Official Trailer for NYC Concert Promoter ‘Ron Delsener Presents’ Doc
by Alex Billington
May 4, 2025
Source: YouTube
“He was the cornerstone. The beginning.” Abramorama has unveiled an official trailer for Ron Delsener Presents, a documentary film from filmmaker Jake Sumner about one of NYC’s famous concert gurus. This premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and finally opens in theaters later this month. For generations of New Yorkers, perhaps no three words are as intermingled with the most famous New York concerts as “Ron Delsener Presents‘ – the words that preceded the name of every major act that was playing New York in advertisements across the city. The film Ron Delsener Presents is equal parts all-access pass to New York’s greatest gigs, as told by the legendary concert promoter and impresario Ron Delsener, and a portrait of a relentless music business pioneer who can’t stop Hustling. Even today. Featuring Billy Joel, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Jon Bon Jovi, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Gene Simmons, Lenny Kaye, and many others. This riveting doc is “not just a biography, nor is it purely a historical document. It’s a patchwork of stories and moments, the peaks and valleys of a singular figure, backed up by some other iconic voices from the world of music, and set to some of the greatest live performances of all time.” Enjoy.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Jake Sumner’s doc Ron Delsener Presents, direct from YouTube:
In a career spanning 60 years, concert promoter & impresario Ron Delsener is the one name behind virtually every major contemporary music concert in New York City for generations. From promoting the Beatles at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, to bringing David Bowie to Carnegie Hall and Patti Smith to the Palladium, to somehow convincing Simon & Garfunkel to bury the hatchet and play the biggest concert of all time in Central Park, Delsener was behind it all. Through a portrait of a mercurial and relentless showman, this film takes us behind-the-curtain through the last half century of the live music business, chronicling the tactics that drove live performance from disorganized, lo-fi nightclubs to international tours, arenas, stadiums, and, eventually, into a global empire. A transformation that Delsener is in many ways responsible for. Working in a business he helped to create Ron Delsener now in the later stages of his life, still has his hand in the game. Sure, he could stop – he maybe even should but Ron doesn’t know how.
Ron Delsener Presents is a documentary made by American filmmaker Jake Sumner, making his feature directorial debut after many other award-winning short films and commercials previously. It’s produced by Margaret Munzer Loeb, James A. Smith, & Jake Sumner. This initially premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC a few years ago. Abramorama will debut Sumner’s Ron Delsener Presents doc in select US theaters starting May 30th, 2025 coming soon. For more info, visit the film’s official site. Want to watch?