Good Morning America began its summer concert series with Green Day on May 22. GMA host Sam Champion calls SheKnows to discuss the summer of sensational sounds on ABC that includes Kelly Clarkson and Brad Paisley.
SheKnows: Hello, Sam.
Sam Champion: Hello Joel, it’s great to speak to you again. How’s everything at SheKnows?
SheKnows: We are fantastic, thank you very much. Big concert series going on, it looks like you guys are ready to rock.
Sam Champion: (Laughs) We’re ready to do more than that. We’ve got everything going off. We’ve got pop, some country and believe it or not…have you heard of Hair?
SheKnows: The Tony award-winning musical with the phenomenal revival, sure!
Sam Champion: We got Hair too!
SheKnows: You’re kidding?
Sam Champion: No, I’m telling you, this line-up is phenomenal. You saw the spot — where it is?
SheKnows: In Central Park, site of many a famous concert.
Sam Champion: It’s great. The park does a lot of wonderful things and summer stage is one of the best. The reason I bring it up is the set up is so perfect for music. It’s got great sound and a good location. It can handle big crowds. It’s going to be really awesome. Now that we have a really, really good set up we can accept some great acts.
SheKnows: Considering where you have been in the past, to start your summer concert series Friday with Green Day — they’re on the cover of Rolling Stone this week!
Sam Champion: As these concerts, it’s been a development thing. We started small in little venues. They grew. Then, we got more crowds and more response. You got to find a place to put people. This is the right place.
SheKnows: What is it about the summer concert series? Whether it’s your show or the summer concert series in the center of town, what is it about music and summer that you think really resonates with audiences?
Sam Champion: First of all, it’s one of those things where you get a chance to do when you have time to do it — when you have some down time. Let’s face it, we’re all working through the winter months and you don’t want to stand in the snow to listen to music. You’ve got perfect weather and a little bit of an easier schedule for everybody. You’re always hoping that this is the time that you can get out and relax, get to the park. And now, courtesy of ABC, you’re going to get a free concert in the middle of all that.
SheKnows: Who on this list are you personally excited to see?
Sam Champion: I’ll tell you, the great thing about being on this show, I’ve gotten to work with almost everybody who is on the list. They are all awesome. Green Day is the number one. They’re not just leading our line-up, but they’d never done morning television before. To have them start their whole morning television experience and for us to kick off our park experience with them is really a cool, double get. Here’s the thing, Queen Latifah’s in the studio a lot, but I’m really excited to have her perform. I love to be around her when she is singing. It’s a really wonderful experience just to be near her. She’s so amazingly talented.
SheKnows: That is going to be something else. As you grow in popularity, could you see the Good Morning America summer concert experience hitting the road?
Sam Champion: (Laughs). That’s a great idea! I’m going to write it down, Joel! You know, when we did our big train trip, we made a little time to do a concert along the way. It’s a nice thing for people to get a chance to see the musical acts, the performers that they hear on the radio or download, you might not get to see them live. When a powerhouse program like GMA books a guest to open it up to the audience to say come on in for free, have some fun — that’s a nice thing to do for our viewers.
SheKnows: Absolutely. For you, Diane Sawyer and the gang, it’s got to be a blast.
Sam Champion: It’s phenomenal. Are you kidding me? It’s definitely one of the perks — don’t tell anybody (laughs)!
Good Morning America summer concert schedule
Heading to New York City this summer? Don’t miss a Friday in Central Park with one of these music superstars:
May 29 — Lionel Richie
June 5 — John Legend
June 12 — Jonas Brothers
(*The Jonas Brothers concert is a ticketed event. Please stay tuned to GMA and the GMA web site for more information on requesting tickets.)
June 19 — Jamie Foxx
June 26 — The cast of the musical Hair
July 3 — Brad Paisley
July 10 — Queen Latifah
July 17 — TBA
July 24 — TBA
July 31 — Kelly Clarkson
August 7 — TBA
August 14 — Kenny Chesney
August 21 — Reba McEntire
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