Monday's announcement of Elton John's Covelli Centre concert shocked even those most in tune with the music industry. "I couldn't believe it," said WBBG Programming Director Jeff Kelly. "I thought, 'Why is he coming here?'"
The Covelli Center has seen its share of recognizable stars over the years, with concerts from multi-platinum artists like Carrie Underwood, Journey and Daughtry. But, none of those names come close to the musical impact created by Sir Elton John.
WBBG dedicated hours of its programming Monday to the music superstar.
"We started this thing this morning. We went all Elton John starting at 6 a.m. and we pretty much went until we ran out of the hits. That was 3 hours," said Kelly.
Over at Y-103, the excitement was just as palpable.
"We're talking about an absolute icon coming to our backyard," said on-air personality Mr. Sports. "I mean, icons; Led Zeppelin, Rod Stewart, I mean you get these kinds of names in town, they are must see shows."
Both Mr. Sports and Jeff Kelly said concert-goers can expect one outstanding concert.
"I think when you bring an artist in and ask how appealing will they be, if you can sing along to every song for a 2 hour show, then that's a huge artist, and that's exactly what Elton John is," said Kelly.
Mr. Sports agrees. "You're going to hear hit, upon hit, and they're all familiar songs. You're not going to be looking at each other and going, "What's this?" You'll know them and you'll be singing along. That's what makes them fun, when you know all the songs. And Elton John can do that because of his vast catalog."
Tickets for the May 1 show go on sale this Friday. You can buy them through either Ticketmaster or by calling the box office at 1-800-745-3000.
