Musicians Step Up for Hurricane Sandy Relief
When Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast two weeks ago, it hit harder than a lot of people expected. Communities in New York and New Jersey were ravaged by the storm and are still struggling to rebuild. They're not alone, though: many celebrities and musicians have stepped up to help, using their influence to raise awareness for relief efforts as well as personally volunteering and donating. Some musicians, including Justin Bieber and Dave Matthews Band, have pledged to donate portions of their ticket sales to charity, while others such as Justin Timberlake and John Legend have volunteered their time to distribute food and supplies. The NBC telethon featuring Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Christina Aguilera and several others raised millions of dollars for relief, and benefit concerts from Vampire Weekend, Chris Cornell and others are also making an impact. Click through to see how musicians are rising up to aid those in need.
List by Ryan Leas
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Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and More
The massive, newly announced "Concert for Sandy Relief" at Madison Square Garden on December 12th pulls no punches with its lineup: Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Kanye West, Jon Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, the Who, Roger Waters and Billy Joel are all set to perform. Proceeds benefit the Robin Hood Relief Fund.
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Vampire Weekend, Dirty Projectors and Real Estate
Vampire Weekend is just one artist in the indie super-lineup of a November 17th Occupy Sandy benefit show at Brooklyn's St. Ann and the Holy Trinity church. They will be joined by members of the Dirty Projectors and the Walkmen, as well as Cass McCombs, Devendra Banhart and Real Estate. Tickets are a minimum donation of $30 each.
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Chris Cornell
On the eve of releasing Soundgarden's King Animal, Cornell treated fans to an intimate acoustic set of career-spanning deep cuts at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom. He reportedly raised $30,000 for the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City. Fittingly, he played two Springsteen songs, saying, "This is for New Jersey!" before "Atlantic City" and "This is for Staten Island!" before a gorgeous take on "Thunder Road."
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Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel
Having just returned from their honeymoon in Tanzania, newlyweds Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel volunteered in Far Rockaway, Queens, over the weekend. Joined by their friend Timbaland, the couple helped distribute backpacks of supplies to members of the community who were still struggling after the hurricane.
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Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Billy Joel and Bon Jovi
A slew of the pop world's heavy-hitters joined up for NBC's "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together" telethon, with Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Billy Joel and Bon Jovi all taking part. The telethon raked in a massive total of $23 million for the Red Cross.
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Lady Gaga
Never to be outdone, Lady Gaga gave one of the most staggering personal donations, pledging $1 million to the Red Cross. Gaga announced her plans in a blog post; in it, she also mentioned how integral New York has been to her as an artist.
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Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson spread out his contributions to hurricane relief efforts, donating $50,000 to various funds, including the Food Bank for New York City and the Community Food Bank of New Jersey. The following week, he also donated 3,000 sweatshirts and thermal shirts from his merchandise warehouse as a Nor'easter threatened to bring more trouble to communities still struggling in the wake of Sandy.
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Gary Clark Jr.
On election night, Gary Clark Jr. headlined the Hurricane Sandy Benefit at Brooklyn Bowl, playing against a backdrop of CNN and current polling results. A $20 minimum donation was required, with all proceeds going to the Superstorm Sandy Relief Fund. Attendees also donated goods to the Occupy Sandy effort.
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The Script
Irish band the Script headlined the "Strong Island Hurricane Sandy Relief Concert" at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York, last Thursday. All ticket proceeds were donated to the Long Island Red Cross.
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Kelly Osbourne
This past weekend, Kelly Osbourne tweeted that she would be volunteering with the Salvation Army. She focused her efforts in Staten Island, one of the areas of New York most severely affected by Sandy.
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Dean Ween
Dean Ween, longtime frontman of Ween, has planned a November 28th benefit show at the Saint in Asbury Park, New Jersey, a town severely affected by the hurricane. Ween set up the benefit for his friend Nick Honachefsky, who lost his house and all of his possessions in the storm.
