Bon Jovi confirms October 3 concert

Hard rock band Bon Jovi will perform in Israel Saturday night, October 3, ending a 13-country tour in Tel Aviv.

“It’s been half a year of work and a lot of cooperation to make this happy,” said Shay Mor Yosef of the Bluestone promotion group. “These are artists who have traveled throughout the world, and to announce Bon Jovi is historic and exciting.”

“This is one of the big ones,” added Mor Yosef.

The hard rock band, which was formed in 1983 in New Jersey, the hometown of frontman Jon Bon Jovi, has sold more than 100 million albums and performed over 2,500 live concerts.

The band has had a string of hits, including “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “You Give Love a Bad Name,” and “It’s My Life.”

Bon Jovi said in 2010 that he would bring the band to perform in Israel in 2011, but the performance never materialized.

“You can’t just assume that Bon Jovi will come here during a world tour,” said Mor Yosef. “The fact that they are is a big success.”

The band will come to Israel after performing in Dubai.

Mor Yosef’s partner, Guy Beser, said the October show would run at least two and a half hours, and would include all the Bon Jovi hit songs. He also spent time describing the concert setup in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, commenting that those sitting on the grass would be closer than usual to the stage.

Tickets go on sale at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, and will range from NIS 340 ($90) for lawn seats to NIS 950 for Golden Ring tickets ($250) and NIS 1,100 for VIP seats, which include a light dinner and open bar.

A key player in the concert negotiations was veteran French producer Marcel Avram, who helped the Bluestone Group work out details with Bon Jovi.

“We’re happy and Bon Jovi is happy,” said Avram, speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv’s Dan Hotel. “It never worked out for them to come to Israel and finally they decided that it’s about time.”

Avram said the usual Bon Jovi concert includes 20 to 22 songs, and can last up to three hours.

He said that “Jon is very happy to come, he really wants to come,” and that David Bryan Rashbaum, the Jewish Bon Jovi keyboardist, speaks a little Yiddish and is pleased about coming to Israel.

Ditto for Jon Bon Jovi, added Avram.

“He has a lot of Jewish friends,” he said. “There are a lot of Jewish people in New Jersey and he wants to see Israel. He was never here before.”

When asked whether he thought Bon Jovi would bend to the expected pressure from musician Roger Waters and other supporters of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement which opposes Israel over its policies toward the Palestinians, Avram dismissed the possibility that he may cancel the concert.

“Bon Jovi couldn’t care less,” he said. “If he wants to do something, he does. What does he care about Roger Waters?”

Tickets for the Bon Jovi concert go on sale Wednesday, June 10 at 6 p.m., through the Leaan site or by calling *8780.