Love Rocks NYC is an annual benefit concert, first held in 2017, that benefits non-profit God's Love We Deliver. The concert is held at the Beacon Theatre in New York City and was founded by menswear designer John Varvatos, Nicole Rechter and Greg Williamson.

History

The annual concert was started in 2017 by Varvatos, Rechter and Williamson, who came up with the idea after speaking together at a

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

dinner for God's Love We Deliver, of which Williamson is a board member. The concert raises money for the charity, which provides meals for those too sick to make, purchase or prepare meals themselves. The concert features different Musicians and presenters every year. The

house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...

, led by Will Lee with members Paul Shaffer, Eric Krasno, Larry Campbell, Steve Gadd and

Shawn Pelton Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s. Shawn has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, N ...

, plays every year. The inaugural event was held at the Beacon Theatre on March 9, 2017. As of June 2020, the event has raised $9 million in proceeds and has funded one million meals.

2017

The inaugural lineup included the following artists and presenters: *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

* Joe Walsh * Bruce Willis *

Sam Moore Samuel David Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American vocalist who was a member of the soul and R&B group, Sam & Dave, from 1961 to 1981. He is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for " Soul Man"), and the Voc ...

* Anthony Hamilton * Aaron Neville *

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

* Michael McDonald * Bill Murray * Susan Tedeschi * Derek Trucks * Warren Haynes * CeCe Winans * Gary Clark, Jr. The 2017 festival raised $1.5 million.

2018

The second show took place on March 15, 2018, and was hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Performers and presenters included: * Bill Murray * Norah Jones *

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

* Ziggy Marley * Patty Smyth * Lucinda Williams * Mavis Staples * Marc Cohn * Billy Gibbons * Gary Clark Jr *

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

* Keith Richards The 2018 festival raised $2 million.

2019

The 2019 show took place on March 7, 2019, which coincided with the 34th anniversary of the founding of God's Love We Deliver. It was hosted by Bill Murray and

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

. Goldberg was also scheduled to host, but pulled out due to health reasons. The show featured presenters and artists like: *

Hozier Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known professionally as Hozier ( ), is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. His music primarily draws from folk, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes. He had his interna ...

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

Lukas Nelson Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, sometimes referred to as POTR, is an American country rock group based in California. The band consists of Lukas Nelson (lead vocals, guitar), Anthony LoGerfo (drums, percussion), Corey McCormick (bass guitar ...

* Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart * Buddy Guy * Bernie Williams The 2019 festival raised $2.3 million.

2020

The 4th annual Love Rocks NYC took place on March 12, 2020, as a restricted attendance-only event and all performances were live-streamed. The evening's emcees were Paul Shaffer and Tamara Tunie and late-night television host

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

made a surprise appearance. The lineup included: * Dave Matthews * Chris and Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes * Cyndi Lauper *

* Leon Bridges * Warren Haynes *

Joss Stone Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...

Marcus King Marcus King (born March 11, 1996) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman, lead singer and guitarist for The Marcus King Band. His 2020 album ''El Dorado'' received a nomination for Grammy Aw ...

* Susan Tedeschi * Derek Trucks The event raised $3 million, all of which went to God's Love We Deliver, as expenses were underwritten by The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.

2021

The 5th annual show will take place at the Beacon Theater on June 3, 2021, if allowed by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

state and city regulations.

References

{{reflist Benefit concerts Benefit concerts in the United States