This weekend’s New York City Homecoming Concert might have been shut down due to severe weather, but a little act of God can’t stop consummate professional Barry Manilow from delivering a show. The event, billed by Mayor Bill de Blasio as “the most epic concert in Central Park history,†was canceled partway through because of Hurricane Henri (“Henri, it’s such an elegant name, but it’s totally bad timing,†de Blasio said, in another memorable sound bite.) Journey, LL Cool J, Santana, and Andrea Bocelli were able to perform before the crowd of 60,000 were asked to vacate the grounds during Manilow’s performance. Video of the concert shows Manilow plowing through “Can’t Smile Without You†as concertgoers begin to evacuate Central Park (huge band-playing-as-the-Titanic-sinks energy). Unlike the Titanic’s musicians, however, Manilow and his band are safe and sound now. Manilow even hopped on CNN to sing “I Made It Through the Rain†to Anderson Cooper.
Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and the Killers were among the acts unable to perform before the event was shut down. According to CNN, though, the concert might restart later in the evening with no audience, Henri permitting.