City Hall Plaza turns into a free public dance floor Friday evening as Boston hosts its 12th annual Donna Summer Disco Party, complete with roller skating, a disco ball, glow sticks and bubbles. The bash runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and doubles as a milestone celebration: it marks 50 years since Summer's first Top 10 hit sent the Mission Hill-born singer on her way to becoming the Queen of Disco.
Mayor Michelle Wu and the city's Office of Tourism, Sports and Entertainment are hosting the event alongside Robert Grant, Summer's nephew, who has helped organize the party since the city first helped him spearhead it in 2014, according to Boston.com. Grant, who performs professionally as hip-hop artist O'Mega Red, said he's excited about what he created, and told the outlet that his aunt's music is timeless. DJ Vince1, whom Grant has called a friend for more than 20 years, will spin Summer's classics; he's been part of the annual party since 2018, per the same report.
A Hometown Star Rooted in Mission Hill and Dorchester
Summer's Boston story stretches back well before disco made her a household name. Born in Mission Hill, she made her public singing debut at age 10 at Grant African Methodist Episcopal Church in Roxbury after stepping in for an absent choir vocalist, according to The Music Museum of New England. She later attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester, dropping out in 1967 to chase her music career full time, Boston.com reports.
Summer never severed ties with the school. School officials awarded her an honorary diploma in 1983, crediting her professional performing experience and vocal coursework toward graduation requirements, according to the Boston Women's Heritage Trail. Grant has also raised money to fund a Donna Summer mural at the school, the Boston.com article notes. In Mission Hill, the city renamed Parker Hill Avenue — the street where Summer grew up — in her honor in June 2022, according to GBH News.
Fifty Years Since Her Breakthrough
Summer's single Love to Love You Baby, released in late 1975, climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976, launching what would become a 50-year legacy as an international disco star, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She went on to rise to global stardom as a singer and songwriter during the 1970s disco era, per Boston.com, and remains the only artist in Billboard history to land three consecutive double-LP albums at No. 1 — Live and More, Bad Girls and On the Radio — accomplished between 1978 and 1979, according to the LA Phil.
Her catalog earned her five Grammy Awards across four genres — R&B, Rock, Gospel and Dance — plus a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2024 and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in December 2025. She was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2013, and her 1977 hit I Feel Love was added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2012 for pioneering electronic dance music, per the GRAMMY Museum. Summer died of lung cancer in 2012, and in 2024 Boston.com readers voted her the most iconic Boston artist in a reader poll.
Free and Open to the Public
Friday's party is free, and the public is invited to enjoy Summer's greatest hits under colorful lights on City Hall Plaza. It's the latest chapter in an event that began under then-Mayor Martin J. Walsh in 2014, when the city first turned the plaza into a public roller rink to honor Summer's hometown roots. Boston isn't alone in keeping her disco sound alive on dance floors — retro disco parties spinning her classics have also drawn crowds elsewhere this summer.
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