Paul McCartney will perform at the Prudential Center in Newark on Sept. 11 and 12.
Paul McCartney has added four shows to his upcoming mini-tour of New Jersey and New York. He will now play Sept. 12 at the Prudential Center in Newark (in addition to Sept. 11), Sept. 17 at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan (in addition to Sept. 15), Sept. 21 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (in addition to Sept. 19) and Sept. 27 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. (in addition to Sept. 26).
(5/9 Update: Tickets will go on sale May 12 at 9 a.m. through Ticketmaster, with pre-sales for American Express card members beginning May 10 at 10 a.m.)
The press release described the shows as “second and final,” meaning no others will be added.
These will be the first concerts at the Prudential Center for the ex-Beatle, who turns 75 in June. They will also be his first appearances, ever, in New Jersey’s largest city.
The Newark shows will undoubtedly have special significance for McCartney, since he spent Sept. 11, 2001 in New York. He was scheduled to be on a flight out of JFK Airport that day, but it was cancelled. He was subsequently inspired to write his song “Freedom,” and donated all proceeds from the single to 9/11 victims.
The eight New Jersey and New York shows are considered part of McCartney’s One on One Tour, which began in April 2016 and came to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in August.
I wrote when reviewing that show for the Bergen Record/NorthJersey.com:
The 74-year-old ex-Beatle has the ability to make you feel like he’s singing to you alone, in a sea of people. He flashed his still-boyish grin and exuded easy-going warmth Sunday night at his One on One concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford — the tour’s only New Jersey stop — and played hit after hit for two hours and 35 minutes.
When he showed a bit of vocal strain on “Maybe I’m Amazed,” it was almost reassuring. Yes, this guy is really a mortal, after all.
McCartney will be backed by the same band he has used for more than 10 years: Paul “Wix” Wickens on keyboards, Brian Ray on bass and guitar, Rusty Anderson on guitar and Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums.
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