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Dave Matthews Band plays Central Park
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Dave Matthews and his band performed for more than three hours in Central Park Wednesday evening in a public concert to benefit New York City public schools. According to Megan Sheekey of the NYC Parks Department, about 85,000 people attended the show. Matthews took the stage on the park's Great Lawn around 7:20 p.m. EDT and played until 10:30 p.m. "So nice to run into you in the park here, the greatest park in the world, and the greatest city in world," Matthews told the crowd. The concert was sponsored by AOL, a division of Time Warner, CNN's parent company. AOL pledged $1 million to a public school fund supporting music and arts education, and concert organizers have committed another $1 million, according to the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The concert was the idea of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy who has volunteered to raise philanthropic funds for the city's school system, which serves 1.1 million children. Matthews organized his band of musicians: violinist Boyd Tinsley, saxophonist Leroi Moore, drums Carter Beauford and bass Stefan Lessard from Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991 and has gone to become one of the top grossing touring acts in the United States, routinely selling out arena and stadiums. The band sold 1.5 million concert tickets last year. Matthews joins a roster of elite pop stars to play the Great Lawn. The biggest draw has been Paul Simon, alone in 1991 and together with Art Garfunkel a decade earlier. Elton John, Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand and Garth Brooks have also played to big crowds in the park. The band has released five studio albums and more live ones, selling more than 25 million albums to date. A new solo album by Matthews, "Some Devil," hit stores this week. Hit singles include the 1995 breakthrough "What Would You Say," "Satellite," "Ants Marching," Don't Drink the Water," "Stay (Wasting Time), "I Did It," and "Everyday."
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