For a second year, MusiCares will be hosting a virtual fundraiser that’s open to the general public and features new performances recorded for the occasion by an array of stars, this year including Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, k.d. lang, Shawn Colvin and Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums, among others.
Officially dubbed “MusiCares: Music on a Mission, Presented by GIbson,” the online benefit premieres March 30 at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT and can be seen for the price of a $25 ticket, with proceeds going to the Recording Academy’s charitable wing.
Other performers set for the streaming benefit are Amythyst Kiah, Jesse & Joy, Fantastic Negrito, Gian Marco, Dante Spinetta, Morgxn, Zach Person and Emily Wolfe.
Although most of the performances included will be freshly recorded for the event, the stream will also include a never-publicly-seen performance by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, culled from the night Petty was honored by MusiCares as its person of the year in 2017.
Although the material being performed by the artists isn’t being revealed in advance, MusiCares spokespeople say there will be at least some nods to the catalog of this year’s MusiCares person of the year, Joni Mitchell. That legend will be being honored at a gala dinner in Las Vegas two nights later, on April 1.
The streaming benefit follows a similar online fundraiser that was held last year by and for MusiCares, when there was no in-person event at all, due to the pandemic. That virtual fundraiser featured a newly recorded performance by BTS, which led to a rather amusingly lopsided demographic for the show, with a live chat that consisted almost entirely of BTS Army members — an imbalance unlikely to be quite as titled toward any of this year’s lineup.
“Music on a Mission started as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we were blown away by the support from the music community, industry professionals and of course music fans,” said Laura Segura, executive director of MusiCares, in a statement. “We’re so thankful that Gibson recognizes the importance of this event to both fans and professional musicians and that they’ve signed on to help us make Music on a Mission a reality again this year.”
Carlile, who’s one of the marquee performers slated for the streaming benefit, will also be taking part in the person of the year benefit and Vegas as a performer and co-artistic director.
Mandolin, which emerged during the pandemic as one of the leaders in providing paid livestreams to music fans, will be the platform for the MusiCares event.