Source: CNN

Bon Jovi rocked Central Park, New Jersey style.

The rock group gave a free concert Saturday night on the park's Great Lawn, delighting tens of thousands of fans who sang along with the lyrics on a glorious summer evening.

The band opened with "Livin' on a Prayer" and belted out songs including "Born to be my Baby," "Lost Highway," and "Runaway."

Jon Bon Jovi, for one, was relieved that a long tour was winding down.

"It's good not to call room service. I can tell you that, you know?" the singer said before the concert. "It feels real good not to dial 9 to get a cup of coffee. For me that was very nice this morning. But what a way to end up.

"We started 10 nights in New Jersey and ended up with the biggest show of the year in New York at Central Park on the Great Lawn. It's very rarified air, you know? We know there are only a half a dozen shows that have ever been on this grass."

New York City officials gave away 60,000 tickets for the concert. Some 50,000 people were expected to attend. The free tickets were reportedly being hawked by scalpers on eBay for as much as $1,500 a pair.

Bon Jovi said that drama did not put a damper on the show.

"No. I mean look, it's all behind us at this point," he told The Associated Press. "So we did what we could for our fans and for the people of New York and wanted to share a beautiful Saturday summer night with them."

Hundreds of fans lined up early -- in some cases as many as six hours before the show's 8 p.m. start.

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