On Dec. 20, Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction is teaming with Billy Morrison and other guests for a benefit concert in Hollywood. This will be the third “Above Ground” benefit concert, an event that was founded to raise awareness and funds for mental health treatment.
The artists did not hold this event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they held successful shows in 2018 and 2019. For the past two concerts, they have been celebrating albums by one American artist and one British artist: in 2018, they performed Kings Of The Wild Frontier by Adam And The Ants and The Velvet Underground & Nico by Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. In 2019, they shared The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie and the Stooges’ self-titled debut album. This year, they plan on continuing this trend by performing Lou Reed’s Transformer by Lou Reed and Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols by the Sex Pistols.
“This album is it for both of us — the one that changed everything,” Navarro and Morrison said about the latter album in a press release. “When we heard this for the first time as kids, something shifted forever inside us. The band released only one official album and were together initially for about 23 months. And 40+ years later, it still shakes the foundations when you play it. That says it all.”
The musicians will be joined by guests such as Billy Idol, Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Perry Farrell, Etty Lau Farrell, Taylor Hawkins, Mark McGrath, Steve Stevens, Franky Perez and more to be announced soon. They are working with MusiCares to aid music professionals who need support in addiction recovery and other physical and mental health issues.
“MusiCares has literally saved more than a few of our friends from dying,” the artists said in a press release. “On the frontline, finding and paying for beds in treatment, arranging therapy and counseling, and actually speaking up on a public level about the importance of mental health are all reasons why we continue to do what we can to draw attention to this subject.”
Tickets go on sale on Friday, Oct. 22.
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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