DVD and CD release, will be held on the park’s Great Lawn and will raise funds for the AOL Concert for the Schools! program, which will benefit the Fund for Public Schools of New York City and the Music Resource Center in DMB’s homebase of Charlottesville, Va.
Tickets are free and can be obtained through AOL and DMB’s official fan association, the Warehouse (http://warehouse.davematthewsband.com). Donations of at least $25 are requested and all seats are general admission. The band is also offering Warehouse/fan club members “preferred viewing section passes,” which includes access to a backstage barbecue picnic and an exclusive viewing area on the Great Lawn
“Some Devil,” which features guest appearances from regular Matthews collaborator Tim Reynolds and Phish’s Trey Anastasio, will kickstart a busy season for Matthews-related releases. According to a source, a CD/DVD of the Central Park show will be released in November, followed early next year by a three-DVD/six-CD collection taped at the band’s three-night September 2002 stand at the Gorge in George, Wash.