Rocker Pat Benatar sets Lynn concert for April 19

LYNN – It’s official: Pat Benatar will be hitting Lynn with her best shot this April.Community Development Director James Marsh said concert negotiations are complete and Benatar will take the Lynn Auditorium stage in April.”She’s a worldwide name and draw, so it was just depending on when she’d be back in the Northeast,” he said.Enjoy a music video of one of Benatar’s earlier hits, “Love is a Battlefield”Benatar will perform at the Lynn Auditorium on April 19 and tickets go on sale this Thursday at 10 a.m. Prices range from $39 to $69.The four-time Grammy Award winner had her greatest success in the late ’70s and early ’80s with hits like “Heartbreaker,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot,” “Love Is a Battlefield” and “We Belong.” Benatar performs alongside her husband, Neil Giraldo, her band’s lead guitarist.The upcoming concert is Benatar’s only Massachusetts date for her tour, Marsh said. The concert will also be the auditorium’s last major show before it takes a summer hiatus, since it does not yet have air conditioning.”We had a great season, so it will be a wonderful way to cap off the 2011-12 season,” he said.Marsh said he anticipates that Benatar’s appearance will be a sellout. Other acts performing at the auditorium in the coming year include Peter Frampton on Feb. 3 – another show Marsh believes will sell out – and the Charlie Daniels Band in March.Besides being excited for Benatar to play the Lynn Auditorium, Marsh said he looks forward to the possibility of the concert’s popularity to translate into traffic for other Lynn businesses.”It’s another big name,” he said, “and it’s one of the top 10 acts that we’ve brought to the auditorium in the past couple years.”Tickets for the Pat Benatar concert will be available online at lynnauditorium.com, at the auditorium box office in Room 311 at Lynn City Hall or over the phone at 781-581-2971 or 1-800-594-8499.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].