To mark the 50th anniversary of Patti Smith's debut album, a tribute concert will take place at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Next year will mark 50 years since Patti Smith's debut album, Horses. To celebrate this anniversary, a host of independent and alternative rock musicians will gather at Carnegie Hall in New York on March 26 for a concert in tribute to the singer.
The concert poster People Have the Power: Celebrating the Music of Patti Smith » will include Michael Stipe, Kim Gordon, Matt Berninger (The National), Karen O, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Harper, Courtney Barnett, the Kronos Quartet, Angel Olsen and Alison Mosshart (The Kills). Additional artists are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The backing band will include at least two members of Smith's band (bassist/keyboardist Tony Shanahan and guitarist Lenny Kaye), as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Rolling Stones drummer Steve Jordan.
According to Michael Dorf, founder of City Winery (whose company Michael Dorf Presents is producing the concert), the list of songs played will not be a simple reconstruction of Horsesbut will extend to the entire Smith catalog. Some of his spoken pieces will be read by musicians or actors whose names have not yet been announced.
This concert will also mark the 20th edition of the series “ The Music of… » by Dorf. Over the past two decades, these concerts (with proceeds benefiting music education programs across the country) have brought together diverse artists to cover songs by Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, the Who, Joni Mitchell, REM, David Bowie, Prince, David Byrne and Talking Heads, Paul Simon and, last spring, Crosby, Stills & Nash. Given that some of these artists, including Springsteen, REM, Byrne and Graham Nash have taken the stage, it's a safe bet that Patti Smith herself will be taking part.
The legendary singer is no stranger to these kinds of events: she has participated in concerts organized in honor of Springsteen, the Who and REM ” I asked her years ago if she would be interested, and she said, “I'm not ready.”recalls Mr. Dorf. Then I spoke to her about six months ago, and she humbly said yes. » According to him, the musician was “ more active than others » in the organization of his tribute. She suggested playing most of the pieces from Horsesrecommended Shanahan (his musical director) to direct the group and offered some of his photographs for the set.
Throughout the show, Dorf will present a yellow rose to each of the performers as they leave the stage. Dorf explains that the tradition began with the very first “ Music of …” in 2006, which brought together artists such as Laurie Anderson, Jesse Malin, the Eels, Bettye LaVette, Neil Sedaka and Amy Grant to sing Joni Mitchell songs. The latter was to participate, but the day before the show, Dorf was informed that a “ real problem » had appeared and Mitchell couldn't come. Then, to his great surprise, it was Joni Mitchell herself who called him during the concert soundcheck. “ She said that her cat had fallen ill and that when she was young, suffering from polio, her doctor had considered her doomed.he remembers. She therefore did not want to give up on her cat and had to stay behind to care for it. She talked about her cat for 20 minutes, I was having a most surreal out-of-body experience. »
Just before the concert, Mitchell had 50 yellow roses sent to the venue, each accompanied by a note saying ” Thanks, Joni ”, and circulated them among the artists. “ Nobody understands why I hand out the rosessaid Dorf, but now you understand it. »
