Update: Tickets are on sale now at Overture.org.
“We’re definitely taking it to the next level.”
That’s Boys and Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson’s assessment of the 2022 All White Party, the organization’s annual summertime fundraiser.
In previous years, the party — where everyone in attendance is required to wear all white — has raised as much as $125,000 for the club’s youth services and educational support programming. This year, the bar is higher — with major headliners and unprecedented entertainment, Johnson hopes to bring in $500,000 to support the ongoing programming as well as the club’s new workforce development center. Madison365 is a media sponsor of this year’s event.
This year’s event will take place July 16 from 6 pm to midnight at Overture Center for the Arts in downtown Madison (though the schedule may shift slightly as more events are added). The night will open with R&B group After 7 and a few local acts, followed by the headliner, the incomparable Gladys Knight.
Knight has been a household name in music since the 1960s. She won seven Grammy Awards, including for 1973’s “Midnight Train to Georgia.”
Immediately following her concert, the All White Party will begin in the Overture Hall Lobby, featuring Dru Hill as well as other local talent, and run until midnight.
“Everyone must wear white to get in,” Johnson warned.
The All White Party will be a star-studded affair, with Omar Gooding from the film Baby Boy and televsion show Hangin with Mr. Cooper, Golden Brooks from the television show Girlfriends (Mya) and Black-Ish, and Pooch Hall from the television show The Game and Ray Donovan all in attendance.
“I’ve heard for years that Madison, from an entertainment perspective, has lacked having these kinds of cultural events,” he said. “We’ve seen Clyde Gaines do this on the gospel side. But when it comes to R&B music, at this scale, in a theater like Overture Hall, it’s never happened. I’m just hoping that we’ll be able to sell every seat and raise a lot of resources for kids. It’ll be a party for a purpose, and people will have a good time. And if it’s successful, we’ll do it every year.”
Tickets will go on sale through the Overture Center ticket office on Friday. Prices for the Gladys Knight concert will range from $45 – $300, with some VIP tickets including all-access passes. Separate White Party tickets will be $75.
