Tom Petty’s hometown of Gainesville, FL honored the late rockstar over the weekend by renaming a park in honor of his memory. On October 20th, 2018, what would have been Petty’s 68th birthday, a dedication ceremony took place at Gainsville’s newly minted Tom Petty Park, formerly known as Northeast Park. Petty’s brother Bruce Petty and daughter Adria Petty were on hand at the ceremony Saturday, explaining to the crowd of locals and fans that Petty grew up blocks away from the park, and used to spend his childhood days playing at Northeast Park.
Luckily for Petty fans, an attendee of the park dedication filmed the ceremony, which you can watch below:
Tom Petty Park dedication – Gainsville, FL – 10/20/2018
[Video: TwinsRock83]
Earlier this summer, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers announced an extensive new posthumous box set titled An American Treasure in tribute to their late leader, Tom Petty—who died suddenly in the early hours of October 3rd, 2017 at the age of 66 as a result of an accidental prescription drug overdose. The Tom Petty An American Treasure was released on September 28th via Reprise Records, less than a week shy of the first anniversary of Petty’s passing. It also marked the first posthumous release of any kind from Petty’s camp.
As Tom’s daughter, Adria Petty, and widow, Dana Petty elaborated on this “labor of love” in its original announcement press release,
Everyone involved in this project chose each track with tremendous care and deep respect for the body of work Tom Petty created over the course of 40 years. He also accumulated a wealth of unreleased music in his vaults, and we have collectively uncovered one gem after another that will keep us all listening and discovering new facets of Tom’s talent for many years to come. We can’t wait to share with Tom’s fans this musical portrait of an artist who deeply affected our culture and indelibly touched the lives of fans the world over.
[H/T Pitchfork]