NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Patti Smith, the poet-laureate of punk, was honored during a sold-out event at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Wednesday night with help from an all-star cast of friends and supporters.
The celebration featured a lineup that included performances by Matt Berninger (“Piss Factory”), Courtney Barnett (“Redondo Beach”), Sharon Van Etten (“Pissing in the River”), Ben Harper (“Ghost Dance”), and Karen O (“Gloria”) shaking the rafters of the legendary hall.
Actor and musician Johnny Depp surfside the audience with a rendition of “Dancing Barefoot,” while Bruce Springsteen, the Boss himself, was on hand to perform Smith’s hit “Because the Night.”
The lineup also included Michael Stipe, Glen Hansard, Angel Olsen, Maggie Rogers, Susanna Hoffs, Jim Jarmusch, Kim Gordon & Bill Nace, Sean Penn, and Scarlett Johansson, alongside readings, poems, and compositions drawn from Smith’s body of work.
Smith took the stage as well, performing “Peaceable Kingdom” before joining the full cast for an encore of “People Have the Power, to close out the evening.
The tribute coincided with the 50th anniversary of Smith’s seminal debut album, “Horses” and the event also marked the 20th anniversary of the Michael Dorf Presents Music Of series, which has raised more than $2 million to fund music education programs across the country—including $130k raised from this year’s concert alone.
Each concert donates 100% of net proceeds to a group of nonprofit organizations focused on providing music and art opportunities for underservices youth, including Music Will, Save the Music, Young Audiences NY, D’Addario Foundation, Church Street School for Music and Art, and Sonic Arts for All.
Along with Patti Smith, artists who have been featured in the concert series include Paul McCartney, Prince, Joni Mitchell, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, David Byrne, REM, Carly Simon, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
