Look To The Stars News: Brian Wilson

Julia Roberts Stands Up For A Cure

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Stand Up For A Cure – a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating lung cancer – is busy with its year-long quest to raise money by organizing concerts, and has just released details of their latest fundraising gig this Fall.

Julia Roberts has been confirmed to introduce the Dave Matthews Band when they play Madison Square Garden on September 10.

“The charity is honored that she will be introducing the band at the concert.,” said a rep for the event. “Her support will make a huge difference.”

Stand Up For A Cure has previously organized concerts with Bon Jovi and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, as well as a night of stand-up comedy with Jerry Seinfeld. Shows by Andrea Bocelli and Barry Manilow are still in the pipeline. The charity believes the use of celebrities on TV, radio, in print and on the Internet helps to bolster awareness of issues such as lung cancer, and hopes their concert series will both raise funds for research into the disease and increase education about the effects of smoking.

Sir Elton John's White Tie And Tiara Party Hits The Beach

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Once a year Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish throw open the doors of their exquisite Berkshire home to a sparkling array of celebrities for their annual White Tie and Tiara Ball, and last night was no different as a staggering number of stars filed into the singer’s house for this year’s much-looked-forward-to event.

More than 600 guests turned up to the beach-themed party, each paying around US$6,000 for the dinner, auction, and concert. This year’s performance came from Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson, and attendees included Bill Clinton, Elle Macpherson, Denzel Washington, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael Caine, Simon Cowell, Rod Stewart, Mischa Barton, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, Gordon Ramsay, Tracey Emin, Roger Federer, Natalie Imbruglia, Kelly Osbourne, and Jemima Khan.

Sir Elton decorated his lavish garden with palm trees and sand for the party, which raised money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Last year’s event raised over $12 million for the cause, and the White Tie and Tiara Balls have made over $50 million since 1998.

Artists are Standing Up For Stand Up

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:27:30 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

As previously reported, Jerry Seinfeld will perform in a benefit concert on June 2 at Madison Square Garden. The highly-anticipated show will be hosted by Alec Baldwin, and accompanied by an online auction to benefit Stand Up For A Cure.

Stand Up For A Cure’s strategy in eradicating lung cancer begins with the development of relationships. By creating meaningful partnerships with people in the entertainment industry, they gain high-profile artists who donate their time and talent. This brings much-needed attention and funding to their cause. By creating meaningful relationships with researchers, this funding is directed to the programs that show the best results and hope for progress in lung cancer research and improved treatments.

The key, Stand Up For A Cure believes, is in public awareness. Lung cancer research is seriously under-funded, in part because public opinion believes that lung cancer is a smoker’s disease, even though 60% of the newly-diagnosed don’t smoke or have never smoked. The use of celebrities on TV, radio, in print and on the Internet helps to bolster awareness, and so do their concerts. Next in line after Seinfeld is Brian Wilson in July, Dave Matthews Band in September, and Andrea Bocelli in the fall.

Seinfeld has performed previously for Stand Up For A Cure, campaigning against the cancer that kills 450 Americans every day. According to the non-profit’s website, a new case of lung cancer is diagnosed every 3 minutes and carries a 5-year survival rate of only 14%.

Tickets are still available through Ticketmaster, with prices ranging from $254.50 to just over $1500 for the Seinfeld VIP Offer. For more information on the Seinfeld VIP Offer, call 212-209-3871, Option #1. To learn more about the upcoming concerts, visit the Stand Up For A Cure website.

Sting’s 20th Year Saving Rainforests

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:44:38 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, will celebrate their 15th annual Rainforest Foundation Fund benefit concert, Some Kinda Legacy, at Carnegie Hall May 8.

The Rainforest Foundation Fund (RFF) came out of Sting and Styler’s Rainforest Foundation International (RFI), created in 1989 to raise awareness about the need to conserve tropical forests, support indigenous peoples, their land, their rights and to develop resource management. RFI began its focus on Brazil and then spread throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia. RFF has continued funding the programs and creating new ones to this end since 1999.

To help raise awareness of both the rainforest and the Fund’s mission, the Mayor’s office has declared May “Rainforest Awareness Month” and the Empire State Building will be lit in green Thursday evening during the event.

Besides Sting, the many other performers at the concert will include Billy Joel, James Taylor and Brian Wilson, followed with a gala dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Plaza Hotel, and then impressive items will be up for auction, such as a smart car, an opera night in Paris and stay at the Ritz, Bruce Springsteen memorabilia and concert tickets, tickets to a Police concert, a meeting with Tiger Woods, a visit to the set of Law & Order, and more.

Tickets to the concert range from $150 to $600, and can be purchased through Carnegie Hall

Jerry Seinfeld Stands Up For A Cure

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:49:30 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and this June Jerry Seinfeld will prove the proverb when he performs a one-night-only charity gig at Madison Square Garden.

The 53-year-old comedian will bring his special brand of stand-up to the Wamu Theatre in New York on June 2 for a show benefiting Stand Up For A Cure, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating lung cancer. Tickets for the concert, which will be hosted by Alec Baldwin, cost $350 for general admission and are available through Ticketmaster.

The show will be accompanied by an online auction at Charity Buzz, which will also raise money for patient care, public awareness, and research into lung cancer. The auction will run from May 20 to June 11, and items will be announced closer to the time.

Stand Up For A Cure has also revealed they are organizing concerts from ex-Beach Boy Brian Wilson, the Dave Matthews Band, and Andrea Bocelli later this year. Tickets are available from their website.

Bon Jovi Headline Charity Concert

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:28:56 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Bon Jovi has headlined the first concert in a charity series to raise funds for lung cancer research.

The show was held at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom on Tuesday, February 12, to a capacity crowd of 3,500, with proceeds going to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering, a facility that specializes in lung cancer. The Center is also where Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora’s father received treatment for the disease before his death last year.

“Cancer is relentless; you can’t stop it,” said Sambora, who opened the concert with a 30 minute set of solo material. “Hopefully this money will help find answers.”

The concert was organized by Stand Up For A Cure, and is expected to be the first of a yearlong series to benefit the cancer center. The organization hopes to pull together at least seven concerts in that time, and have already confirmed a stand-up performance from Jerry Seinfeld on June 2 at Madison Square Garden, a concert with Brian Wilson and special guests at the Hammerstein Ballroom on July 11, and a performance by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli set for a to-be-determined date in December.

Jordan Belkin, Executive Producer for Stand Up For A Cure, hopes the concert series will not only raise money for cancer research but also awareness for what he calls a “severely under-funded” disease.

“It’s the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the world,” he told Billboard.com. “We need to get the message out and get money into the programs that are offering a potential cure for treatment. By groups like Bon Jovi donating their time and support to this cause, I think we’re getting closer to doing so.”

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Julia Roberts Stands Up For A Cure

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