The city of Boston is honoring New Edition by proclaiming Saturday, Aug. 30, “New Edition Day.”
According to NBC Boston, the legendary R&B group will also have a street named after them in their old neighborhood of Roxbury, and a huge block party will take place for the renaming ceremony on Dearborn Street at the Orchard Gardens Boys & Girls Club of Boston.
The ceremony, which began around 10 a.m., was followed by a block party that included a backpack giveaway, a gaming truck, a photo booth and food trucks. The mayor of the city, Michelle Wu, certified the day “New Edition Day.”
New Edition was formed in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury back in 1978 with Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, Rickey Bell, Michael Bivins and Ralph Tresvant as members.
The group took over the radio with iconic hits like “Mr Telephone Man,” “Candy Girl,” “Cool It Now” and “Can You Stand the Rain.” Johnny Gill joined the group after Brown left in 1985.
Fans took to social media with excitement and enthusiasm over New Edition Day, celebrating the long-awaited honor.
“They must have a great Mayor to recognize this Honor with a New Edition,” noted one fan. on Facebook. “Way too late,” acknowledged another.
Another fan replied, “This should have happened a while ago … glad it is,” which prompted another fan to echo the sentiment. “About time.”
“New Edition is getting a street named after them on the projects that they grew up in. The old Boston is still here,” added another fan.
All six members of New Edition: Ronnie, Michael, Ricky, Bobby, Johnny and Ralph attended the ceremony and the block party afterward on Saturday.
While there, Ricky presented a $25,000 check on behalf of the group to the Orchard Gardens Resident Association, formerly Orchard Park, in the Roxbury neighborhood, where they grew up. Another $25,000 check was also donated to the Boston Arts Academy Foundation.
R&B group New Edition returns home to Roxbury! The City of Boston is honoring them with a street dedication this afternoon, as well as declaring August 30th “New Edition Day” @boston25 🎶 pic.twitter.com/Kud4PHOFOK
— Alyssa Azzara (@alyssaazzaraTV) August 30, 2025
“One of the hardest things to do as a group is to stay together,” Bell told the crowd, reports NBC10. “We’ve been through so much together in the industry and internally together. And the thing that keeps bringing us together is we all remember where we came from.”
He continued, “We weren’t put together by some record executive… We were friends and we were brothers before we started singing and making money together. When we can’t figure out which way to go or what to agree on, we just remember that we are brothers, so we can’t get away from each other no matter what.”
New Edition achieved worldwide success as a group and as individual artists. Despite their 42 years of hard work and entertaining generations of R&B and pop music lovers, they have never won a Grammy award as a group.
Their single, “If It Isn’t Love (Single)” was nominated for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals. The song was featured on their double platinum album “Heart Break” in 1988.
That same year, Bobby Brown left the group to pursue solo efforts, winning a Grammy for his breakout hit “Every Little Step.” Johnny left the group to be a solo artist as well and Rickey, Mike, and Ronnie went on to form their own successful trio, Bell Biv DeVoe. The breakup continued for a few years before they got back together for 1996’s “Home Again,” one of their most beloved projects that they still perform today.
Earlier this year, New Edition wrapped their “New Edition: Las Vegas” residency at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas throughout 2024, with performances extending into 2025.