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Okkervil River
Will Sheff, singer of Okkervil River, took part in the East Coast Relief concert alongside Holly Miranda and other artists. The event took place at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn and proceeds were donated to the Red Cross.
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Questlove
On November 1st, Roots drummer Questlove took one of his occasional turns from out behind the kit, DJing a benefit set at Brooklyn Bowl. He donated all proceeds to the Red Cross. He was at it again on November 5th, taking part in HeadCount's Participation Tour at Manhattan's Highline Ballroom, which benefited City Harvest.
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Dave Matthews
Already having planned to kick off their tour on November 30th at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, DMB will donate all ticket and merchandise profits to Bama Works Sandy Relief Fund. They hope to pass the $1 million mark.
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Buke and Gase
Devastated by the damage to their former home, Buke and Gase turned their efforts specifically to Red Hook, Brooklyn. All last week, all proceeds from sales of their single went to the Red Hook Initiative's hurricane relief efforts.
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Adam Levine
Adam Levine teamed with Charity Buzz to organize auctions for hurricane relief efforts. Levine has contributed a wide array of items to the auction, including tickets to tapings of The Voice (one option bundled with an opportunity to meet Levine) and tickets to sold-out Maroon 5 shows in the New York area bundled with signed guitars.
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Beastie Boys
Born and raised New Yorkers, the Beastie Boys aimed to help out their hometown with a November 5th screening of their film Fight For Your Rights Revisited, alongside LCD Soundsystem's Shut Up and Play the Hits, at Brooklyn Bowl. There was a suggested donation of $10, and food and housing supplies were also collected.
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Holly Miranda
Indie songstress Holly Miranda collaborated with photographer iO Tillett Wright to organize Renegade Sandy Relief. Inspired by their desire to help people in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, the duo organized this volunteer-based effort to bring direct relief to the areas of New York most affected by the hurricane.
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Dan Deacon
Hailing from Long Island, Dan Deacon felt very personal ramifications from Hurricane Sandy. "I don't feel right going there, playing these shows and not pitching in," Deacon said, so he decided to donate his fees from his upcoming Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom shows to Occupy Sandy and the Red Cross.
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Taking Back Sunday
All of the profits from Taking Back Sunday's November 16th show at Manhattan's Best Buy Theater are going to relief efforts in the Long Beach area, where some of the band members grew up. A portion of the tickets sales for their November 25th show at New Jersey's Pine Belt Arena will go to the Toms River Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.
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Rihanna
Busy promoting her new album, Rihanna combined her efforts and turned a November 9th listening party at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club into a donation drive, asking guests to bring sleeping bags, diapers and cleaning supplies in return for getting to preview Unapologetic. The pop star also plans to donate $100,000 to the Food Bank of New York City and has already donated 1,000 sleeping bags to the New York Daily News' relief efforts.
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Justin Bieber
In a Facebook post, Justin Bieber announced plans to donate $1 from every ticket sold for his four New Jersey/New York area shows to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The run includes a show at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a stop at Brooklyn's new Barclays Center and a two-night stand at Madison Square Garden in New York. All four concerts are sold out.
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The Avett Brothers, Passion Pit and Mick Fleetwood
The Avett Brothers, Passion Pit and Mick Fleetwood were among the artists who recorded public service announcements for Move for Hunger's RebuildRecover project. Each artist urged fans to donate to the effort, which seeks to bring relief to affected communities on the New Jersey coast.
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Justin Townes Earle, the Wallflowers and Tift Merritt
The recently reunited Wallflowers were a last-minute addition to a Justin Townes Earle and Tift Merritt benefit show at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York, on Saturday, November 10th. The artists donated all profits to the Red Cross.
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Phillip Phillips
American Idol's Phillip Phillips will team with the PS22 Chorus for an online concert on November 15th, likely performing material from his upcoming debut album. All proceeds from the show will be donated to the Siller Foundation and the Red Cross.
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John Legend
On Saturday, John Legend volunteered in Rockaway Beach, distributing food and raising morale among members of the community who are still struggling without power two weeks after Sandy.