Fountains of Wayne to Play with Sharon Van Etten in Honor of Adam Schlesinger at Jersey For Jersey Benefit Show, Band’s First Live Performance in Seven Years

The surviving members of Fountain of Wayne, Chris Collingwood, Jody Porter and Brian Young, will hold a performance in honor of their late bandmate Adam Schlesinger. The group will be joined by singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten during an upcoming virtual concert titled JERSEY4JERSEY. This will be their first live performance in seven years.

This upcoming benefit will feature at-home performances by various artists in support of the state of New Jersey’s Pandemic Relief Fund. The event will take place in the state, which is considered the home state for all of the artists performing in the benefit. Some of the prominent performers include Bruce Springsteen, SZA, Bon Jovi, Halsey, Tony Bennett, Charlie Puth and Chelsea Handler.

“Brian, Jody and I are honored to be part of the Jersey 4 Jersey benefit, and grateful that Sharon was able to perform with us,” Collingwood stated in a press release. “Adam would have been proud that Fountains were helping to raise money for fellow New Jerseyans.”

Schlesinger died at the age of 52 on April 1st, after suffering from symptoms caused by COVID-19, a virus which has reached pandemic  levels across the world. Schlessinger was also a prolific songwriter for films, and penned the iconic title track for the Tom Hanks directed film That Thing You Do!.

Actors Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, Johnathon Schaech, and Tom Everett Scott, who perform as The Wonders, the fictional band depicted in the film, will be performing a tribute to Schlessinger. This will take place on a Zoom call this Friday, April 17th at 7:00 p.m. EDT, which was streamed on their YouTube channel.