Press Contacts:
Harry Forbes, WNET
212-560-8027 or [email protected]
Press materials: http://pressroom.pbs.org or http://www.thirteen.org/13pressroom
Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/GreatPerformances
Twitter: @GPerfPBS
New Arts Strand Landmarks Live In Concert
Debuts on Great Performances with
Grammy Award-Winning Singer Alicia Keys
Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS
Hosted By Chad Smith from The Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Landmarks” will offer series of performance specials with Brad Paisley and others
to be announced
Also featuring special lifestyle segments with MTV veteran
Matt Pinfield and Instagram star Gabby Epstein
Alicia Keys – Landmarks Live in Concert kicks off a new arts strand within the Great
Performances series, beginning Friday, January 20 at 9 p.m. on PBS. (Check local listings.) This
will be followed the next week by Brad Paisley – Landmarks Live in Concert on Friday,
January 27 at the same time. (Check local listings.)
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Eight episodes in all are planned for the first season. Chad Smith, the drummer for the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, serves as host for the series and conducts one-on-one interviews with the
artists exploring their favorite locations around each Landmark. There will be additional lifestyle
segments with special correspondents, MTV veteran Matt Pinfield and Instagram star Gabby
Epstein.
The show is being shot in locations around the world, including London, Paris, New York,
Havana, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Jamaica, West Virginia and many more with major artists
performing shows for their fans in front of landmarks to which they have a connection.
The travel component of the show, which is co-produced with Bungalow Media +
Entertainment, shows how the particular cities influenced the artists’ careers and shaped their
music.
The series premieres with a native New Yorker from Hell’s Kitchen, Grammy Award-winning
artist, Alicia Keys. Her collaboration with Jay Z, “Empire State of Mind,” instantly became the City’s
newest anthem. In this debut Landmarks Live special recorded over a one-year period, Alicia’s love
affair with New York continues as she performs in notable locations all around town including the City’s
world famous Circle Line harbor tour, and Harlem’s Apollo Theater.
The following week, country music superstar Brad Paisley returns to his roots in the
beautiful Appalachian Mountains for a special outdoor concert at West Virginia University. As the hitmaker behind 23 number one singles and the winner of just about every Country music award
imaginable, Brad brings his unique skills as a singer songwriter, guitarist and entertainer back to his
home state as well as to “viewers like you” everywhere.
“I am so pleased to be partnering with WNET and its prestigious Great Performances
series. It has been a dream of mine to bring real family entertainment and top notch music
programming as part of a series to PBS for a while,” says series Creator, Director and Executive
Producer Daniel E Catullo III, who is also the CEO of City Drive Films.
According to Catullo, “the series will be a mixture of large-scale productions and more
intimate shows at locations in which concerts normally do not take place, adding a unique element
to the show, each done in consultation with the artist.”
Friedman, an EP and CEO of Bungalow, adds, “This will be a unique and one of kind
opportunity to experience these landmark locations through the eyes of iconic artists who have
both been influenced by and had an impact on the places we visit.”
In addition to being a member one of the most successful bands of all time, Grammy
Award-winning and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Smith is one of the most highly sought
after session drummers whose credits include Johnny Cash, George Clinton, The Avett Brothers,
Kid Rock, Dixie Chicks, among others. In 2014 Smith was honored to be appointed by President
Barack Obama to the Turnaround Arts Committee which brings arts education programs to the
lowest-performing schools in the country.
“Working on Landmarks to create a new series which focuses on the artists’ stories, not
just the performances, is something that I’m truly excited about. Landmarks is a real
collaboration between a unique creative team and artists that will certainly change how
music shows are approached,” says Smith.
The final roster of artists to appear on Landmarks Live in Concert’s first season, and
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locations will be announced shortly.
Landmarks Live in Concert is a production of City Drive Films. Daniel E Catullo III,
CEO of City Drive Films s creator, director and executive producer. The series is co-produced
with Bungalow Media + Entertainment. Its CEO, industry veteran Robert Friedman also serves
as executive producer. For Great Performances, Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David
Horn is executive producer. Stephen Segaller is executive-in-charge for WNET.
Great Performances is produced by THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET, one
of America’s most prolific and respected public media providers. Throughout its more than 40
year history on public television, Great Performances has provided viewers across the
country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as
America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming.
Visit Great Performances Online at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/
for additional information about this and other programs.
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About WNET
WNET is America’s flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET
also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast
channels, three cable services (KidsThirteen, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET
brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each
week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances,
American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s
programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET’s groundbreaking series for children and
young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the awardwinning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse
communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus,
the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET
produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First
Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and
Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows
members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere:
www.thirteen.org/passport.
About City Drive Films
City Drive Films, LLC is a subsidiary of The City Drive Group, LLC, a finance, production and
distribution company with offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Stockholm and New York. City
Drive specializes in documentaries and live concert specials. Recent projects include Alicia Keys
(multiple projects), 2013 Academy Award Nominee & 3 Time Emmy Winner The Square , “2014
Sundance Film Festival Audience Award Winner Alive Inside, Mariah Carey Live In Central Park;
THE SQUARE; TED x Hollywood; Rage Against The Machine-Live From London, Shiprocked, Total
Slaughter (A co-production with Electus and Shady Films) and Alter Bridge Live From Milan. The
Company currently has a number of productions in the works including four new documentaries and
several high profile music projects. For more information please visit www.thecitydrivegroup.com.
For more information on Landmarks Live in Concert, please visit www.landmarkslive.com
About Bungalow Media + Entertainment, LLC
Founded in 2013, Bungalow Media + Entertainment, LLC is an integrated media & entertainment
company that develops, produces and distributes scripted, unscripted and branded entertainment
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across all media platforms, including television, film, live events and digital. Bungalow is managed by
Bob Friedman, an accomplished media and entertainment executive with more than 30 years’
experience having held senior roles at RadicalMedia, AOL, New Line Cinema, and MTV. Projects
include NBC’s “GIVE”, the upcoming FOX series “APB”, Showtime’s “Spring Broke” documentary
with Alex Gibney, Amazon’s new comedy series “Highston” and Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies”
among many others. Joint venture and strategic partners include Horizon Media, Inc., the largest
independent media buying company and Cisneros Group, a global leader in Latin media &
entertainment. For more information, please visit www.bungalowentertainment.com