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Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Play City Parks Foundation Benefit Honoring Joe Killian & Alex Blavatnik
City Parks Foundation will honour Joe Killian, founder of New York's SummerStage festival, and Alex Blavatnik, vice chairman of Access Industries, at its 2026 dinner and concert benefit fundraiser. The event marks SummerStage's 40th anniversary and recognises Killian's role in launching free public concerts in Central Park in 1986, alongside Blavatnik's philanthropic support for cultural preservation, with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band providing the entertainment.
The benefit takes place on 10 September at Rumsey Playfield, SummerStage's flagship Central Park venue. Killian, who ran the festival from 1986 to 1993 and still sits on its board, will receive the SummerStage Icon Award, while Blavatnik, a former Warner Music Group board member who now oversees the Blavatnik Archive, will receive the City Parks Foundation Icon Award. SummerStage now draws around 200,000 attendees annually across New York's five boroughs, and additional guest performers for the event are yet to be announced.
In short
- City Parks Foundation to honour SummerStage founder Joe Killian and Alex Blavatnik
- Benefit concert on 10 September marks SummerStage's 40th anniversary
- Preservation Hall Jazz Band to perform at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield
Explained simply
SummerStage is a festival that brings free concerts and performances to New York's public parks, beginning in Central Park in 1986. Founded to make live music accessible to all, it now attracts around 200,000 attendees annually across the five boroughs.
Joe Killian founded and led SummerStage for its first seven years, establishing it as a major cultural institution. Alex Blavatnik is a philanthropist and arts supporter who has backed cultural preservation efforts.
City Parks Foundation is hosting a benefit dinner and concert to celebrate SummerStage's 40th anniversary and honour both men's roles in expanding public access to the arts. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will perform at the event, where Killian and Blavatnik will receive Icon Awards from the foundation.