STORM STALLS NYC CONCERT

We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert, assembled by Clive Davis, Doug Davis and Live Nation to mark the city's emergence from the pandemic, made it through half its scheduled performances before lightning strikes in lower Manhattan forced the Central Park event to call it a night.

Barry Manilow was midway through “Can’t Smile Without You” when an announcement came over the PA for all attendees to evacuate the Great Lawn as severe weather was approaching. Hurricane Henri was due to hit New York and Connecticut Sunday afternoon, though it was expected to bypass the city.

While the vaccinated crowd of 60,000 didn’t get to hear Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello or Paul Simon, it was treated to JP Saxe and Julia Michaels' performance of “If the World Was Ending,” Jennifer Hudson and the New York Philharmonic's tribute to Aretha Franklin with “Nessun Dorma,” a pairing of LL Cool J and Rev. Run, Andrea Bocelli, Kane Brown, Polo G, Carlos Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire with an assist from Babyface and Lucky Daye.

CNN, which was broadcasting the concert, stayed on the air, and Anderson Cooper was able to get Manilow and The Killers to perform and Costello to call in and hype his new album.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Nearly four inches of rain hit Central Park Saturday night, with 1.69 inches falling between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., the National Weather Service reported. Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted after the concert was called off: "To everyone who came out tonight: Thank you. Thank you for showing the world that New York City is coming back stronger than ever before."