Donna Summer Disco Party Set to Rock City Hall on June 27

Boston will celebrate the music of Donna Summer and the lasting impact of her work during the 11th Donna Summer Disco Party on City Hall Plaza on Friday, June 27. The free event will take place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Summer, a Boston native, released her single “Love to Love You Baby” in 1975. The single would become a global hit.

Amy Yandle, director of special events for the City of Boston, and the city's special events team created the Donna Summer Disco Party in 2014 as a way to recognize the disco legend. What began as a small event at the Seaport now attracts thousands of people to City Hall Plaza every year. 

“Oh, there's lots of fancy roller skating outfits and tricks. There's folks in their disco suits, a nice polyester suit with a big collar,” Yandle said in an interview with GBH. “It is a sight, and it is so much fun.”

Summer's additional hits include “Hot Stuff,” “Bad Girls,” and “She Works Hard For The Money.” “Love To Love You Baby” was named one of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Angelika Beener, an award-winning journalist, DJ, and producer, said that Summer is a highly acclaimed star in the disco space. “She is so much more than the queen of disco,” she told GBH. “She sold over 150 million records. She has six Grammys. She's the first woman to win a Grammy in the rock category. She's an Oscar winner. She's one of the first, if not the first, Black women to be on MTV. And so she is iconic.”