DESPITE BEING IN THEIR 40s AND CERTAINLY NO LONGER KIDS, NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK STILL DRAW LOYAL FANS, AND HIT THE AC SEASHORE IN JULY

BY JON DOMENICK

These days, say “boy band” and thoughts turn to the likes of Korean mega stars BTS and American hit makers Why Don’t We, but Gen X-ers and older listeners might also recall a previous generation of lad groups, led by the Boston formed New Kids on the Block. Now, these memories are back on tour.

Original members Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan and Jonathan Knight, Joey McIntyre, and Danny Wood will be playing Atlantic City on July 5 on their current Mix Tape Tour. But that’s not all, folks; also arriving straight from the 1980s and ’90s for the show will be Salt N Pepa, Naughty By Nature, Tiffany, and Debbie Gibson. But the headliners are, without question, “NKOTB,” who have sold over 80 million albums worldwide since hitting the zeitgeist in 1984. The guys have also been nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Long Form Music Video, one attached to the breakthrough album, Hangin’ Tough the same year they won an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Group. In 2014, the dancing singers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and this year marks the 30th anniversary of Hangin’ Tough, which charted five top 10 songs, including “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever),” and “Step by Step.”

After a 14 year hiatus, NKOTB reunited in 2008 and started recording new music. Their latest single is “Boys in the Band,” released in March. In the video, they were joined by NSYNC’s Lance Bass to the delight of both groups’ avid fans, known as “Blockheads.”

The Borgata show offers VIP packages that include special seating, meet and greet photo ops, access to a pre-show party, VIP check in, and special merchandise.

Adhering to their slogan, “Ain’t no party like a New Kids Party!,” fans who can’t make the concert can head over to the Ocean Casino Resort on the northern end of the boardwalk, where a branch of the Wahlberg brothers’ burger joint and bar, Wahlburgers, now occupies the space of Revel’s former Whiskey Bar.

Borgata
1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City / 609.317.1000 theborgata.com