Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett are hitting the Big Apple for one last time with a duo performance. The pop icon and jazz legend announced today (July 19) that they will perform two shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in celebration of Bennett’s 95th birthday, their 10-year friendship, and Bennett’s farewell to fellow New Yorkers.
“I am so honored and excited to celebrate Tony’s 95th birthday with him at these special shows,” Gaga tweeted.
The shows, billed “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” will also mark Benett’s final onstage performances in New York City. His family announced to AARP magazine earlier this year that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016. In that story, it was reported that he had so far not experienced the disease’s typical symptoms of disorientation, and his diagnosing doctor said he had some “cognitive issues, but multiple other areas of his brain are still resilient and functioning well.”
The upcoming shows will take place on August 3 and 5, the former being Bennett’s birthday. Pre-sale tickets go on sale July 21 at 10 a.m. local time via Citi Entertainment while general tickets go on July 22 at 10 a.m. local time through Live Nation.
Attendees are expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of entry of receiving the final vaccine dose no later than 14 days before the show date. An exception is given for children under 16 who must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test while accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.
A new collaborative album between Gaga and Benett is also expected to drop later this year, following their 2014 jazz-pop album Cheek to Cheek, which won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. The album debuted No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Cheek to Cheek became Bennett’s second No. 1 album and Gaga’s third consecutive No. 1 in the U.S. Prior to the album’s release, Gaga and Bennett first met and performed together at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in 2011. Two months later, their first collaboration, “The Lady Is a Tramp,” was released on Bennett’s Duets II album.
