'That Guitar Man' David Ippolito to Perform 25 YEARS: A ONE NIGHT CONCERT CELEBRATION on Today

Is it the end of an era? After playing for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and to people from across the country and around the world, award-winning singer/songwriter David Ippolito announces that he will perform a one-night concert commemorating 25 years as "That Guitar Man® from Central Park" on April 1st at 7:30PM in the Peter J. Sharp Theater at Symphony Space. The concert is both a celebration and a look back at a uniquely New York musical career, as the singer/songwriter begins to transition to a new career as a playwright. Tickets are $45 & $35 and can be purchased online at http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/9126/Music/that-guitar-man-from-central-park-25-years

In 1992, New-York native Ippolito unknowingly began a fascinating and unusual journey by performing an impromptu concert on a hill in Central Park in front of 4 or 5 people sitting there. In about an hour the crowd had swelled to 3 or 400. Among those present was New York Times editor Jack Rosenthal, who the next day published an editorial about the experience. The next week, Ippolito played again and began to gather a following. For the next 25 years, he would perform by the picturesque rowboat lake steps from Central Park West, almost every summer weekend, to enormous crowds of regulars and passers-by, including visitors from around the globe. He has become a beloved New York icon, known for creating an intimate "It's Just Us" feeling no matter how large his audience.

Ippolito's concerts are a well-known and documented draw in Central Park, as are his past brushes with, and eventual acceptance by the NYC Parks Commission. In 2000, the Department ordered him (and all other musicians in the park) to unplug, which led to a public outcry by supportive audience members and fans. The current arrangement allows him to share his music one day each weekend and requires him to obtain, rain or shine, the proper permits from The Parks Department and the NYPD.

The stories and memories are endless. Notably, on the Sunday after 9/11, over 1,000 fans gathered together on "the Hill" to simply be with each other, and filled his guitar case with more than $7,000, which Ippolito, the son of a retired New York City firefighter, delivered directly to Ladder Company 25 on West 77th Street.

Spotted in his audiences have been celebrities such as Sting, Bruce Willis, Jill Hennessy, Cameron Manheim, Buck Henry, Jerry Seinfeld, Gene Kornish (Young Rascals), Terrence Mann, Senator Bill Bradley and Yoko Ono. One long-time admirer became a close friend, music business legend Sid Bernstein, the man who brought The Beatles to America.

Whether he's in front of 500 strangers in Central Park or a sellout crowd in New York's Merkin Concert Hall, Ippolito makes the "room" feel like a small party filled with good friends and great music. He has been sharing music, laughs, political satire, personal stories, thoughts and feelings in Manhattan's backyard for an entire generation. Along the way, Ippolito has self-produced nine albums and created a distinctive status in NYC's music scene.

His concerts range from a fun mix of his original tunes about love and life, to political humor and satire, to an evening in which he musically tells the inspirational story of how he overcame his personal demons and began living a life beyond his wildest dreams. On April 1, he will share the stage with fellow-artists George Wurzbach (Modern Man), Teresa Reynolds, Chris Tedesco, Dan Paccione, Russ DeBonis (Hidden Driveway) and Roger Bartlett (original lead guitarist of Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Band).

In the past few years, Ippolito's audience has grown nationally and globally through platforms like YouTube and Facebook. Many of his original tunes have become internet hits: Tom Cruise Scares Me, Next Time Around, Crazy on the Same Day, Facebook is a stupid idiot, The Religion Song and Keep Hope Alive.

For further information on the concert or David Ippolito visit: http://www.thatguitarman.com