By Tammy Scileppi
If you remember the 21st night of September as something more than just a date on the calendar, then Forest Hills Stadium next weekend may be the place for you.
Just in case you were wondering, it’s also the famous first line from “September”—Earth, Wind & Fire’s No. 1 R&B single, which filled the airwaves when it came out in 1978.
Earth, Wind & Fire is just one of the many acts from disco’s heyday to be performing at the all-star Freak Out Let’s Dance FOLD NY Festival, which is coming to Forest Hills Stadium Saturday, Oct. 8.
The festival is being curated and produced by Grammy-winning composer, producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers, who will be headlining with his multi-platinum band CHIC—of “Le freak, c’est chic” fame. And if those musical icons aren’t enough for you, how about the Divine Miss M herself? Bette Midler is on the festival lineup as well, taking a break from preparations for her upcoming Broadway run of “Hello, Dolly!” by performing with Rodgers and CHIC.
Another act that captures the essence of the disco era—The Village People—will be there, too, along with contemporary acts DJ Cassidy, Alex Newell and DJ Nicky Siano of Studio 54.
According to the event’s organizers, festival-goers can expect a kaleidoscope of styles, with lots of spontaneity. Spanning every popular genre, including electronica and old-school classics in addition to disco, FOLD NY promises a memorable event that combines get down and boogie music with big fun to be had by everyone (that’s another line from the CHIC hit “Le Freak”).
In a promo video describing the upcoming concert, Rodgers said, “This is the turbo charger in my engine. This is what makes me feel great—the fact that I can walk out on stage and play with people that I respect and that I love.”
Rodgers, who pioneered a musical language that ignited the dawn of hip-hop, won CHIC 10 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations (though it never was inducted into the Hall of Fame), and generated groundbreaking pop hits like “Le Freak,” which was inducted into the 2015 Grammy Hall of Fame. That Rodgers and CHIC team brought down the house back in the day, when they first performed their chart-topping disco hits at the old Forest Hills Stadium.
While Rodgers may perhaps be best known to audiences through CHIC’s songs, his influence on the music business as a songwriter, performer and producer in a variety of genres, over a span of 40 years, makes him a particularly approriate choice to helm an event like this. The artists he has worked with could consititute their own wing in the Rock and Rock Roll Hall of Fame themselves. He has produced records for David Bowie (“Let’s Dance”), Madonna (“Like A Virgin”) and Diana Ross (“Diana”), and has also collaborated with artists like Sister Sledge, Duran Duran, INXS, Mick Jagger, Grace Jones, Steve Winwood, Peter Gabriel, The B-52s and Michael Jackson. Those efforts have resulted in the sale of more than 200 million albums and 50 million singles worldwide.
Rodgers is currently at work on “It’s About Time,” the first new CHIC album in 25 years. “I’ll Be There,” the album’s first single, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart, while the accompanying video generated nearly 3 million views in less than a week. In June, Nile Rodgers and his CHIC bandmate, Bernard Edwards, became the latest inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In addition to headlining at the world’s most prestigious venues, Rodgers’ endeavors include his role as Chairman and Founder of the We Are Family Foundation, which is dedicated to creating programs that promote cultural diversity while nurturing and mentoring the vision, talents and ideas of young people who are positively changing the world. That charitable work shares many of the same goals as his music does. “Art is something that opens up and enhances your emotions,” he says, “and that’s what I like to think I’m doing.”
Freak Out Let’s Dance is just one-half of a blockbuster weekend at Forest Hills Stadium. Sunday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m, the stadium’s stage will host Van Morrison. Since the stadium debuted its 2016 season, thousands of concert-goers have enjoyed a diverse lineup of trailblazing movers and shakers, including Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Dolly Parton, Louis C.K., Mumford & Sons, Flight of the Conchords, Chris Stapleton and Flume.
