New York’s Music Scene Documentary In Theaters May 30th: Ron Delsener Presents – Documentary On Legendary Concert Promoter

New York, NY – Abramorama announced they have acquired U.S. distribution rights to RadicalMedia’s production of Jake Sumner’s feature-length documentary Ron Delsener Presents which follows the most influential concert promoter in New York, a visionary who has impacted the live music business for the past six decades. His colorful story includes exclusive interviews with Jon Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Cher, Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Lenny Kaye, Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Gene Simmons, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Van Zandt and many more. The film will be released in theaters across the country beginning with a weeklong engagement at NYC’s QUAD Cinema on May 30^th, followed by multiple engagements across the Tri-State area and select cities nationwide.

Director Jake Sumner said, “For generations most of the live music in New York City and most of its iconic venues were presided over by one individual and his small team, and that was Ron Delsener. Ron’s personal story tracks the tale of live music from a cottage industry, to the dominant cultural force and global business it is today. He is probably one of the only living sources of the live music business’s entirety, or at least a version of it.  So, we trailed Ron Delsener at concerts across the New York City area and eventually sat Ron down in a red chair at the legendary Beacon Theatre and had him tell us his story in the music business, a feat in itself given Ron’s uncontainable energy and short attention span.

The scope of Ron’s story, breadth of archival footage and source material (largely found in Ron’s basement), and personal testimonies and interviews from across the music business, spans decades and reveals a somewhat unknown history of live music. I’m thrilled that this singular New York story about never ending hustle and the power and magnetism of music and show business, is getting a theatrical release and will play in front of audiences.”

Ron Delsener Presents takes us behind-the-curtain through the last half century of the live music business, chronicling the tactics that drove live performance from disorganized, low-fi events to international tours, arenas, and, eventually, into a global empire. Now, at 86 years old, Ron’s still in the game, working in the now-multi-billion industry he helped to create. Sure, he could stop – he maybe even should. But Ron doesn’t know how.

In a career spanning almost sixty years, concert promoter and impresario Ron Delsener has been behind virtually every major contemporary music concert in New York City. From The Beatles at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, to bringing David Bowie to Carnegie Hall and Patti Smith to the Palladium, to somehow convincing Simon and Garfunkel to come back together to play the biggest concert ever in Central Park, Ron Delsener was behind it all.

Abramorama CEO Karol Martesko-Fenster stated, “Abramorama is thrilled to collaborate with Jake and the extended film team to bring this engaging portrait of a quintessential New Yorker to a broader audience,” with Founder Richard Abramowitz adding, “During the 70s, Ron Delsener produced more memorable music in New York than anyone else, helping to form the musical tastes of a generation. There are too many to list but for a small sample consider: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, The Kinks, Richie Havens, Simon and Garfunkel, even… Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald! Each show was a convening of enthusiastic music-lovers in Central Park under the stars in what felt like the center of the universe. Many thousands, maybe millions, owe Ron a huge debt of gratitude. I know I do.”

Jake Sumner is the award-winning director of the acclaimed short documentaries Fantastic Man: Who is William Onyeabor?, Channel 4’s I Was There When House Took Over The World, and 2019’s Bob of the Park, which won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC. Other films include multiple film collaborations with contemporary artist KAWS, 2015’s The Plastic Age, featuring Pharrell Williams, and Magic Hats, which was featured in Banksy’s large scale art project ‘Dismaland’. Ron Delsener Presents is his first feature documentary.

Producer Jon Kamen said, “Ron’s story is not only about a prolific (albeit crazy and lovable) impresario during an incredible period of the growth of popular music, but the film literally points to the foundation and principles of the current music industry. Ronny was a fixture in so many New Yorkers’ lives. When the saying goes, “if you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere” – his impact on so many artists’ lives is both historic and everlasting,” and Producer Margaret Muenzer Loeb added, “Ron’s legacy not only reflects the changing music business over time but also reminds us of the invaluable human touch and magic that makes music of every kind transcendent.”

Ron Delsener and Guests will be participating in multiple Q&A’s during the run at the QUAD in New York.

RON DELSENER PRESENTS (US, 99 Minutes, English – Unrated) ABRAMORAMA and HERETICAL REASON PRODUCTIONS present a RADICALMEDIA production in association with NEEDLES EYE PRODUCTIONS, SMOOTH AND GOOD FILMS and MML MEDIA, a JAKE SUMNER film “RON DELSENER PRESENTS”.  Co-Executive Producers JERRY MOSS, BARRY ROSENSTEIN. Co-Executive Producers JON KAMEN, DAVE SIRULNICK, JON DORAN, ZARA DUFFY, CHARLES STIEFEL, TODD STIEFEL, ROBERT SAGER, MERYL POSTE, RANDALL POSTER. Music by MONEY MARK.  Music Supervisor RANDALL POSTER. Director of Photography LUKE GEISBUHLER. Edited by JAMES CODOYANNIS, PAUL GREENHOUSE, DAMIAN RODRIGUEZ.  Produced by JAKE SUMNER, JAMES A. SMITH, MARGARET MUENZER LOEB.  Directed by JAKE SUMNER. An Abramorama North American Release. For more information, visit www.rondelsenerpresentsfilm.com.

Radical Media

RadicalMedia is one of the world’s leading producers of premium content. The company develops, creates & produces film, television, advertising, design, digital and immersive experiences. Most recently, the company is celebrating their fourth overall Academy Award nomination and second win with Summer of Soul on Disney+ & Hulu, which has been recognized as one of the most awarded documentaries in history. RadicalMedia’s other Academy Award for Fog of War and two other nominations for Paradise Lost on HBO; What happened, Miss Simone? on Netflix; and the Emmy-winning film of Hamilton on Broadway on Disney+; are amongst many other successful projects they’ve produced and continue to produce for companies such as Apple, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, Showtime, History, National Geographic, Peacock, and Hulu. Fluent in every discipline of storytelling across all media platforms, RadicalMedia has attained industry-wide recognition beyond the Academy Awards and Emmy® wins with multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, Independent Spirit Awards, Peabodys, Grammys®, The Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Communication Design, Cannes Lion Palme D’Or and just about every accolade associated with the advertising, marketing, and entertainment industry.