Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Bootsy Collins & more playing virtual jazz benefit
The Jazz Foundation of America is presenting a new virtual concert to benefit their COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund. “The New Gig” streams on Thursday, May 14 at 8 PM ET on YouTube, and will be available to watch online for 24 hours. Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Bootsy Collins, Angelique Kidjo, Robert Cray, Jeffrey Wright, Bruce Willis, Ivan Neville, Milton Nascimento, Shemekia Copeland, Kim Wilson, and “surprise guests” are all set to appear.
Here’s a message from organizers:
The bottom has fallen out of the live music industry. Concerts, tours, and festivals have been canceled. Clubs, bars, and restaurants have closed. Our jazz and blues community is one of the earliest to be hit and one of the least equipped to endure such a disruption.
The need is unprecedented but reminds us of JFA’s mission and purpose to provide emergency assistance in times of crisis.
In this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jazz Foundation of America continues to connect with hundreds of jazz and blues musicians to provide compassionate counsel and offer direct financial support.
We have a large and growing number of clients who rely on us due to illness, old age, lack of work, or other circumstances. These artists live precariously even in good economic times, with no job security and minimal savings. Now they face an indefinite period of financial free fall, with months of gigs lost already.
One after another, musicians are saying the same thing: “I don’t know how I will provide for my family.”
We have established a COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund to help musicians and their families with basic living expenses. Your contributions expand the scope of this effort.
Jazz and blues will continue to give comfort and solace to lovers of the music throughout this crisis and beyond it.
Find even more things to watch from home in our constantly updated daily livestream roundups.
