The Philly POPS Kicks off 2020 in Partnership with Citizens Bank

The Philly POPS and Citizens Bank announced today a new partnership, in which the bank will sponsor The Philly POPS Legacy Series, which includes this season's ARETHA: RESPECT and SINATRA: A Man and His Music.

Citizens Bank has been a proud sponsor of The Philly POPS for five years, but now as the Legacy Series Presenting Sponsor, Citizens Bank has expanded its support of the POPS through its Citizens Helping Citizens initiative.

Through Citizens Helping Citizens, Citizens Bank focuses on fighting hunger, teaching financial literacy, and strengthening communities. Supporting The Philly POPS represents one way Citizens Bank looks to strengthen the community through the arts.

"Citizens Bank is proud to sponsor The Philly POPS as they celebrate another tremendous season," said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, President of Citizens Bank, Mid-Atlantic Region. "Philadelphia thrives because of its arts community, and we are proud to partner with the POPS and other talented organizations."

As part of this partnership, the POPS will perform during the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend Celebration at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, which is sponsored by Citizens Bank, later this month.

The Philly POPS Legacy Series is one of The Philly POPS signature brands, which, along with POPS Rocks, POPS Broadway, POPS Jazz, and Christmas, reflect the POPS' programmatic variety, versatility, and commitment to representing American popular music in all forms. The Philly POPS Legacy Series features swing, big band, and American popular music of the 1920s-1960s. Of all its signature brands, The Philly POPS Legacy Series has the closest ties to Philadelphia and to the community.

Two of last year's Legacy Series performances had poignant connections to the Philadelphia community. 2018's performance with Leslie Odom, Jr. brought one of Philadelphia's biggest stars back to his hometown for a night of Great American Songbook favorites. Many of the organizations that mentored Leslie while in Philadelphia, such as Canaan Baptist Church, Philadanco, CAPA, and Masterman came out to support him. 2019's At The Hop! A Philadelphia Story at the Birth of Rock 'N' Roll highlighted the Bandstand years-when Philadelphia was at the center of the rising phenomenon of rock 'n' roll. For this show, the POPS brought original Bandstand dancers, including Jerry Blavat and Arlene Sullivan, to engage with the audience (many of whom were fans from their teenage years).

"It has been a pleasure working with Citizens Bank over the years, and we are pleased to take this next step with them to enrich Philadelphia's community through the POPS' Legacy Series," said Frank Giordano, President and CEO of The Philly POPS. "We look forward to growing our relationship with Citizens Bank, and to bringing these incredible performances to the people of Philadelphia."

ARETHA: RESPECT, February 14-16, 2020

SINATRA: A Man and His Music, May 1-3, 2020

More details available at www.phillypops.org

The Philly POPS Legacy Series is one of The Philly POPS signature brands. The Legacy Series includes performances of American popular music from the early 20th century, including swing, big band, ragtime, and pieces from the Great American Songbook.

Through the Legacy Series, The Philly POPS celebrates artists who are representative of the formative years of American popular music, as well this music's strong connections to Philadelphia and the community. Past Philly POPS Legacy Series shows have included The Carole King Songbook, Elvis: The King's Songbook, Sinatra & Friends, Leslie Odom, Jr: Celebrating The POPS 40th Anniversary, and At The Hop! A Philadelphia Story at The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll.

Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest and largest financial institutions, with $164.4 billion in assets as of September 30, 2019. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a 24/7 customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 2,900 ATMs and approximately 1,100 branches in 11 states in the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management, and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers corporate, institutional and not-for-profit clients a full range of wholesale banking products and services, including lending and deposits, capital markets, treasury services, foreign exchange and interest rate products, and asset finance.